On Jun 18, 7:42*am, "Kevin" wrote:
A few months ago I was at Squaw Valley. *Most of the resort was closed
because of 50mph winds.

I was coming down a black trail (Saddle?). *I was on the steepest part
(okay, it might not have been all that steep, but it was the steepest trail
I had ever skied...) when the wind kicked up and all went white. *I couldn't
see my hands, let alone the ground.
I turned right about 120*, figuring there wasn't much there and I should
stop.
Well, the ground fell out and I shot down, and then came to a stop when it
went back up.
Fun ride, but I wonder if I should have just fallen down when it got white,
rather then risking hitting things I couldn't see.

What was right?

I've been it that situation at Alta. It was before I knew the mountain
like the back of my hand (or like trunky knows the front of his! :-
o ). It wasn't windy as I remember but was just snowing so hard that
there was no difference between dimensions. I had one at Vail too. But
it was wind driven and progress could be made between gusts. It helped
that I had a million vertical there by that time in the season too.

We were on a traverse and just felt our way along. But there were
times when I thought I was turning downhill when I went up!

I don't know that "falling down" would have been to bright. You could
have been there for a LONG time.

I think that the only thing you can do in a situation like that is to
be aware of you surroundings by taking a look around if you are in
unfamiliar territory, wait out the gusts, and make your way down as
best as possible.