Smoke from my Memorial Day BBQ

We discussed the possibility of a cold snowy Memorial Day back on Friday, but I still feel like I'm in a time warp or Twilight Zone episode.  I woke up this morning and there was snow on the ground at my house in the Avenues. 

Then, I went out and picked up the paper and they had delivered a Deseret News instead of a Salt Lake Tribune.  Weird...

In the Collins lot, there were so many cars I had to check to see that the lifts weren't running.  

Alta, 30 May 2011.  10" of new snow.  192" snow depth.

Skinning up Collins Gulch, the cover was about as good as you'll ever see it.

Nearing the ridge, fighting the wind, it certainly felt more like February than May.

Yours truly sucking wind.  Photo: Tyler Cruickshank

And then the turns.  A bit inconsistent and stiff in places, but pretty much as good as you can get on Memorial Day.  

Tyler Cruickshank samples the smoke at my Memorial
Day BBQ.  May 30?  Yeah, right.  

Yours truly.  I love it when a forecast comes together!
Photo: Tyler Cruickshank

Weather forecasts aren't perfect, but do you realize what an achievement that it is that we can anticipate an event like this more than three days in advance?  Numerical weather prediction is one of the great scientific advances of the past 100 years, and it's only going to get better.