Just a trace of new snow. 85mph South winds yesterday! Sun and fun, warm temps, wind buffed skiing! Merry Christmas! Christ is born!
A couple of inches already this morning and it's not stopping any time soon!
Snow tonight hopefully! Today will be crusty no matter what? Is there anything worth skiing off piste?
Today will be a meltdown! Crusty morning! Upper mountain chalk in danger of becoming crust! Slush down low and a thinning base over the next few days. Sweatshirt weather in the afternoon for sure!
Our 40" mid mountain base has stood the test of time for nearly a month now, no increase, no decrease really, and now it's going to be trial by fire. Temps expected to hit the mid-40's at the lower mountain every day until Monday. And that sun is only getting stronger every day. Upper mountain chalk will be the name of the game for those hunting consistent turns, while the mid-lower mountain will be in a continuous freeze thaw cycle.
Today's temps are expected to range between 25°F at the summit, and 45°F down at the base by the end of the day, with winds gusting to 30mph at the summit out of the West.
Will this winter turn for the better? Will we see a springtime shellacking to beef up our base? Only time will tell. For now we can continue to be grateful for the decent coverage that we have. Ski with the end in mind.
The crust will be real out there this morning as temps hit 46°F at mid mountain yesterday, and are now hovering around freezing. Things should thaw faster than yesterday, but temps supposedly aren't expected to get as high.., We will see about that. Consistent chalk remaining on the South Wall... other than that you're playing frogger on groomers or cruising through slushy bumps in the sun. The mountain is definitely busy with the pre-president's crowd. Word is spreading that we are one of the only resorts with a decent amount of terrain open.
Nothing but sun, temps in the 40's and little to no wind out there today.
Liberty Bowl only yesterday off the top, and it was taking a beating. Snow and wintery temps expected to start out the week! Get out there while it's still spring skiing and pray that we get a lot more than just a dusting to cover up all of this crust!
My aplogies for having fallen off of the SnoFax wagon! I was hoping I could say that I am coming to you at the turning of the tide but that may not be the case. About a half of foot of refresher, plus a little bit here and there since I last wrote nearly two weeks ago, and there's been lots of sun. This week, we enter the crucible. The skiing is maintaining, but this week we can expect temps into the 40's, with plenty of sun.
Today's temps are expected to range between 17°F and 34°F, with winds out west, calmly blowing to about 20mph at the peak. Last night, gusts to 45mph may have provided some great wind buff in places like the Bowl, or the steeps of Challenger.
There's a small chance for some snow tomorrow, but then things are expected to heat up for the rest of the week. It'll be more spring skiing in February! All in all, Big Sky's skiing is in great shape compared to many other places. It has been a truly unordinary year here, but I sure am thankful for the base that we have. I would keep riding those rock skis if I were you, and setting out for some casual riding, bumps and groomers and chalk. Keep praying for snow.
TRACE OF NEW SNOW FELL YESTERDAY
Just a trace of some high density snow fell yesterday as flurries blew in from the NorthWest, Hopefully that little bit of fresh helped improve the grip as even the wind buffed patches yesterday were starting to get really firm as temps dropped. Today will be similar to yesterday, high flying clouds and wintery temps, no chance for snow, but that can always change.
Today's temps will range between 11°F at the summit, and 24°F at the base, with winds continuing to gust out of the West to 35mph at the summit.
It's crazy to think how rapidly we are approaching February, and how we are not expected to have any snow for the rest of the month. Let's pray nature throws us some curveballs over the next week and a half. Cold temps through this week so we shouldn't have to worry about much sun baking, but then things start to heat up. There still remains a sense of optimism in the entire American West about an upcoming banger of a spring, a belief that snow must come at some point. Old Farmer's Almanac suggests so at least. At least we've got plenty of groomers to carve, and decent coverage on our steeps to get out, move our bodies, and enjoy the great outdoors.