Archives: February 2020

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Extreme Challenge

Posted at 4:09 pm
Athletes doing trail inspection

We had the best conditions that we have ever had for the Extreme Challenge today. The snow was perfect with a nice deep base. Today’s competition was on Madonna Liftline from mid-station down to Lower Madonna Liftline. Tomorrow’s competition will be on the Headwall. I am very excited about all the wild action there will be on the Headwall tomorrow! The competition starts at 11:00 am tomorrow morning. Spectators are welcome. You can watch the action from where Red Fox Glades cuts across Madonna Liftline above mid-station. The best place to see the competition is from the Madonna I Lift.

We are 100 percent open with top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with all 8 lifts operating. We plan to have all 78 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are powder and packed powder with average base depths of 20 to 60 inches. 34 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including McPherson’s, Snow Snake, and Jolly Rodger for a grand total of 138 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Currently it is 6 degrees at the summit of Sterling with winds of 5 to 10 mph. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for partly sunny skies with a high of 24 degrees.

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32 inches of new snow in the past 3 days!

Posted at 7:51 am
Groomers on Lower Morse Liftline packing down the 12 inches of new snow that we received in the past 24 hours.

Today we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with all 8 lifts operating. We plan to have all 78 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are powder and packed powder with average base depths of 20 to 60 inches. 33 trails have been groomed for today, including Snow Snake, Drifter, and Thomke’s for a grand total of 138 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Currently, it is snowing and 8 degrees at the summit of Sterling with winds of 5 to 10 mph. Today’s forecast is calling for cloudy skies with a chance of snow showers and a high of 21 degrees. Enjoy the fantastic conditions!

The Extreme Challenge is this weekend on Madonna Liftline! The Headwall and mid-station down to the groomed section of Lower Madonna Liftline will be closed this weekend for the competition. You can see the action from the Madonna I Lift. This weekend is going to gnarly!

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Powder!

Posted at 2:44 pm
Tony goes deep
Chris riding the powder
Jason loving the new snow
Lenny having fun in the fresh snow
Snow Reporter getting into his work.
PC Tony Lehouillier

It’s great to have all the fresh snow! I want to take a minute to apologize for the lifts that were on hold today. The Village Lift was on wind hold most of the day, but it opened at around 2 pm. The Madonna I lift experienced an electrical problem and it shut down around 1:45 pm. We were able to get the Madonna II lift running around 2 pm. There ending up being a frozen wheel on the Madonna II lift that we missed and the lift had to be shut down for repairs. It was a pretty wild day for our lift staff. The good news is that we plan to have all 8 lifts operating tomorrow! Speaking of lifts I would like to remind people that jumping out of the chair can derail the lift. Even if you are low to the ground.

We received 14 inches of new snow in the past 24 hours and 24 inches in the past 2 days! Tomorrow we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with all 8 lifts operating. We plan to have all 78 trails open tomorrow with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are powder and packed powder with average base depths of 18 to 56 inches. 33 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Ruthie’s, Snow Snake, and Practice Slope for a grand total of 138 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Tonight’s forecast is calling for 1 to 3 inches of snow. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for cloudy skies with a chance of a snow shower with a high of 17 degrees.

The Extreme Challenge is this weekend on Upper Madonna Liftline. Tomorrow the competition will be held just below mid-station. Lower Madonna Liftline will be open. The Headwall and below mid-station will be closed this weekend for the competition. On Sunday the competition will be held on the Headwall. The conditions are perfect and the competition should be off the hook!

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20 inches of new snow in the past 30 hours!

Posted at 10:11 am
Snowing hard
Ski Patroller Niels caught in the snow globe
Ski Patroller Bob doing trail check on Smugglers’ Alley
Ski Patroller Rob knee deep on Upper FIS

We have 77 skiable trails and 63 lift accessible trails open today. The Madonna 1 lift presently on hold. We have 6 lifts operating today. Surface conditions are powder and packed powder with average base depths of 18 to 56 inches. 37 trails have been groomed for today for a grand total of 145 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Amazing conditions!

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Powder Day

Posted at 4:51 pm
Hugh B enjoying the fresh snow!
Untracked
Snow Reporter testing the product. PC Hugh B Johnson III
Yes it was that kind of day!

The conditions today were just plain amazing! It was snowing so hard that you were able to find fresh tracks each run. The new snow started off wet and it stuck to everything, which is just what we wanted. The wet snow will bond with the existing snow. The temperature was falling through out the day, which in turn made the snow drier. The new snow will insulate the existing snow. This will allow the moisture in the snow to drain instead of freezing. The skiing and riding is fantastic everywhere, but I found the best snow today in the trees. It is going to be another great day tomorrow with 1 to 3 inches of snow in the forecast for tonight and another 2 to 4 inches during the day tomorrow! It is going to be a great weekend. Speaking of this weekend we have the Extreme Challenge on Madonna Liftline. The Headwall and below mid station will be closed tomorrow due to preparations for the competition. The groomed section of Lower Madonna Liftline will be open tomorrow and this weekend.

Tomorrow we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 7 lifts operating, including the Madonna 1 lift. We have 77 out of 78 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are powder and packed powder with average base depths of 18 to 56 inches. 37 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Ruthie’s, Timberrr, and Smugglers’ Alley for a grand total of 145 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Currently it is still snowing and 17 degrees at the summit of Sterling. Tomorrow’s high of the day is 22 degrees.

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It is dumping!

Posted at 11:28 am
Ski lesson on Lower Madonna Liftline

We have already received 4 inches of new snow today! The Sterling Lift is now loading. We have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 6 lifts operating, including the Madonna 1 Lift. We have 69 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are powder and packed powder with average base depths of 16 to 54 inches. 31 trails have been groomed for today, including Upper Chilcoot, Black Snake, and Log Jam for a grand total of 128 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Great conditions! Upper Madonna Liftline is open from the top down to the Robin’s Run work road.

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Here comes the snow

Posted at 7:20 am

Forecast for Latitude 44.57°N and Longitude 72.78°W (Elev. 2402 ft) Today Rain and snow, becoming all snow after 10 am. The rain and snow could be heavy at times. Temperature falling to around 27 degrees by 4 pm. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches possible.

Tonight Snow showers likely. Cloudy, with a low around 11 degrees. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.

Friday A 50 percent chance of snow showers. Cloudy, with a high near 21 degrees. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.

Friday Night A 40 percent chance of snow showers. Cloudy, with a low around 10 degrees. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.

This forecast is for mid mountain elevation. The Village is 1030 feet and the summit of Madonna is 3640 feet.

We received an inch of new snow so far today. Currently it is snowing and 24 degrees at the summit of Madonna with winds of 15 to 25 mph. We have 68 skiable trails and 46 lift accessible trails open today. The Sterling Lift is presently on wind hold. We plan to have 5 lift operating today, Madonna 1, Village, Morse Highlands, Mogul Mouse’s Magic, and Sir Henry’s Wonder Carpet. Surface conditions are machine groomed and variable with average base depths of 16 to 54 inches. 31 trails have been groomed for today, that’s a grand total of 128 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Freefall is open from the traverse on Upper FIS.

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Nice soft conditions today

Posted at 5:15 pm
Paul throwing some snow around on Upper FIS
Noah having fun in Doc Dempsey’s Glades
Big John on Upper FIS
William cruising down Upper FIS
Hugh catching some air in Doc Dempsey’s Glades
Turns under the Sterling Rock

It was a great day on the slopes! I was on all 3 mountains today. I started with snowboarding on Morse Mountain. I had a blast carving turns on Garden Path, Sam’s Run, and Lower Morse Liftline. I switched to skis and then headed for the upper mountains. I did some GS turns on Black Snake and skied the bumps on Full Nelson. I then enjoyed the soft snow on Upper FIS. I then caught up with my son Hugh and his friend Noah for a fun run down Doc Dempsey’s Glades.

Tonight’s forecast is calling for 1 to 3 inches of new snow. Tomorrow’s forecast is also snow with another 5 to 9 inches of accumulation possible with a high of 35 degrees. Temperatures will be falling through the day. We could see a storm total of up to 14 inches of new snow by Friday. Tomorrow we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 6 lifts operating, including the Madonna I lift. We have 69 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are machine groomed and variable with average base depths of 16 to 54 inches. 31 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Smugglers’ Alley, Snow Snake, and McPherson’s for a grand total of 128 acres of freshly groomed terrain.

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Just the beginning

Posted at 8:00 am
This photo was taken yesterday on top of Sterling at 4 pm.
Forecast for Latitude 44.57°N and Longitude 72.78°W (Elev. 2402 ft)

Today: Snow likely before 2 pm, then rain and snow likely. Patchy fog between 2 pm and 4 pm. Otherwise, cloudy, with a high near 34. The chance of precipitation is 70%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half-inch possible.

Tonight: Snow likely, mainly after 2 am. Cloudy, with a low around 33. The chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.

Thursday: Snow. The snow could be heavy at times. Temperature falling to around 22 by 5 pm. The chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 5 to 9 inches possible.

Thursday night: Snow showers likely, mainly before 3 am. Cloudy, with a low around 11. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.

Today we have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 6 lifts operating, including the Madonna 1 lift. We have 68 trails open today with terrain for all ability levels. The Birch Run Terrain Park is temporarily closed due to reshaping. Surface conditions are machine groomed and variable with average base depths of 16 to 54 inches. 31 trails have been groomed for today, including Snow Snake, Playground, and Smugglers’ Alley for a grand total of 128 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Currently it is snowing and 26 degrees at the summit of Madonna with winds of 5 to 15 mph.