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36" new at Wolf Creek! Bless those San Juans! Its officially on!

http://mtnweekly.com/wolf-creek-to-open-saturday-for-skiing-and-riding-24485

http://www.wolfcreekski.com/wolf-creek-snow-report.php

People are waiting for weeks/months of snowmaking to do what Sweet Mother Nature can do in 1 day!

This was just on the other side of the mountain of me... Looks like I missed the ball, but I was expecting rock dodging. I hope it all melts and comes in thick and stable in December. These 3 ft storms preseason can wreak havoc.

Heres to winter! Get some pedro! Hope to see you at the splitfest.

Fresh from the CAIC website...

The November 1st storm brought some decent snow to the mountains. Using the 6 AM numbers from remote weather stations, after the majority of accumulation occurred:

Steamboat Zone 6 to 8"
Front Range 4 to 6", with more than 12" around Cameron Pass
Vail Summit 6 to 8"
Sawatch 4 to 7" with over 10" on Monarch Pass
Aspen 4 to 8"
Gunnison 4"
Grand Mesa 8 to 12"
North San Juan 6+" Red Mountain Pass to Telluride, less to the south
South San Juan 2 to 3"
Sangres still snowing and blowing hard

Winds started from the southwest and shifted to the east. Generally, wind speeds were moderate but strong enough to drift some snow. Local areas saw stronger winds, with reports of 16 inch thick drifts in Telluride and strong valley winds in the Front Range. While not a big load, the new snow fell onto a weak, early season snowpack. Expect to find sensitive storm slabs and wind slabs in steep terrain near and above treeline. Remember the early season mantra "if there is enough snow to ride, there is enough snow to slide." Early season avalanche incidents, and even fatalities, are typical. Unpack your avalanche brain as you get the rest of your winter gear ready.

It looked like the winds definitely blew the new snow around from what I could see up at Loveland resort this morning.

Yesterday up by Silverton. Winter is here...

"not bad" is an understatement to say the least! Keep it up!

Nice work summersgone! It's on

Thanks Utah. Saw you guys are on too! Nice vid. Sliding on snow is so much better then summer.

IT IS ON!

Did an 8+ mile tour in James Peak Wilderness yesterday, and we need a good 18-24 inches of new snow before I'll bother going back. Below treeline is way too thin for riding, and near/above treeline got hammered to shit by all the winds from the last 4 days. There may be a few pockets/couloirs holding some decent riding snow on NW/N/NE aspects, but no gaurantees if it will be good/safe to ride. I got some minor fracturing at treeline in the new wind slab on a NE aspect.

Visited the Arapahoe Lakes region yesterday. The trail was boney, but if you keep your board pretty flat on the escape you will only hit a dozen rocks or so. We built a ramp to get over a fallen tree blocking the path on the escape. Snow in the trees below the Arapahoe Lakes was approx. 2-3' deep, with many logs and boulders to find. Snow at treelike was a mixed bag of loaded, cracking slabs and blown nearly clear. Maybe it was the cold which made our boards reeeaaaallllyyyyy slow in the untracked.
There were more people at the trailhead than I remember seeing ever before. The gully below the lakes received an awful lot of traffic.

What up Pedro? Wolf Creek got 24 more two days ago. 68" base. The San Juans are the place to be in CO right now. Have you seen any tracks down The Hour Glass yet?

I haven't been out to the pass yet after this storm, but I would expect not, 40+ inches of brand new snow that has been reported to be sliding quite a bit. I sure as hell wouldn't want to be dragged down through that choke in the Hour Glass. If it was anything like the snow in Silverton, it was very low density, but a 40" load probably isn't too stable on that old layer. I am suprised that they only have it listed as considerable on CAIC, and moderate on N facing.

In other news, about 2+ feet at Silverton over the weekend. Aspect is def a huge factor, with the N to NE having the highest amount of snow (as usual). I rode the resort because the backcountry doesn't seem quite there yet, and I like to get the legs full on early season. 99% open and got to get all the way to the billboard. Still had early season obsticles, but it was damn fun to ride. Next weekend I'll be poking around somewhere in the backcountry. We are almost there, couple more storms and were good to go.