LCC/BCC Conditions

[socal]

I'm headed out on Thursday night. I haven't seen a lot of TR's on the conditions recently and was curious what to expect. Sounds like there's going to be some light snow Wednesday and Thursday but it doesn't sound like a lot (and a pretty high snow level). We're staying downtown (not at my suggestion) and the group (one is an alum of the U) is considering at least one day up north (Powmow or Snowbasin).

Any thoughts on what to expect so I can start working on convincing people to go to the places that will have the best snow available (I know LCC is obvious)?

 

[Marc_C]

We had rain last night to 8000' and it's been warm. The best snow conditions will be high and on the northern aspects. While there is some snow in the forecast, it's not a lot, although the rain/snow line is expected to drop a bit on Friday night. From today's avi advisory:

Wet, warm and windy. The precipitation seemed hit or miss, with the Provo mountains picking up what looks to be almost a third of an inch of rain up to about 8000’, the Ogden mountains perhaps a third to a half inch of rain, and the Cottonwoods and Park City areas perhaps a tenth of an inch or so. Not that it rained on our parade…..the snow conditions have been deteriorating since Saturday. It is instructive that guide and observer Dan Griffith, who loves skiing as much as anyone, finally had some unprintable things to say about the riding conditions.

Personally, I'd stay away from the Ogden mountains (Snowbasin, Powder Mtn.) until after the next significant storm, although the groomers and heavily skied lines in the ungroomed areas will probably be OK (one of the problems with Powder Mtn - extremely few heavily skied ungroomed lines. So when it chunks and cruds up, it stays that way!). I wouldn't even be too terribly surprised if the ungroomed at AltaBird is only so-so this weekend. It'll all depend on how much new snow and what the temps do.

 

[Admin]

It rained as high as 8,000 feet this week, primarily in the Ogden and Provo area mountains, hence the choice to stick to higher elevations is obvious. Unless things change dramatically, this will be a week to follow the sun, starting the day on south-facing, then working to east-facing, and finally west-facing in the afternoon after the sun has had a chance to nicely soften each aspect.

 

[Marc_C]

Unless things change dramatically, this will be a week to follow the sun, starting the day on south-facing, then working to east-facing, and finally west-facing in the afternoon after the sun has had a chance to nicely soften each aspect.

If there's sun. Current NWS for Snowbird:

Thursday: Snow, mainly before 11am. High near 37. West southwest wind between 5 and 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

Thursday Night: Snow likely. Cloudy, with a low around 21. South southwest wind around 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Friday: Snow. High near 32. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

Friday Night: Snow likely, mainly before 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 19. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Saturday: A slight chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 45.

Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 21.

Sunday: A chance of snow. Cloudy, with a high near 43.

Sunday Night: A chance of snow. Cloudy, with a low around 24.

Monday: A chance of snow. Cloudy, with a high near 42.

Monday Night: A chance of snow. Cloudy, with a low around 25.

Tuesday: A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 44.

 

[marcski]

Is anyone skiing tomorrow up at Alta? I'll be there to take some runs and make some turns.

Devil's Castle had the best snow today.

 

[Admin]

Is anyone skiing tomorrow up at Alta? I'll be there to take some runs and make some turns.

Devil's Castle had the best snow today.

Not me, but I've got a houseguest arriving tomorrow night who will be skiing (probably alone) on Thursday.

 

[tirolerpeter]

Marcski, Kingslug and I will be up at Alta tomorrow (Wed). We will be meeting at GMD between 9:30 and 10 AM. Conditions today were mixed. Some of the groomers were pretty hard and bare. Some of the tree runs were OK, but any aspects that had significant sun yesterday were crusty. Ballroom was actually pretty decent. Generally, the trails off Supreme were in the best shape.

 

[Admin]

Some of the groomers were pretty hard and bare.

Easy there with throwing around that word, "bare." With as much base as we have that's really not possible in the context that most people would interpret that.

 

[Tony Crocker]

any aspects that had significant sun yesterday were crusty.

At the risk of :dead horse: shouldn't you guys be at Snowbird for the extra elevation and more north facing under these conditions?

 

[Admin]

any aspects that had significant sun yesterday were crusty.

At the risk of :dead horse: shouldn't you guys be at Snowbird for the extra elevation and more north facing under these conditions?

Much of Snowbird's north-facing is at lower elevations, and the base of Snowbird is below this week's rain line.

 

[tirolerpeter]

Some of the groomers were pretty hard and bare.

Easy there with throwing around that word, "bare." With as much base as we have that's really not possible in the context that most people would interpret that.

Good point. I did misuse the word "bare." What I meant to say was that there was no "loose" or "soft" snow present. The winds had blown that off to the sides in many places leaving a very slick hard packed (dare I say "somewhat icy") surface. Trying to set an edge on some of the groomed steeps was reminiscent of skiing in the east at times.

 

[Sharon]

hmmm, rain and bare...doesn't sound very good

bummer for you

If you want me to come back and bring you all that delicious powder, send me a plane ticket!! It seems to snow wherever I go this year.

 

[Admin]

hmmm, rain and bare...doesn't sound very good

Pfffffffffft! We're not talking eastern biblical floods here like you're about to endure back there...again. Rain was only below 8,000 feet, and even at those low elevations it was minimal (about a tenth of an inch) in the Cottonwoods. Once the warm air softens the snow each morning I defy anyone to even notice its effect below 8,000 feet, much less above 8,000 feet where it was snow. It's just a matter of enjoying groomers and well-trafficked areas until the surface is refreshed, which shouldn't take long according to the NWS forecast:

Today: Snow showers, mainly after 11am. Some thunder is also possible. High near 36. South wind between 9 and 17 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.

Tonight: Snow, mainly before 11pm. Some thunder is also possible. Low around 22. West wind between 6 and 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.

Thursday: Snow likely, mainly after 11am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 30. South southwest wind between 5 and 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.

Thursday Night: Snow likely. Cloudy, with a low around 16. South southwest wind between 7 and 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Friday: Snow. High near 19. West northwest wind between 7 and 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%.

Friday Night: Snow likely, mainly before 11pm. Cloudy, with a low around 11. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 30.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 25.

Sunday: A slight chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 42.

Sunday Night: A chance of snow. Cloudy, with a low around 27.

Monday: Snow likely. Cloudy, with a high near 37.

Monday Night: A chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 26.

Tuesday: A chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 40.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

It seems to snow wherever I go this year.

I noticed that... Sharon has been putting up big powder-day numbers both east and west. Even a few at Greek Peak. 8-[

 

[Marc_C]

hmmm, rain and bare...doesn't sound very good

Yeah, could be better, but not exactly bad by any stretch of the imagination. Regarding the rain, remember that the rain line was 8000'.

Base/top elevations:
Alta: 8530/10500
Snowbird: 7760/11000
Solitude: 8000/10045
Brighton: 8755/10500
Canyons: 6910/9990
PCMR: 6900/10000
Deer Valley: 6570/9570
Snowbasin: 6400/9350
Powder Mtn.: 6400/8900

[Stats from: http://www.utahskiweather.com ]

 

[Sharon]

It seems to snow wherever I go this year.

I noticed that... Sharon has been putting up big powder-day numbers both east and west. Even a few at Greek Peak. 8-[

Interestingly, I usually ski at Greek Peak after work, but this year I have yet to go out there for night skiing because my weekends have been so jam packed with powder skiing and long vacations as well as the fact that if it snows here overnight, I can just have a local powder morning before work. I relish my days in the cubicle during the week where I can rest up for the next powder day.

It's about time that I've had this kind of luck. I am thrilled and am not concerned about a little rain here on Friday. It is not unusual and the maple syrup needs to start flowing soon and I need to rest a bit. I will probably go out and xc ski a bit with my dogs this weekend....afterall, they were left behind quite a bit this season during my bigger trips. We had a trip to Gore planned, but I am happy to postpone it until mid-March. We have plenty of base in the woods, so even if it rains, it will snow afterwards to make for some decent touring conditions.

I have to go to NJ for my mother's 70th birthday in 2 weeks. I'm sure it will snow a lot that weekend....so plan a trip for that weekend.

 

[Tony Crocker]

the base of Snowbird is below this week's rain line.

Tram base 8,100, Gad base 7,900, Baby Thunder 7,760. BFD.

Much of Snowbird's north-facing is at lower elevations,

You mean like upper Chip's, Primrose, Silver Fox, Upper Cirque, Mark Malu, Rasta, Knucklehead, all of which start higher than the top of Collins? Then there's 90% north facing Gad 2, with an elevation range of what, 9,000 - 10,300?

The longest north facing lines at Alta all start at the end of the High T. Snowbird has some of those too (Dalton's, Mach Schnell).

Does Alta have some good north-facing lines? Sure, but Snowbird has at least twice as many. I've readily conceded Alta's early season advantage in coverage and layout. Admin persists in his denial of Snowbird's obvious late season/warm weather advantages. ](*,) ](*,) ](*,)

 

[socal]

Thanks for the info on the conditions. Kinda what I expected. Now it's going to be my job to convince people that the Ogden area resorts just aren't the place to be with the high snowlevels. Then again, if by some chance (miracle?) the snow levels get to about 6k, Ogden makes sense, especially with the NWS saying

ALTHOUGH NOT AN IDEAL SNOW MAKER...A SNOW ADVISORY MAY BE NEEDED AS PORTIONS OF THE NORTHERN WASATCH
MAY SQUEEZE OUT 5-10" THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY.

And the UAC saying:

Perhaps 4-8" associated with this feature, though perhaps areas north of I-80 will see these amounts.

Looking forward to Admin's response to Tony's comments.

 

[Marc_C]

Looking forward to Admin's response to Tony's comments.

I'm not sure the FTO server can stand much more pissing and moaning. :dead horse:

 

[Admin]

Thanks for the info on the conditions. Kinda what I expected. Now it's going to be my job to convince people that the Ogden area resorts just aren't the place to be with the high snowlevels. Then again, if by some chance (miracle?) the snow levels get to about 6k, Ogden makes sense, especially with the NWS saying

ALTHOUGH NOT AN IDEAL SNOW MAKER...A SNOW ADVISORY MAY BE NEEDED AS PORTIONS OF THE NORTHERN WASATCH
MAY SQUEEZE OUT 5-10" THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY.

True, the moisture-maker is tracking to our north, so going north increases your odds.

Looking forward to Admin's response to Tony's comments.

Frankly, I wasn't going to bother -- not worth the headache as he's too stubborn to yield to fact on this one. But as long as you asked...

You mean like upper Chip's

A switchback road. <yawn>

Primrose, Silver Fox

Good high-elevation, north-facing at Snowbird. Congratulations.

Upper Cirque, Mark Malu, Rasta, Knucklehead, all of which start higher than the top of Collins

(Cue Richard Dawson here) "Survey said? Bzzzzzzzzzzzt!" Top of Collins is 10,400. Top of Supreme 10,500. Top of Sugarloaf 10,550. All of the aforementioned Snowbird runs start at ~ that same elevation.

Then there's 90% north facing Gad 2, with an elevation range of what, 9,000 - 10,300?

Try ~50% north-facing. The other half faces east-northeast.

All of Middle Cirque, all of High Baldy, all of Little Cloud, all of Gad Chutes, (almost) all of Mineral Basin (hint: the only exception is a north-facing line in there you overlooked), etc. all face East, West, or worse.

The longest north facing lines at Alta all start at the end of the High T. Snowbird has some of those too (Dalton's, Mach Schnell).

But they're low, lower than their lower-mountain north-facing equivalents at Alta: Eagle's Nest, North Rustler, High Boy, etc.

Your analysis conveniently overlooks the many north-facing high-elevation lines at Alta: Rabbit Hill, So Long, Baldy Shoulder, Ballroom, Baldy Chutes, Gunsight, Eddie's High, etc. All of Devil's Castle, all ~500 acres of it, faces north and starts at 10,800. Two can play that game, bucko!

Does Alta have some good north-facing lines? Sure, but Snowbird has at least twice as many.

More? Sure. The place is 500 acres larger (and you've missed a few key ones in your analysis), so of course it has more of everything. It has more east, west and south-facing than Alta, too. Twice as many north-facing lines? Add to your analysis: Snowbird also has more skier traffic, snowboarder traffic, and more easily accessed lines.

:snowball fight: