Skiing Weatherman: Winter Is Delivering
Looks Like A Promising Couple Of Weeks.
It has been a terrific week of skiing and riding in most of the U.S. and Canada and I have been lucky enough to squeeze in a couple of days. Loon Mountain on Tuesday was wonderful; miles and miles of packed powder and views of the White Mountains that are hard to beat. Packed powder, sunshine, and light winds at Stratton on Thursday added up to another awesome day.
The pattern looks very promising for the next couple of weeks, but it is not without its challenges. The primary challenge arises from a jet stream development over the northeastern Pacific that quite honestly, I had not anticipated. With a sizable pool of warmer than normal water over that part of the Pacific, I expected an upper level ridge to be a persistent feature that would extend northward to Alaska. Instead, a trough is parked over Alaska and the counter clockwise circulation around it cuts off cold air from the high latitudes and pumps milder Pacific air into the southern Canada/U.S. pattern instead. Temps will be above normal over Canada for the next ten days or so as flat ridging dominates there. Does that mean that it can’t snow over the northern tier of states? Not at all, because we are at the climatologically coldest time of year. However, each storm will be a nail-biter for snow vs. rain in the Midwest, northern mid-Atlantic, and Northeast. Here is a forecast map for the jet stream across the continent for later Saturday, Jan 25, that illustrates the issues.
The trough off the west coast that stretches northward to Alaska is tapping relatively mild air and sending it into the Northwest and mountains of B.C. There is a ton of moisture available, but snow levels will be an issue in WA and OR this weekend…not so further north in B.C. The moisture will flow east and the northern and central Rockies will benefit with moderate amounts of new snow later this weekend.
The red shades that you see across Canada indicate the extent of the ridge that will play a major role in this weekend’s event in the Northeast. Although it is mild relative to normal over the eastern half of Canada, that air is still cold enough to support snow. Also, upper ridges support surface high pressure centers that can deliver low level cold air into the path of a storm. Just such a high will be present over Quebec this weekend and it will help produce snow in the Adirondacks, Greens, Whites, and into the mountains of Maine. Further south it will turn into more of an elevation-dependent tossup. The upper ridge will help suppress the trough you see over eastern Ohio and it will track east…favorable for the snow to the north. The upper ridge will also keep the surface low from racing out to sea, so the snow will be a 48-60 hour event. Here is a snowfall forecast map through Monday night…it is great to see that significant snow will reach southward to West Virginia resorts…they are running a little lean right now.
Longer term it looks like the same general pattern will remain in place for the next 10-14 days, with another eastern storm in the cards late next week. After that, the western ridge should poke north far enough to deliver a fresh shot of cold to the lower 48.
Here Are The Regional Details
Northwest U.S./Western Canada: B.C. will see very heavy snow this weekend. WA and OR Cascades pick up heavy “cement” as snow levels start high and slowly drop. Same general setup holds through next week.
Sierra: Snow—perhaps a foot—Saturday night/Sunday Tahoe regio. Snow levels dropping through the event. Lighter snows southern Sierra. Some light snow next week; main storm track to north.
Northern Rockies: Moderate snow will develop later this weekend from Pacific trough. Wasatch, Tetons and points north looking snowy next week.
Central and southern Rockies: Dry weekend. Light snow early next week central, just snow showers south.
Midwest: Light snow north this weekend, mixed precip WI and lower MI. Another shot at snow later next week.
Northeast/QB: Long duration light to moderate snow event this weekend, north of I-90. Elevation snow between I-80 and I-90. Snow south to WV along Appalachian spine. Another storm late next week.
Jeeves, Bring Me Some Skis…
…And Boots. Ski Butler Service Takes The Schlep Out Of Ski Vacations.
Maura Grady of Ski Butlers adjusts the bindings on Rossignol Soul 7 HD skis, one of the models the company offers. Credit: Jon Nelson
I’ve always wanted a butler. After watching all of those episodes of “Downton Abbey,” who wouldn’t?
And like the wise and efficient Carson on that popular TV show and movie, Ski Butlers offers an indispensable service, making the lives of traveling winter recreationists a whole lot easier.
Ski Butlers is a “come-to-you” ski and snowboard rental service that operates out of some of the largest markets in North America and Europe. Once you fly to a destination and check into your accommodations, Ski Butlers arrives with the gear, setting you up on site.
It’s a seamless operation.
I used the service when I flew into Salt Lake City for a four-day tour of Wasatch resorts in mid-January. The Ski Butlers team brought everything —goggles, helmet, skis, boots and poles. I had requested a high performance package and got Rossignol Soul 7 HD skis, a model I’ve been wanting to try out for a couple of years.
Your first question might be, “How did they fit your boots?”
Maura Grady of Ski Butlers brought several different pairs of boots for me, finding the right-fitting performance Rossignol boots almost immediately. I even learned something from her after finding the right pair.
“Pull the power strap tightly above the top buckle to prevent bruising on your shins,” she said.
It worked. Thank you, Carson. I mean Maura!
Once the boots were selected, Grady set the bindings, and I was good to go. The skis performed flawlessly during my tour of Alta, Snowbird, Solitude, Brighton, Snowbasin and Powder Mountain.
And let me also say this: The Soul 7s are a great ski for Utah’s amazing powder.
When it’s time to go back home, Ski Butlers picks up the gear, saving you another travel headache. All in all, it’s the easiest rental service I’ve ever used.
Ski Butlers started at Park City, Utah, in 2004, and has expanded to 50 destinations worldwide, concentrating on the Rocky Mountains and Western United States, said Nikki Bongaerts, senior content and communications manager.
The pricing for Ski Butlers depends upon the time of year, the type of package and the location, Bongaerts said, with rates going up during the busiest times of the year. She added: “Our prices are equal to or lower than the shop prices on the hill.”
For example, base prices in Park City range between $51 per day for a “first-timer” package and $71 per day for a high performance package.
Some of the top markets for Ski Butlers are Utah, Summit County in Colorado, the Lake Tahoe area in California, Jackson Hole, Wyo., and Big Sky, Mont., Bongaerts said. Some Northeastern U.S. destinations may be added in the future, she added, depending upon demand.
Besides the boot-fitting, the other main concern among customers is whether the gear will be beat up. No worries—the bases of my skis were perfectly tuned, thanks to Ski Butlers’ Montana tuning machine, a state-of-the-art robotic system.
Rather than schlepping your gear on an airplane, you might want to consider Ski Butlers in the future.
“The biggest advantage is the convenience factor,” Bongaerts said.
This Old Moriarty Hat
Who owns a hat for 50 years? Well, if it’s a Moriarty hat, perhaps you understand why.
Getting ready to shovel the driveway one cold morning last winter, I reached to the top shelf of the hall closet for a hat. My fingers felt the double-thick headband of my old Moriarty hat tucked up out of sight. I pulled it over my ears and went a-shoveling. Working the shovel in knee-deep in snow, a thought occurred to me. Wait a minute. I bought that hat from Mrs. Moriarty’s shop on the Stowe Mountain Road in 1964. That made it fifty years old. My hat was fifty. It has been with me in trunks, suitcases, boxes and dresser drawers in moves from New York to California to Japan back to California and then to Massachusetts. Been with me at Mammoth Mountain, cross-country in Appleton Farms, MA, going to class in Syracuse, sailing the Gulf of Maine, walking to work from North Station in downtown Boston. Fifty years is a long time to own a hat. Of course, I had other hats, but my Moriarty kept popping into my hand from time to time from the top shelf. How did this happen?
Back in the 60s and 70s, Moriarty hats were iconic. The Preppy Handbook lampooned them as an essential part of the spoiled college kid outfit. Almost everyone I skied with at Song Mountain, Tully, NY, had one. The three points on the top were like a rooster’s cockscomb, distinctive and bold. You wore your hat down tight over your ears with your goggles wrapped around your head. No helmets in those days. It was a “look” that even the most tentative skiers could exhibit.
Mrs. Moriarty founded a cottage industry around weaving those hats. Soon outpaced by the volume of orders, Mrs. M. enlisted an army of fifty weavers in Stowe village, producing as many as 40,000 in 1965. At its height, the Moriarty hat was as ubiquitous a symbol of skiing as Head skis and Marker turntable bindings. An ad in SKI was bold enough to say, “The people of Vermont make great maple syrup, great cheddar cheese and the best ski hats in the world.” As I said, icon status.
You can buy a vintage Moriarty hat on eBay or from the Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum that somehow has a stock of left over inventory from the later days of the company. The Moriarty family got out of the business in the 80s.
Mrs. Moriarty was told by skiers that “they skied better” with her hat on.
Credit: SKI January, 1965
Don’t ask why I never sent my hat off to the Salvation Army. Despite the odd moth hole, it has simply always been part of my kit along with a handful of books, a banjo, a lighter from my Navy destroyer, and other small remainders of the past. Things that travel through life with you have value. When you pick them up again after many years, memories start to emerge in layers. Even after many years. Even a ski hat. That’s why I love my Moriarty hat.
Do you still have one?
For more information, check out Retro-Skiing.com as well as Ivy-Style.com.
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