After- Christmas strategy around SLC

[johnnash]

Our family will be travelling Christmas night, so the 26th will be our first day on the slopes. I've watched happily as the snow reports have justified Admin's faith in last week's weather forecasts! We'll have 5 ski days, most of which we'll spend in the Cottonwood Canyons, but I'm thinking that the 26th may be the best day to hit PCMR or Canyons, or maybe Snowbasin if they open Strawberry, which seems likely given their forecast. I'm basing this conclusion on considerations of weather (extreme cold at higher altitudes and heavy snow, which makes the drive on the CC roads a bit daunting for us out-of-towners, in addition to the possibility of road closures) and the hope that crowds at destination resorts may be sparser the day after Christmas -- when people are likely to be travelling -- than on subsequent days. (And I assume that locals will avoid places like PCMR at all costs the week between Christmas and New Year's.) Does that make sense, or am I missing something? I'd also appreciate hearing a "no bull" report if someone has been to PCMR, Canyons, or Snowbasin in the last couple of days. They have almost all lifts turning , but quite a few runs are not open yet, which does make one wonder about conditions. And I'm thinking that it's probably not worth the drive to Pow Mow, given their late start. But again, if any of you SLCers know otherwise, please let me know.

Thanks for any words of wisdom.

We can't wait to hit the slopes!

 

[Admin]

John, I'd expect PCMR to be quite crowded on the 26th, but that's only a hunch. Snowbasin has done quite well lately with snowfall, and I'd expect our predicted monster storm tomorrow to be no exception as the storm's initial flow is coming from the west. Don't be surprised if it's a slow start in the Salt Lake Valley due to shadowing by the Oquirrhs, whereas it'll be pounding elsewhere that you can't see from your location in the SLV (case in point: a similar flow in this last storm left only a dusting at my house while it snowed 18" at Alta). Unless Powder Mountain gets absolutely pounded from tomorrow's storm I'd go elsewhere for now.

 

[Admin]

Calling it a 'moist northwest flow' would be an understatement. By the time it stopped snowing last night, most areas picked up another foot of 4-5% snow....pushing storm totals to 18-24” in the Cottonwoods and the Provo and Park City mountains. In the Ogden mountains from 8am-3pm alone, it snowed 17” of 3-4% fluff, as they raked in 37” over two days. Feast or famine, it seems. Well, get ready to belly up for the main course. A powerful Pacific storm arriving tonight is likely to bring an additional 2-3' of snow to the high country by late Friday.

 

[Tony Crocker]

I'd vote for Snowbasin on the 26th also for johnash & family.

 

[johnnash]

Unfrortunately, johnnash & family won't be skiing anywhere on the 26th. Our flight, which was supposed to land in SLC at 7:30 last night, ended up getting diverted to Boise, where we spent about 3 hours before they re-opened the runways and we could fly back to SLC. We finally landed here around 1:30 -- which meant the car rental office was closed. So we had to wait another 2 hours for a taxi. We got to bed around 4:30 this morning, and with a sick wife and miserable road conditions, we're bagging the skiing for the day. :-({|=

Assuming Advantage still has our rental car (I called and they claim they do), we'll try again tomorrow. I'll be interested in reports of others who decide to venture out today. Here in downtown SLC, the snow has tapered off to a few flakes, but I wonder what it's like in the mountains. The forecast calls for a chance of some snow pretty much every day for the next week, but I hope the blizzard is finished.

This all brings to mind Daughtry's song "Home" -- "be careful what you wish for, cause you just might get it all, and then some you don't want ..." #-o

 

[Tony Crocker]

I'd say you got really unlucky. SLC airport closures are very rare AFAIK. I'd still recommend Snowbasin. I don't think you want to compete with the LCC feeding frenzy, especially on your first day.

FYI Park City is still only 64% open and The Canyons 56%. Some of this could be control work. Snowbasin is at 75% and Solitude 63%. Deer Valley at 89% might be another good option, but I'd suggest getting over there very early on general principles during "zoo week."

FYI Powder Mountain is at 45%. While its virtues of vast terrain and lack of competition are undeniable, I'm calling on its published 500 inch snowfall claim. I've been comparing PowMow in-season reported snowfall to Snowbasin the last 2 seasons: 121% in 2006-07 and 110% last year. Furthermore PowMow is fairly slow to open terrain even though it's not that steep an area. The real snowfall number is probably in the 375 range.

 

[Patrick]

I'd say you got really unlucky.

FYI Park City is still only 64% open and The Canyons 56%. Some of this could be control work. Snowbasin is at 75% and Solitude 63%. Deer Valley at 89% might be another good option, but I'd suggest getting over there very early on general principles during "zoo week."

FYI Powder Mountain is at 45%.

Okay, after all this negative stuff about the East...blah blah blah. I did a quick check on Quebec's two major ski areas.

Mont Ste-Anne is at 100% with 72 inch snowtotal this season.
Tremblant is at 82% with 80 inches.

I've said, time and time again, that the Quebec City is a great place to ski during the Christmas Holidays. So enough with the all positives versus all negatives of both regions.

 

[Admin]

I'd say you got really unlucky. SLC airport closures are very rare AFAIK.

Very true. Bummer for you, John, but there's still plenty to be had. At Alta today Supreme never spun, so that's all there for tomorrow, plus Ballroom, Baldy Shoulder, Backside, etc. It'll be just as good tomorrow morning, if not better.

Okay, after all this negative stuff about the East...blah blah blah. I did a quick check on Quebec's two major ski areas.

Mont Ste-Anne is at 100% with 72 inch snowtotal this season.
Tremblant is at 82% with 80 inches.

Yeah, you're right...I'd rather ski 100% rain-soaked-and-refrozen manmade than a couple of feet of fresh untracked natural. :roll:

FWIW, Tony's percentages to a large part reflect control closures. Our snowpack is ridiculously unstable here right now and no patrol in their right mind will begin much control work before tomorrow. Witness the closures listed above at Alta today.

We got positively pounded here last night, and for once it's state-wide -- every ski area, every city and town. I've got more snow in my yard than I can remember in a long time.

 

[Patrick]

Yeah, you're right...I'd rather ski 100% rain-soaked-and-refrozen manmade than a couple of feet of fresh untracked natural. :roll:

Geez, I didn't know there was snowmaking in the glades at MSA. :roll: Rain soaked. :lol: Even J commenting about the lack of damage from the rain.

I don't think there was much in the way of liquid precipitation (I've heard people talking about rain but I haven't seen any, or heard any hard numbers to suggest there was much) (...)
So at least on Mt. Mansfield, any liquid precipitation must have fallen on Wednesday and couldn't have been too extensive if there was only 0.24 inches of liquid including 2.0 inches of snow.

All I'm trying to point out is the East isn't that bad, regardless of perceptions. Tony always like to point out the % open terrain, so I thought this was a perfect time to point out that assumptions and numbers might not always tell the whole story. :snowball fight:

 

[Tony Crocker]

I've just been compiling info to update the Season Progress Report. I agree that all the closures now are due to control issues, given that Jupiter Bowl has had 79 inches of snow since Dec. 15. Also Jackson Hole I'd guess, which has had 70 inches in the same time frame but is still only 40% open today. The Sierra is in the same situation, though I suspect it's still a close call whether Mott Canyon or the Mt. Rose chutes have enough snow to open yet. The storm track is shifting north, so I suspect most of this closed terrain is going to get open over the next few days.

There are some places still hurting. Whistler is at 26% and Mark's blog fom yesterday is scathing. The Canadian powder stashes just above the border aren't pretty either. Red, Fernie, Whitewater and Castle range from 18-32% open on 41-66% of normal snowfall.

Be glad you're in Utah. You'll be happy campers by the end of your trip.

Yeah, you're right...I'd rather ski 100% rain-soaked-and-refrozen manmade than a couple of feet of fresh untracked natural. :roll:

Yes and that's 400 acres of the rain-soaked-and-refrozen manmade vs. 2,000+ acres of the fresh untracked. A real tough call.

As today's Baldy report shows, it does not take a downpour to produce a bulletproof surface.

 

[Patrick]

Yeah, you're right...I'd rather ski 100% rain-soaked-and-refrozen manmade than a couple of feet of fresh untracked natural. :roll:

Yes and that's 400 acres of the rain-soaked-and-refrozen manmade vs. 2,000+ acres of the fresh untracked. A real tough call.

As today's Baldy report shows, it does not take a downpour to produce a bulletproof surface.

To quote an old friend of yours.

there you go again, talking about Baldy ](*,)

 

[Tony Crocker]

And there you go again, making a ludicrous claim that johnash's Christmas week skiing might be comparable in Quebec City to SLC. I'm not the one who started this particular :dead horse: .

 

[Patrick]

And there you go again, making a ludicrous claim that johnash's Christmas week skiing might be comparable in Quebec City to SLC. I'm not the one who started this particular :dead horse: .

Did I say that??? I just mentioned about % of trails...you jumped automatically to that conclusion. [-X

I just said, and have always said, that the Quebec City area is a great place to spend time skiing during the Holidays (Christmas or Easter).

 

[skibum4ever]

Patrick and Tony, It's so funny when you 2 argue about east vs. west. Having skied on both sides, I believe that Patrick is jealous. Once we skied in the west, we had no desire to ski in the east ever again. So Tony, I'm on your side with this one. We're just waiting for the crowds to thin before we head out for an extended road trip (and we won't be going anywhere east of Denver!). Maybe the snowpack will stabilize by then. \/

 

[icelanticskier]

Patrick and Tony, It's so funny when you 2 argue about east vs. west. Having skied on both sides, I believe that Patrick is jealous. Once we skied in the west, we had no desire to ski in the east ever again. So Tony, I'm on your side with this one. We're just waiting for the crowds to thin before we head out for an extended road trip (and we won't be going anywhere east of Denver!). Maybe the snowpack will stabilize by then. \/

hey, road trip huh? don't limit yerself. two seasons ago i took a 6 1/2 week road trip with the intention of heading west and staying there for most of it. well, on jan 19th i started at stowe where it snowed a foot and a half and ended at wildcat on march 5th with another pow day. in the 46 days i was on the road between west virginia and maine i hit over 13 feet of storms and 41 days of skiing and never made it west cuz it wasn't snowing like it was here, not even close. as far as this season goes, you can have yer weak snowpack, road closures-driving around in circles like cattle and storm snow that ya can't even get to. i'll bet my 20 inches of fresh at cannon on monday skied just as good as any 20 inches out there and it was drive right up and ski right on with no lines all day long. having 200 inches fall by x-mas is great, but 200 inches failing is not much fun. hope it heals up, just pushed my trip back to march as jan could be high pressure and still sketch, then again it might not be.
rog

 

[Patrick]

Having skied on both sides, I believe that Patrick is jealous.

Not at all, Barb. Not jealous at all. I'm happy reading Admin's almost daily reports (geez, does this guy work? where does he find the time?) I'm totally serious, I have has much fun than out West, the Alps or the Andes. Okay, I'm not having fun now, because I'm stuck here (ie. at home with back pain)...but the season is long and I'll get my turns sooner or much later.

Once we skied in the west, we had no desire to ski in the east ever again.

That might be true for you guys, but not the case for me. If it would be, I would be travelling out West at every occasion, but I'm not (although I have a ton of frequent flyer miles). I love Eastern skiing...as I love the West, Alps or Andes. All special, fun and unique in their own way.

 

[Tony Crocker]

I love Eastern skiing

20% of the time by his own admission if it weren't where he lives. skibum4ever's sentiments (never again), while extreme, are quite common among those who have lived both East and West.

 

[Patrick]

I love Eastern skiing

20% of the time by his own admission if it weren't where he lives. skibum4ever's sentiments (never again), while extreme, are quite common among those who have lived both East and West.

I love Eastern skiing...as I love the West, Alps or Andes. All special, fun and unique in their own way.

The actual quote was 20% East, 40% West, 40% Alps. (that is prior to me skiing the Andes and doesn't include the rest of the globe) :roll:

Even if I would live at Alta, I wouldn't ski Alta 100% of the time. I like diversity and different places, I know the East and the East only represent a fraction of the World.

 

[socal]

I'd say i'm part of the extreme. I moved from the EC to the west and unless I had a business meeting in Burlington (free travel and lodging) I would not even consider skiing there. I love Vt and could see a summer trip there but not for skiing. Last trip to vt ended with us driving to Montreal and gambling since it was pouring everywhere. Finally changed over to snow and it was literally -5 with 70mph gusts, Jay sold tickets for $20 on a Sunday iI used my canadian dollars at par too and it still wasn't worth it.