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.