Northwest is bad! Whistler to Big Mt to Fernie - RAIN!

[ChrisC]

It looks really bad! Really bad!

Stevens Pass (one of the snowiest places in Washington State) is closed

Alpental - closed!


HERE IS WHISTLER FROM http://www.dualmountain.com/report/index.html

Jan. 20 '05 08:00 AM Overcast Sky VarVis. Wind SE 20 k/h
Peak -2c Alpine 0c Valley 2c NewSnw 7cm Base 130 cm

Look, let's not beat around the bush here. The snow has been beaten up by the rain something fierce! The lower runs quite frankly suck so you'll need to stay higher up for decent skiing. The good news is that the cold is creeping back in, it's 0c at PigAlley which usually means the snowline is halfway or even further down Emerald chair.

Jan. 19 '05 08:00 AM Overcast Sky VarVis. Wind SE 20 k/h
Peak -2c Alpine 1c Valley 2c NewSnw 7cm Base 130 cm


The snow pack is being packed down as they say. It's been raining steadily top to bottom. The rest of BC is being flooded again (like last year) and everybody is pissed! This is also World SnowBoard Championship week, yeah I know, great timing.



Time to change trips

Is it time to stick a fork in the season for the Northwest??!!

 

[Tony Crocker]

You never quite stick that fork in because the Northwest, like the Sierra, can get its snow multiple feet in one shot, transforming horrible into outstanding. The most conspicuous season of that nature was 1989-90, which was bone-dry in the NW until New Year's and then had double normal snow (which is a lot up there) in January and February. In 1976-77 the snow didn't come until February/March, but the NW actually looked pretty good that year because much of the West never had decent snow the whole season.

This year is certainly unusual in that the NW is so bad when many other regions are loaded with snow. At low elevation December and January are usually the best months, so many of the Washington State areas could be in trouble. Mt. Bachelor and the Whistler alpine should recover sometime. They have never had inadequate snow for an entire season, but that doesn't mean the probability is zero. I may find out the hard way at Whistler March 21-24.

 

[ChrisC]

I lived in the Northwest......I know how it works

I celebrated the Rain Festival in Seatlle from 98-02

98-99 - OK, nothing to brag about.
99-00 - It never stopped snowing (And tech stocks didn't stop rising!)
00-01 - still GREAT!!!
01-02 - Snow was not good until Feb 15.
02-03 - Not the best.


I thing this year is going to be BAD!

I AM NOT SCHEDULING TRIPS!!!!!!!!!! And I have free lodging in Seattle.


Yes, feet can happen.

Frankly, Whistler is not a ski area that gets the Northwest snow. (Do your reasearch Tony!). The snow hits the passes -(Stevens, Snowqualmie) -- and Baker -- and then Hood. Maybe Whistler, and then maybe Crystal!!!!

The mountains that get missed a lot are Crystal and Whistler -- (WHY DO THE BEST GET THE LEAST!!??)

I think, stick the fork in you -- you may be done! Wathc the weather systems! You're toast otherwise.


This is coming from someone -- who skied Whistler forever!!!!!!!!!!!

MAY - WHISTLER -- HOT TUB ......Welcome to the rooftop party!

Whistle is the best skiing in NA (accepting to Texans, Gays, Aussies, and everybody else!)

 

[mark]

hey - i can tell you it's bad!! it's worse than you could realistically imagine - but it is still only january. and it has been snowing above 1800m. i'll be going up tomorrow to check it out so i'll report first hand. to give you an idea though, yesterday you couldn't get higher than wizard chair on blackomb, and for the first time i've ever seen, the creekside gondola wasn't running.
more rain in the forecast next week. all we can do is hope...the worst thing is that it had been brutally cold and dry up until about 5 days ago. the lake i was skating on last week now has about 2 feet of water on the surface.
mt. washington announced that it is shutting down for the rest of the season!!

 

[Patrick]

hey - i can tell you it's bad!!
(...)
mt. washington announced that it is shutting down for the rest of the season!!

A good friend of mine lived and work in Whistler in the late 80s. He used to call it PISTLER!!! Now he lived next to .... mt washington!!! :?

 

[JimG.]

hey - i can tell you it's bad!!
(...)
mt. washington announced that it is shutting down for the rest of the season!!

A good friend of mine lived and work in Whistler in the late 80s. He used to call it PISTLER!!! Now he lived next to .... mt washington!!! :?

Hopefully your friend will stay there and not move east...we're having enough trouble as it is :wink: .

 

[Patrick]

Hopefully your friend will stay there and not move east...we're having enough trouble as it is :wink: .

His Track record is alot better than mine since he moved to BC in the late 80s. I guess we can't always keep to rain for us alone. :wink:

 

[Tony Crocker]

I would suggest that Chris do HIS research on NW ski seasons.

1998-99: The year of the Mt. Baker world record 1,144 inches. Also a record 647 at Whistler.
1999-2000: Above average, would have been considered great if not for the prior year records.
2000-01: Much drier than normal. Severe drought in interior western Canada but Whistler did OK.
2001-02: Excellent season. Larry Schick (NW weatherman for 20+ years) actually thought it was more consistently good skiing than 1998-99.
2002-03: Too much rain at low elevation. The high altitude locations (Whistler alpine and Mt. Bachelor) were close to average.

Details in my season analysis pages, all referenced from the first table at http://bestsnow.net/snowrpts.htm .

Whistler's climate is related to Washington/Oregon but is usually more consistent. Its alpine normally escapes the rain and this was the first poor Christmas-to-New-Year's in my data going back almost 30 years, though I assume 1976-77 (where the data was missing) was bad. The Whistler alpine average of 405 inches per year (with not that much rain) is one that 90+% of ski areas would envy. Crystal is in the shadow of Mt. Rainier and therefore the averages of 321 at the base and 375 at Green Valley are lower than other NW areas.

Northwest historical data summarized at http://bestsnow.net/nwstnet.htm .