dec 30

24hr snow = 11cm
base depth = 175cm
cumulative = 421cm
freezing level = valley
days riding = 20

five day forecast
day1 1-3 day2 0 day3 20-30 day4 20-30 day5 20-30

might be nice today with 10cm of very light dry powder. i imagine there's not enough to really fill in the rough spots in the alpine, but anything flat would be good.
looks like some major storms moving in on tuesday. hopefully the freezing level doesn't go above the forecasted 1250m.

dec 28

24hr snow = 6cm
base depth = 175cm
cumulative = 408cm
freezing level = valley
days riding = 20

five day forecast
day1 0 day2 2-5 day3 1-3 day4 0 day5 20-30

snow falling in the valley, looks crowded on the mountain.

dec 27

24hr snow = 1cm
base depth = 175cm
cumulative = 401cm
freezing level = valley
days riding = 20

five day forecast
day1 7-15 day2 0 day3 3-5 day4 4-8 day5 0

first day riding on blackomb this year. lakeside bowl was a mess and the traverse was brutal. icy spots on a lot of the groomers. glacier bowl was empty but wind affected. good reminder why i always ride on whistler.
looks like the weekend crowds are moving in...

dec 26, 2007

24hr snow = 6cm
base depth = 177cm
cumulative = 400cm
freezing level = valley
days riding = 18

five day forecast
day1 0 day2 5-10 day3 0-5 day4 5-10 day5 0

too much christmas mirth the last couple of days. i'm sure the conditions are great, but i'm takin' 'er down a notch.

dec 24, 2007

24hr snow = 24cm
base depth = 180cm
cumulative = 394cm
freezing level = valley
days riding = 17

five day forecast
day1 0-2 day2 5-10 day3 0-5 day4 5-10 day5 0-5

another 20+cm day and another day of great powder conditions. riding with jayno, burnsy and farles. took farles out to flute for his first time, i think i recall the words "best run of my life". top to bottom perfect conditions. great way to cap off a great year.

dec 23, 2007

24hr snow = 7cm
base depth = 172cm
cumulative = 370cm
freezing level = valley
days riding = 16

five day forecast
day1 10-15 day2 0 day3 10 day4 0-2 day5 5-10

beautiful snow in the valley yesterday. couldn't stand the thought of the weekend holiday lines so i took the dogs for a hike in the woods instead. the report claimed only 13cm but it seemed more like a foot down here.
looks like another big system moving through today; i'll be surprised if they can keep the alpine running. they didn't run 'em yesterday so there will be a lot of untouched snow up there. may have to battle crowds today to check it out.

dec 21, 2007

24hr snow = 0cm
base depth = 166cm
cumulative = 350cm
freezing level = valley
days riding = 16

five day forecast
day1 3-5 day2 10-15 day3 10-15 day4 5 day5 10-20

had to earn 'em today, but found excellent powder in the alpine. best run of my season to date on lesser. managed to get cliffed out on the entry to left hook and had to do some last second maneuvering to avoid living in a tree.
a bit of snow is starting to fall and it looks like another good snow week coming up.

dec 20, 2007

24hr snow = 21cm
base depth = 177cm
cumulative = 350cm
freezing level = valley
days riding = 15

five day forecast
day1 0 day2 0-2 day3 10-20 day4 5-10 day5 5-10

a little less snow than what appeared to be coming down yesterday, but no complaints about 20cm, and 30cm since the alpine chairs last ran. but the christmas crowds are here. must have had a 45 minute wait to get up harmony for one nice run. tried our luck over at west cirque again on run 2, but it had been very wind affected. rode peak to creek and decided i'd had enough of lines.

dec 19, 2007 - a big dump

24hr snow = 7cm
base depth = 158cm
cumulative = 330cm
freezing level = valley
days riding = 14

five day forecast
day1 20-35 day2 0 day3 0-2 day4 25-35 day5 5-10

it is PUKING out there. i will be heading up to sample conditions for myself shortly. looks like the type of day where your last set of tracks are already covered over by the time you take the lift back up.....

Turns out the best snow is actually falling in the valley. It is spewing down right now, but up top it is more blustery and the snow isn't as thick. No alpine running today, and not enough snow to be filling in tracks. Turns out my wussy legs are still sore from Tuesday. Hope they're ready for tomorrow.
Looks like a good night for drinking beer and watching hockey - oh wait, that's every night.

dec 18, 2007

24hr snow = 4cm
base depth = 158cm
cumulative = 323cm
freezing level = valley
days riding = 13

five day forecast
day1 6-10 day2 10-20 day3 0 day4 0 day5 5-10

rest day - or i guess you might call it work. thursday's still looking good, and it's actually snowing pretty heavily right now.
the view from my workstation - now how is one supposed to concentrate?

dec 17, 2007

24hr snow = 30cm
base depth = 162cm
cumulative = 319cm
freezing level = valley
days riding = 13

five day forecast
day1 3-5 day2 2-5 day3 20-30 day4 1-2 day5 0-1

ok - another very good reason to live in a ski town is the 30cm monday. although it was surprisingly busy for a weekday before christmas. an english dude told me he booked his trip early this year because of last year's conditions. it's gonna be a busy winter.
went up today with my retired friend joel. he retired this year at age 27, but since he's trying to stretch $3000 over the next 40-50 years, he doesn't get up the mountain much anymore. follow his plight:
http://runjoelrun.com/
we rode like tourists today, up the mountain at 8:30, dragged our asses off at 3. but you save it up for days like today. found some really great snow in west cirque, and i managed to be first down sunrise, which is only good when it's reaaally fat, and it was today.
got shut down trying to hike out to flute. the joker cat driver laid down some sucker tracks, then turned around halfway out. would have been impossible hiking, so we ended up heading over to million dollar instead. the best snow today was in the trees.
everything is filling in pretty good. still some weird wind blown hazards out there, and a cookie minefield in lower whistler bowl, but another 30cm should cover most of that up for good. thursday's the next big day...










pique chair empty










and not so empty...










looking off the edge of west cirque













joel rippin it










untouched flute

dec 16, 2007

24hr snow = 13cm
base depth = 144cm
cumulative = 289cm
freezing level = valley
days riding = 11

five day forecast
day1 15-30 day2 5-10 day3 15-20 day4 20-30 day5 0

pretty nutty up there today. crazy wind and snow on the ride up red chair, lots of wind drifts and scoured areas. lower mountain was rammed since nobody wanted to venture up top and the alpine was closed. snowing heavily in the valley now, and it looks like we are going to get pounded all week. bring it on.
haven't posted any good snow pics in a while, but here are some cute WAG puppies instead.

5pm update: it is PUKING out there. roads are a mess, the highway is at a total standstill going south. the smart kids are going to bed early tonight.

dec 15, 2007

24hr snow = 21cm
base depth = 142cm
cumulative = 282cm
freezing level = valley
days riding = 11

five day forecast
day1 8-15 day2 15-25 day3 5-10 day4 10-20 day5 20-30

looking a lot like winter now! big week coming up, and a big dump last night. couple of season firsts today, first ride up peak, through west bowl, and down peak to creek. nice snow, but maybe cause we've been starved for it. still a few too many death cookies for my liking in the bowl, but overall a good day of riding. snow on the lower 1/3 was pretty heavy.
legs should be good an mushy by mid-week.

dec 13, 2007

24hr snow = 0cm
base depth = 118cm
cumulative = 247cm
freezing level = valley
days riding = 10

five day forecast
day1 4-7 day2 10 day3 5-10 day4 15-20 day5 5-10

all snow in the forecast now, and we need it. the runs are starting to soften up, but anything off-piste is still unadvisable. another 1 run nothing day today, but shouldn't be long now. fat flakes have been falling in the valley since this morning.

dec 12, 2007

24hr snow = 10cm
base depth = 120cm
cumulative = 247cm
freezing level = valley
days riding = 9

five day forecast
day1 3 day2 2 day3 5-10 day4 10-15 day5 15-20

decided to check out the more than expected 10cm of super dry and figured the lower mountain might be a good mixture of groomed man-made snow, with the fresh dusting. boy was i wrong. lower franz was about 25% groomed, with a frozen surface. good workout. towards the bottom it got better, but i'd had enough. save the legs for later in the week...

dec 11, 2007

24hr snow = 0cm
base depth = 113cm
cumulative = 237cm
freezing level = valley
days riding = 8

five day forecast
day1 3-5 day2 0 day3 2-4 day4 5-10 day5 20-30

that carrot is getting bigger but not any closer. at least the forecast in diagramatic form is looking good.

dec 10, 2007

24hr snow = 0cm
base depth = 113cm
cumulative = 237cm
freezing level = valley
days riding = 8

five day forecast
day1 0-2 day2 0-2 day3 0 day4 2-4 day5 10-20

not much new to report...got an on-mountain account from burnsy yesterday that the lower dave murray was perhaps the most treacherous conditions he has ever ridden. long stretches of bulletproof ice interspersed with mounds of blown in fake snow. even flute was heavily tracked and wind affected. just gotta wait this stretch out.
one nice thing is that they have groomed the kids learning area at creekside so now indy has a great place to run around.
still looking at that 5 day carrot...

dec 7, 2007

24hr snow = 0cm
base depth = 119cm
cumulative = 237cm
freezing level = valley
days riding = 8

five day forecast
day1 0 day2 0 day3 0 day4 1-3 day5 10-15

another bluebird day. was on my way out to flute and ended up chatting with a kiwi up here for a few days. decided to show him around flute. there was about a 6" super light dusting over a slick hard pack. i rode a windblown area and didn't scrape base, but the last few turns were dodging large death cookies.
looks like the forecasters are dangling a little carrot out there for us.

dec 6, 2007

24hr snow = 0cm
base depth = 119cm
cumulative = 237cm
freezing level = valley
days riding = 7

five day forecast
day1 0 day2 0 day3 0 day4 0 day5 0

not much to report last few days. anything below 1800m and ungroomed is heinous. there is a nasty 3/4" crust over low density snow that isn't thick enough to carry a person's weight.
my on the mountain reporter from today told me that there is still some decent fresh snow in the high alpine so perhaps a hike out to flute is in order. other than that, it's not looking good for the foreseeable future unless you are a fan of rock hard pack racing.

dec 4, 2007

24hr snow = 7cm
base depth = 144cm
cumulative = 231cm
freezing level = 1800m and falling
days riding = 7

five day forecast
day1 10-15 day2 2 day3 0 day4 0 day5 0

yikes...hard to find a good spin on this one, although i'm sure the WB website will. yesterday they listed surface conditions as "powder" and claimed 67% terrain open, although only two lifts were running on whistler.
it's still pouring in the valley (at least it's not freezing rain anymore). looks like the freezing level is below roundhouse now so at least the alpine will get a bit of snow before this system moves out. based on what i can see from my porch i can only imagine how bad the lower mountain must be. with the cold dry weather pushing in we'll be looking at some sweet hard pack conditions for the rest of the week.
off to grab my ice axe to try and get my car moving...

dec 3, 2007

24hr snow = 44cm
base depth = 145cm
cumulative = 224cm
freezing level = 2000m
days riding = 7

five day forecast
day1 10-20 day2 5 day3 0 day4 0 day5 0

crap! well, it was predicted, but you can always hold out hope...last night i went for a long hike in the woods in 12" of beautiful powder. super light and dry, perfect riding snow. today i woke up to a layer of freezing crust over everything, rain at mid-mountain, and none of the lifts running. major flooding in vancouver. by the time this is all over, all that powder will be long gone, and at this point it looks like we'll have a 6000 vertical foot skating rink.

finna's favourite game

dec 2, 2007

24hr snow = 17cm
base depth = 110cm
cumulative = 180cm
freezing level = valley
days riding = 7

five day forecast
day1 15-25 day2 10-20 day3 10-15 day4 0 day5 0

one more nice day of riding before everything turns to shit. hit up the usual haunts below the alpine and the trees are filling in nicely. wind and visibility was brutal off harmony, but the snow felt nice in whistler bowl.

full on blizzard outside right now, but that's all forecast to change by tomorrow morning...boooo

dec 1, 2007

24hr snow = 1cm
base depth = 99cm
cumulative = 163cm
freezing level = valley
days riding = 6

five day forecast
day1 5-11 day2 2-5 day3 25-35 day4 rain day5 5

dang - those warm wet clouds are still headed our way! supposed to get real crazy over the next few days - maybe as much as 30cm and -10c by sunday afternoon, followed by rapidly rising temperatures overnight and 100km/hr winds at mid-mountain on monday. that rain is going to reek havoc on the base at lower altitudes...stay tuned...

nov 30, 2007

24hr snow = 0cm
base depth = 100cm
cumulative = 162cm
freezing level = valley
days riding = 5

five day forecast
day1 0 day2 1-3 day3 10-20 day4 25-35 day5 rain

first hike out to flute today. still some nice snow on the shoulder but thin coverage up top with just a light dusting concealing nasty rocks.
that ugly system is still headed our way so it looks like an end to the nice cold winter weather. still -16 at the roundhouse today.

nov 29, 2007

24hr snow = 4cm
base depth = 102cm
cumulative = 162cm
freezing level = valley
days riding = 5

five day forecast
day1 0 day2 0 day3 1-3 day4 10-20 day5 25-35

looks like a couple more days of nice winter weather before something ugly hits us. right now we're looking at possibly a 15C change in temp from sunday to monday. freezing levels forecast to hit 2500m by next week. hope the pineapple express is only making a short stop.

nov 27, 2007 - the reason we're here

no. 1 fucking reason you move to a ski town: 20cm bluebird tuesdays
first "real" powder day of the season.

24hr snow = 22
base depth = 104cm
cumulative = 158
freezing level = valley
days riding = 5

five day forecast
day1 0-1 day2 5-10 day3 0 day4 0 day5 0

20 legit light dry cms fell in 24hr. three powder laps with jayne and burnsy. hiked shale slope instead of line at harmony. feeling refreshed after remembering what it's all about.

clouds over the valley









view from top of shale









lines down shale

nov 26, 2007

24hr snow = 0
base depth = 86cm
cumulative = 136
freezing level = valley
days riding = 4

five day forecast
day1 5-10 day2 0-2 day3 5-10 day4 0 day5 0

nice dump coming down right now. lookin good for tomorrow.

as of 7:30pm, there is 20cm of fresh dry powder on the deck, and still snowing very lightly.

nov 24, 2007

24hr snow = 0
base depth = 89cm
cumulative = 136
freezing level = valley
days riding = 4

five day forecast
day1 0-1 day2 0 day3 2-4 day4 0 day5 0

first day harmony chair open. still good snow above 1500m, but tracked out on harmony side. nice untracked run over the ridge into whistler bowl. not much in the forecast at this point...

nov 21, 2007

24hr snow = 0
base depth = 95cm
cumulative = 136
freezing level = valley

five day forecast
day1 0 day2 0 day3 0 day4 1-3 day5 5-10

haven't been up since opening day, but been on a few hikes. went up to my favourite spot today. waiting for the snow...maybe this weekend...

nov 18, 2007

24hr snow = 14cm
base depth = 100cm
freezing level = valley

did some beacon searching in soft snow at kadenwood. looks like a dry cold week coming up.

sproat in alpenglow.

nov 17, 2007

24hr snow = 2cm
base depth = approx 98cm
freezing level = close to valley

walked indy to creekside this morning. lineup at 8:30 was over the bridge; still seemed pretty quiet for opening day.
eventually jayne and i made it up around 12:30 for a couple of runs under red chair. good quality dry snow above halfway up, below that has seen a thaw / freeze cycle. not crazy busy, but not worth competing with crowds.
it's snowing fat flakes in the valley as i type.

nov 15, 2007

24hr snow = approx 5cm in the valley, more on the mountain?
base depth = approx 100cm
freezing level = valley

light snow last night provided first full coverage on the valley floor. watched cars trying to make it up the hill.
today it's gross rain down here, but snowing above 1500m. as long as it doesn't rain on saturday, it's looking good for opening day.

nov 14, 2007

24hr snow = 0
base depth = approx 100cm
freezing level = valley

hiked halfway up peak to creek to check out the pre-season snow. there was a consistent crust about 6" into the snowpack, it was thick enough to walk on at lower elevations, but when i turned around i was punching through quite frequently. probably a 2' base depth at my estimate of 1500m. able to ride almost all the way to kadenwood, although it was awful snow.
whistler announced they will be opening on saturday. anything groomed should be good and filled in.