Final Day Ski Season at PCMR - 28 March 2026

Today, over a week ahead of schedule, was the last day PCMR upper mountain was open in the snow deprived 2025/26 ski season. Two lower lifts will be open tomorrow for season closing celebrations, like the pond skim. YTD, I had only skied five times at PCMR on my Epic Pass. I owed it to myself, notwithstanding projected mushy snow ski conditions, to ski the final day at PCMR. Also, I hoped to link up with TWO3's crowd, including Title, and Guzzi, at mid-morning break.

Image shows skiers hiking up from Summit House to the top of Thaynes Lift. The Keystone ski run is open from the top of Thaynes. The Thaynes lift base is usually accessed from Summit House by runs served by The Motherlode Lift. But Motherlode and runs it services were closed.

I opted to not make the quarter mile hike up to Thaynes lift summit post break. I had skied seven runs by the break and, considering the very soft and wet snow conditions, was worn out. Under soft/wet snow conditions, I slow down and guestimate taking three or four turns in the space where I would take one turn under excellent groomed snow conditions. Also, each turn required more effort to ensure the downhill ski pushed through the ridges of mushy snow. Not complaining. Just citing how different snow conditions can alter the ski experience. I'm very happy with the considerable workout I had skiing today.

Apart from the lower lifts, Three Kings and First Time, only Crescent, Payday, Bonanza, Thaynes, and Silverlode lifts were operating on the upper mountain. Skiing was limited to the following runs: Home Run, Claim Jumper, Treasure Hollow, and, with a quarter mile hike Keystone and Jupiter Access.

I took a mid AM break in the Summit House. TWO3's crowd wasn't there, but Guzzi's wife, Baby Formula, joined me five or so minutes after I had arrived. Baby Formula. Baby Formula told of caring for her 92-year-old dad who just stopped skiing last year. I mentioned that acclaimed Utah skier Junior Bounous was still skiing at over one hundred years of age. Baby Formula noted that she thought Junior Bounous had suffered a ski injury this year. Anyway, point being, my skiing at eighty years of age doesn't sound like such a big deal in the context of skiers like Junior Bounous and Baby Formula's Dad. Skiing at 90. Something to which to aspire.

After the break I skied from The Summit House to the Sprinter, parked just beside the base of the First Time Lift. Due to the snow conditions, I took my time, stopping four or five times on the way down. As was skiing pre break, post break was quite the workout considering the more frequent and deliberate turning required by the mushy snow conditions. Sometimes, skiing down skiers right where earlier shade had slowed the snow melt, I was able to find less mushy, cut-up snow conditions.
I can't say that today will be my last day of skiing this season. Alta, Snowbird, and Solitude stay open well into April. In past years I have been known to ski those resorts two- or three-times post Deer Valley and PCMR closing dates.
PS. Last night we had my fifty plus year friend Espresso, his daughter, Chronicle, and Chronicle's eleven-year-old son, Pythagoras over for dinner. Pythagoras, in addition to being an excellent skier, is a math whiz, requiring tutoring well above his current grade level. We had the NCAA March Madness games on silent on the great room TV, Pythagoras is a bracketologist. He was ever the gentleman in making polite, intelligent conversation with adults, but bracketologist that he is, he carefully eyed to game performance on the great room screen from time to time. Apparently, Pythagoras is in the doghouse for some infraction never mentioned. He pointed out that to get out of the doghouse, his parents required that he read Tolstoy's "War and Peace." He didn't seem to be bothered by it. Pythagoras is one smart well parented and well grand parented kid.