Western Weather 2010-14

[Tony Crocker]

Whitewater's base is the same elevation as the top of the old side at Fernie. Red and Fernie are low and most vulnerable to rain events. Castle is higher, colder and preserves snow well in midwinter. It was good Feb. 6 a year ago despite a mostly dry January. So tweaking an itinerary to spend more time at Castle vs. Fernie or Whitewater vs. Red makes sense after residue of a rain event. Lake Louise/Sunshine are much colder and close to immune from rain, but of course they get less snow too. Revelstoke and Kicking Horse should be good at high elevation but may or may not be lower down.

 

[SkiSwami]

Thanks Tony. There's a chance we may decide to hoof it over to Castle for 2 days only because I've been dying to check it out. Possibly even Lake Louise because they seem to have very good conditions right now, or maybe Whitefish which also looks good and scored some good snow since the rain event.

KH,Revy, or Fernie, maybe if they're that good - but we've been there and wanted to see a few new places if decide to hit the road for a few days. Also looking at Big White or Silver Star if that direction looks better in a week or so.

 

[longshanks]

...if not there is always drinkin', drugin', and whorin' to keep me busy :-$

:lol:
Well, you see how screwed I would be then. My worst fears of all are of the frozen hobo $hit kind, and then to top it off, I haven't done drugs in 30 years (they test me 8-[ ), my wife has impenetrable whore-radar, and I'm too old to stay awake long enough to get myself close enought to drunk to enjoy the drinkin'. So, if I don't get something else that's good (conditions or weather) - I'm cryin' like a fat little cub-scout on a canoe trip.

I haven't been able to find out any reliable info on Whitewater conditions, but that's good to hear they apparently missed most of the slop. Red hasn't gotten much snow since it froze over, so I hope that changes before you get there. I wouldn't want to take a dust on crust death slide on my belly down the the trail that bears it's name. If you get a chance to ski WW, send me a p/m and let me know how it was. We're probably headed there on 2/2 and beyond at this point. We may venture off for 2 or 3 days well beyond WW if there is really good snow somewhere else.

That's one hell of a great friend you have there driving all the way to Calgary to pick you up. That should bring him some kind of reward for the week anyhow. Have a great trip!

Well, I was only serious about 2 out of 3 anyway and I have amnesia pills if things get too crazy...for good WW & Red area condition reports checkout http://www.backcountryskiingcanada.com/ Although the focus is on the back country, you will often see reports on the ski hills as well. Also checkout http://www.powderwatch.com/ I will post trip reports for Castle, Red, and WW. After Castle, I'll be in the Rossland area until Feb 6th maybe we'll bump into each other...gotta go pack, later Swami!

 

[SkiSwami]

That's it. For better or worse a decision has been made and we're still flying Tuesday to Spokane as scheduled, but our destination has been changed in an effort to locate the best snow within reasonable distance.

We're no longer headed to Whitewater, but now we're headed to WhiteFISH. For at least a couple days anyhow. After that, we'll see if we stay put or head up to Southern B.C. for a couple days on the end. Looks like snow headed for Castle and Whitefish for this weekend, so we're going to try and find the remnants in the trees starting on Wednesday.

Thanks for the input. Of course, we might change our minds one more time, but I hope not. :dead horse:

 

[longshanks]

...Looks like snow headed for Castle and Whitefish for this weekend, so we're going to try and find the remnants in the trees starting on Wednesday.

GOOD CALL brother!!!!!!
Castle got around 30cm Friday/Saturday...alas, it started dumping as we were pullin' outta' Dodge - mofo! Me and Wazy had no choice as he had a biz meeting setup in Rossland for Saturday. My only consolation was that our 2 Sask. buds were there for Friday night and had the option to ski on Saturday...I told them they owed it to me to stay and slay the goods on Saturday. I have not heard from them yet...Even though there may not be much more before you get there, with Castle's wind I'd bet you'll make out OK, we did, and there hadn't been any fresh for a while. There doesn't look to be much moisture for the next week, it has gotten colder which is good IMO. Ride On!

 

[longshanks]

...Looks like snow headed for Castle and Whitefish for this weekend, so we're going to try and find the remnants in the trees starting on Wednesday.

GOOD CALL brother!!!!!!
Castle got around 30cm Friday/Saturday...alas, it started dumping as we were pullin' outta' Dodge - mofo! Me and Wazy had no choice as he had a biz meeting setup in Rossland for Saturday. My only consolation was that our 2 Sask. buds were there for Friday night and had the option to ski on Saturday...I told them they owed it to me to stay and slay the goods on Saturday. I have not heard from them yet...Even though there may not be much more before you get there, with Castle's wind I'd bet you'll make out OK, we did, and there hadn't been any fresh for a while. There doesn't look to be much moisture for the next week, it has gotten colder which is good IMO. Ride On!

Good morning SkiSwami et al...checkout this Castle report:
[urlhttp://www.skicastle.ca/snowreport.cfm][/url]

Go get it Ya luckybastard

 

[rfarren]

Based on the reports I've read I would make the assumption that this past week and upcoming week is one of those very rare times when the EC has better conditions that Utah. Not sure about the rest of the west but the east right now is the best.

 

[SkiSwami]

Big blocking ridge of high pressure sound familiar? Sounds just like what Accuweather predicted in their 15 day forecast a week ago.
Well, I'm committed now. Leaving in 12 hours. I'll have to hope that something happens at the end of this week, but looks bleak. At least the rain crust should be covered now at a few places. We'll hunt a stash or two and enjoy the sun. Whitefish shouldn't be too bad a place to start out.

 

[EMSC]

Based on the reports I've read I would make the assumption that this past week and upcoming week is one of those very rare times when the EC has better conditions that Utah. Not sure about the rest of the west but the east right now is the best.

The west is a big place.

Utah to Cali have not had the best of conditions lately from what I've read, though even Cali seems to have gotten some snow in the last couple of days. Colo had huge snows during the lull elsewhere and was in prime condition - though a couple day warm-up last week might have done damage to south facing stuff... Now getting some new snow again today. We'll see how much though. Predictions were in the 5-10" range in Colo.

 

[Admin]

Utah to Cali have not had the best of conditions lately from what I've read

I dunno. Even though things skied pretty darned well this weekend we've picked up 10" thus far from the current system and the stronger impulse is expected to arrive overnight.

 

[longshanks]

Big blocking ridge of high pressure sound familiar? Sounds just like what Accuweather predicted in their 15 day forecast a week ago.
Well, I'm committed now. Leaving in 12 hours. I'll have to hope that something happens at the end of this week, but looks bleak. At least the rain crust should be covered now at a few places. We'll hunt a stash or two and enjoy the sun. Whitefish shouldn't be too bad a place to start out.

Swami dude, have you ever been to Castle? or was this to be your first rodeo there? With the 50cm they have received in the last 3 days I will guarantee that you will love it there. BTW I would bet my left one on it. AND, its been very cold which is also in your favour...unless you don't like cold and windy and if so, Castle is not the place to go...

 

[SkiSwami]

Leaving for the airport in 15 minutes. The only thing for sure is that we're going to Whitefish. Possibly Castle after that, but not sure yet. I've been wanting to get there for years, but closest I came was Fernie a few years ago. We're going to see where the best snow is after a few days in MT, then decide where to head. Only have a week, but we're hoping WH2O gets some fresh stuff for us too. I'm outta here!!

 

[Admin]

Based on the reports I've read I would make the assumption that this past week and upcoming week is one of those very rare times when the EC has better conditions that Utah. Not sure about the rest of the west but the east right now is the best.

Really? Even with 15" of new 3% cold smoke?

 

[rfarren]

Based on the reports I've read I would make the assumption that this past week and upcoming week is one of those very rare times when the EC has better conditions that Utah. Not sure about the rest of the west but the east right now is the best.

Really? Even with 15" of new 3% cold smoke?

Normally I would say you're absolutely right. But by tomorrow night most of the mountains in the East Coast are looking at 20-30 inches! What's more, it's been cold and we've gotten storm after storm after storm. The most important factor to this all has been the lack of rain since december. We've gotten many storms but none of the events have been in liquid form.

15 inches at Alta would certainly be great, and apparently you guys really needed that to cover up the rain crust. I had thought that the past storm cycle had covered up the ice layer, but I kept reading about how scratchy it was from visitors. My guess is this storm is enough to wipe that completely from memory, however, it would be best if the Wasatch got one more big storm in a few days to make certain that the wind and traffic won't scour the soft stuff back to the ice base.

It's been a weird winter as recently the storm track has been EC, if not NY centric. The Catskills have gotten hammered since the start of January while Utah has been dry. Granted, it's only been the month of January, but the weather pattern doesn't show signs of changing at least for the next ten days. NYC feels like buffalo with all the snow on the ground. It's been on the ground continuously since December 27th, and it doesn't look as though it's going away anytime soon.

 

[Marc_C]

But by tomorrow night most of the mountains in the East Coast are looking at 20-30 inches!

According to those who have become pretty good at predicting ski mountain weather, that's an optimistic amount. Bratten (powderfreak here) says in another discussion fora:

I'd expect a wide swath of 8-16" from the Canadian border all the way south
into northern CT and the southern Catskills. However, there does appear to
be a bullseye of 16"-20" (maybe even isolated 24" amounts) across the
northern Berkshires, southern Greens, and southern NH (particularly
Manadnock region). These areas will get a good shot of snow today (maybe up
to 7") and then at least another foot tomorrow. All ski areas in southern
VT will do very, very well. My guess for a jackpot is Woodford, VT (near Mt
Snow) with 24".

Further north, I'm forecasting 10-14" for Mansfield and 8-12" in the town of
Stowe. I think that range would work for much of this area... 8-12" in the
lower elevations and 10-14" for the higher elevations from I-89 northward to
the Canadian border.

South of I-89 into central VT (including Sugarbush, MRG, Killington) I'd
expect 12-18" of snow... with even the lower elevations getting a foot or
more in this area. There's a chance that Killington gets above 18" and into
the grouping with southern VT of up to 24".

The most important factor to this all has been the lack of rain since december. We've gotten many storms but none of the events have been in liquid form.

That would be after all the rain in November and early December that took most areas back to a 0" base.

I had thought that the past storm cycle had covered up the ice layer, but I kept reading about how scratchy it was from visitors. My guess is this storm is enough to wipe that completely from memory...

It is *very* dependent on where you go. The MLK ice layer varies from a thin crust to 3"; it's now completely covered by over a foot or two of new snows since then, or it's still totally exposed from wind scouring. New snow hasn't bonded well, so scratchy/icy or soft depends on aspect, elevation, and wind protection - and it can vary greatly in a single run. Given the resistance of the layer and the plunge in temps., I'd definitely stay off of the south and west aspects, esp. above about 9800'.

 

[rfarren]

But by tomorrow night most of the mountains in the East Coast are looking at 20-30 inches!

According to those who have become pretty good at predicting ski mountain weather, that's an optimistic amount.

In 30 hours we shall see what happens.

The most important factor to this all has been the lack of rain since december. We've gotten many storms but none of the events have been in liquid form.

That would be after all the rain in November and early December that took most areas back to a 0" base.

That was a long time ago. It has been consistently cold since. Normally, it's rain that degrades the conditions around here and that hasn't happened. My original statement wasn't that "I think that the east coast skied better in November or December." I said: "I think right now is one of the very few times in a ski season where the snow conditions are superior on the EC than in Utah." Many of the ski areas around the EC have gotten 60 or so inches since the last rain event. Plattekill during MLK weekend was much softer than the week before when I was in Utah, and the trees were just setting up. This storm should make everything in the trees very skiable. I will plead ignorance when it comes to N'VT as I've not followed their snow conditions and the storm track seems to have been further south this year. Nonetheless, this might be one of the great Januarys in the history of S'VT the Berkshires and the Catskills.

I had thought that the past storm cycle had covered up the ice layer, but I kept reading about how scratchy it was from visitors. My guess is this storm is enough to wipe that completely from memory...

It is *very* dependent on where you go. The MLK ice layer varies from a thin crust to 3"; it's now completely covered by over a foot or two of new snows since then, or it's still totally exposed from wind scouring. New snow hasn't bonded well, so scratchy/icy or soft depends on aspect, elevation, and wind protection - and it can vary greatly in a single run. Given the resistance of the layer and the plunge in temps., I'd definitely stay off of the south and west aspects, esp. above about 9800'.

[/quote]

Interesting... This statement only confirms what my hunch was. Utah probably needs another storm right after this present one to make sure that ice layer is completely covered up. It's a long season so I'm sure by the end of February the world turn upside right again, and Utah will indisputably have superior conditions.

 

[Marc_C]

It's c-c-c-c-cold in the Wasatch. How cold? This hit my in-box this afternoon:

Big Cottonwood Status: Open
Little Cottonwood Status: Open
Feb01: There will be no night skiing at Brighton tonight due to extremely cold temps. For more info call 801-532-4731 -CanyonAlerts.org

Currently it's -5F at 8500' winds gusting to 18mph and -13F @ 10.5K' gusting to 30mph.

 

[Admin]

It's c-c-c-c-cold in the Wasatch. How cold? This hit my in-box this afternoon:

Big Cottonwood Status: Open
Little Cottonwood Status: Open
Feb01: There will be no night skiing at Brighton tonight due to extremely cold temps. For more info call 801-532-4731 -CanyonAlerts.org

Currently it's -5F at 8500' winds gusting to 18mph and -13F @ 10.5K' gusting to 30mph.

As of 6 pm it's now -14ºF at the Alta mid-Collins snow plot at 9659 ft.

We're averaging only 8.3 mph gusting to 25.7 mph here at home at 5000 feet, but we had a gust to 39.4 mph at 3:57 pm. Ambient air temperature here is 9.3ºF as of 6 pm and dropping 2.0ºF per hour, but it's already the lowest temp I've recorded all winter. Current wind chill is -9.3 °F:

http://marcguido.com/wx

Mrs. Admin put the ix-nay on grocery shopping tonight. We're ordering in Chinese. :lol:

 

[socal]

I'm headed to Jackson Hole tomorrow look at the forecast for the town of Jackson:

Tonight...Mostly clear. Patchy freezing fog after midnight. Lows 27 below to 32 below zero.

Wednesday...Mostly sunny. Patchy freezing fog in the morning. Highs 7 to 12. Lowest wind chill readings 41 below to 51 below zero in the morning.

Wednesday Night...Not as cold. Partly cloudy. Patchy freezing fog after midnight. Lows 5 below to 10 below zero.

A friend is there already, said the skiing is miserable and unskiable off trail. Figures I pick their worst week of the season.

 

[Admin]

Figures I pick their worst week of the season.

At least you're arriving at the same time as the warming trend.