Where's The Snow?

[jbotti]

I just came back from Montana where we saw temps each day in the 50s and the last two nights it didn't freeze. Suffice it to say conditions were less than stellar and downright dangerous past 1:30 or 2:00 each day. I looked at the weather and conditions at A Basin and it looked very similar with high temps and a 48 inch base which is even lower than what we have in Montana right now.

So my question is whether anyone knows anywhere that still has some cold temps that has gotten decent snow this year? I know the east coast/Vt, Me and Nh have had epic years but I won't travel to ski there in March, and I know that Killington just got hit with some rain.

Is there anyplace in the US or Canada that has had a decent snow year and still has cold temps? I fear the answer is no

[DougD]

The weekend rain event at Killington and points south was snow up north. Stowe reported 6", Jay Peak 11", Sugarloaf 8", Tremblant 7". Base area temps in northern VT/ME and PQ are barely above freezing in the daytime, still single digits (F) at night. Summits have largely remained at or below freezing. At present, it looks like a great Spring season that should extend well into April.

For those flying in:
- Tremblant's easy... just 1.5 hours from Montreal; airport shuttles available
- Jay Peak is 1.5 hours from either Montreal or Burlington; shuttles from Burlington, not sure about Montreal
- Stowe is 1.0 hour from Burlington; shuttles readily available
- Sugarbush is 2.5 hours from Portland or 4+ hours from anywhere else. Best mountain east of the Rockies, if you can get there.

If you have the time to travel, why not take advantage?

[geoffda]

I can confirm that Keystone is currently sucking. It's like late April around here except without the corn snow. Temps are super warm, but the sun doesn't seem to be strong enough to get much in the way of softening. I don't know, maybe its getting soft in the late afternoon, but there are no signs of it in the morning. North aspects are golf-balls on ice. South aspects are melting out like crazy. In the ultimate harbinger of doom, my dog chose to pee on grass today instead of on snow. OTOH, I dug out my trampoline for the kids, so maybe that will bring some much needed snow. March, April and even sometimes May can be big snow months, so there is still hope. And given what has been going on with most of the West, I'm considering this to be a pretty decent season so far. As long as we get enough snow to keep the lifts spinning at the Basin through the first weekend in June, I'll have zero complaints.

[CO_Steve]

We made some decent corn turns at the Beav today. Stayed low in Bachelor Gultch/Arrowhead. By 1 it was pretty much too soft on east aspects (Strawberry). Trouble is there's dirt popping up in a bunch of places. It was 65 in the parking lot when we left. Missed out on the Keystone shit show today. Honestly if all skiing was Christmas/Presidents/Spring Break I think I'd hang it up.

[jbotti]

For the skiers in the Rockies there may be a glimmer of hope. We have a local weatherman (who is quite good) at our mountain in MT and he just sent his multiple week forecast and it's his view that cold weather is coming and quite a bit more snow. We are supposed to get 3-5 inches tonight and tomorrow and more later this week and quite a bit more next week. Considering that Colorado has had very similar conditions to MT recently this may mean the same for Summit Cty. Lets hope he's right!

[theorist]

I'm really enjoying Mammoth right now. The big lines I like to ski aren't open (and probably haven't been all year), but the snow on the beginner/intermediate trails on the lower mountain (where I usually spend most of my time anyways) has been great for drill work (and free-skiing, earlier in the day). At certain times of the day I've had wide, express-quad-serviced beginneer/intermediate trails nearly all to myself. Alas, things deteriorate a little bit each day, so I don't know how much longer this will last.

[dan.boisvert]

This is somewhat depressing, but it looks like we're it right now. As Doug said, northern VT got all snow when that rain hit Killington; I was up there and had an awesome day. More snow up there today, and possibly more in the forecast for the weekend.

Sorry to disappoint. I hope you're right about the pattern turning around for you guys!

[Mac]

The problem with the northern most ski resorts in Vermont is that they rely heavily on natural snowfall over the course of the winter. The major snowmaking powerhouses in Vt, like Killington, Okemo, Stratton, etc are all from central and southern Vt. Manmade snow is denser, and compacts better than natural snow. And for that reason it melts slower. That's how Killington would manage to make it into June every year, by stockpiling snow on a handful of their north facing trails. Killington would pound their Superstar trail with man made until they had a 20' base, and ride for as long as they could. One year they made it all the way to June 22nd. I still have a lift ticket from Killington dated June 14th. I have skied Stowe and Okemo on back to back days in April, and although Stowe typically gets over 100" more in a season than Okemo, the conditions were decidedly better at Okemo.
Fortunately this season, no one has had to make a lot of snow. It has been so cold that there have been no thaws or rain, so they have not been in recovery mode like they so often are. Last week was the first rain and warmer weather they have had practically all season, but they are back to a colder weather pattern now. I was talking with a friend that lives in CO. I sent him some pictures that I took in my yard. And I live near the coast, where we typically don't get much snow. His reaction was "maybe I ought to be coming east to ski with you." I think this year, he may have a point.

[ToddW]

Dan,

The rain at Killington was a minor blip. It set up hard but the following day got a couple inches of fresh. Biggest issue was that detachable grip lifts took almost a day to return to service. In net, it was a base building event (natural semi-injected snow) that will lengthen our season.

Todd

[Max_501]

If you have the time to travel, why not take advantage?

How are the crowds this time of year?

[marsound]

It's been a terrible season for Tahoe. That said, Kirkwood (about 30 miles south of the lake) has been decent. It's gotten snow when North Shore resorts got rain. It's still thin, but every bit helps.

Skied it this past weekend and got some nice chalky groomers and bumps (mostly groomers with my 8 year old). It was slush by the afternoon near the lifts only. Upper mountain was okay.

I didn't ski the chair that goes to the highest point, but reports were that it was excellent.

I think Kirkwood benefits from altitude - relative to the rest of Tahoe - and multiple aspects off of a mostly East facing slope.

[DougD]

How are the crowds this time of year?

Like most any time of year in New England. On weekends/holidays it's maddening, popular lifts may have up to a 45 minute wait. Popular bartenders may have an even longer one! On workdays you ski straight onto many lifts, 4 out of 5 chairs are empty and you ask yourself, "How do they stay in business"?

[jbotti]

7" last night in Montana. Things are looking up with colder temps (high temp upper mountain so far today at 32 and 37 at the bottom). Cold temps and more snow expected next week. Might be enough to save a spring break trip we have planned starting 3/28. Hope similar good stuff is happening in CO.

[speedcontrol]

Where's the snow ? All the snow this winter has gone over Boston Massachusetts -- little value for the rest of us however.

[dan.boisvert]

Like most any time of year in New England. On weekends/holidays it's maddening, popular lifts may have up to a 45 minute wait. Popular bartenders may have an even longer one! On workdays you ski straight onto many lifts, 4 out of 5 chairs are empty and you ask yourself, "How do they stay in business"?

I'm not sure where you ski, Doug, but I'd probably have taken up a different sport by now if I was waiting that long in lift lines.

Max, if you stay at the smaller/less popular places, the crowds aren't bad at all, even on the weekends. Lately, when I'm not skiing backcountry, I don't think I've experienced a line more than 15 or so people long. Conveniently, the mountains that are less popular also have lower prices and, in my opinion, much more interesting terrain. If you came out, I'd suggest hitting places like Jay Peak, Mad River Glen, Smugglers Notch, and maybe Magic Mountain in VT. Cannon (and the attached Mittersill) would be a great choice in NH. Sugarloaf and Saddleback in ME would also be great options. Stowe and Sugarbush in VT also have fun terrain, but the crowds typically discourage me from skiing them.

Glad to hear things are improving in your neck of the woods, John! I hope they continue to do so.