The forecast was for 10" of snow overnight, so we got up early and were the first in line for the gondola.
Even though there was only an inch of snow at the base, we hoped that the upper mountain was dumped on.
But it was just "dust on crust" -- an inch or so of new snow over crunchy snow that melted the day before and then refroze overnight.
We went to the top of the mountain still hoping for a pile of snow, but it was just really cold and windy, and the skiing wasn't so good.
So the little ones split off to do their own thing and Julie, Alexa, and I skied back to the Teton Club to put on warmer clothes.
The ride back up was much more comfortable and Julie and Alexa discovered some fun runs that had decent snow (Ten Sleep to Expert Chutes, and Broken Goggles to Study Plots).
We all met back at the suite for lunch with Mimi and Frank a bit before one. Then we changed clothes and headed out to West Yellowstone for our Saturday adventure. The 3+ hour drive itself was an adventure. It was snowing as we drove over Teton Pass and the road was covered with snow. Fortunately it was open; out here the roads can be closed due to snow. They lower a big arm (like you see at railroad crossings) with a "road closed" sign and flashing lights. Most of the trip was over roads covered in snow or ice. At one point we had to slow for a car turning right and our cars just skidded along over the ice. Thank God for anti-lock braking! We also saw an SUV that slid off the road into the ditch. Later a snow plow passed us going the other way and threw up such a cloud of snow that we couldn't see anything at all for about 5 seconds: unnerving!
In spite of the road conditions, the drive was safe and uneventful. Frank set a safe course and I just followed behind enjoying all the sights. In Idaho we saw field after field with irrigation systems. We speculated on what the crops could be until we saw the Spud Drive-In Movie Theater with a giant potato out front. We also saw people kite skiing in a big field. We arrived in West Yellowstone in time for the kids to join Mimi and Frank for a half hour of skiing at the Nordic Center before we ate Mimi's split pea soup and then bedded down for the night in a cabin at the Hibernation Station, anticipating a great adventure the next day.
(I only took the photo of us first in line today, so I'm attaching two movie clips from yesterday: Nick attempting a 360 and wiping out, then Michael doing a shrub launch and wiping out.)
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