fernie

got a chance to ski fernie yesterday, thanks to some affordable tickets courtesy of some employees up there.  they have a great system, where all employees get two "friends and family" tickets per pay period, for $30. 
when we got there, it was warm, but felt cold, due to high humidity and a steady breeze.  but we found our friend Tyler, a ski patroller, who said the skiing was great.  well, they got 13 cm of new that night (aboot 5 inches), that came in soft and creamy.  excellent skiing all over, although as the day progressed, the skiing on the lower half became more and more spring-like.  unfortunately, neither currie nor cedar bowls were opened, due to some avalanche safety issues and high fog. (see, we are not the only place that doesn't always get things opened in a timely fashion). it could have also been because the crowds were so low, there was no reason to expend patroller hours getting it open.  we never saw tyler throughout the rest of the day to query him.  fortunately there was plenty of great snow all over the rest of the resort, and we skied untracked and cut up crud all day.  it is a great alternative so close to home, with steeper terrain and more vertical, so cheap tickets or not, a good day to be had. 

so, what did the snow do here?  seems like it was very warm wednesday afternoon, and that the bottom half would likely freeze.  listening to the snow report this am, i am in the belief that this is correct, as big dave talked about great courderoy and backside skiing.  frozen skiing here can be brutal, so if that is the case, we really need some new snow. 

what about the backcountry?  hope to find out a bit tomorrow, but i am guessing that again, lower elevations will be frozen, and north aspects will be the best.  let me know.