jordan

if you have a VR pass, epic mix keeps track of vertical, runs, what lifts you ride, etc using the RF chip inside the pass and receivers all over the mountain

a few from loveland this weekend:

are you trying to say there is no place for gs turns in the backcountry, because if so, you are sorely mistaken sir.

cool nipples!

yep, stay straight where you would normally turn right to get on 6 through the canyon. I think highway 93 turns into us 6 there as well, but in the other direction, so it gets confusing...just stay straight and you will see signs for 70 about 2-3 miles past the turn off for the canyon. canyon is almost always better for driving to the ski areas on weekends, because it avoids the downhill backup at floyd hill. All other times, 70 is usually better, but you will get much better gas mileage taking the canyon all the time as it is flatter. glad you are having an awesome time barb. looks like another storm is moving in for the weekend. You still going to be around? I still need to meet up with you! Jordan

this is most likely skewed by the fact that a good percentage of people break their wrists when learning how to snowboard because of the way you fall when you catch an edge on a board. The best piece of advice in that article is for snowboarders to wear wrist guards...at least for people just learning.

although rain events can strenghten a snowpack considerably for the snow fallen before the rain, if a rain crust layer forms on top, it can turn into an instability for new snow to slide on. However, this may not be much of an issue in the PNW, as heavy snow sticks to everything. However, freezing drizzle events do cause major instabilities in a continental snowpack. I guess my point is...it depends where you are, and on the type of snow falling after the rain event.

can you imagine how much snow baker would get if it didn't rain. The NWS for the actual summit of mount baker (not the ski area) is calling for up to 153 inches from now through sunday http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=48.77644215677391&lon=-121.81992530822754&site=sew&smap=1&unit=0&lg=en&FcstType=text

looks awesome, guys! i miss pow days at frost! elevator looks rad!

yours truly on the pope face at silverton 1/7/10

loving the snow ghosts

My friend adam on highline at crested butte yesterday. This was kinda scary to watch, i thought he was going to die, but he recovered nicely and skied out of it

Locking through the brakes is the only option for skis and isn't much of a deterrent as most brakes are only attached to the binding using a single screw.

Ok, generally when I am with a group, where tree wells are an issue, we meet where you pop out of the trees to make sure everyone made it out. If not, you ride the lift back up, summon ski patrol and start a search.

I disagree. If you are skiing in a treed area, and one member of your party doesn't make it out of the trees, you can quickly go back and find them much easier with a beacon. All patrol carry beacons as well, so they could aid in the search. Many beacons have a range of 100 yards or more, so if you have a group searching the trees below the last sighting of the person in a fan like pattern, i would say that person would be found pretty quickly. The avalung would buy the extra time necessary to do a search of this type. I do agree with you that it wouldnt hurt to carry a shovel and probe as well, but I would say in a tree well situation, a probe is almost useless, and digging and pulling someone out of one without a shovel would be relatively easy. The snow is much more loosely packed in a tree well situation than in an avy situation.

Another helpful piece of advice would be to wear a beacon in bounds when there is new snow, and invest in an avalung as well. Beacons lower search times dramatically, and an avalung will prevent a deadly "ice mask" from developing around the face causing asphyxiation.

at CU, there is an issue date and it says "expires 5 years after issue", however, you can get a new one printed for $5 at any time, with a new issue date. I intend on getting a new one just before i graduate

today @ loveland:

seeding bumps is dumb. They will form naturally even on PA ice. I have seen it.

its 15%. they will be skiing the top foot or so. not saying its not amazing, and good for base building, but its not like they will be skiing 7 feet of blower

one of me from loveland today shot taken at 3pm

forecast for the top of vail mountain: Tonight: Snow and areas of blowing snow. Low around 15. Breezy, with a west southwest wind around 20 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Total nighttime snow accumulation of 3 to 7 inches possible. Sunday: Snow and areas of blowing snow. High near 32. Breezy, with a west southwest wind around 20 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 6 to 10 inches possible. Sunday Night: Snow and areas of blowing snow. Low around 22. Windy, with a west southwest wind between 20 and 30 mph, with gusts as high as 50 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 10 to 14 inches possible. Monday: Snow and areas of blowing snow. High near 25. Windy, with a west wind between 20 and 30 mph, with gusts as high as 55 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 10 to 14 inches possible.

from vail today skier: grete

they have one or at least they used to. They did groom the elevator one year after all. no way that could have happened without one

did everything get skied out quickly? probably not even worth it anymore, huh?