When Does the Snow Return?

It's time for some new snow! That's the message I've been hearing loud and clear from my fellow skiing & boarding friends. Well, there is SOME good news -- there is a weather pattern change on the way.

It looks like we'll be getting a shot of cold air from the north late this weekend into early next. As this cold air arrive arrives, a weak low will attempt to form off the Oregon Coast. The result will be some light snow over the mountains -- and that snow will fall at nearly every elevation (including down to sea level!). Later Saturday through Sunday the time frame for the snow.

That's the good news. The not-so-good news is that the new snow amounts are likely to be minimal. I can't see any more than 6" from this late weekend system. And it could be more like 1-3". With such a small amount of new snow, conditions will be "variable" -- meaning that the new snow will barely cover a bullet-proof, hard-packed base.

And beyond this weekend, it appears that we'll head back into dry regime again. But I suspect that next week's dry spell won't last for long... there are longer-range signs of a return to wet & snowy weather beyond next week. We'll see... and hope for it!

-Drew

Calmer Weather... Finally

Since Christmas, the weather in the mountains has been.... AWFUL. True, there have been a couple good days, but some of the days have featured the harshest weather in my memory. The normally busy Christmas holiday was a nightmare for the ski areas. Attendance was devastatingly low given the heavy rain, freezing rain, strong winds, and snow in Portland.

And this week was no better, as the past two days were truly terrible in the mountains. Here's a summary of this most recent storm's effects:

- Timberline and Ski Bowl were closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Mt. Hood Meadows had Buttercup open, but decided to close completely Wednesday afternoon.

- Mt. Bachelor had several days of freezing rain and damaging wind. The ski area was open only on a limited basis Monday and Tuesday, and was completely closed Wednesday. There are hundreds of trees down all over the mountain. The ski area managed to get a small portion of the area open today, and they're hoping to get more of the mountain open Friday.

- The wind peaked Tuesday evening -- there was a gust to 130 mph at the top of the Magic Mile lift at Timberline, and a gust to nearly 80 mph at the top of the Mt. Hood Express lift at Meadows. This is about as windy as it gets up there.

Now... some much better news. The worst is over. Today (Thursday), the situation is far improved, as the temperature has dropped and new snow has returned. Friday will feature several inches of new snow, and the sun will come out during the day.

Overall, the weather pattern is now going through a significant change -- from super stormy to super serene! After tonight, there won't be much new snow for many days. And next week looks sunny, warm and calm every day. It's a much-needed break!

-Drew

TRIP REPORT: First day... finally!

So... after the late start to the snow season, and then all of the weather craziness keeping me at work, I FINALLY got to ski on Sunday (January 4th)!!!!

I went to Mt. Hood Meadows, whereI skied from 9am until 5pm (minus 1 hour for lunch). Yes, it was a long day... and my knees are feeling it today. Overall, it was a really good day.

A few observations:

1) There is plenty of snow. This year has gone from famine to feast in a hurry.

2) There is so much evidence of last week's storminess. It's obvious that ski area crews had significant clean-up work to do. Many trees fell, and there is very thick ice still caked onto many of the lift towers. The storm on New Year's Day was especially brutal, and I understand how and why it took most of the day-after to recover from that storm. The snow itself was pretty good -- some nice dry fluff above some "variable" snow underneath. The groomed snow was sufficiently carvable, yet still fast.

3) Despite the challenging conditions of late, Meadows had all lifts and runs open on Sunday, with the exception of Cascade Express (and the upper mountain runs served by that lift). It was apparent that crews we working up there -- blasting some potential avalanche spots and de-icing the lift tower machinery. They were doing this despite the forecast for increased storminess that surely would undo much of their work.

4) Heather Canyon (and the lift serving it) is now open for the season. The Howitzer is there, and they're using it when necessary. While the weapon may help get the Canyon open earlier each day, its real benefit is to make the avalanche control work safer and more effective for the patrol crew.

It may be several days before I'm able to make it up there again, but if you have a report to share, feel free to leave a comment for me to post.

Briefly turning to the weather... we'll have to survive a couple days of rainy and windy conditions before more pleasant winter weather returns. The snow level will be at or above 8,000 feet through Wednesday. Rain will be light through Tuesday, but Wednesday looks like a soaker. Skip that day. The snow level will dramatically plummet early Thursday, and significant new snow is likely Thursday (but it'll be windy). By Friday, it'll be dry and calm... and Friday will begin an extended stretch of dry and mild weather in the mountains. While the snow may turn spring-like, the break in the storminess will allow mountain crews to get their upper mountains open... for the first time this season!

-Drew

Snowy... Soggy... and Stormy

Just 3 weeks ago, we were fretting about barren slopes and a very sluggish start to the skiing/boarding season. My, how things can change in a hurry.

The past two weeks have featured some of the craziest winter weather in nearly a half-century. Tremendous snow fell in the Cascades (10 feet!), and then there have been freezing rain, heavy (regular) rain, and some damaging winds thrown in the mix as well. Indeed, conditions in the mountains have been "challenging" at times. And there's still more to come in this wild weather pattern.

Up next... an intense storm that will bring heavy rain and extremely high winds to the mountains for New Year's Day. It will be an unpleasant day on the slopes -- I wouldn't be surprised if the wind gusted to nearly 100 mph above tree-line on Mount Hood. Take a look at my forecast graphics... and you'll see that starting Friday, the situation greatly improves. The snow level absolutely plunges Friday morning, and heavy snow will fall down to nearly 1,000 feet all day Friday and into Saturday. The weekend will feature the best conditions of this season to date.

Unfortunately, the freezing level will take a hike upward again next week. Overall, it's a stormy weather pattern -- snowy at times... and soggy at times. And also very windy at times. Dress for the storminess... and enjoy this weekend's great snow!

Drew

Deep Powder... RUINED

I think everyone will agree that freezing rain is miserable. It's rare that freezing rain falls at the ski areas, but it happened overnight Saturday night into Sunday. If any of you were up to the mountain expecting to enjoy the five-plus feet of light fluffy powder, I can only imagine your level of disappointment and disgust to discover that the powder was totally ruined by a freezing rain-caused icy crust. I'm bitter about it... and I wasn't even up there to experience it.

It was a complicated weather situation that caused the freezing rain in the mountains. I won't get into the physics of it. Instead, I'll jump to the punchline: it's over! No more threat of freezing rain. And it does look like we'll get significant new snow to cover that icy crust in the coming days. Wednesday through Friday will feature another monster snowstorm for the Cascades -- expect at least 2 feet of new snow. It may end up being 3-4 feet when the storm winds down late in the week. Friday looks to be a "Powder Alert" day with high-quality snow, as the snow level will be down to nearly 1,000 feet and temperatures will be in the teens at the higher ski areas.

I should also mention that avalanche danger is now extremely high, due to that heavy crust on top of the deep powder. Backcountry skiing/boarding at higher elevations is a terrible idea this week -- stay safe and wait until the snowpack stabilizes.

Have a great holiday break!

Drew

Back by Popular Demand

Well, I was going to do something else this winter and (and I am... more below)... and not do this blog. But, I've reconsidered. I'm back... and I'm sorry for the abandonment.

First things first -- I've started a "Powder Alert" e-mail service through Ski Oregon. You can sign up at SkiOregon.org -- just go to the bottom of the page and enter your e-mail address. I'll be sending situation-dependent snow forecast e-mails periodically this season to subscribers. It's totally free... and I promise that your e-mail inbox won't get cluttered with junk mail.

Despite the late start, all signs point to a good-to-great snow season in the mountains. This recent storm featured cold, dry & fluffy snow, and while that would be great during the mid-season, it's actually not ideal for base building. The snow will likely settle -- a lot -- meaning that a 30" base could be no more than 20" in a couple days. But that's without additional snow. Thankfully, there's more coming.

After a terrible November & early December, the weather pattern looks much more favorable now for accumating snow. Up to a foot is possible with the Wednesday/Thursday storm, and this weekend will bring additional significant accumulation.

The season is off and running... and I promise not to disappear (for a least a few months). Thanks for being loyal!

Not much to talk about...

Sorry I've been so silent lately... it's just that the weather pattern has been so benign and uninteresting lately. I've been too busy to make it up the mountain much as well. The last time I was up there (two weeks ago), however, it was pretty dead. Without significant new snow, the crowd has been very thin on the weekdays. I heard the weekend of 3/1-3/2 was very busy though.

It looks like we'll get a good burst of new snow later this week. Maybe 1-2 feet if all goes well. I'm talking about Thursday-Saturday. The snow level should be pretty low too... 2,000-3,000 feet. That's pretty low for this time of year.

Each of the three Mt. Hood ski areas is now offering unlimited spring passes for sale. The prices:
- Skibowl $88.00 -- good for unlimited visits until closing day (mid-April?)
- Timberline $99.00 -- good for unlimited visits through the end of May
- Meadows $119.00 -- good for unlimited visits until closing day (April 27 for daily operation, weekends only as part of the May Challenge)

The new trend is for the ski areas of offer good deals on end-of-the-season passes instead of discounting daily lift tickets. Timberline typically has dropped their spring daily rates into the $30-40 range -- we'll see if they do that again this year. And Skibowl & Meadows have offered free lift tickets on closing day in the past as well.

Within the next couple weeks, Timberline should be prepping the Palmer lift for its seasonal opening. We're entering my favorite time of year to ski at Timberline -- when the Palmer lift opens and the full 3,800 vertical feet of mountain is available to ski. It's a thigh-burner going from top to bottom!

Fresh Snow Returns

As many of you noticed, there was a big weather pattern change a couple weeks ago... the result being a lack of new snow recently. Indeed, as the above graphic shows, 175" of new snow fell at Mt. Hood Meadows during a 2-3 week period from late January through early February. But since mid-February -- just 17" total.

While I do not see a return to the very snowy pattern of a month ago, this weekend will mark a return to snowy conditions in the mountains. From Friday night through early Sunday morning, I expect at least 12" of new snow at the ski areas. Saturday should be pretty snowy, with the snow level around 2,500 feet, while Sunday should feature some sunshine.

All told... it looks like a very good skiing & boarding weekend coming up. Enjoy!

My Favorites

I'm back... sorry for the lack of posts this past week. I made it up to the mountain once during the recent spell of dry and sunny weather. It was nice to be up in the sunshine and to let the skis fly on the spring-like snow. Upper Bowl at Skibowl is really fun when it's groomed. Smooth, fast and steep... my favorite type of ski run.

Speaking of favorites... allow me, if you will, to share some of my favorite runs on Mount Hood:

My favorite groomed cruisers:

1) Timberline -- Palmer. I love skiing this run (when the lift is open and when there's lots of snow). It's wide, it's usually well-groomed, and it has the steepest (sustained) pitch of all regularly-groomed, long runs on the mountain. There are steeper pitches elsewhere on Mt. Hood, but none match the length and wide-open nature of Palmer.

2) Skibowl -- Cannonball. This main run down the "gut" of the Upper Bowl is a speed-a-holic's dream -- when it's groomed smooth. If only it was longer...

3) Meadows -- Outer Limits to Memorial or Pluto Bowl (lower Heather Canyon). This route drops 2,000 vertical feet over a 2-mile path and, when groomed, combines the intermediate cruise down Outer Limits with the "hold-your-edge-or-suffer-big-consequences" skid down Memorial or Pluto bowls of Lower Heather Canyon.

4) Meadows -- Two Bowl. Not always groomed, but when it is... it's a fun one-two punch down Two Bowl and then Lower Face.

5) Meadows -- Boulevard. Not as steep as my other favorites, Boulevard can still be challenging at high-speeds because of it's rolls, dips and slight twists & turns. Also, it's one long ride...

My favorite "natural" runs:

1) Meadows -- Silver Bowl (upper Heather Canyon) to Clark Canyon or Heather Woods. When the powder is deep and fresh, nothing further needs to be said. :) Even when there's no new snow, a perviously-triggered avalanche can leave a smooth path right down Silver Bowl (just be sure to avoid the avalanche pile at the bottom). About 3/4 of the way down, traverse left so that you can get over to Clark Canyon. Depending on the snow and recent weather, sometimes the shadier pitches down Clark Canyon are best, while sometimes the sun-exposed paths through Heather Woods are best.

2) Skibowl -- Outback area. Granted, I'm just beginning to explore this area... I don't know it well just yet, so I can't be very specific as to which routes through the Outback I like best. But from what I've seen, it's a powder playground when the weather pattern is right (snowy with a low freezing level). I like the mix of bowls and trees... along with the low density of skiers/boarders.

3) Meadows -- Jacks Woods. Yes, it gets cut-up way too fast. But that first run (or two if you're lucky) on a powder day is heavenly.

4) Skibowl -- the West Wall (in the Upper Bowl). The trees are perfectly-spaced, and there's enough night-lighting nearby such that you can venture into parts of this area after dark. There aren't many places in the world where you get get fresh tracks... in the trees... during a snowstorm... at 8 o'clock at night.

5) Meadows -- Private Reserve. Relative new to the Meadows' collection of expert playgrounds, the "PR" is open more often and skied/boarded less often than Heather Canyon above it. If it weren't for the walk-out at the end...

There you have it... my favorite runs. How about yours?

Tuesday Quick Update

Well... so much for the Wednesday powder day. New computer model guidance now suggests that this Tuesday/Wednesday push of colder air won't be accompanied by nearly as much moisture. So I now expect only a couple inches of snow... at best... Tuesday night into Wednesday.. It will get dramatically colder, however, so if there isn't much new snow... expect very hard-packed conditions off the groomed runs until Thursday afternoon.

This weekend still looks very spring-like, as the freezing level will be near the summit of Mount Hood. Ski area temperatures in the mid-high 40s are likely both Saturday and Sunday beneath bright blue sky, sunshine, and little wind.