Andy’s Part
Hello Skiers,
Today was opening day for the Sherwood Chair. We headed over to Sherwood to check it out. We were not the only people anxious to try Sherwood. There were a number of pumped up skiers and boarders waiting to take Treeline to the top and race down Sherwood. This appeared to be a sign of powder days to come.
Summit was in a cloud and the High Traverse was not open. Winds were very strong on the ridge and the light very flat so heading to Sherwood made sense. It was warmish this morning. Temperatures were above freezing and the sky was gray.
Our first trip to the base of Sherwood was not really exciting. A dusting of snow covered a firm surface with areas where we broke through the crust. Breakable crust is not my favorite. We were disappointed and ready to head back to the front side when I found a stretch of powder. Instead of heading back we skied Reilly’s Run. Surprise, we found untracked soft powder. We tried again and got a few more delightful turns in without the hassle of other skiers racing behind us. Ray’s Rut was not cut nor groomed, but there was a ski track that brought us back to the base of Sherwood.
We skied a few more runs on Roundhouse in flat light where the snow remained packed powder before heading in for the day. It is dripping clear water at the level of the Truckee River this afternoon.
Enjoy your day.
Andy
Mark’s Part
The word of the day was “variable” for the Sherwood side. One minute you could be riding in nice powder, only to find breakable crust a few seconds later. It all had to do with what was in the sun and what was in the shade yesterday. The other thing that was variable was your equipment. Those on snowboards and wider skis had a better time on the Sherwood side.
Off of Roundhouse and Hotter Wheels, the skiing was excellent, with the exception of the flat light. I had equally fun runs down small bumps on Charity and Yellow – knowing that i was really only skiing by feeling my skis, rather than looking ahead a few bumps as I like to do.
It’s midweek, which means it is the time where people are starting to think about the weekend. As of this time, it looks very similar to last weekend. Snow levels are likely to remain high into Saturday, and then return to a more seasonable level Saturday night. That means that there will likely be new snow but it will be soggy and you will still have fun if your clothing can take it. By Sunday, we should see a few inches of new snow before this storm lets up.
The jet stream is currently in a zonal flow, which means its coming right across the Pacific. As BA pointed out this morning on OpenSnow, we are likely to remain on the southern side of the jet stream until Saturday night. After it moves to the south, we will be on the cooler norther side of the jet…barely.
The colder weather is temporary as the jet edges north again next week. We may continue to see some showers sneak over the “dirty ridge”. The 6-10 day forecast verifies that idea showing above average precipitation and temperatures. That’s not our ideal winter combination. The 8-14 day forecast continues to bring in the precipitation but flips back to colder temperatures as a trough forms in the Pacific.
Looking at about 10 days out, for the weekend of the 21st and 22nd, we see a better potential for a repeat of the Thanksgiving storm. That far out in the forecast is still pretty shaky. It’s a “don’t count your chickens” thing. Things can change rapidly, hopefully away from the soggy pattern.