Weekly Snow Conditions Charts

bordering on psychosis.

Just kidding, that is supremely useful info, especially for folks like me who have to drive distances to get to good snow. It's a good backup to years of experience that you often forget, things like high probability windows for snowfall in any given year.

Good stuff.
 
The sliding of the best average quality snow from December-January into February from early in the decade to the later part of the decade matches my recollections well. If anything that chart underscores how hard it is to pin down a good time to book a vacation in New England if planning a head. Depending on the weather pattern, February can be a bust just as often as a jackpot.
 
Tony Crocker":1ra5vqil said:
Patrick can cite these charts as further evidence of serious addiction. :wink:

It's not because the period fall into the "D" zone that it's not worth skiing. As I mentioned to GPaul last year, main trails in the East generally have snowmaking and our the last to closed. Also note that some mountains will start shutting down some lifts due to lack of customer (Tremblant are pretty good at this) thus closing trails. Would you say that Mammoth's cover and skiing with 20-40% open was marginal and not worth it in June 2005? It was 20-40% because the lifts were running, not entirely because of lack of snow.

This being said...great job Tony. I didn't have time to read the entier thing now, but I will at some point.
 
20-40% of Mammoth in June means:
1) 2,100 vertical feet
2) 3 or 4 groomed and salted runs to the Main Lodge
3) steeper groomed on face of 3 and Gremlin's/St. Anton.
4) the bump zipper line in West Bowl
5) Cornice and Climax wide-open
6) Maybe Drop Out/Wipe Out and Hangman's skiable.

<50% in the East usually means:
1) A few White Ribbons of Death
2) No glades/off-piste/ungroomed terrain whatsoever
3) Minimal if any advanced runs

Riverc0il doesn't think these conditions are worth skiing, and that's good enough criteria for me. I also mentioned in the Vermont section that I would bend that 50% rule for good conditions (which usually means a different and more interesting mix of open terrain), such as giving that October 2005 weekend a B.

I do need to flesh out some of the definitions, though.

If areas close their lifts due to lack of business, that's still relevant in terms of a skier choosing where to live for example. Places like Taos and Telluride lose 7-9 points off their potential score every season by closing in early April.

In the East it has just been demonstrated that even with massive April dumps there is minimal natural snow left by the second week of May. Whether to give the former Superstar snowmaking stockpile a C instead of D is a closer call IMHO than the early season WROD's.
 
Tony Crocker":2yozuznk said:
<50% in the East usually means:
1) A few White Ribbons of Death
2) No glades/off-piste/ungroomed terrain whatsoever
3) Minimal if any advanced runs

Weren't talking about Bretton Woods here Tony. :wink:

I agree with the glades part, however you are totally wrong of most account regarding late Eastern skiing is generally mostly on advanced trails only.

Your points reflect more the early season, not late season.You'll find that most major Eastern ski areas ends it's season with expert terrain only which is left ungroomed.

Tony Crocker":2yozuznk said:
Riverc0il doesn't think these conditions are worth skiing, and that's good enough criteria for me.

River said that???? :shock:
 
There were cases I bent the 50% rule late, as for first weekend of May this year. But I gave the prior weekend in late April a D because it poured rain. I might relook at the Superstar stockpile reports, maybe giving C's where the skiing was continuous and weather was cooperative.

But we all know there will be no Superstar stockpile in the forseeable future.
 
Tony Crocker":14wa9m85 said:
There were cases I bent the 50% rule late, as for first weekend of May this year. But I gave the prior weekend in late April a D because it poured rain.

First weekend of May at Wildcat. Anything but a D.
Last weekend of April. I was sick and out.
Previous weekends 8, 15, 22...WOW

edit: I just rechecked your board. April 22 = or better than April 1.

Mind you, I've skied Vermont only Easter weekend... :wink:

Sa, 31 Mar 07 Tremblant
Di, 1 Avr 07 Waterville
Sa, 7 Avr 07 Mad River Glen
Di, 8 Avr 07 Mad River Glen
Lu, 9 Avr 07 Tremblant
Di, 15 Avr 07 Whiteface
Di, 22 Avr 07 Whiteface
Di, 6 Mai 07 Wildcat
 
Patrick":h9xcw08k said:
Tony Crocker":h9xcw08k said:
Riverc0il doesn't think these conditions are worth skiing, and that's good enough criteria for me.

River said that???? :shock:
I said that about a few days at Jay Peak this past December. But that was based on them having only 1-4 trails of over skied scraped snow. Less than 50% trails open with no natural snow or natural snow terrain is certainly worth while skiing pending it isn't completely scraped up and I can actually enjoy some groomed turns. Having come from a racing background, despite my powder hound mentality, I still can appreciate ripping some rail road tracks when the groomers are nice.
 
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