Madonna I

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day

Posted at 7:07 am

Green is what you wear and spring is in the air. Today we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 6 lifts operating, including Morse Highlands and Madonna I. We have 67 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. 28 trails have been groomed for today, including Chilcoot, Waterfall, Snake Bite, Rumrunner, Hibernator, and Sam’s Run for a grand total of 118 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Surface conditions are machine groomed and spring conditions with average base depths of 14 to 50 inches. Currently, it is partly sunny and 43 degrees at the summit of Sterling with winds of 10 to 20 mph. Today’s forecast is calling for skies becoming mostly sunny with a high of 57 degrees at the base and 49 degrees at higher elevations.

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The weekend is looking good!

Posted at 7:58 am

Friday Night: Snow, mainly after midnight. Low around 24 degrees. The chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.

Saturday: Snow. High near 27 degrees. The chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 10 to 16 inches is possible.

Today we have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 6 lifts operating, including Morse Highlands and Madonna I. We have 34 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. 32 trails have been groomed for today, including Smugglers’ Alley, Upper FIS, and Snow Snake for a grand total of 131 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Surface conditions are machine groomed and frozen granular with average base depths of 12 to 48 inches. Currently, it is sunny and 24 degrees at the summit of Sterling with winds of 0 to 5 mph. Today’s forecast is calling for partly sunny skies with a high of 36 degrees at the base and 29 degrees at higher elevations.

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Skibras and snow squalls

Posted at 4:44 pm

It was snowing most of the day and we received a couple of inches. A snow squall warning was issued for the area late this afternoon and they were not wrong. I think we got more snow in a half-hour than we did all day long! We received 4 to 5 inches of new snow today! Tomorrow we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 6 lifts operating, including Madonna I and Morse Highlands. We have 67 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Black Bear is open from Jolly Rodger. Freefall and Black Hole are open from the Upper FIS traverse. 30 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Ruthie’s, McPherson’s, Black Snake, Treasure Run, Curley’s Cutback, and Hibernator for a grand total of 126 acres of freshly groomed terrain. Birch Run Terrain Park is open. Currently, it is snowing and 13 degrees at the summit of Sterling. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for mostly sunny skies, breezy with a high of 11 degrees at the base and 5 degrees at higher elevations. Bundle up and enjoy the wonderful conditions!

Credit goes to Rockin’ Ron for the name “skibra”
The wall of snow approaches
Ski Patroller Ron Packard going warp speed down Waterfall
Patroller Pete Downing doing a sweep on Upper Chilcoot in the snow squall
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Grateful Shred

Posted at 3:52 pm

Rockin’ Ron for Hugh. Grateful to get on the slopes today – my best ski day – so far this season! … and my first time this season on M1!! How about this run of bumps, woods, and groomers: Upper FIS (pre-snowmaking – all natch) to Lower Doc’s to Goat Path to lower Upper FIS to Mulcahy’s Link to Lower FIS! Can skiers shred the gnar like snowboarders? If so, it was a Grateful Shred.

This man has a mono ski! It’s Phil Marshall and the Deputies chasing down the fresh tracks. BTW Phil designed the website you’re now looking at.
Snowmakers are busy on Lower Chilcoot. They’ll be on Upper FIS tomorrow.
I also got to rip the dips for a “compression run”: Upper Drifter to Shuttle to Lower Rumrunner to Link to Sterling.
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150 Acres Groomed

Posted at 6:16 am

Rockin’ Ron for Hugh. Arlo and the Grooming Crew always have something to do, but 150 acres is a lot of terrain – thanks, guys! For today we plan to have top to bottom skiing and riding on all 3 mountains with 5 lifts operating including Madonna I. The forecast is sunny, blustery, then partly sunny with a high of 26 degrees. See you on the slopes.

Lower Morse Liftline gets the grooming treatment.
Corduroy. It could have been taken any day, but I swear it was today, right outside the Snow Report Office.
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I called an Uber…

Posted at 7:28 am

Rockin’ Ron for Hugh. I called an Uber but a Groomer showed up instead. Makes sense, the groomed trails will be the best ride, at least until conditions soften up. Sterling Lift is closed for mechanical repairs but we hope to have it operating tomorrow. For today, we’ll have 5 lifts including Madonna I, and 29 trails open.

UPDATE: Parking Lot 1 is closed because there is no way to ski back to it from the Madonna trails.

Hey Buddy, can I get a lift?
Sunny and windy today.
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Extreme Challenge

Posted at 4:22 pm
Irian Adii at the base of the Headwall
Peter Hawk pictured on the right of the Flyin’ Ryan Hawks Foundation was at the competition today.
This is the Men’s 45 + Category
Jim Laporte 3rd, Shaun King 2nd, and Teo Campbell 1st

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 all 78 trails open with terrain for all ability levels. Surface conditions are packed powder and powder with average base depths of 20 to 60 inches. 34 trails will be groomed for tomorrow, including Shuttle, Hibernator, and Black Snake for a grand total of 139 acres of freshly groomed terrain. We received 2 inches of new snow in the past 24 hours and 36 inches in the past 4 days. Currently, it is partly sunny and 10 degrees at the summit of Sterling. Tomorrow’s forecast is calling for snow early then a mix with a chance of rain late and a high of 43 degrees. Temperatures will be rising throughout the day.

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Clean sweep

Posted at 5:02 pm

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI want to give a shout out to our lift attendants! We received an inch of new snow last night and the Madonna I lift crew had 174 chairs to clean off. It takes multiple sweeps to get each chair clean for riding pleasure. Cleans chairs help keep your buns warm! Thank you for all your hard work it is really appreciated!

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Dave compares an old broom and a new broom

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Function and Fashion

Posted at 4:28 pm

SteveRockin’ Ron for Hugh. Here’s a Smuggs Institution: Steve was once famous for skiing in his furry hat and ankle length coat. Now he’s a proud Liftie (usually at Madonna I) and the hat remains. It keeps him warm and it is fashionable… above the 40th Parallel.

SNOW

6 inches of snow in the past 3 days and 312 inches this season!

GROOMING

For Wednesday – 47 trails / 157 acres to be groomed.

LIFTS & TRAILS

For Wednesday – we plan to have 6 lifts, including Madonna I operating. We also plan to have 77 trails open. Freefall and The Black Hole may be available from the Upper FIS traverse.