What a remarkable run of ideal spring conditions!
We open up todays report with an Official Trail Count
of 82 at just after 7A.M., but by the time of this posting,
that number has already jumped by 3 to 85 and under
brilliantly sunny skies... Again!
And the news just keeps on getting better!
The Weather Network has changed its long term forecast
and is now predicting a much less likely occurrence of
significant rain.
This is fantastic news for our surface conditions!
With our very high quality, densely compacted, all snow
base, avoiding rain will be the best possible scenario to
extend the spring ski season, so we could not be happier
to see this fundamental change in the forecast!
If you're planning to visit Tremblant soon, this is the
best news you could hope for, other than a blizzard,
of course, but in the absence of said blizzard, preservation
is the name of the game and we have a lot of factors
in our favour for that.
Firstly, the overnight lows are dipping quite nicely into the
sub-zero minus 5 to 10C range, every night, and this is
helping to keep the snow surfaces we have chilled to the
point that it takes quite a bit of the day to warm them up,
thereby minimizing daily loss to thaw.
Secondly, these minus overnight lows are also helping to
reduce the amount of frost coming out of the Mountain.
That is a huge preservation factor, because this ambient
source of stored "cold" is working from the "inside out"
to keep our surfaces chilled against the thermal forces of
sun, wind and any rain that might fall.
Thirdly, Tremblant's summit, at 2116 vertical ft over the
base is managing to stay below zero consistently, sometimes,
around the clock, so conditions up there are holding out quite well.
Associated with the above point is what the laws of physics
would call "Convection", ie: "hot air rises", but more importantly
for us "cold air sinks", so with the Mountain peak sticking up
into a cold air mass, our surfaces get a bit of a cold air bath
as this upper layer of cold air descends over the slopes.
Forthly, Tremblant's North side gets its sun primarily in the
morning, prior to any significant heat buildup, so it is not nearly
as damaging there as it is on the South and Soleil surfaces that
bake in the long afternoon rays, so the North always has an
advantage there. This is particularly noticeable later in the day
when the South can get "slow" and "thick" because of increased
moisture, and the North can actually become "faster" and "firmer"
because it is already shaded.
As stated yesterday...The Snow surfaces are a combination
of quite soft spring "mashed potatoes", particularly on the lower
portions of the Mountain on the South and Soliel
sides, to a firmer more winter/corn snow mix on the
North side.
There will be excellent Spring Ski and Board conditions
for all skill levels, pick your terrain carefully and use caution
for your initial exploration to verify safe passage in these
variable spring transitional surfaces.
Illustration Example of Afternoon South Side Surfaces.
This shot was taken last week but we're using it as an illustration
of what's going on with the sun and the South exposures on the
Mountain. In the foreground detail, you can see a few brown spots
which are areas where the snow has thawed and the ground below
is showing through. As the seasonal temperature balance shifts
to plus values from minus values, this will become more prevalent
until seasons close.
- www.tremblant360.com photo. All rights reserved.
- 3.2.10.L'Algonquin.jpg (152.38 KiB) Viewed 3472 times
Here's another shot, taken last Friday that we are using to
illustrate the above point that the North side gets shade
while the South bakes. The important aspect of this shot is
the time factor which is at Last Run around 4:00P.M. and
as you can see this wonderful North Side run, P'tit Bonheur,
has already been in the shade for a while.
- www.tremblant360.com photo. All rights reserved.
- 3.5.10.P'tit Bonheur.LastRun.Shadows.jpg (178.71 KiB) Viewed 3471 times
conditions today are still very similar to these illustration
pics from a few days ago.
Here is today's Official, Printable Grooming and Trail status
report, courtesy of http://www.tremblant.ca
If you are a first time viewer, this excellent document is
part of the comprehensive info that can be found daily
on Tremblant's Official site as noted above. If you're a
frequent flier here, then check out all your fav's to see if
they're open.
- See Legend Below For Tick Column Symbols.
- Picture 14.png (159.06 KiB) Viewed 3473 times
balance on the cool side, so our surface conditions
continue to hold on to very high levels of quality.
It's up to you to get out and enjoy them!
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
.