2008/2009 Ski Area Snowfall Log
for the Silver Valley
|
I moved to Wallace in January 1993 because it was a
charming village halfway between TWO ski areas, a dozen
miles in either direction on Interstate 90 in northern
Idaho's
Silver Valley.
This page will
log the snowfall
statistics for both
Silver Mountain,
a gondola ride away from Kellogg,
and
Lookout Pass,
at the Montana border. Click on the
animated color bars to move between the top and bottom of
the data. Greg Marsh 
|
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001/2002 Snowfall Log | 2002/2003 Snowfall Log | 2003/2004 Snowfall Log | 2004/2005 Snowfall Log | 2005/2006 Snowfall Log | 2006/2007 Snowfall Log | 2007/2008 Snowfall Log |
|
Silver Mountain The Lodge, elevation 5650 feet, is at "Mid Mountain," while Kellogg Peak, top of Chair 2, has an elevation of 6200 feet. See trailmap for orientation and today's Snow Report for operation confirmation. |
Lookout Pass The Lodge is at base of Runt Mountain. The chair runs from an elevation of 4800 feet to the top of Runt at 5650 feet. See trailmap for orientation and today's Snow Report for operation confirmation. |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 92 |
Days Open in 2008/2009 season as of April 25, 2009 |
93 | ||||||
|
The early morning temperatures listed below were
recorded between 5 and 7 AM at the Silver Mountain Lodge and/or at the Lookout Pass Lodge . A (temperature) means it was recorded/reported after 7 AM. A (new snowfall) number records new snow when a resort is closed. |
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| Date | 24 hr New |
at Lodge |
at Summit |
temp °F |
Date | 24 hr New |
at Lodge |
at Summit |
|---|
|
|
|
/ 23° |
Saturday Dec 13 |
10" | 14" | 25" | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 trails on front side open; 15 groomed | ||||||||
|
|
/ -7° |
Sunday Dec 14 |
2" | 16" | 28" | |||
|
|
/ -6° |
Monday Dec 15 |
trace | 16" | 28" | |||
|
Thursday Dec 18 |
22" | 25" | 37" | 20° / 17° |
Thursday Dec 18 |
24" | 28" | 44" |
| chair 1 & 2 open; 13 runs open, 3 groomed | ||||||||
|
Friday Dec 19 |
7" | 26" | 37" | 12° / 13° |
Friday Dec 19 |
9" | 36" | 52" |
|
Saturday Dec 20 |
8" | 26" | 37" | (11°) / 2° |
Saturday Dec 20 |
1" | 36" | 52" |
| chair 4 open; 31 runs open, 5 groomed | chair 2 open; 28 runs open, 18 groomed | |||||||
|
Sunday Dec 21 |
2" | 26" | 40" | (20°) / 2° |
Sunday Dec 21 |
1" | 36" | 52" |
|
Monday Dec 22 |
5" | 31" | 50" | (23°) / 14° |
Monday Dec 22 |
6" | 37" | 54" |
|
Tuesday Dec 23 |
2" | 30" | 32" | 11° / 10° |
Tuesday Dec 23 |
3" | 38" | 55" |
|
Wednesday Dec 24 |
3" | 33" | 35" | 14° / 16° |
Wednesday Dec 24 |
4" | 38" | 56" |
|
Christmas Dec 25 |
8" | 41" | 43" | 16° / 21° |
Christmas Dec 25 |
14" | 45" | 62" |
| 5 lifts open; 43 trails open, 17 groomed | chair 3 open; all trails open, 20 groomed | |||||||
|
Friday Dec 26 |
2" | 29" | 48" | 14° / 18° |
Friday Dec 26 |
3" | 46" | 64" |
|
Saturday Dec 27 |
3" | 32" | 51" | 20° / 20° |
Saturday Dec 27 |
4" | 47" | 65" |
|
Sunday Dec 28 |
8" | 40" | 59" | 26° / 31° |
Sunday Dec 28 |
14" | 52" | 73" |
| all lifts open; 51 trails open, 19 groomed | 9" overnight, all trails open, 22 groomed | |||||||
|
Monday Dec 29 |
5" | 40" | 55" | 27° / 25° |
Monday Dec 29 |
6" | 54" | 75" |
|
Tuesday Dec 30 |
5" | 45" | 60" | 19° / 21° |
Tuesday Dec 30 |
9" | 58" | 80" |
|
Wednesday Dec 31 |
3" | 49" | 64" | (19°) / (29°) |
Wednesday Dec 31 |
6" | 60" | 82" |
| It is dangerous to have an office that looks down on the Center of the Universe. Del and Jim kidnapped me at 1:41 PM and didn't return me until 4:11 PM. In two and a half hours, they made five runs spread amongst the three lifts, while I got my bindings checked, skis waxed, photo taken, ski pass made and two front side trails skied. Then we all met for coffee at the Loft, where we agreed that living in Wallace Rocks! My runs under light snowfall ranged from groomed trails where baby moguls were birthing from dense skier-packed powder to untracked boot-high nature-packed powder under the trees in the Gold/Silver Glades. It was all good! | ||||||||
|
New Year 2009 |
4" | 49" | 64" | 19° / 22° | New Year 2009 |
8" | 64" | 85" |
|
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Friday Jan 2 |
6" | 55" | 70" | 27° / 28° | Friday Jan 2 |
14" | 72" | 91" | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Saturday Jan 3 |
6" | 61" | 76" | 6° / 6° |
Saturday Jan 3 |
6" | 72" | 93" | ||||||||
| night skiing to 8 PM; 22 groomed trails | 24 groomed trails | |||||||||||||||
|
Sunday Jan 4 |
0" | 36" | 68" | 18° / 17° | Sunday Jan 4 |
½" | 70" | 91" | ||||||||
|
Monday Jan 5 |
3" | 39" | 71" | 23° / 20° | Monday Jan 5 |
3" | 72" | 93" | ||||||||
Went with Jim and Del on another five run romp at noon under light to moderate
snowfall. Lots of untracked powder if you knew where to find it. The packed
powder on groomed trails was easy to manage, with the untracked snow along the
edges a nice variation. As usual, however, the deepest powder was found in the
Lucky Friday and Last Chance Glades, which face east at the Pass.
|
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Tuesday Jan 6 |
5" | 44" | 76" | 25° / | |
(7") | ||||||||||
|
Wednesday Jan 7 |
1" | 44" | 76" | 30° / | |
(10") | ||||||||||
|
CLOSED by rain |
3" | 33" | 72" | 30° / 35° | CLOSED by rain |
0" | 64" | 89" | ||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
|
Friday Jan 9 |
9" | 42" | 81" | 25° / 26° | Friday Jan 9 |
6" | 64" | 89" | ||||||||
|
Saturday Jan 10 |
0" | 42" | 78" | 23° / 26° | Saturday Jan 10 |
0" | 64" | 89" | ||||||||
|
Sunday Jan 11 |
2" | 44" | 80" | 28° / 28° | Sunday Jan 11 |
2" | 64" | 89" | ||||||||
| Monday Jan 12 |
0" | 44" | 80" | 34° / 29° | Monday Jan 12 |
trace | 64" | 89" | ||||||||
|
Tuesday Jan 13 |
0" | 44" | 80" | (36°) / | |
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|
Wednesday Jan 14 |
0" | 44" | 80" | 34° / | |
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|
Thursday Jan 15 |
0" | 44" | 80" | 34° / 30° | Thursday Jan 15 |
0" | 59" | 85" | ||||||||
|
Friday Jan 16 |
0" | 33" | 75" | (34°) / 22° | Friday Jan 16 |
0" | 59" | 85" | ||||||||
|
Saturday Jan 17 |
0" | 33" | 75" | 32° / 19° | Saturday Jan 17 |
0" | 58" | 84" | ||||||||
|
Sunday Jan 18 |
0" | 33" | 70" | 34° / 20° |
Sunday Jan 18 |
0" | 58" | 84" | ||||||||
The three aspects of the expanded ski area were especially unique today.
A river of freezing fog was was still flowing over the pass from Montana
and cascading down into the Silver Valley as we drove up the grade to the ski area
about 10 AM. As the camera/phone photo shows, the frigid river was still flowing at
1:15 PM. The effect of this was that when the temperature at the Lodge was
20°, the temperature at the top of the lift was 34°! I made 15 runs during the
day and found the following to be true:
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|
MLK Day Jan 19 |
0" | 33" | 70" | 46° / 22° | MLK Day Jan 19 |
0" | 58" | 84" | ||||||||
|
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|
|
/ 19° | Wednesday Jan 21 |
0" | 58" | 84" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Thursday Jan 22 |
0" | 32" | 67" | 34° / 29° | Thursday Jan 22 |
0" | 56" | 82" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Friday Jan 23 |
0" | 32" | 67" | 25° / 22° | Friday Jan 23 |
0" | 56" | 82" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Saturday Jan 24 |
0" | 32" | 67" | 18° / 16° | Saturday Jan 24 |
0" | 56" | 82" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Sunday Jan 25 |
0" | 32" | 67" | 18° / 8° | Sunday Jan 25 |
trace | 56" | 82" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Monday Jan 26 |
0" | 32" | 67" | (18)° / 4° | Monday Jan 26 |
trace | 56" | 82" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
(5") | / 21° | Wednesday Jan 28 |
11" | 62" | 87" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Finally, the perfect day I've been waiting for. I made 18 runs that began on untracked powder in stationary fog and ended on perfectly packed powder in light snowfall. During the day, blue sky and bright sunshine provided weather treats and wool mittens were sufficient. While the new powder was very dry, one was usually aware that hardpack lay beneath it. When skiing with friends in the morning, the deepest powder was again found in the Lucky Friday and Last Chance Glades, but when skiing alone in the afternoon, I preferred to meander amongst the trees on either side of Rainbow Ridge. All and all, a perfect day... except that there were no lift lines! Don't get me wrong, I love to ski directly into a chairlift and immediately sit down, a very common experience at Lookout Pass on a weekday. But I don't need or want to see ten empty chairs ahead of me. Especially when the management has taken the risk of opening the mountain on Wednesday, a history making decision that I want them to feel good about. So when at 3 PM, I ask the Montana Chair operator "How many of us are currently enjoying these five [mile-long] runs?" and he replies "Less than a dozen," I'm bummed! Wake up, Spokane and Missoula winter sport enthusiasts: help us locals out next Wednesday by skiing and riding with us. It will be worth your drive! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Thursday Jan 29 |
0" | 37" | 72" | 27° / 24° | Thursday Jan 29 |
trace | 62" | 87" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Friday Jan 30 |
0" | 37" | 72" | 30° / 24° | Friday Jan 30 |
trace | 62" | 87" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Saturday Jan 31 |
0" | 32" | 66" | 25° / 28° | Saturday Jan 31 |
0" | 62" | 87" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Sunday Feb 1 |
0" | 32" | 66" | 20° / 16° | Sunday Feb 1 |
0" | 60" | 85" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Monday Feb 2 |
3" | 35" | 69" | 25° / 26° | Monday Feb 2 |
3" | 62" | 87" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unexpected snowfall drove Del and I to the Pass by 10 AM to make 8 runs by noon under variable conditions. Cloud 9 on the Montana side and Marmot on the north side were groomed and easy to ski or ride. Other ungroomed runs were certainly fun, but tricky because the new snow mingled with hardpack in unpredictable ways. I accepted my first low-impact fall of the season with grace on Keystone; a binding released perfectly when I made too sharp a turn on the steeps, so the only harm done was to my ego. This was not a bad thing to happen as I tend to be a bit too cocky on warm and partly sunny days. There were a couple of bus loads of kids on the mountain, yet there was never a lift line. Wind, ice and obstacles were also missing and good times were had by all. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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|
/ 30° | Wednesday Feb 4 |
1" | 62" | 87" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Thursday Feb 5 |
0" | 35" | 69" | 37° / 30° | Thursday Feb 5 |
0" | 59" | 84" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Friday Feb 6 |
2" | 37" | 71" | 30° / 32° | Friday Feb 6 |
2" | 57" | 82" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jim and I made 7 quick runs by 10:45, when coffee in the Loft became more attractive than skiing in ever increasing snowfall. Two inches of fresh wet snow spread evenly on twenty-four machine groomed trails made decisions difficult: it was all good. Cloud 9 and Marmot were again favorites, but snow quality was consistent everywhere we went: silky smooth with no hidden complications. While a couple of emerging stumps were seen, none were felt. However, when the morning went from foggy to soggy, we decided to call it a day, happy to see winter "re-booted." There should be a lot of new snow for the Eighth Annual BIG AIR Contest on Sunday, when the GRAND PRIZE will be a CAR! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Saturday Feb 7 |
4" | 38" | 74" | 25° / 24° | Saturday Feb 7 |
3" | 59" | 84" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Sunday Feb 8 |
0" | 38" | 74" | 25° / 22° | Sunday Feb 8 |
trace | 58" | 84" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Monday Feb 9 |
0" | 38" | 74" | 25° / 26° | Monday Feb 9 |
trace | 58" | 84" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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|
(3") | / | |
(3") | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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|
(trace) | / 18° | Wednesday Feb 11 |
trace | 58" | 84" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I made 12 solitary runs in light snowfall before hitching a ride back to Wallace about 2 PM. Snow quality was generally good as the new stuff fell Monday/Tuesday when it was cold and the base was well groomed to start with. I tried a little bit of everything, even venturing into the mellow trees that face the Saint Regis Lake Basin: powder on crust... but not that unmanageable. Caution was a small price to pay for the aesthetics of solitude. Marmot and Red Dog were great North Side workouts as usual, with the latter having the most untracked powder. However, at 10:30 when the lift operator told me that I was the fourth person he had seated since opening the North Side, I was again sad that more people were not enjoying BONUS WEDNESDAY with me. First 100 tickets are $20 each on BONUS WEDNESDAYS. Season Pass holders from other areas receive $10 off an adult all day lift ticket. This is the best deal in the Pacific Northwest! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Thursday Feb 12 |
1" | 38" | 74" | 23° / 23° | Thursday Feb 12 |
2" | 59" | 84" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Friday Feb 13 |
skiff | 35" | 70" | 25° / 23° | Friday Feb 13 |
1" | 59" | 84" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Saturday Feb 14 |
0" | 35" | 70" | 21° / 21° | Saturday Feb 14 |
trace | 59" | 84" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Sunday Feb 15 |
1" | 35" | 70" | 21°
/ 21° |
Sunday Feb 15 |
2" | 59" | 85" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Pres. Day Feb 16 |
skiff | 35" | 70" | 25°
/ 24° |
Pres. Day Feb 16 |
2" | 59" | 85" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Tuesday Feb 17 |
0" | 35" | 70" | 28° / | |
(1") | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Wednesday Feb 18 |
0" | 35" | 70" | 27° / 28° | Wednesday Feb 18 |
½" | 58" | 84" |
|
Thursday Feb 19 |
0" | 35" | 70" | 24° / 26° | Thursday Feb 19 |
1" | 58" | 85" |
|
Friday Feb 20 |
0" | 35" | 70" | 28° / 26° | Friday Feb 20 |
trace | 56" | 84" |
|
Saturday Feb 21 |
0" | 35" | 70" | 27° / 18° | Saturday Feb 21 |
0" | 55" | 82" |
|
Sunday Feb 22 |
0" | 35" | 70" | 37° / 26° | Sunday Feb 22 |
0" | 55" | 82" |
|
Monday Feb 23 |
skiff | 35" | 67" | 32° / 35° | Monday Feb 23 |
0" | 54" | 82" |
| from their morning email: "Lots of snow in the forecast for the next few days. Spend Powder Thursday with us and enjoy two days accumulation of untracked snow." | from their snow report: "SNOW IN THE FORECAST for the balance of the week with up to 8" on Tuesday. We're operating on our regular Thursday thru Monday schedule and will reopen on PHAT POWDER THURSDAY!" | |||||||
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|
(Yes) | / | |
(3") | ||||
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|
(Yes) | / | |
(10") | ||||
|
CLOSED by gondola work |
24" | 37" | 70" | 28° / 29° | Thursday Feb 26 |
14" | 67" | 100" |
| from their snow report: "Unfortunately, we will NOT be open on Thursday due to scheduled lift maintenance that is taking longer than anticipated." |
Pulling into the parking lot at 8:45 AM, I was
perversely delighted to see a long lift line stretching uphill toward the
Lodge, waiting for Chair 1 to open at 9 AM. The place was crowded for three
good reasons
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Friday Feb 27 |
12" | 47" | 82" | 18° / 19° | Friday Feb 27 |
7" | 68" | 102" |
|
Saturday Feb 28 |
0" | 47" | 82" | 23° / 26° | Saturday Feb 28 |
1" | 68" | 102" |
|
Sunday Mar 1 |
0" | 56" | 96" | 30° / 36° | Sunday Mar 1 |
0" | 67" | 101" |
|
Monday Mar 2 |
0" | 56" | 96" | 40° / 34° | Monday Mar 2 |
0" | 67" | 101" |
|
|
(3") | / | |
(3") | ||||
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|
(0") | / |
|
(0") | ||||
|
Thursday Mar 5 |
8" | 50" | 90" | 25° / 27° |
Thursday Mar 5 |
3" | 70" | 105" |
| In marked contrast to last week's Powder Thursday, there was no lift line at 9:00 AM. There was a blizzard instead. I was dressed for it, however, and the first two runs through boot-deep powder were fun... altho at times I felt like I was back in differential equations class trying to determine dx/dt. Am I moving or am I not? And where is downhill again? Twice, vertigo made me stop to collect my wits and nerve. Then I realized that I was TOO well dressed. In particular, my excellent face mask was channeling all my body's steam exhaust out my eye sockets onto the inside of my glasses, inside my goggles. In a flash of insight, I discovered that 20/650 vision is WAY BETTER than uncertain vision. Thus, my next three runs were much more relaxed: things were fuzzy but they had depth. On the Montana side, wind was busy filling in Keystone's mogul fields, to give untracked smooth surfaces filled with little surprises. My taste of the trees between Cloud 9 and Rainbow Ridge made me think that they are not quite "soup" yet. However, on the North Side, Marmot was its usual perfect-pitch perfect-depth calm self. Still, five runs were enough for a snowy day; Jim and I were back in Wallace by 11:30, ready to get down to business. | ||||||||
|
Friday Mar 6 |
12" | 56" | 96" | 23° / 15° | Friday Mar 6 |
17" | 80" | 117" |
| I made 21 runs on this EPIC POWDER DAY. In other words, I dropped nearly four vertical miles through knee-deep dry powder. The temperature got down to 10° last night, drying out yesterday's snowfall and yielding what I call "hero" powder. I spent most of my time slow dancing in my favorite forest on the Montana side, finding private pathways through the trees, pushing bow waves of snow three feet ahead of me. Keystone and Cloud 9 were unique in the morning because there was a choice between a groomed surface down the middle and knee-deep powder to either side. By mid-afternoon, these runs were high-speed cruisers. I only fell once, but let me dress it up as a "summersault stop." I lost my balance on Marmot in knee-deep chopped-powder ("skier crud"), fell forward, executed a tuck-and-roll, watched my skis travel across the blue sky, and stood up. I took off my glasses, trying to look casual, blew a snowflake from the lens, and looked up and down the steep slope for other moving dark objects, but saw none. Putting the glasses back on didn't help; I had Marmot to myself in spite of the full parking lot. Where is the audience when you want one? On a later run down the same trail, I encountered "squeaky snow"... it sounded as if two marmots had hooky-bobbed onto my skis. Talkative little critters riding dry packed powder. | ||||||||
|
Saturday Mar 7 |
trace | 56" | 96" | 14° / 18° | Saturday Mar 7 |
1" | 80" | 118" |
|
Sunday Mar 8 |
7" | 61" | 101" | 19° / 18° | Sunday Mar 8 |
8" | 82" | 121" |
|
Monday Mar 9 |
3" | 57" | 101" | 10° / 16° | Monday Mar 9 |
4" | 84" | 123" |
|
|
(8") | / | |
(10") | ||||
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|
(0") | / |
|
(0") | ||||
|
Thursday Mar 12 |
0" | 57" | 101" | 12° / 10° |
Thursday Mar 12 |
6" | 87" | 128" |
|
Friday Mar 13 |
0" | 57" | 98" | 27° / 17° | Friday Mar 13 |
0" | 85" | 126" |
|
Saturday Mar 14 |
0" | 57" | 98" | 28° / 30° | Saturday Mar 14 |
0" | 83" | 124" |
|
Sunday Mar 15 |
5" | 62" | 99" | 30° / 30° | Sunday Mar 15 |
7" | 86" | 127" |
|
Monday Mar 16 |
5" | 67" | 104" | 21° / 25° | Monday Mar 16 |
11" | 91" | 133" |
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|
(n/r) | / | |
(n/r) | ||||
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|
(n/r) | / |
|
(n/r) | ||||
|
Thursday Mar 19 |
2" | 67" | 104" | 30° / 29° |
Thursday Mar 19 |
0" | 89" | 131" |
|
Friday Mar 20 |
0" | 67" | 104" | 43° / 32° | Friday Mar 20 |
0" | 85" | 126" |
|
Saturday Mar 21 |
0" | 60" | 99" | 41° / 35° | Saturday Mar 21 |
0" | 84" | 125" |
|
Sunday Mar 22 |
1" | 61" | 100" | 28° / 34° | Sunday Mar 22 |
1" | 84" | 125" |
|
Monday Mar 23 |
1" | 61" | 100" | 30° / 27° | Monday Mar 23 |
2" | 84" | 126" |
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|
(0") | / |
|
(trace) | ||||
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|
(0") | / |
|
(6") | ||||
|
Thursday Mar 26 |
12" | 61" | 100" | 16° / 12° |
Thursday Mar 26 |
9" | 90" | 135" |
Enthusiasm got Jim and me to the resort at 8 AM, an hour before the lifts were to
open, on a "bluebird" day with 15" of new snowfall during the previous 36
hours. While I never saw any blue birds, if there were any, they
would have been invisible against the deep blue sky. By the grace of the lift operator,
I was at the top of the mountain at 9:00 AM, taking this picture of the Saint
Regis Lakes Basin at the top of Keystone, which offered a choice between untracked
boot-deep powder (with a crust), or perfectly groomed corduroy (with icy grooves).
Soon I discovered
a different story under the trees, where yesterday's afternoon sun had not melted the
new snowfall. Overnight temperatures in the teens kept the snow under the trees
surrounding Rainbow Ridge uniformly dry and easy to manage. I stayed out of the
steeper trees on the Front Side, not wanting to push my luck with variable conditions.
After a while, the groomed runs softened up to perfection. By 10,
Black Bear to Marmot on the
North Side was an ideal cruiser. I noticed in passing that half of Marmot was left
ungroomed for those willing to fall. I just wasn't in the mood; I got enough exercise
making 17 runs without falling.
The resort will now be open everyday thru April 5, and again on
Saturday, April 11.
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Friday Mar 27 |
0" | 62" | 103" | 28° / 28° | Friday Mar 27 |
0" | 88" | 132" |
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Saturday Mar 28 |
0" | 62" | 103" | 30° / 31° | Saturday Mar 28 |
trace | 88" | 131" |
|
Sunday Mar 29 |
3" | 64" | 105" | 25° / 28° | Sunday Mar 29 |
4" | 89" | 133" |
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Monday Mar 30 |
2" | 66" | 107" | 27° / 25° | Monday Mar 30 |
5" | 92" | 136" |
|
Tuesday Mar 31 |
3" | 69" | 110" | 28° / 28° | Tuesday Mar 31 |
3" | 94" | 137" |
|
Wednesday Apr 1 |
9" | 69" | 110" | 28° / 26° |
Wednesday April 1 |
5" | 97" | 140" |
|
Thursday Apr 2 |
2" | 69" | 110" | 28° / 26° |
Thursday Apr 2 |
3" | 98" | 141" |
| I missed my 8:30 ride to the Pass, but a kind off-duty employee got me there by 11:00 in return for gas money. I made 7 runs on my last day of the season in weather that varied from light to heavy snowfall, mixed with fog and sunshine. The snow on the other hand was consistently good. The boot-high powder under the trees was uniformly dry, while the machine groomed, skier packed snow on the major runs made turning fast and easy. Although knee-deep powder was found in the Last Chance Glades, my favorite tree runs were still between Cloud 9 and Rainbow Ridge. When skiing out-of-bounds west of Rainbow Ridge, I was again reminded of the first rule of backpacking: "do not lose elevation unnecessarily." In other words, I had a little walking to do after gliding effortlessly (and a little too steeply) through my private forest. It was welcome exercise, however, as I start my seasonal job as the county's Fire Mitigation Crew Boss on April 20th. While slogging through deep powder for fifteen minutes is trivial exercise when compared to clearing brush from steep hillsides ten hours a day, every workout helps... staying fit is this 61-year-old American's only health insurance policy. The resort's regular season closes Sunday, April 5, but they will reopen for a FREE day on Saturday, April 11. | ||||||||
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Friday Apr 3 |
2" | 77" | 118" | 26° / 26° | Friday Apr 3 |
4" | 101" | 144" |
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Saturday Apr 4 |
1" | 68" | 113" | 25° / 27° | Saturday Apr 4 |
1" | 101" | 144" |
|
Sunday Apr 5 |
0" | 68" | 113" | 30° / 28° |
Sunday Apr 5 |
0" | 101" | 144" |
|
Saturday Apr 11 |
0" | 68" | 113" | 27° / 34° |
Saturday Apr 11 |
0" | 72" | 115" |
| 73 trails open on Silver Saturday #1 (32 groomed) | 24 groomed trails open for FREE skiing and riding | |||||||
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Saturday Apr 18 |
0" | 68" | 113" | 33° / | |
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67 trails open on Silver Saturday #2 (23 groomed) Leadman Triathlon '09 is April 25: a 1 mile ski/ride, 7-11 mile mountain bike ride and 4 mile run that is open to all. |
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Saturday April 25 |
2" | 68" | 113" | 25° / | |
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65 trails open on Silver Saturday #3 (22 groomed) |
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Final 08/09 Season Tally
Silver Mountain open 92 days
Lookout Pass open 93 days
This Snow Water Equivalent Graph dated May 6, 2009,
brings us back to normal snowpack.
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128 178" |
Days Open in 2007/2008 season Maximum snow depth at summit |
98 197" |
|---|---|---|
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132 117" |
Days Open in 2006/2007 season Maximum snow depth at summit |
106 163" |
|
118 139" |
Days Open in 2005/2006 season Maximum snow depth at summit |
111 168" |
|
97 80" |
Days Open in 2004/2005 season Maximum snow depth at summit |
83 85" |
|
136 85" |
Days Open in 2003/2004 season Maximum snow depth at summit |
104 119" |
|
101 111" |
Days Open in 2002/2003 season Maximum snow depth at summit |
69 130" |
|
90 209" |
Days Open in 2001/2002 season Maximum snow depth at summit |
80 225" |
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greg4mss@hotmail.com
