Mammoth Conditions Now: cloudy, a bit warmer, and the snow is still great. The snow on the upper mountain is staying dry and cold and the snow around Canyon and Juniper is a creamy, spring-time consistency. Translation: coverage and snow quality is holding strong.
Temps were well into the 40s today and are forecasted to reach into the 50s for tomorrow and Thursday. This will most likely translate into a brief freeze/thaw cycle for much of the mountain for a couple days. After that temps are expected to dip again and we may be seeing more snow on Saturday.
Even though the big holiday week-end has come and past, there is an above average number of snow-sliders out on the slopes for the mid-week. Yet, lift lines are mellow to non-existent and there is an excellent variety of terrain open to spread everyone out. And, with sunny, blue skies on tap for the next couple days I expect to see a lot of smiling faces out and about.
THE CONDITIONS
The PROS:
- Upper, front-side of the Mountain still has quality, dry, mid-winter snow.
- The snow at lower elevations is nice and “buttery” if you catch it mid-day.
- Coverage is rather consistent and predictable. 4+ days have now passed since it last snowed which means pretty much all pow has been slashed and all rocks and logs have been revealed.
- There’s a healthy amount of activity on the hill this week but the vibe is pleasantly mellow.
- There’s some interesting weather off on the horizon.
The CONS:
- With a freeze/thaw cycle in effect for the lower mountain some runs may be a bit “chattery” early in the day.
- Also due to the slight shift up in temps, tree runs at lower elevations and non-North facing aspects are less desireable.
- That pesky North wind is at it again, stripping snow from the upper ridges of the mountain.
PARK REPORT:
- Features in Main Park currently are a bit limited. Multiple snow-cats are working around the clock in preparation for the upcoming Grand Prix Super Pipe and Slopestyle events.
- South Park has some new jibs set up, including the inaugural “Crowning Achievements” feature.
- The Wonderland Mini Pipe is open and ready for action. It’s a bit oververt but still quite fun. A couple days of warm temps will probably help to do away with the oververt-ness of the pipe.
The STATS:
- New Snow: No new snow since last Thursday.
- Base: approx. 4-5’.
- Weather: Temps into the 50s for a couple days and then back down by the week-end when hopefully we’ll see some precipitation again.
- Conditions: Packed powder and machine groomed.
- Lifts: All lifts, except Chair 20.
- Runs: Same as before… The entire mountain is open, with the exception of some of the gnarliest terrain, i.e. Hangman’s Hollow, Top of the World, Huevos Grande and MJB’s.
Bottom line: A mini-shot of spring for the week; winter looks to be back by the week-end.