We nabbed a 2 State chase with bottomless powder in the Cascades followed by a decent day at Vail on Saturday. The 2-day storm total was around 18 inches not counting the 23 inches at Baker that had not been skied the week before.
Powderchaser Steve scored the re-opening of Mt Baker on Friday (20 plus inches last week) with 7 new inches of medium-dense snow Friday. The vibe at Baker is hard to beat and the locals are 100% dedicated to their powder and every nook and cranny that comes with that mountain. It had snowed 20 plus inches midweek and another 7 inches Thursday night. The mountain was 100% reset (Not a ripple or bump). The 7 new inches came in a bit warmer and rode on the dense side in exposed areas (Sun popped out for a short period at 8 AM before the snow started falling again) and really good in the trees or on north facing).
Below: Powderchaser Steve at Baker with Mt Shuksan in the background after the mountain reopened with bottomless pow.
Below: Lined up early ahead of the powder frenzy. @powderchasersteve via Instagram
From Baker, I scored a $24 ticket from Seattle to Denver (Frontier), $10 bucks for the A-line train to my car, and ended up at Vail on Saturday. Vail only reported 6 inches, with 8-9 on the backside. This storm came in warmer than previous ones (15 degrees at the summit) which mostly covered up the crust layers. It was 100% country club riding. Breckenridge and WP who I mentioned in my last post as strong contenders nabbed 12 inches (I think everyone skipped Vail on Saturday). Then late AM Saturday I chased to Breckenridge hoping to score bottomless powder for the outside gates at Imperial (Whales Tail) but ended up missing it (Patrol popped those gates early).
Spring is finally here with a warm storm due for the west. The main focus will be the higher elevations of Montana (Above 7,000 feet), and the Tetons late Monday to Tuesday with Colorado scoring very deep moisture Tuesday PM to Wednesday. Colorado has significant moisture totals in excess of 2 inches. The trend on models is to dig this system east over the Front Range Foothills and south towards the Palmer Divide, Springs, and perhaps further east towards Kansas. The mountains surrounding Boulder could grab 20-25 inches above 7,000 feet (Wet snow). Snow will spill west into Winter Park and Breckenridge however amounts will be less. A-Basin or Loveland could be the winners, but certainly areas near Evergreen, Georgetown, and Nederland. I will update this post as the storm track is a bit more certain. The Euro and GFS show slightly different storm tracks.
Below: Focus for high-elevation snow is in Montana (Near Bozeman, north to Great Falls), Tetons (7K and up), and the behemoth of moisture aimed for the front range of Colorado by late Tuesday.
Below: Focus for moisture in Colorado is Tuesday late AM to Wednesday morning. Front Range resorts that are still open including Loveland and A-Basin could end up winning. if the track remains east you might see less snow west of Georgetown. The mountains along or west of the Divide will likely see 9-12 inches of dense snow with 20-25 inches in the front range foothills (Above 7,000 feet). The update will be posted Monday.
While we would say our winter storms are over, we are still in a wet pattern with unseasonably cool temps. Our last post might come this week.
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Follow my adventures on Instagram @powderchasersteve
Powderchaser Steve- Forecaster
