Looking Towards Thanksgiving Week….WINTER STORM POTENTIAL UPDATE

November 22, 2013 5:29 am | Category: Skiing, Weather | 10 Comments | Permalink

(Scroll down for the update)

Well here we are again, on the cusp of another winter season. Feels like we’ve been here before doesn’t it?. Some resorts have opened full time, others are set to go this weekend. Turkeys have been ordered. Siracha maple glazes and gelatin clarified asian carrot consommes sit ready to go (ok, maybe that’s just me). Despite that, winter feels like it dropped in a month ago. We’ve already had dreamy snow that allowed all of us to make the schussin (I prefer make schuss in the morning. It really clears the head).

Yea, yea I know. That’s a great recapitulation Lionel, but we’re here to get a forecast, not a retrospective. Ok. Fine.

Here is the forecast: You are going to die and pay taxes along the way.

Kidding. (But yea, that shit gonna happen too)

As for the sensible weather, currently a cold trough is dropping into the United States via the great lakes:
nam_namer_012_500_vort_ht

Ahead of the trough winds are generally from the southwest resulting in some milder temps for today (Friday).

Over the next few days this trough of cold air is going to dig into the Northeast. As it does, a series of vort-maxes (small disturbances of energy essentially) will ripple through the trough. (On the GIF below you’ll see the #littlewavesofjoy as “X”s).

output_l9rE4e

Each of these pieces of energy will result in some enhanced uplift through the moist and cold environment.

At 850mb there appears to be periods of airmass saturation such that any uplift would produce precipitation.

output_y5USGL

These factors, combined with periods of some orographic enhancement will produce snow showers (heavy at times) through out the weekend.

Looking at the some data output the best dynamics appear to be overnight each of the nights this weekend. It really is a “take your pick” sorta pattern. Each night looks good. Friday-Saturday is wetter, Sat-Sun is colder, Sun-Mon is a little drier but good wind alignment.

Just for color, if I had to pick just one time and place, it would prob. be Saturday AM up at Jay. Why?
Sat AM pow1

That’s why. That and the pattern lately has been favoring Jay due to the location of parent lows, wind direction (slightly more northernly than westerly) and slightly colder temps. This is particularly import in the early season where marginal temps are the norm.

Looking past the weekend into next week I see high pressure building into the northern Northeast and bringing with it sunny cold temps. Perfect actually for enjoying new snow and packed powder conditions on piste.

Now, there has been some all too early loads shot regarding some coastal storm. Yes, a few days ago several model runs began showing energy ejecting out of the southwest merging with a stalled cold front along the edge of the built in high. Said models deepened the low and delivered an interesting and messy solution to mostly coastal New England. This soulution disappeared briefly and has now come back on model solutions. I’m not sold on the trough associated with the storm developing a “negative tilt” early enough for the center of the low to track inland enough to make a pow in the mtns. The exception here is Maine. I do believe that if a coastal low develops it will track so as to possibly deliver a nice snowfall to the ski mtns of Maine (and very slightly possibly the whites). Right now the prudent thing to do is simply be enjoy the weekend and sit tight.

I’ll of course stay on top of any developments and update as needed.

True to my promise, here is an update with regards to a potential winter storm mid-week this week.
Previously model runs showed a low developing along a stalled front near the coast. I didn’t like the solution. Now it seems the consensus is for a low to develop along a stalled front just inland and then track into southern NY state, Western Mass and SO. VT. I like this solution much more.

Here is the current track:

output_RDshIP

IF the low tracks as modeled it will bring a brief period of heavy snow to No. VT, and the ADK Tuesday night. Then as the warm air advects north to the east of the low, many locations in VT will see a changeover to rain for a period of time on Wednesday. The rain could be heavy at times – esp in the Whites. Then as the parent low moves northeast cold air and moisture will wrap back around into the ADK and VT on NW winds and the event will finish with a strong period of upslope snow wednesday night into thursday morning. Based on the current track, I’ll add that it is possible that the #ADK stays all snow. In similar track storms I’ve seen I-87 act as dividing line between upper elevation snow and upper elevation rain (rain east, snow west of 87). If that were the case Whiteface could be in for a very significant snowfall- particularly on the upper 1/3…though all in all if we factor in the VT upslope benefit it might be a wash by thursday night. Tough to tell right now.

Any slight changes in track will obviously have major consequences. I’m on it.

#fumatabianca bitches.


Let Me Ask You Something….

By: Greg
November 13, 2013 7:56 am | Category: Quick Update, Skiing, WebiGNARs | 10 Comments | Permalink

How long has it been since you made schuss?
I Be Schussin'!

Did you make schuss yesterday?
yesterday?

Did you make schuss last week?
last week?

Or maybe it might be that you plannnin’ on making schuss today?
maybe you're planning on making schuss tonight?

Well just remember when you start making schuss: make it hard, long, soft… AND BE SCHUSSIN!

Password: schussin

…And yes… at 20 seconds “I be FALLIN’!”


Drop In

By: Greg
October 29, 2013 6:09 pm | Category: Quick Update, Skiing | 7 Comments | Permalink

It’s time to drop in….
drop in

…head first sometimes…
head first sometimes

…but always smiling…
always smiling

…and always down.
always down

It’s time to drop in.
drop in


Dreams of Schuss

By: Greg
October 25, 2013 7:18 pm | Category: Quick Update, Skiing | 4 Comments | Permalink

You may have noticed that we’ve been dreaming about schuss over on our Facebook page since August. Well the dream has finally ended (or has it just begun?), and we notched our first schuss of 2013-2014 today after an upslope signal that Hutz had been eyeing hung on longer than anyone expected, and put down upwards of a half a foot of snow. Anyone, that is, except for me, who had short-jorts on now that it’s finally cooled down enough to warrant them.
jorts on now that it's cold enough

Everyone else was under-dressed.

The skiing was blurry, just like one of Jake’s dreams…or maybe that’s just because I stink at taking photographs.
just like a dream

Either way… I’ve pinched myself a few times, and I’m pretty sure this wasn’t a dream.
it wasn't a dream

Schuss #1 of the season was real…
schuss #1

schuss #1

…the glorious launching of the first Golden Eagles of 2013-2014 were genuine…
schuss #1

…and that cold feeling of the powder brushing up my inner thigh was too bone chilling to mistake for anything but reality.
cold pow on the inner thigh

There’s more to come folks… real soon. Dust off your party jorts, and get ready for another great season!
dust off your party jorts

Thanks for reading FIS!


Famous Internet Gear Guide: La Sportiva Mega Lo5

By: Jake
October 21, 2013 11:54 am | Category: Gear Review, General Interest, Skiing | Comment | Permalink

You don’t need to look too hard these days to find ski gear that caters to the popular desire of finding turns both inside and outside the confines of lift-served terrain. The freeride movement has officially fully and completely exploded and every ski manufacturer, from the headiest indie brands to the most established multinational European companies, is offering some product built for more than just downhill chops.

So many of these new entrants into this market are coming from “Big Alpine”. Making skis, boots, and bindings that are by no accounts or measurements light and touring friendly, the traditional companies do have products with some of the trimmings and trappings of touring gear. What is a small breath of fresh air are the touring companies that are making a push to offer more durable, damper, and stable rides for the days that we aren’t logging many thousand vertical feet of climbing and miles of approach. Believe it or not, those days happen. Piste can be fun. It may not be cool to admit that. Then again, I have never maintained that I am anything other than a ski-loser who spends summer planning winter trips and writing about gear for a freaking blog.

La Sportiva is a relatively new player in the drippingly saturated market that is the “free touring” category. But Sportiva has the mountain heritage of few companies, an Italian lineage that would make any bootmaker jealous, and a whole lineup of gear worth careful consideration when weighing against the litany of options that one has these days. Just keep an eye out for their new boot this year, the Spectre, which is turning a lot of heads and helping to continue the evolution of how powerful a lightweight boot can be.

I got to spend a lot of time on La Sportiva’s new frontside/sidecountry ski for the coming season, the Mega Lo5. Built on the exact same platform as their fantastic everyday touring Lo5, the Mega Lo adds significant stiffness and damping with a new mélange of materials. I took to the Mega Lo for about 15 days during the latter third of the season. I treated them to a well-rounded Vermont diet of resort crust, crud, and groomers. Plus the way more nutritious sampling of alpine powder and variable crust in New Hampshire and Newfoundland, in order to be thorough. I was very impressed with the skis and how adept they were in all types of conditions.

Such as steep crust

gg-0522

or deep pow

gg-0549

I skied the 178cm version, which was ideal for a mix of touring and resort skiing. I mounted the ski with a Dynafit Vertical FT 12, which was pretty minimal to power planks of this nature. Certainly if I was using this as a true half resort/half touring ski I would either add inserts to swap bindings, or go with a heavier frame AT binding such as a Marker Tour F12 or similar. In this case with a lighter touring boot and light binding I initially found the ski very hard to control when mounted on the factory indicated boot center mark. But a quick trip back into the shop and some new holes +2cm took care of any control issues. From that point on it was all golden.

gg-0361

Sportiva’s line of skis are built in what was originally the Tua ski factory in Tunisia. The longstanding factory now puts out Movement Skis, having lost the entire G3 ski line to Chinese manufacture a few years ago. One wonders if Paul Parker is lurking somewhere nearby La Sportiva’s HQ. That is really just a joke. If nothing else the Tunisian factory produces a solid and durable ski for Sportiva that is simple, clean, and pretty bomber.

gg-0430

The Mega Los come in 168, 178, and 188cm lengths. Dimensions on all three are 125-95-115. The skis sport a dual turn radius. A steeper 18m entering the shovel and exiting the tail allow for snappy engagement and disengagement. For stability, a straighter 24m radius is underfoot.

On all of Sportiva’s touring line a Karuba Paulownia wood core is reinforced with fiberglass and carbon composites. The beefier Mega Lo sheds the lightweight Paulownia for Poplar, and adds a layer of pre-preg carbon fiber to the fiberglass composites. Full ABS sidewall construction can be found on all non skimo race skis from Sportiva. Bottom line; great build and high-end components.

gg-0468

What this ski is great at may be the only drawback. Let me explain.

This ski can rip when being skied with purpose, but it is very traditional minus the subtle tip rocker. Mega Lo keeps the backcountry utilitarian designs of its brethren; tip and tail holes, notched tail for skin clips, and camber down to a flat tail. All of these features are damn useful for any true backcountry ski.

The downside of a flat tailed design is the requirement for more constant attention to stance, always keeping that weight forward to help the tail of the ski disengage. More and more of the most versatile and popular “do everything” skis (+/- 95mm underfoot) are progressing to an early rise tail. I find that shorter camber and running length allow for a more nimble and energetic ski that is truly capable of handling all conditions with aplomb. All while keeping the skier in a more neutral and balanced stance that can react to uneven snow with greater precision. For what I like in an all mountain sidecountry ski, this traditional inclination was the only flaw I found with the Mega Lo. A small change to make a half-and-half ski a bit more playful and not so buttoned down. But, like most things in life, it is a matter of taste.

So those out there with a history on skis, racing backgrounds and whatnot, you should like the Mega Lo5 very much. It rewards good skiers and gives top notch versatility of performance and features for the mix of inbound and touring.


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