How much is needed to really cover most of the terrain in LCC. I'm thinking of coming out sometime in Jan but want to wait until most of the terrain is in good shape. i usulay wait until Feb but need a powder fix soon. Several years ago I did come out in Jan but was met with less than stellar conditions. Runs that where normaly skiable where pretty sketchy.
Settled snow depth LCC
- Thread starter kingslug
- Start date
Yes, this year is not an issue. As admin noted, the closed terrain now is due to the dangerous avalanche conditions, and since the storms are over for awhile I'd expect nearly everything open by New Year's.
I'm in general a severe critic of advance booking early season trips, but Alta's record in this regard is one of the best. Most seasons it's ~80% skiable by mid-December. The sectors that take the longest to cover are mostly around Supreme, so they do not interfere with enjoying the rest of the area. Snowbird is a different story, as the lower mountain can be rocky for a while. I think a reported 50-inch base is a good benchmark for Snowbird. Snowbird is a modest but not overwhelming favorite to attain that base by Christmas. Mid-January I'd say the odds are very good.
You locals can feel free to chime in, but remember in these type of discussions you really need about 20 years of data or experience to know what the true chances are. BobbyD?
I'm in general a severe critic of advance booking early season trips, but Alta's record in this regard is one of the best. Most seasons it's ~80% skiable by mid-December. The sectors that take the longest to cover are mostly around Supreme, so they do not interfere with enjoying the rest of the area. Snowbird is a different story, as the lower mountain can be rocky for a while. I think a reported 50-inch base is a good benchmark for Snowbird. Snowbird is a modest but not overwhelming favorite to attain that base by Christmas. Mid-January I'd say the odds are very good.
You locals can feel free to chime in, but remember in these type of discussions you really need about 20 years of data or experience to know what the true chances are. BobbyD?
Marc_C
Active member
The extremely general heuristic is an 80" base. However, it does depend somewhat on how the winds have rearranged things. That bare spot on the left near the top of the Supreme lift has received the same 188" everywhere else has. Mineral Basin at Snowbird still hasn't opened this season yet - it's been too rocky - perhaps this weekend.kingslug":27bgv8is said:
Squaw takes a lot to get covered, and it had absolutely nothing before Dec. 15. Silverado is the last lift to get open, and it's the only lift not open now. But that probably means that most but not all lines are skiable on KT-22 for example.
MarcC's 80-inch base is a common benchmark for steep, expert-oriented mountains. It's been quoted several times for Taos. I'd certainly want to see 80 inches as the average of upper and lower base depths for Squaw, and since it's now 36-60 I'd say Squaw has farther to go than Snowbird. If you want to ski one of these places (Jackson, Crested Butte, Whistler also) and you want nearly all the marquee steeps to be open, the 80-inch base is not a bad rule of thumb.
In terms or "whether it's worth skiing" or "how likely am I to trash my skis" conditions are not as stringent, and it really depends on the layout of the particular area. Alta and Mammoth are examples where a lot is skiable on 3-4 feet, and it's fairly straightforward to stay out of the places that might damage your skis. There is variability due to wind deposition, particularly important at Mammoth where nearly every storm is accompanied by high winds. So that is indeed a logical explanation for the delay on Mineral Basin, which I suspect would be open in most seasons with this much snow.
MarcC's 80-inch base is a common benchmark for steep, expert-oriented mountains. It's been quoted several times for Taos. I'd certainly want to see 80 inches as the average of upper and lower base depths for Squaw, and since it's now 36-60 I'd say Squaw has farther to go than Snowbird. If you want to ski one of these places (Jackson, Crested Butte, Whistler also) and you want nearly all the marquee steeps to be open, the 80-inch base is not a bad rule of thumb.
In terms or "whether it's worth skiing" or "how likely am I to trash my skis" conditions are not as stringent, and it really depends on the layout of the particular area. Alta and Mammoth are examples where a lot is skiable on 3-4 feet, and it's fairly straightforward to stay out of the places that might damage your skis. There is variability due to wind deposition, particularly important at Mammoth where nearly every storm is accompanied by high winds. So that is indeed a logical explanation for the delay on Mineral Basin, which I suspect would be open in most seasons with this much snow.
Lots of places on the front side of Snowbird also need intense control work, as we know from the tragedy on Baldy 2 weeks ago. So I'm presuming (I think admin also commented once) that at least before Christmas there was a coverage issue in Mineral Basin.
" In terms or "whether it's worth skiing" or "how likely am I to trash my skis" conditions are not as stringent, and it really depends on the layout of the particular area. Alta and Mammoth are examples where a lot is skiable on 3-4 feet, and it's fairly straightforward to stay out of the places that might damage your skis"
the risk /cost of damaging skis beyond repair is negligible compared to the cost of the trip. go for it.
the risk /cost of damaging skis beyond repair is negligible compared to the cost of the trip. go for it.
Considering what I have to deal with here in NY.....there is no comparison to what you have out there. Worst case scenario...a monster storm kicks me off the mountain..but that only happened once last year. Too bad I was only there for 3 days ...so it kind of sucked. I need vacation plain and simple and there is no other place I would rather be..
By web reports it looks like nearly everything in LCC and BCC is open now. Also true at Snowbasin and Powder Mt. Park City group is ~90%.
Any impending Utah vacationers who want to nitpick this need to take up another hobby. The snow is there, weather happens, prepare accordingly.
Any impending Utah vacationers who want to nitpick this need to take up another hobby. The snow is there, weather happens, prepare accordingly.
There are lots of convenient ski areas in Utah. You don't have to be bull-headed like admin and insist on skiing Alta during extreme weather/avy control conditions.