90-day Forecast for Nov-Jan

The 90-day forecast as been issued by the Climate Prediction Center of the National Weather Service. This is going to be another "La Nina Winter" which is great news to skiers and snowboarders.

La Nina is characterized by colder than normal waters along the equatorial Pacific Ocean. This colder water means a pronounced northern storm track which is favorable for normal or above normal precipitation in the northwest, northern Rockies and northern Wasatch range of Utah. The winter of 2010-2011 was a "La Nina Winter" in the Wasatch with well above normal moisture during the winter even lasting well into the spring. Some of the resorts even stayed open another week or so past the normal closing dates in mid April.

Now is the time to secure the desired dates for winter reservations to enjoy The Greatest Snow on Earth that Utah has to offer. There are many nightly/weekly rentals available to accommodate any family or groups at:http://www.skitriphomes.com/

Information was provided by the Climate Prediction Center of the National Weather Service.

Openings Days for the Wasatch Ski Resorts 2011-2012 Season

The opening days for the Wasatch Ski Resorts has been announced for the 2011-2012 Ski Season.

Brighton Nov 10th
Solitude Nov 11th
Alta Nov 18th
Park City Nov 19th
Snowbird Nov 19th
Canyons Nov 25th
Deer Valley Dec 3rd

Winter is fact approaching and time to make your reservations while the selection is still good. There are many nightly rentals at: http://www.skitriphomes.com/

Park City Mountain Resort Fires Up Snow Guns

Park City Mountain Resort fired their snow guns this week. The following are some interest facts about the snow making equipment:

How cold must it be to turn on the snow guns? \We turn the snowmaking system on at 28 degrees wet bulb.

Just how big is Park City Mountain Resort's snowmaking system?
We have over 50 miles of snowmaking pipe on our mountain. At max capacity we can make 27 acre feet of snow in a 24 hour period. That means we can cover 27 acres one foot deep or 1 acre 27’ deep in 24 hrs.

How many manual guns and how many auto guns does Park City Mountain Resort run?
We have 150 manual guns, 35 fully automated fan guns, and 15 automated Low Energy stick guns.

How have we improved our snowmaking equipment over the summer?
We added 6 new Techno Alpine stick guns and 3 portable fan guns. We did some earth work on the Eagle Superpipe that should reduce the amount of manmade snow needed to open it by 20%.

How many people are on Park City Mountain Resort's snowmaking crew?
23

Is machine-made snow real snow?
Manmade snow is a mixture of compressed air and pressurized water. The air is used to break the water into tiny droplets that can freeze after they are shot out of the gun. The ideal temperature to make snow is between 15 and 12 degrees.

Information provided by Park City Mountain Resort.

Deer Valley is First Again

Deer Valley resorts has been rated as the top ski resort in Northern America by the many affluent readers of Ski Magazine. This is not the end of the story, three other well known ski resorts in Utah, Park City (6), The Canyons (16) and Snowbird (20) were listed in the top 20.

Deer Valley has to compete with its usual rival Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia because its small and does not allow snowboards.

Skies are impressed with the quality of dining at Deer Valley, most are older and wealthier, treated with off-slope amenities as much as the great skiing. Most don't mind paying more for the higher quality.

Park City took first in the lifestyle category as the "Best Place to Ski with Kids" and ranked 6th overall. It's one of the best resorts for snowboarding which a sport for the younger skier.

Information provided by the Salt Lake Tribune (10/12/2011).

Park City - $7 Million Dollar Improvement Nearly Complete

The $7 million upgrades/improvements at he Park City Mountain Resort are nearly ready for the 2011-2012 winter season. Just this past week the slopes at Park City were blessed with 10" of snow and it's just the first week in October.

There is a new 3 Kings triple chair, a huge upgrade of the snow making system and the installation of a wind turbine and solar panels. Also, the addition of magic carpets in the brand new dedicated learners zone. Students will start on the magic carpet and when ready, move onto the beginners lift where an instructor will ride with them at all times.

Each year, Park City Mountain Resort has been named in the top 10 family resorts in North America.

La Nina conditions (colder than normal waters) exist in the equatorial Pacific. This usually means normal or above snowfall in the Wasatch Mountains of northern Utah.

Information was provided by Park City Mountain Resort.

La Nina Conditions Strengthen - Oct 6th Update

During September La Nina conditions strengthen as indicated by the increasing negative sea surface negative (colder than normal water) in the equatorial Pacific.

Currently, La Nina is not as strong as was in September 2010. Only one of the models predicts the La Nina to strengthen during the fall/winter 2011-2012 with the others only indicating a weaker event.

La Nina conditions over the Northern Hemisphere favor a northern strong track which would be favorable for normal or above precipitation over Wasatch of Utah, the Sawtooth Range in southern Idaho and the Rockies of Colorado. Just yesterday, this area received its first significant snowfall of several inches of snow above about 7000 feet.

Will update the progress of La Nina each month in this blog.

Information for this blog was provided by the Climate Prediction Center of the National Weather Service.

First Major Storm this Fall for the Wasatch

Major storm along the West Coast will continue eastward and move into Utah Wednesday night. This storm will produced significant accumulating snow about about 7000 feet starting tomorrow night continuing into Thursday.

Mountain snow will then continue periodically through Friday with a drier weekend and holiday in store.

Highs that have been in the 70s around Park City and Deer Valley will be only in the upper 20s and lower 30s by Thursday and Friday.

Now is the time to make nightly/weekly reservations for the 2011-2012 winter for the times you desire and available is good. There are many properties at Ski Trip Homes at: http://www.skitriphomes.com/

Major Fall Storm Over Western U.S. Next Week

After a warm and dry September, a major storm will bring significant rains, snows to the higher mountains, much colder temperatures, and strong winds over the Western United States next week. Colder air moving in with the system should drop temperatures 15 to 30 degrees and bring the first major snow fall to the higher mountain peaks across the west. Moisture from a dissipating Tropical Depression Hilary will spread into Desert Southwest over the weekend ahead of this major system.

Information obtained from National Weather Social Media.