Early this morning, the sky was clear. The air felt cold. Roofs in my neighborhood were covered with a light white frosting. Our mountain stood looking for one more good storm to cover its beautiful early-season coating. I decided it was time to put on one of my warm ski jackets. It just felt like winter this morning when I walked out of my house. It was the type of morning that gets my heart pacing at a slightly higher rate.
Although it felt cold, the temperatures were not cold enough to make snow at Alpine. Hopefully, overnight temperatures will drop, allowing some snowmaking to begin.
I noticed some snowmaking appeared to have occurred at the base of Squaw, but it was just a short strip near the base of Exhibition.
The most interesting and beautiful sight over the mountain this afternoon turned out to be fog. I took a few photos of both Alpine and Squaw, showing the interesting scene at both resorts.
Enjoy your day,
Andy
That fog is problematic when it comes to snow making. Right at the minute, it’s 28° at the bottom of the mountain. The dew point is also at 28°, so the relative humidity is 100%. That means we have fog. It also puts the wet bulb temperature at 28°, which is not great for making snow. So I would not expect much snow to be made tonight either, which is worrisome. I do not like it. Update: I see at least one gun active on Weasel already at 8:35pm and the dew point is dropping. There is a little hopium.
I did go out for a bike ride today with Bobble at 42°, which is pretty cold for a ride. At that temperature with almost no sun you really have to be aware of the potential for icy spots in the shade.
Mammoth did announce their plan for ops tomorrow and it is more extensive than initially supposed. Chairs 1, 2 ,3 , 23 and the gondola to the top plus the Discovery learning chair. That’s impressive. Not headed there tomorrow…but possibly early next week if things don’t get going here.
I had a thought about writing a more detailed report today…but now just an extensive comment.
Alta, Utah: Based on the extended forecast and lack of favorable snowmaking temperatures, Opening Day has moved to Friday, December 5th—conditions permitting. Will this end up being the case for Palisades and other Tahoe resorts? Time will tell…
The photo of fog in Wolverine bowl is spectacular.
Ready to start following your posts to get ready for an excellent ski season at Alpine Meadows.
Thank you for all the updates and in particular with the photos today.
Andy, excellent fog photos, especially the one taken from the snow-free floor of Olympic Valley. Very pretty shot. I was mistaken about Arizona Snow Bowl’s opening day. It’s Friday, 11/21, not the previous day. However, the resort reported receiving 28” of snow in the past 48 hrs for a season total of 31” (!), with a few inches of snow expected over the next 24 hrs. Surprising, really, but Great news all the same.
Surreal shot of the fog flowing down Wolverine Bowl.
If only it was a thick blanket of snow.
Thank you for keeping the flame.