Pacific NW/AK/BC 2018-2019

[Posaune]

I was at Stevens Wed. through Friday. How'd I miss you all on Thursday?

I've never seen Stevens (or maybe anywhere else) groomed as well as on Wednesday. They groomed from edge to edge and in a whole lot of places I've not ever seen groomed. The new snow on Thursday made it a bit more like I remember, but Wed. was beyond my mental grasp. I don't get to line it out quite the same at Baker. With nobody there we could go at mach speed with impunity.

Thursday was as described above.

On Friday a bunch more people showed up and they closed Skyline for maintenance for a couple of hours which resulted in LINES! I've gotten unused to standing in any lines at all, so it was a big shock to have to line up with a couple dozen others.

There is a different culture at Stevens from that at Baker. I wasn't there, but I'd bet anything I own on the fact that Baker was more crowded on Thursday for the big dump than it was on Friday for the leftovers. Not so at Stevens.

 

[KingGrump]

Meet upwith @DanoT for a few turns at Revy. The fresh snow is a welcomed change from the hard pack of lake Louise/Sunshine.

 

[Tom Co.]

Stevens Tuesday
Well was this the last day of winter? A change is coming.
Looking at last nights weather hype I thought yes, a powder day. Well it wasn't quite that. There was 4 to 5 inches of new snow when we got there. It did snow all day, but not enough to build up anything. The visibility was not bad, but we did ski lots of trees and tree lines. The most disappointing part of the day is just how skied out the trees are at Stevens. They're all just full of big moguls and snowboard ruts . With a sharp eye and controlling your speed they are still skiable, but it's just more confining and energy consuming. Seventh Heaven, Tye Bowl and Big Chief Bowl all skied okay, but they weren't as good as last week. The snow wasn't quite deep enough and the base underneath was more evident.
It was still a fun day.
Fun Factor 3/5
Stoke-o-Meter. 1.5/5 There weren't many areas that got us stoked although we did do a run in Shims. The bumps and ruts were big there too.

 

[noncrazycanuck]

Whistler minor powder day Tuesday -sunny Wed - Thur back to the usual variable visibility.
No big snow events in near future and looks like spring arrives next week.
most enjoyable skiing yesterday was mid hill. the Garbonzo lift line was especially sweet -soft nicely spaced bumps
in Alpine plenty of patches of untracked but the last snow fall was not nearly enough avoid those bump surprises if braille skiing was required .

 

[noncrazycanuck]

forgot to mention crowds.
had a couple of 5 chair waits yesterday and Crystal chair had a few stops while we where in line so it was more like 10 chairs,.
But for the most part a ski on day.

heads up for any just arriving B.C. spring break starts tomorrow. For next 2 weeks it could be busier than usual.

 

[Posaune]

Just spent three days at Mt. Hood Meadows. On Wed. there was new snow and when you found the places that weren't wind affected it was good skiing on somewhat dense snow (just like home). Thursday and Friday were bluebird days and I enjoyed the different kind of view that Hood gives over Baker. We could see forever, with volcanoes popping up here and there (Jefferson, Broken Top, North and South Sisters, Bachelor) and the eastern Oregon plateau looked like a cloud bank because of all of the snow. A very different kind of view from the ones at home. The groomers were nice and the crowds were low to none. Now I have to pay for it with a drive up I-5 to B'ham, and they've closed it in the Seattle area, so it should be lots of fun (NOT).

 

[PNWRod]

Glad you had a great time. I've limited my time through Seattle to almost none (except to get to Baker of course).

 

[noncrazycanuck]

Sat Whistler - first day of spring break.
very pleasantly surprised to find minimal lines on our choices.
Try be ahead of that 8:45- 9: ish Whistler Kids upload.
there are a lot of kids up for spring break.
good winter snow alpine to below mid hill - by late day on lower Big Timber encountered my first sun soften snow of the year.
I always enjoy those mushy bump ski outs but with warm sunny days forecast all week the sun effected will be higher every day.

 

[Tom Co.]

It is spring in the PNW. Sunny and temperatures pushing 80 in the low lands
Here is a report from today Tuesday from Stevens Pass.
Seventh Heaven Area is at upper left, Skyline HSQ chair at center right

Twas a beautiful sunny day with no crowd at all. Stevens had that strong East wind that the Crystal reports mentioned yesterday, but in some ways that was helpful. It prevented a lot of areas from getting too slushy and sticky to ski. We got there about 10 o'clock and went for the sunshine because that's where the softer snow was. It was pretty firm in the shady areas and stayed that way for quite a while. Skyline on the sunny side was a good run early. The backside which had early full on sun was good. Tye Mill had kind of styrofoam winter snow early which ski well. The flats started getting sticky about noon, however a new wax job helped with that. I wasn't very adventurous today, but I did try Orion and it skied well once it it softened. The backside did get overripe after lunch. The front side stayed pretty good so we ended up skiing later than normal.
It was very much worth going.

Fun factor- 3.5/5
Stoke-o-meter- 2/5

 

[noncrazycanuck]

Seems like May
Lots of avy control cornice debris in WB bowls

Silver Star had an inbound avy today on the Putnam Creek side.
The resort says it's a first for them. From photo does not look big, but 1 person was injured and Putnam is closed pending further control
An inbound avalanche anywhere in the Okanogan is pretty much the last place I would expect one.

 

[noncrazycanuck]

another weekend at Whistler. Snow was firm in alpine in am, best skiing initially was lower hill.
by afternoon bumps in alpine skied very nice but they are big in places.
A dusting of fresh snow this week and a few flurries today but nothing of significance

Crowds however are starting puzzle me - there haven't been any, and it's spring break .
I used to try to avoid weekends at Whistler from now on think I will focus on avoiding big powder days.
there is always plenty left days afterward anyway and no need to line up for it.

 

[DanoT]

At Sun Peaks, after breaking skier visit records for the past 3 years in a row, this season will be just shy of breaking a record for a 4th season. This is likely due to a drop in local skier visits. I attribute this to unusually mild weather in Dec and Jan province wide, followed by the coldest Feb in over 80 years and now most of March has been May like temperatures.

 

[John O]

Since we're talking about skier visits... I have no idea what actual numbers are at Crystal Mt., but my anecdotal evidence says that this year was definitely less crowded than the last several years. In terms of snowfall, this year is gonna end up below average, but not by a ton. That said, there haven't been many big snowfall days that coincide with weekends, I'll admit that. I know that affects the numbers.

 

[Posaune]

We've noticed that at Baker we have not skied many of our favorite places much this year because of lower than optimal conditions. The big powder days were few and far between compared to usual. I've even found myself choosing to ski groomers from time to time!! It's definitely looking like spring with stumps beginning to stick out and a few rocks visible. Pretty early for that. Many years they close the ski area before any of that stuff happens.

 

[noncrazycanuck]

Dec-Jan while over all temps and low snow was common through out province . Whistler had new snowfall records.
Feb was cold for here but it's never interior cold.
March (usually one of the best months for snow here) was a bust.
But even with those new high temp records set in March the base still remains quite normal in the alpine and everything is open to valley.
So I don't think the numbers being down here are too weather related.

The extra lift capacity could have made a slight difference in perceived traffic patterns but from what I've experienced on hill and all staff I've spoken too, its been a unusually slow year.

Think Vail made a big mistake with day skiers from Vancouver.
and I understand they are adding a 2 day edge card next year to try to get back some of those very casual skiers

But what they are missing is most bought an edge card based on the least days number of days they would be sure to ski,
then added extra days with discounts linked directly to their card.

now if you buy an edge card once the days are up, it's full fare - at 186 Cdn not as many will want to add those extra days. I wouldn't.

however my cheap season pass combined with light crowds is enjoyable while it lasts.

 

[Mendieta]

Folks, how is next weeking looking at Bachelor? (did I even ask in the right thread?) Thanks much!

 

[Slasher]

Another weekend at Whistler

...

Crowds however are starting puzzle me - there haven't been any, and it's spring break .

What's the big mystery? It's now Canadian Spring Break (US Spring Break was earlier), and Vail Resorts Inc. couldn't have done more to alienate locals than it already has.

 

[Posaune]

It's now Canadian Spring Break (US Spring Break was earlier)

University spring break is this week and public schools around here are next week. Last time I noticed we were still in the U.S

 

[noncrazycanuck]

for another drift,
with spring starting looks like Blackcomb's Horstman T- Bar will not open at all this year..
there has been a lot of snow (and additional snow making) but the depth still hasn't replaced the amount the glacier receaded last summer.
could be the first lift at WB pernamently closed due to climate change.

 

[raytseng]

The riches of snow in the lower 48 may be the reason.

Whistler and YYC is easy enough to get to to be booked a chase trip, but all the chasers chased somewhere else.
Overall, this is all part of VR plan that if one area is ave or low, the others help hold it up. But not to budge on price because next year it may go the other way.

Spring break is spread out this year because Easter is so late. A portion of schools always time Spring Break to include Easter, while other schools are more calendar based regardless of Easter. When Easter is earlier, the Spring Break weeks are aligned up more.