It's 3PM...I've been in bed for half an hour...I'm not sleepy...I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve! My alarm is set for 9:30PM...it's my first worknight of the 2011-2012 Season! I'm sipping on a stiff eggnog, listening to some talk radio. Hopefully naptime catches up with me soon.
I just got off the phone with my Boss...things sound pretty good on My Mountain, and he says my favorite BR350 is running like a Ferarri. Furthermore, when I asked he said: "Every snowcat on the hill is in fine fettle...even the 2-Ways are all installed and transmitting".
So, this turn of events is thanks to a favorable week of snowmaking conditions, and yeoman's work from our snowmakers. It's gonna be nice seeing first hand how things look...I'm beyond bored with telepresence!
Oh, webcams, PWSs, and Remote Sensors are modern miracles of the Information Age, but when you boil it down to basics, they're just an electronic fishbowl view, akin to the Chamber of Commerce-style weather forecasts that make the forecasters and their TV weatherman customers happy at the expense of the resorts, their customers, their hard working crews, and the bean counters. There's an awful lot of beans to count when you're blowing snow around the clock and Mother Nature's not chippin' in!
Looking at the AFDs and forecasts, I don't see any change to the entrenched blocking pattern in the Eastern Pacific for another week, maybe two, maybe I don't want to think about it at all for a while...
Tonight I'm just looking forward to strapping on my groomer, looking at the Work Orders, and reacquainting myself with Grooming 101, and our snowmakers' finest!
Showing posts with label PWS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PWS. Show all posts
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Sunday, December 4, 2011
The Grind
As I was grinding the French Roast this morning, I noticed the trees outside the DaveCave's kitchen window were still for the first time in what, Four days? The weatherdude on this morning's Trainwreck News said the wind would return Sunday night.
Damage-wise the Tahoe Sierra got off easy. The blustery winds became hurricane-strength Santa Ana Winds in SoCal and really tore things up. Even the Big Valley suffered worse than the mountains. Sacramento TV News was full of fallen trees on cars and houses.
So where does all this wind come from? Well, there's a huge Blocking Ridge parked on the Pacific Coast. This ridge of high pressure causes all the storm systems spinning out of the Gulf of Alaska to travel up and over the ridge before diving down in to the Rockies. The wind is from the system's western edges, the dry side of the low.
The winds rekindled some hot spots from the Caughlin Ranch Fire that burned into Reno on November 18th. Reno Fire Dept doused the little hot spots in no time. Originally, it was another blast of high winds that caused the Caughlin Ranch Fire in the first place.
As the coffee began to course through my veins...doing it's magic, my curiosity began to reach cat-level, so I clicked around the local webcams, weather stations, and PWS pages. In total, since the winds brought the snowmaking-friendly tempeartures the crews were able to make snow fourty hours straight, and overnight for a couple of days. Temps raised above freezing about the time I started dripping this morning's pot of French Roast.
So snowmaking looks to be a long grind this week...it's that watched pot thing, I'm afraid. Snowmakers are earning it while groomers are payin' their dues. The blocking ridge isn't going anywhere for the next week, and the forecasters don't look more than a week ahead anyway.
Tic...Tic...Tic...Tic...Tic...
Damage-wise the Tahoe Sierra got off easy. The blustery winds became hurricane-strength Santa Ana Winds in SoCal and really tore things up. Even the Big Valley suffered worse than the mountains. Sacramento TV News was full of fallen trees on cars and houses.
So where does all this wind come from? Well, there's a huge Blocking Ridge parked on the Pacific Coast. This ridge of high pressure causes all the storm systems spinning out of the Gulf of Alaska to travel up and over the ridge before diving down in to the Rockies. The wind is from the system's western edges, the dry side of the low.
The winds rekindled some hot spots from the Caughlin Ranch Fire that burned into Reno on November 18th. Reno Fire Dept doused the little hot spots in no time. Originally, it was another blast of high winds that caused the Caughlin Ranch Fire in the first place.
As the coffee began to course through my veins...doing it's magic, my curiosity began to reach cat-level, so I clicked around the local webcams, weather stations, and PWS pages. In total, since the winds brought the snowmaking-friendly tempeartures the crews were able to make snow fourty hours straight, and overnight for a couple of days. Temps raised above freezing about the time I started dripping this morning's pot of French Roast.
So snowmaking looks to be a long grind this week...it's that watched pot thing, I'm afraid. Snowmakers are earning it while groomers are payin' their dues. The blocking ridge isn't going anywhere for the next week, and the forecasters don't look more than a week ahead anyway.
Tic...Tic...Tic...Tic...Tic...
Friday, December 2, 2011
Citizens Of The World!
We're all La Niña's Children now!
I noticed that the World Cup Ski Races in Val d'Isère scheduled for December 10-11, have been cancelled due to a lack of snow, and rescheduled for Tuesday-Thursday December 6-8 at Colorado's Beaver Creek.
@Liftopia linked a story about Swiss Ski Season's Start Stalled By Snow Shortage.
Here atop the High Sierra, we're woefully short on natural snow so far this season as well. Weather so far has not favored snowmaking, either. It's been the better part of two weeks now since the fans and guns ran around the clock. Wednesday I saw a couple of fans making snow at Boreal, but a look at Boreal's Webcam at 4PM showed they'd already shut down. My 2PM-ish view showed some wind...the snow looked like it was heading into the trees between trails. The nearby PWS showed peak wind gusts were into the 40mph-50mph range, on top of 18mph-20mph steady winds at the time. High Wind Warnings are up all night.
It's funny...after reading the AFDs from Reno for snowmaking, and Monterey/SFO for Tomales Bay Crab Fishing forecasts, I remembered my "new tool" for North American Precipitation Prediction, Europe-Asia Snow Cover. I wrote about it earlier in June. I took a look and a picture is worth a thousand words...
Today's picture shows Europe almost devoid of Snow Cover.
Last year looks a lot fatter...as was our early season snowpack.
Here they are side by side...
There's many more data points to look at but geez, NOAA doesn't make it easy to correlate all the different ocean oscillations that matter.
Big winds with cold temps finally visited the Tahoe Sierra Thursday, and snowmaking crews went to work. NOAA's Remote Data was impressive...big winds and diving temps. Ski season will begin in earnest sometime...sooner than later is my wish.
I noticed that the World Cup Ski Races in Val d'Isère scheduled for December 10-11, have been cancelled due to a lack of snow, and rescheduled for Tuesday-Thursday December 6-8 at Colorado's Beaver Creek.
@Liftopia linked a story about Swiss Ski Season's Start Stalled By Snow Shortage.
Here atop the High Sierra, we're woefully short on natural snow so far this season as well. Weather so far has not favored snowmaking, either. It's been the better part of two weeks now since the fans and guns ran around the clock. Wednesday I saw a couple of fans making snow at Boreal, but a look at Boreal's Webcam at 4PM showed they'd already shut down. My 2PM-ish view showed some wind...the snow looked like it was heading into the trees between trails. The nearby PWS showed peak wind gusts were into the 40mph-50mph range, on top of 18mph-20mph steady winds at the time. High Wind Warnings are up all night.
It's funny...after reading the AFDs from Reno for snowmaking, and Monterey/SFO for Tomales Bay Crab Fishing forecasts, I remembered my "new tool" for North American Precipitation Prediction, Europe-Asia Snow Cover. I wrote about it earlier in June. I took a look and a picture is worth a thousand words...
Today's picture shows Europe almost devoid of Snow Cover.
Here they are side by side...
Big winds with cold temps finally visited the Tahoe Sierra Thursday, and snowmaking crews went to work. NOAA's Remote Data was impressive...big winds and diving temps. Ski season will begin in earnest sometime...sooner than later is my wish.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Autumn's First Chill
A cold front came through Truckee this morning. It's not an Arctic Express or anything, but once the cloud deck exits and the Northeast Winds begin it will cool right down. I just watched the 5 O'Clock News from Sacramento, and Channel 13's Weatherman Dave Bender said the Truckee Airport would get down to 25°F overnight...that means mid-40s at the DaveCave.
Not one minute later, @borealmtn tweeted:"Keep an eye on the Boreal web cam. Should see the fan guns fire up around 10pm or so." I looked at Boreal's Webcam...a "baseline view" if you will...
Boreal has six nights to get enough snow made to open on Halloween as is their tradition, but I have to believe thay'd really like to open Friday to maximize their ticket sales and coast-to-coast news coverage as the first California Ski Resort to open. (there's a couple of Colorado Ski Resorts already open with a trail or two on mandmade snow) Boreal has three nights to get it together for a Friday morning opening.
Here's another Tweeter...this one is a Skiing/Snowboarding Social Networking Conference held in Tahoe that I just started following last night, @snowcial get it? Snow+Social=Snowcial. They tweeted Heavenly's intention to begin snowmaking tomorrow. It seems thay want to sell me a ticket to their Convention worse than they want to network, or get social with C/P...I'll tweet 'em the addresses to all of C/P's web outposts.
I looked at the Reno AFD. Some widely scattered instability showers here and there tonight, but the pattern is dry for the next week anyway. I'm relieved that My Mountain won't begin snowmaking operations before November 15th.
9:45PM Update
Boreal got the fans and guns going tonight. Judging from the PWSs in the neighborhood, conditions are marginal, but thanks to the windtunnel effect of Donner Pass, the wet, warm air is just passing through.
This will be fun to watch!
Not one minute later, @borealmtn tweeted:"Keep an eye on the Boreal web cam. Should see the fan guns fire up around 10pm or so." I looked at Boreal's Webcam...a "baseline view" if you will...
 |
| Boreal has a phalanx of Fan Guns ready to blow snow tonight. |
Here's another Tweeter...this one is a Skiing/Snowboarding Social Networking Conference held in Tahoe that I just started following last night, @snowcial get it? Snow+Social=Snowcial. They tweeted Heavenly's intention to begin snowmaking tomorrow. It seems thay want to sell me a ticket to their Convention worse than they want to network, or get social with C/P...I'll tweet 'em the addresses to all of C/P's web outposts.
I looked at the Reno AFD. Some widely scattered instability showers here and there tonight, but the pattern is dry for the next week anyway. I'm relieved that My Mountain won't begin snowmaking operations before November 15th.
9:45PM Update
Boreal got the fans and guns going tonight. Judging from the PWSs in the neighborhood, conditions are marginal, but thanks to the windtunnel effect of Donner Pass, the wet, warm air is just passing through.
 |
| Boreal at 9:45PM Webcam looks South, so right is West.Looks like a robust NE wind! |
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Chores 'n More
Not much has me excited today. It's Monday that has my attention. Today is mostly chores aside from a foray to the Farmer's Market.
Top of the To-Do List is to R&R an extra fuel tank for SturgeUrge's boat. I've assembled all the parts, today I strip all the sun-baked fuel hose stuff off the tank and install all the new stuff.
Monday we're going sturgeon fishing on San Pablo Bay. The sturgeon have been "stacked up like cordwood" say reports. There was even a front page story in the Local Fishwrap last week, titled "Enormous Sturgeon Crowding Into San Pablo Bay"
Searching for that story I looked at Wednesday's Fishing Report:
SAN PABLO BAY: Sturgeon fishing hasn't slowed. One angler caught and released nine sturgeon Wednesday at the Shellbank. Go anywhere north of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge and stay away from the other boats. A few stripers are around. Halibut aren't around during the minus tides.
Along with the fuel tank project, I have to gather some intel about a new (to us) boat ramp. June is the month of big and minus tides. We need to know if our desired new ramp is usable during very low tides. Last year about this time we spent all morning doing a boat ramp tour instead of fishing, and given these ridiculously high gas prices we don't want to drive from one side of the Bay to the other and back only to view a string of mud-bound boat ramps.
Even with a boat in tow, a big SUV gets ten times better gas mileage that boats do...we don't want to keep those "Enormous Sturgeon" waiting! Sturgeon are the only "Big Game" fish within range of the FV SturgeUrge, and we want to catch and release a few of those big ones!
Top of the To-Do List is to R&R an extra fuel tank for SturgeUrge's boat. I've assembled all the parts, today I strip all the sun-baked fuel hose stuff off the tank and install all the new stuff.
Monday we're going sturgeon fishing on San Pablo Bay. The sturgeon have been "stacked up like cordwood" say reports. There was even a front page story in the Local Fishwrap last week, titled "Enormous Sturgeon Crowding Into San Pablo Bay"
Searching for that story I looked at Wednesday's Fishing Report:
SAN PABLO BAY: Sturgeon fishing hasn't slowed. One angler caught and released nine sturgeon Wednesday at the Shellbank. Go anywhere north of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge and stay away from the other boats. A few stripers are around. Halibut aren't around during the minus tides.
 |
| This guy gets into his fishing! Photo courtesy of Contra Costa Times |
Along with the fuel tank project, I have to gather some intel about a new (to us) boat ramp. June is the month of big and minus tides. We need to know if our desired new ramp is usable during very low tides. Last year about this time we spent all morning doing a boat ramp tour instead of fishing, and given these ridiculously high gas prices we don't want to drive from one side of the Bay to the other and back only to view a string of mud-bound boat ramps.
Even with a boat in tow, a big SUV gets ten times better gas mileage that boats do...we don't want to keep those "Enormous Sturgeon" waiting! Sturgeon are the only "Big Game" fish within range of the FV SturgeUrge, and we want to catch and release a few of those big ones!
Friday, December 17, 2010
Getting Dialed
 |
| Good coyote! Watching Boreal's groomers |
So between sleep shifts I check the web for weather intel...I read the AFD's, scan the PWS's, watch the weatherman's standup on the TV News...Winter Storm Warnings have been issued for Noon Friday through 4PM Sunday! Today I even received an email newsletter on the forecast deluge. This one gave me pause. It's from The Storm King, Mark McLaughlin our local Tahoe Weather Historian.
Here's the takeaway that might keep me awake:
"Weather watchers like me have been somewhat expecting a potential flood
event this winter, especially in December. The influence of the strong La
Nina event in the Pacific Ocean trends toward a weather pattern that can tap
a moist subtropical flow known in the West as the “Pineapple Express.”
Virtually all of California’s most destructive floods have occurred during
La Nina-influenced winters, so this approaching potent system should come as
no surprise. Another one is expected next week."
"This winter is off to a strong start; precipitation in October was 253
percent above normal and November dumped all that snow. The saturated soils will be unable to absorb much of the expected rain which increases the flood potential. Interestingly, this winter’s precipitation plot line is closely following the trajectory of 1982-1983, the wettest year on record. During the winter of 1983, nearly 90 inches of precipitation inundated the region,
including 56 feet of snow measured at Donner Pass."
So, maybe we'll be making history this season...O, how well I remember 82-83!
Weather Geeks and History Freaks couldn't do better than subscribing to Mark's Newsletter: Tahoe Nuggets. Mark's always a fascinating read, especially for those of us lucky enough to live in the Tahoe Sierra, with all this history under foot...and at times...falling from the sky.
More good times!
Saturday, November 13, 2010
OK, Who Forgot to Knock on Wood?
The fans are deployed, power and water lines in place, and the crews are hired and ready.
Cue Mother Nature!
Alas, there's been nothing but the sound of crickets these past two nights.
Way back on Tuesday morning, the Sun shone brightly on a fresh blanket of snow across the Basin's Ski Resorts. Temperatures in the wake of the cold front favored around-the-clock snowmaking, setting hearts in Resort Marketing Departments aflutter.
By Tuesday afternoon, those fluttering hearts became a Reno Newspaper Story announced by a Tweet.
Snowmaking ran overnight Wednesday, then the mercury climbed out of range and the waiting began.
Fast Forward to Friday night/Saturday morning, and temps for snowmaking are still MIA.
My lightning tour of the webcams and PWS's showed the story...close, but no cigar...oh, and toss in some freshening Easterly Winds and it's not a pretty picture.
Reno's AFD spent some time discussing the winds before promising cloud cover and inversions for later in the week. I guess the fluttering has been replaced by the Maalox Moment.
Thanksgiving is twelve days out...Bay Area WeatherCasters are saying the next chance of rain will be next weekend.
At the Ancestral Digs, I've been enjoying my Dungeness Crab Diet while planning the Ancestral Digs Thanksgiving.
After the last of the pumpkin pie and turkey sandwiches are gone...I'll start waiting and anticipating with all the other groomers.
Cue Mother Nature!
Alas, there's been nothing but the sound of crickets these past two nights.
Way back on Tuesday morning, the Sun shone brightly on a fresh blanket of snow across the Basin's Ski Resorts. Temperatures in the wake of the cold front favored around-the-clock snowmaking, setting hearts in Resort Marketing Departments aflutter.
By Tuesday afternoon, those fluttering hearts became a Reno Newspaper Story announced by a Tweet.
Snowmaking ran overnight Wednesday, then the mercury climbed out of range and the waiting began.
Fast Forward to Friday night/Saturday morning, and temps for snowmaking are still MIA.
My lightning tour of the webcams and PWS's showed the story...close, but no cigar...oh, and toss in some freshening Easterly Winds and it's not a pretty picture.
Reno's AFD spent some time discussing the winds before promising cloud cover and inversions for later in the week. I guess the fluttering has been replaced by the Maalox Moment.
Thanksgiving is twelve days out...Bay Area WeatherCasters are saying the next chance of rain will be next weekend.
At the Ancestral Digs, I've been enjoying my Dungeness Crab Diet while planning the Ancestral Digs Thanksgiving.
After the last of the pumpkin pie and turkey sandwiches are gone...I'll start waiting and anticipating with all the other groomers.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Tomales Bay Crab Fest
What a great trip to Tomales Bay!
Like "real" fishermen, SturgeUrge and I awoke well before dawn, made a thermos of French Roast, and set out in search of the Bounty of the Sea. Set out in this case means an hour and forty-five minutes on California freeways and highways with the F/V SturgeUgre in tow.
We arrived at the Miller Park Boat Ramp on Tomales Bay about 7:45AM, and were motoring onto Tomales Bay right at 8AM. The morning was glorious...sunny, with the barest hint of a breeze from the NNW, the hills have all turned green with newly sprouted grass from the Fall rains.
We crossed the Bay just to the South of Hog Island, and set our first pot by 8:15AM. We set our second pot 10 minutes later and set about trying to catch some bait to hunt halibut with.
After a half an hour fighting huge patches of eel grass, and not getting so much as a nibble from the baitfish, we returned to the first pot for a look-see...
SturgeUrge slid the boat along side the pot's buoy, and I grabbed the buoy line with the gaff. Handing off the gaff, I started pulling the line and directing Urge on where to steer... neutral or in gear...I've got the line in the pulley...the pot's right under us...I've got the pot hanging...here's the pot bridal...Lots of crab!
The first pot had a dozen crab in it, after about a 45 minute soak. Six Dungeness Crabs and six Red Rock Crabs. Three of the dungees went back overboard to grow bigger, and the small reds went back too. Every crab Wednesday was a male...sport crabbers in California waters may retain crab of both sexes, but most sport crabbers release the females...they are the future of the resource after all!
We enjoyed a pretty relaxing morning. We drifted the edges of the eel grass patches between pulls, trying to jig up some live halibut bait, but the drift wasn't right.
We got into a routine of pulling and resetting every half an hour. When we pulled a pot of mostly reds, or not as full of crab as we'd like, we'd leapfrog our other pot and move closer to the ocean. Most of the day we were 3-4 miles from the Pacific Ocean proper. Tomales Bay empties into Outer Bodega Bay, and that opens to the Pacific.
Every time we pulled, we took a minute to estimate and record the time, wind speed and direction. I recorded the data so I could compare our observations to the two nearby PWS's I'd found online.
We gave up on the live bait quest, and drifted for halibut with frozen anchovies...without a bite. The wind began to freshen after 10AM, and really started to blow around noon.
We weren't the only folks out crabbing Wednesday. The Bay was covered with crab pot buoys. Four or five boats were pulling and setting in the same general area. Our pots continued to come up with keeper crabs every pull, but the first pulls of the day were the most bountiful.
Finally we moved both pots well towards Bodega Bay, and made lunch. The winds were now up to 10-15 MPH, making pulling the pots and tending the pot lines a little more interesting than we'd like. The F/V SturgeUrge has tall sides...a lot of windage, and it weather-vanes easily...we ended up pirouetting around the pot line once or twice. We moved the pots into the slight protection of some coves, and still boated crabs.
We decided to leapfrog all the way back South of Hog Island for the last set of the day. We were recording winds now 15-20MPH. I said: "Time to break out the "Victory At Sea" music".
We were glad we were doing our last sets...I had the "Popeye Arms" thing going...my hands were starting to lock in the claw position...and a crab got a good pinch in on us both...we were getting tired and a little careless (when handling the crab anyway)
During the last set, we counted and culled the crabs in the livewell...they were quite frisky...a big Red Crab grabbed Urge's hand in that fleshy spot between his thumb and forfinger, and he almost tore the crab in half ripping it loose. (his crush wound wouldn't start bleeding for more than two minutes) Then a commercial size dungee grabbed my thumb, and I instantly winged him off. He had me at the base of the thumbnail, and I got a small cut on the thumbprint side. This morning, I can see a black blood blister under the nail.
I finished the count and cull. We retained 14 Dungees and six of the biggest Reds. We retrieved the boat without drama, made it ship-shape for towing, and were on the road by 2:45PM Even at the ramp, the wind was merciless...and we were tired of it pushing us around. It was great to get our boots off, our street shoes on, and into the Tow Rig's comfortable cocoon.
Back at the SturgeUrge Compound, SturgeUgre steamed the crabs, and I ran downtown for some fresh salad greens, a loaf of sourdough, and a nice chardonnay. A classic crab feed...there's nothing like it. Personally, I like Dungeness Crab more than Maine Lobster. When cooked the crab count went up by two Reds...we were more tired and beat up out on Tomales Bay than we realized.
While the crab were cooling in the kitchen sink full of ice water, I surfed the net and compared the PWS data to our observations. The Bodega Bay PWS was pretty representative of the conditions we observed five of so miles down the Bay. The Victory At Sea winds were 18MPH
The nearby Point Reyes PWS wasn't recording it's data Wednesday so we'll have to try again next time out.
On the drive home, we decided to forgo the halibut fishing when the days are this short. We'll ad two pots to the arsenal, so we can just set the string of pots, and motor back to the beginning of the string and start pulling and resetting. We'd do the same number of pulls, but we wouldn't be killing time so we' get in, get our crab, and get out earlier.
If the weather holds, we'll test the concept next Wednesday.
Like "real" fishermen, SturgeUrge and I awoke well before dawn, made a thermos of French Roast, and set out in search of the Bounty of the Sea. Set out in this case means an hour and forty-five minutes on California freeways and highways with the F/V SturgeUgre in tow.
We arrived at the Miller Park Boat Ramp on Tomales Bay about 7:45AM, and were motoring onto Tomales Bay right at 8AM. The morning was glorious...sunny, with the barest hint of a breeze from the NNW, the hills have all turned green with newly sprouted grass from the Fall rains.
 |
| Hog Island from the North |
After a half an hour fighting huge patches of eel grass, and not getting so much as a nibble from the baitfish, we returned to the first pot for a look-see...
SturgeUrge slid the boat along side the pot's buoy, and I grabbed the buoy line with the gaff. Handing off the gaff, I started pulling the line and directing Urge on where to steer... neutral or in gear...I've got the line in the pulley...the pot's right under us...I've got the pot hanging...here's the pot bridal...Lots of crab!
The first pot had a dozen crab in it, after about a 45 minute soak. Six Dungeness Crabs and six Red Rock Crabs. Three of the dungees went back overboard to grow bigger, and the small reds went back too. Every crab Wednesday was a male...sport crabbers in California waters may retain crab of both sexes, but most sport crabbers release the females...they are the future of the resource after all!
We enjoyed a pretty relaxing morning. We drifted the edges of the eel grass patches between pulls, trying to jig up some live halibut bait, but the drift wasn't right.
We got into a routine of pulling and resetting every half an hour. When we pulled a pot of mostly reds, or not as full of crab as we'd like, we'd leapfrog our other pot and move closer to the ocean. Most of the day we were 3-4 miles from the Pacific Ocean proper. Tomales Bay empties into Outer Bodega Bay, and that opens to the Pacific.
Every time we pulled, we took a minute to estimate and record the time, wind speed and direction. I recorded the data so I could compare our observations to the two nearby PWS's I'd found online.
We gave up on the live bait quest, and drifted for halibut with frozen anchovies...without a bite. The wind began to freshen after 10AM, and really started to blow around noon.
We weren't the only folks out crabbing Wednesday. The Bay was covered with crab pot buoys. Four or five boats were pulling and setting in the same general area. Our pots continued to come up with keeper crabs every pull, but the first pulls of the day were the most bountiful.
Finally we moved both pots well towards Bodega Bay, and made lunch. The winds were now up to 10-15 MPH, making pulling the pots and tending the pot lines a little more interesting than we'd like. The F/V SturgeUrge has tall sides...a lot of windage, and it weather-vanes easily...we ended up pirouetting around the pot line once or twice. We moved the pots into the slight protection of some coves, and still boated crabs.
We decided to leapfrog all the way back South of Hog Island for the last set of the day. We were recording winds now 15-20MPH. I said: "Time to break out the "Victory At Sea" music".
We were glad we were doing our last sets...I had the "Popeye Arms" thing going...my hands were starting to lock in the claw position...and a crab got a good pinch in on us both...we were getting tired and a little careless (when handling the crab anyway)
During the last set, we counted and culled the crabs in the livewell...they were quite frisky...a big Red Crab grabbed Urge's hand in that fleshy spot between his thumb and forfinger, and he almost tore the crab in half ripping it loose. (his crush wound wouldn't start bleeding for more than two minutes) Then a commercial size dungee grabbed my thumb, and I instantly winged him off. He had me at the base of the thumbnail, and I got a small cut on the thumbprint side. This morning, I can see a black blood blister under the nail.
Back at the SturgeUrge Compound, SturgeUgre steamed the crabs, and I ran downtown for some fresh salad greens, a loaf of sourdough, and a nice chardonnay. A classic crab feed...there's nothing like it. Personally, I like Dungeness Crab more than Maine Lobster. When cooked the crab count went up by two Reds...we were more tired and beat up out on Tomales Bay than we realized.
While the crab were cooling in the kitchen sink full of ice water, I surfed the net and compared the PWS data to our observations. The Bodega Bay PWS was pretty representative of the conditions we observed five of so miles down the Bay. The Victory At Sea winds were 18MPH
The nearby Point Reyes PWS wasn't recording it's data Wednesday so we'll have to try again next time out.
On the drive home, we decided to forgo the halibut fishing when the days are this short. We'll ad two pots to the arsenal, so we can just set the string of pots, and motor back to the beginning of the string and start pulling and resetting. We'd do the same number of pulls, but we wouldn't be killing time so we' get in, get our crab, and get out earlier.
If the weather holds, we'll test the concept next Wednesday.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
New Challenges
The latest cold front has blown through, and my world is drying out a little. A busy week ahead with the promise of some Dungeness Crab fishing on tap.
Sunday morning I heard a traffic bulletin on a Sacramento radio station citing the messy conditions over Interstate 80's Donner Pass. As luck would have it, I was actually on the CHP's Traffic Incident Website wondering when chain controls would go up given the spate of spinouts and rollovers that littered the highway between 8:30AM and 9:30AM. The Kingvale webcam showed rain, but Boreal's images featured snow and lower visibility. Controls went up for a short time around 10AM.
Sunday evening was lots of fun! I stayed in and followed weather and road conditions like a ball game, leading up to the 11 O'Clock Newscasts. By 11PM the cold front was just a memory in the Valleys, but the TV WeatherFolks were overjoyed to have something wet and white to report. Up top over the High Sierra passes, the webcams showed the lingering snowfall. (I love that the Media is making heavy use of webcams...how long before they start sponsoring HD webcams?) Chain controls were up for the second time Sunday.
Monday Morning Roundup
I woke up well before sunrise Monday (I'm no fan of Daylight Savings Time, sorry 'bout that Ben Franklin) I listened to some radio weather and traffic before I toured my suite of High Sierra websites. I caught weathercasts from Oakland and Sacramento on TV...it's all over but the shouting...the WeatherDudes I watched all teased "a chance of rain Tuesday", but a look at the AFD's says it'll pass us to the North.
@borealmtn showed up in my Twitter feed to announce their Tuesday Reopening. I looked at their webcam and the Groomers are already out pushing the new snow around. Nice to see the snowmaking fan blowing snow.
The cold air behind the front should hang in all week making for favorable snowmaking conditions. When I saw the fan pumping the man-made I looked at the neighboring PWS's, and the temps should warm to shutdown territory before noon.
I see that the storm closed the first mountain pass for the Winter. Hwy89 through Lassen National Park is closed for the season with 27 inches on the road near Lake Helen.
SturgeUrge called this morning, it's still sloppy wet at the SturgeUrge Compound so our construction project will be on the back burner for a day or two...I reminded Urge that Dungeness Crabs don't care if it's wet out...we're gonna try to get out to Tomales Bay Wednesday...weather permitting.
OK, Crab Fishing is ON for Wednesday! We're gonna have to get up at the crack of night to get over to Tomales Bay in time to hit the optimal tidal currents for success. I picked up two pounds of squid bait and moved my crab pots over to the Compound...we'll do some more work Tuesday afternoon before we prep and load up the boat.
I spent some time prospecting online for some relevant PWS's for Tomales Bay...I ended up resigning myself to the fact that the sparse population up there is going to make for some big-time extrapolation for real-time weather data. No matter, I'll record my observations each time we set a pot, and compare my observations to the two nearest remote stations...nothing too fancy at this juncture. Estimated windspeed, direction and time are all I'll need.
Buoyed by my PWS Tomales research, I surfed back up to Boreal and Donner Summit. Things are looking up and they'll be looking good Tuesday when they reopen at noon.
Boreal's fans are pumping the man-made big time! A look at Sugar Bowl's webcam shows they have their fans blowing snow too.
Sunday morning I heard a traffic bulletin on a Sacramento radio station citing the messy conditions over Interstate 80's Donner Pass. As luck would have it, I was actually on the CHP's Traffic Incident Website wondering when chain controls would go up given the spate of spinouts and rollovers that littered the highway between 8:30AM and 9:30AM. The Kingvale webcam showed rain, but Boreal's images featured snow and lower visibility. Controls went up for a short time around 10AM.
 |
| Sunday Morning's 9:43 view |
Monday Morning Roundup
I woke up well before sunrise Monday (I'm no fan of Daylight Savings Time, sorry 'bout that Ben Franklin) I listened to some radio weather and traffic before I toured my suite of High Sierra websites. I caught weathercasts from Oakland and Sacramento on TV...it's all over but the shouting...the WeatherDudes I watched all teased "a chance of rain Tuesday", but a look at the AFD's says it'll pass us to the North.
@borealmtn showed up in my Twitter feed to announce their Tuesday Reopening. I looked at their webcam and the Groomers are already out pushing the new snow around. Nice to see the snowmaking fan blowing snow.
I see that the storm closed the first mountain pass for the Winter. Hwy89 through Lassen National Park is closed for the season with 27 inches on the road near Lake Helen.
SturgeUrge called this morning, it's still sloppy wet at the SturgeUrge Compound so our construction project will be on the back burner for a day or two...I reminded Urge that Dungeness Crabs don't care if it's wet out...we're gonna try to get out to Tomales Bay Wednesday...weather permitting.
OK, Crab Fishing is ON for Wednesday! We're gonna have to get up at the crack of night to get over to Tomales Bay in time to hit the optimal tidal currents for success. I picked up two pounds of squid bait and moved my crab pots over to the Compound...we'll do some more work Tuesday afternoon before we prep and load up the boat.
I spent some time prospecting online for some relevant PWS's for Tomales Bay...I ended up resigning myself to the fact that the sparse population up there is going to make for some big-time extrapolation for real-time weather data. No matter, I'll record my observations each time we set a pot, and compare my observations to the two nearest remote stations...nothing too fancy at this juncture. Estimated windspeed, direction and time are all I'll need.
Buoyed by my PWS Tomales research, I surfed back up to Boreal and Donner Summit. Things are looking up and they'll be looking good Tuesday when they reopen at noon.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
The Heat Is On
What a "weekend"! No rest for the wicked I always say...I couldn't help myself on my days off...I had to write about the SF Giants and their place in my life.
I managed to get some tech issues wrangled, did a bit of carpentry at the SturgeUrge Compound, and touched bases with most of my far-flung family before sitting down to today's game...Mid-Term Election Returns on the radio!
Talk about Blood Sport! Politics is for keeps! Enough said.
After it was all over but the crying, I turned my attention back to the High Sierra Snowmaking Saga.
Sure, it's only November 3rd, but Boreal is endeavoring to stay open for night skiing Mid-Week this week.
The weekend system is but a memory now. Here in the Inland Valley the temps are climbing to Indian Summer levels. In SoCal, Red Flag Fire Warnings are up for the big Santa Ana Winds.
Up on the Sierra Crest, a look at the PWS data shows all stations still in the Mid-40's at 12:47AM. Worse yet, the Highs were in the Mid-60's Tuesday. Reno's AFD calls for warm temps until the next system comes calling Sunday and Monday with Lake Level Snow possible.
I managed to get some tech issues wrangled, did a bit of carpentry at the SturgeUrge Compound, and touched bases with most of my far-flung family before sitting down to today's game...Mid-Term Election Returns on the radio!
Talk about Blood Sport! Politics is for keeps! Enough said.
After it was all over but the crying, I turned my attention back to the High Sierra Snowmaking Saga.
Sure, it's only November 3rd, but Boreal is endeavoring to stay open for night skiing Mid-Week this week.
The weekend system is but a memory now. Here in the Inland Valley the temps are climbing to Indian Summer levels. In SoCal, Red Flag Fire Warnings are up for the big Santa Ana Winds.
Up on the Sierra Crest, a look at the PWS data shows all stations still in the Mid-40's at 12:47AM. Worse yet, the Highs were in the Mid-60's Tuesday. Reno's AFD calls for warm temps until the next system comes calling Sunday and Monday with Lake Level Snow possible.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Waiting
No joy in Mudville tonight. My Giants lost 4-2 in Texas. Now I'm waiting for Sunday's Game 4...
I got out of Truckee about 11AM Saturday morning...wet and gray, the mountains were socked in and drizzle was the flavor of the day. I wanted to go by Donner Lake and lookie-loo the autumn colors...maybe snap a photo or two...Sorry Charlie, low hanging clouds obscured all my eye candy, and I never even pulled over for a closer look.
I mailed my absentee ballot at the Soda Springs Post Office and decided against heading east on I-80 for a reconnaissance lap by Boreal...the clouds were on the deck up top, and pulling over for a Photo Op in poor visibility seemed like a fool's errand...or ironic epitaph, so I turned west and chased the rain bands down the mountain.
The rain let up for the most part in Sacramento, with just a cloudburst outside Vacaville.
I fired up the laptop about five minutes before Game 3's first pitch...my tour of the webcams and PWS's showed no change on Donner Summit. I thought the remote weather stations were broken because the temps were the same as when I last looked 7-8 hours earlier.
On closer inspection, the MESOWEST station at Sugar Bowl had stopped updating Friday. All the other PWS's were online, and the temps were still hanging right around 39°F
After the game, I looked to Reno's AFD for some insights. They noted the clouds Banked up against the Western Slope:
UPSTREAM SHORTWAVE WILL APPROACH TONIGHT AND MAINLY BRING AN
INCREASE IN MID TO HIGH LEVEL CLOUDINESS. KEPT A SMALL CHANCE OF
RAIN MAINLY NORTH OF I-80 WITH THE BEST CHANCES IN THE HIGHER
TERRAIN OF WESTERN LASSEN...PLUMAS AND SIERRA COUNTIES. A FEW
LOCATIONS COULD PICK UP A TENTH OF AN INCH IN THESE AREAS. AMOUNTS
WILL GENERALLY BE A TRACE TO A FEW HUNDREDTHS ELSEWHERE. WARM
ADVECTION ALOFT WILL KEEP CLOUDS ESPECIALLY NORTHERN AREAS THROUGH
SUNDAY BEFORE HEIGHTS BEGIN TO RISE EARLY NEXT WEEK UNDER
ANTICIPATED RIDGE PATTERN. KEPT A SLIGHT CHANCE OF RAIN FAR
NORTHERN AREAS SUNDAY MORNING. OTHERWISE A DECREASING CLOUD TREND
GOING INTO MONDAY. TEMPERATURES WILL BE SEASONALLY COOL SUNDAY
WITH A WARMING TREND MONDAY-TUESDAY. HOHMANN
.LONG TERM...WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY...
STRONG RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE DOMINATES MUCH OF THE WEST THROUGH
THE LONG TERM PERIOD. THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR A SYSTEM TO MOVE IN
NEXT WEEKEND OR POSSIBLY EARLY THE FOLLOWING WEEK...BUT WITH
SIGNIFICANT MODEL DIFFERENCES CONFIDENCE IS LOW AFTER FRIDAY. MAIN
CHANGES WERE CONTINUE TO SLOW THE ARRIVAL OF THE NEXT SYSTEM AND
EXTEND THE PERIOD OF ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES.
That's not encouraging if you plan on making snow and selling lift tickets this week...I got the impression that next weekend could be less than ideal for snowmaking as well.
I have to remind myself of what my Boss said back in September: "I want to open Thanksgiving. I want to open when we're ready"
That happy thought didn't save me from remembering how much waiting lies ahead.
I got out of Truckee about 11AM Saturday morning...wet and gray, the mountains were socked in and drizzle was the flavor of the day. I wanted to go by Donner Lake and lookie-loo the autumn colors...maybe snap a photo or two...Sorry Charlie, low hanging clouds obscured all my eye candy, and I never even pulled over for a closer look.
I mailed my absentee ballot at the Soda Springs Post Office and decided against heading east on I-80 for a reconnaissance lap by Boreal...the clouds were on the deck up top, and pulling over for a Photo Op in poor visibility seemed like a fool's errand...or ironic epitaph, so I turned west and chased the rain bands down the mountain.
The rain let up for the most part in Sacramento, with just a cloudburst outside Vacaville.
I fired up the laptop about five minutes before Game 3's first pitch...my tour of the webcams and PWS's showed no change on Donner Summit. I thought the remote weather stations were broken because the temps were the same as when I last looked 7-8 hours earlier.
On closer inspection, the MESOWEST station at Sugar Bowl had stopped updating Friday. All the other PWS's were online, and the temps were still hanging right around 39°F
After the game, I looked to Reno's AFD for some insights. They noted the clouds Banked up against the Western Slope:
UPSTREAM SHORTWAVE WILL APPROACH TONIGHT AND MAINLY BRING AN
INCREASE IN MID TO HIGH LEVEL CLOUDINESS. KEPT A SMALL CHANCE OF
RAIN MAINLY NORTH OF I-80 WITH THE BEST CHANCES IN THE HIGHER
TERRAIN OF WESTERN LASSEN...PLUMAS AND SIERRA COUNTIES. A FEW
LOCATIONS COULD PICK UP A TENTH OF AN INCH IN THESE AREAS. AMOUNTS
WILL GENERALLY BE A TRACE TO A FEW HUNDREDTHS ELSEWHERE. WARM
ADVECTION ALOFT WILL KEEP CLOUDS ESPECIALLY NORTHERN AREAS THROUGH
SUNDAY BEFORE HEIGHTS BEGIN TO RISE EARLY NEXT WEEK UNDER
ANTICIPATED RIDGE PATTERN. KEPT A SLIGHT CHANCE OF RAIN FAR
NORTHERN AREAS SUNDAY MORNING. OTHERWISE A DECREASING CLOUD TREND
GOING INTO MONDAY. TEMPERATURES WILL BE SEASONALLY COOL SUNDAY
WITH A WARMING TREND MONDAY-TUESDAY. HOHMANN
.LONG TERM...WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY...
STRONG RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE DOMINATES MUCH OF THE WEST THROUGH
THE LONG TERM PERIOD. THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR A SYSTEM TO MOVE IN
NEXT WEEKEND OR POSSIBLY EARLY THE FOLLOWING WEEK...BUT WITH
SIGNIFICANT MODEL DIFFERENCES CONFIDENCE IS LOW AFTER FRIDAY. MAIN
CHANGES WERE CONTINUE TO SLOW THE ARRIVAL OF THE NEXT SYSTEM AND
EXTEND THE PERIOD OF ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES.
That's not encouraging if you plan on making snow and selling lift tickets this week...I got the impression that next weekend could be less than ideal for snowmaking as well.
I have to remind myself of what my Boss said back in September: "I want to open Thanksgiving. I want to open when we're ready"
That happy thought didn't save me from remembering how much waiting lies ahead.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
A Little Night Reading
I ran up the Hill Friday afternoon. I wanted to arrive at the DaveCave before the snowfall messed up the highways. High on my rubbernecking list was taking in the scene up at Boreal. Wouldn't you know it...when I arrived atop Donner Summit I found myself in a knot of slow big rigs and darting, speedy, weaving rice rockets in a big hurry, vying for my attention. Consequently, no in-depth, first hand report 'till I go by again Saturday...I was able to glimpse that their show is NOT Top-to-Bottom Skiing just yet.
Not to worry...I caught a live feed from Boreal on Sacramento's CBS13 5 PM News. I think they said 150 sliders made the first day on the slopes. The weather segment was at least as much fun to watch as the goofin' at Boreal...meteorologist Dave Bender kvetched about this storm's refusal to play nice with his forecast...not a very cooperative system apparently...
I ran into a few raindrops near Dixon and Davis on my way across the Big Valley Friday afternoon, but there's nothing falling on Truckee at 12:42AM Saturday morning. A tour of neighboring PWS data shows temps are still trying to get down into the 30's all across the region.
When I got up from my nap tonight, I clicked onto Reno's AFD. They weren't singing the storm's praises either:
FOR THE BASIN...THIS SYSTEM LOOKS LIKE IT WILL DO THE CLASSIC JUMP
OVER THE IMMEDIATE LEESIDE OF THE SIERRA AND REDEVELOP OVER WEST-
CENTRAL AND CENTRAL NEVADA SATURDAY MORNING. THIS IS DUE TO THE
SOUTHERLY FLOW ALOFT CUTTING BACK THE PUSHING OF PRECIP OVER THE
SIERRA (DESPITE SOME UPPER FORCING) WITH REDEVELOPMENT FURTHER EAST
AS CONVERGENCE DEVELOPS THERE. WHAT THIS MEANS FOR THE SIERRA FRONT
IS ONLY LIGHT PRECIP AT BEST IS EXPECTED FOR RENO AND CARSON CITY
WITH HIGHER AMOUNTS THE FURTHER SOUTH AND CLOSER TO THE SIERRA YOU
GET. IN ANY CASE...PRECIP SHOULD SHUT OFF RATHER DRAMATICALLY IN
THE LEE OF THE SIERRA AFTER THE LOW AXIS PASSES THROUGH SATURDAY
MORNING. FURTHER EAST...MORE PRECIP IS EXPECTED ONCE YOU GET OUT
EAST OF LOVELOCK AND FALLON AS THE PRECIP BAND WITH THE LOW REFORMS
WELL EAST OF THE SIERRA.
I capped a couple of webcam images...
Not much to see really...both CBS13's Bender and the Reno NWS Guys say it's gonna warm up again once the current low passes by...
Meanwhile I remembered how much of early season snowmaking is about waiting...waiting...and more waiting...
Not to worry...I caught a live feed from Boreal on Sacramento's CBS13 5 PM News. I think they said 150 sliders made the first day on the slopes. The weather segment was at least as much fun to watch as the goofin' at Boreal...meteorologist Dave Bender kvetched about this storm's refusal to play nice with his forecast...not a very cooperative system apparently...
I ran into a few raindrops near Dixon and Davis on my way across the Big Valley Friday afternoon, but there's nothing falling on Truckee at 12:42AM Saturday morning. A tour of neighboring PWS data shows temps are still trying to get down into the 30's all across the region.
When I got up from my nap tonight, I clicked onto Reno's AFD. They weren't singing the storm's praises either:
FOR THE BASIN...THIS SYSTEM LOOKS LIKE IT WILL DO THE CLASSIC JUMP
OVER THE IMMEDIATE LEESIDE OF THE SIERRA AND REDEVELOP OVER WEST-
CENTRAL AND CENTRAL NEVADA SATURDAY MORNING. THIS IS DUE TO THE
SOUTHERLY FLOW ALOFT CUTTING BACK THE PUSHING OF PRECIP OVER THE
SIERRA (DESPITE SOME UPPER FORCING) WITH REDEVELOPMENT FURTHER EAST
AS CONVERGENCE DEVELOPS THERE. WHAT THIS MEANS FOR THE SIERRA FRONT
IS ONLY LIGHT PRECIP AT BEST IS EXPECTED FOR RENO AND CARSON CITY
WITH HIGHER AMOUNTS THE FURTHER SOUTH AND CLOSER TO THE SIERRA YOU
GET. IN ANY CASE...PRECIP SHOULD SHUT OFF RATHER DRAMATICALLY IN
THE LEE OF THE SIERRA AFTER THE LOW AXIS PASSES THROUGH SATURDAY
MORNING. FURTHER EAST...MORE PRECIP IS EXPECTED ONCE YOU GET OUT
EAST OF LOVELOCK AND FALLON AS THE PRECIP BAND WITH THE LOW REFORMS
WELL EAST OF THE SIERRA.
I capped a couple of webcam images...
Friday, October 29, 2010
Mother Nature Checks In
Wednesday I checked in on Boreal's snowmaking program several times. (Even once during the World Series Game) They never got favorable temps. The nearest PWS at the Central Sierra Snow Lab never recorded a temperature below 39°F.
I looked at the satellite images, and cloud cover was the culprit. As was the case here in the Inland Valley, cloud cover and little wind conspired to keep the heat of the day around overnight.
At 3:30PM Thursday, Boreal's webpage still says they're a go for Friday on the lower portion of their hill, with Top -to-Bottom skiing to commence Friday night.
There's a chance they'll get favorable temperatures Thursday night. Reno's AFD says the clouds will clear and the mercury will drop over night.
As I write this afternoon, I'm watching MLB TV's Batting Practice Show from AT&T Park. The long wide Blimp shots show the cloud cover wall to wall. The announcers at the park just reminded viewers that rain is forecast in the Bay Area for later tonight. (At noon the KTVU2 WeatherDude said the showers would stay north of the Bay for the most part, and only occasional sprinkles would visit tonight's game) MLB TV is another Eastern Media Outlet that can't be expected to understand the capricious nature of San Francisco's Fall weather (and forecasting said weather!)...especially with a moderate to strong La Niña holding sway over the Eastern Pacific.
Up in the High Sierra, the webcams at Boreal and Sugar Bowl show partly cloudy skies. Northstar's streaming webcam shows the wind blowing the trees a little under a partly cloudy sky, and a scan of the PWS's shows the afternoon temps in the high 40's to low 50's Up high, winds are in the teens, and down to 4-5mph at the lower, more protected stations.
Now at 4:25PM, Boreal's webcam shows some clearing...the winds must be ushering out the clouds.
4:47AM Update
OK, looking at the Snow Lab's PWS, there's been nary a change in temperature in 12 hours. The mercury is stuck at 39°F Boreal's gonna have to make do with wha they've got.
Not much to see on Boreal's webcam view...so I looked into the latest Reno AFD. The latest word (2:36AM) has the system slowing down with the precip holding off until Saturday morning now.
I looked at the satellite images, and cloud cover was the culprit. As was the case here in the Inland Valley, cloud cover and little wind conspired to keep the heat of the day around overnight.
At 3:30PM Thursday, Boreal's webpage still says they're a go for Friday on the lower portion of their hill, with Top -to-Bottom skiing to commence Friday night.
There's a chance they'll get favorable temperatures Thursday night. Reno's AFD says the clouds will clear and the mercury will drop over night.
As I write this afternoon, I'm watching MLB TV's Batting Practice Show from AT&T Park. The long wide Blimp shots show the cloud cover wall to wall. The announcers at the park just reminded viewers that rain is forecast in the Bay Area for later tonight. (At noon the KTVU2 WeatherDude said the showers would stay north of the Bay for the most part, and only occasional sprinkles would visit tonight's game) MLB TV is another Eastern Media Outlet that can't be expected to understand the capricious nature of San Francisco's Fall weather (and forecasting said weather!)...especially with a moderate to strong La Niña holding sway over the Eastern Pacific.
Up in the High Sierra, the webcams at Boreal and Sugar Bowl show partly cloudy skies. Northstar's streaming webcam shows the wind blowing the trees a little under a partly cloudy sky, and a scan of the PWS's shows the afternoon temps in the high 40's to low 50's Up high, winds are in the teens, and down to 4-5mph at the lower, more protected stations.
4:47AM Update
OK, looking at the Snow Lab's PWS, there's been nary a change in temperature in 12 hours. The mercury is stuck at 39°F Boreal's gonna have to make do with wha they've got.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Post Time!
I can almost hear the trumpets blowing a fanfare!
The race is on to make snow for Boreal's traditional Halloween Night Skiing Costume Party...don't get me wrong here, it's not an official party per se, but Halloween skiing and snowboarding has become a tradition at Boreal over the years.
Boreal's "Halloween Show" has been a fixture on local TV news from coast to coast. It's Marketing Gold for Boreal. Chances are your local TV Newscast will show a few seconds of video from Boreal's Big Night wherever you live.
Boreal's Halloween video is a twofer for local television news directors. They get an "oddball" Halloween story...plus it segues nicely into the Weatherman's presentation.
As with the chestnut real estate advice, Location, location, location is the marketing philosophy up at Boreal.
Sitting right on top of Interstate 80's Donner Pass, Boreal shines like a beacon to every traveler making their way from California to the East. Boreal's parking lot ends where the Interstate's right of way begins. Travelers can't miss it, and when Boreal added lights and Night Skiing it truly became a beacon. Heading East, you can see the glow of Boreal's lights from several miles down the hill.
Back to the Race
Saturday, @borealmtn announced their Opening Plans. Their plan is to open Friday the 29th. They may make Halloween, but at this point Tuesday evening, I'm thinking Friday morning is a wee bit optimistic.
Through the magic of tele-presence (read webcams), I've been peeking in on Boreal's snowmaking progress. Looking at the Remote Data weatherstations, they look pretty good so far. The weaher hasn't been kind really, but the Mountain Crew wasted little time in farming up plenty of snow from their parking lot. They're gonna need a bunch of snow just to build the lift line maze area for the bottom terminal of the lift they'll run this weekend.
Boreal's snowmaking fans ran overnight into Tuesday. They shut down around 10AM. Tuesday night, they started blowing just a little by the time I peeked around 7:30PM, and things look to be going a little more their way at 8:30PM.
I perused WeatherUnderground's Truckee forecast page for some nearby Personal Weather Stations (PWS) The Central Sierra Snow Lab is just a mile as the crow flies from Boreal, and on the other side (western side) of the ridge in Soda Springs.
The Snow Lab is the closest online weather station I've found to Boreal. I'd wager it's data is pretty close to conditions on the hill at Boreal, save for the all-important Relative Humidity, and Wind Data. Boreal is more exposed to wind than the Snow Lab, which is a few hundred feet lower on the opposite side of the ridge. The Donner Summit gap has scouring winds that help keep humidities down up at Boreal's location. The Snow Lab is down near the woods, and faces the side of the big, wet Summit Valley, also known locally as Van Norden Meadow.
Power company PG&E once owned and operated a small hydroelectric dam that flooded Summit Valley. The impoundment was named Van Norden Reservoir. Faced with a huge price tag to bring the dam and powerhouse up to seismic standards in the 70's, PG&E opted to remove the dam.
When I moved to Soda Springs in 1980, there were still a few 14 ft tall tree stumps standing at the far eastern end of Summit Valley. Local lore says the stumps were made by Donner Party strandees foraging for firewood during that terrible Winter of 1846-1847. The stumps were made with axes, not saws.
Looking back in at Boreal's evening, it looks like they're getting more fans running...they could make it...providing the forecast plays along...
11:21PM Update
I just watched KCRA3's Senior Meteorologist Mark Finan's weathercast. Mark says the rain and snow for Thursday into Friday won't make it to Sacramento...much less the Tahoe Sierra.
Mark illustrated with the computer model that displays as a radar/satellite hybrid. Unfortunately the system comes ashore, the moisture band looks good, but doesn't advance easterly one bit.
A little chill went down my spine when I realized I'd seen similar images often during our last La Niña winter...I saw it way too often that season...the 2007-2008 La Niña fueled winter was a weak one. More times than I care to remember, good storms would come ashore, but all the moisture would move from the southwest to the northeast, and wouldn't get much east of the Foothills. It was frustrating watching all that potential pass by to our west.
That winter is remembered by it's below average snowfall, small crowds, and general frustration. It was not a great ski season.
This year's La Niña is already more robust than the 07/08 version...only time will tell if it's gonna turn out wet and well.
The race is on to make snow for Boreal's traditional Halloween Night Skiing Costume Party...don't get me wrong here, it's not an official party per se, but Halloween skiing and snowboarding has become a tradition at Boreal over the years.
Boreal's "Halloween Show" has been a fixture on local TV news from coast to coast. It's Marketing Gold for Boreal. Chances are your local TV Newscast will show a few seconds of video from Boreal's Big Night wherever you live.
Boreal's Halloween video is a twofer for local television news directors. They get an "oddball" Halloween story...plus it segues nicely into the Weatherman's presentation.
As with the chestnut real estate advice, Location, location, location is the marketing philosophy up at Boreal.
Sitting right on top of Interstate 80's Donner Pass, Boreal shines like a beacon to every traveler making their way from California to the East. Boreal's parking lot ends where the Interstate's right of way begins. Travelers can't miss it, and when Boreal added lights and Night Skiing it truly became a beacon. Heading East, you can see the glow of Boreal's lights from several miles down the hill.
Back to the Race
Saturday, @borealmtn announced their Opening Plans. Their plan is to open Friday the 29th. They may make Halloween, but at this point Tuesday evening, I'm thinking Friday morning is a wee bit optimistic.
Through the magic of tele-presence (read webcams), I've been peeking in on Boreal's snowmaking progress. Looking at the Remote Data weatherstations, they look pretty good so far. The weaher hasn't been kind really, but the Mountain Crew wasted little time in farming up plenty of snow from their parking lot. They're gonna need a bunch of snow just to build the lift line maze area for the bottom terminal of the lift they'll run this weekend.
 |
| Are those SnoCat lights illuminating the maze area? |
The Snow Lab is the closest online weather station I've found to Boreal. I'd wager it's data is pretty close to conditions on the hill at Boreal, save for the all-important Relative Humidity, and Wind Data. Boreal is more exposed to wind than the Snow Lab, which is a few hundred feet lower on the opposite side of the ridge. The Donner Summit gap has scouring winds that help keep humidities down up at Boreal's location. The Snow Lab is down near the woods, and faces the side of the big, wet Summit Valley, also known locally as Van Norden Meadow.
Power company PG&E once owned and operated a small hydroelectric dam that flooded Summit Valley. The impoundment was named Van Norden Reservoir. Faced with a huge price tag to bring the dam and powerhouse up to seismic standards in the 70's, PG&E opted to remove the dam.
When I moved to Soda Springs in 1980, there were still a few 14 ft tall tree stumps standing at the far eastern end of Summit Valley. Local lore says the stumps were made by Donner Party strandees foraging for firewood during that terrible Winter of 1846-1847. The stumps were made with axes, not saws.
11:21PM Update
I just watched KCRA3's Senior Meteorologist Mark Finan's weathercast. Mark says the rain and snow for Thursday into Friday won't make it to Sacramento...much less the Tahoe Sierra.
Mark illustrated with the computer model that displays as a radar/satellite hybrid. Unfortunately the system comes ashore, the moisture band looks good, but doesn't advance easterly one bit.
A little chill went down my spine when I realized I'd seen similar images often during our last La Niña winter...I saw it way too often that season...the 2007-2008 La Niña fueled winter was a weak one. More times than I care to remember, good storms would come ashore, but all the moisture would move from the southwest to the northeast, and wouldn't get much east of the Foothills. It was frustrating watching all that potential pass by to our west.
That winter is remembered by it's below average snowfall, small crowds, and general frustration. It was not a great ski season.
This year's La Niña is already more robust than the 07/08 version...only time will tell if it's gonna turn out wet and well.
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