Wouldn't quite call us Hard Men this morning, but we were in the canyon before the crowd. Was good to see some fellow Swingers at the lot and was excited for the skinning. Weather was warm. The car said 33F at Spruces. Skinning was easy, but we were discouraged as there was a definite crust most the way up. As we got about 1,100 ft in, conditions improved. I'd dare say they looked spectacular. Stoke was building at that point. As we reached the top of the climb, we noticed what looked like a natural slide off the peak's north side. We didn't get close enough to inspect, but it looked about 2ft deep 25ft wide. It didn't go too far down the slope. Maybe 30ft. I'd imagine it occured overnight as a couple of fellow Swingers didn't notice it yesterday afternoon.

As we skied down, the top 600ft of Shortwing was amazing. So good, we opted for a second lap. As we stopped to transition, the weight of the three Swingers in our party caused a collapse and a very large whoompf. Nothing moved, but it was a good reminder to stick to lower angle slopes. We saw multiple groups skinning up Shortswing but they all went to Powder Park 3. I wonder if it's faster that way..

All and all, a good day out skinning. Great to not hit one rock and have a relatively okay exit. We exited via Powder Park 3. The last pitch through the trees was rough but manageable. One of the riders may or may not have had a runaway ski causing a boot pack down. Definitely thigh-deep.