nov 18, 2009 - qualifying epic

24hr snow = 19
base depth = 189
cumulative = 367
freezing level = valley
days riding = 2

five day forecast

day1 se 40-55 day2 se 35-45 day3 30-40 day4 5-10 day5 5-10

ok, i tend to feel that the "E" word is overused, especially in describing snow riding. but i will cautiously describe my first day of lift riding this year as epic. given that the alpine terrain is closed, blackomb is closed, you would never have been able to convince me that i would be shredding powder run after run on nov. 18. and yet that is what is happening up here right now.
since my last post we actually received back to back days of 71cm! we have a deeper base now than in february last season. and yes, it was true powder up there today, and tons of it.
you don't have to go far to find snow. laps of franz', laps of seppo's, hell - even the main runs weren't tracked out by 11am.
now take a look at that 5 day forecast. epic.


snow coverage: B-
snow quality: A-
run selection: A+
crowds: A
visibility: A
overall: A

Nov 16, 2009 - believe the hype

Holy shit!!!! Had to post today just to report on the 71cm(!!!!!) that fell in the last 24hr. I wasn't planning to burn any edge card days this early in the season, but how can I miss out on this. But the thing is that it's not going to stop, it's never going to stop! They're forecasting another 50-70cm for today, and close to another metre for the rest of the week!
The base depth this morning was recorded at 156cm - we didn't hit that level until the end of February last year. Truly insane start to the season.

Nov 11, 2009

Happy winter! WB just announced that they will be opening early, this weekend. Nov 14 will be opening day for Whistler, the earliest season opening since I've been living out here ('04).
But alas, I no longer reside in Whistler. I moved to Squamish last May, and I didn't get a season pass this year. Instead, I got a splitboard and plan to do mainly backcountry in the sea to sky area. I may post occasionally, but since I can no longer look out my window to assess snow conditions, I don't expect there will be many entries.
Enjoy the early season snow!

mar 25, 2009 - pleasant surprise

24hr snow = 1
base depth = 240
cumulative = 772
freezing level = valley
days riding = 18

five day forecast

day1 ne 0 day2 sw 2 day3 0-2 day4 10-15 day5 0

what an awesome surprise powder day. the mountain only reported 1cm but there was a good 10+ in the alpine along with wind loaded and flattened areas. the sun came out and made for great laps on peak with zero crowds. whistler bowl was about as good as it ever gets.

snow coverage: B+
snow quality: B+
run selection: B+
crowds: A
visibility: A
overall: B+

mar 22, 2009

24hr snow = 0
base depth = 250
cumulative = 769
freezing level = valley
days riding = 18

five day forecast

day1 sw 0-2 day2 sw 0-2 day3 2-4 day4 0 day5 0

yep - we got pounded this past week. 126cm in 7 days and things are finally filling in up top. i avoided the crowds yesterday and heard that it was mayhem up there. i believe it cause when i went up today in search of left-overs there was nothing to be found. hard to believe 8000 acres of 50cms can be completely shredded in 24hrs.
my main goal was to do a few laps of flute, but if was closed today, i can only presume for avalanche danger. and even that was looking pretty tracked out.
i'm hoping we get some re-freshies this week cause the mountain's good and deep now.

snow coverage: B+
snow quality: C+
run selection: C
crowds: B
visibility: A
overall: B-

mar 17, 2009

24hr snow = 18
base depth = 230
cumulative = 688
freezing level = valley
days riding = 16

five day forecast

day1 sw 10 day2 s 10-15 day3 10-20 day4 5-10 day5 5

winter has finally arrived. we are in to day 5 of continuous snowfall with no end in sight. rip it.

mar 15, 2009

24hr snow = 16
base depth = 200
cumulative = 643
freezing level = valley
days riding = 16

five day forecast

day1 se-sw 10-16 day2 s 5-10 day3 5-10 day4 10-15 day5 15-20

back to back days of 16 cm puts today right up there amongst the best of the year. got a couple of excellent lines on flute and million dollar and the snow is excellent everywhere right now.
being a sunday, it looked pretty busy but it was easy enough to lose the crowds. i'm guessing that the coming week will be the best of the season.
oh ya - we finally hit 200cm in base depth. usually we'd be talking about 300cm at this time of year, but i'm not complaining now.

snow coverage: B
snow quality: A-
run selection: A
crowds: B-
visibility: C-
overall: B+

mar 14, 2009

24hr snow = 16
base depth = 189
cumulative = 627
freezing level = valley
days riding = 15

five day forecast

day1 s 10-20 day2 5-10 day3 5-10 day4 10-15 day5 5-10

alright! the first wave hit us and there is plenty more to come. the freezing levels are forecast to stay low and we've got plenty of white in the valley this morning.
one thing i've learned here over the years is that sooner or later the snow always comes. we had to wait until april in '05 but it came. looks like we'll finally hit the 200cm base this week.

mar 11, 2009

24hr snow = 0
base depth = 183
cumulative = 611
freezing level = valley
days riding = 15

five day forecast

day1 0 day2 0 day3 5 day4 5-10 day5 10-15

looks like we are square in the sights of a major storm coming this weekend. i have a good feeling about this one. more to follow...

march 9, 2009

24hr snow = 2
base depth = 184
cumulative = 611
freezing level = valley
days riding = 15

five day forecast

day1 ne 0-2 day2 ne 0 day3 0 day4 0 day5 0

dudes....nothin doin. more sun and cold. i'm beginning to realize that i won't be getting my money's worth on the season's pass this year. 'nuff said.

mar 4, 2009

24hr snow = 0
base depth = 185
cumulative = 598
freezing level = rising to 1200m
days riding = 15

five day forecast

day1 n 5-7 day2 n 0 day3 0 day4 5 day5 0

so that last system that blew through didn't really do what it was supposed to. the freezing levels stayed around 1700m while most of the precip came down as rain. we only got 10cm on the day they were forecasting up to 40, and once the freezing levels dropped we only got another 8cm. the high alpine is probably decent but as you come down the mountain it becomes more and more icy.

we're back to this year's trend which is sunny and no snow.

last year WB printed an ad in european magazines saying that whistler was global warming proof. guess that shit comes back to bite you on the ass, eh?

mar 1, 2009

24hr snow = 19
base depth = 188
cumulative = 580
freezing level = valley rising to 1700m
days riding = 15

five day forecast

day1 s-se 25-40 day2 s 10-15 day3 2-5 day4 10-15 day5 3-5

hey it's snowing! we got another 19cm to the valley last night and it looks great. too bad the freezing levels have already started to climb (+1 mid-mountain this morning). we are due for another massive system to pass through today, but it'll be rain to the treeline. still, this is the kind of thing we need and usually get in early december to fill everything in and create a solid base. so far march is looking pretty snowy.

feb 26, 2009 - the day we've been waiting for

24hr snow = 22
base depth = 188
cumulative = 557
freezing level = valley
days riding = 15

five day forecast

day1 0 day2 0 day3 5-8 day4 15-25 day5 5-10

dudes - it doesn't get much better than today. 75cm in the past 3 days, and clear blue skies today. the temp this morning was -18C, and that only served to preserve the perfect snow. by 10am the sun had warmed up the air and conditions were perfect.
it was one of the busier days i've seen this year, especially in the alpine, but it makes sense that everyone has been jonesing for a day like today. still, plenty of fresh snow to be found, almost anywhere, and i finally hit some of my favourite spots that weren't worth it up till now. no question it was the best day of the season so far.
friday looks like more of the same, minus the untracked snow. but it's still great soft stuff. then something else blows in this weekend. setting up for a big march?


snow coverage: B
snow quality: A
run selection: A+
crowds: C
visibility: A
overall: A

feb 24, 2009

24hr snow = 14
base depth = 166
cumulative = 519
freezing level = 1000m
days riding = 14

five day forecast

day1 sw 15-23 day2 e 10-20 day3 0-2 day4 0 day5 0

terrible visibility conspired to ruin some pretty decent alpine conditions. and the visibility truly was bad - the kind of day where you let gravity have its way with you and just hope there are no obstacles. but aside from that, there was quite a lot of deep untracked snow, not exactly champagne powder, but it sure felt better than ice. surprisingly there were zero people on the mountain. i rode right onto the chair every run. not typical for whistler after 44cm in 48hrs.

i expect the upper mountain conditions will probably remain good for the next few days, but the lower mountain is a mess. heavy slush has been falling for the past two days and underneath that is a hard layer of ice. stay high (as i like to say).

things are taking a turn for the better the next few days. freezing levels look to be staying low, and there is a significant system moving through over the next 48 hrs. have we perhaps started a new chapter on this season?

snow coverage: C
snow quality: B-
run selection: C+
crowds: A
visibility: D
overall: B-

feb 23, 2009

24hr snow = 30
base depth = 160
cumulative = 505
freezing level = valley
days riding = 13

five day forecast

day1 se 6-10 day2 sw 4-8 day3 10-15 day4 0-2 day5 0-2

wow. the report this morning is 30cm in 24hr. unfortunately i won't be able to make it up today to check it out first hand. i would also have to temper my normal enthusiasm for this kind of a dump since freezing levels appear to be very high. we only received about 5cm of slush in the valley, but if you can stay high enough it'll probably be one of the few good snow days so far this season.

feb 22, 2009

24hr snow = 0
base depth = 130
cumulative = 475
freezing level = valley
days riding = 13

five day forecast

day1 sw 6-10 day2 se 2 day3 5-8 day4 10-15 day5 2

my buddy was up on blackomb yesterday and his synopsis is that it was the worst mid-season conditions he's ever ridden out here. groomers were ice pack everywhere. i've been up twice this month which should say it all.
we do finally have some snow in the forecast so hopefully that will amount to something decent. but anything less than 20cm will just be dust on crust. it is looking pretty bleak.
to put this season in perspective, our cumulative snowfall for the season is 475cm. we received 469cm in the month of january '06. OK, that's too much fucking perspective.
on a positive note, we've already had 31 warm sunny days in 2009!

feb 17, 2009

24hr snow = 0
base depth = 133
cumulative = 475
freezing level = valley
days riding = 13

five day forecast

day1 sw 0 day2 sw 0 day3 0 day4 0 day5 0

dudes - we got nothin...hasn't snowed in a week, and it isn't going to anytime soon. at least i've had a full-time distraction this winter in building my house. then maybe when it's done it'll start snowing in april...

feb 13, 2009

24hr snow = 1
base depth = 137
cumulative = 475
freezing level = valley
days riding = 13

five day forecast

day1 ne 0 day2 ne 0 day3 0 day4 0 day5 0

i decided to give up on new snow and just explore a bit today. it was my first time going through whistler bowl this season and i can honestly say that it's the boniest i've ever ridden it, regardless of the time of year. still, i managed to find what would almost qualify as powder in some of the lesser trafficked areas.
well, the snow isn't great, but at least it's sunny and the groomers are in decent shape. hard to believe, but we've had 24 sunny days since the start of january. for my own selfish reasons, i can't complain.

snow coverage: C-
snow quality: C
run selection: B
crowds: B
visibility: A+
overall: C+

feb 10, 2009

24hr snow = 0
base depth = 140
cumulative = 473
freezing level = valley
days riding = 12

five day forecast

day1 se 0-2 day2 0 day3 0 day4 0 day5 0-2

i forgot to mention the other day that the lower peak to creek run opened on saturday - meaning the mountain is officially 100% open. better late than never i suppose.
we got a nice 10cm dusting on sunday night, and while this doesn't add up to much in bounds, the slow accumulation and relatively cold alpine temps have been improving back country conditions out here. the snow pack seems to have stabilized so for those who are willing to work for them, there are good turns to be found out of bounds. just stay above treeline!

feb 8 - slacking

24hr snow = 0
base depth = 132
cumulative = 462
freezing level = valley
days riding = 12

five day forecast

day1 se-sw 4-8 day2 sw 2 day3 2-4 day4 0 day5 0

i haven't posted in a long time and unfortunately it's not because i've been too busy playing in the snow. we've hit another dry spell (i'd actually consider it's been one long dry spell since Jan 12) and i'm just not interested in any more groomers. i know guys who have been checking out kybers, etc, but as far as i'm concerned, there is not enough base to safely move through areas like these.
compared to the past 3 seasons we are more than 100cm below our base level for this time of year. our january snowfall (117cm) was our 2nd lowest since '85 (in '05 we had the massive pineapple and only measured 42cm for the month), and this is normally the month where we load our base for the rest of the season.
the next five days isn't looking much better. trace amounts of snow for the start of the week, then another ridge of high pressure sets in.

mid season review: (numbers posted are this year / last year)

40+cm days = 0 / 2
30+cm days = 1 / 3
20+cm days = 4 / 9
10+cm days = 12 / 26
days with freezing levels 2400m or higher = 12 / 0

feb 2 - hoping for 6 more weeks like today

24hr snow = 22
base depth = 142
cumulative = 460
freezing level = 1500m
days riding = 11

five day forecast

day1 sw 2-4 day2 0 day3 5-10 day4 0 day5 0

today was a day of pleasant surprises. first of all, 22cm when they had forecasted 2. that hasn't happened in a loooong time. secondly, perhaps the lightest crowds i've seen since november. and thirdly, the light boards listed the alpine as being closed, but i happened to cruise past harmony right as they fired up the chair, so a couple of laps of untracked powder.
the only downside to the day is that the freezing level continued to rise and the snow became very sticky and heavy by the afternoon. even the alpine was turning to cement on my last run. but still, definitely my best day of the season so far, and hopefully the first of many more still to come.

snow coverage: C
snow quality: B
run selection: B+
crowds: A
visibility: C-
overall: B

feb 1, 2009

24hr snow = 1
base depth = 124
cumulative = 438
freezing level = valley
days riding = 10

five day forecast

day1 sw 2-6 day2 0 day3 0 day4 0 day5 0

went up yesterday with a friend who's in town for a few days. the weather once again let me down. the snow forecasted on friday never came; instead we got some rain right before the temperature plumetted, creating a slick layer of ice in the valley. the sub-alpine conditions were extremely hardpack with a slight layer of sugar snow on top. upper mountain was very cold and blustery.
today it snowed lightly most of the day - 8cm by 4pm. i think tomorrow will actually be pretty decent, at least in the morning.

snow coverage: D
snow quality: D
run selection: C
crowds: C
visibility: C
overall: D+

jan 29, 2009 - c'mon now

24hr snow = 1
base depth = 127
cumulative = 436
freezing level = valley
days riding = 10

five day forecast

day1 sw 0-3 day2 sw 5-10 day3 0-2 day4 5-10 day5 0-5

OK - i've been trying to remain optimistic, but today pretty much sums up this entire season...blows. at least for most of january we had sunny spring like conditions, which helped to sweeten the reality that we are in mid-winter and we have no snow.
i rode the peak chair for the first time this season (check the calendar??). my intention was to explore whistler bowl and maybe some lines in frog hollow, but after scanning the upper bowl from the chair and with the thick fog i quickly bailed on that idea and decided to make my way down asap via the saddle. the snow might have been OK, but vis was terrible which basically meant cautious riding.
below red the vis improved but the snow got worse. many icy patches are appearing all over the mountain. vis poor again below creekside gondy, and that was it for me. the one bright spot is that the ski-out to bayshores is actually in great condition.
i'm sure we will get some snow eventually, but for the foreseeable future things are going to continue to suck.

snow coverage: D
snow quality: D
run selection: D
crowds: A
visibility: D
overall: D

jan 26, 2009

24hr snow = 0
base depth = 123
cumulative = 429
freezing level = valley
days riding = 9

five day forecast

day1 sw 0-1 day2 ne 2-4 day3 0-2 day4 5 day5 5-10

a strange thing appeared in our forecast this morning - snow! not a lot of it, but at least it's showing up all week. maybe more in time for my buddy's visit this weekend? we can only hope.

jan 24, 2009 - peak cleared to open

24hr snow = 0
base depth = 125
cumulative = 429
freezing level = valley
days riding = 9

five day forecast

day1 ne0 day2 ne0 day3 0 day4 5 day5 0

can you believe it?? peak is running today! i haven't been checking the lift status everyday, but as far as i know this is the first time it has opened this year. that alone may be enough to get me up the mountain today, and it certainly wouldn't be for the brutal hardpack everywhere else.
i have my own theories about why it's taken them this long to open the peak chair, and it isn't only to do with lack of snow and avalanche risk. fortress, who now owns WB has been hit hard by credit flow issues and i have a feeling that a lot of this has to do with trying to cut operating costs. tourism is down this year and they have been able to get by with running whistler at about half capacity. having said that, we do only have a 125cm base at the end of january, so there's no question that snow is an issue too.
hope everyone plays safe out there. wonder if there'll be any nutty ass who tries the waterfall today...

jan 21, 2009

24hr snow = 0
base depth = 140
cumulative = 429
freezing level = 2800m inversion (- 6 in valley)
days riding = 8

five day forecast

day1 0 day2 0 day3 0 day4 0 day5 0

this is really turning out to be the winter that never happened. definitely our worse january since the pineapple of '05, and while we've had slightly more snow than that year, we're nowhere close to the averages of the past 3 seasons. the only positive spin i can see here is that even in the terrible '05 season we got a record dump in april, so there is still hope...just not anytime in the next 5 days.
i've been told blackomb is currently a sheet of ice. whistler is probably in slightly better shape due to less southern exposure.
today is the last day of warm temps then we plunge back into a deep freeze. whoopee.

jan 18, 2009

24hr snow = 0
base depth = 140
cumulative = 429
freezing level = 4000m
days riding = 8

five day forecast

day1 sw 0 day2 w 0 day3 0 day4 0 day5 0

harmony was open today! (might have opened yesterday but i didn't notice). it's still +10C at roundhouse, but pretty chilly in the valley. harmony was predictably heavily tracked out, but the snow is generally better than i would have expected with such warm temps. harmony ridge and sun bowl are still closed as is the peak. the snow is pretty good for groomer ripping, but this is january and we are still waiting for a good powder cycle.
not much change in the forecast for the next few days.

snow coverage: C-
snow quality: C
run selection: C
crowds: C
visibility: A+
overall: C+

jan 15, 2009

24hr snow = 0
base depth = 146
cumulative = 429
freezing level = 3500m
days riding = 7

five day forecast

day1 sw 0 day2 sw0 day3 0 day4 0 day5 0

crazy spring temps right now. we had a system like this in late january 07 that lasted over a week, but it is even warmer now. looks like more of the same for the foreseeable future. what happened to winter this year??

jan 12, 2009

24hr snow = 0
base depth = 150
cumulative = 429
freezing level = valley
days riding = 7

five day forecast

day1 sw 0 day2 w0 day3 0 day4 0 day5 0

another freaky weather system is kicking in and it looks like we are going to get warm springlike conditions for the remainder of the week. i guess the silver lining in this is that the warming snow may trigger a lot of natural avalanches, helping to break down the weak underlying layers. I imagine the alpine avalanche risk will get even higher until things cool down again.
was up yesterday and rode peak to peak for the first time. it gives you a great overall sense of the mountain layout but also exposes a few of those formerly hidden spots. took my first turns on blackomb this season. still longing for real winter conditions...

snow coverage: C
snow quality: C
run selection: C
crowds: B
visibility: C+
overall: C

jan 9, 2009

24hr snow = 11
base depth = 148
cumulative = 425
freezing level = valley
days riding = 6

five day forecast

day1 s-w 10-15 day2 w0 day3 0 day4 0 day5 0

went up for a few turns today. the new snow overnight had already started to scrape down to the rain crust from earlier in the week, but still managed to find some pretty decent untracked areas.
the base has filled in a lot in the past few weeks, but it still seems very low for this time of year. the alpine terrain still appears to be nowhere near opening. the biggest problem is that it has never been skier packed since the season began and that is the best method of avalanche prevention.
the mountain was pretty quiet for a snow weekend in january. there was no wait at red chair at noon.

snow coverage: C
snow quality: B-
run selection: B-
crowds: B
visibility: B
overall: C+

jan 7, 2009 - the wet dump

24hr snow = 19
base depth = 143
cumulative = 397
freezing level = valley
days riding = 5

five day forecast

day1 sw 20-25 day2 sw 2-5 day3 0-2 day4 5-10 day5 0

we're seeing a drastic change in our weather currently. it is raining to 1500m today and has been since 10pm last night. not sure what effect this will have on the snowpack longterm, but the avalanche rating for today is extreme. now, i'm not a professional forecaster (just a boring snow observer), but i'm thinking that this will be a benefit in the long run. hopefully this heavy wet snow will cause extensive natural slides throughout the alpine, essentially turning over the snowpack and breaking down and saturating the weak underlying layers. it's just me, but i have a hunch we will see harmony and peak chair open next week or possibly this weekend.
our base depth is in much better shape and with the next good snowfall the mid-mountain should be in excellent form.









dude - where's your car?

Jan 5, 2009

24hr snow = 34
base depth = 145
cumulative = 376
freezing level = valley
days riding = 5

five day forecast

day1 sw 1-3 day2 sw 10-20 day3 15-25 day4 0 day5 5-10

doh!!! i was stuck in squamish last night so missed the biggest pow day of the season so far. heard it was awesome up there....bastards...
still no alpine open, but the snow in the rest of the valley is beautiful. finally feels like full on winter. keep it coming!

jan 3, 2009

24hr snow = 1
base depth = 115
cumulative = 328
freezing level = valley
days riding = 5

five day forecast

day1 sw0-4 day2 s 10-15 day3 3-5 day4 5-10 day5 20-30

haven't been up in a few days, but from what i've heard the alpine avalanche conditions have not improved. there were two more deaths this week in areas that would normally be open to the public but have been closed off due to the elevated risk. i watched a video on cbc.ca yesterday where they interviewed a snowboarder on whistler who was talking about how he made sure to bring a beacon, shovel and probe before entering the area where another rider was killed the day before. that's great - it'll help them to recover your corpse a lot faster.
my buddy said there is evidence of extensive natural slides throughout the alpine. he said there was a 1 metre crown line at the top of shale slope.
on the bright side, the in bounds conditions are much better than they were a few weeks ago. most of the exposed terrain has been covered over safely and the surface conditions have been well preserved due to the continuously cold temps. it was -17C last night. in 6 seasons out here i have never seen a stretch of such cold weather. while it keeps the groomies nice, this is not helping the snowpack improve. looks like we might get a warming trend next week but it remains to be seen how that will impact the alpine conditions. if it's warm enough it may help to trigger a lot of backcountry slides and break down the weak snowpack. can only hope.