More Snow hitting Steamboat

It looks like anouther good storm is heading into Steamboat Springs. It has been snowing since about 4pm Tuesday. On top of hte epic dump we got Sat-Mon this adds up to anouther great day on the mountain tomorrow. A client wants a chairlift meeting Wednesday afternoon and I'm just dedicated enough to be there.

Snow likely to come in waves, Storm track expected to continue for another week

By Tom Ross, Staff Reporter Wednesday, November 30, 2005

The winter storm track that has gripped Steamboat Springs since Saturday promises to keep coming in waves. "If you don't have enough, there's more," National Weather Service meteorologist Paul Frisbee said Tuesday afternoon. "The storm due Friday and Saturday will be quite significant for all of Western Colorado." Even as he spoke of a weekend storm, Frisbee was predicting the Steamboat Ski Area would see double-digit snowfall overnight and into today.

"Steamboat will have another good day," Frisbee predicted. "We're expecting 9 to 18 inches of snow through tomorrow. It could be close to 2 feet. In town, you might see 5 to 11 (inches). The heaviest snow will fall before sunup," and begin to taper off into mid-morning.

Frisbee said the front's west-to-northwest flow was ideal for producing "terrain enhanced snow" in the Park Range, which includes Mount Werner and the slopes of Steamboat Ski Area. Snow moisture data gathered by the Natural Resource Conservation Ser-vice indicates that on a percentage basis, Rabbit Ears Pass is receiving some of the heaviest precipitation in the state. The Columbine (east side of Rabbit Ears) and Rabbit Ears snowpack measuring sites are at 113 and 107 percent of average, respectively.

After conditions dry out Sunday afternoon through Monday, he anticipated another system in the region Dec. 6.

Find the full story here

Wendy's first ski day since Neve's birth

Here is a shot of Wendy’s first ski day this year. We had to look around to find some shallower sections for her to ski. She wanted to be careful because it has only been 3 weeks out from Neve’s delivery. As you can see she hit the slopes like she hadn't missed a day. Neve, Alden and I were very proud.

Steamboat getting the most snow in Colorado

Monday was an amazing day on the mountain. Nearly continuous face shots on some of the tree runs and everytime you stopped you sank in 3-5 feet. It's amazing how much more snow accumulates in the trees when there is even a light wind. Monday was definately a top ten powder day for me and I have been chasing storms for 19 years. Epic in every definition of the word. Days like this are why we live here...

Selected quotes from the Steamboat Pilot:
Steamboat snow leads state Storm makes for memorable powder day

By Tom Ross, Staff Reporter Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Monday produced the kind of skiing people will be telling their grandchildren about 50 years from now.

The Steamboat Ski Area received 2 feet of snow at mid-mountain and 3 feet at the summit during the 48 hours preceding 4 p.m. Monday. The snow came steadily during that time, providing 14 inches of fluff at Storm Peak on Sunday morning and 16 inches Monday. The result: Skiers and riders enjoyed an epic powder day on top of a memorable powder day. Dan Gilchrist, who has skied big mountains on three continents, said he was reminded that his home mountain is unrivaled in terms of the quality of the snow that falls.

Christmas Lights

A good friend of mine puts on a great show every year with his Christmas lights over the web. This year he has taken in up several notches by not only letting you control his 26,000 Christmas Lights over the web but letting you seem them on 3 different live web cam feeds. It is great fun for the kids and pretty cool for adults too. I encourage you to check them out and consider donating to his effort to raise money for Celiac Research.

I have known Alek for about 7 years now and seen what a struggle it was before the doctors figured out what was making Dirk and Kyle so sick. Alek and Wendy were incredibly diligent about trying to find what was having such an impact on their kids but they just couldn't get a diagnosis from countless doctors. Once they found out you would be amazed how hard it is to feed a child without having them ingest any glutens especially when you throw in school and activities. Parenting is challenging enough without making just feeding your child so hard. Since having kids of my own I have really come to understand the energy they put into keeping Dirk and Kyle healthy and look up to them for that.

I'm happy to be able to contribute to the efforts to find a cure for Celiac disease. We are lucky to live in a time when it is practical to expect a cure can be found. I have been a mostly silent consultant and sounding board in Alek's Christmas lights effort for years so I was excited to hear about his idea to publicize and raise money for Celiac disease as part of his annual Christmas extravaganza. I live in Steamboat Springs so it is great to be able to show my 2 1/2 year old son Alden and 3 week old daughter Neve Alek's Christmas Lights from our home up in the mountains.

Happy Holidays!

Steamboat Powder Skiing

Here is a picture of my friend John Morse making a turn in the deep powder today. They reported 15 inches in 24 hours and 7 over night but there was at least 15 inches on the groomed run above the base of the storm peak lift and as you can see the powder was worth giving thanks for in the trees. I'm not saying it was like this every turn but nearly every turn was sweet and the snow lasted all day in the trees. You sunk in 3-5 feet deep in the trees when you stopped mostof the time. My facemask came in very handy but a snorkel would have been nice. Needless to say it was worth taking a day off for this storm.

I'd say it easily made the list of my top ten powder days and I have been chasing storms for nearly 20 years in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Montana. My friends and I ran the CU Ski Club way back when, we were lucky to get countless epic days over the years.

Sunday Powder

It’s been dumping up here the past couple of days. Today (Sunday) they reported 16 inches up top in the morning and 30 by afternoon. As usual there was much more in the trees. Just off the top of the Storm peak lift towards closets we hit a big area with 4 plus feet of snow and 3 plus areas were common in the trees. My friend Dave Hartley and I didn’t get out until almost 2pm and it was still amazing. I heard that this morning was unbelievable. The snow was some of the lightest you will find and the coverage underneath was pretty good, you had to watch for downed tress and big bumps but the skiing was fantastic. We found stash after stash of powder to billow up over us.

The forecast called for the snow to tail off but it was still dumping up top when we came down and it is snowing steadily even down here at the base. I think I am going to do a little make up for my 6-7 day work weeks in the morning. They are predicting more snow later in the week so hopefully we get another good storm.

Powder Skiing today in Steamboat!!!

It’s been dumping up here the past couple of days. Today they reported 16 inches up top in the morning and 30 inches by afternoon. As usual there was more in the trees. Just off the top of the Storm peak lift towards closets we hit a big area with 4 plus feet of snow and 3 plus area were common in the trees. Dave Hartley and I didn’t get out until almost 2pm and it was still amazing. I heard that this morning was unbelievable. The snow was some of the lightest you will find and the coverage underneath was pretty good, you had to watch for downed tress and big bumps but the skiing was fantastic. This short powder skiing clip doesn’t do it justice since we just stopped randomly and Hartley didn’t know I was taking a video so he was floating on top. We found some awesome stashes of pow to billow up over us.

The forecast called for the snow to tail off but it was still dumping up top when we came down and it is snowing steadily even down here at the base. I think I am going to do a little make up for my 7 day work weeks in the morning. Anyone care to join me? They are predicting more snow later in the week so hopefully we get another good storm.

It's Dumping in Steamboat this morning

It was forecast to come in this afternoon but it looks like it just couldn't wait. The forecast is for snow until Wednesday with just a day break in between. You never know what will happen in the mountains until it does but there are several waves of clouds coming our way. I can give thanks for that!

1:15pm Update: It tailed off a while after my post but its definately getting going again now and has gotten stronger even as I write this update. We have good but not great conditions on the mountain right now. A foot or two of snow would push it to great. The snow just doubled again so things are really starting fall into place so to speak, big flakes and a lot of them. Bring it on Mother Nature! Show us what you've got!

Steamboat Ski area gets 26 inches of snow on top, 12 inches at the base

I talked to a couple of friends who work on the mountain and it looks like we got some good snow out this weekend's storm. The snow that fell was perfect to build a solid base and should make things better all season. Things look good up high but we could use some more snow down lower. The cold tempatures expected for at least the next week will allow for great snowmaking output and maintain the snow we have. The mountian was shrouded in a cloud of snowmaking today and they even had the guns down in hte rodeo arena behind my office going strong all day. The gondola was running this afternoon so things are starting to fall in place for opening day next Wednesday November 23rd. From what I hear conditons up on Rabbit ears and Buffalo pass are luring many backcountry skiers already. How about one more good storm to make the mountain just right?

Snowstorm hitting Steamboat Springs

It’s been snowing since Saturday afternoon and the weather sites just picked up on it tonight, they had been predicting the storm would start Monday. Read the second paragraph just below the discussion for what they expect for Monday. It’s predicted to be cold all week so they can make snow on the lower mountain groomers. We haven’t been able to see the mountain since Friday mid-afternoon and there was some base up there to start with so it should have been accumulating all along. I love when they get provocative and say orographic flow in the forecast, that’s a good thing for the Steamboat snow report.

Nothing like the energy in a ski town when it snows all weekend...

The following is a clip from todays afternoon report at the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. They are in my opinion the best source for snow forecasts since they care about what is happening on the mountains instead of down in the towns like most forecasts. I prefer to ski on the mountains myself except maybe during the winter carnival when we ski down main street here in Steamboat Springs.

This is Scott at the Colorado Avalanche Information Center at 4pm, Sunday, November 13, 2005.

DISCUSSION
Clouds and showers have been increasing across the Northern mtns today in advance of our next system. Tonight real snows will begin in the N mtns & spread southward. Rabbit Ears/Steamboat ski area will likely do best from this storm, with slightly less amounts as you go south towards I-70. There's nice orographic potential with good jet stream support, it's all adding up to a nice storm for the N mtns, with lesser amounts spreading to the N side of the San Juans. Later Monday afternoon into the early evening hours, look for an increase in snow intensity. Everyone will see strong winds as a 130 kt jet cuts into CO as the storm gets underway. Will also see the first normal temps of winter as the system begins to move out late Monday night, in other words, it will get cold. It's good to be back. The forecast details:

North mtns
Sunday night: 3-6". Winds W/20-30, Gs 60-70. Lows 17-22.
Monday: 6-9", though would not be surprised by some higher amounts. Winds W/20-30 G60+. Highs 25-30.
Monday night: 4-8", decreasing after midnight. Winds WNW/20-30, Gs 50s, & colder, 0-5 degrees.
Tuesday: Drying out with north winds decreasing. Cold

Steamboat Springs Recreation Center in the works

The city of Steamboat Springs has recently revived the effort to build a new recreation center in town. Steamboat has a nice facility in the non-profit owned Steamboat Health and Recreation Center. It has several hot springs pools, a water-slide and a workout area in town but it just can't keep up with current standards for a community rec center due to space constraints and funding. Tonight the city held a meeting to get input on what the locals would like to see in the center and talk about what it would take to make it a reality. There seems to be some good momentum building if they can keep their efforts on track, develop a reasonable plan, get it approved and build it on budget. A daunting task but one that many other communities without the commitment to sports that Steamboat has have done. I hope that Steamboat can make this happen it would be a asset for the town and one more thing for visitors to love about Steamboat.

Find the details at Steamboat Pilot

Neve joins us in Steamboat

Wendy and I are proud to announce that our daughter Neve Grace has joined us in Steamboat Springs. She came in like a blizzard and quickly settled into a mesmerizing steady snow fall. She has already charmed her daddy more than I can believe and I feel all fuzzy inside just like when I think about snow. Neve means snow in Italian which as you might imagine is near and dear to our hearts. Grace is a family name on Wendy's side. Our 2 year old Alden is very excited to have a little sister and Woody gave her a big kiss as soon as he got a chance. We are lucky to have a great family of five, Neve, Alden, Woody (our Yellow lab who is still my baby) Wendy and Jon plus countless friends that are just like family. Thanks to everyone for being so helpful and supportive.

We hope that her arrival just in time for ski season will be the start of a great winter in Steamboat and life to follow. We hope we can keep up. For more details and pictures click Neve Grace to see her web page. I will add pictures over time as I get a chance but we have been pretty busy lately.

* I backed dated this post to Neve's date and time of birth in Steamboat, however this picture was taken within a couple hours of her birth.

Snowing tonight in Steamboat

It's snowing!!!! We are getting a beautiful snow tonight composed of large flakes floating down slowly. It's enough to warm any skier's heart. Earlier today it was sunny and nice. All of a sudden I noticed something in the air out my office window, walked outside and lo and behold it was snow. By the time I walked back in it was over. Hopefully we will see a lot more of the white stuff over the next few weeks. There is only 19 days 1 1/2 hours left until ski season here in Steamboat.

Let it Snow ^3