Saturday, December 24, 2011

Day 25 and I'm getting worried

What I am getting worried about is the changing weather conditions which I fear may cause problems but more of that later. My worries started last night when we got back late evening at a time when the forecasters said it should be serious minus temps only to find that it was only -1. During the night I could hear the noise of water on the tin roof by the front deck which is usually a sign that either it has been raining or the snow is melting. In the morning there was no rain but on the way to the hill the temps were +2.

When we arrived at the hill there was no new snow and the base was hanging on at 103 cms which was amazing considering the conditions over the past few days - perhaps there are good commercial reasons for keeping the base figure above 1 metre in the week before Christmas break.

Having done my bit by going to the Old Side yesterday I felt that I could spend today on the New Side with a clear consience particularly as it was Christmas Eve. The strange thing was that the crowds were still staying away, the parking lot was almost deserted this morning and the hill was just as quiet as it has been over the past few weeks.

The temps stayed a low plus temps at the base all day and about -4 on top with the top of White Pass totally socked in. The forecast had been for flurries but none really materialised so that we had some ice balls up top later on and drizzle low down.

Just like yesterday we spent all the time looping out along the Reverse Traverse and dropping off into various Currie Chutes - Concussion, Tom's Easter Bowl, Cougar Glades etc. There was less wind sift today but just like yesterday the skiing was ok on top and hard and bumpy low down. To break up to routine we did loops back to White Pass via Surprise Trees, Quite Right Trees and all points in between. The toughest bit was the Gun bowl each time because the light in there was totally socked in and it was braille skiing all the way down.

Last run before lunch and before close of play each time was a drop down the top section of Skydive then a left cut into Decline to ski out on the lower section. The top of Skydive remains awesome deep powder still mostly untracked but a bit twiggy. The lower part of Decline was a bit like a sale lot for Christmas Trees but as long as you paid attention and jumped your turns in the gaps it was actually quite good fun.

My worries relate to the forecast. For some time we have had precip in forecast for most of next week. That precip was snow with low temps but now (just as I said some time ago) the forecasters are revising their temps upwards and the precip is now called for as a rain/snow mix. My worry is that if things go as they usually do then by next week the revised forecast will be for a few degrees warmer still and we will be looking at a serious rain event. Now the hill has withstood rain before but with this low base I think the results of a major rain event would be nothing short of disasterous.

Keeping my fingers crossed for a nice Christmas present in the form of a fall in temperatures and snow next week.

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