What's At Stake

...last week.
It was Boreal's slog to get enough snow to sell lift tickets for Halloween. After a long, warm, uneventful Fall...Mother Nature just barely bailed out their annual Marketing Push (read Stunt...hey...whatever gets you through the night)

Saturday November 2nd
How'd that Halloween thing work out for ya, Boreal?

Well...to quote Agent 86..."Missed it by that much!"

Boreal opened at noon on Friday October 32nd according to their website. I looked at their webcam around 4PM that November afternoon and things looked pretty threadbare...

Saturday morning their website was touting: "Snowmaking continues" they'll reopen when conditions allow.

According to the Reno NWS Forecast Office's AFD, snowmaking temps will arrive overnight. Alas the moisture tied to this cold front is hanging north of the I-80 Corridor, so none of Mother Nature's Finest will accumulate. However, good cold temps will hang around for a day or two, though warming is forecast into the weekend...

Bigger Picture
If the Winter 2013/2014 is another dry one, the West will be in trouble.

The 'D' Word, drought will become a stuck record on weather reports, the Six O'clock News and The Weather Channel.

The Drought is much more serious for the Colorado River where it's been 14 years of substandard precip.

I have a special place in my heart for the Colorado River. I've hiked both the Grand Canyon from the South Rim, across the river and up the North Rim to Roaring Springs, and Havasu Canyon from the South Rim all the way through Supai, down Havasu Falls and Mooney Falls to the confluence of Havasu Creek and the Colorado.

My tally is three Grand Canyon trips and two Havasupai trips.

In the years since those adventures, I've taken two dozen fishing trips to Baja California.

The Colorado River empties into Baja's Sea of Cortez...or it used to. The mighty Colorado is so totally utilized to irrigate the Southwest, that barely any of the Colorado runs into the Cortez anymore.

The Cortez needs that water at least as much as lawns in Phoenix do.


I still haven't drawn a bead on this coming Winter...the Sun is still too quiet...

Like I said last time, I've got a bad feeling about this.

Do Clowns Taste Funny?

...the little boy asked the Cannibal...Sorry...

Tuesday
The light looks funny out my window this morning, I can't smell it but it's smoke from the 'Rim Fire' burning in the Sierra Foothills between Angels Camp and Yosemite National Park.

The NWS SFO/Monterey Office posted a photo to their Facebook Page that clued me in:

Tuesday August 20th Satellite View

Then along comes this tweet from @CAL_FIRE: "Over the past 24 hours over 3,400 lightning strikes in CA sparking over 40 new fires that burned over 350 acres. Fire.ca.gov... "

There's still a day or two more of this pattern and the Red Flag Warnings that go along with it.

Friday
The Rim Fire has blown up!  Smoke plagues everyone from Carson City to The Oregon border, down to the foothills and Sacramento Valley. There's what, eleven major fires burning in California today?

CalFire reports Friday: "Lightning fires have ignited or been detected for 9 consecutive days on National Forests in California"

The Red Flag Warnings are over, all the excitement will fade into Memoryland.

I really haven't had the heart (if that's the right metaphor?) to keep a running tally on the fires...I mostly ignored Twitter and only checked into the news to see fresh video...

I did look at the Interstate 80 webcams when Severe Thunderstorm Warnings were posted for Donner Summit. It rained so hard you could see sheets of rain on the webcam images!

Sheets of rain from Sugar Bowl's Lodge

I'd been looking at the same webcams to view the smoky conditions for three days.

This morning, CalTrans had to close both the eastbound and westbound fast lanes of I-80 just uphill of the DaveCave for a sinkhole! All that rain must have bored through a backfilled trench that carries some conduits.

They've got the WB #1 Lane reopened now...what's next? Pestilence? Uncle!

Cue the locust swarms!

It's Like Déjà Vu All Over Again

God bless Yogi Berra, baseball's Patron Saint of malapropisms. Can you blame baseball, of which Yogi quipped: "90% of the game is half mental.", for loving the guy?

But I digress...today is one of Yogi's  "Déjà Vu All Over Again" type days. I watched the fourth and final Giants/Cubs game from AT&T Park on the TV. It was drizzling at the yard, but not enough to stop the game. It was another nice pitching duel that the Giants won, making for the four game sweep. Soothing, winning Giants baseball...thanks Giants!

As is my new fashion, I was on Twitter during the game...Giants' fans are the best tweeters, plenty of snark, stats and silliness in 140 characters or less!

Anyway, as the low key game languorusly unfolded, some tweets from the High Sierra caught my eye...viewed together they tell a little story:

2:24PM @rgj: "It's snowing over Donner Summit, but no travel restrictions http://on.rgj.com/Kb4NFv"

2:56PM @R5_Fire_News: " Receiving snow across the upper reaches of several National Forests in the #Sierra #CAWx"

3:31PM @KirkwoodMtn: "Seriously - Chains required on SR88? Snowing my friends... Stay Thirsty, Coop"

5:39PM @TheSkiChannel: "http://bit.ly/KGHGoR| Squaw Valley Welcomes Summer | Head over to @SquawValley for fun Summer activities"

I surfed to the Sierra webcams...yep, snowing. Sugar Bowl looked like 2-3 inches on their picnic tables. The CalTrans webcams showed snow down to Soda Springs, with misty rain at Kingvale.

I tuned in the local TV News, yup Déjà Vu all over again! KTVU2 the Bay Area Fox affiliate had a live remote, NOT from Blue Canyon, but atop Donner Summit (I guess CalTrans finally finished the two year long remodel of the Summit Rest Areas)

The snow wasn't sticking to the roadway, and apparently, the rest stop was filthy with foreign tourists in shorts, who were happy to gush to the camera about how surprised they were by the snow...good sports they were all breathlessly smiling and carrying on. It was good TV, and chillingly, it reminded me of last Spring!

It's OK, I did a quick scan of the AFDs, this is just a fluke system passing through...not a "pattern Change"

So, the Ancestral Diggins benefit from the .10 inches of rain, and the rest of the week will be warm, but not scorching. I can dig it!

USS Iowa- It's On for Saturday

The Weather Gods have calmed the savage seas off Central and Southern California, so the Pacific Battleship Center will move the USS Iowa from Richmond, CA to Los Angeles beginning on Saturday May 26th, 2012

Check that date...it's one day shy of the 75th Birthday Celebration of the Golden Gate Bridge.

The San Francisco Chronicle's story has a handy schedule and tips on where to view the battleship as it's towed through San Francisco Bay, and under the birthday bridge.

It looks like the northerlies that have been blowing hard all week will abate a little Saturday allowing SturgeUrge and I to put the boat on the Bay for some history and halibut.

LIVE Webcam link of Iowa's voyage.

Vision Thing Again

Bipolar ski news this weekend...the old yin and yang if you will. Last week's storms brought welcome rain and snow to the Tahoe Sierra bringing the season totals to around 50% of normal. This winter, this passes for the good news...

The Sacramento TV News WeatherTalkers forecast more snowfall plus lousy driving conditions for Sunday, which torpedoed the weekend crowds for the resorts. I don't even know what CalTrans was thinking...

I watched chain controls march up the hill thanks to the dual remote marvels, webcams and Twitter. CalTrans lifted controls Sunday afternoon just in time for the lowering sun to allow the still wet superslab to refreeze with the inevitable consequences...the interstate was closed for "accidents and spin-outs" for hours. I saw this one coming...CalTrans? Not so much...

I don't know if it was snowfall induced exuberance, or lack of foresight, or what that made for a deadly weekend on the slopes. The Reno paper reported some of the carnage. Truckee's local paper has a sad round-up.

The avalanche at Kirkwood happened in bounds around 2:15 in the afternoon, the two skiers were very lucky to escape with their lives. With Friday's long period of rain to 8500ft, avalanche hazards will be heightened for days...there's several unstable layers in the snowpack that will remaining unstable for the duration. I cringed repeatedly as I watched the tweets from various resorts announcing the popular out-of-bounds access points opening. I wonder if the Marketing departments are coordinating their messaging with their Ski Patrol's Avalanche Gurus?

There was a happy ending up on Mt Rose. Three skiers and two snowmobilers in two groups became lost out of bounds, and were found before they found more adventure than they bargained for...they phoned for help when they knew they were lost...The Mt Rose summit is filthy with antennae of all kinds, some of them cell phone towers...Can you hear me now?

Mental Health Week

My White Flag isn't bothering me as much today. The Sierra Avalanche Center warns that the Avalanche Danger is Considerable!

The rains continue unabated here at the Ancestral Digs. I've been scanning the webcams every few hours and it's raining to over 7000ft. These bands of precipitation are forecast to continue until Thursday-ish, as the Reno AFD says the snow level will rise to 7500-8000ft. With a juicy sub-tropical moisture tap, "Cold Front" is a non sequitur. Chain controls swam uphill and were lifted once the rain washed the summit clear, but not before powerlines blew down across Interstate 80 near Rainbow Road and closed the interstate for a time.

This is the big reason I fled...the Psychological Low that rain on ski hills brings. Wet enough, and long enough, it begins to become a Public Health Problem...count me out! I don't think I have the energy to deal with all the negativity that's sure to become the default atmosphere around Truckee and environs...

Down in daffodils-in-bloom-land, the rain is a much needed Blessed Event, but the Psychological Low down here isn't going to be nearly as deep or pervasive as in snow country.

@ORACLERacing cancelled shake down America's Cup AC45 racing on the Bay again today and Facebooked about it.

The San Francisco Giants are streaming their game against the Cleveland Indians from Scottsdale, Arizona...On the mend catcher, Buster Posey knocked a 6th inning homer to tie the game 2-2! Giants closer, Brian Wilson, also rehabbing last season's injuries, pitched a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout...Springtime for the Giants is All Sunshine, All the Time so far.

I was so keen to listen to baseball today, I actually left a very interesting, technical webcast of The Flying Lap, Peter Windsor's excellent Formula One news and chat weekly. Peter's guest was Craig Scarborough, the very clever F1-Tech blogger. Sunday's Australian Grand Prix from Melbourne promises rain-induced drama, not to mention the usual Season Opening Race Drama.


After three weeks of testing in February and early March, the new cars are coming into focus. Wholesale changes to aerodynamics and exhaust gas routing have been captured on many team's race cars, and "Scarbs" covered them in detail with beautifully rendered drawings and spy photos. 


Clever aerodynamicists have reportedly resurrected the F-Duct, coupling it's actuation to the Drag Reduction System, thus leaving the driver out of the loop which is in keeping with the letter of the Sporting Regulations that scotched the F-Duct in 2010.

We can see for ourselves tonight at 10:30PM PDT when SpeedTV broadcasts F1 Practice LIVE from the Streets of Melbourne! The forecast is for "Rain all Weekend" in Melbourne, so it's bound to be extra interesting!

Careful What You Wish For

I'm still resetting the ol' BodyClock...forgive my tardiness...

I set the alarm for 0600 so I could hear Armstrong&Getty LIVE...and watch some Blue Canyon LIVE Remotes on Local News Outlets.

Before I drifted off to sleep around 1AM, I scanned the webcams and watched the band of snowfall march up the hill.

Now at 0800, the band of precip is hightailing it East.

Overnight, chain controls were from Drum to the Nevada State Line, they too have marched up the hill and at 0800 are at Kingvale to the Nevada State Line.

The resorts are tweeting 4-6 inches of dry powder.

On the small screen, the Blue Canyon scene was blustery in the wake of the front...no snow was falling and the wind was blowing pretty good, while here in the Inland Valley it's sunny and calm...it's over for now. Chances are another 4-6 inches will blow in over the President's Day Weekend.

Europe meanwhile continues to endure bitter cold and mounting snow while casualties mount. Consider the source, the news is real...the conclusions...well, you be the judge.

There are many sources pointing to Global Cooling in the coming decades, including NASA citing the coming Sun Spot Cycle Prediction.

Like Hero Snow, Only Different

Well, I wasn't convinced that Wednesday morning's snow showers would make it to my neck of the woods, so I was pleased as punch when the flakes started falling about midnight! The scant two inches of accumulation was welcomed by all concerned...especially after the shift we endured!

At the end, the three of us had every working machine on the mountain! Next downed cat, and somebody goes home. Tuesday night is the Graveyard Mechanic's night off, so we were on our own.

It was weird...the tractors all ran...but their tillers refused to work right, or refused to work at all... no tiller...no corduroy...no joy...All in all, we lost an hour or so of productive time, so the new snow saved our butts...

The storm postponed my Reno shopping trip, it'll be much more civilized Thursday!

When I woke up tonight, I checked all my weather stuff: Remote Sensors, Webcams, forecasts, blogs and AFDs. This dearth of winter weather has sharpened my weathermania to near-OCD levels...

This week will be another dry one...February 1st is the day the Water People measure the snowpack. Much better results than January's survey, the Tahoe Basin's snowpack is up to 37% of normal.

As you can imagine, business levels are off as well. Word came down this week that our hours are getting cut back to 36 hours a week....not good, my summer travel budget is shrinking!

We'll go back to full strength once we get another blast of winter...after another week or two of Conservation Mode.

These Low Snow Conditions are tough sledding. With reduced groomable acreage, the tendency is to groom everything you've got...the better to attract customers. This desire must be balanced against conserving the piste so we can stay open until the next storm finds it's way to My Mountain.

Skiing, snowboarding and grooming all use up a little bit of piste...nothing you'd notice in a day or two. However, when it's  weeks between storms, you can't miss the signs of shrinkage.

It's Groundhog Day! Let's hope Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, we need six more weeks of Winter, just to catch up!

That Christmas Eve Thing

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!

Going Around In Cycles

Looking around the web for some kind of sign that Winter might miraculously appear on the West Coast, I found this Sacramento Bee story on our La Niña. The tone, or basic climate assumptions displayed by the reporter (and the editor...do newspapers still employ editors?) really fired me up! NOAA's "Year for the Record Books" isn't as scary as it sounds...Irene was the only hurricane to qualify in the Billion Dollar Club, most of the events are Springtime tornado outbreaks.

Incredibly, the reporter likens our "Pineapple Express" to hurricanes! By definition hurricanes are circular, well organized storms...think our weather makers on steroids.

There is hurricane news: We're enjoying a period of low intensity Atlantic Tropical Cyclone activity. In fact each day that passes sets a new record for Days Without a Major Hurricane landfall on the United States.

 This is born out by the historical reanalysis by NOAA of the hurricane records. No December forecast for next season's Hurricane Season was issued, and Colorado State University is not defending the long range models anymore. They noted:

"We strongly believe that the increases in atmospheric CO2 since the start of the 20th century have had little or no significant effect on Atlantic basin or global Tropical Cyclone activity as extensively discussed in our many previous forecast write-ups and recently in Gray (2011). Global tropical cyclone activity has shown no significant trend over the past thirty years."

I cooled off and found another Long Period Cycle turning to the Cold Side:

AMO begins negative (cold) phase "This is the first time the November value has been negative since about 1996. It appears the down cycle has started. This portends a cooler period, especially winters."

 La Niña will be weak to moderate through late Spring says NOAA's Climate Prediction Center's 90 Outlook issued today.

AO, the Arctic Oscillation is trending to the cold side, though NOAA has some problem with the data at present.

That's a lot of cold. It's probably bad news precip-wise. Cooler ocean temps mean less convection which is the pipeline that fills weather systems with moisture.

With my head filled with cool thoughts, I decided to stay awake to watch some actual falling snow. I watched the 10 O'clock and 11 O'clock News weathercasts...I watched Luc Besson's "The Fifth Element". Around 2AM I looked at the webcams and saw a little bit of dusting. I looked at my front porch...not a flake yet.

I fired up another SciFi Classic, Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner" on Blu-ray I must have fallen asleep around 3AM. I woke up and looked outside a 0430...still no joy. When I looked again, there was a little dust on things, but it wasn't snowing anymore. Blazing sunlight burned through my blinds at 0830. Chain controls were up over Donner Summit for a time, but they'd been lifted in time to cause enough spinouts to cause CalTrans to hold westbound traffic for a time.

I missed the last morning weathercast on the TrainWreck News, so I found one online.


Thanks Channel 8 KOLO Reno!

Falling Back On History

I just watched the 10 O'clock News, and the 11 O'clock news, and both weathermen looked weary. They both said we'd get some showers Thursday, but they were displaying zero enthusiasm when it came to actual amounts of measurable precipitation. KCRA3's Mark Finan did say "Maybe a tenth of an inch"

I won't lie...this is starting to get to me...though it's been colder this week, temps are still favoring snowmaking only 15-16 hour of the day. So it's one of those good news/bad news things...Yes, we're making snow...no, we're not getting anywhere fast...just a long slow slog...

I've been watching it all happen of course. Thanks to the miracle of webcams and the internet, I've been keeping an eye on it from the cozy comfort of the DaveCave as I putter about straightening up the place in preparation for when I finally do get back to work.

Fortunately, I've been entertained, or rather cheered up by @RosiesWWII Twitter stream. She's started a Facebook page now for those not on Twitter. As I suspected she would, Rosie is introducing us to all the players in her life and neighborhood along with events from the war. As I think about it, I'm grateful...after all Rosie has undertaken a four plus year long project. That's quite the commitment. Love of history can motivate much.

I looked it up, this is CorduroyPlanet's 635th installment since I began back in August 2009. Amazingly, I've rarely had a hard time finding something that I needed to say, though today I didn't have one thing that excited me...I just put it in gear, and well, here we are...

Now that I think about it, it reminds me of those Russian nesting dolls with several layers like an onion...this commitment. Twitter...140 characters whenever events dictate. Since I've been tweeting, I've gained a new respect for brevity. 140 characters (spaces count against the 140) isn't much to declare a pithy thought...say pose a question and answer it.

@CorduroyPlanet started using Twitter three months after I began the blog. In the beginning, I used Twitter like I use the radio...I listen. Save for the 2-Way Radio in my snowcat, I never broadcast. I didn't really start tweeting for quite a while. Still, I mostly only tweet the link to each blog, and even there I'm not exactly clockwork...the rest of my tweets are baseball and satellite stuff...yeah, blowhard city...I made CorduroyPlanet's Facebook page about a month after I started the blog.

@RosiesWWII did the onion/layer thing the opposite way. Twitter, then Facebook, and now her blog Rosalind Sinclair where she fleshes out her tweets, posts photos, and videos.

Yeah, I guess I really had nothing tonight...would it hurt you to like Rosie's Facebook page, follow her on Twitter, or bookmark her blog?

Too many more of these slow weeks, and I might have nothing to say more often! Rosie's world could be your fall-back position...sorta pick up my slack, so to speak...OK?

Thanks for hanging in there today!

Waiting History

I'm having mixed feelings today, they started last night while I was watching 2004's "The Aviator", the Martin Scorsese biopic about Howard Hughes, played by Leonardo DeCaprio. Leo DeCaprio never did a thing for me until I saw his Howard Hughes in "The Aviator".

After the movie I went back to scanning the 'net for snowmaking intel...webcam views, and the latest forecast prognostications...this is the major component of my increasing funkiness I'm afraid...The temperature inversions are back in control of our snowmaking microclimates again, and production is way down.

As I knocked around cyberspace, I saw these two things...Alec Baldwin got thrown off an American Airlines flight at LAX, and veteran character actor Harry Morgan passed away at 96. This was a little unsettling for me as I just watched Baldwin and Morgan's M*A*S*H costar Alan Alda in several pivotal scenes in the movie.

Alda played US Senator Ralph Owen Brewster and Baldwin portrayed PanAm founder Juan Trippe, who were a little too chummy in the Crony Capitalism way that's become far too commonplace in America today. DeCaprio's Hughes testifying at Brewster's Senate Hearings was the movie's tour de force performance, setting up the film's climax.

As my day turned to Wednesday, I realized  that it was the 70th unhappy anniversary of Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Although certainly the most infamous event of all December 7ths, some other stuff happened that pulls my strings too...

NASA introduced Mercury Mark II in 1961. We now know it as the Gemini Program.

In 1995, NASA's Galileo became the first spacecraft from Earth to orbit Jupiter.

My life has been pretty wrapped up with history these past few months...I've taken on the Lincoln Highway this summer, and visited a couple of historic WW2 fighting vessels, the battleship Iowa, and the Victory Ship Red Oak Victory.

There's lots of history to Baseball, Formula One auto racing, and the Tour de France is nearing it's Centennial Year, too.

Tons of baseball news has come out this week, including SF Giants trades. Baseball is having it Winter Meetings in Dallas. Some of my favorite players from the Giants' miracle 2010 World Series season are gone. Reports say the Giants have maxed out their 2012 budget. Cody Ross, Andres Torres, thanks for the memories...

In bicycle racing, teams are coming together while reacting to the continued downturn of sponsorship money worldwide. Team RadioShack merged with Team Leopard Trek, the AMGEN Tour of California has announced the 2012 Start and Finish Cities, but not the routes.

What really had me on tenterhooks was waiting for news from FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting in New Dehli, about the inaugural US Grand Prix at Austin, TX. Promoters of the race were shocked when F1 honcho Bernie Ecclestone threatened to void the 10 year contract to hold the US Grand Prix on the under construction Circuit of the Americas unless promoters paid several years in advance! Construction had been halted last month when the "new deal" became public. Time is of the essence for the November 18, 2012 race...a race I plan on attending!

The news was good when I got up Wednesday morning...construction resumes immediately outside Austin. In other F1 news for the New Dehli meeting, Finnish racer Kimi Räikkönen returns to F1 next season with Team Lotus after racing rally cars last season. That makes six World Driver's Champions on track next year!

March seems a long ways off today...let's hope Winter gets going soon...

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...

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.

Snow Globe

Well, with nothing to look at on the Sierra Nevada Ski Resorts' webcams, I found something to watch via the web that did show Mother Nature's fluffiest falling from the sky. But that's not the whole story!

I was watching my twitter stream blow up over a 60 Minutes report of US Congressmen using their privileged knowledge to engage in insider trading, which in the case of US Congresspersons is not against the law! Do as we legislate...not as we do, says the new saw!

Anyway, while my blood pressure was rising, tweets from  @SpaceflightNow began to catch my eye: "Inside 90 minutes to blastoff for an American astronaut and 2 Russian cosmonauts at 11:14pmEST: Live coverage: http://t.co/MDSL1MoS"

This was the first human launch into space since NASA's Space Shuttle Fleet was retired. I followed the link and low and behold, there was a LIVE view of a Russian Soyuz rocket ready to blast off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

I was amazed when the feed began...it was snowing...hard!

Now I've been a NASA kid since I was...well, a kid... I watched all the launches of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo Projects as I grew up enthralled with America's race to the moon. All these launches were from Cape Canaveral, Florida, later renamed Cape Kennedy for President John F Kennedy who sent the nation on the quest of "landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth".

In five decades of watching NASA blast astronauts into orbit, not once did they launch into a snowstorm! I'm not sure if it's even snowed in Florida in those five decades! The only time I even saw ice at The Cape was on the unfortunate Space Shuttle Challenger and it's Launch Tower before it's doomed launch in 1986. That very ice compromised the elasticity of the Solid Rocket Booster's O-Ring Seals leading to the explosion and loss of the Challenger and her crew of five men and two women.

Launching Pad Ice the morning of the Challenger disaster

The ice on the Shuttle's Launch Tower looked daunting in hindsight, so the blizzard on the Soyuz launch was a little unsettling for me. NASA TV's stream from Baikonur was flawless as was the launch.



The spacecraft was obscured by snow within seconds of liftoff (something that NASA would never allow at The Cape) so the video feed switched to the inside of the Soyuz capsule showing the two cosmonauts and the American astronaut as the rocket ascended into space on their way to the International Space Station. It was a kick listening to the Russian controller's accents as they reported in English, the progress and data points of the launch. The Russian accents weren't as thick as you'd think if you were raised on Cold War Spy Movies and James Bond Villains...it's funny how that firm Russian edge adds a perceived regimented authority to the proceedings.

Making A Liar Outta Me?

Did Mother Nature make a liar of me?

Well, Boreal did turn their fans and guns off for a while Saturday...and Friday I wrote: "Things are looking good going forward...the forecast says they could go full bore/nonstop until Monday afternoon!"

Well, Boreal graciously turned off their system for their guests today, but a mile south as the crow flies, Sugar Bowl's fans have been blowing around the clock for almost 48 hours...with no end in sight!

I just perused the Reno forecast and AFD. Aside from some more lollygagging by the incoming moisture associated with this cold front, the Big Picture hasn't changed. Snowmaking weather continues around the clock until Monday afternoon. Oh, and the precip amount turns out to be less than the models predicted...whatta surprise...yeah, right...La Niña...remember?

I thought so...

Winds Of Change

I woke to the twin symphonies of Talk Radio and prefrontal winds blustering outside. I like to start my days with a chortle or two, and the Armstrong and Getty Show always delivers.

It is really howling out this morning! Before I started packing, I looked around the web for some weather intel...Boreal's webcam, nearby remote sensors, Reno's AFD. Wind Advisory this morning, and a Winter Weather Advisory for the afternoon (5PM PDT) Forecasters say the front is dawdling a bit, and the precip is limited at best...mostly right behind the frontal boundary. They say 4-6 inches at the Crest at 1-2 inches an hour.

Another round of snow for the weekend, and unsettled weather 'till midweek. It doesn't look like a season starter, but it should favor snowmaking.

While data harvesting, news of the 2012 AMGEN Tour of California bicycle race caught my eye...I've been waiting months for the announcement of the Route and Host Cities. Regulars will recall what happened last May when the AMGEN was slated to run right through Truckee and over Donner Summit on Old Highway 40. That's right...a May snowstorm forced organizers to cancel Stage 1 from South Lake Tahoe to Northstar, and shorten Stage 2 (My local stage) bypassing the climb over Donner Pass. We did catch up with the AMGEN for Stage 4, enjoying our delayed gratification.

Actually light on Route information, the Host Cities do tell a tale. Not much racing in the High Sierra...in fact-None! Sonora is Mother Lode territory, not high mountains. Burned last year by La Niña's last blast of winter, AMGEN doesn't appear to be taking any chances with lingering winter in 2012.  The mountaintop finishes are all in SoCal, though winter could linger there...witness Mammoth Mountain's July 4th closing date this year!  Also MIA: Sacramento, Modesto and Solvang.

Worth waiting for! Chain controls are already moving up the mountain.

The snow began falling on Donner Summit right at 6PM.  Interstate 80 closed at Drum at 8:15PM Multiple spinouts cited. I escaped it all but a few sprinkles around Vacaville.

The Big Tease

Tonight the mercury just doesn't want to fall those last few degrees. Snowmakers earn it when they're watching the thermometer.

The Reno AFD says the cold front will bring some snow Thursday evening...not a bunker-buster exactly, but snowfall in early November none the less...

I wrapped my chores this afternoon, so I can make my final escape to the Inland Valley before Thanksgiving ushers in the new season. I'm the family turkey chef now that my Dad's passed away, I treasure the Thanksgiving ritual...two days in the kitchen. I love those free range turkeys from Sonora.They seem a little pricy...until you taste 'em!

I guess I'm plugged in for ski season now...I've been looking in on Boreal since sundown...and the nearby PWS stations tell the story. After getting down into the low 30s, the temps are rising into the 40's

You can't see 'em, but here's Boreal's snowmaking crew...really earning it.

No worries...natural snow by this time Thursday!

Back On the Horse

Change is in the air tonight. The weatherman promises snow later this week. Since Friday the overnight  temps have trended up, up, up. About 6PM Tuesday I looked at the remote sensors around Donner Summit. They looked promising...the afternoon highs were down from Monday, and the forecast said cooling overnight pending a cold front due Thursday afternoon.

After dinner I sidetracked myself with some WW2 Documentaries on PBS. Before I realized it, it was after 10PM! I looked at Boreal's webcam...yep, they're back in business...snowmaking-wise. I'm sure they're shooting to reopen Friday.

All this nice weather has been seductive...I've been soaking it up...luxuriating even...at the DaveCave. I've got a day or two of chores to be ready for the season, so I'm guilt-free. However, I did miss a big deal down in the Inland Valley.

When SturgeUrge and I go sturgeon fishing, most of the time we launch at Martinez and fish the Mothball Fleet (MBF) on Suisun Bay.

The National Defense Reserve Fleet has been one of America's  retirement villages for America's decommissioned warships since the end of World War Two...and a great sturgeon fishing hole. Most of the MBF ships are troop ships, freighters, tankers and oilers. The fleet gained a distinguished fighting veteran in the spring of 2001, the battleship, USS Iowa.

Launched in August 1942, the Iowa was the first of four Iowa Class fast battleships built in New York and Philadelphia's Naval Shipyards during WW2. The Iowa was the only Iowa Class battlewagon to serve in the Atlantic.

After her maiden shakedown cruise, and two weeks of maintenance, the Iowa ferried President Roosevelt to Casablanca, the first leg of FDR's journey to the Tehran Conference with Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin.

After the Atlantic voyage, the Iowa sailed to the Pacific Theater. USS Iowa fought her way through the Pacific from January 1944 all the way to Tokyo, seeing action in the Marshall Islands, Kwajalein, Eniwetok,  Guam, Saipan, the Marianas, Truk, The Battle of the Philippine Sea, and the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

Iowa survived Typhoon Cobra that devastated Task Force 38. TF 38, seven fleet carriers, six light carriers, eight battleships, 15 cruisers, and about 50 destroyers, was slammed broadside by the typhoon during their attempt to refuel at sea.

Three destroyers capsized and sank with nearly all hands, while a cruiser, five aircraft carriers, and three destroyers suffered serious damage. Almost 800 sailors perished and 80 were injured.

Iowa reported zero injured sailors as a result of the typhoon, but suffered a loss of one of her float planes, and damage to one of her shafts. The damaged shaft required Iowa to return to the US, and she arrived at San Francisco on 15 January 1945, for repairs. During the course of the overhaul Iowa had her bridge area enclosed, and was outfitted with new search radars and fire-control systems. before returning to action.

Iowa's sister ship, the USS Missouri was the site of Japan's formal surrender on Tokyo Bay, Iowa entered Tokyo Bay a day later.

Seen from the water in a small skiff, Iowa is very impressive. To this day you can see the typhoon battered plates of her hull. Low slung and 887ft long, she looks fast even at anchor. Iowa's 16 inch main battery still looks lethal.

Iowa ended up at the MBF after San Francisco's Board of Supervisors passed on berthing her on the San Francisco waterfront as a floating museum. In September 2011, the USS Iowa was awarded to Pacific Battleship Center for placement at the Port of Los Angeles, after some rehab at the Port of Richmond.

Here's what I missed: Last Thursday and Friday Iowa began her journey. Thursday's very high tide was perfect to move her from the fleet and under the three Benicia Bridges. She spent Thursday night side tied to the Subaru Wharf in Benicia before her tow to Richmond on Friday's high tide. Iowa draws 37ft, and Richmond spent a good part of Summer dredging it's Inner Channel.

Iowa will be in Richmond into January. We'll get down there ASAP...while there's still some halibut stragglers still haunting San Francisco Bay!

Lost In Spaces

My zeal for knowledge of ROSAT's final resting places is becoming tempered as time passes. @ROSAT_Reentry is still tweeting about three more hunks of Space Junk that are reentering in the next few days!

OK, in the past hour @ROSAT_Reentry says two of the three have now reentered. These are Rocket Boosters, not dense or heavy satellites, so very little debris if any should make it back to Earth's surface.

Since Tuesday, I've been keeping an eye on Boreal's webcam because they announced that snowmaking would begin and a day or so later, that they would open Friday.

Regular readers know I was skeptical...based on my frequent viewing of the webcam images. Thursday evening, and again Friday morning, Sacramento's Local News Broadcasts featured video or LIVE remotes from Boreal touting the 3PM Friday opening. Boreal will turn one lift until 8PM.

I expect to see LIVE Remotes from Sacramento and Reno TV Stations tonight.

A funny thing happened after lunch today...Boreal moved their webcam a little to the east revealing their Nugget Double Chair. I definitely felt like I fell for their head fake.

The webcam view until today was of the top-to-bottom snowmaking line with top-to-bottom flood lighting, leading me to think they would open their mid length Castle Peak Quad Chair. I figured given the short hours of snowmaking temps, that they wouldn't have their top-to-bottom Accelerator Quad Chair in time for this weekend... OK, reel me in now...

I looked in at 3PM and a crowd was forming, by 4PM it was a big crowd for a small patch of snow!  I looked at the nearest PWS, the Central Sierra Snowlab. The Snowlab is on the other side of the ridge from Boreal. Boreal's on the North side the Snowlab is on the South side in Soda Springs. Boreal will be cooler than the Lab most days because they're up in the Donner Pass Gap. The Lab was 54°F at 4PM. Boreal was probably 4°F-5°F cooler...still warm for a ski hill.

That's a crowd!

Boreal needs a good night of snowmaking temps to make enough snow to build the maze area for the Castle Peak Quad.

There's ski resorts opening this weekend from coast to coast, and Winter Storm Warnings are up for much of the Northeast...I'll update those after Game 7 of the World Series...Play Ball!

There's nothing like World Series Game Seven! Congratulations St Louis!

Today my twitter stream came alive with news of Ski Resorts around the country opening this weekend...

Sunday River in Maine opens Saturday.
Killington and Mount Snow in Vermont Saturday
Wolf Creek in Colorado Saturday
Colorado's Loveland and Arapahoe Basin are already turning some lifts.