Winter?!

Solo stroll to Diamondhead to ring in 2024. The road is totally snow free, and skinning starts at around 1200m, but is patchy for a few hundred metres after that. I found 10-20cm of cold, dry, unconsolidated powder on a supportive crust beyond Elfin Lakes. This made for nice skiing and easy trail breaking, but it was more windy than expected and the snow was being visibly transported at ridgetop and covering tracks fast. I also noticed some fresh SH forming around TL, which might be notable after the next storm. The sun didn’t feel too powerful and the colder temps seemed to be keeping the snow dry above 1400m. Overall, a lovely day to be out and felt a little more like winter up high!