whistler 05/12/11 - is this it?

M

mark

New member
last year the unthinkable happened here in whistler, and the PNW in general - winter never came. well guess what, it's happening again. with only one significant storm on the board this year, which occured before the mountains opened, we are in dire straits again. i can't even provide a first hand report as of late because i've been too depressed to go riding. i didn't move to the mountains to cruise hardpack groomers.
with no snow in the forecast things are only getting worse before they get any better. making things worse is the fact that alpine temps have been above 0C which means we're getting the deaded thaw-freeze cycle.
i'm outta here for 10 days at the end of the month, which means unless big time snow shows up in the next 10 days i won't have ridden anything decent in well over a month.
even the old locals up here are having trouble staying optimistic. after last season this is starting to look like more than a fluke. the current drought has left us with 19cm over the first 11 days in december. with an average of 265cm / december, that means we're at about 20% of where we should be in a typical year.
forget about "open terrain", how about "open terrain that doesn't suck".
at least my hockey skills have been improving...
 
Living in Seattle, I never felt jealous of Whistler snow-bums. I don't want to...it's the best ski mountain. (Maybe the Alta/snowbird combo competes) But it lacks the bump-into-the-mountain puke that Washington gets.

Why?
The 350 (Whistler) vs 550 (Bake) shows it.

Whislter = Crystal in my book. And Crystal has got killer terrain too. No life. Killer terrain. But Whistler is still going off in May. Love it.

Better than the Sierra,

Who knows when I'll snow will arrive.??!!
 
I would not expect Whistler to be good now. It's at about 75% of normal snowfall, similar to the Sierra. But most of Whistler's snow fell by mid November, while the Sierra's came 1-2 weeks ago. I will be going to Mammoth next weekend, and reportedly what's open is in good shape due to lack of crowds and Mammoth's renowned snow preservation.

I'm sure Mark is frustrated with the timing of his move to Whistler, but the long term track record is stellar, and I would be surprised if things don't turn around by January. Average December snowfall is 87 inches. Last year was one of only two in the past 33 years where snow was still marginal in January, and maybe four where it was inadequate at Christmas.

But "climate is what you expect and weather is what you get." Out of the past 37 years Mammoth's 3rd worst (1975-76) and worst (1976-77) seasons were consecutive. Nonetheless drought is very rare at Whistler and the odds are strongly in your favor by the time Mark returns from his road trip.

At both Whistler and in the Sierra the odds of decent holiday skiing are still close to 50% due to the tendency of both to get big dumps of high water content snow that ensures good coverage. In the Southwest (Durango, Telluride, Taos, etc.) Christmas is almost a lost cause at this point. The drier snow tends to accumulate gradually, and it is unlikely that much expert terrain will be skiable before February given the very slow start.
 
The Whistler alpine normally has better surface conditions than anything in Washington State due to far better snow preservation. Crystal does have comparable terrain and altitude, but it faces east and its snowfall is reduced some by being in the shadow of Mt. Rainier. Last year was good evidence of this because the Whistler alpine was open (albeit with late spring conditions) in February/early March, while the Washington State snow cover was completely wiped out and the areas were closed for 2 months.

What's unusual is that the latest round of storms refreshed Washington State while missing Whistler. The center of that storm track was quite clear, first Oregon, then Yellowstone/Tetons/Wasatch, then Steamboat and the rest of Colorado on or north of I-70.
 
tony, i appreciate the optimism! i'm hoping the law of averages works in our favour this year. but you know, after what we went through last year people up here are finding it hard to stay optimistic. "it has to come" has been a phrase repeated all too often recently...
still, i love living in the mountains. i wouldn't even be paying attention to snowfall if i still lived in toronto.
 
mark":3nlfya1r said:
still, i love living in the mountains. i wouldn't even be paying attention to snowfall if i still lived in toronto.
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yup, Life could be worse. As long as I get a few pow days life will be OK.... We were thinking of going up to whistler this year at spring break, but my wifes schedule just got futzed up so it's a no go... that will guarantee a good spring for you mark. We were supposed to be visiting family in Tahoe last year at X-mas but we bailed... guess what? 10 freakin feet :? :? :?
 
still, i love living in the mountains. i wouldn't even be paying attention to snowfall if i still lived in toronto.
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Hey! I resent that... oh wait... no, you're right. Not exactly a hilly, snowy place :(
 
:lol:
thought that might strike a chord with the torontonians. don't get me wrong - toronto is a great city and great place to live. i may end up moving back next summer...but that's another story :cry:

option, i just got fed up with trying to time my ski trips and missing the good snow. mother nature apparently still has the last laugh though since she saw me move out here and decided to make it stop snowing altogether. i'll be thanking you when we get the big dump in march!
 
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