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Before Dinner, Apres Ski...

A day of BIG refinements as Mountain Crews get a chance to
catch up with all the new snow, just in time for more new snow!

You can read about the New Snow below in this post and we'll have
an Apres Ski Reply a little later on with the story line on the refinements.

----------------- 8: 49 A.M. Orig. Post ------------------

54(*)Open Trails on 3 sides of Tremblant,
South, North and Edge.

Wwwwelllllccoooommmeee tooooo wwwwiinnnttterrrr.......

Kkkkkiiiinnnndddaaaa ccccchhhhhiiiiilllllyyyyy aaaattttt -26C

But On The Bright Side.... It's Really Sunny Out! On another "Bright Side"...
SnowMaking on Soleil!!!
In the statement Tremblant Mountain Operations made
last week about early season 20011/12, they talked about
snowmaking on Soleil requiring -18C to utilize the system
so today, we can see that the conditions are well into that
optimum temp zone to flip the switch to "On".

The solar energy will be noticeable if you find a quiet
trail side spot to remain still in for a moment. With almost
zero or very low wind, the sun will be able to blast some heat
into you through the cold while stationary, on the move, however
will be a completely different story. "Air Speed" as Pilots think of
it, will be where critical attention to exterior garment seals can
make all the difference in your enjoyment factor today.

Bundle Up! Temps may make it up to -16C or so at Base level, but
it will not be until Saturday that we see a return to warmer daytime
numbers when the forecasts are calling for a balmy -2C, which will
seem hot compared to right now.

Back to todays "Open Trail" list... Once again Tremblant
Mountain Crews have been able to exceed their own forecast's
for Trail Openings this morning from 50 in yesterdays preliminary
report for today, to 54 actual, this morning. The most likely
reason is the way in which the 14CM of fresh snow from night
before last was deposited on the Mountain.

We have spent quite a bit of time in the last 2 days talking about
"Blowing and Drifting Factors" and we feel this is where Tremblant
Fans come out ahead.

The ability of this Mountain to create, capture and hold onto Natural
Snow, particularly at the Summit, by virtue of the principles of
Orographic Precipitation is a benefit that not only enables Crews
to Open more Terrain, but shoots up surface quality literally,
over-night, in a big way.

The Swirl and resultant drifting that occurs around Tremblant's
Summit, to depths that can be far greater that the statistical
accumulation, is icing on the cake. This "cake" is is the one that
only Tremblant Skiers and Boarders get to eat, the advantage that
other lower elevation, Laurentian regional Ski areas do not have.

Icing On Your Tremblant Cake!
Screenshot Courtesy of Tremblant.ca FB Album 12.28.11
Merci Tremblant! This pic above brings up another timely point. Powder Snow, in all
it's glorious, thick abundance is not "easy"for beginners. No trouble
at all at Tremblant because Mountain Crews keep so much immaculately
groomed terrain, but for those who want to improve and expand their
skills and are excited to try new challenges, the temptation to try powder,
the "Holy Grail" of many experts, has a powerful draw. The best way to
expedite or speed up your learning curve in powder conditions is to take
a lesson. Very fitting then, that this pic. above features a Skier from the
World Renowned Tremblant Ski School.

We recommend the Tremblant Ski School because we watch them all the
time and we see the results they get. It's that simple, the outcome justifies
the means. If you want to master these conditions with the right techniques
for enjoyment, control and safety, go to the Pro's.


54(*) Open Trails on the Official, Downloadable,
PDF, Trail and Grooming status report,
Courtesy of Tremblant.ca
Please Note: Progressive, or gradual openings by
hourglass icons in first column. Looking Ahead For Planning...

Weather Forcasting: Billions of Dollars Spent....
and we're still only "Guessing"!

Despite endless computing models, and billions of
global dollars spent on weather forecasting, we're
all still guessing about the precise way the weather will
go. We think one of the best options is to look at multiple
sources and try to form some sort of composite based
on what might seem to be the majority of factors.

With that in mind, we think it's going to snow a bunch more,
and soon, but we're not sure exactly when or how much????

Besides the fact that it's Duhhhh.... Winter, we have quickly
changing projections like these one's attached below.... Evidently, a lot can seem to be changing within a few hours...

...but the consensus is that it's definitely going to snow, so
we're going to hold onto that hope and suggest that Skiing
or Boarding at Tremblant anytime in the near future is going
to be a great, primo, white winter experience!



Links:

http://www.tremblant.ca

http://www.tremblant.ca/mountain/winter ... port-e.htm

(*) Understanding Trail Counts - http://alturl.com/n54py

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

Forum Index: http://alturl.com/r4cco

Bring Back The Memories... Research Future Visits...
If you would like to look up dates you visited Tremblant, or you
want to research days/weeks/months to visit, you can sample what
they look like historically, month by month, year by year.

GoTo: Winter Reports, Index/Archive: http://tinyurl.com/yktelmu

When reviewing dates from any past, numbered, archived index pages,
you can use the "Previous Topic" or "Next Topic" buttons, located
screen far right, in upper date/message bar to scroll through sequential
dates, or use your browsers "back" button to stay on the selected index
page for non-sequential date reviews in either forward or reverse order.

There are approximately 6, 25 day Index pages per season.

( If you "Bookmark" the link above, it will always take you to the
First index page with the latest posts. That gives you an immediate,
current to 25 day past, review scroll of Winter Alpine Conditions by
consecutive date.)

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T360 Apres Ski...

Whenever we get a major load of snow, we enjoy seeing the same
process employed to handle the additional fresh in a timely,
efficient manor.

To begin with, a skilled operator of a BR350 Packer/Groomer can cover about
4 acres an hour, so with a team that will include multiple units, Tremblant
can certainly cover all the basic Greens and the designated groomed Blues
immediately following any big storm.

One of our observations is how much refinement occurs the second day/night
after.

There are a couple of interesting factors involved there, the first of which is
that the fresh yesterday surfaces, either groomed or not, have "Settled".
Gravity, Wind, and Traffic can combine to bring this settling effect on, the
net result is a compression of the snow into a tighter, more dense base.

The second is that when the entire Mountain receives as much snow as we've
just gotten, it may take a day or two afterward to catch up on all that they want
to eventually groom, runs that might not have had full attention the first night after,
or runs that are intentionally left in a natural, un-groomed state for a day or two so
experts that want the powder and prefer them that way can enjoy them before they
need grooming to smooth them out.

It May Take A Day To Turn All Of This.... FB Album Pic's, Courtesy of Tremblant.ca

Into All Of This! When the temps are this low, the settling and compression of the snow tends
to be what we refer to as a "Mechanical" bond. All the Snowflakes with their
infinitely unique shapes interlock with one another when compressed cold
to create the "Squeaky" sound that you hear when you move across it's surface
walking or when it's being traversed or turned on with Alpine Skis or Boards.

This compressed cold snow is a signature Tremblant Winter experience that
yields the most remarkable, reliable edging, lateral grip and speed. When you
lay your Skis or Board on the edge to carve turns on any of the Groomed runs
that Tremblant Crews put fresh Corduroy on, hang on, 'cause yer gonna move fast!

The control properties of this snow, settled, packed and groomed, create some
of the finest Alpine Skiing we ever get, and we have that right now.

To us, this is one of the prettiest pictures we ever imagine, a cool, crisp
sunny day, the anticipation, stepping out of the Gondola, hearing the
"Snap" of boots into bindings, and knowing you now get to do thousands
of centrifugal force defying super carve turns on the immaculate, fresh
corduroy of Tremblant. FB Album Pic., Courtesy of Tremblant.ca

If there is any way you can get to Tremblant, go.
It's worth every effort and they will not be able to remove
the grin of sheer happiness from your face after a day on
these fabulous slopes.


More to follow as time permits.


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