Jan 25-28....Open to Suggestions!

JTG4eva! wrote

Elaborate, please!

Looking for reasonable travel to one great or multiple kick ass resorts, for max challenge without putting myself in true no-fall zones.  

Spokane to Red is almost three hours.  Do I spend all my time there, or are there other good mountains near by?

If possible I’d like to keep the drive to airport on Sunday under two hours.

A Washington airport does open up certain....shopping options....and maybe my non-passport-holding fuck ass brother could come with!?!?

My notes for a ski safari after flying to Spokane from what I was reading a few years ago are the following.  Red, Whitewater, and Schweitzer are the big mountains.  The others were possible for a warm up day before going somewhere for at least 4-5 days.  Hasn't happened yet because my friends and I are still working off the MCP destination list.  We are older skiers (>55) hunting powder and trees and more than steep chutes.

49 Degrees North (50 min)
Mt Spokane (35 min)
Schweitzer ( 1 hr 40 min)
Silver Mt. ( 1 hr 10 min)
Lookout Pass (1 hr 40 min)
 
Red Mt, Rossland BC (3 hrs, border crossing)
Whitewater, Salmo BC (3 hrs, border crossing)

Tahoe snow conditions haven’t been very good so far this season, but they have snow in the forecast every day through next week Wednesday, with multiple feet likely.  Just don’t know if it will be enough to put the right terrain in play.

I’m holding off on booking anything to 1) see if my ankle gets better enough to ski (right now I couldn’t) and 2) see where is most likely to have new snow when I go.  As much as seeing someplace new would be great, I’m always tempted to chase powder wherever it is!

I’m seriously considering Red.  Wouldn’t head up to Whitewater, just too much driving.  But two days at Red and a day of backcountry would suit me fine.

JTG4eva! wrote

I’m seriously considering Red.  Wouldn’t head up to Whitewater, just too much driving.  But two days at Red and a day of backcountry would suit me fine.

Get a place in Castlegar... I believe it's about half-way between Red and WH2O. About 45 minutes in either direction... assuming clear roads... That's always the double edge sword with these types of scenarios... you want the snow, but winter driving in unfamiliar territory can be a PITA.  You cross a fairly high pass to get down to Red from Castlegar (Nancy Greene or Strawberry... I forget the name.)  It's not too bad... 5,100 ft, 3 hairpins on the South side, pretty much a straightish shot on the North side.  The drive from Castlegar up to Nelson is a valley driving until you get to the access road a WH20... then it's a dirt road for about 10K... it's well maintained, but still quite primitive.

After last week, I'm a big fan of Whitewater.  If you want lift assisted BC, both areas are excellent.  The base at Red is a bit lower than Whitewater, so if it's borderline, the snow is probably better at WH20.  We saw this last week with a day at Red where conditions were awful (6 inches new with a cracker crust) while it was stayed light & dry WH20.

Ok nepa, you are probably the wrong guy to ask this right now because I think you may have gotten skunked by that big PNW Thursday storm you rushed out of Whitewater for, but.........with the potential of an atmospheric river directing copious amounts of moisture (and cold) at Whistler and Baker (northern Cascades) right through all of next week, combined with little to no new snow currently forecast for interior British Columbia next week, is it worth going on a Powder Highway adventure chasing week old leftovers, or do I storm chase the powder to Whistler or Baker/Crystal????

Euro directs the river toward Tahoe.  Even if that happens next week I’m not sure I’m willing to risk the (current lack of) snowpack, and the funky weather impacts/closures of a storm cycle.

Not feeling that optimistic about my ankle to make turns at Whiteface this weekend, but starting to feel a little better about being able to ski the following weekend.

cough cough



Interlodge Likely.

tBatt scores!

So I've heard about interlodge but not sure I know what it is...my guess based on barely paying attention...

It snows so much that it's illegal to go outside before the storm ends and all the dynomite gets blowed up.

Then when interlodge is over, if you are actually up in the canyon, you get a big jump on all the pow hounds that are stuck on the highway?

Or... what?

That sounds about right Harvey!

I’m headed to Utah Feb 9-11, so it won’t be Utah next week.  I’m glad Utah has finally gotten winter though!

I’ve got one foot in the door at Whistler Blackcomb, scored a 2 Br condo in the Village for $289 US plus tax a night, walk to lifts, indoor-outdoor pool, hot tub.  Nice place, checks all the boxes, and it’s a good $200 a night cheaper than anything else I’ve seen in the Village.  Right now W-B probably has the best coverage and most snow in North America, and there is snow in the forecast every day from now right into that weekend.  Can’t go wrong, and who doesn’t want to cross W-B off the bucket list?!  Oh, and the L.A. to Vancouver flights are pretty cheap, too.

I can cancel until two days prior without losing all my money so I can change things up if it really looks like things will be spectacular somewhere else.

Hey, if anyone feels like hitting up Whistler that weekend I’ve got an extra bedroom!

Did you score a non stop red eye back from Vancouver?

I think there is a direct red eye into Newark. An Asian airline.  Can't go wrong at Whistler. Way skiers right on blacomb is my favorite area.

Haven’t booked my flights yet, assuming (hoping) it’s still available.  It’s Cathay Pacific.

Thanks for the advice tj.

Whistler is hitting right meow

Harvey wrote

So I've heard about interlodge but not sure I know what it is...my guess based on barely paying attention...

It snows so much that it's illegal to go outside before the storm ends and all the dynomite gets blowed up.

Then when interlodge is over, if you are actually up in the canyon, you get a big jump on all the pow hounds that are stuck on the highway?

Or... what?

Pretty much. Typically interlodge is paired with road closures, but not always. Also this is usually planned with a minimum of a couple hours notice, often the night before. If there is any uncontrolled avalanche activity, especially something that hits the road, immediate interlodge can go into effect.
They announce road closure between at any or all closure gates up the road
Town of Alta (and Snowbird) interlodge - you legally cannot leave the building you're in
Artillery fired across the road from the top of Alta and Snowbird. Snowbird takes care of the lower portion of the canyon, Alta does the upper half.  
If any avalanches reach the road, UDOT cleans them up.
After all control work is performed and a combination between the Town of Alta, UDOT, and ASP is agreed that the avalanche danger has sufficiently been mitigated, interlodge and the road opens.

Typically they start at the bottom of the canyon and work their way up. Traffic can back up so far into town (SLC) that it interferes with non-skier traffic. If they get no avalanche activity, they may open u gate B and allow the traffic to move up to gate C to clear some of the traffic from Wasatch Blvd.

If you're already in Alta, you might get 3-4 runs in before the rest of SLC is up the road and in line with you (unless the road is really, really, really bad).

There was one instance last year where there was a lot of lower elevation mid-canyon avalanche activity. Alta was done with their control work with minimal results while Snowbird control work was having the majority of their shots produce large avalanches that hit the road. Town of Alta and ski area lifted interlodge however the road remained closed between gates B and D. That was the only time in my five years there that I heard of the road staying closed all day while the resort opened.

JGT - I've seriously considered going to Baker instead. Avalanche conditions will (probably) be more favorable, they will (probably) get more snow, and the storms will be rolling in a day or two earlier. With that being said, my network in Alta is much bigger. Guaranteed people to ski with every day and a room at the base of the Collins lift. I'm planning on getting a seasons pass and going back at least once more this year. Maybe a Mountain Collective would be a better idea, but figuring out transportation, dining, and lodging is more than I care to worry about.

Baker and Crystal also look like they could get hammered right through the 28th, but as nepa pointed out....not all storms have been delivering as promised to the Cascades recently.  It does seem that a decent La Niña pattern is finally setting up for a bit.

If the forecasted snow for Whistler holds I’ll be happy to go check out something new.

I’m excited that winter has finally come to the Wasatch.  A good shot of snow for the Cottonwoods through early next week.  While a minor ridge might keep things dry the weekend of the 27th/28th it looks to get active again moving into Feb.  I’m excited to ski Alta next month!

JTG4eva! wrote

If I had more time I could see doing Kelowna->Revelstoke->Kicking Horse->Calgary.  However, with just three days it’s a lot of ground to cover, and leaves a longer drive than I’d like on departure day.  I’ll look into Kalispell and Kelowna flights though.   Fernie looks interesting, but even with upwards of 200 inches ytd they only have 99/147 trails open.

Thanks for all the ideas though.  If it weren't for having to connect to NY from Calgary on Sunday I’d be sold on probably 2 days Kicking Horse and a day at Sunshine on the way back to Calgary.  Whistler-Blackcomb is a great choice with a better return flight to NY.  Hard to go wrong either way.  I may wait to book until the forecast window is a little smaller.

But keep the ideas coming!

One of the lifts has been down. Thinking that's whats going on. Should be fixed next week...

Thanks T. Great post.

tjf1967 wrote

Way skiers right on blacomb is my favorite area.

Spanky’s Ladder over to the Gemstone Bowls?? Or are you referring to a different zone on Blackcomb?

It’s gonna be good in Utah tomorrow! Harvey, I noticed that there isn’t an all purpose Wasatch conditions thread on here. Would it be cool if I broke one out?