Pete and I headed to Kirkwood on Sunday to enjoy some sunny California spring skiing as the mountain prepares to close this coming weekend. Neither of us was anywhere near as excited as we normally are to get on the mountain, but we were looking forward to a nice relaxing sunny day with soft snow. It is interesting to make the drive when there is a lot less snow around. It seems just a little wrong to see the bottom of the snow stakes on the sides of the road when you are used to *maybe* seeing just a bit of the tops.
Mother Nature had different plans though. Most of the day was quite cloudy and overcast, with variable precipitation all day and very, very flat light. The snow took longer to soften then expected as a result, so it was quite reminiscent of an East Coast ski day. It was a much better day for skiing then snowboarding, but I'm not testing the new knee that much until next season. Being on the mountain was still way better then most other things I could have been doing, but this was probably my worst snowboarding experience in California to date. I continue to feel very spoiled when it comes to Tahoe experiences as a result.
It is sad the mountain is closing, there is still plenty of snow left, and from the looks of it, they're due for more snow this week. They just don't have the attendance now though, everyone has moved on to summer activities, myself included I guess. I'd probably go again this weekend, but I twisted my knee and ankle well enough that I'm still limping a bit and I'm looking at sailing this weekend. So, I suspect this was it until next season, unless I attempt something back country or take some vacation and head to the antipode. What a great season, I hope '05 - '06 comes out similarly. I'll get back on skis some then too.
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