The past several days were mostly sunny with intermittent periods of high clouds. Larry Dunn's "ferocious ridge" continued, with light to moderate winds from the west and the north, with mountain highs in the low to mid 30s F.
Today skies will become sunny by late morning, with mountain temps rising into the mid 30's °F. Expect light winds from the W/NW, with gusts into the teens mph.
Punxsutawney Phil may have seen his shadow yesterday, calling for 6 more weeks of winter...but the models aren't exactly convinced. While there's a little disturbance in some models about 7-10 days out, I'm not hanging my hat on another split system bringing back old man winter that soon. Days like today can feel a bit like we're waking up in another day of Bill Murray's same nightmare. While it might be to some, skiing isn’t just about powder. Go make some memories, have a laugh, learn the mountains from a new drainage, and build some character on a good bushwhack while you’re at it.
We are hearing of more long-running sluffs in the weak snow at the surface (aka "facet-lanches"), including a skier being caught and carried in steep terrain in Barietto in Mineral Fork on Saturday. Thanks to the reporting party for their honest assessment of this avalanche occurrence which highlights the importance of making sure no one is below you before dropping into a steeper slope.
Sluffing in steep terrain on Barietto [photo: Joe]
Despite the lack of interesting weather, we continue to receive thoughtful and interesting observations.
