a question for those that ski/board in rainy weather

[putbadstuffhere13]

hi. i was trying to take up a few friends to blue or camelback this weekend and i checked the weather forecast.

 

it says high 45 and low 23 with a 40% chance of rain/snow.

 

i have never snowboarded in temperatures higher than 38 and never in rain.

 

i was wondering what to expect with the forecast like this. thank you!

[poconoceancity]

Skiing in the rain is good, just don't try to make a day of it. After about 3 hours you will be to wet to go on.

[method9455]

Depends how much you fall and how water proof your gear is. If you are in a good quality shell and don't fall much, it really doesn't feel any different. Rain doesn't go through my pants, jacket, goggles or helmet so as long as I have a good face cover it is all the same. The snow is kind of interesting, grippy but fast, sometimes a bit slippery if its on the edge between rain and ice. If you fall a lot you will be miserable though because the water pools in spots and gets you soaked, but if you stay standing you will be fine. I have probably a dozen days in the rain and I don't regret going for any of them.

[mollyskeez]

just like method said you should be fine with the right equipment and not falling alot. the best thing about skiing in the rain is THE PLACE IS EMPTY especially on a weekend. the only people that will be out are the hardcore riders.

[Justin]

Just prepare to get REALLY WET. Especially on the lift, because that will be soaked. And if the weather is just right, your ass will freeze to the seats.

 

Usually crowds will be a lot less, but expect hits to be mush/shrink as the day goes on. Early skiing only, after noon it will suck.

[Glenn]

It's fun, but not that fun. I've done it a number of times, but it would take a lot to get me to do it again now. If you've never done it, definitely give it a shot. 0 lift lines. You will get soggy, but if it's raining it really won't be that cold out. The worst part is it will take a couple of days to dry out your gear. If there is a dry day coming up that you really want to make happen, and you only have one set of gear, then maybe you should wait for another time.

[sexkitten]

I really like skiing the day after a rain storm but since I ski with FWBob I've never actually skied in the rain. You could always get a taste of what it will be like by going outside right now (it's raining here so it must be raining everywhere) in all of your gear and running around for a while. If you are cool now you should be pretty cool then. Or not.

[Glenn]

There is nothing cool about running around in the rain wearing ski gear.

[Tyler]

i <3 snowboarding in the rain. no crowds, fast snow, soft snow. i dont think i've ever been wetter than the last midnight madness at boulder. we rode in the rain for a good 6 hours that night.

[toast21602]

just take an umbrella ella ella a a...

[ket19]

i think it's weirdly fun.

the few times i've done it, mostly at bear and blue, it's cool cause a lot of time there's fog, which makes otherwise super-familiar trails a new challenge, and kind of awesomely otherwordly.

park isn't as much fun though, boxes get super slippery, jumps get super mushy.

just sit on your hands on the lift so your ass stays dry, take it easy to avoid soggy falls, and enjoy it!

[sexkitten]

There is nothing cool about running around in the rain wearing ski gear.

 

Then there's nothing cool about skiing in the rain. Haha. See... we settled that one pretty quickly.

[putbadstuffhere13]

thanks all. helpful as always. sometimes i see you guys post things making fun of newbies... but you guys are sincerely swell:)

[method9455]

Another tip, whatever you do DO NOT LIFT YOUR GOGGLES UP. If you put your goggles up on your helmet the foam side that touches your face will get wet and it will never dry while you are there it is miserable. You can't ride without goggles because it stings, so if you get that foam wet you are basically set for a bad day from then on.

 

The worst I had was up at Tremblant it was this really weird storm, we where leaving that day but we had a voucher so we went up for a run and it was extremely warm and my goggles (which have never fogged any other time ever) fogged like hell as did everyone elses and we could barely see 20 feet, coming down it was freezing rain crusting on the goggles with fog so you had to choose between stinging of ice pellets without the goggles or not being able to see, otherwise I have never had a problem doing it.

[headbanger]

the surface in the rain is great. don't touch the lift bar - or bring extra gloves. I was at Blue in the rain last night and it was excellent - got off about 10 good runs before my ass was soaked. Park was rad too! Yeah - keep yer goggles down.

[gdthomas]

i <3 snowboarding in the rain. no crowds, fast snow, soft snow. i dont think i've ever been wetter than the last midnight madness at boulder. we rode in the rain for a good 6 hours that night.

Yeah I was there for that too. It was a pain at first but once everything is wet you don't care anymore as long as it isn't really cold. My jacket is 10,000mm waterproof and nothing under my jacket got wet.

[SpecialK]

go to kmart and get a set of vinyl rain gear for like $10, ive rode in the rain several times and its kept me dry all damn day. one of the best $10 ive spent