2017/2018 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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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ten Day Weather Forecasts for both Ski Areas | Follow @gregswallace | |||
| Two crude measures of each previous season is given by the MAXIMUM SNOW DEPTH recorded at Lookout Pass's summit, and by the VERTICAL MILES the author skied each season. The Season Recaps link leads to more summary information presented at the bottom of the page. | ||||
| 2001/2002
Snowfall Log 225" n/r |
2002/2003
Snowfall Log 130" 31.6 miles |
2003/2004
Snowfall Log 119" 27.7 miles |
2004/2005
Snowfall Log 85" 16.6 miles |
2005/2006
Snowfall Log 168" 58.7 |
| 2006/2007
Snowfall Log 163" 79.8 miles |
2007/2008
Snowfall Log 197" 43.7 miles |
2008/2009
Snowfall Log 144" 23.7 miles |
2009/2010
Snowfall Log 90" 39.3 miles |
2010/2011
Snowfall Log 192" 83.6 miles |
|
2011/2012
Snowfall Log 176" 72.4 miles |
2012/2013
Snowfall Log 139" 76.5 miles |
2013/2014
Snowfall Log 149" 49.7 miles |
2014/2015
Snowfall Log 78" 15.0 miles |
2015/2016
Snowfall Log 113" 41.4 miles |
|
2016/2017
Snowfall Log 144" 51.6 miles |
All Season Recaps | |||
|
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. |
|---|
| 123 |
Days Open in 2017/2018 season as of August 02, 2018 |
119 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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. Click on the animated color bars to move between the top and bottom of the data. |
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|
| Date | 24 hr New |
at Lodge |
at Summit |
temp °F |
Date | 24 hr New |
at Lodge |
at Summit |
|---|
|
|
/ 24° |
Saturday Nov 4 |
2" | 8" | 20" | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 I rode up to the resort with Jim on an overcast morning to get my gear into my locker, and my skis into the shop for their annual tune-up and binding torque test by Dave in the Rental Shop. Jim, feeling more adventurous, made three runs on dry snow that was "knee deep and less." He claimed only one fall, but was throughly exhausted on the first day of skiing in the Inland Empire this season. |
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|
|
/ 26° |
Sunday Nov 5 |
5" | 12" | 25" | |||
|
|
/ 32° |
Friday Nov 10 |
2" | 16" | 29" | |||
|
|
/ 32° |
Saturday Nov 11 |
2" | 16" | 30" | |||
|
|
/ 32° |
Sunday Nov 12 |
1" | 16" | 30" | |||
|
|
/ 27° |
Friday Nov 17 |
7" | 12" | 26" | |||
|
|
/ 27° |
Saturday Nov 18 |
8" | 16" | 32" | |||
|
Sunday Nov 19 |
0" | 22" | 30" | 25° / 25° |
Sunday Nov 19 |
1" | 16" | 32" |
|
Gondola 8:15 - 4:00, 4 lifts operating 46 trails open, 14 trails groomed |
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|
|
/ 28° |
Friday Dec 1 |
2" | 10" | 24" | |||
|
|
/ 29° |
Saturday Dec 2 |
1" | 10" | 24" | |||
|
Sunday Dec 3 |
4" | 12" | 18" | 29° / 29° |
Sunday Dec 3 |
5" | 12" | 27" |
|
Gondola 8:15 - 4:00, 3 lifts operating 4 trails open, 4 trails groomed |
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|
|
/ 22° |
Monday Dec 4 |
2" | 12" | 27" | |||
|
|
/ 25° |
Thursday Dec 7 |
0" | 12" | 27" | |||
|
|
/ 28° |
Friday Dec 8 |
0" | 12" | 27" | |||
| Saturday Dec 9 |
0" | 12" | 18" | 28° / 17° |
Saturday Dec 9 |
0" | 12" | 27" |
|
Gondola 8:15 - 4:00, 3 lifts operating 4 trails open, 4 trails groomed |
Climate Change has impacted all parts of the country this year with extreme weather: three major hurricanes devastating Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, and two enormous fires devastating California. Here in the Silver Valley, the weather is unusually pleasant for this time of year... devastating our early ski season. However, Jim and I had to get some exercise on such a beauful and mild December day, so we made six runs at mid-day on well-groomed Front Side trails. | |||||||
|
Sunday Dec 10 |
0" | 12" | 18" | 24° / 18° |
Sunday Dec 10 |
0" | 12" | 27" |
|
|
/ 21° |
Monday Dec 11 |
0" | 10" | 27" | |||
|
|
/ 25° |
Thursday Dec 14 |
1" | 12" | 27" | |||
|
Friday Dec 15 |
0" | 12" | 18" | 29° / 28° |
Friday Dec 15 |
1" | 12" | 27" |
| "3 Lifts Operating, 4 Trails Open, 4 Trails Groomed" | ||||||||
|
Saturday Dec 16 |
6" | 16" | 22" | 19° / 17° | Saturday Dec 16 |
4" | 12" | 30" |
| "3 Lifts Operating, 8 Trails Open, 8 Trails Groomed" | ||||||||
|
Sunday Dec 17 |
1" | 17" | 23" | 22° / 23° |
Sunday Dec 17 |
2" | 12" | 30" |
|
Monday Dec 18 |
4" | 17" | 24" | 23° / 23° |
Monday Dec 18 |
2" | 12" | 30" |
|
Tuesday Dec 19 |
13" | 17" | 24" | 32° / 29° |
Tuesday Dec 19 |
17" | 22" | 42" |
|
Wednesday Dec 20 |
17" | 31" | 46" | 25° / 29° |
Wednesday Dec 20 |
24" | 26" | 47" |
| "4 Lifts Operating, 48 Trails Open, 17 Trails Groomed" | "Chair 2 OPEN" | |||||||
|
Thursday Dec 21 |
1" | 31" | 46" | 21° / 19° |
Thursday Dec 21 |
10" | 26" | 47" |
My son and grandson from Florida again joined me for an outstanding day spent
racing down perfectly packed powder. Keegan learned to ski here in 2014.
Dan visited on a powder day in 2016. Today we skied together and separately.
I made eighteen runs; naturally the kid made more.
Chair 3 opened midday, and I took Marmot soon after, only to discover an
emergency rescue underway at the bottom. It's still early season, folks. Be careful.
Rainbow Ridge off Chair 2 was in excellent condition, with an added bonus:
a view of the NEW Tamarack Trail, the first trail cut as part of the
fully approved expansion
to include Chairs 5 and 6. Chair 5 will be accessed by this trail, which also joins
with That Way to access Chair 2.
Today this MILE LONG run was closed, waiting for enough snow to groom at the bottom.
We all had a wonderful day of exercise, followed by all of us asleep by 7 PM.
 
|
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Friday Dec 22 |
4" | 35" | 50" | 19° / 20° |
Friday Dec 22 |
2" | 26" | 47" |
|
Saturday Dec 23 |
2" | 35" | 50" | 8° / 13° |
Saturday Dec 23 |
4" | 26" | 48" |
|
Sunday Dec 24 |
0" | 35" | 50" | 10° / 5° |
Sunday Dec 24 |
4" | 26" | 48" |
|
Christmas Dec 25 |
2" | 35" | 50" | 18° / 14° |
Christmas Dec 25 |
2" | 26" | 48" |
| "5 Lifts Operating, 53 Trails Open, 21 Trails Groomed" | ||||||||
|
Tuesday Dec 26 |
3" | 35" | 50" | 11° / 10° |
Tuesday Dec 26 |
3" | 27" | 49" |
| "5 Lifts operating, 57 Trails open, 20 Trails groomed" |
Keegan and I braved the frigid morning temperature to again ski on perfectly packed powder.
While I got ice cream headaches on the first couple of runs, my grandson from Florida insisted
that "it's not that bad." One difference, today the humidity was negligible, while in Florida
the humidity is oppressive whether it is hot or cold. We made four runs together early in the morning
and six late in the day. I was amazed by his progress. He had tackled Idaho Face and
Marmot on his own, so we were able to race down Cloud Nine and Keystone
together... yes, the 12 year old always beat me.
 I made eighteen runs during the day, Keegan made 23! Five of my runs were through the trees between Rainbow Ridge and the new and very mellow Tamarack Trail. My favorite out-of-bounds forest that I have previously called Rainbow Woods (aka, the Forbidden Forest) is now encapsulated by these trails. |
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|
Wednesday Dec 27 |
3" | 40" | 50" | 19° / 21° |
Wednesday Dec 27 |
4" | 29" | 50" |
|
Thursday Dec 28 |
5" | 40" | 50" | 27° / 27° |
Thursday Dec 28 |
6" | 30" | 52" |
|
Friday Dec 29 |
14" | 40" | 50" | 27° / 30° |
Friday Dec 29 |
17" | 34" | 57" |
| "5 Lifts Operating, 61 Trails Open, 22 Trails Groomed" | ||||||||
|
Saturday Dec 30 |
9" | 42" | 54" | 27° / 29° |
Saturday Dec 30 |
17" | 37" | 60" |
|
Sunday Dec 31 |
2" | 42" | 54" | 21° / 16° |
Sunday Dec 31 |
18" | 4" | 62" |
| "6 lifts operating, 74 trails open, 26 trails groomed" |
Keegan and I returned to the mountain on an exceptionally busy day.
As I've stated many times before, I am happy to see (infrequent) lift lines because it brings
Chairs 5 and 6
closer to reality. This early morning photo taken from the new Tamarack Trail shows the
approximate Chair 5 top terminal (use mouseover). Its base will be at the bottom of this mellow
new trail. During this beautiful day I made fifteen runs, took a break in the Loft and rode Chair 1 and 2 with a variety of interesting people. Chair 3, on the other hand, had only two people in line when I arrived after a vigorous run down Marmot. Keegan never stopped his quest to master the mountain and ended the day with 26 runs to his credit. |
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|
New Year 2018 |
1" | 42" | 54" | 21° / 18° |
New Year 2018 |
0" | 40" | 62" |
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|
Tuesday Jan 16 |
0" | 51" | 61" | 37° / | |
(0") | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Wednesday Jan 17 |
0" | 51" | 61" | 30° / 31° |
Wednesday Jan 17 |
0" | 50" | 72" |
|
Thursday Jan 18 |
3" | 53" | 64" | 31° / 32° |
Thursday Jan 18 |
2" | 50" | 72" |
|
Friday Jan 19 |
8" | 53" | 64" | 29° / 24° |
Friday Jan 19 |
18" | 55" | 80" |
| "6 Lifts Operating, 77 Trails Open, 20 Trails Groomed" |
"Boomer Fridays begin: Over 40 => $30 Lift Ticket" This Friday tradition started 20 years ago when Baby Boomers were actually in their 40's; the name of this popular bargain remains the same. |
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|
Saturday Jan 20 |
2" | 53" | 62" | 26° / 27° | Saturday Jan 20 |
5" | 55" | 80" |
|
Sunday Jan 21 |
0" | 53" | 62" | 25° / 24° |
Sunday Jan 21 |
2" | 55" | 80" |
|
Monday Jan 22 |
2" | 53" | 62" | 26° / 28° | Monday Jan 22 |
7" | 56" | 81" |
|
Tuesday Jan 23 |
3" | 53" | 62" | 26° / | |
(11") | ||
|
Wednesday Jan 24 |
10" | 63" | 66" | 29° / 29° |
Wednesday Jan 24 |
11" | 63" | 87" |
Jim and I had very different mornings on an epic powder day, compounded by continuing snowfall. Our first run down Tamarack Trail was terrifying for me and boring for Jim on his fat skis. While I did not fall, my anxiety level was maximized by the heavy powder and my borderline balance. I ended up making five runs with a two cup coffee break after the first two. My last run through heavy skier chop was Black Bear to Gold, and except for wet and foggy glasses, it went OK... Especially when I took off my glasses. I was just happy that I never fell during a day that tested my nerve. Jim on the other hand, spent the morning romping down the expert Lucky Friday Glades and exploring new routes through our favorite forest between Rainbow and Tamarack. |
|
Thursday Jan 25 |
15" | 69" | 73" | 25° / 27° |
Thursday Jan 25 |
18" | 65" | 90" |
|
Friday Jan 26 |
7" | 69" | 73" | 28° / 27° |
Friday Jan 26 |
11" | 67" | 92" |
| Jim and I arrived about 10 AM to find two school buses and both parking lots full on a warm yet snowy morning. Observing "Powder Rules," we immediately separated. In spite of the implied crowd, I never had to wait more than a minute to board a chair to make my eight runs. Unlike Wednesday, the seven inches that fell overnight on groomed surfaces was very dry. As was the boot to knee deep powder in the formerly "Forbidden Forest" between Rainbow Ridge and Tamarack Trail. It was an ethereal experience: like floating on air while the forest passed slowly in review. The new Tamarack Trail allows passage through a cool forest where previously unaware skiers and especially snowboarders would end up not moving (in a normal fashion) after they descended onto St. Regis Pass (where Chair #5 will be built). Other deep powder stashes were discovered on either side of Hoot Owl ... twice. As I bounced down through the deep skier chop on Silver, I found myself daydreaming: "This looks just like it did two days ago, but I'm going way faster and my heart is not pounding... it must be that I have a positive self-image today and I had a bad self-image on Wednesday." Back in the locker room, I heard a guy telling his friend "Well, this was a hell of a lot better day than Wednesday!" Another guy my age came in and said "Yeah, Wednesday sucked." I guess my self-image was incidental to the 2° temperature difference between the days. | ||||||||
|
Saturday Jan 27 |
12" | 69" | 73" | 25° / 26° |
Saturday Jan 27 |
17" | 70" | 95" |
|
Sunday Jan 28 |
10" | 69" | 73" | 25° / 31° |
Sunday Jan 28 |
9" | 70" | 97" |
|
Monday Jan 29 |
1" | 69" | 73" | 34° / 34° |
Monday Jan 29 |
0" | 70" | 97" |
| Jim and I joined Mark for a morning of fast runs down well groomed corduroy trails on a typical sunny spring day... in January. Our first run on Tamarack Trail was bone-jarring due to the hard corduroy, but softer snow was soon found on the Front Side. I made nine runs by 11:10, when the temperature approached 40°, the going became easy, and the Loft beckoned. | ||||||||
|
Tuesday Jan 30 |
1" | 73" | 74" | 29° / |
|
(0") | ||
|
Wednesday Jan 31 |
1" | 73" | 74" | 20° / 25° |
Wednesday Jan 31 |
5" | 71" | 98" |
|
Thursday Feb 1 |
2" | 73" | 74" | 26° / 26° |
Thursday Feb 1 |
7" | 72" | 98" |
|
Friday Feb 2 |
3" | 73" | 74" | 30° / 32° | Friday Feb 2 |
5" | 72" | 98" |
| Jim and I only made four runs in the early morning freezing fog. Our first run down Tamarack Trail on 5" of soft untracked snow was totally different from my experience on January 24. Turns were now effortless and it was wonderful... except for the freezing fog. We next tried a familiar Rainbow Ridge tree run... it was OK, but OK is not good enough for carefree forest exploration. On the Idaho Side, Silver was super... until at the bottom, where Jim's fat skis started to stick. We made a final fast run down Bonanza and went for coffee. I could be described as either a spoiled brat or a snow connoisseur. The day's spring conditions would be rated as above average at a New England ski area, but here at Idaho's #1 Powder Place, we expect more. For my $99 season pass, I want blue bird powder days. Also Jim had property management chores to do, and I am working on the website for the 2018 Historic Wallace Blues Festival, on July 13-15. | ||||||||
|
Saturday Feb 3 |
3" | 73" | 74" | 30° / 35° |
Saturday Feb 3 |
4" | 72" | 98" |
|
Sunday Feb 4 |
3" | 73" | 74" | 32° / 34° |
Sunday Feb 4 |
0" | 70" | 96" |
|
Monday Feb 5 |
5" | 73" | 74" | 30° / 32° | Monday Feb 5 |
6" | 70" | 96" |
|
Tuesday Feb 6 |
4" | 73" | 74" | 28° / |
|
(8") | ||
|
Wednesday Feb 7 |
0" | 73" | 74" | 29° / 32° |
Wednesday Feb 7 |
4" | 73" | 100" |
| Needing exercise, I caught an early ride with Patty on her way to her rental shop job. So I was on my first chair at 8:52. After a six pack on the Back Side topped off with two Front Side groomers, I stopped for coffee at 11:04. Back on the chair at 11:25, I continued racing down well groomed slopes on never-icy yet never-sticky soft snow until 1:30, when Patty's shift ended. All in all, I made sixteen runs on a warm and tranquil day where the top of Runt Mountain stayed bathed in light fog, while lower elevations remained clear of fog and traffic. Marmot was in good condition, but required "easy work," whereas Cloud Nine and Keystone were "daydreamin' fast." Rainbow and Tamarack were good places to practice perfect technical style. | ||||||||
|
Thursday Feb 8 |
0" | 73" | 74" | 35° / 37° |
Thursday Feb 8 |
3" | 72" | 100" |
|
Friday Feb 9 |
1" | 73" | 74" | 29° / 21° | Friday Feb 9 |
9" | 73" | 101" |
|
Saturday Feb 10 |
0" | 73" | 74" | 16° / 19° |
Saturday Feb 10 |
7" | 75" | 103" |
|
Sunday Feb 11 |
0" | 73" | 74" | 23° / 18° |
Sunday Feb 11 |
0" | 75" | 103" |
|
Monday Feb 12 |
0" | 73" | 74" | 12° / 8° | Monday Feb 12 |
1" | 75" | 103" |
|
Tuesday Feb 13 |
0" | 73" | 74" | 14° / |
|
(1") | ||
|
Wednesday Feb 14 |
5" | 78" | 80" | 20° / 22° |
Wednesday Feb 14 |
5" | 77" | 106" |
|
Thursday Feb 15 |
4" | 79" | 81" | 16° / 22° |
Thursday Feb 15 |
13" | 79" | 105" |
|
Rode up with Patty, so I was able to enjoy a breakfast sandwich before boarding chair #1 by 9 AM. Two hours later I stopped for coffee, eight runs under my belt. Another eight runs and it was time for chicken wings and hard lemonade. Four final runs gave me twenty runs by 3 PM on a most glorious day. The new snow was light and fluffy under the trees and groomed to perfection on the main trails. The day was partly sunny and warmed into the high twenties. In spite of the perfect conditions and two school groups, I felt I had the place to myself... until I ran into Jim mid morning.
We floated on perfect powder through our favorite forest west of Rainbow Ridge, now bounded by Tamarack Trail, and discovered powder passages that were off limits previously because they led into the flatness of St. Regis Pass (snowboarder hell), where Chair #5 base will soon be built. The boot deep fresh snow here and elsewhere was turn-on-a-dime powder, the only kind you want during a forest exploration. As you know from reading these commentaries, "tree skiing" for me means that I am out of sight of the invisible ski area. I would say that today was one of the best ski days of my life, but then I have said that so many times during forty two years of skiing passionately that it is not very meaningful. All I know is that today I truly danced with the mountain.
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|
Friday Feb 16 |
3" | 79" | 81" | 21° / 22° |
Friday Feb 16 |
4" | 81" | 111" |
|
Saturday Feb 17 |
9" | 77" | 85" | 23° / 21° |
Saturday Feb 17 |
18" | 85" | 115" |
|
Sunday Feb 18 |
22" | 81" | 92" | 17° / 20° |
Sunday Feb 18 |
21" | 93" | 123" |
|
Pres. Day Feb 19 |
18" | 86" | 97" | 5°
/ 3° |
Pres. Day Feb 19 |
11" | 95" | 125" |
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Tuesday Feb 20 |
2" | 86" | 97" | 4° / | |
(1") | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Wednesday Feb 21 |
0" | 86" | 97" | 4° / 5° |
Wednesday Feb 21 |
1" | 96" | 126" |
|
Thursday Feb 22 |
0" | 86" | 97" | 7° / 14° |
Thursday Feb 22 |
0" | 96" | 126" |
| What a beautiful, unusual and COLD day to play on the 55 new inches of snow that fell in the last week. The day began under a totally blue sky that transformed into very light snowfall by noon. There was no wind... except when going fast. An ice-cream headache made me pause on my first run down Silver, where I noticed an odd sparkle on the slope below me. As if someone had thrown handfuls diamonds onto the snow. I retreated into my favorite woods where my slow euphoric progress through top-of-boot light powder mitigated wind chill. When I stopped to appreciate my solitude, I saw hoar frost forming little window panes in the air around me. They were mostly transparent, but appeared to be rectangular and quarter inch in size. The untracked snow around me looked like it was covered with large fish scales. (The trees were naturally also covered with hoar frost, but that's unremarkable.) Out on groomed runs, these little ice windows land on snow surfaces with all orientations. Some act as mirrors in the morning sun adding sparkle to the slope. The cold trumped joy, however, so I only made fifteen runs during a beautifully brutal day. | ||||||||
|
Friday Feb 23 |
0" | 86" | 97" | 12° / 11° |
Friday Feb 23 |
0" | 96" | 126" |
|
Saturday Feb 24 |
6" | 86" | 97" | 14° / 17° |
Saturday Feb 24 |
3" | 96" | 126" |
|
Sunday Feb 25 |
14" | 86" | 97" | 21° / 20° |
Sunday Feb 25 |
13" | 100" | 130" |
|
Monday Feb 26 |
12" | 98" | 100" | 16° / 18° |
Monday Feb 26 |
28" | 108" | 138" |
|
Those who have fat powder skis had a ball today.
The resort received 10" of snow overnight, on top of the 18" they received yesterday.
They had snow rates of 2" per hour at midday. Over the last 72 hours they received
44" of fresh light "Lookout Powder." After yesterday's storm, the total snowfall
for the season is 407 inches! Unfortunately, I do not have fat powder skis and I
made a bad decision to check out my favorite forest on my second run...
Fifty feet in, I came to a stop in knee deep powder. It took me a long time to fight
my way back to Rainbow Ridge, where I took my skis off and lay down on the nice
cold groomed surface to reduce my chance of heat exhaustion. Five minutes later, the
first person arrives and asks if I'm OK. I was... just really tired. I thought it
interesting that on a partly sunny epic powder day I could rest beside a trail for
five minutes without seeing anyone. I love the weekday people/trails ratio at this
ski area.
Anyway, for the rest of the morning I stayed on the 'groomed' runs, which were usually covered by a half foot of easy powder. I met up with Jim and Mark in the Loft at 11:45 after only seven runs. Predictably, they had an epic day on their fat powder skis. Unlike me, they had fun in the Rainbow Woods... except for the time Jim spent climbing out of a tree well. Powder dumps are wonderful, but not without risk. |
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|
Tuesday Feb 27 |
9" | 98" | 100" | 12° / | |
(0") | ||
|
Wednesday Feb 28 |
7" | 98" | 102" | 21° / 24° |
Wednesday Feb 28 |
5" | 111" | 141" |
|
|
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Thursday Mar 1 |
1" | 98" | 102" | 25° / 25° |
Thursday Mar 1 |
9" | 112" | 142" |
|
Friday Mar 2 |
5" | 95" | 102" | 23° / 27° | Friday Mar 2 |
6" | 113" | 143" |
|
Saturday Mar 3 |
7" | 98" | 102" | 18° / 16° |
Saturday Mar 3 |
8" | 114" | 144" |
|
|
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Sunday Mar 4 |
0" | 98" | 102" | 17° / 20° |
Sunday Mar 4 |
3" | 114" | 144" |
|
Monday Mar 5 |
5" | 98" | 102" | 22° / 22° |
Monday Mar 5 |
5" | 115" | 145 |
| Jim, Mark and I made seven runs together before we joined other Prime Timers for a gyro lunch in the Loft. (Five lunches are a benefit of the $15 seasonal membership in this over-55 ski club.) The morning was overcast with a cold wind sometimes filled with snow. However, three of our runs were separate explorations in the Rainbow/Tamarack Woods, where we were sheltered in our solitudes. In the last ten years, my friends and I have found many routes through the Rainbow Woods. At one critical point we always had to traverse left through a dense stand of big and little pine trees, rather than pursue the attractive fall line to the right down through open glades... into flatland hell. Today it was a delight to approach the familiar forest constriction, and turn right to bounce through untracked boot-deep dry powder on a random romp to the Tamarack Trail. | ||||||||
|
Tuesday Mar 6 |
1" | 98" | 102" | 26° / | |
(6") | ||
|
Wednesday Mar 7 |
0" | 98" | 102" | 31° / |
|
(7") | ||
|
Thursday Mar 8 |
0" | 98" | 102" | 32° / 33° |
Thursday Mar 8 |
1" | 116" | 146" |
|
Friday Mar 9 |
7" | 98" | 102" | 25° / 31° | Friday Mar 9 |
6" | 116" | 146" |
|
Saturday Mar 10 |
4" | 96" | 98" | 20° / 25° |
Saturday Mar 10 |
8" | 118" | 148" |
Arriving early, I took this photo, ate a breakfast burrito,
and completed three Front Side runs down untracked soft corduroy by 9:05. Then it was off into the Rainbow/Tamarack Woods for half a dozen explorations on untracked boot-high dry powder. Later in the day, the forest snow became heavier due to the intense sunshine. I stopped for coffee at 12:30, after fifteen runs, and again at 2:30 after twenty. It was still cloudless and calm outside however, so I was happy to end the day with twenty three runs.   |
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Sunday Mar 11 |
0" | 96" | 98" | 30° / 27° |
Sunday Mar 11 |
0" | 118" | 148" |
 If yesterday was a contender for "best of season," today was simply "good." Daylight Savings made the sun run behind the clock so 9 AM was an hour colder than it would be under Standard Time. Consequently, I stopped for coffee after four runs. The wind on Chair 1 was brutal, as was the rock-hard corduroy on Rainbow Ridge. Soon the temperature and my attitude improved. The day was not meant for woodland wandering, but the groomers became fun as they warmed. I ended up with twenty runs and sore muscles. The photo looks down Marmot at Lucky Friday Mine's settling pond above Mullan, Idaho. Wallace is known as the Silver Capital of the World, but labor at this lead/silver mine has been on strike for a year. We all hope issues are resolved soon. |
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Monday Mar 12 |
0" | 96" | 98" | 36° / 31° | Monday Mar 12 |
0" | 118" | 148" |
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Tuesday Mar 13 |
0" | 96" | 98" | 38° / | |
(0") | ||
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Wednesday Mar 14 |
0" | 96" | 98" | 36° / |
|
(0") | ||
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Thursday Mar 15 |
0" | 90" | 92" | 32° / 30° |
Thursday Mar 15 |
0" | 118" | 148" |
|
Friday Mar 16 |
0" | 90" | 92" | 27° / 30° |
Friday Mar 16 |
0" | 118" | 148" |
|
Saturday Mar 17 |
0" | 90" | 92" | 27° / 30° |
Saturday Mar 17 |
0" | 118" | 148" |
Arriving early again, thanks to Patty, I witnessed a
gathering of hospitality leprechauns as they began St. Patrick's Day at
this friendly resort. The overcast day was governed by a hard and fast rule: hard snow is fast snow. During the morning, every scraping turn on corduroy provided a free leg vibration massage. By afternoon, turns were still noisy, but the skier packed powder was easy on the legs. In fact, Marmot and Red Dog off Chair 3 were wonderful at 1:30. I stayed on groomers all day, except for a coffee break and a lunch break, and was back at my locker at 2:32, after completing twenty runs.
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Sunday Mar 18 |
5" | 90" | 92" | 25° / 30° |
Sunday Mar 18 |
4" | 118" | 148" |
|
Monday Mar 19 |
7" | 90" | 92" | 26° / 27° |
Monday Mar 19 |
10" | 120" | 150" |
 Jim and I joined Mark for a morning of romping through hero powder beneath trees that would have been deadly two days ago. Today the new snow, bright sunshine and temperatures approaching 40° made me shout my joy on five solitary mile-long runs through the deserted Rainbow/Tamarack woodland. I also played on the perfectly packed powder covering Marmot, Cloud 9 and Silver, before heading to the Loft to join my friends for a brew. So, on an epic powder day, I only made eight runs... But since I have dropped over fifty vertical miles so far this season, I have no complaints. Life is good. |
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Tuesday Mar 20 |
2" | 90" | 92" | 22° / | |
(6") | ||
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Wednesday Mar 21 |
0" | 90" | 92" | 28° / | |
(0") | ||
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Thursday Mar 22 |
0" | 90" | 92" | 43° / 34° |
Thursday Mar 22 |
0" | 120" | 150" |
| Friday Mar 23 |
3" | 90" | 92" | 28° / 27° |
Friday Mar 23 |
4" | 120" | 150" |
 Jim and I had a pleasant morning of skiing on the new snow that fell last night on groomed surfaces preconditioned by freezing rain. In other words, the woods were again off limits. Jim's fat powder skis were not as much fun as he likes on this type of hard/soft surface, so he went in early, but I made nine runs before joining him for the last Prime Timers luncheon of the season. Over a brew, I told him about my graceful fall on Black Bear, when my skis slid out from under me on a turn, and I "butt & back skied" for forty feet before stopping and standing without discomfort. Thankfully I still bounce well at 70. |
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| >
Saturday Mar 24 |
3" | 90" | 92" | 29° / 29° |
Saturday Mar 24 |
4" | 120" | 150" |
|
Sunday Mar 25 |
2" | 90" | 92" | 25° / 23° |
Sunday Mar 25 |
0" | 120" | 150" |
 Today was the second day of Race Weekend (EEYSL Alpine Finals with regional youth race teams in Slalom and Giant Slalom competition). That combined with no overnight snow might cause some season pass holders to stay home on a day like this. Sure glad I did not! Just like a year ago, this was another day of Goldilocks spring skiing, where the snow surface was never too firm and never too soft. I made twenty six runs by 2:30. How did I get around the crowd? Mark picked me up on the frontage road near my home at 6:50 this morning, and I was first in line at Chair 1 at 7:50 (as shown in the photo). When it opened early at 8:10, there were hundreds of little racers behind me. So let's call that a twenty minute lift line. In contrast, on my first seven runs on the Montana Side, my lift lines were of the negative five to zero variety. When I first get to Chair 2 (or 3), and there is no one in line, and no one in sight behind me, I consider it rude to jump on the lift without first having a short, maybe 5 minute conversation with the lift operator (Wyatt, Cory or Quinn) as we wait for others to arrive. Later on in the day, I enjoyed "zero" lift lines where I would ski without stopping to the chair and sit down. Marmot and Red Dog off Chair 3 were in fantastic shape and very fun. Meanwhile on the Front Side, hundreds of racers and their parents had a ball. |
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Monday Mar 26 |
0" | 90" | 92" | 23° / 23° |
Monday Mar 26 |
1" | 120" | 150" |
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Tuesday Mar 27 |
2" | 90" | 92" | 28° / | |
(2") | ||
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Wednesday Mar 28 |
2" | 90" | 92" | 28° / | |
(3") | ||
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Thursday Mar 29 |
0" | 90" | 92" | 30° / 27° |
Thursday Mar 29 |
3" | 121" | 151" |
|
Friday Mar 30 |
0" | 90" | 92" | 30° / 34° |
Friday Mar 30 |
1" | 121" | 151" |
|
Saturday Mar 31 |
0" | 90" | 92" | 30° / 27° |
Saturday Mar 31 |
0" | 117" | 147" |
 Jim and I spent another delightful morning skiing with Goldie Locks on perfectly pushable spring snow that was never too firm and never too soft. As expected, the grooming was excellent, the weather was warm, the lift lines were missing, and the runs were empty. I had to wait for several minutes for skiers to appear in this view from Keystone. We only made ten runs by noon because Jim had an afternoon obligation. |
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Sunday Apr 1 |
0" | 90" | 92" | 27° / 27° |
Sunday Apr 1 |
0" | 115" | 145" |
| Arrived early with Mark, expecting a small Easter Sunday crowd. The crowd was even smaller than expected because of the April Fools joke that was the day's weather. Quinn on Chair 2 estimated that he only seated between 40 and 50 unique people today. It snowed all day: sometimes big flakes drifting straight down, sometimes tiny flakes whipped into snow devils dancing in open spaces. Sometimes the snowfall was punctuated by sun breaks, and sometimes the snow fell only to be blown away later. And under this new and mobile snowfall was hard packed corduroy. So I took things easy, only making sixteen runs by 1:45. Mark was ready to go by then as well. Tomorrow will be much better (if snow continues). | ||||||||
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Monday Apr 2 |
6" | 90" | 92" | 20° / 26° |
Monday Apr 2 |
6" | 115" | 145" |
I rode up with Jim and home with Mark after making twenty runs on a magical Monday, where blue sky and baby blizzards alternated all day long. The most inspirational moments were when gentle snowfall combined with bright sunshine and sharp shadows. The half foot of new snow present in the morning stayed cold during the day as more snow fell, making my favorite forest fun at 9:30 AND still fun at 2:00. Marmot was in perfect condition all the way to Chair #3... actually every trail I took was in top shape, making all turns fluid.
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Tuesday Apr 3 |
6" | 90" | 92" | 24° / | |
(6") | ||
|
Wednesday Apr 4 |
1" | 90" | 92" | 30° / | |
(2") | ||
|
Thursday Apr 5 |
6" | 90" | 92" | 34° / 29° |
Thursday Apr 5 |
4" | 117" | 147" |
|
Friday Apr 6 |
3" | 90" | 92" | 30° / 23° |
Friday Apr 6 |
4" | 118" | 149" |
|
Saturday Apr 7 |
2" | 90" | 92" | 38° / 31° |
Saturday Apr 7 |
2" | 118" | 149" |
|
Sunday Apr 8 |
5" | 90" | 92" | 29° / 33° |
Sunday Apr 8 |
5" | 119" | 150" |
| / 28° |
Friday Apr 13 |
3" | 118" | 148" | ||||
| Jim and I took advantage of a merely overcast day to enjoy a final day on the mountain. More unattractive wet snowfall is predicted for the weekend. Today was fun for me racing on firm surfaces covered by an inch or two of soft new snow. Black Bear/Silver on the Idaho Side, and Cloud Nine on the Montana Side were easy for me to love. However, Jim on his heavy wide powder skis fell out of love after six runs. I made eight runs and achieved a personal goal before joining him in the Loft. This season I made 364 runs on 28 days for a season total of 70.1 vertical miles. Therefore I dropped 2.5 vertical miles on an average ski day. Not too shabby for a 70 year-old. | ||||||||
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Saturday Apr 14 |
10" | 90" | 92" | 32° / 30° |
Saturday Apr 14 |
4" | 118" | 148" |
|
Sunday Apr 15 |
3" | 90" | 92" | 32° / 33° |
Sunday Apr 15 |
2" | 118" | 148" |
| 5 Lifts operating, 78 Trails Open, 15 Trails Groomed | ||||||||
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Saturday Apr 21 |
1" | 92" | 94" | 33° / 34° |
Saturday Apr 21 |
0" | 110" | 140" |
| LEADMAN SKI-BIKE-RUN RACE |
 I rode to the mountain with Jim to say "Happy Summer"
to friends in the Loft, and to collect my gear from my locker. Unlike Jim,
I had no desire to ski because A) today ALL LIFT TICKETS WERE FREE, and
B) the snow would be too wet and unpredictable, making falls predictable.
Sure enough, both parking lots were full when we got there about 10.
However, as shown in the photo, there was no lift line and no brown spring snow,
and according to Jim, who made six runs, the snow was NOT too wet, it was "wonderful!"
He then admitted over a beer that he fell, hitting his shoulder and head on his last run...
while he was showing off skiing backwards.
Hours later he claimed that the fall had a chiropractic benefit:
"My chronic shoulder pain is gone!"
We left before the Pond Skimming Beach Party Luau, but this photo captures the day.
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Sunday Apr 22 |
0" | 92" | 94" | 30° / |
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Silver Mountain 123 102" February 28 |
Days open in 2017/2018 Season Maximum snow depth at summit |
Lookout Pass 119 151" March 29 |
|---|---|---|
 This Snow Water Equivalent Graph was downloaded on April 22, 2018, and shows that when compared with thirty year averages, total precipatation this season was again significantly above average. However, in contrast with last season, snowfall tended to follow historical averages until surpassing them in April. It has been reported that our snowpack is 119% of average. Good news for those of us who live in the woods. Click on this end-of-season graph to open the current NRCA Snowpack graph in a separate window. |
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| Silver Mountain | Lookout Pass | |
|---|---|---|
|
122 94" March 9 |
Days open in 2016/2017 Season Maximum snow depth at summit |
105 144" March 26 |
|
119 79" March 16 |
Days open in 2015/2016 Season Maximum snow depth at summit |
106 113" March 17 |
|
71 73" January 18 |
Days open in 2014/2015 Season Maximum snow depth at summit |
81 78" January 18 |
|
96 104" March 31 |
Days open in 2013/2014 Season Maximum snow depth at summit |
108 149" March 6 |
|
94 91" March 23 |
Days open in 2012/2013 Season Maximum snow depth at summit |
106 139" March 23 |
|
101 135" March 30 |
Days open in 2011/2012 Season Maximum snow depth at summit |
113 176" March 23 |
|
103 145" April 7 |
Days open in 2010/2011 Season Maximum snow depth at summit |
112 192" March 17 & April 8 |
|
97 70" April 10 |
Days Open in 2009/2010 season Maximum snow depth at summit |
111 90" February 13 |
|
92 118" April 3 |
Days Open in 2008/2009 season Maximum snow depth at summit |
93 144" April 3 |
|
128 178" March 31 - April 12 |
Days Open in 2007/2008 season Maximum snow depth at summit |
98 197" April 3 |
|
132 117" March 2 - 4 |
Days Open in 2006/2007 season Maximum snow depth at summit |
106 163" March 1 - 3 |
|
118 139" March 10 |
Days Open in 2005/2006 season Maximum snow depth at summit |
111 168" March 26 - 27 |
|
97 80" April 2 - 3 |
Days Open in 2004/2005 season Maximum snow depth at summit |
83 85" January 16 - 17 |
|
136 85" March 7 |
Days Open in 2003/2004 season Maximum snow depth at summit |
104 119" March 7 |
|
101 111" April 6 |
Days Open in 2002/2003 season Maximum snow depth at summit |
69 130" March 9 |
|
90 209" March 21 - 22 |
Days Open in 2001/2002 season Maximum snow depth at summit |
80 225" March 21 - 23 |
Greg's Score Card after turning 55
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greg4mss@hotmail.com
