J.Spin
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There's a link to a few images at the bottom of the report.
On Sunday I woke up to find that low gray clouds filled the sky, just as the forecast had indicated. Around 10:00 A.M., rain started falling, and soon it was pouring. Since Ty had been under the weather with a potential ear infection during the week, E figured we shouldn?t take him up for skiing in such wet conditions. Nevertheless, I was excited for a short hike and ski, and it was also a chance to give my Arc?teryx Theta SK pants a good workout under wet, aerobic conditions. The Saddle Mountain SNOTEL suggested that Lost Trail had seen as much as 8 inches of new snow during the week, so there was at least a small chance of hitting some powder. Unfortunately, Saturday had been pretty warm (around 70 degrees F in the valley) so I wasn?t going to hold my breath for any dry snow.
When I left town (elevation 3,600?), it was 42 degrees F and still pouring. With such weather in the valley, I expected it to be dumping up at the pass. Unfortunately, as I headed south (and upward in elevation), the precipitation decreased, and the temperature dropped very little. Even at the base of Lost Trail Pass (elevation 5,000?) the car thermometer was still reading 42 degrees F. Finally, the temperature began to drop, and the rain changed to snow at 6,200? and a temperature of 38 degrees F. The Missoula National Weather Service had called for a snow level of 6,000?, so once again they appeared to be on track with the forecast.
At the base of the ski area (7,000?) it was 34 degrees F and barely spitting snow, but the most obvious weather was the fog. Visibility was down in the range of 100 feet at times. I checked out the snow surface at the edge of the parking lot, and it was a combination a little new wet snowfall over a hard refrozen base that had been chewed up by lots of snowmobile traffic. The weather and snow conditions made me want to turn right around and head home. Still, even if the skiing was nothing special, the workout from the hike was always good in its own right. There were a few snowmobile trailers in the parking lot, and several groups of snowmobiles were buzzing around the mountain.
I had decided to try a new route today, heading up the Boomer trail, and then up Lower Oreo/Oreo to the top of the ski area?s main ridge at 7,800?. Initially, I was most interested in skiing some of the trees in the big bend of the Oreo trail, but without substantial powder, I decided I might just stop at 7,600? on top of the Bear Claw Ridge. The last 200? of vertical required at least 1/2 mile of additional hiking if I stayed on trail, and the skiing probably wouldn?t be worth it with today?s conditions. I checked the snow conditions in an undisturbed area further away from the parking lot, and was happy to find several inches of new snow that had accumulated. It was wet, but it would make for some good skiing if I could find some higher up on the hill.
I started my skin up Boomer, and I could hardly see a thing through the dense fog. I was most worried about a snowmobile coming up on me really quickly in the low visibility, but fortunately they make enough noise that I would have had time to get out of the way. Still, I could hear them buzzing around on the trails and my senses were peaked whenever one appeared to be coming closer. The skinning was relatively easy on the snowmobile packed slopes, but I still had to navigate through various bumpy snowmobile tracks, which kept me switching my line. As I approached Oreo, the fog began to break, and the snowfall picked up. These were both good turns in the weather as far as I was concerned. Continuing my skin up Oreo, I found some smoothly consolidated areas of snow outside the snowmobile tracks, and they made for fantastic skinning. There was about 1/2 inch of new snow from the day?s snowfall, but essentially it was like skinning on a firm, flat surface. Using this nice terrain, I skinned straight up even the steepest sections of Lower Oreo. I even used my Trekker?s highest angle of risers, which are typically for terrain steeper than most people (including myself) would consider tackling in powder. I?ve learned from many experienced skinners that a moderate skin track is the best. However, on today?s consolidated snow, such a steep angle was a walk in the park. I was once again impressed at what an efficient snow tool skins actually are. At some points I was amazed that I was climbing without slipping, but the full-width Ascension skins on the CMH fats were definitely in their element.
Gaining the Bear Claw Ridge at 7,600?, I made the final decision that it wasn?t worth the effort of heading higher under the conditions. The snowfall had increased another notch, and I watched it accumulate in interesting ways on the branches of nearby evergreens. The temperature was now down to 26 degrees F, and the wind was blowing from the north. I snapped a few photos, switched into ski mode, and headed down the skier?s right of Oreo. Sticking to a strip of untracked snow outside the tracks of the snowmobiles, I couldn?t believe how good the turns were. On top of the firm base, there were a couple of inches of soft snow, which was noticeably more than what I had encountered on my hike up the skier?s left. The difference had to be due to the impact of the sun over the past few days. After a few more turns, I?d forgotten about the dreary look and feel of the day. I was skiing, and the snow was good! The good turns lasted until I reached the end of Oreo, which was fortunately most of my vertical. Beyond that, I had to deal with the rattling snowmobile-groomed terrain that led me down to Boomer. I did get a reprieve from the bumpy snow when I caught some untracked turns underneath the cable for the Boomer handle tow, but the terrain was getting a bit too flat to do too much with it at that point. I didn?t notice my pants during the entire trip, which is a great sign. Of course it wasn?t snowing nearly as hard as I would have liked, so I?ll have to wait for a tougher day to test their water shedding and breathability.
I left in higher spirits than I?d arrived. The day was still damp and gray, but at least I?d had the feel of smooth soft snow under my feet. It looks like the mountain picked up a couple more inches of snow after I left, based on the SNOTEL data. On my drive down the pass, the snow level had dropped by about 1,000 feet, which is usually a good sign. Also, there are winter storm watches and heavy snow warnings out now for various parts of southwest Montana. It looks like some places could pick up a couple of feet from this latest moist storm. The Bitterroots don?t look to be in the bull?s eye for this system, but they should make out with some nice accumulations. The mountains from Bozeman over toward Red Lodge look like they will get the full brunt of the storm, but everyone should be happy with whatever snow they can get; these are the types of storms that we really didn?t see much of through the heart of the winter season. Overall, the pattern looks to stay wet through at least Friday, so I?m expecting a chance for more good turns next weekend.
It was a dark and dreary day for photography, but I posted a few pictures anyway. They can be seen at:
http://www.JandEproductions.com/2005/17APR05.html
J.Spin
On Sunday I woke up to find that low gray clouds filled the sky, just as the forecast had indicated. Around 10:00 A.M., rain started falling, and soon it was pouring. Since Ty had been under the weather with a potential ear infection during the week, E figured we shouldn?t take him up for skiing in such wet conditions. Nevertheless, I was excited for a short hike and ski, and it was also a chance to give my Arc?teryx Theta SK pants a good workout under wet, aerobic conditions. The Saddle Mountain SNOTEL suggested that Lost Trail had seen as much as 8 inches of new snow during the week, so there was at least a small chance of hitting some powder. Unfortunately, Saturday had been pretty warm (around 70 degrees F in the valley) so I wasn?t going to hold my breath for any dry snow.
When I left town (elevation 3,600?), it was 42 degrees F and still pouring. With such weather in the valley, I expected it to be dumping up at the pass. Unfortunately, as I headed south (and upward in elevation), the precipitation decreased, and the temperature dropped very little. Even at the base of Lost Trail Pass (elevation 5,000?) the car thermometer was still reading 42 degrees F. Finally, the temperature began to drop, and the rain changed to snow at 6,200? and a temperature of 38 degrees F. The Missoula National Weather Service had called for a snow level of 6,000?, so once again they appeared to be on track with the forecast.
At the base of the ski area (7,000?) it was 34 degrees F and barely spitting snow, but the most obvious weather was the fog. Visibility was down in the range of 100 feet at times. I checked out the snow surface at the edge of the parking lot, and it was a combination a little new wet snowfall over a hard refrozen base that had been chewed up by lots of snowmobile traffic. The weather and snow conditions made me want to turn right around and head home. Still, even if the skiing was nothing special, the workout from the hike was always good in its own right. There were a few snowmobile trailers in the parking lot, and several groups of snowmobiles were buzzing around the mountain.
I had decided to try a new route today, heading up the Boomer trail, and then up Lower Oreo/Oreo to the top of the ski area?s main ridge at 7,800?. Initially, I was most interested in skiing some of the trees in the big bend of the Oreo trail, but without substantial powder, I decided I might just stop at 7,600? on top of the Bear Claw Ridge. The last 200? of vertical required at least 1/2 mile of additional hiking if I stayed on trail, and the skiing probably wouldn?t be worth it with today?s conditions. I checked the snow conditions in an undisturbed area further away from the parking lot, and was happy to find several inches of new snow that had accumulated. It was wet, but it would make for some good skiing if I could find some higher up on the hill.
I started my skin up Boomer, and I could hardly see a thing through the dense fog. I was most worried about a snowmobile coming up on me really quickly in the low visibility, but fortunately they make enough noise that I would have had time to get out of the way. Still, I could hear them buzzing around on the trails and my senses were peaked whenever one appeared to be coming closer. The skinning was relatively easy on the snowmobile packed slopes, but I still had to navigate through various bumpy snowmobile tracks, which kept me switching my line. As I approached Oreo, the fog began to break, and the snowfall picked up. These were both good turns in the weather as far as I was concerned. Continuing my skin up Oreo, I found some smoothly consolidated areas of snow outside the snowmobile tracks, and they made for fantastic skinning. There was about 1/2 inch of new snow from the day?s snowfall, but essentially it was like skinning on a firm, flat surface. Using this nice terrain, I skinned straight up even the steepest sections of Lower Oreo. I even used my Trekker?s highest angle of risers, which are typically for terrain steeper than most people (including myself) would consider tackling in powder. I?ve learned from many experienced skinners that a moderate skin track is the best. However, on today?s consolidated snow, such a steep angle was a walk in the park. I was once again impressed at what an efficient snow tool skins actually are. At some points I was amazed that I was climbing without slipping, but the full-width Ascension skins on the CMH fats were definitely in their element.
Gaining the Bear Claw Ridge at 7,600?, I made the final decision that it wasn?t worth the effort of heading higher under the conditions. The snowfall had increased another notch, and I watched it accumulate in interesting ways on the branches of nearby evergreens. The temperature was now down to 26 degrees F, and the wind was blowing from the north. I snapped a few photos, switched into ski mode, and headed down the skier?s right of Oreo. Sticking to a strip of untracked snow outside the tracks of the snowmobiles, I couldn?t believe how good the turns were. On top of the firm base, there were a couple of inches of soft snow, which was noticeably more than what I had encountered on my hike up the skier?s left. The difference had to be due to the impact of the sun over the past few days. After a few more turns, I?d forgotten about the dreary look and feel of the day. I was skiing, and the snow was good! The good turns lasted until I reached the end of Oreo, which was fortunately most of my vertical. Beyond that, I had to deal with the rattling snowmobile-groomed terrain that led me down to Boomer. I did get a reprieve from the bumpy snow when I caught some untracked turns underneath the cable for the Boomer handle tow, but the terrain was getting a bit too flat to do too much with it at that point. I didn?t notice my pants during the entire trip, which is a great sign. Of course it wasn?t snowing nearly as hard as I would have liked, so I?ll have to wait for a tougher day to test their water shedding and breathability.
I left in higher spirits than I?d arrived. The day was still damp and gray, but at least I?d had the feel of smooth soft snow under my feet. It looks like the mountain picked up a couple more inches of snow after I left, based on the SNOTEL data. On my drive down the pass, the snow level had dropped by about 1,000 feet, which is usually a good sign. Also, there are winter storm watches and heavy snow warnings out now for various parts of southwest Montana. It looks like some places could pick up a couple of feet from this latest moist storm. The Bitterroots don?t look to be in the bull?s eye for this system, but they should make out with some nice accumulations. The mountains from Bozeman over toward Red Lodge look like they will get the full brunt of the storm, but everyone should be happy with whatever snow they can get; these are the types of storms that we really didn?t see much of through the heart of the winter season. Overall, the pattern looks to stay wet through at least Friday, so I?m expecting a chance for more good turns next weekend.
It was a dark and dreary day for photography, but I posted a few pictures anyway. They can be seen at:
http://www.JandEproductions.com/2005/17APR05.html
J.Spin