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atkinson
12-21-2008, 08:02 PM
... if you weren't here today.

http://forums.alpinezone.com/gallery/data/515/vol42_img056.JPG
Treeskier at Lincoln Peak.

Some guy I know contends we don't get powder like in Utah.

John

Last Tracks
12-21-2008, 08:48 PM
I haven't skied deep light fluff like today in years on the East Coast. It got better all day.

Conditions are amazing.

Treeskier
12-21-2008, 08:54 PM
I am always taking pictures but have very few of me. Thanks John! :)

If you're not here now COME NOW!

100% to be open tomorrow!

atkinson
12-21-2008, 09:22 PM
If you haven't skied powder like this in years, you missed a lot of great days. The snow is sweet, but we get this kind of stuff pretty much every season at some point.

John

Lostone
12-21-2008, 09:36 PM
I've heard rumors that there is snow in them thar hills. 8)

Last Tracks
12-21-2008, 10:04 PM
i ski a lot of days at the bush and it was pretty special skiing in the woods today. from eden to domino woods and everywhere in between.

thigh to chest deep and light as air.

ski_resort_observer
12-21-2008, 10:06 PM
Sweet! Thanks for sharing them.

Jester
12-21-2008, 10:29 PM
Please! Don't start comparing skiing in the east with skiing in Utah.

atkinson
12-22-2008, 07:45 AM
I weasn't comparing the terrain, just the snow.

gone.skiing
12-22-2008, 09:34 AM
Please! Don't start comparing skiing in the east with skiing in Utah.

There is no need to be so insecure.

Jester
12-22-2008, 11:24 AM
Neither the snow or the terrain can be compared.

Tin Woodsman
12-22-2008, 04:46 PM
Neither the snow or the terrain can be compared.

On powder days, which is what the original statement was making the comparison on, that's quite obviously false. If you're talking about snow over the course of the season, then sure.

atkinson
12-22-2008, 08:42 PM
http://forums.alpinezone.com/gallery/data/515/vol42_img008.JPG
All I thought during every turn was how clearly inferior this snow was. Somehow I managed a smile.

What a day!

John

jwt
12-22-2008, 09:12 PM
Maybe Jester would like to go out to Utah which so far ( until this week ) had little snow - the snow here this week was every bit as light as anything I've skied there or higher (CO - which has statistically lighter snow - just higher and less moisture content). But the REAL reason we love it here - and we DO GET IT from time to time - is that it is never taken for granted - so when we get it, we know it.

Picture being like one of my best friends, who moved there ( Park City ) in 1990 - sure he gets plenty of pow, and skis 45-75 days a year, but what he doesn't get anymore is the sharpening of skills because of the technical nature of eastern skiing. He had it, but by the time I and my other friends get him to 2 PM he has had it and we are still pounding.

Love the West - wouldn't want to live there - kinda like Californians with the weather stuff - ' gee it's 80 and sunny again and it's noon - I don't know whether to go to lunch or the beach - it's so hard to decide - they both end in 'ch'."

Last factor - everyone comes to see you once a year ( at least - this guy has an 11,000 s/f house too)but really - are we coming because we're best buds - and would we if you lived in say . . . .Kansas? I'm just being honest here.

The powder is appreciated here - expected there - they have no clue what to do with hard pack - they call it ice - we call it Vermont Powder.

I'll take the East and the obligatory trip or two each year out West. The last two years here have been great and who can forget '00/'01?

great pics JA, Thanks!

HowieT2
12-22-2008, 09:13 PM
http://forums.alpinezone.com/gallery/data/515/vol42_img008.JPG
All I thought during every turn was how clearly inferior this snow was. Somehow I managed a smile.

What a day!

John

That's it? One picture? We're slaving away all day and all we get is one stinking picture? I want more ski porn.

freeheel_skier
12-22-2008, 09:16 PM
Neither the snow or the terrain can be compared.

Someone didn't ski this weekend :?

atkinson
12-22-2008, 10:04 PM
Here you go Howie!

http://forums.alpinezone.com/gallery/data/515/vol42_img035.JPG

John

HowieT2
12-22-2008, 10:12 PM
Here you go Howie!

http://forums.alpinezone.com/gallery/data/515/vol42_img035.JPG

John

U da man. Thanks.

mattlucas
12-22-2008, 10:38 PM
yeah it was pretty ho-hum on monday as well.

Hardbooter
12-23-2008, 12:16 AM
Yeah, the big difference between here and Utah is that everything gets tracked by noon in Utah.

Photo thanks to Treeskier. See any tracks in this picture?

http://homepage.mac.com/alexpowers/SkiPhotos/IMG_5920.png

Hawk
12-23-2008, 07:56 AM
I have to thank Hardbooter and Treeskier for packing the In and Out to slidebrook for us. I can only imagine the work it took...... :wink:

Thanks Guys! :)

gratefulskier
12-23-2008, 12:51 PM
John didn't tell me that I'd end up on the web after he took that picture.

Apparently, when teaching Blazers, particularly a group of all girls, it's important to take your helmet with you if you need to visit the men's room.

As we skied Waterfall and Downspout, people were commenting on the headgear the whole way down.

And the snow was amazing. It doesn't need comparison to anything. It was simply a great day to be alive and skiing.


GS

boze
12-23-2008, 02:02 PM
And the snow was amazing. It doesn't need comparison to anything. It was simply a great day to be alive and skiing.
GS

Amen to that! Enjoy their differences.
Wish I could've been up there on such an epic day, and float through those woods.
Outstanding photos, muchas gracias.

atkinson
12-23-2008, 07:07 PM
Perhaps a little clarification ...

The individual contends that there isn't any reason to have fat skis on the East Coast, because we never get snow like in Utah. I disagree strongly on the fat ski part, but relinquish comparison of snow from different longitudes, despite the fact that I could literally see through the snow that was piling up on tree limbs it was so ethereal.

One more for fun!
(and for real this time, Howie)

http://forums.alpinezone.com/gallery/data/515/medium/vol42_img012.JPG

And a bonus!
http://forums.alpinezone.com/gallery/data/515/vol42_img030.JPG

Happy Holidays!
http://forums.alpinezone.com/gallery/data/515/vol42_img039.JPG

John

walks
12-23-2008, 08:23 PM
Had my Kuro's out on Monday (132 under foot). Really didn't matter what longitude I was at. Huge smile on my face waiting for the bus on German Flats.

Strat
12-24-2008, 02:01 PM
So how does thigh-deep cold smoke fluff turn to thick heavy crust? Anyone familiar with the hydrodynamics of pow? An attempt at a little woods action today at North resulted in having to climb out, haha...

Hardbooter
12-24-2008, 02:12 PM
As far as I know a lot of things will effect the snow conditions. Often the wind will create a crust. I noticed a wind crust on Monday morning that was not there as the snow fell on Sunday. It made the snow just a little bit chewy. I suspect that a few days of wind has produced the crust that you saw. Send some snowboarders into those woods to do some crust busting.

Also, far as climbing out goes... I did my fair share of climbing out of holes on Monday. It was about three feet of light stuff with no firm layers and a fair number of tree wells. I'm looking forward to a little bit of crust so we get a nice firm base for the rest of the season.

Strat
12-24-2008, 05:33 PM
I am the snowboarder, haha... it was completely impossible to move through...

mattlucas
12-24-2008, 05:46 PM
i also hate the treewells...nothing is worse than getting a bit too close to a pine and coming out of a binding. The worst part of last weekend was spending what *seemed*
like many, many minutes trying to find a ski, and really dreading whether I would be able to stand up where I had fallen, and if so, whether I could slay the woods on one board.

Those things get so deep though, i'm almost tempted to get leashes.

Fortunately, everything worked out all weekend long! (and i cranked down the din an extra half turn for good measure)

atkinson
12-26-2008, 10:55 AM
Snow changes consistency through a variety of factors; wind, sun, temperature, humidity, snowpack weight and time. The main factor between Sunday and Monday was wind.

Last Sunday, there was little wind below the top of the mountain during the beginning of the storm and we had cold smoke powder. Monday, there was a fair amount of wind, but protected areas still had nice light snow. Anything that faced into the wind with no trees to protect it, was thick and slabby.

South-facing slopes, like North Lynx, experience smaller windows of light powder due to solar gain, but are often sheltered from prevailing NW winds.

Temperature affects elevations differently, with the top being generally colder than the bottom. This is not always the case, as during inversions.

Humidity is also a factor, but often correlates with temperature. For instance, it is usually drier air and snow at colder temperatures. Warmer temps mean wetter air and snow.

The passage of time inexorably leads to settling of snow too. Gravity, snowpack weight and all the other factors combine to thicken the snow. Although occasionally, snow that goes through a long stretch of cold dry weather can facet the crystals and become less dense.

Bottom line ... ski and ride as soon as and as much as you can before it thickens up.

John

Strat
12-26-2008, 12:50 PM
Thanks for the thorough explanation.
8)