Today we had an Arctic high set in and the result was lower temperatures well below those that had been forecast.
This morning it dawned clear - the expression "not a cloud in the sky" is much over used but today it was just that, blue from horizon to horizon all day. The down side was the temp which was -21 as we arrived at the hill, getting up to about -10 mid day and down to -16 as we turned into the garage at the house at the end of the day.
Circumstances dictated a short day skiing. I haven't been all that happy at the way the car has been starting ever since we fired it up a week ago so today I phoned Fernie Ford for a check out. They could book me in at 2 so we could only ski 9-1 which was ok as there is snow in the forecast for the rest of the week and we might as well get this stuff done before the really good skiing starts.
Just like yesterday we hit the old side as we thought the snow would be best there. Although it was cold there was a bit of an in version and I would guess the temp at the top of Bear was a good 10 degrees warmer than at the bottom. It had to be cold as there was angel dust in the air at mid mountain and the snow cannons were blowing snow straight up in the air which may not yet have landed.
The whole thing was good practice for when it gets really cold (like -35) so we tried our bulk bought hand warmers from Canadian Tire, face coverings and a 4 layer strategy under the ski jackets - everything seemed to work ok so we are set for when it gets cold.
Toured round the old side just enjoying the sun. Hit Sunny side, Bow Trees, the bumps on Bear several times and just like yesterday found that the lower temps had hardened up (previously) soft snow so the skiing was pretty tough.
We started to move out into more interesting areas and skied Boom, Linda's twice (great job of de-aldering in the summer) and some great soft bumps on Boom ridge. Managed to pop a ski in Bear chutes taking some unexpected air over a log which was the first real fall of the season. Went out into Cedar bowl and tried the newly gladed area again a great job. We then went out to Snake ridge a couple of times and found very good soft snow at the top then had some pretty challenging stuff at the very bottom on the shoulder by KC chutes which was all alders and tree stumps.
Somewhere in there we managed 3 trips through Kangaroo which is still some of the best skiing even though the drop onto the cat track was a bit technical.
Early finish, starting problems on the car sorted while we had a relaxed lunch at Boston Pizza. Went back to the hill for a few beers with buddies then home for a hot tub. Forecast looks like it could be some serious snow later this week so fingers crossed.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Day 2 The Going Gets Tough
The reason that things got a bit tougher today was a drop in temperature so that the skied over surfaces became a little harder, the untracked snow ( very little left) was good and dry but the tracked up snow (the majority) was very hard and resistant in places while soft in others - result quite testing conditions. The hill had decided to groom a little more terrain but luckily not too much so there was still plenty of interesting skiing without having to go too far.
Again we had some very slight over night flurries and mountain snow off and on all day but with no accumulation. The day started at -12 with the expectation that it would rise to about -3 but that never materialised. There was also supposed to be a temperature inversion that I didn't really notice. Much the same as yesterday it started cloudy but became more sunny as the day went on and ended the day with a clear night. Without much warming up temps had dropped to -17 by the time we got home.
On the strength of yesterday we went to the old side and were not disapponted. Grooming on Bear was good and all across Lizard bowl was good coverage but tough tracked snow. We even got across as far as lower Easter bowl which was also tracked and hard and not very good light.
As we moved towards Cedar via Boomerang things got much better, particularly Boom bowl and Boom ridge. Kangaroo was open today and to celebrate this we took a couple of rips from top to bottom in what was (in my opinion) the best snow on the hill.
After a choccy break we went to the new side to try out the runs off White Pass which we had rather neglected yesterday. Everything in White Pass was good with ok coverage but enough hidden rocks and tree stumps to make me glad I was still on rock skis. Came down for a late lunch through Currie bowl which had the warning (promise) that nothing had been groomed. Every year I comment on how nice Down Right is as a run before the first groomers get to it and this year is no exception - nice varied terrain with big soft bumps. Just for the crack I decided to drop into Bootleg Glades which were a bit exciting in the initial drop in but after that were very nice steep bumps if a bit twiggy at the end.
After a late lunch we managed a few runs on the old side confirming just how nice the bumps in Boomerang are even if the Goat track has some very interesting obstructions on the ski out. Looked into King Fir but the top looked too twiggy even for us so carried on to Linda's run which was excellent soft snow top to bottom and where it looks like they have done some alder weeding in the summer. Ended up with a final (still good) run down Kangaroo, back up Boom chair, the Bear chutes ( loads more fallen trees ) and home.
Just like yesterday we ended the day with a couple of beers in the Griz and a couple more in the hot tub at home. Had a thought tonight of what we would do if the back door locked while we were in the tub - imagine having to knock on the neighbours door with no clothes on to ask if we could phone a friend with a key. My theory on the hockey is holding up in that the Riders won last night when we didn't go against the Revelstoke Grizzlies who are probably the best team in the division - wonder how much they will pay us to stay away on Friday.
Nothing much forecast for the next couple of days except -20 temps then maybe some disturbed weather coming in from the coast - heres hoping.
Again we had some very slight over night flurries and mountain snow off and on all day but with no accumulation. The day started at -12 with the expectation that it would rise to about -3 but that never materialised. There was also supposed to be a temperature inversion that I didn't really notice. Much the same as yesterday it started cloudy but became more sunny as the day went on and ended the day with a clear night. Without much warming up temps had dropped to -17 by the time we got home.
On the strength of yesterday we went to the old side and were not disapponted. Grooming on Bear was good and all across Lizard bowl was good coverage but tough tracked snow. We even got across as far as lower Easter bowl which was also tracked and hard and not very good light.
As we moved towards Cedar via Boomerang things got much better, particularly Boom bowl and Boom ridge. Kangaroo was open today and to celebrate this we took a couple of rips from top to bottom in what was (in my opinion) the best snow on the hill.
After a choccy break we went to the new side to try out the runs off White Pass which we had rather neglected yesterday. Everything in White Pass was good with ok coverage but enough hidden rocks and tree stumps to make me glad I was still on rock skis. Came down for a late lunch through Currie bowl which had the warning (promise) that nothing had been groomed. Every year I comment on how nice Down Right is as a run before the first groomers get to it and this year is no exception - nice varied terrain with big soft bumps. Just for the crack I decided to drop into Bootleg Glades which were a bit exciting in the initial drop in but after that were very nice steep bumps if a bit twiggy at the end.
After a late lunch we managed a few runs on the old side confirming just how nice the bumps in Boomerang are even if the Goat track has some very interesting obstructions on the ski out. Looked into King Fir but the top looked too twiggy even for us so carried on to Linda's run which was excellent soft snow top to bottom and where it looks like they have done some alder weeding in the summer. Ended up with a final (still good) run down Kangaroo, back up Boom chair, the Bear chutes ( loads more fallen trees ) and home.
Just like yesterday we ended the day with a couple of beers in the Griz and a couple more in the hot tub at home. Had a thought tonight of what we would do if the back door locked while we were in the tub - imagine having to knock on the neighbours door with no clothes on to ask if we could phone a friend with a key. My theory on the hockey is holding up in that the Riders won last night when we didn't go against the Revelstoke Grizzlies who are probably the best team in the division - wonder how much they will pay us to stay away on Friday.
Nothing much forecast for the next couple of days except -20 temps then maybe some disturbed weather coming in from the coast - heres hoping.
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