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It was 9 degrees when I woke up yesterday in Hamilton, MT, coldest day of the season there so far. Likely colder in Whitefish which is more susceptible to intrusions from the east. Lost Trail was 100% open and skiing great this weekend with 4-6 inches of fresh in spots. South facing bumps and...

On my drive to Mammoth last weekend I noticed that the usual springs in Red Rock Canyon appeared to be flowing more than normal, along with obvious signs of flooding from the November rains. I was also surprised to see flowing water along the roadside just past the bridge in an area I had not...

It looks like this map only shows places that are part of multi-resort passes. For example Whitewater is also missing. I don't think Wolf Creek accepts any (at least that I could find, though you would know so correct me if I'm wrong!

Basically 1 lift (green) and run (blue) open, and the gondola for access:

It means that "fire season" is essentially over for 2025. For next fire season, though, one wet month - or even a very wet season - doesn't really make a difference in the lower elevations for the same reason as in Denver. By late spring or summer, everything will be dry again. The main seasonal...

This was the logo on a shirt I bought in 2011:

I am keeping my group on the base plan. The only feature I'll miss is the forecast range graphs, which have been nice for putting point forecasts in context. I'd much rather have that than a single-value forecast at 15 days. The global storm forecast was nice, but if I feel like looking at...

I did this exact trip in late Feb / early March 2022 with my GF (now wife), a friend, and my sister and brother-in-law. We flew into Calgary on a Saturday and rented a car, then were based at the Moose Hotel in Banff until departure the following Saturday. I like to lock-in lodging early but...

I am always amused at the people who show up here expecting a nice beach day in May and June, when the typical weather is 65 and cloudy with a 10-15 mph onshore breeze.

Weatherspark uses dew point to classify mugginess, with a threshold of 65F for a "muggy day". The chart below identifies a "muggy vs dry season" and is included for the legend: This aligns roughly with the threshold between "alright" and "uncomfortable" in Tony's second chart.

Agreed. There is a decent alluvial fan between the mouth of the chute and the lake, but still not the exposure you’d want in a big slide. We only considered it after the avi forecast was downgraded to “low” that morning after an extended period of no signs of instability for the main problems...

Here is a view down that couloir when a friend and I skied it in near-ideal conditions. I believe this was February 2024.

I suspect that the vast majority of Mammoth’s dust is locally sourced. The south face of the upper mountain is usually stripped to bare pumice even in big snow years. Combine that bare ground with the prevailing winds and it’s easy to see why upper mountain runs get so dirty. Dave’s is the...

I just returned from a trip to Red and Whitewater, where my group was asked on at least one lift if we "knew the rules" about riding with packs. We assumed this meant removing them on the lift, as that's the only rule I've ever heard and the signage made it abundantly clear this was required...

I strongly suspect that the winds were the reason you didn’t see any aircraft dropping retardant or helicopters on Tuesday, rather than lack of availability. No-fly conditions are characteristic of the worst Santa Ana events, and this one was at least as bad as any I remember. Clearly the...

Sounds like he may have ended up in the old cabin my college ski team used to rent. There's more than a few old A-frames still up there, but this one was a classic. I suspect that cool weather has been driven by the marine layer. I can't remember a fall or early winter with this much fog near...

It's too bad the housing calculation keeps this from being a useful ranking. $2k / night... More interesting to me is how expensive lessons have become. $150-$420 for the most basic half-day offering is pretty steep. Though, to be fair, I don't have a good sense of what these cost 10-15 years ago.

The only thing “new-fangled” about In-N-Out is their relatively recent expansion outside California, though even that is a decade or two in the making. The chain itself is about as old as McDonalds. I agree though that its not worth a 20 minute drive out of the way.

With all the terrain expansions announced today and tomorrow at Mammoth, we’ve decided to make a last minute trip to ski Thanksgiving day, stopping in Death Valley on the way back. Similar to last season if I’m remembering correctly. That left a legacy of unstable snow across the west...

This has certainly been my experience, and the main reason that my Mammoth trips last year were usually Sunday - Wednesday. In some ways it makes it easier to enjoy some relatively uncrowded slopes on just a Saturday-Sunday trip if you don't care exactly what time you get home. I suspect the...