Upside-down surprise
Monday, December 23, 2013
Only 5” of the reported 13.5” at mid-mountain fell overnight, but the skiing was so good the day before that I was up early for first tracks. The temperatures had warmed about 5F from the day before, and the snow under the Sundown lift was wind-affected, with the beginnings of a wind slab forming. The wind had even gotten into the trees, though far less than the open slopes.
I headed for the wind-sheltered spots that skied the best. I measured a foot, although half of that was transported by the wind. I could definitely feel the denser snow on top of yesterdays very light powder. Since storms usually start out warm and end cold, the snow usually becomes lighter as the storm progresses leading to sublime powder skiing. Upside-down snow, conversely, has a dense layer of snow sitting atop a light layer, and it makes the snow inconsistent and difficult to ski. Wider skis and snowboards tend to fair better in these conditions as the wider surface underfoot keeps the rider in the denser snow layer and out of the lighter snow.
Areas that seemed least wind affected were Closet, the lower half of Shadows and Lower Shadows and the trees around Rolex. My last run was up Morningside to check out the East Face and the Second Pitch. The snow stake at the top read 66”, which is an actual 60” of base.
Final wave in this storm cycle passes early Tuesday for more snow
It looks like we are going to add to our 2 foot storm total as the final wave affects our area beginning after midnight. This wave is relatively quick moving, but it is moist and cool and in northwest flow. We sometimes get more snowfall than expected with this setup, and optimistically I see another 5-10” on the hill by tomorrow afternoon. I would expect some Steamboat Magic to occur between report time at 5am and ski time around 9am creating several hours of heavy snowfall rates.
We may see some sun in the valley by tomorrow afternoon as snow showers on the hill wind down, and if skies clear Tuesday night, Christmas day will start sunny and cool. A weak wave passes by on Thursday, but that likely won’t even affect our sunny skies that are forecast to persist into the weekend. A wave in northwest flow is currently forecast to produce some snow showers by Saturday afternoon, but the eventual westward extent of this wave will determine how much snow we receive.
Skies clear after the weekend disturbance passes, so the beginning of the work week should start out nice before another wave in northwest flow is forecast to affect us as early as Tuesday.
Kinda unbelievable day!
Sunday, December 22, 2013
I didn’t press glass based on this morning’s 8” report since only 2” of that fell overnight. I had about 2” of snow on my deck this morning and it was snowing. Satellite loop showed an enhancement over our area, and I was optimistic Steamboat Magic would yield some good snow between the 5am report time and 9am. Well, on that first run, I measured THIRTEEN INCHES in the favored areas of Shadows. The snow was very light and fluffy, probably around 4%, which unfortunately meant you could feel the hard surface underneath.
But the snow was falling steadily at around 3/4”/hour for most of then time I was up there, and the runs kept getting better. Not only was the snow deeper, but it was skied-in a little bit which removed the former hard surface from the bottom of the turn. Shadows, Closet, Twilight and the trees around Rolex all skied great. Most of my skiing is usually a couple of hours in the afternoon, so I tired enough around 1:30pm to call it a day. But my last run was up Morningside to a short hike to the top of Mt. Werner to access the East Face.
At the top is a snow stake that read 63”, which is really a 57” base since the ruler starts at 6”! Probably close to 18” of snow near the top with some areas measuring 2 feet! Complete over-the-head immersion once the pitch steepened. Another short sidestep up to the Second Pitch which also hid some more over-the-head turns.
Still snowing lightly down here this afternoon, but I expect persistent snow on the hill through the night. We could be looking at a number around 2 feet in the morning report!
More snow through Tuesday
About 2” on my deck this morning from about 9pm last night, although the Steamboat ski area reported 7.5” at mid and 8” up top on the morning report. A ridge over the Gulf of Alaska is forcing moist northwest flow over our area, and embedded waves will continue to produce light snow through today and most of tomorrow. One such wave is currently moving through the area, and another is timed for tonight, with both producing another 5-10” by the Monday morning report.
Snow showers may taper off by the end of the day Monday before beginning again early Tuesday as the last wave in this series passes over the area midday. Only light snow is expected, and the fast movement of this last wave should only produce 1-3” by Wednesday morning’s report.
Warming and drying should commence Christmas Day and last into Thursday, though valleys become noticeably colder than the hill as inversions reform and strengthen. A dry and weak wave grazes our area on Friday, producing some clouds and slightly lower temperatures. Weather will turn nice again for at least the first part of the weekend before another storm is forecast around Sunday.
Good skiing becoming progressively better
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Well, another great afternoon of skiing! Friday afternoon was good as well, with about 6” of fresh snow in the favored areas of the hill, and about another 3” was added by this afternoon in the Priest Creek drainage. The upper half of Shadows skied soft and flowy, but the lower half had some crunchies underneath from the warm spell a few days ago. Skiing the northwest aspects minimized the crunchiness to some extent, but even the shaded areas of Lower Shadows was difficult skiing in the sparsely tracked snow.
The 3 O’Clock trees to the skier’s right of the trail was sparsely skied and in great condition. Be careful above Duster as there are still rocks sticking through in the southern aspects, and they are easily avoided by traversing left back to the open trail.
The Sundown lifline was tons of fun as well. Still sparsely skied, but soft and bouncy rhythmic turns were easy to execute in the forgiving snow. Same for Kuus’s Cruise underneath the old Priest Creek chair. It was snowing as the lifts closed down for the afternoon, so be sure to check the ski report in the morning for the likely powder day tomorrow.
