Little Adventures

It was warmer than I thought it would be this morning while standing in line waiting for Roundhouse to open. Of course, I was overdressed as is often the case.

Early this morning the area was quiet, especially for a Saturday, over a holiday weekend. I did not make it out on Thursday when the winds were cold and strong and some lifts were on wind hold, nor was I on the hill Friday. The difference between Wednesday and today became obvious on the ride up Roundhouse. A smooth lower mountain was not in sight. Moguls graced the slopes this morning. Werner’s Schuss, Charity, Dance Floor, and Yellow all have grown midwinter-looking moguls within the last few days.

The good news is that the snow remains in very good condition. Firm winter pack exists in most areas. A few patches of ice and, of course, hidden bushes and rocks are all over the place, but not as bad as in some previous years. Keep your eyes open especially while turning in a mogul field. Rocks tend to hide on the backsides of moguls.

I tried to ski a different trail, or at least a different line, with each ride of the lift. I found some nice snow in the lower portion of The Face, picked my way through Banana Chute, enjoyed Fall Line, worked my knees in Werner’s Schuss, glided on the groomed on Weasel, and received disgusting looks from my mate when I skied God’s Knob (which had turned to spring snow when I hit it). There were plenty of lines to enjoy on the hill today along with sunshine and orderly patrons.

Enjoy Your Day

Andy

Quick Weather Update From Mark

For the first time in a couple of weeks, we can begin to hope for a possible change in the weather. A strong ridge has built in over much of the western US, really covering 2/3 of the west. Although the size of this ridge is quite remarkable, it may not be time yet to dub it an RRR, or Ridiculously Resilient Ridge. It’s ridiculous, but not necessarily resilient yet.

Several runs of the GFS have started to include some wet stuff making it under the ridge somewhere around mid-December. That is way out in FantasyLand, as far as forecasts go. It is worth noting that it is a feature that has appeared on several runs over the last two days. It leads to some level of hope.

The part that is more intriguing is the MSLP (mean surface level pressure) model, which shows low pressure moving in under that high pressure ridge at about the same time frame. Again…this is way out in FantasyLand. But these big, long lasting ridges often fall victim to an undercutting jet stream. Hopefully the models will keep trending in this direction.

For now we will just have to be satisfied with the spring like snow conditions that are setting up in sunnier locations. The night time temperatures are staying low enough to blow some snow on some locations of the mountain. Although daytime temperatures are creeping above average, we’re not in “heat wave” mode at this time.

We’ll keep looking for more evidence of change….and I’ll keep skiing whatever snow we do have.