A spring tour of the backcountry trails today with the sun shining and +13C (!) when I left the car. No issues with parking at P7 - maybe 10 cars when I started at noon and 3 or 4 when I returned.

Ridge road, Burma and the parkways looked like they had all been freshly groomed first thing this morning but I didn't get out until after lunch time. The top surface was transitioning to a slushy, spring corn but the base was still solid below. My waxless skis seemed to handle better out of the track as the classic tracks were compact and glazed whereas the skate lanes had some texture for the fish scales to bite into.

The backcountry trails were beautiful but none too fast. The flats had me occasionally slipping out of the track and sinking into the soft snow. I might have been fine with a slightly wider ski. Up and down hills were no problem as they've been better compacted than the flats by skiers all winter. Descents were slow by normal standards which made them easy to control. The wet, heavy snow made it tricky to make quick movements but I was never going fast enough on the slushy snow to worry about that - even on some of the steeper pitches.

By the time I was returning along the Bourgeois Lake part of the parkway, the base was starting to soften a bit and things slowed up even more. Some colder nights ahead could give some great crust cruising conditions but today (in the afternoon) the crust would have been non existent. Still lots of snow to ski on but I hope this warming trend is temporary. Fingers crossed for one more big powder day before we move inexorably towards spring.