Nov 20/12 - Rain Rain go Away

Hi - quick update. Its -2 and has been raining at a variety of intensities for 24hrs now (at 8pm) and the snow in the previous day's photos is gone or ice. We actually have water laying. I would like to say it was snowing up top but it didn't look like it. Looked more like fog to 8000ft. Might have gotten some in patches but it is not riding season yet here. Bah. Tried on a carbon fibre helmet by 509 that weighs just a tad over 2lbs. Sooo light on the neck. Tried on the Snow Pulse avy pack with attached vest and that was very light and short - perfect for my back length. I suggest poking around equipment and trying on new stuff during this period of "waiting". We are supposed to get rain or snow all week. I will post if we get something significant. Cheers -V

Nov 19/12 - 5 cm snow - now spittingH

This is the turn off from Hwy 3 down our road. It snowed steadily all day and we got 5 cm out of it - sticky snow now. Its +4 here at 5:45pm and calm but spitting slightly. 3km East on Hwy 3 there is very little snow and it was just raining lightly all the way to the Pass. Curt on his way home tonight and says Hwy 22 is windy. There were wind warnings earlier and there are rain warnings for Fernie area. It may hold and keep snowing above 6000ft though. Not enough to ride on yet. Not like the 2ft we had in October. I suspect we will lose most of this snow at lower elevations too if the temps keep climbing and it keeps raining. Highways are good otherwise. Cheers -V

Nov 19/12 - A bit of Light Fluffy snow

Its +1 here at the Border and snowing lightly - big fluffy flakes though. We had a dusting of snow last night then it quit. This morning its snowing and Fernie, Sparwood and Crowsnest is supposed to be in the plus temps (even hitting double digits on Wed) and getting a mix of snow and rain. The rain has not hit us yet. Fingers crossed it doesn't. All three areas are supposed to get snow/rain til Wed. Will keep you up to date as to weather we accumulate one or the other. Check out your avalanche courses and get registered now for them. Oh in the Snowriders West our phone number is wrong....we are hoping that people go to the website and connect that way with us. Sorry about the error. Cheers - V

Nov 10/12 - No new snow

Holy have you guys seen photos of South of Regina! Photos sent from our parents show 2ft of snow Rouleau-Drinkwater! Guess I won't be getting calls from the Sask guys about being first out on snow cause they will be breaking sleds in there! I didn't take a photo of here cause its the same as yesterday. We had some light snow but it isn't really accumulating type of snow like we started to get two days ago. Going to ski swaps today. Likely still a foot of snow up top in areas. Staying cool so we will start keeping the snow. Happy tuning! V

Nov 9/12 - Dusting

Have the flu so this will be short. Got the 5cm but that's it. Justin called from Edmonton to book in for Jan sled trip and they got the full 35cm. I heard Lethbridge got more than us too. Don't worry it will come. Cheers -V

Nov 8/12 : Snow Warning

And so it begins. There is actually a snowfall warning for this area til Sat. The center of it is supposed to be Pincher Creek (very different weather movement from us) so not sure if we will get the 35cm they predict but we are supposed to get 10-15cm and temps in the -teens to keep it here. Up top in the bowls it will likely be ontop of the 1ft that was in there previously but here, 10-15cm isn't enough to head out on trails with sled with any quality type ride. But it is a start! I will show you daily what the yard looks like. We got a shot yesterday (trial run) but it melted. Sunday and Monday are supposed to be sunny. Go check all your fluid levels - maybe change out your belt! LOL - Cheers -V

Nov 7/12 - Rain Today Snow Tomorrow

Hi Gang, Well its been raining - on and off til about 2hrs ago. Corrals are a sloppy mess. But!....5cm of snow is forecast for tonight and 10-15cm for tomorrow. Temps are supposed to dive to -15 and then up to -3 but perhaps this is the start of the snowing sticking around. I encourage you to start checking your avy reports and get a handle on what the first layers look like. Your winter will build on these and during the early big snowfalls you may reconsider some slopes because of it and choose other terrain. The Canadian Avalanche Association is having an avalanche night of info in Revelstoke on the 10th of Nov and in Calgary on the 18th. Fees are nominal - around the $20 mark. Check out the website at www.avalanche.ca Castle Mountain ski resort sends out emails to announce how much snow they have gotten. That is reflective of the south Flathead area. Check out their website too. Cheers -V