CONDITIONS @ WHISTLER TODAY, DECEMBER 12th: – 8+” of light, sluffy, new snow on the upper mountain – Sunshine all day (this is a rare this time of year) with … Read More
Saturday 7/21 delivered the storm that we desperately needed here in Las Leñas, and today was a classic first sunny day powder day. This video shows the standard first powder day timeline: morning Cenidor runs, mid day Vulcano, and afternoon Marte. For many of us, today was the first true powder of the season, so stoke levels were running high.
It is hard to say how much fresh snow we’ve received. Something like 12 inches, with a whole lot of wind to really smooth things over and fill everything in. Conditions primarily consisted of good powder with a very light wind skin, with some areas looking a little scoured, and others with some breakable wind crust (carton).
Despite really heavy winds, ski patrol was kind enough to give us all one good Marte run in the afternoon. If you ever find yourself complaining that they don’t try to open Marte in heavy winds, remember today!
Patrol only opened Mercurio and “variations” today, so Eduardo and the South Wall remain untouched for tomorrow. It isn’t clear whether tomorrow will be blue, or stormy and gray instead.
Well, the wind has continued to work things over in Las Leñas the past few days. Just about every unsheltered slope is covered with rock hard, un-skiable sastrugi. Today, the Eduardo’s off-piste gate was closed, presumably due to how firm the snow was.
However, there is still some powder to be found up there. We skied reasonably soft snow on Cerro Martin today, and others reported powder on some other peaks on the upper mountain. Further, the current high pressure is beginning to develop some decent corn, if you can find anywhere that hasn’t been sastrugified.
Looking forward, it appears that we will have high pressure for the next week atleast. Again, although the current snow quality is frustrating, it’s hard to complain when Marte is open and most lines are filled in.
However, Snow Forecast is calling for “Heavy Snow” next Friday (the 20th) night, so the future is looking good.
Days 1-6 mid-mountain, snow-forecast.com
Days 7-9, mid-mountain, Snow-forecast.com
One long run in the Labyrinth.
Overall, conditions are above average in Las Leñas at the moment. The base is much deeper than usual for this time of the year, and just about every named line is filled in. The south wall has already seen lots of traffic, whereas last season it was only skiable for about one week at the end of August. I believe the last time Las Leñas had a base this deep in early July was 2008.
Having said that, Las Leñas saw significant wind events (surprised?) last week, and just about everything is pretty firm and wind buffed. Temperatures have been warm and the sun has been out, so everything on the northern half and lower elevation has a breakable sun crust on it. However, if you go higher, south facing, and protected from the wind, there is still soft snow to be found.
At the moment, it is windy, cloudy, and lightly snowing. However, the sun is forecasted to make an appearance this afternoon.
Eduardo and the front side, looking very filled in for early July.
Going forward, the forecast is calling for high pressure for the next week at least, with relatively low winds. While this means that powder skiing will be extremely hard to find, it also means that there is plenty of potential to enjoy Marte with loads of lines ready to ride.
Snow-forecast.com at mid-mountain for days 1-6.
Snow-forecast.com for mid-mountain, days 7-9.
Climbing and mountain biking was so last month, it’s time to ski again! Weather you agree with that statement or not, we are skiers and boarders at heart and there … Read More
It’s the last weekend of Whistler’s 2012 season. It’s warm outside, people are golfing, biking and even starting to hit the beach so is it still worth heading up the … Read More
MAMMOTH CONDITIONS REPORT | The count is on – Less than a week to go before Mammoth’s lifts stop spinning… for skiing and snowboarding that is. With the end of … Read More
MAMMOTH CONDITIONS REPORT | When the beach weather’s so very nice it certainly can be difficult to think snow… Understood. Even around Mammoth Lakes GREEN is the predominant color these … Read More
If you missed skiing today, you better have a good reason. Seriously. Perfect corn, perfect weather, and lots of action. I heard Mineral Basin had some great jibbing off the … Read More
MAMMOTH CONDITIONS REPORT | There’s no denying that the snowpack is receding yet with temps in check (we’re talking highs in the 50s) most seem optimistic that there’ll be plenty … Read More
