Let's talk about the weather!

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Just another warm, sunny day in paradise. The good news is that the fog lifted this week. The bad news is that the high pressure ridge camping out off the west coast has apparently asserted squatter's rights. NOAA says that it may last through mid-February. Here's an excerpt from NOAA's long range forecast from January 23rd:

FIRE WEATHER...AN UNUSUAL MID-WINTER OFFSHORE 
WIND EVENT IS DEVELOPING OVER THE AREA CURRENTLY 
AND WILL PEAK TONIGHT INTO FRIDAY. GIVEN THE 
EXCEPTIONAL DRYNESS WE HAVE HAD SO FAR THIS WET
SEASON, MANY AREAS IN SOUTHWEST OREGON AND 
NORTHWEST CALIFORNIA HAVE DRY FUELS FOR THIS 
TIME OF YEAR. AS A RESULT...RED FLAG WARNINGS 
(RFWMFR) HAVE BEEN HOISTED FOR MUCH OF SOUTHWEST 
OREGON AND PORTIONS OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.

I can't take responsibility for the "all-caps" approach to their forecasts...it's a lot like shouting it out. Fire weather...Oregon had four fires that broke out yesterday. Two of them were in the coast range. Here's a part of the story from weather.com:

A pair of fires flared up along in the Oregon coastal range east of the town of Arch Cape, about 70 miles west-northwest of Portland on January 23. Fanned by winds estimated at 70 mph, the flames had burned around 120 acres as of January 24,

Unusual? Indeed. This is January and the Oregon coast is one of the most reliably wet locations this time of year. Is this the result of climate change? Possibly, although many people make the mistake of confusing short-term weather patterns with climate patterns. It does, however, fit in with the climate models that suggest drier winters, more droughts, and generally more severe events.

The upside is that the forecast is for some precipitation this week. Unfortunately, it appears that it will be a warm front and may not bring much, if any, snow. Things are looking pretty grim.

The base isn't getting any better.

 Waldo Lake from the top of Where's Waldo. I never get tired of the views at The Pass.

 Ya think?  It was more like 50+ degrees today.

There was three runs that were worth skiing on Peak 2 today. One of them was taken over by the high school ski race, effectively leaving two runs.

Dylan hits the log ride on Boundary Pass.

They can probably hold out a few more weeks with no snow. It's gonna be a challenge for them to keep the run open to the lodge off of Eagle Peak -- things are melting pretty fast. In some respects, it's a wonder they are even able to operate with such thin snow pack. We'll take what we can get, but it's not great by any stretch.

We're hoping the weather will change soon so we can get some powder days in. We'll see.

Finally...

Sunday, January 19, 2014

We got a pretty good storm last weekend that left about 18" up at The Pass. I didn't think it would be enough for them to open, but they did on Friday. Between the back side where the snow piles up and doesn't melt, and some grooming wizardry, they did it.

Expectations were low, but Dylan and I were looking forward to getting out of the fog and into the sunshine for a day.

Out of the fog.

 Yup, we're gonna ski here. Well, maybe not this run.

Conditions are a bit sad, to say the least.

The upside was that the conditions exceeded expectation. The backside groomers were in great shape as well as Upper Rosary. Plus, it was sunny and very spring-ish. Good to have a warm day, but another week or two of temperatures in the 50s isn't going to help things much.

On top of Peak 2 with Mt. Bachelor in the background.

Dylan hops onto June's run.

Off the groomers, conditions were, well, unlike anything I've ever seen. The warm days since last weekend left a 1/2" crust of ice on top of anything that hadn't been skied or groomed.  You can see it behind Dylan in the photo below. That stuff that looks all shiny? That's the ice.

So, not a great start to the Oregon season, but it's something. We should be able to get a few more days in, but the lack of precipitation is a concern--not just for skiing. Eugene had the driest year on record in 2013 (~21"). The historical average is 46".  The high pressure ridge is forecast to camp out over us for another week at least. We're hoping for a break and a few big storms to get a decent snowpack.

We'll see what happens.

Happy 2014!

Powder Day!

Saturday, January 3, 2014

I seem to have pretty good timing when I go to Steamboat. Last time I came in the winter was for Christmas 2007--the year Kayla moved out the first time. We got a little 15" dump on Christmas Eve. I got to spend the day skiing with ski buddy Paul.

We didn't quite get 15" last night, but the report said 5" which is enough for me to get excited about. I bought a big fat pair of Armada JJ's last spring and then put some touring bindings on them in December. The big idea was to have something fun to ride on a powder day. The JJ's worked just fine on the groomed surface last night, but this is what I got them for.

Scott gave me a ride to Gondola Square at 8:15. I was in line at the Cristie when it opened. Looks just like a snowstorm on a powder day.

It took a few runs to catch up with Paul, but we finally rendezvoused on Longhorn off the Pony Express lift. That led us into the trees.

Steamboat is about trees; specifically Aspen trees. My biased evaluation is that the trees at Willamette are better on a powder day, even if the vertical is considerably less. It was still relatively early season conditions, so there was lots of stuff poking out. 

Paul enjoys the new snow.

We kept getting deeper in the woods each run. The snow kept getting deeper too. The best snow was out the gate off of Middle Rib. Paul shreds on the golf course.


















 I got a photo of this woodpecker right as we made our way back onto the run.
























Our our last venture off the Middle Rib, we got deep into the woods. On that side of Steamboat, it drops off into Fish Creek. There were some amazing slots that had knee deep snow. There were also a few sketchy areas where big rocks and cliffs abound. After some nice lines and a few hairy jump turns we made it to the main trail. We had a good mile or two to hike out. Fortunately, we were not the first ones (or the only ones) there. We ran into several people on the trail. Eventually we got back to the BC Skiway and hopped the Thunderhead back to the top of the Gondola. There we met Ruthanne, Kayla and Mandy for lunch.

Ruthanne and Kayla listen to tales of deep powder and white out conditions.

 Paul and Mandy.

 Kayla and Mandy.

After lunch we were to meet Ruthanne and do a run down Vagabond to the Gondola since she was going in. We waited a long time and finally left--she got down below us and took off. Just like I would have done when I was younger.

We finally met up with Kayla and Mandy again and did a run over at Wally World (Sunshine). Then we went over to the Broadway Trees off the South Peak lift with the idea of skiing down to Highway 40. It was great for the first few lines, but then we follow some tracks right when we should have stayed left. It got pretty tight in places between the pine trees and the bushy baby Aspens sticking out. We finally hit a road and follow some ski tracks and came upon a yurt with a fire going. Two people stuck their head out said 'hi' and then asked if we would consider renting the yurt. Our response was 'well, there's probably people who would. Might be a bit of a problem finding it.'

In the woods above Highway 40.

We hiked around the yurt, skied past a cabin and then got on a road for a long ways. At least two miles. I was pretty worn out by the time we met up with Paul's son, Jacob, who we had arranged to meet at the corral at the end of the road off Highway 40.

The end of the line.

That was interesting and pretty fun, although I'd like another shot at it. There's definitely better lines than we took.

I talked Jacob and Paul into dropping me off at Scott's. Everybody came over later for pizza, including old ski buddy Dan Hedrick who was in town for a competition for his son Joel. Joel is a nationally ranked mogul skier and will probably hit the world cup this season or next.

Postscript: Sunday, January 4, 2014

We planned on leaving early in the morning for Fort Collins. I was driving back with the folks and then Beth and Catherine would take me to DIA for my 6pm flight. It was rough--it snowed another 9" and what I really wanted was a few hours on the mountain.

Going over Rabbit Ears was a bit of an adventure--it was blizzarding pretty strong. Fortunately, it cleared a bit in North Park, where it would have been really bad. We made it to Fort Collins around 1pm. I got some lunch and then we departed for the airport around 3. The trip back was uneventful--which was good since bad weather back east was causing all kinds of travel delays.

Have a great season Kayla!

Steamboat!

January 3, 2014

Well, this is one way to start off the new year. We got up early (6-ish) and were on the road by 6:30. It's easy to make time on I-84 in Utah since the speed limit is 80 mph.

Wind turbines in Windiful Wyoming.

My turn to drive.























Kayla can hardly contain her excitement. She's going home. Just a Colorado girl at heart.

Heading down 789 to Craig, USA. I had forgotten how desolate Wyoming is off of I-80. The upside is that we had good weather--these roads get really ugly at times.

Hooray, Colorful Colorado!

Interesting rock formations just outside of Craig.

Steamboat!

We arrived about 1pm and went and had lunch with Mom and Dad. We dropped Kayla off at Mandy's so she could start getting settled and I went and visited with the folks for a bit at the Steamboat Inn where they were staying. Then it was off to happy hour with the Whiteman's.

Kayla, Ruthanne, Bella (front) and Greta (back) the awesome Shepard's of Steamboat.

Our gracious host, Scott with Jay.

Ruthanne bonds with Greta.

After happy hour we hatched a plan to go night skiing. This is the first year that Steamboat has had night skiing. So, between that and the fact that I've been waiting for a month to ski, we had to go.

Looking up from the base of Christie lift.

 Kayla at the top of Voodoo.

Kayla and her hosts, Mandy and Matt.

 Kayla shredding under the lights.

The view of town from the top.

We went out to a Mexican restaurant after skiing.

All in all, a great day (well, except for the 6 hour drive). There's snow in the forecast for tomorrow, and I'll be meeting up with my old friend Paul Carter. Paul and Scott were two of the old ski gang. It's great to be back in Steamboat with family and old friends!

Steamboat Bound

January 2, 2014

Kayla took a job last Friday with Interwest and starts work on January 6th in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. So...I got an unscheduled trip out east. The upside is that Colorado has snow.

Willamette Pass does not. It's been an odd fall and early winter in Western Oregon.A high pressure ridge has been stuck on top of us for weeks. That creates a temperature inversion in Eugene...which makes it cold (30s) and foggy pretty much all the time. Its rather depressing.

To make things worse, as soon as you get out of the valley it gets sunny and unseasonably warm. Its been consistently in the 50s at The Pass and the little snow we got in early December is mostly gone. What are you gonna do? Complain I guess.

We got 8" of snow on December 6th at the house. I was pretty much stuck on the flatlands since I took Diane's car to work without the studs on. Big mistake. Kayla and Dylan bailed me out at the Market of Choice parking lot. The lugs were frozen so it took considerable effort to get the wheels changed. Kayla's Subaru had no problem in the snow.

We went down to the Cleveland Street Winter Sports Area after dark. Lots of others had that idea too...it was like a little party down by the old homestead.

Dylan tests out the skate/ski.

Kayla crashes into the bushes.

Snow puppies!

Fun was had by all.

Kayla and I left for Steamboat on January 2nd. We got a little bit of a late start since I left my boots at Berg's when I went and picked up my new skis. More about those later.

Burns, Oregon.

 Kayla driving.























Back into the fog near the Malheur River east of Burns.

We made it to Ogden, Utah around 11pm. If we had more time I would have planned a half-day at Powder Basin. But...we must forge onward to destination:Steamboat.