For those looking for a truly exciting powder experience there is nothing like backcountry skiing.  Some of the best backcountry skiing can be found in British Columbia.  The image below shows the areas where backcountry skiing takes place.  In order to get to many of these places it involves using a helicopter or a snow cat.  This remote terrain has many advantages.  First of all the elevations are much higher then the operating resorts, so you can ski on mountains over 10,000 ft. in elevation.  In addition, there are not many skiers that ski them, so powder there lasts a long time.  And due to their higher elevations they receive more snowfall with many spots receiving over 500 inches of snow on average a year.

This year has been an exceptional year with many places in the backcountry having base depths of over 10 feet of snow, and some of the most remote locations over 200"!!

This images show many of the popular ranges for backcountry skiing.

The following is a list of conditions in the backcountry, thanks to www.canadianmountainholidays.com where the conditions were posted.

This has been an atypical El Nino year for ski resorts across North America.  British Columbia has seen record snowfall totals, while Southern California is well below average.  The following Tables depict normal snowfall as well as average snowfall for El Nino years, and below each table is the current years snowfal total.  At the bottom there are nice images to help show this.  For detailed information including forecasts from Jim Roemer subscribe today!

341" for the season so far and it is only January!!!

Conditions throughout much of British Columbia feel a lot more like January then early December.  After a record breaking November where Whistler received their highest snowfall total for that month ever, and Kicking Horse has a current season snowfall total which is 60% of their TOTAL average seasonal total, skiing is looking good!!  Just in case record snows aren't good enough, looking at the image below, the resorts are retaining that snowfall very well.

Subscribe, and find out if conditions will last!!!

Some Photos from Whistler...

                Arizona Snowbowl (below)

The Arizona Snowbowl is set to open today March 17^th for the first time this season.  This is the latest opening in recent memory. Sunrise Park reopened on Thursday after being closed for two weeks due to a lack of snow.  Even the areas that have been open have relied mostly on man-made snow up to this point.  After a storm last weekend dumped up to 5 feet of snow in the Arizona Mountains, the areas there are now open for business.  Even better news is that the forecast for this weekend is for more snow, with a foot or more expected. 

The same storm that brought 5 feet of snow to Arizona last weekend brought a little more then 8 feet of snow to areas in Southern Colorado like Wolf Creek

The image above shows the snow depths in Arizona and Southern Colorado.  Notice that over Arizona the snow depths are now over 40 inches at the peak of mountains like the Snowbowl and Sunrise Park.  Just a week ago there was barely any snow!! 

The image above is a model forecast for Sunday.  Looking at the circled areas, this is where we expect to see about a foot of snow to fall by Monday.  The perfect thing to help keep ski areas open in Arizona, and to make the season even better for areas of Southern Colorado.

The image above is a model forecast for mid next week.  Again, Arizona and Southern Colorado could receive a foot of snow or more from this system.  The pattern looks to remain fairly active through the end of March.  And this is good news for Arizona, which has had very little snow up until now.  So time to get out your kis and enjoy the next few weeks

It has been a very snowy March out west so far, and the end is not in sight!!!  With 81" of snow at Mammoth mountain already this March, and 3-6 feet more expected between today and next Wednesday, skiing is very good.  The image above shows both the Tahoe area as well as Mammoth.  This entire area has received many snowfalls measured in feet this March, and still have more to go.

The image above is a model forecast for next wednesday.  The area circled in black represents a storm coming in off the west coast and bringing more snow to both the Tahoe and Mammoth region on next Wednesday.

The image above is a photo of Mammoth this Monday, look at all the untouched powder.  There is many more where that came from as Mammoth has recieved 81" of snow so far this Month, and looks to recieve close to 60" from today through Wednesday of next week. 

The most snow Mammoth has ever received in the month of March is 197", and after this week they could have close to 140" for the month.  Though it looks like they may not break a record, it will certainly still be one of their snowiest March's on record.  One thing for sure is with this much snow falling, dreams of a long spring of skiing may easily be coming true.

The west gets active again.  After a few weeks in February where not much snow fell, it looks like the trough off the west coast is back!  Take a look at these snowfall amounts from the last 72 hrs.

Heavenly                      36”

Mammoth                     35”

Kirkwood                    32”

Kicking Horse              26”

Whistler                        22”

Mt. Ashland                 18”

Mt. Bachelor                17”

Fernie                           13”

Lake Louise                 8”

Many places in the Sierra Nevada received close to 3 feet of snow, with close to 2 feet of snow throughout much of British Columbia.  If you thought that was a lot of snow, tonight into Thursday another storm is coming on shore, and the models show yet another one next week.  Take a look below; the first image is Thursday’s storm, lasting into Friday.  The second image is a storm that could come into the west coast on Monday.  Looks like for the west coast March is coming in like a Lion.  By the time these two storms are over with, as much as 5 or 6 feet (that’s right feet) of snow is possible in some locations. 

The blue shading out west (especially the map on the bottom for early next week), represents possible snow of several feet; the green a foot or two and the yellow still at least 6-12"

Though we have the maps here only through early next week, but March 9th or 10th, huge snows could fall in Colorado and New Mexico as well with probably a foot or so in the Wastach range of Utah. One thing about Utah will be whether or not this storm dives too far south and the winds are more out of the south, then west or northwest off the Great Salt Lake, but even so----there will be some very impressive snow amounts next week. I also see snow measured in feet next week for areas like Fernie to Red Mountain and the Selkirk's. This is shown on the map at the bottom of the dark green and red regions.

Thursday Night into Friday

Monday

During a normal La Nina year these storms off the West Coast would be held up to the north in Washington and British Columbia by strong ridges in the southwest and over southern California.  However in this year that is not the case.  As was mentioned in our long range forecast which came out in January, it appears as if this year is similar to a past year, 1974.  It is important to mention that similarities exist but by no means are they the same!  Many factors change from year to year, and especially going back to 1974, global warming and other factors have changed things.  However this does look to be a close match. So what happened for the West Coast in March of 1974?  

Above is an image of the precipitation anomaly, or the difference from normal precipitation for March of 1974.  The purples represent as much as 20cm or 8 inches of extra precipitation.  Given the fact that March of 1974 was also slightly warmer then average, in the high elevations, that would relate to snowfall of more then 5 feet above normal.

Given that areas could receive as much as 5 feet of snow just in the first week of March, I would say that 1974 is still a good year to go by.  For more information, or a complete season forecast for your favorite areas sign up now!!

The image above shows a representation of La Nina.  The colors represent Sea Surface Temperatures (SSTs).  The dark purples represent the coldest temperature departures.  This particular image happens to be from February of 1999. 

The ocean temperatures that are cool (blue) are much steeper and cooler during February 1999 than they are right now.

The huge storms that will pound the California coast over the next 10 days are atypical of La Nina and more typical of an El Nino--this is  a surprise. This means that we will go back and try to coorelate this year's La Nina with  a particular La Nina year that might have had huge late February or March snows in the Sierras, not just the Cascades. When we find this year, it will help us predict the future weather. Up until now, the winter of 1973-74 has been our favorite year. This suggests more snow in the east in March and colder weather as well..something that is happening now and might favor eastern skiing--finally.

The image above shows what is normally expected during a La Nina winter.  Notice that the Pacific Northwest is normally cool and wet, while the southern tier of the U.S. is dry and warm.  So far that has been accurate this season.  Given the snowfall data below, this was definitely the case in the winter of 98-99.

Notice, during this last La Nina, how snowfall for the entire winter was extremely low in New England (go to bottom of chart where it says "low) but the Pacific Northwest, like this season has well above normal or near record snowfall.

Fernie, for example, which has had close to 270  inches of snow already this season is on track to approach their record snowfall, set back during the winter of 1998-99.

What makes this La Nina year different from this year, is that Colorado has had incredible skiing conditions all season, except for the far southern areas like Telluride and into New Mexico which often suffers from drought conditions during a La Nina.

So in other words, no two La Nina years are exactly the same, but there are quite a few similarities.

What will happen in March? If you are a subscriber--stay tuned

1998-1999 SKI SEASON SNOWFALL SUMMARY
RECORD HIGH (10 Years Minimum)			RECORD HIGH (10 Years Minimum)
Mt. Bachelor, Ore. 6,350	573		Fernie Snow Valley, B. C. 5,400	364	Dec.-Mar.
Whistler Roundhouse, B. C. 6,000	644		Schweitzer, Idaho	354	Dec.-Mar.
Alyeska, Alaska 1,400	768		Whitewater, B. C. 5,500	435	Dec.-Mar.
Big White, B. C. 6,200	411
Mt. Hood Meadows, Ore. 5,400	640
Mt. Baker, Wash. 4,300	1096
Stevens Pass, Wash. 4,061	763
Crystal Mtn 1, Wash. 4,400	556
Crystal Mtn 2, Wash. 6,100	596
HIGH			HIGH
Mt. Rainier Paradise, Wash. 5,420	945		Whiteface (Lake Placid), N. Y. 3,660	165	Dec.-Mar.
Berthoud Pass, Colo. 11,315	385		Telluride, Colo. 11,170	232	Dec.-Mar.
Mt. Fidelity (Selkirks), B. C. 6,150	596		Northstar, Calif. 7,800	379	Dec.-Mar.
Lake Louise, Alb. 6,700	177
Whistler Base, B. C. 2,200	262
Alpine Meadows, Calif. 7,000	515
Sunshine Village, Alb. 7,028	337
Silver Star, B. C. 5,200	276
ABOVE AVERAGE			ABOVE AVERAGE
Central Sierra Snow Lab - Boreal, Cal. 7,200	450		Bridger Bowl, Mont. 7,100	232	Dec.-Mar.
Jackson Hole, Wyo. 8,250	390		Whiteface (Lake Placid), N. Y. 3,660	137	Dec.-Mar.
Mammoth Mtn, Calif. 9,600 or 8,900	424		Tod Mt. (Sun Peaks), B. C. 6,100	162	Dec.-Mar.
Kirkwood (Carson Pass), Calif. 8,526	591		Big Mountain, Mont. 6,700	281	Dec.-Mar.
Loveland, Colo. 11,200	384
Snowshoe, W. V. 4,848	156
Big Sky, Mont. 8,920	287
Sugar Bowl, Calif. 7,000	562
Keystone, Colo. 11,641	224
Sun Valley, Idaho 8,800	193
Heavenly Valley, Calif. 8,400	322
BELOW AVERAGE			BELOW AVERAGE
Mt. Washington, N. H. 6,262	260		Crested Butte, Colo. 10,150	128	Dec.-Mar.
Sugarloaf, Maine 3,695	171		Aspen Mtn, Colo. 11,190	161	Dec.-Mar.
Alta, Utah 8,650	473		Steamboat, Colo. 9,200	232	Dec.-Mar.
Taos, N. Mex. 11,200	215		Telluride, Colo. 11,170	135	Dec.-Mar.
Southern California Composite 7,000 - 8,000	99		Deer Valley, Utah 8,200	230	Dec.-Mar.
Mary Jane at Winter Park, Colo. 10,800	329		Beaver Creek, Colo. 11,200	193	Dec.-Mar.
Gothic, Colo. 9,400	336		Sunlight, Colo.	143	Dec.-Mar.
Grand Targhee, Wyo. 8,200	437		Waterville Valley, N. H. 3,000	101	Dec.-Mar.
Jay Peak, Vt. 3,000	305		Smuggler's Notch, Vt. 1,600	210	Dec.-Mar.
Arapahoe Basin, Colo. 10,820	318		Snowmass, Colo. 11,000	163	Dec.-Mar.
Squaw Valley, Calif. 6,200	275
Okemo, Vt. 3,300	154
Vail, Colo. 11,250	309
Snow Basin, Utah 7,700	267
Breckenridge, Colo. 11,100	268
Copper Mtn, Colo. 11,000	266
LOW			LOW
Killington, Vt. 4,142	185		Monarch, Colo.	124	Dec.-Mar.
Stowe, Vt. 3,950	191
Snowbird, Utah 10,000	367
Stratton, Vt. 3,875	148
Brian Head, Utah 9,770	264
Wolf Creek, Colo. 10,642	250
Purgatory, Colo. 10,000	203
RECORD LOW (10 Years Minimum)			RECORD LOW (10 Years Minimum)
Arizona Snowbowl 1, Ariz. 9,500	64
Arizona Snowbowl 2, Ariz. 10,800	129

SNOW DATA ABOVE--SUPPLIED BY TONY CROCKER OF WWW.BESTSNOW.NET

More information coming in Part 2

The image above shows a model forecast for March 1st.  Colder weather dips south into the Alps with two decent storms, the better one looking like the second one to come through on Wednesday March 1st.  Looks like the first week of March could be some great skiing.  Many resorts in France, Austria and Italy are struggling at lower elevations due to warmer temperatures but still have good bases at higher elevations.  Look for this to improve late February into early March.  Below is a list of some current snowpacks.

low elevations/high elevevation (cm)

France:       

Charmonix    35/290

Tignes         115/150

Avorian       195/215

Austria:

St. Anton      80/200

Solden          38/280

Italy:

Cortina         40/95

Cervinia        70/150

Passo Torale  130/200

As you can see, the areas in the higher elevations have benefied from cooler temperatures, and held onto their snowpack better.  Again look for things to improve in this region.

We look for a warmer than normal pattern out west for the forseeable future and though California has some important snows, lower elevations like Squaw Valley and a few others may have to content with pretty wet powder, or rain below 7,000-8,000 feet, but huge snows of 1-2+ could fall at the higher elevations of most resorts in the Cascades later this weekend or early-mid next week.

The image above shows the Lake Tahoe region.  The white snowfall amounts are the snowfall totals over the last 72 hrs--through February 9th.  Anywhere from 1 to 2 feet of snow fell over the region this weekend.  Skiing which has been sub-par the last few weeks is beginning to improve. Southern California had their first snowfall in weeks and is running well below normal for the winter--typical of a La Nina year.

On the map is a color contoured snow depth image.

Below is a little information regarding snowfall in California and the Tahoe region before the recent snows fell

     The image above shows a few things.  First off the High Pressure dropping south out of Canada finally brings some cold air down into the Plains and the Northeast.  Secondly this same High Pressure forces this storm system on shore in Central California, unlike during January when they hit further north!  This promises to bring more big snows to the Tahoe and Mammoth areas from Saturday right on through Sunday, expect snowfall to be measured in feet.  And one of the best things with this storm is that the snow levels should be fairly low as well, so this will benefit all the ski areas of Central and Northern California! 

     Where does the storm go after that, and what can we expect for the rest of the winter??  Sign up now to find out, and receive our forecast for the rest of the season...a change has already begun so sign up to find out more!!!

CANNON MT.....SKI TICKETS ALONG WITH FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO OUR UPDATE SHORT AND LONGER TERM WEATHER FORECASTS AVAILABLE FOR UNDER $40 (30-40% off) . E-MAIL BESTSKIWEATHER@ADELPHIA.NET FOR DETAILS

This image above is a great view looking south toward Cannon Mountain.  Note that all of the trails face north which means better skiing on those warm sunny days when other mountains start turning to slush, Cannon still has snow.  Speaking of snow there will be a lot more of it coming up!  Sign up to get the full long range forecast, but we will just say things look much better coming into mid february!!  So for those of you in Boston...take the straight shot up 93, and you can't miss Cannon!  In the image below and above, thats rte. 93 going right between Cannon and Mt. Lafayette in none other then Franconia Notch (breath taking view from cannon's summit)

With colder temperatures coming up this week, and a change to a snowier pattern for mid to late February things are looking good for skiing in the east.  The image above shows a beautiful relief of the White Mountains with Cannon on the left, Mt. Lafayette in the middle (No skiing, but great hike in the summer) and Mt. Washington on the right(Great spring skiing in Tuckerman's Ravine (backcountry)...also winter skiing along the cog railway)

Exciting Upcoming Events

SA  2.04 - MIKE FM

SU  2.05 - Pre-Super Bowl Party

    - Super Bowl Sunday - "2 for $54"

SA  2.11 - Mardi Gras at Cannon

FR  2.17 - WXRV 92.5 the River

SA  2.18 - WBMX - Mix 98.5

    - FSC Dinner and Auction

TU  2.21 - Beach Party  

 Ongoing Events

Tuesdays: Two lift tickets for $54*

Wednesdays: NH residents pay $20*

Saturdays: Kid's Events

This image is of the Western U.S.  The arrows represent how the air flow has been off the Pacific Ocean, dumping huge amounts of snow in the mountains.  All of the data here is as of 1/29/06, and as of this report,  the west is being pounded by another 1-2 feet of snow!!  In this image, 'last year' refers to the total seasonal snowfall in 2005, notice how in many places in British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest, those totals have already been passed, by a large margin!  Also notice that Mammoth and Snowbird which are farther south, while they have received very good snows this year, had even more last year.

However, much of this data may seem misleading. For example  even though Snowbird has had 298" of snow this winter, vs. 600" a year ago, the 298" total is still above normal for the winter and conditions are great. Last year, they had over 400" by the end of January. Notice this other example. Whistler has

had 266" of snow so far this winter but only 250" all of last season----50% of normal!!

         It has been very good out west for this entire month, but as we have been saying it looks like a big pattern change is on the way, so sign up and find out all about, report to be released late this week!

Skiing has been great out west for the last month, and it looks like those conditions will continue.  Snow depths at the tops of the mountains are all above 120" in the Pacific Northwest, and over 100" or close to it in Idaho and Montana as well, as is shown with the bright pink and dark purple colors in the map above.

In the last week Jackson Hole has received 33" of fresh snow, and Stevens Pass has received 40"!!!  

And more snow is still on the way...This week on both Wednesday  and again Friday it looks like some snow will be falling, and not just at the tops of the mountains as it looks like snow levels by Thursday into Thursday night will be falling below 2000ft.  Look for 6-12 inches in the Pacific Northwest with possibly over a foot or more at Whistler by Friday night.

With another storm coming in today off the West Coast snow totals keep climbing.  Many areas have between 1 and 2 hundred inches of snow on the ground, and more is falling.  The image below shows snow depth on this date last year for the Pacific Northwest.  Note that only the very tops of the mountains (light pink) have around 90 inches of snow, and the majority is dark blue (30-40 inches)

In contrast, now look at the image below.  The key is on the top of the image, but the 100-200 inch range is in light pink, and the tops of the highest mountains have even more then that (dark pink).

With this winters mountain snows and valley rain, the severe drought that this part of the country was in just one year ago, is all but gone.  With plenty of snowpack stored in the mountains, and more coming as we speak.  Looks like skiing could last well into the Spring at many locations in the northwest....Sign up to see more and get detailed forecasts

Mont Tremblant (season snowfall 76") and Mont Ste-Anne(season snowfall 97") will get some very beneficial snowfall on Wednesday through Thursday morning as over a foot of snow is possible, especially at Mont Ste-Anne! To find out this storms impacts for the Northeast, and for more details sign up now!

The image above is a good example of how elevation effects snow conditions when skiing, especially out west.  Notice that the tops of all the mountains are pink, representing over 100" of snow depth.  Now follow the slopes down the mountain, it gets into light blues representing only 25" of snow depth.  Also take a look right along the eastern shore of Lake Tahoe, and notice that right up next to the lake there is no snow on the ground.  This is because as you go up in elevation the temperature drops...so the tops of these mountains can be 20-30 degrees colder then the valley to the west.  So well it may be in the 50s in the valley it's snowing in mountains!

Note:  Look at the values on the bottom of key, that is inches, the top is centimeters.

This image shows two resorts in central California, Mammoth and June Mountains.  Mammoth received 95" of snow on the 1st and 2nd of January.  This is because there is a gap in the mountains...allowing the air with pacific moisture to flow through and rise (orographic uplift) once it gets to Mammoth..leading to big snow.  On the other hand just about 6 miles away in linear distance June Mountain received only 50"(funny using the term only when reffering to over 4 feet of snow).  This is because to the west of June Mountain is a ridge of taller mountains, so the moist air from the ocean rises up and deposits snow in these mountains first, and then on to June Mountain, leading to a decrease in snowfall totals.

Other western snowfall totals from this storm.

Mammoth      95"

Heavenly        81"

Kirkwood       78"

June Mtn.       50"

Mt. Bachelor   40"

Whistler          44"

The snow has been flying this week with many resorts throughout western Canada picking up 1- almost 3 feet of powder...and more is on the way for this week with 1-2 feet expected.  Sign up to find out but a lot more than that could be found elsewhere along the west coast of the U.S.

Living up to its reputation Jay Peak this month has been the place to go in the east when looking for powder...with 150 inches of snow already this year!  Thats not all though...so far for the month of December it has snowed on 15 out of 21 days...with 4 of those days receiving a foot or more!!

This image shows weekly snowfall totals for Alta vs. that of Park City.  Note that Alta is closer to the Great Salt Lake, and thus has received more snowfall, as has been explained in previous blogs when moist air hits the mountains it drains out access moisture and enhances snowfall.  Throughout December, this is one area that has continued to see favorable conditions and steady snowfalls.  This looks to continue through the week, as up to another foot is expected in this area through Friday. 

This table lists the December snowfalls for Alta

12/19/05          4"

12/18/05          14.5"

12/17/05          4"

12/13/05          2"

12/06/05          23.5"

12/04/05          5.5"

12/03/05          17.5"

12/02/05          7"

12/01/05          3"

Be sure to sign up in order to get the latest information and more details, especially for the holiday weekend :)