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Thigh deep powder below the WWP load ramp, lower Aonach loaded, but snow to soft to get down the flats of the lower Ciste. Use the Ridge to return to Ciste Carpark.
Going up the West Wall Poma shortly before everything came to a shuttering halt.
View back to the East Wall when traversing above the Aonach over the Bynack to regain the M2 after the WWP jammed.
As far as I got on the WWP, worried I was jinxing it I stayed clear the rest of the day!
Going downhill on the Carpark T-bar. Excellent snow on the lower slopes for beginners.
Freshly pisted packed powder corduroy on the Carpark Run.
A line of skiers traverse the Aonach Ridge from the Daylodge Poma en route to the Ciste Carpark.
Dusk from the foot of the East Lady, looking over the lower slopes at the end of a magical day.
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Sunday dawned flat calm and largely clear with a sharp frost, down to -15°c by Loch Morlich.
A day of classic mid-winter sport was in prospect and unsurprisingly the hordes were heading for the 'Gorm from stupid o'clock. The lower surface lifts were on by 8am and run till 5pm, enough to give anyone burning thighs and a massive smile. Basically on all runs and indeed much of the mountain the cover is wide and deep, with a mix of machine and/or skier packed powder, skier tracked or windblown fresh powder. Excellent riding for all ability levels.
Queues came and went, the M1 Poma being the worst offender. Patience might be a virtue, but a bit of imagination and observation get you a lot more sliding. Mid morning the Funicular was a surprisingly good bet. Top Basin lifts were also lacking on the queue front in the morning.
Despite the Daylodge Piste being amongst the busiest in terms of numbers sliding in a given space, the wait for the DLP was never more than a few minutes, it simply munched the queue and spat the occasional slider out in a heap! Between the fences was great fun with powder bumps building.
Riding to the Ciste Carpark via the Aonach Ridge and Laogh Mor Return, don't attempt these alone or in poor viz if you are unfamilar with the terrain.
On Sunday both the Cas and Ciste Carparks were full. Some parked down at Glenmore and got the bus up, thus driving down this evening the unusual sight of skiers and boarders heading through the trees for cars parked in Glenmore. For experts willing to walk to the top of the Marquis Well's snow field at the summit, a decent to Glenmore will notch up 3000ft of vertical!