I think we can call today a powder day. Especially given what we’ve been dealing with this season, it more than qualifies.
The mental forecast I had going into today was heinous. 1-2” of new snow on very hard ice. Groomers only.
Reality proved much less daunting than the mental image I’d produced. There was about 4” of new snow on softish snow, the wind was insane (78mph gusts on the ridge at 3pm), and the skiing was good.
By the time I made it to Squaw at noon, Red Dog had already been closed due to high winds. I lapped Far East until I was too wet to smile and it was fun.
You certainly weren’t stuck just on the groomers, you could ski everywhere. The best skiing we found was the trees off the huge switchback of the Red Dog groomer (skier’s left of the top of Far East). Smooth turns and plenty of mini log airs.
Hopefully it doesn’t rain too much the next two days…
THE NOAA.gov FORECAST:
Tonight: Rain and snow. Snow level 6400 feet. Low around 31. Windy, with a southwest wind around 30 mph, with gusts as high as 50 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total nighttime snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.
Wednesday: Rain and snow, becoming all rain after 11am. Snow level 6400 feet rising to 7200 feet. High near 39. Windy, with a southwest wind between 25 and 35 mph, with gusts as high as 50 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
Wednesday Night: Rain. Low around 33. Breezy, with a south wind between 20 and 25 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Thursday: Rain. High near 44. Very windy, with a southwest wind 25 to 30 mph increasing to between 35 and 40 mph. Winds could gust as high as 55 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%.
Thursday Night: Rain. Low around 33. Very windy, with a southwest wind between 35 and 40 mph, with gusts as high as 55 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%.
Friday: Rain. High near 38. Very windy. Chance of precipitation is 90%.
Friday Night: Rain and snow, becoming all snow after 11pm. Low around 22. Windy. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches possible.