The signs were pointing to an exceptionally busy Saturday at Highlands. Bluebird skies, the annual Blitzenbanger party, a foot of new snow the day before– Dirk, Christy and I knew it would be fun to be there, but we sought a bit more solitude. We could (and would) rejoin the apres festivities later.

So we decided to hit one of our favorite lines on Highlands Ridge and made it a “one and done” day.

Actually, we hoped to ski more than one run but things just took a while. For starters, the glacial pace up the Bowl resulting from the crowds was slowed even further by the wind and cold temperatures. Once at the top and free to leave the busy scene, the hard work began. The new snow on the ridge was thigh deep in places and heavily corniced, and travel across it took much longer than usual. When we finally clicked in and prepared to ski, the new snow load from the day before naturally warranted a more cautious (slow) approach than normal.

So one run would be all we could fit in, and it was worth it. The lower “scary moderate” layers we’ve been used to managing were all locked up thanks to the cold temperatures, and the new foot of fresh snow was well bonded to the old, or at least that’s what our assessment told us.

And in good form we made it back to Highlands in time to catch up with everyone at apres.