Who is interested in a West Coast Meet? - Page 4 - Snowboarding Forum

poutanen · 10-04-2012, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShredLife

and typically unless you're a weekend warrior who can't pick there days noone really rides in the rain but it does solidify the snowpack as it always returns to a below freezing cycle after the front part of an unstable storm pushes in (the warm & wet)

Had a rain day at Fernie last year. It snowed 4 feet on the thursday, rained on saturday so we slogged through it, then had a great day on sunday...

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShredLife

what you experienced is a function of temperature gradient thru elevation. higher = colder.

Thanks professor!!! lol

Yeah my thoughts were heavy snow would create more of a load on the slope and increase the avalanche/mudslide risk? Anyway, that's a whole other topic for a whole other day. I know avalanches have more to do with distinct layers in the snow, created by hoarfrost and other factors.

**killclimbz** · 10-04-2012, 01:21 PM

There is a reason that the steepest slopes you can ride in the world are in Alaska. Heavy wet snow sticks to ridiculously steep slopes.

jdang307 · 10-04-2012, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poutanen

How does heavier allow for steeper pitches? I'd think it'd be the other way around?!? I was on a 100% slope (45 deg) last spring in the back bowls of Lake Louise. My GF was complaining about the slush at the bottom of the resort, I went up to the peak and hit some of the best runs of my life!

I've got a buddy in Vancouver so one day I'll have to catch a seat sale and hit up some of the hills there. Maybe after I've had a taste for it I'll want to tour my way down into Oregon and the other states...

Thanks!

It's wetter, it's stickier and sometimes it just plain freezes.

EDIT: Oh killz killed it above, with all the technical things you need to know.

ShredLife · 10-04-2012, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poutanen

Yeah my thoughts were heavy snow would create more of a load on the slope and increase the avalanche/mudslide risk?

if it falls ontop of a weak layer, then yes it is loading. if the temperature gradient within the snowpack is consistent thruout then it is just adding to shredable snow and giving us the deep snowpack we get every year.

**killclimbz** · 10-04-2012, 01:28 PM

Oh fuck you and your fucking near isothermic snow.

Yeah, I am jealous...

ShredLife · 10-04-2012, 01:33 PM

oh come on, there's definitely some stuff (cold temps for one) out there in the western-mid-west i am jealous of from time to time

jdang307 · 10-04-2012, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShredLife

and typically unless you're a weekend warrior who can't pick their days noone really rides in the rain but it does solidify the snowpack as it always returns to a below freezing cycle after the front part of an unstable storm pushes in (the warm & wet)

temp wise:
30-32 degree "powder" (chowder?) does kinda suck and an be very draining physically cuz it really wants to throw you over the handlebars if you try and relax - but it is pretty rare, maybe 3-4 times a season.

25-28 degrees is alot more common out here and really its fucking great especially at the lower end of that scale. it does get tracked out tho (at resorts), and that too can be tough for people not used to it - especially if you aren't riding a stiff board that can knock that shit down.

if its below 20 and there is fresh the PNW is as good as it gets. except there's always the flats

almost everything we ride out here is a volcano so there are always some flat areas, either to keep your speed on at the resort, or to have to slog thru on the hike in in the BC.

Since you guys know a lot about snow, can you guys riddle me this. I went to Tahoe in late March. It snowed pretty good a few days before we got there, but when we got there it was warm. California spring warm. It was slushy. It was icy. It was ok but really wasn't that great. This was at Squaw. I heard Alpine Meadows was more sheltered so it's snow quality usually a little better, so we went there the 2nd day.

On the third day it was cold. Borderline too cold (but bearable). Amazingly, the snow quality improved. I figured once something turns to ice/slush, it's done. It won't be anything better than ice, ever. But the whole mountain basically turned into a borderline packed pow. It wasn't soft by any means, but it felt like a dry powder. It was quiet (you know how loud ice gets). It was smooth. It was nice.

And I've been wondering this whole time, how the fuck did that happen with no new snow?

**killclimbz** · 10-04-2012, 01:37 PM

Sounds like you had some recrystallization. Surface hoar. Kind of sounds like riding through champagne glasses? The hoar crystals can get fairly large in the coastal ranges and it is fun to ride through.

ShredLife · 10-04-2012, 01:40 PM

if this happened without any new snowfall during the warming/cooling i'd say 90%(+?) of the time you're gonna be on ice chunks. especially if the snow has already been ridden since the new snow...

here it will/can happen on the day of the warming event - sometimes within 20 minutes of the sun going down or getting shaded...

in the springtime the freeze/thaw cycle turns the ice into granules - little round balls like styrofoam or corn. most people call it corn snow and although it is technically little iceballs it is smooth and unsolidified so you can actually carve turns thru it kinda like pow...

IdahoFreshies · 10-04-2012, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Qball

I feel like if we were to do this its should be done at Hood in the summer. Everyone out west already has good terrain to ride so they don't really see a need to travel a whole lot. I know not everyone rides park but there is plenty to hike around here in the summer too.

That is a great idea! I would be so down for a summer hood meet.

I'm also planning on taking a trip up to Schweitzer and maybe hood this winter during break. So maybe we can have an idaho/Oregon meet there?

Quote:

Originally Posted by killclimbz

*If* you are going to do a meet in the West, it needs to be at a place with decent access. Salt Lake City area being the best all around imo. Flights are reasonable and it's less than an hour to most spots. About an hour to the Snowbasin/Powder Mountain area. Lodging options are a lot more reasonable too.

Other spots with good access. Colorado/Denver areas, Tahoe (Reno/Sacramento for airports), Seattle and Portland spots. You'd probably have to work a little harder on lodging and logistics in the PNW. Lift tickets are some of the most reasonable in the US though. Bozeman MT would be another place to consider. Not sure if Idaho has good airport access to their good spots or not.

First off, I'm calling co and ut west, and no they are of course not west coast, but right now I'm thinking in broad terms of a western meet. As far as idaho goes, the good resorts are 2 to 3 hours from the Boise airport, and hotels, while there are hotels around the good hills, can be expensive and full depending on time of year. In my opinion, if we are doing a west meet, nothing, beats the ease, convenience , and quality of having it in slc.

View Poll Results: Are you interested in having a Meet for the West Coast?
Yes	21	58.33%
No	5	13.89%
Maybe, with different options	10	27.78%
Voters: 36. You may not vote on this poll

10-04-2012, 01:33 PM	#36 (permalink)
ShredLife The Rooster King Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Oregon Posts: 2,344	oh come on, there's definitely some stuff (cold temps for one) out there in the western-mid-west i am jealous of from time to time __________________ get the hell off my lawn.

10-04-2012, 01:40 PM	#39 (permalink)
ShredLife The Rooster King Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Oregon Posts: 2,344	if this happened without any new snowfall during the warming/cooling i'd say 90%(+?) of the time you're gonna be on ice chunks. especially if the snow has already been ridden since the new snow... here it will/can happen on the day of the warming event - sometimes within 20 minutes of the sun going down or getting shaded... in the springtime the freeze/thaw cycle turns the ice into granules - little round balls like styrofoam or corn. most people call it corn snow and although it is technically little iceballs it is smooth and unsolidified so you can actually carve turns thru it kinda like pow... __________________ get the hell off my lawn.

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10-04-2012, 01:21 PM	#32 (permalink)
killclimbz Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Front Range Posts: 9,176	There is a reason that the steepest slopes you can ride in the world are in Alaska. Heavy wet snow sticks to ridiculously steep slopes.

10-04-2012, 01:28 PM	#35 (permalink)
killclimbz Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Front Range Posts: 9,176	Oh fuck you and your fucking near isothermic snow. Yeah, I am jealous...

10-04-2012, 01:37 PM	#38 (permalink)
killclimbz Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Front Range Posts: 9,176	Sounds like you had some recrystallization. Surface hoar. Kind of sounds like riding through champagne glasses? The hoar crystals can get fairly large in the coastal ranges and it is fun to ride through.