T360 Apres Ski Prime Time Edit @ 8:30 P.M.
We must start with the fact that there was a dramatic rise
in surface conditions today.
"Good" became "Excellent" in many sectors.
More on that below....
Earlier, as part of the Original Post we wrote:
"Things may be, maybe not, gusty at Summit
so just be ready to pay attention to seals and gaps on outer
layers for optimum comfort."
That was a considerable understatement in retrospect...
Standing at the Summit today had similar feelings of the cold
of last week, but not because of last weeks absolute low temp values...
Today, it was just the wind.
- www.tremblant360.com photo. All rights reserved.
- 2.4.13.Summit.Enter.Beauchemin.f.jpg (202.24 KiB) Viewed 2510 times
Kidz of all ages like to play in the...
Sun, Snow, Wind... Combined.
...They know how much fun it is!
- www.tremblant360.com photo. All rights reserved.
- 2.4.13.Summit.Enter.Beauchemin.c.jpg (354.71 KiB) Viewed 2515 times
Depending on how well you had secured the seals and overlaps on
your exterior layers, you could easily maintain comfort.
Despite the wind, it was not all that cold, unless you had gaps
that would allow air pressure to pass through.
The temps reached -12 C, South Base Level, however, the Summit
was easily well below that. By last run temps had fallen to the point
that any mistakes in those outer layer closures became quite obvious
sources of cold into whatever internal warmth reserve you had.
Bottom line on this point... The Devil is in the Details... paying attention
to garment closure detail can make your whole day.
Back to the Conditions...
The entire North was bathed in Snow being blown over the Summit.
Practically all that snow came to rest on the North descents in a most
beneficial way. We encountered sheltered, leeward trail edges with as
much as 15 CM's or 6 inches, but on average we would estimate very
roughly 5 CM's or 2 inches would be a fair guess at the days North side
equivalent snow additions.
It did not come as a visible accumulation so much as a constant refresher
that erased tracks in places and was seamlessly blended in for the most part
as a component of surfaces that were already very fine.
- www.tremblant360.com photo. All rights reserved.
- 2.4.13.P'tit.Bonheur.Panoramic.Vista.Perfect.g.jpg (341.94 KiB) Viewed 2489 times
If you were here yesterday, you might not think such a positive change would
be possible on the North without a major snowfall.
- www.tremblant360.com photo. All rights reserved.
- 2.4.13.P'tit.Bonheur.Carve.This.c.jpg (395.67 KiB) Viewed 2504 times
The South and Soleil also had improvements, and while noticeable,
they were not as substantial, or as immediately noticeable as the
improvements on the North.
The Views everywhere, were spectacular.
- www.tremblant360.com photo. All rights reserved.
- 2.4.13.PB.Duncan.Quad.Views.Edge.d.jpg (417.62 KiB) Viewed 2504 times
Finally, we drained the batteries in the camera. Still feeling cool,
it was a good opportunity to cruise Nansen non-stop in easy Slalom
mode for warm-up exercise.
All in all, an invigorating day!
For Tomorrow... Starts out at Minus 28C, that's almost 19 below zero F,
so it's gunna be nippy 'til noon or so.
At this point tonight in St. Jovoite, we went out to plug the car in and
it's cold enough to make your nose tingle in about 3 minutes.
Mercifully, not a breath of wind.
A snappy cool, crystal clear night.... with about a Gizzillion Stars.
Preliminary Snow Report @ 73(*) Open Trails for tomorrow.
Trail List below in reply....
------------ 8:39 A.M. Orig. Post ------------------
69(*) Open Trails on the Naturally Snowing(at this point), 4 sides of Tremblant.
Our "Theme du Jour"... (from last night's Apres Ski...)
"Have all the fun you want at the Casino, but...
Don't Gamble with your Skiing or Boarding Choice..."
- www.tremblant360.com photo. All rights reserved.
- 2.3.13.Gondola.Views.Kandahar.Summit.b.jpg (410.72 KiB) Viewed 2723 times
Make it Tremblant!
In last night's Apres Ski we also wrote about the South having a slight
mechanical advantage in conditions due to the higher volume of traffic
there which was helping to render a smaller, finer particle size on trail
surfaces.
We'd like to point out another wee, small advantage the South had....
Observant readers will notice a "Frost Line" through this above photograph.
Above the frost line, tree boughs are coated with with frost indicating
sustained, pure sub-zero, net energy balance. Below the frost line,
it was still sub-zero, but the solar energy below the line was sufficient
to eventually dissipate i. e., melt off, the frost in the trees, so they appear
green/brown.
That very small tipping point which altered the frost at that line, also
contributed to an ever-so-slight enhancement to surfaces, giving the
Lower South a slight advantage.
There were still a few icy bits though, so speed control was, and will be
critically important to safety during initial explorations today.
Below:
Here is a "Big Picture" view of Tremblant from across Lac Tremblant
and if you look closely at the TGV Quad Lift Base, which is almost in
the middle of this frame, you can see that the frost line was running
across the Mountain at right around that point.
- www.tremblant360.com photo. All rights reserved.
- 2.3.13.Lac.Tremblant.Views.b.jpg (254.36 KiB) Viewed 2719 times
The overwhelming summary point for Tremblant conditions yesterday,
and likely today, as well, is... FAST !!!
Oh Yeah... with the very solid base that does include some icy bits, gravity
takes over very quickly on almost any descent, so care is required
with regard to Speed and Safe Braking capability.
"Go" .... very easy....
"Whoa" .... not always so easy....
Of course, the best way to control all aspects of todays conditions is
by having..... you guessed it......
- www.tremblant360.com photo. All rights reserved.
- 2.3.13.Le.Ski.Shop.Tune.Up.To.Performance.j.jpg (217.86 KiB) Viewed 2709 times
Sharp, Well Tuned Edges!!!
Ski/Board performance degrades gradually with each days use.
In stable loose snow base, you could go maybe 15 days or so, but
when you've got a solid or an icy component in the base, 10 days
of use, followed by a tune-up will yield a safe, much easier controllable,
Alpine Experience. Period.
You may think we hammer on this point and we do, because on may days
it makes the difference not only on safety, but the "Fun" and "Wow"
factors that go through the roof...
Would You Drive Your Ferrari With Flat Tires???
Almost same thing, if ya got dull edges.
Go see the Crew at Le Ski Shop in the Chalet des Voyageurs,
Resort South, Base Parking level, just to the right
of the Cabriolet Base Loading Zone as you look up to the Mountain.
These folks actually tune Gold Medal Winning Skis n' Boards,
like for Jacey-Jay Anderson, so they can do wonders for you.
Their prices are actually lower than many "Home Town" shops
and they have a WinterSteiger Discovery Multi-axis machine that is
arguably the best Ski tuning machine in the world.
Back to Conditions....
Yesterday we wrote about "Canaries in the Coal Mine" ... if you
didn't see it, you'll have to use the "Pervious Topic" button upper
Screen right, to scroll back to it, but here is a picture of the
Mid-Point entry to Banzai, one of our favourite places on Planet
Earth.... Groomed no-less, and in very fine shape.
- www.tremblant360.com photo. All rights reserved.
- 2.3.13.Banzai.Mid.Point.Entry.b.jpg (354.72 KiB) Viewed 2707 times
Like all other sectors and trails at this stage, there was an icy
bit at the top of the pitch, just below the far point of tho pic above,
but it was quite easy to navigate around/through, and very well
finished surfaces below that point to the bottom.
Quite typical of much of the Mountain yesterday.
Today will see some improvements and a bit more snow.
Overnight grooming will enhance all of that, so we expect a fine day ahead.
We had a slight knee injury yesterday, continuous torquing with
high grip, Short radius turns... so we'll have to see how that pans out,
but we're headed off to find out now....
Todays Weather Notes: Forecasted daytime high at -12 C under
partially sunny sky's... but...
it's already at that mid-morning, so it may go above, and it's
lightly snowing on/off at this point, so that's different in a good way too.
Winds... Moderate from the West, so coming up McCulloch and crossing
over the Summit towards Lowell Thomas/Beauchemin sectors.
Things may be, maybe not, gusty at Summit so just be ready to
pay attention to seals and gaps on outer layers for optimum comfort.
69(*) Open Trails on the Official Downloadable, PDF,
Trail and Grooming Status Report, Courtesy of Tremblant.ca
- Screenshot of the Official Downloadable, PDF,
Trail and Grooming Status Report, Courtesy of Tremblant.ca - Screen Shot 2013-02-04 at 10.25.48 AM.jpg (222.55 KiB) Viewed 2706 times
Better than any Gym on the Planet...
Tremblant days offer fun, fitness and more fresh air than
city folk get in a week!
Links and not-so-fine print:
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: Archive, Search Reports by Date: Index: http://tinyurl.com/yktelmu
When reviewing dates from any of the past, numbered, archived 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 theFirst 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.)
.