Lone Pine

Strong inversion today in the Hermit area. Once above the valley cloud layer, the climb through Hermit Meadows and up beside Lizard's Tail came with increasing solar input and wind. Very strong winds up at ridgetop. The lower entrance to Lone Pine is in good condition. There were old tracks down the couloir, but we were still able to find dry powder snow in shaded areas. There was evidence of small natural wet slides as we progressed down the couloir however, with numerous runnels stemming from bare rocks to skiers left of the main line. Wet mashed-potato snow became more prevlanet throughout our descent - it skied ok today, however might be tough going once it freezes. Once we descended into the valley cloud layer again, we found the best conditions to skiers left in untracked powder. All in all a nice day out, but be aware of the strong sun!