7 Springs
December 7, 2004
16 posts
11 users
2k+ views
Unfortunately, it looks like most of this will end up back in Lake Tahoe before long. The long range forcast for 7 Springs calls for lots of rain this coming week and temps way above freezing, even at night. It looks like 7S will not see any real cold until next Saturday Night when the forcast finally calls for an extended stretch of real winter weather. I would expect they will open sometime around the 16th. This bodes well for The Springs at Laurel Mtn. as they should also be open on their target date of Dec. 18.
7S started to make "serious snow" Thanksgiving Day.
Here is a picture I took of the Wagner Slope on the saturday following.
Hope to see you at the springs soon!
Yea, I had planned on going on the 17th, But I have pushed it back till after the 1st of the year.
I organized a large group ski trip at the 7 Springs checking in Dec 23. I am getting a little unesay. Will they have still problem for Christmas week?
Thanks,
Jane
Quote:
I organized a large group ski trip at the 7 Springs checking in Dec 23. I am getting a little unesay. Will they have still problem for Christmas week?
Thanks,
Jane
For this week, ski resorts will have to contend with a vicious warm front that will bring rain and warm temperatures, but the 11th-17th looks excellent for snowmaking--very cold temps. 7 Springs can really crank out snow if it gets cold temps. This resort helped pioneer snowmaking and relies on air/water guns--guns that can make snow at warmer temperature than the airless fan guns that most resorts in the area employ. I would not worry too much about your 23 December trip--they should have enough terrain open for your group to have a good time.
As long as the weather turns cold as predicted, The Springs should be in full operation by the 20th. 2 years ago, my daughter and I skied the whole front side and the North Face slope after 60 hours of snowmaking on the day after Thanksgiving. The year before that, it did not turn cold until December 20. They were in full operation (except for the "gladed areas") by the 26th. If it is cold, they won't let you down.
As an aside, I just wanted to thank everyone that's been posting photos of the snowmaking at the different resorts. Great job! These pics have been great to look at...
Thanks for the information. I feel better now. We were at Timberline last year after Christmas. We skiied in the rain. We got so wet that we had to go back to dry our stuff in the dryer. Still had lots of fun. But that was just my family. This time we are going with almost 100 people. Where do you guys check for long term forecast? I use Yahoo weather. It only gives 10 days. It is really depressing to look at right now.
Go to Accuweather.com, enter your zip, or a town such as champion, pa and you can get a 15 day forecast. Cold air is coming.
The Colonel
"Don't worry, be happy". Awhile back I also booked a trip for the XMas timeframe, and as of the 17th (Dec) they still were not open. However, in just 8 days they had almost everything open. Phenomenal!! Anyway, going to be there 2-5 Jan and do not want to eat my words.
Quote:
Thanks for the information. I feel better now. We were at Timberline last year after Christmas. We skiied in the rain. We got so wet that we had to go back to dry our stuff in the dryer. Still had lots of fun. But that was just my family. This time we are going with almost 100 people. Where do you guys check for long term forecast? I use Yahoo weather. It only gives 10 days. It is really depressing to look at right now.
Accuweather.com
Long term, with a modicrum of accuracy in MidA, is one week max. Outside of that, you either need to anti up for one of the subscription weather sites such as
Accuweather (so-so accuracy) or
Snow Forecast ( better). The most accurate (70% or so) long term is
WXRisk (best), but he deals in the big weather systems not local conditions. Another forecaster for skiing is the
Skiing Weatherman but he seems to concentrate on New England and anything on MidA is kinda of after the fact.
OR ... you can just check Scott's info here on DCSki .
http://www.dcski.com/weather/index.php
i've got a trip planned for the 16th - 19th, a small group of intermediate and beginning skiers. We do have a 24 hr cancellation policy if they aren't open, but I'm wondering if they are open at all, will the trip be worth it? What slopes are likely to be open first?
Thanks,
Anya
This is just my speculation and observation from over the 30 or so years I have skied there...it certainly is not any official statement.
Generally they open slopes in the following order:
Wagner/Stowe/Fawn Lane
Tyrol/Avalanche (and nearby trails)
North Face Slope
Giant Bolder/Giant Steps/Lost Boy
Alpine Meadows/Gunnar/Lost Girl
If the latest forcast holds, it looks like Monday Night (Dec. 13th) would be the first full night of snowmaking. If the temperature does not creep above 30 or so during the day, they could possibly have the front face mostly open and North Face Slope by the weekend.
Again, this is just a guess....Tune in this time next week to see if they are cranking the HKD's.