MTW POW

By:  Greg
April 18, 2010 9:29 pm | Category: Quick Update, Skiing

Two weeks ago it was 50 degrees at the summit of Mount Washington. Today it nuked pow-pow (more than it did three weeks ago). It wasn’t really a great day for pictures (I apologize for that… I REALLY do ;)). It was a great day for skiing powder.
(4/19/10 more pictures added! -ben)

Icelanticskier.


Ben.

Allen.

Kate.

Greg

Greg again

Allen

A splendid time was had by all.

It should be noted that a thorough understanding of the weather as well as careful choice of terrain and aspect was absolutely imperative for safe riding this day. The winds during the main snowfall event were quite low by Mount Washington standards, and allowed for snow to accumulate without wind deposition. On site observations confirmed that the snow was largely loose and unconsolidated in the zones we chose to ski (i.e. it was blower powder). While avalanche concerns turned out to be quite minimal on this day, this is far from the norm on Mount Washington. Had the winds been just slightly stronger, or the snow fallen slightly denser toward the end of the storm (or if any other number of variables had been different) conditions could have been much more sensitive. Our experience as well as the snow conditions on this “storm skiing day” should not be taken as norm on Mount Washington; rather they should be considered the exception. Always be thoughtful and careful about the slope you choose to recreate on. Think about what happens if it slides. Get educated and be prepared.

Tags:
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Related Stuff:

  1. TR: A Completely Average April
  2. Mount Washington Powder Harvest VIDEO — April 2010
  3. Sleeper Day
  4. TR: Circumnavigation of Mount Washington
  5. April is the New April
  6. SPAM #4: Icelanticskier Schuss–Mount Washington, NH

9 Comments

  1. boardman
    wrote on April 18th, 2010 at 10:28 pm  
  2. icelanticskier
    wrote on April 18th, 2010 at 10:36 pm  
    2

    our noses always knows!

    rog

    Respond to this comment/comment thread
  3. Gregg L
    wrote on April 19th, 2010 at 11:00 am  
    3

    Awsome stoke! Wish I was there! Great pics as always! Nice one of rog.

    Respond to this comment/comment thread
  4. Greg
    wrote on April 19th, 2010 at 3:23 pm  
    4

    AWESOME Ben. Still glowing….

    Respond to this comment/comment thread
  5. icelanticskier
    wrote on April 19th, 2010 at 4:35 pm  
    5

    F-A-H-K-M-E. UGH. UNREAL. so what next? the epicness never ends. wednesdays forecast does not suck. hopefully the snow gets a bit saturated b4 then with a freeze up the night before. a lot to ask, i know, but, what the frig?

    it’s happening, it’s really happening.

    rog

    Respond to this comment/comment thread
  6. robrox
    wrote on April 20th, 2010 at 8:07 am  
    6

    Wait ’til Julio sees this! He will want detailed notes….
    …………….
    To blog or not to blog is not the Question:
    whether it is nobler to earn the turn, suffering
    the squelching of the GU
    or to shell out for the lift spinners,
    for their grooming, to end at the bar.

    Respond to this comment/comment thread
  7. Butch Chamberlain
    wrote on April 20th, 2010 at 1:24 pm  
    7

    Gentlemen you did it righteous!! The key to MTW is knowing when to go, when to watch, and when to stay away and dream. Taking this mountain for granted will be the worst and the perhaps the last thing that you will do in life. I
    flew over to Whitefield from Burlington Vt last Tues. On the approach to the
    the airfield, you could look straight ahead at this Northeastern baheemoth. It was covered in Snow so pure white that it was almost too much to take. Good onya fer doin’ er right. BC

    Respond to this comment/comment thread
  8. ?
    wrote on April 20th, 2010 at 4:42 pm  
    8

    You sure this is the East Coast?!

    Amazing pics as always, between you guys and the Meatheads, you do the right coast justice

    Respond to this comment/comment thread
    • Greg
      wrote on April 20th, 2010 at 5:34 pm  
      9

      Thanks “?”! We’re working on it…

Please consider visiting our sponsors.

Leave a Reply

(no login required)

Check for email notifications of new comments (valid email required)        


Next (newer) Post:
Random Post Previous (older) Post:
Home
Stay in touch: Click here to follow us on Twitter. Click here to subscribe for updates to be delivered via RSS. Click here to become a fan on Facebook. Click here to read and share real time weather observations. Learn more over at the account. It's awesome. We promise!