Mount Washington 6 Day Snow Forecast

mrhappypants from Canada writes:

The reason Mt Wash experiences delays in opening is they get quite a large amount of snow. You have probably noticed this. It is the white stuff piled up alongside the access road. The big yellow machines are the ploughs. They move the white stuff out of the way so you can zoom about on top of the powder on your fat skis.

Nowhere else has to deal with snow in these quantities, nowhere in Canada, nowhere in Europe. Just nowhere anywhere. It's one of the reasons Mt Wash is quite well known.

It takes an age to clear avalanche danger from Mt Wash for a few reasons; partly the massive snowfall, partly the terrain, and partly the wind and weather. It is simply not safe to send a patroller out throwing bombs around when he or she can`t see what is above him/ her in the cloud.

In terms of lift pass prices, again, they are charging a reasonable rate given the massive costs they have to cover. If you don't like paying it, either buy the early bird pass or get some touring gear.

One of the main reasons Canada is an expensive place to ski is the liability problem, and all of us bear some of the responsibility for creating a society in which businesses have to carry insanely high insurance premiums to protect themselves. If you don't like the prices, move to Europe, where you will find that in bounds avalanches are not uncommon, nor are fatalities in them, yet even so people don't sue ski areas but accept the fact that they are scooting about on a snow covered mountainside and that they are therefore participating in a sport which carries some inherent risk.

As for these so called die hard powder skiers.....what on earth are you doing at a ski hill of any description anyway? Learn something about snow safety and go ski touring.

Ah well, nearly marmot season, so at least the whining will be about something else soon, that'll be refreshing.

2012-04-11