The Official 17-18 "Bitch about the Weather" thread

[dbostedo]

I am finding it difficult to find something to bitch about the skiing at Sun Peaks as conditions are close to normal, but here goes...

Total and utter failure... It's like your mom probably told you... "If you can't say something b$%^y, you shouldn't say anything at all".

 

[Lady_Salina]

Sounds like a good day to me Dano. Glad your conditions are also nice. Stay warm.

I am finding it difficult to find something to bitch about the skiing at Sun Peaks as conditions are close to normal, but here goes:

Last Saturday's Early Tracks Breakfast was ruined by high winds and lack of planning by the ski school who run the event and along with some SunHosts they guide the event.

I purchased my ticket Friday afternoon with a predicted overnight snowfall of 15-20cm (6-8in) but we only got 7cm.

We were told that the upper mountain Crystal Chair was on wind hold so instead we would ski the mid mountain Elevation chair which serves 1 green run, 1 intermediate race training run, and 2 black diamond runs. A group of 6 or 7 millennials started talking about demanding a refund.

We were supposed to be ready to load at 7:45am but didn't start loading until 8:05 (the chair opens to the public at 9) and while they normally get 10-30 Early Tracks Breakfast skiers, this day there were 46.

While we were standing around waiting to load they brought out free hot chocolate. It was -18*C/0*F so everyone was bundled up and no one felt like taking gloves off and or handling hot chocolate while wearing gloves. They had no takers.

When we finally all got off the lift we were told we would now divide up into groups. The millennials immediately said "Fine, we are going to ski Bluff, if one of you guides wants to join us get your ass in gear, we aren't waiting". I joined the millennials.

When we got to the bottom of the mid mountain Elevation Chair the liftie told us that he knew nothing about a Early Tracks Breakfast and that normally they aren't ready to open until 9am. It was now approaching 8:30 and the millennials left to go ski Mt Morrisey on the other side of the valley and which opens at 8:30.

We next get an announcement from the ski instructor who was running this fiasco that she has just got off the phone with her supervisor and we all have the option of getting a refund or a credit for another day. But then a ski patrol shows up, gets on the chair,and 6 or 7 minutes later the liftie gets the OK to start loading the chair. We load on the chair, then ski down Caribou, the other black diamond run and back to the Elevation chair. By now it is past 8:30 and skiers are arriving after having come off a chair that opens at 8:30. The liftie says, We don't open until 9, so only ski racer kids get to load." The Sun Host that I am with says, "We are Early Tracks skiers, so we are also loading", and we do. We get to the top of the lift and it is 8:58, I ski down Cruiser to the Village. The run was groomed prior to the overnight 7cm and I am the first one down it.

The cost of the First Tracks Breakfast is $37.50Cdn and it includes a voucher for $15 for food at a choice of a couple of day lodges and a $10 Happy Hour food voucher at a bar and grill, both expire after 7 days.

I go to the Activities Desk and get a full $37.50 refund AND they don't ask for the return of the food vouchers.

So, I got 3 early morning runs with a small amount of powder, $25 in food vouchers and I didn't pay a dime. I guess I posted this in the wrong thread.

 

[Lady_Salina]

The East is sounding soo cold this year. Bundle up.

Y'all can come east and freeze to death... It's been cold for a good two weeks. Sat before Christmas nature forgot how to make snow and delivered it immature. Since then there's been dry snow. So untracked areas have a crust sandwich somewhere in there.

The advantage of the drysnow is it is lasting pretty well without going to ice. (Don't worry, there's still manmade concrete below that gets exposed by wind or other methods.) The disadvantage is it didn't cover rocks well.
The cold has kept people in the lodge. New Years day was a ghost town.

 

[dbostedo]

The East is sounding soo cold this year. Bundle up.

I'm planning to do a demo day on Friday ... predicted high temp of 14 degrees F, with 22 MPH winds.

And that's southern PA.... New England and eastern Canada are just insane. Mont Tremblant's high temp on Saturday is going to be -9 F.

 

[Lady_Salina]

I'm planning to do a demo day on Friday ... predicted high temp of 14 degrees F, with 22 MPH winds.

And that's southern PA.... New England and eastern Canada are just insane. Mont Tremblant's high temp on Saturday is going to be -9 F.

just brrrrrrr

 

[James]

Apparently, we're getting a snow bomb storm. A " bombogenesis". The problem is there's more talk of wind then snow. Maybe 6-12 inches, but 40-60 mph winds? The snow will end up in Canada. Sad!! Canadians stealing our snow! We need a wall!!

Basically, "We're all gonna die!" is the tact being taken by the not weather people on tv.

How's this for a headline?

Winter storm threatens East Coast, bringing temps colder than Mars.
Cnn, Wed January 3, 2018
http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/03/us/cold-weather-arctic-outbreak/index.html

Maybe the warm part of Mars? I mean Nyc on Sat, the low will be 1F, -17C. That's like when everyone's asleep. Monday it will rain. Does it rain on Mars?? They wish. Aliens eating dirt and rock. This is why they end up in New Mexico. Poor eating habits. Any sense and they'd be eating strawberries and avocados in California. Maybe toss a salad with all the lettuce, and yes, kale. Top it off with some walnuts toasted in the Warp drive. Wash it down in with Napa Valley product. But wait, the fires! They were in California. A little problem toasting the walnuts, half the state in flames. Damn.

Meanwhile, the Canadians will get our snow. For free! You just can't trust mother nature. And aliens live in the Bahamas.

 

[Don in Morrison]

I dunno. From what I hear, the skiing is really lousy on Mars.

 

[Rio]

I dunno. From what I hear, the skiing is really lousy on Mars.

The locals just tell you that to keep you from skiing there.

 

[neonorchid]

I wish I had that many junk HDD, those magnets are way better than anything you can buy, and so useful everywhere.

Never cracked one open for the magnets, I am intrigued, have you tried the neodymium disc available at Home Depot? If so how do they compare to HDD mags? I use the entire stack of 3 for greater gauss. Strong little buggers, the large ceramic block magnets at Home Depot are so weak compared to them.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/MASTER-...rth-Magnet-Discs-3-per-Pack-07047HD/202526369

 

[KingGrump]

just brrrrrrr

Aren't you Canadian?

That's summer for you guys.

 

[focker]

My son has a HS SL race tonight and the temps will start at -6F and get down to -12F by the end... It's just to f'n cold for skiing IMO. It's been super cold in the midwest for 2-3 weeks and although I love winter, this stuff is starting to piss me off!!

They won't allow the kids to ski in just their speed suits tonight. Jacket and snowpants required in MN HS racing when it's below -5F. They cancel the race if it's -10 at start time. We'll be at -8 when varsity starts lol...

 

[Blue Streak]

My son has a HS SL race tonight and the temps will start at -6F and get down to -12F by the end... It's just to f'n cold for skiing IMO. It's been super cold in the midwest for 2-3 weeks and although I love winter, this stuff is starting to piss me off!!

They won't allow the kids to ski in just their speed suits tonight. Jacket and snowpants required in MN HS racing when it's below -5F. They cancel the race if it's -10 at start time. We'll be at -8 when varsity starts lol...

Textbook weather bitch.
Creative - relevant - mixed in children. You killed it! See, weather bitching isn’t just about snow

 

[Lady_Salina]

I'm not sure how the skiing is near or in Mars, but it's been pretty chilly there but I could handle it for a short spurt I suppose. Don't think anyone's gonna die there from
the cold.

Oh yea and that healine really does look like something out of the 1940's of 1950's.

Probably when Mars was founded. I think they sent all their aliens across the highway to Zelienople. Beware if you ever enter Zelienople for a quick bite at one of their advertised fast food restaurants. You will not be able to leave the way you came in. Twilight zone areas for sure.

Apparently, we're getting a snow bomb storm. A " bombogenesis". The problem is there's more talk of wind then snow. Maybe 6-12 inches, but 40-60 mph winds? The snow will end up in Canada. Sad!! Canadians stealing our snow! We need a wall!!

Basically, "We're all gonna die!" is the tact being taken by the not weather people on tv.

How's this for a headline?

Winter storm threatens East Coast, bringing temps colder than Mars.
Cnn, Wed January 3, 2018
http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/03/us/cold-weather-arctic-outbreak/index.html

Maybe the warm part of Mars? I mean Nyc on Sat, the low will be 1F, -17C. That's like when everyone's asleep. Monday it will rain. Does it rain on Mars?? They wish. Aliens eating dirt and rock. This is why they end up in New Mexico. Poor eating habits. Any sense and they'd be eating strawberries and avocados in California. Maybe toss a salad with all the lettuce, and yes, kale. Top it off with some walnuts toasted in the Warp drive. Wash it down in with Napa Valley product. But wait, the fires! They were in California. A little problem toasting the walnuts, half the state in flames. Damn.

Meanwhile, the Canadians will get our snow. For free! You just can't trust mother nature. And aliens live in the Bahamas.

 

[dbostedo]

I'm not sure how the skiing is near or in Mars, but it's been pretty chilly there but I could handle it for a short spurt I suppose. Don't think anyone's gonna die there from the cold.

I spent a few days on.. er, IN, Mars over the holidays. My brother and his family live there. The cold wasn't too bad, but the local pond has frozen enough for the neighborhood kids to get some real pond hockey in, which is nice. (Lots of youth hockey in that area.)

There isn't any skiing to speak of, but I thought if we had gotten any decent snow, I had my skis in the car and could have hiked the hill behind the house. Maybe one of these years.

 

[Lady_Salina]

I spent a few days on.. er, IN, Mars over the holidays. My brother and his family live there. The cold wasn't too bad, but the local pond has frozen enough for the neighborhood kids to get some real pond hockey in, which is nice. (Lots of youth hockey in that area.)

There isn't any skiing to speak of, but I thought if we had gotten any decent snow, I had my skis in the car and could have hiked the hill behind the house. Maybe one of these years.

Aaaah are your brother and his family Martians then? Very cool to have relatives that have actually skated on Martian ice.

 

[dbostedo]

Yep - they're all Martians. The local school sports teams are actually the Mars Fightin' Planets (as in "the Butler Beavers are playing against the Mars Fightin' Planets").

 

[Jeff N]

Hey look, the latest model run has slashed CO snow totals for the Saturday/Sunday storm. Now looking at 3-6".

When it was ~12", I could at least tell myself that we might bet enough snow on the ground to at least run the snowmobile around for an afternoon.

 

[Jeff N]

BestSnow puts ~330" as the long term average at Silverton. That's solid and reliable, especially when you're farming powder between storms and not beating every run to a pulp. They catch storms well from different angles (unlike Telluride and Purg) and benefit from wind loading (although west side can get stripped). They've previously acknowledged that their 24 hour reports aren't always perfect, but the storm totals all add up accurately. San Juans do have more volatility, this is true, but they also get those big dumps that the other top performers in the state, like WP, Steamboat and Vail, rarely see (I'm talking 24"+ in 24 hours, which does happen at WC and Silverton a few times a year). This year might be the exception.

If they want to go the silent route on social media, that's their call. They've always done things differently in San Juan County, for better or worse.

I do disagree that they are better position to catch storms. Silverton is in the heart of the San Juans, which means they are not on the leading edge of storms from any aspect. The benefit of this is that they are less likely to get blocked out of storms (Northern track storms frequently dump snow in the N San Juans and not the South), but it also means that they usually aren't going to TRULY get more snow than everyone else in the San Juans from many storms at all. Telluride can expect to do better from storms that come straight from the West and Wolf from the South. Purgatory's elevation hurts it in snow totals, and like Silverton, its location makes it tough to really be the leading edge that generates orographic lift snowfall "bonus totals." The La Platas block Purgatory from getting insane SW flow storm totals like Wolf.

I don't really disagree with what you are saying about Silverton's overalls now totals. Consider this whole post more background to people less familiar with what is at play. I think Tony Crocker's 330" estimate is reasonable, but I would take daily snow reports from Silverton with an exceptionally large grain of salt. Wherever their snowstake is, it is not in a place that tends to be super representative of the mountain. I'd had several days at Silverton where the skiing was good, but skiing all aspects of the mountain I could find NOWHERE (save for windloaded pockets right under ridgeline that ran for ~20 feet) that matched the "official" totals. One day was about 3" fresh on a soft base layer, they claimed 8". I spent the day searching all aspects of that mountain for 8" of snow, no skiing that day wasn't touching bottom. Doesn't make it bad, just not 8". Silverton is tough because it blows like hell up there and one side of the mountain will be blown off and the other side bottomless, I get that, but the snow reporting is so weird that it makes me wonder if they even have an official reporting site or if they are just stabbing yardsticks in the snow in places that look good. I can even see an argument that moving the measuring spot around may be a better way, as Wind transport often matters more for conditions than the total volume that fell off the sky.

They also massage/guess at snow totals for snow that falls on days they don't operate (Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday) and I think this is where a lot of the sketchy reporting comes from. Snow consolidates down quickly. 36" in 24 hours doesn't actually measure as 36" because the weight of the new snow compacts the snow that fell earlier in a continuous process that continues after the storm passes. This is why lots of resorts will clear their snowstake several times a day in heavy storms- to prevent 36" from looking like 26" on the stake. At Silverton, any snow that fell from Sunday night through Thursday gets reported midday Thursday. If they were just reporting what was on the snowstake on Thursday, they would be significantly under-reporting what actually fell. Clearly they don't do that (or their snow totals would look pretty paltry), which means they are estimating/guessing what to report as the "official" figure for snow that could have fallen up to 4 days earlier. They have zero motivation to not guess generously, especially because a huge part of the marketing "sizzle" is Silverton getting massive amounts of snow.

As for how long snow at Silverton lasts, obviously powder hangs around. However, there are a lot of funnels where huge bowls neck down to narrow slide paths (All of Tiger, Cabin, Billboard), and it doesn't take much traffic for those slide paths to lose their freshness. This is also obviously some of the most accessible terrain at Silvy.. Get your glory turns in the bowls, because usually the snow quality will fall off a lot the further you go down. However, this is from the perspective of somebody truly spoiled by Wolf Creek, so others may feel very differently about powder availability.

I agree the San Juans as a whole tend to be feast/famine. We get big time storm cycles and then no snow for 1 1/2 months. Less of the few inches here, few inches there. It is kind of either on, or very off. I grew up skiing the front range, where stories would be told for years about 36" storm cycles. The amount of talk that 36" storms on the front range generates seems roughly equivalent to 100" cycles in the San Juans.

 

[Monique]

I spent the day searching all aspects of that mountain for 8" of snow, no skiing that day wasn't touching bottom. Doesn't make it bad, just not 8".

Sort of beside the point, but I've skied 8" that was definitely not bottomless. Eight inches of light snow on top of hardpack/"ice" ... I'd rather have snow that's a little heavier in that situation.

Snow consolidates down quickly. 36" in 24 hours doesn't actually measure as 36" because the weight of the new snow compacts the snow that fell earlier in a continuous process that continues after the storm passes.

And three day old snow does not typically ski the same way as overnight snow, even if it looks the same.

 

[StuckonI70]

How about a TL/DR version? This is a ski forum, save the senior thesis for next semester.

330" is plenty. They get big dumps. Sometimes snowfall is variable. The terrain is ridiculous . The guides have pointed us to the best conditions time after time. Silverton, simply put, is dope.

This season, when all is said and done, may suck immensely. Hope is fading, but stranger things have happened.

That is all.