jamesdeluxe
Administrator
38 posts later -- back to Utah:
Any truth to the TGR rumor about March 29 being Alta's final day for the season?
Any truth to the TGR rumor about March 29 being Alta's final day for the season?
Deer Valley, UT 3/15/2015
- Thread starter Admin
- Start date
Marc_C
Active member
jamesdeluxe":19gbfr4y said:
I'd be very surprised if that's true. Consider:
* there is still more than adequate coverage
* it's extraordinarily unlikely that snowfall has ended for the year, even given the abnormal storm patterns and dry year
* I received a marketing email from Alta last week talking up Spring at Alta which still maintained the dual April "final" dates as does their (currently somewhat broken) web site: "Alta is open through April 19, then reopens April 24-26."
Do you have a link to the TGR discussion?
jamesdeluxe
Administrator
I went back a half hour later and it had been pulled -- it was some local bellyaching about conditions.
I don't post here much, but I usually swing by and read the reports. As a lurker I'm finding it pretty funny to read Marc give James the business for skiing at the "wrong time." Near as my lurker self can tell Marc doesn't actually ski, he seems to just snipe at others about skiing.
I see Bobby and Amy quite a bit, I see admin most times I go over to Alta. I have no idea what Marc looks like nor have I seen any evidence of him skiing posted on this board. (Except for some bad video years ago)
Just my observation, heh.
I see Bobby and Amy quite a bit, I see admin most times I go over to Alta. I have no idea what Marc looks like nor have I seen any evidence of him skiing posted on this board. (Except for some bad video years ago)
Just my observation, heh.
tseeb
Well-known member
I could start my own thread on this, but this one seems to be getting all the action so I'll add on. While Alta may not be closing in March, Sierra-at-Tahoe closed on March 16 and Sugar Bowl is closing this Sunday, March 22. These both are not marginal California ski area as they are in areas of high snowfall, at or just W of Sierra Crest with almost 400" and over 450" annual average snowfall, respectively.
They join the following already closed ski areas in Central and No. CA: Badger Pass, China Peak, Dodge Ridge, Donner Ski Ranch, Homewood, Mt Shasta, Soda Springs and Tahoe Donner.
I know Tony Crocker tracks snowfall and thinks 1976-77 was worse than current season. While that may be for snowfall, this year is worse for snowpack with CA Sierra now at 10-15% of normal.
They join the following already closed ski areas in Central and No. CA: Badger Pass, China Peak, Dodge Ridge, Donner Ski Ranch, Homewood, Mt Shasta, Soda Springs and Tahoe Donner.
I know Tony Crocker tracks snowfall and thinks 1976-77 was worse than current season. While that may be for snowfall, this year is worse for snowpack with CA Sierra now at 10-15% of normal.
jamesdeluxe
Administrator
jamesdeluxe
Administrator
I love how the first post of this thread was a Deer Valley trip report -- which concluded with, what else, a completely gratuitous EC jab -- followed by 51 off-topic posts. I guess that Tony has abdicated his moderator responsibilities while chasing eclipses.
Marc_C
Active member
Settle down Francis. You seem to be confusing the text forum version of apre-ski bar s#!t-talking with actual argument. I've even skied with jamesdeluxe and had beers with him when he was visiting. He seems like a nice guy.BobMc":3fz49rvs said:
But you're right, I never ski. Actually I don't even exist - I'm a robot that Admin built to outrage lurkers and up the page hits on the site to juice the analytics.
Marc_C
Active member
When you think about it there really isn't that much to say - like when Bobby, Amy, Jon, Kay, Arnie, and I went to DV when Admin was in Crested Butte. I think I have a half dozen pics from that day but I don't tend to post TRs.jamesdeluxe":36ttmb6q said:
Supplied by Admin I might add!jamesdeluxe":36ttmb6q said:
jamesdeluxe
Administrator
Noted. A decade after moving to SLC, he's still trying to justify his life choices. :stir:Marc_C":oecx8s4m said:
jamesdeluxe":2xgxu3ch said:
All I said was that you east coasters seem to enjoy your bumps, which is an indisputable fact based on my observations. If you took that as a "jab," well...that's your psychosi^h^h^h^h^h^h^h^h...err, "problem."Damn, I spilled my popcorn...
Having seen Mammoth stay open to Memorial Day last year on less than 200 inches, Alta/Snowbird getting into late April on 250 is a non-issue.
Mammoth is not likely to get even close to Memorial Day this year with 94 inches season-to-date unless there is a huge April.
Mammoth is not likely to get even close to Memorial Day this year with 94 inches season-to-date unless there is a huge April.
I was barely learning to ski in 1976-77 and had yet to ski outside the SoCal locals.tseeb":29dvqe4q said:
The data over the entire West conclusively shows that 1976-77 was in a class by itself, collectively averaging 58% of normal snowfall. The current season is running neck-and-neck with 1980-81 for second place at 67%.
As for the West Coast it's a legitimate question whether an extreme drought season like 1976-77 is worse than a season with somewhat more snow but a lot of rain. I think the PNW skiers might prefer 1976-77, where it was extremely dry through January, followed by an average February and an above average March.
It probably varies by area in the Sierra. I was quite shocked by Sugar Bowl's closure, as I thought they did well with snow in December, when storms made it up to but not over the Sierra Crest. Through much of the winter Sugar Bowl and Kirkwood consistently reported highest percents of terrain open. Sugar Bowl is much lower than Kirkwood, so it's going to lose snow faster in a warm spring. The Sierra numbers that are likely worse than 1976-77 are Heavenly, Northstar and the base of Squaw. The latter is due to lots of rain vs. snow. As far as actual skiing is concerned Heavenly and Northstar have big snowmaking systems now that they did not in 1976-77.
The forgotten trivia of 1976-77 was the major winter storm of May 7-9. I remember this because I skied Baldy the next Saturday and suffered the worst sunburn of my life. The Central Sierra Snow Lab on Donner Summit recorded 40 inches in May 1977, so I have no doubt this storm hit the entire state. I have also seen records of Mammoth closing in late May 1977, which would not have been possible on just the 90 inches they got before May. Thus I credit Mammoth with 3 feet of snow in May 1977.
And yes I'm too busy in Iceland to split up this thread. More on topic, Jim Steenburgh believes there is a 60% chance that Alta will fall short of its 1976-77 record low snowfall.