Nov 19/13 - now its snowing again

See crazy weather. It metls and then snows a bunch then melts and now it is snowing a bunch. Just keeping you up to date. LOLOLOL Cheers - V

Nov 19/13 - PLUS 3 & Melting

Morning, it is +3 and melting. Snow is slushy and if it is going to go into the tank of cold tonight then this is all going to be ice. Looks like it is snowing above us though. Supposed to be -10 tonight and going to -14 in the evenings all week with daytime temps of -1. Good time to check over your avalanche packs and scotch guard your stuff! Have a good one - V

CAC WARNS AGAINST USE OF NEW SMART PHONE APP

Hi - I forgot to include this in my last two posts. There is a new smart phone app that they are marketing as a beacon replacement and the CAC has serious doubts about many of its features. Here is the link and my two cents is nothing replaces a beacon. Wear one, know how to use and test it often! http://www.avalanche.ca/cac/avalanche-search-apps-press-release - V

Nov 18/13 - Snowing and warm

Hey Gang - quick update. There was about 5cm of fresh snow yesterday first thing in the morning and another this morning - light and fluffy but then it has been snowing on and off and it got warmer today in that +2 to zero range and the snow got sticky and wet and settled. Tonight it is about zero and there is about 15-20cm of snow. Fernie has a snowfall warning and is supposed to get another 20cm of snow overnight. That means the area we ride south of us will be getting that too likely. It is supposed to get really cool at night mid week. Definitely enough snow to trail ride now. Still bottomless off trail though. If you are looking for Avalanche courses try checking out www.zacstracs.com and www.trigger-point.ca both Lori and Amber work together to cover all the demand. It will be well worth your while as this winter is already laying down some serious swing weather. Cheers! V

Nov 17/13 - Light snow 5cm

Morning Crew! So it was snowing yesterday and the roads were icy from Pincher to Cowley but then they improved a bit through the Pass to our house. Dad drove back to Rouleau (south of Regina) and said it was summer roads all the way to Gull Lake and they it was trecherous! Semis parked on side of the road and in ditches - huge long train of them and Dad said it was very bad driving. (Of course he didn't stop though!!!) Today it is lightly snowing again. We had 5cm in the yard yesterday and it is supposed to snow for the next few days. Cold at night and warmer during the day. Trail riding would be good enough to wet your sliders. Corbin group reported 3-4ft of snow in Rain Gauge but big beware for the stumps and rocks. Do not want to be that guy with bent A-arm when the big dump comes. Fernie was getting big snow as reported from a friend so the trails there may be even better option this early in the season. We always skied Fernie early as they usually had the most snow early in the season. South of us gets that same weather system usually. Curt is getting new sled fever.....He will be looking to sell his 800 XP sled and I see OT in his future lol! Cheers - V

Nov 13/13 - Corbin Staging Open

Morning, it was +4 at 7am this morning and it is supposed to go to +5 over the day. Our yard between last night and 7am and now 10:30 has melted considerably. Tim at Over the Top rentals called to see about breaking in some new engines and my recommendation was to wait. What was sticky snow is now icy in some spots and now melted through to grass in others. Also anyone wondering about the Corbin Staging Area....it is NOT CLOSED. Teck has cut it in half with large concrete barricades which were there in the fall. People have been using the area right after the tracks where our trail comes out to stage if they have big trailers. Do not park on the highway just outside the staging area and congest the entrance to the mine. Please park further away so we don't make it difficult for Teck equipment arriving and exiting the mine. Also it looks like grooming on the Flathead likely won't go any further than Rain Gauge. Some repairs to the Heartbreak horseshoe have been done so it looks differently than it had when we were quading this summer. Not a big issue as the roughest part of the trail has typically been the stretch to Rain Gauge. The bridge is out on Barnes but the flood actually eroded the banks making them more accessible than they were before the bridges went in. So hold off unless you have specific local info on where you want to ride and have reasonable expectations for snow conditions or you will be disappointed or worse have a damaged sled prior to the big dump! Cheers - V

Nov 12/13 - Chinook

Howdy crew! Nov 5th we got a few cms of dry fluffy snow which settled on top of that crusty base. Guys were out down the Flathead & leaving from Fernie - trail riding and locals were testing the base (on trails). But last night we had a chinook roll in and the temps went to +9 today and are at +6 tonight with a strong warm wind making hwy travel gusty. Snow below 5000ft has melted significantly but we are just high enough that it remains in the yard and on the trail but is sticky and soft. May take another flurry to add enough to make it worth breaking in a new engine. My recommendation for that is to wait til it cools off again or you could over heat it. I will report new significant weather to help you decide when you want to venture out for pre-season tuning etc. Do a little snow and dance here and there! Cheers - V