I was tending bar until a few minutes ago so this will be a pretty bare bones snow report.  I have a bunch of pictures documenting conditions, but no way to upload them at the moment. As always, this report focuses on snow *quality*, not snow *safety*. There is no safe skiing out there right now due to shallow snowpack and boney conditions.

Alpine got dooked on yesterday and the upper half of Ferry looks tasty. Getting there is a problem since on the valley floor there is only an inch or two of snow. This latest storm really helped out up high and at mid elevations though.  There was ~4 inches in my yard but most of it melted.

I heard the Claw was in — a suspect claim — so Maestra and I went to have a look. Edelweiss and Thanksgiving got hammered. Avalanche looked doable but shallow down low. Just past Titty Mouse looked appealing for hot laps. The gut of Claw was untouched so Maestra took honors and I chased her down twenty tight turns in a fallopian tube of fun. Traversing below the cliff band was boney. Lower steeps got really thin to the point of survival skiing and downclimbing through the woods.  Most of the fresh snow down there is still stuck up in the big trees or melted out.  The lower angle luge run out was doable but could use some chainsaw and machete love if anyone is feeling frisky.  The creek crossing is an easy walk due to low, low snow. Old Pass Road is surprisingly good down to the lake where a quick climb hits a mid-pass pullout above the crazy construction.  Some people have been skiing all the way back to Trail Creek but it looks spotty to me.

We hitched a quick ride and had a few hours before work so Maestra and I gave Glory a look.  The bootpack looked like maybe a dozen people had been there before us, so we kept climbing despite skinny snowpack on and around the ascent ridge.  A few folks hit Twin Slides, Glory Bowl and Little Tucks. Tracks looked good up top but road runs ended sketchily for sure.  Maestra really wanted First Turn so I followed her lead through and around the sketchy cliffbands and got the gutshot. It was fun as and deep enough to turn on the drifts but not recommended. We were able to ski back to the road though.

Sunny spots on Glory got hot and heavy.  At upper elevations an old suncrust lurked under ~6″ of fresh.  At lower elevations above Pass Road the snow was pretty darn perfect where deep enough.  Tomorrow morning might be crusty at all elevations on aspects that got afternoon sun.

Upper Taylor looked sexy but getting there is problematic.  Coal Creek might be worth checking out but Targhee is still the spot. There should be a good dog party up there tomorrow!  I’ll be taking it easy teaching a friend how to ski to avoid getting too froggy and ending my season in this shallow snowpack.  It looks like we’ve got snow coming in over the next work week so things could get much better real soon.  Let’s hope that they do.

Ohh yeah, the sky was pretty chemtrashed too.  I got some pics and made a video but have no way to upload it at the moment.  One Love.  Peace!