Today in a moment, but first...
Yesterday was a very good day. The sun was fully spectacular
and riding up the North Side with the snow makers blasting
upward was quite a sight. If it was not quite so cold, it would
have been a good photo opp., but exposed fingers to operate
a camera, experience discomfort in less than a minute at those
temps, and when you get them back in the glove, warmth takes
a long time to come back into them. It's not like it's too cold out
there, it's just too cold to be taking your hand coverings off.
Today is going to be a very good day as well. There should be
less wind, almost calm, and there is a very nice, gentle snowfall
putting a dusting on our surfaces.
Web Cam Snap Shots courtesy of http://www.tremblant.ca
For all the Park People, the Burton El Nino zone has been left out at the South Side base.
- Light Traffic on the Mountain today with a gentle snowfall.
- 1.10.10 Johannsen.Gondola. South Side.jpg (28.79 KiB) Viewed 3956 times
No real Line-ups, Natural Snow, Snow Making, Great conditions
for each of the skill levels. The North Side Rocks!
- 1.10.10 Duncan, North Side.jpg (23.35 KiB) Viewed 3956 times
Today's weather starts out at a similar temp level as yesterday, -22C
and is forecast to rise up to somewhere around -12C by shortly
after noon. The big difference is going to be the mostly overcast
sky and less wind. The "less wind" part may even make it seem
warmer as keeping body heat is a lot easier.
There is a benefit to these temps though and that is the dry, grippy,
squeaky quality of the snow that only comes in the crisp cold of
Winter. Cold snow is great to ski in and fortunately, as we reviewed
in our conditions reports earlier in the week, we have not had any
significant thaw at all this season, so the base has not been compromised.
In that regard, our Open Trail count moves up nicely to 80 open trails.
Below is a copy of the Official Printable Grooming and
Trail status report courtesy of http://www.tremblant.ca
The 3 columns following the Trail name and skill level
symbol show ticked for Open, symbol for Snow Making,
and ticked for Grooming.
- Picture 1.png (187.91 KiB) Viewed 3968 times
Our surfaces are holding up quite well considering the traffic
they are getting. Some of the beginner terrain has very sure
grip and with the cool temps and accumulative snowfalls over
the last week, has a very nice slip factor, which makes it easy
to progress in. As mentioned above, there is a very “firm"
base underneath though, so if you flip at all, there's not a
lot of cushion.
The intermediate terrain is a carving paradise for the most part.
A fresh set of edges, as is part of a ski or board tune-up, will
definitely improve your ability to hang on to the control of your
turns, both in shape and speed. If you are washing your turns
out by skidding through them, you may not have enough edge
sharpness necessary to maintain mechanical grip and/or the
turning radius of your skis might be too big for the conditions.
One opinion is that these conditions favour a good Slalom Ski
with a fairly tight turning radius, say between 11 and 13 meters.
Cranking off endless tight slalom turns is both good exercise
and excellent speed control. It helps you keep warm on a day
like today too. To ski todays conditions in a "Super G" style,
would generate a lot of speed, probably too much. To use a
ski with a 18 to 22 meter turning radius today in a pure carving
mode, might be impractical from a safety standpoint because
the surfaces are very "fast".
Moving on to sample a favorite, Banzai is skiable, but there is wear
showing in the middle. If you can do lots of small, asymmetrical
high-side turns, the right side on the lower pitch still has a couple
of meters wide slot of good snow, but you need to take your time
to be safe. This is typical of some of the "out of the way" runs where
it is not possible to have snowmaking.
It is essential that you choose terrain that is appropriate for your
skill level as there are natural hazards as described above that can
add extra challenge .
More snow would be nice, for sure, but a basic focus on technique
for beginners, intermediates and experts alike, with attention to
speed control is still lots of fun!
Summary: The whole Mountain is holding together quite well.
We should be thankful for what we have here.
Links:
http://www.tremblant.ca
http://www.tremblant.ca/mountain/winter ... port-e.htm
http://www.tremblant.ca/mountain/trailmap-e.htm
http://www.tremblant.ca/galleries/webcams/index-e.htm
http://translate.google.com/translate_t ... =fr&tl=en#
http://www.theweathernetwork.com/weather/CAQC0360
-----------------------------------------------------
LINKS:
What’s The Use? Research Benefits of this Archive: http://tinyurl.com/gp5vjps
----------------------------------------------------
.