Women's world cup course on Friday is ready, waiting

Below is a quick shot of the women's World Cup on Aspen Mountain Friday afternoon as temperatures climbed to 48 degrees by 2:30 p.m. The forecast is for clear skies tonight. On race day, there is a 30 percent chance of rain and after 11 a.m. and it should be mostly cloudy with a high near 44. Not a bluebird, like today, but not a blizzard either. But...it is World Cup. There is now a 50 percent chance of snow on Saturday night, including one to three inches of snow, just for World Cup. There are 76 competitors listed for the women's giant slalom on Saturday at 10 a.m., including ten French women, nine Austrian women, eight Italian women and six American women. The skiing today on Aspen Mountain was certainly nice from the standpoint of the weather, which was hot and sunny. The thin reality of our current natural base was in evidence, however. It was a good opening day, but yes, we will need more snow to keep the quality heading in the right direction. The snowmaking and grooming crews have done a very good job of making much of the terrain quite skiable, but going slow, watching for obstacles, and praying for snow all seem like good ideas now.