foofyland pics...a few 4/22-4/29

[icelanticskier]

late april in the wasatch? i'm sold. conditions can be here and there, but when hit right, it's really right. can't wait to come back next april for an extended version. didn't take pics on a couple of days. the last day off of lil superior was amazing. wish i had pics of that run. glad a bunch of folks like to do other things than ski when base depths are huge and the snow is still falling. the mountains were empty. empty like the prezzies are in dec, jan, and feb.

rog

 

[EMSC]

You make tracks like me (well OK, I don't typically go out of ski area boundaries).

But, I make turns. Interesting to watch in a WM movie, but I have no interest in straight-lining powder shots. It's all about the feel of good powder turns, not how few you can make (for me anyway, and apparently you guys too).

 

[Admin]

Nice shots! Thank you.

when it gets too steep for skinning, start booting. great slackcountry spot here. no tracks anywhere.

I know that spot... :-"

 

[icelanticskier]

But, I make turns. Interesting to watch in a WM movie, but I have no interest in straight-lining powder shots. It's all about the feel of good powder turns, not how few you can make (for me anyway, and apparently you guys too).

i hear ya. i'm all about the turn and lots of em. since i switched from free heels to training heels, i do open em up a slight bit more, like 1 turn for every 1 1/2 free heel turns. it just works out that way for me.

rog

 

[icelanticskier]

Nice shots! Thank you.

when it gets too steep for skinning, start booting. great slackcountry spot here. no tracks anywhere.

I know that spot... :-"

nice spot for sure. was my 1st time in that spot. and to think i used to access that whole area (other than that one spot) from the bottom. never again if i can help it. it's just way too easy and convenient from lift assist and i'm all about easy when it works out. that said, i think i will buy that 279 spring pass next year if i can get out there for 2+ weeks for convenience sake.

rog

 

[Tony Crocker]

late april in the wasatch? i'm sold. conditions can be here and there, but when hit right, it's really right.

This April was a record 145.5 inches at Alta. Nonetheless the long term average of 73 inches is better than anywhere else.

Alta's 696 inches in 2007-08 will almost certainly be #1 in North America for only the second time, the 1984 record year of 749.5 inches being the other one. I've started collecting season end data, and Mt. Rainier Paradise had 660 and Alyeska 615 at the top (I count mid there). I don't have Mt. Baker data yet, but given Whistler's below average season it seems likely that Baker will be well below Rainier.

 

[Bobby Danger]

nice pix rog ! to bad it's right 98% of the time. 25 years in the wasatch myself.

 

[Admin]

Alta's 696 inches in 2007-08 will almost certainly be #1 in North America for only the second time

I presume that you mean 2008-09?

 

[Tony Crocker]

I presume that you mean 2008-09?

 

[Marc_C]

Alta's 696 inches in 2007-08 [sic 2008/09] will almost certainly be #1 in North America for only the second time, the 1984 record year of 749.5 inches being the other one.

What about 2004/05, when Snowbird went till July 4? IIRC, that year was 750" as well. Did somewhere surpass the Wasatch that season?

 

[Patrick]

I don't know about that year, this year or any specific year for one area. I'll let Tony answer that question for the mainstream areas. Some of them don't keep the numbers on their website once they shutdown for the season on the last week of March. (I can hear Tony asking me for numbers) Shames mountain near Terrace BC snow total averages 472" so on a good year? :-k

 

[Tony Crocker]

I have 698 for Alta in 2004-05. That DOES include the big October because that was material in early opening of Utah ski areas. I obtained that from patrol at the end of the season, but it also agrees with Alta's new history webpage: http://www.alta.com/pages/snowhistory.php#pastseasons

http://webpages.charter.net/tcrocker818/summ05.htm is the summary of 2004-05. Similar summaries are online (summyy.htm) back to 1995-96. Kirkwood had 722 that year. Depending upon prevailing storm tracks one of the Pacific sites (Kirkwood, Mt., Rainier or Mt. Baker) usually has more than Alta. Also Alyeska from time to time. Relative to average the biggest coastal numbers this year were from Oregon, though it fell off fast as one moves north from there. Nonetheless Mt. Rainier Paradise got 660, which was slightly above average for there. Expressed in terms of percent of normal snow I have little doubt that Utah was the standout region this season.

 

[Admin]

I have 698 for Alta in 2004-05. That DOES include the big October because that was material in early opening of Utah ski areas.

But it does not include the significant snowfall that Snowbird received well past Alta's closing through the end of May.

 

[Marc_C]

Regarding the Wasatch, it's important to note that the seasonal snowfall record keeping stops at the end of April. In some of those huge years, where we went well into June or even July, we had several significant storms in May, to the tune of several feet.

 

[Tony Crocker]

Snowbird's 618 does include May because it was open. Alta was not open, so May doesn't count. Kirkwood wasn't open either, and since Mammoth got 31 inches in May 2005 it's safe to say Kirkwood would still have been ahead of Alta for that season.

Wasatch snowfall is far more consistent than the Sierra. That means that when both have big years, the Sierra will usally get more, and in the bad years (most recently 2007) it can really suck in the Sierra when LCC is still manageable.

Some of Utah's big years the storms track more from the PNW. But when that happens Baker and Rainier (both of which average ~650) will almost always get more than Alta. This year sometimes the track went south (February) and sometimes north (late March and April) but in both cases Utah got more than its fair share. I'm not sure what the story was in 1983-84: huge in both Utah and Colorado but close to average along the whole Pacific Coast.

 

[salida]

Craig turns more than anyone I know. Saw his tracks on Gad 2 on Sun and ran into him out back on Mon.

 

[Skidog]

Craig turns more than anyone I know. Saw his tracks on Gad 2 on Sun and ran into him out back on Mon.

"turnin pete" is the only one I know that might turn more...

I been running into Craig a lot lately.

M

 

[icelanticskier]

Craig turns more than anyone I know. Saw his tracks on Gad 2 on Sun and ran into him out back on Mon.

lemme guess? was he lapping the birthday apron? tri's?

ya, he makes a few turns here and there. i make sure to prepare my lunch while he skis the 1st half of his lap, and eat the lunch on his second half. or on little sup, i coulda added a nap to my lunch routine. :mrgreen:

rog

 

[Bobby Danger]

saw craig today in the tram building dressed in a three piece suit skiing with a mistress in a white dress. yes i went skiing .

 

[salida]

Craig turns more than anyone I know. Saw his tracks on Gad 2 on Sun and ran into him out back on Mon.

lemme guess? was he lapping the birthday apron? tri's?

ya, he makes a few turns here and there. i make sure to prepare my lunch while he skis the 1st half of his lap, and eat the lunch on his second half. or on little sup, i coulda added a nap to my lunch routine. :mrgreen:

rog

Baldy bowl apron