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Headline RSS FeedVail pounded by 30 inches in a 36 hour period allowing Vail to open chairs 2, 3, and 4 on Saturday
December 1, 2008 —
An active Thanksgiving weekend came to a close with snow showers lingering into the early morning hours on Monday. Vail received 30 inches in a 36 hour period while The Beav' reported 24 inches as a fore-casted weak system grew into a monster overnight Friday.
Strong N.W. winds brought blowing and drifting snow to mountain passes and closed I-70 for periods on Saturday and Sunday. A welcome site as 60 degree temps were the norm just 7 days ago.
I was lucky enough to ski on Sunday with my neighbors Tom and Karen, and although it was quite breezy and cold, it was nice to be on skis again.
Vail opened chairs 2, 3, and 4 Saturday and the coverage was nice, according to the crew at the Wildwood outpost, the tentative date for opening chair 7 and 11 is set for Wednesday. Today we saw clearing skies and warm temps as a weak high pressure ridge is building in from the west.
Tuesday night into Wednesday we should see some more snowfall as another system moves into our area from the N.W. Snowfall should range anywhere from 5-7 inches by Wednesday.
The weather should be great for the upcoming Birds of Prey ski races this weekend, with mild temps and variable winds. As of now it looks like we will be an a fairly active weather pattern for the next 7-10 days.
Sunday we have another chance for snow as well. We will keep watch.
Traci M. — December 1, 2008
YAY. I'm going to be checking your updates this season, Reid. I hope this week shapes up as predicted to get those back bowls covered. Be well!
Reid — December 2, 2008
Thanks Traci, I also look forward to skiing "the back", but I reckon it will take another storm or two to get things covered back there. Also, sorry that your favorite hang out The Lift in Minturn closed its doors, too bad, but Regina tells me that you are now frequenting the Bookworm. Be sure to introduce your self to Terri, she also writes a great blog on RealVail.com Cheers!
'Black Friday' shaping up to be white in Vail
November 26, 2008 —
As Thanksgiving nears and ski racers across the globe converge in Aspen, we are all waiting for a "white" Friday instead of a black Friday.
We are in luck as a fairly weak system moves into southern Utah today and tonight, giving the Colorado mountains a chance for snow.
Today we see increasing clouds and seasonal temps with S.W. winds increasing as the day moves on.
This system will give a shot of snow for all resort areas, but will deposit most of its moisture in the San Juan mountains, giving Telluride, Durango, and Silverton a white Thanksgiving day.
Here in Vail we will see flurries throughout the day on Thursday with little accumulation below tree line. Bad news for the crew from GMA, but we do have a good possibility for snow all through the weekend and into the first part of December.
Most forecasters are calling for light to moderate snowfall for the next 7 days, however I will go out on a limb and predict that the next two storm systems that we see will bring snowfall that will open up much of the front-side of Vail Mountain.
Temps are seasonal, 25-35 during the day and in the low 20s and teens overnight. This will be the case for the next 5 days or so as we watch the storm axis move east and bring with it unsettled weather for the Rocky Mountain region.
Great news for the race crews at both Aspen and Beaver Creek as we should see cool temps and a chance for some snow.
Finally, our own Chris Anthony will be hosting a raffle and auction for the Billy Poole Memorial fund this Saturday at the Coyote Cafe in Beaver Creek before and after the screening of Warren Miller's "Children of Winter", at the Vilar Center.
If you are in town, it sounds like a rockin' party so go and support a great cause and get your heart pumping for some great snow-riding footage. Happy Thanksgiving and remember, if you're lucky enough to be in the mountains, you're lucky enough.
1 Comment on "'Black Friday' shaping up to be white in Vail"
Luke — November 26, 2008
Reid... Nice optimistic forecast. Things are thinner than my hair up there, we could use the snow!
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Photo courtesy Vail Resorts
Vail opening day, white Thanksgiving may be on the way
November 21, 2008 —
It's November 21st and the start of the 08-09 ski season is finally here.
I'm sure Dave O didn't sleep a wink of sleep, tuning and waxing his skis until all hours of the night. And to kick it off I actually played golf yesterday. Not sure if that is a good thing or not.
As Vail has one of 193 runs open, many skiers are pining for more snow and less Indian summer weather. We are in luck as the storm axis that has been bombarding the Midwest and East Coast with snow, rain, wind, and cold temps moves westward bringing with it unsettled weather starting next week.
This weekend we will see more of the same (warm and dry) with daytime temps in the mid to upper 30's and overnight lows in the low 20s. Wednesday we will start to see the shift in weather as numerous storms line up in the Gulf of Alaska with a northwest flow aloft bringing cold temps along with active weather.
It could very well be a white Thanksgiving for the mountain areas as we will hopefully be in an active pattern for months to come. We will watch.
I have a bit of sour information for the few of you that are weather nerds like me, and are waiting for my weather station to come online. I am having a bit of hardware trouble with my station: broken disks, wrong wires, stuff like that. I hope to have these problems fixed by next week, sorry for the delay.
In the meantime, if you are going to brave the "White Ribbon of Death" please be aware of the snow riders around you. Nothing is worse than ruining your whole season on the first couple of says skiing. Have fun and remember, if you're lucky enough to be in the mountains, you're lucky enough.
2 Comments on "Vail opening day, white Thanksgiving may be on the way"
Reid — November 22, 2008
Thanks Tom, much better.
KK — November 25, 2008
Nice to see the Powder Predictor back. And get your weather station running, we got online to see your current readings!
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Photo of Reid Griebling
Let it snow! Snow is piling up.
November 13, 2008 —
Less than eight days until Vail Mountain opens and as the "O. Report" stated, snow is piling up.
Snow guns have been blowing since the first of the month and short term forecasts show another active storm moving in from the N.W. today (Thurs) and tonight. As of now the skies are partly cloudy and a west wind is blowing from 10-15 mph and gusting into the 30's. Temps are warm ranging from 35-45 degrees in the valleys. Pressure is falling in wake of this next storm which is expected to dump 5-10 inches at the highest elevations (10,000 ft.) by Friday afternoon.
In the valleys we will see a mix of rain and snow throughout the day on Thursday and changing to snow by the early hours Friday, with little accumulation expected. This may be our last chance for significant snowfall as long term models show that a ridge of high pressure will build in from the east by the weekend. It is unclear how long we will be under high pressure but the gang at www.snowforecast.com see clear weather staying around 5-7 days. This means that opening day at Vail should be clear and sunny day.
Everyone in the Vail Valley is geared up for another great season, and as much as this forecaster wants another season like 07-08 (for Dave's sake), climatologists and the trusty Farmers Almanac are calling for an average winter for the Rocky Mountain region (Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana). This is a good sign for us as we do average around 300 inches of snow in Vail. Temps will be slightly warmer than average and snowfall will as stated will be average. We may not see a season like last year, but I believe we will all have a fair share of good powder days.
Good news for those of you who visit our site regularly, I have erected a personal weather station in my back yard in Edwards. At 7680 feet, we will have an idea as to how much snow has fallen at the base of Vail and Beaver Creek and by opening day, we should have a link through our site that will give everyone real-time weather figures as they are in Edwards. Overall with a declining economy and waiting for the new hope for American politics, what better thing is there to do than watch the early season snow fall?
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