I'm not going to start counting yet because the mountain isn't open, but I think as soon as it is, I'm going to tally the incorrect forecasts. So far they'd be 0-2, and as someone said to me yesterday, "Don't they look out their windows?" But the mountains do something strange to weather systems, and although I call myself something of a weather buff, I wouldn't want the job of predicting snow around here. Sometimes the mountains suck in the system and keep it here for days, sometimes they don't. I'm not sure if there's rhyme or reason to it, but I am sure that all the locals agree on this, never trust a forecast more than 3 days out, and rarely trust a forecast otherwise.
Although I compare forecasts with three meteorology centers (www.steamboatweather.com, www.weather.com, and www.wrh.noaa.gov), they usually all agree with each other, and I tend to make my own assumptions day to day based on how the satellite is looking. All three centers predicted sun with partly cloudy skies and warmer temps (45-50°) for yesterday and today, with the snow coming back in tomorrow. But both days have been dark and dreary, no sun to be had, with a humid 20° chill. And now we're seeing light flurries today.
I'm not complaining, they were blasting the base area yesterday and cold temps mean continual snowmaking 24 hours a day so we can get ready for opening day.
But I want to know, why do these people get paid if they're rarely right?
It's early November and many locals are saying they "aren't ready for this snow...."
It comes every year at Halloween, you know it does, and it breaks for the Sun's vitaminD charge in between storms. It doesn't get booger-freeze cold (as best a description as I've ever had for it, that's where you inhale through your nostrils and they stick together) until mid or late December, and only stays that way for 4-6 weeks when the Sun has gone to Mexico for Winter Solstice. So why the denial for some? I don't understand.
This is when Craig and I enter the short, 4-month-mode of Permanently Awaiting the Next Storm, and if we're lucky, the wait is never long. Like holding your breath while diving for shells or touching sea turtles in your snorkel gear, or better fitting, like holding your breath between face shots of Pow', we like -and need- the break between storms. Don't gasp at me like that, we do. It's a recharge for the legs, or the arms and tummy for Craig, and we do need a day or three to get some work done.
We're not fair-weather skiers. Blue bird days are for the Texans in jeans, the grandpas and grandmas, the New York ladies in fur-necked Prada, and only a select few locals who strive for 100+days on the mountain. They aren't picky. We are. We don't need the views, although nice, we've seen 'em. We don't need to see the run before us, we know every turn, every tree, every
stash. We don't need clear goggles, we bring an extra pair.
So when it's early November and storming like this, we're chomping at the bit. Awing at our new skis, bringing down the rig and tuning it, getting out our ski gear and washing it, staring at the mountain and counting....
And luckily this time, according to Weather Channel's Mike Bettis, we won't have wait too long.
(NOTE: Too bad the Broncos aren't playing at home this Sunday, it's always good for ski areas' bookings when they play in the snow... )
6-10" new inches on our deck means twice that on the hill! That's right, the first Powder Day is here!
Unfortunately none of us can take advantage of it of course, what with the mountain not open, but we're building base, and it's been blowing sideways since last night, big flakes falling off and on, and if what we got on our deck is any inclination of what fell on Mt Werner, we're startin' the season out right. We're all hoping that Oak Creek prediction of 30% more this year is off to a running start...
Craig got his fat PMGear Bro powder skis delivered via UPS today, and we popped in a Warren Miller flick from '03 to celebrate.
Hopefully there will be twice as much on the deck tomorrow- 20 days, 9 hours and counting... is that wind I hear?...
That's right folks, our first winter storm warning is in effect. We've been hearing about this "Tuesday snow" for days, and since the Sunday and Monday rain forecast was wrong, we had our doubts. But I held hope, both for a change in weather and a change in government on this powerful election day. We awoke to darkness, the skies are Halloween-esque, gloomy and filled with a variety of stratus clouds- a combination of cirrostratus, altostratus and nimbostratus (mostly the latter). The temperature dropped at about 1pm yesterday but the wind didn't pick up until early today, as it typically does about 8 hours before we get hit.
Yesterday Craig and I questioned the start date of snowmaking, remembering it was always one of these first two weeks of November, depending on temperature. It has to stay cold, we reminded each other... and subsequently I had a dream that we were looking at Concentration and saw the snow guns blasting...
I got a text from a friend in southern VA expressing his jealousy about an hour ago when he saw the warning and I couldn't help but smile. Tonight folks we will have officially entered WINTER.