I think I read nearly every page! Marc,you have a great web site that shows off LCC as the shrine of snow it really is. Thanks Count Tony,your 1995 manifesto in Powder arrived at my door just in time. Keep those numbers coming. Here in Whitefish a snowy November has the mt. in great shape with 20"--50" of solid base. Opening Dec. 7 2013 with 100% terrain ready to go.Forcasted temps-16 low -8 high with northerlys 10-20 MPH.Thank God this is the warm part of Montana!
Thanks FTO for helping me get through the off season.
- Thread starter lono
- Start date
I noted that Whitefish announced Hellroaring open on opening day for the first time in 17 years. That's the kind of real indicator of a strong start beyond the usual marketing smoke. I'm not surprised given that Fernie has a 61-inch base. LCC has some catching up to do.
Fixed that for you.admin":1nzbp2dn said:
Density is not really the issue here. Alta's snow this season http://www.alta.com/pages/snowfallhistory.php has averaged 8.7% water content, which is almost exactly its long term average. The problem is that 44% of Alta's 89.5 inches season to date snowfall came in October vs. maybe a quarter of Fernie's 115 inches.
Tony Crocker":11in59zb said:
No, you didn't. The fact of the matter is that light snow compacts more readily than dense snow. After this week's 15" or so of new snow we have only 5 inches more base than we did last weekend, and it sure as hell didn't melt!
Tony Crocker":11in59zb said:
Tony Crocker":11in59zb said:
Once again, there are lies, damned lies and statistics, but unfortunately for someone who hasn't even set foot in Utah this season, you seem to rely rather heavily on them. All that matters in this case is the density of the last several storms, all of which have been pixie dust. Oh, and we had a major wind event on Nov. 22 that transported seemingly half of the base to the Kennecott Copper mine across the Salt Lake Valley.
Fernie's low elevation contributes to heavy, wet snow. Yes, they were on the storm track in November but the simple fact of the matter is that their snow isn't going to compact as easily.
Alta provides a bounty of info about its snow, as I referenced before: http://www.alta.com/pages/snowfallhistory.php
The last DAY of snowfall, the 9 inches Dec. 3 was 4.89% "pixie dust." The previous few snowfall days before that actually had above average density. There just weren't as many of them as usual this November vs. past seasons.
As I may have noted elsewhere, I have never been able to get snow density stats out of "interior Northwest" areas like Red, Fernie, Schweitzer and Whitefish. From Craig Morris, Leslie Anthony and others, I know Fernie has a complex microclimate. Most of the snow comes on a track leading from Washington State and can definitely include rain if it's too warm. OTOH we've all seen pics of cold smoke billowing over people's heads from Fernie, so sometimes the moisture runs into some cold Canadian air, yielding high quality powder.
I personally think admin is right that Fernie's snow so far has been dense, given Craig Morris' comments about rain/snow mix at the base. But this is what you want in November to get coverage. The pixie dust is only usable once there's a base underneath it.
I have no worries whatsoever about the quality of LCC's upcoming season. But if you're going to take a destination trip in the next 2 weeks there are better choices. Whitewater, Targhee and Wolf Creek come to mind if Fernie's snow is below your quality standards.
The last DAY of snowfall, the 9 inches Dec. 3 was 4.89% "pixie dust." The previous few snowfall days before that actually had above average density. There just weren't as many of them as usual this November vs. past seasons.
As I may have noted elsewhere, I have never been able to get snow density stats out of "interior Northwest" areas like Red, Fernie, Schweitzer and Whitefish. From Craig Morris, Leslie Anthony and others, I know Fernie has a complex microclimate. Most of the snow comes on a track leading from Washington State and can definitely include rain if it's too warm. OTOH we've all seen pics of cold smoke billowing over people's heads from Fernie, so sometimes the moisture runs into some cold Canadian air, yielding high quality powder.
I personally think admin is right that Fernie's snow so far has been dense, given Craig Morris' comments about rain/snow mix at the base. But this is what you want in November to get coverage. The pixie dust is only usable once there's a base underneath it.
I have no worries whatsoever about the quality of LCC's upcoming season. But if you're going to take a destination trip in the next 2 weeks there are better choices. Whitewater, Targhee and Wolf Creek come to mind if Fernie's snow is below your quality standards.
Yes. Ironically both Tahoe and Mammoth weather forecasters are calling for tonight's storm to be about 5% water content. :twisted: You'll be getting the same in Utah Saturday.
Tony Crocker":13gl213c said:
Which is exactly what I'd expect at these inhuman temperatures, but at least they're calling for 10-20" of it, so it won't suck. Each model run is looking better and better. They're even predicting another 5-10" of it at my house, which still has 8" of settled snow on the ground.
Man, talk about thread drift!
