"I'm yellin' Timber!"

A sea of freshies on Lower Tattle Tale!

Dear everyone who thought Winter was going to pass us by after a weird January,

Are you still wondering?!?

But, seriously. It took 17 days in January to total up a foot of natural snowfall, and we've already seen that much during the first week of February. Timberline got open, we're at a season-high of open terrain, and while we're still waiting on one more good storm for Wilderness, it's no longer a questions of "if", but rather, "when" that will open up. I tell ya, the next month-and-a-half are going to be the best snow months of the season. They always have been, and the stage is set for history to keep on repeating itself. What can I say? When I'm right, I'm right.

And now, onward we trek...

Weather:

January's biggest problem was that its weather patterns were about as stable as a one-legged chair in the middle of an oil slick. February has righted those wrongs and we've seen pretty normal weather over the last 8 days. Pretty much every day this month, it's either been dumping snow or bluebird skies. That's my kind of forecast. After three consecutive days of sunshine, today brings a chance of flurries again. See what I'm saying?  This also makes it a heck of a lot easier to talk about the weather because, ya know, we can actually sort of predict and follow it again. Today will be a little warmer than yesterday, but not much, and Monday might bring a passing flurry or two as well. Tuesday and Wednesday look bright blue again and there's a little something something brewing for Thursday that we're keeping our eyes on. Stay tuned.

How's the Snow:

I'm exhausted from all the powder riding I've done this week. Wednesday - Thursday were arguably the three best days of the season so far, and with freshies over the boots in most places, it's gets pretty tiring to ride after three solid days. So many powder laps off Timberline down Sure Shot and Lower Tattle Tale (photo above). First World problems, I know, but still. What you should take away from this is that the skiing and riding has never been better, and even four days after Winter Storm Nika, there's still some first tracks and powder stashes to be found out there. With 51 trails and 5 lifts up and running, you should be able to make yourself as tired as I.

Two important notes: 1) Timberline looks great when you're riding up the chair, but I promise you there's only 12 inches of fluff on closed trails. Underneath it's all rock. Respect Ski Patrol's ropes. They're up for a reason. 2) The trees are not ready. Again, it's powder syndrome. I'm dying to get my glade runs in just like everyone else, but not at the expense of my health or equipment. It's just too thin underneath. One more big storm, and that might change, but right now it's just not there yet. Sad face.

Snowmaking:

In one word: halted. We finished up work on Cobrass the other day, and that trail opened up yesterday. Snowmaking crews wanted to freshen up the top corner, which was looking pretty Earthy, so they blew snow from the top, down to Cafe corner. It should ski great now, and we'll have a nice base depth on Cobrass for spring. Crews have really battled Mother Nature this season, and our pond is starting to look a little low now. We're reevaluating our strategy in the next day or two to figure out what our next move is with the guns and how we want to finish up the year.

What's Going On:

Trivia Night: Beat the back-to-work blues. Head to the James Moore Tavern for a night of trivia. 

50/50 Monday: On Mondays beginning January 6th, folks age 50 and over can enjoy 50% off in many spots here on the mountain

College Night: Wednesdays starting at noon, students with a current college ID can ski and ride for only $19. Also includes $2 pizza slices.

Night Riders: This park event has been a huge success this year. This week's format: Slopestyle.