 Poster: A snowHead
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I'm new to all this forecasting malarkey! For the first time ever we are skiing in April (school holidays and leave etc) and because of combining a visit to friends we have chosen Banff/Lake Louise. At the moment conditions look ok but the temp is due to rise, up to 6 degrees at base, with rain forecast for the weekend.
I was prepared (and even looking forward to) some mild temps, chilling in the afternoon with a beer or two. But it's the rain that's got me worried. At this stage in the season how damaging is 5-10mm of rain? Is it likely to just make for softer piste or could it do real damage?
Not that there's a lot I can do but should I be worried? We chose Banff for its good late season record. Have I made a terrible mistake?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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5-10mm rain is hardly anything. Might not be much fun skiing in it but unlikely to make much difference to on-piste snow depths. Also, if it's only 6C (at most) at the base it'll probably be snow higher up.
Don't worry about it.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Rain is sometimes not fun to ride in, but take the mind-set that its better than being at work and make the most of your time on the snow.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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.....and look forward to the new kit you will be able to buy to replace what gets wet. There's always a silver lining.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Thanks for the reassurance. Pre school aged kids had only ever skied Jan or Feb so rain and temps over 0 are not common! I was thinking of uk where we get a bit of snow overnight then by lunchtime the rain washes it all away.
Fortunately the rain is the day we arrive - and seems to be decreasing. I'm not into skiing fresh powder down a triple black in the trees so cruising some blues in the warm sunshine should be good fun. Just got to get my head round the fact it is different from January!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@TommyJ, Exactly the same here going to Andorra next week and panicking with warmer temps and rain usually go solo last week of January.
I think it makes it worse being responsible for the kids experience feeling like a right drama queen!
Have fun.
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In my long experience skiing in rain is not nice, but even worse is being stuck on a chair lift in rain 
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Have only skied in rain once and it was certainly a bit odd, I wanted to wear my goggles to stop the rain going in my eyes, but if I did that then I couldn't see :S
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Skiing in rain is vile and persistent heavy rain does terrible things to the snow. Having said that it seldom lasts that long and frequently translates to fresh snow higher up. All in all, I would far rather put up with a little rain in exchange for the joy of skiing at this time of year. IME it is much nicer in almost every way, to skiing in January. Usually better snow depths too.
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It wasn't much fun skiing in it this morning and I was all in goretex. The kids got very wet and miserable. Given up for the day now, waiting for lunch to start 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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As global warming takes hold, skiing in rain is becoming the new normal.
Best to get the offspring used to it.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Dont worry Ice age predicted to worsen in next 100,000 years.
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| musher wrote: |
| It wasn't much fun skiing in it this morning and I was all in goretex. The kids got very wet and miserable. Given up for the day now, waiting for lunch to start |
Where are You Musher?
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You know it makes sense.
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If it is raining and looks set...get off the mountain and do something less hideous instead. No matter what kit you have, you will get soaked. The snow is often not badly affected by rain showers - Torrentioal and persistant is another thing 
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Temperatures look very high for the next week with overnight refreeze only at the highest altitude. Whether it rains or not the snow will deteriorate fast. Ski from first lift to 1430 then relax, hopefully on a sunny terrace, or somewhere cosy indoors if it's raining.
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Poster: A snowHead
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In the OP you quite concisely summarise the situation. "Not that there's a lot I can do" so stop worrying about it.
Make sure everyone has a decent waterproof jacket and trousers, and any older jackets and trousers have been waterproofed (suggest Nikwax type spray) and go and enjoy your holiday. Take spare gloves to keep dry in your pocket or bag.
Otherwise there really is nothing you can do to change the weather, so enjoy an opportunity to be away from work, if it rains badly there will be other things you can do to spend time with the family, and it is pretty rare for it to rain a lot at ski resort altitude for more than a day or two.
I don't even bother looking at weather forecasts other than deciding what skis to take with me. You can't make rain, flat light, bright sunshine or a nuclear apocalypse go away, so you might as well carry on preparing for the trip and smile knowing it will probably be great. Or you can spend the next however many days worrying about it and arrive totally stressed out and tired of worrying about something you can do nothing about.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| pam w wrote: |
| Temperatures look very high for the next week with overnight refreeze only at the highest altitude. Whether it rains or not the snow will deteriorate fast. Ski from first lift to 1430 then relax, hopefully on a sunny terrace, or somewhere cosy indoors if it's raining. |
Are you talking about Europe here? The temps in Banff look find to me.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Get some good waterproofs suitable for UK mountains, and most importantly, a really good hood that will fit over your helmet. Avoid wearing cotton, and you should stay reasonably dry.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@sugarmoma666, yes, sorry, I am talking about Europe...... Not very helpful, really......
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Part of the problem is that I've no idea what a normal temperature for April is - with all my skiing in the past being earlier in the season. So I've always associated anything above 0 as v bad! It looks like base temps might reach 8 or 9 and just around 0 or +1 at night. Is this ok for preserving the snow?
Thinking about it logically the slopes seem to have good cover at the moment and I don't suppose that 170cm of snow is likely to completely melt in 3 days? It might be icy, it might be slushy but as said it'll be skiing and better than at work!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| oldmike wrote: |
| musher wrote: |
| It wasn't much fun skiing in it this morning and I was all in goretex. The kids got very wet and miserable. Given up for the day now, waiting for lunch to start |
Where are You Musher? |
Feldberg.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Whitegold wrote: |
As global warming takes hold, skiing in rain is becoming the new normal.
Best to get the offspring used to it. |
They are used to it. We always ski Christmas and easter 
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@Pyremaniac,
Late season and kids turned me into a drama queen thanks for the reassurance
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Quote: |
| if Scottish resorts can hold snow/skiing well into May in many years with 400-900m altitudes you shouldn't worry about 170cm of snow melting in three days at Banff/Lake Louise. |
I don't know the topography of the Canadian resorts but do know that:
- The snow holding areas of Scotland's ski slopes are deep gullies that fill with up to 10 metres of snow.
- The Scottish Highlands has an almost Arctic climate. This means that the climate at their ski areas (which are actually around 600-1200m in altitude - excluding Glencoe base area at about 300m - but it's rarely skiable to that level) is not like the climate at 600 -1200m in the Alps (and presumably Rockies).
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Was light rain here Trysil Monday and Yesterday mornings, me and the kids have decent waterproofs so not really a problem, in the end we stopped early on Monday because the light was so rubbish due to low cloud/fog. As to the snow, all runs still open, getting a bit thin in places and there are one or two places to practice pond skimming near the bottom most lift but up on the hill lovely spring snow.
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Here's Arno skiing some snow that has been plagued with 3 days of consistently heavy rain.
Yes, it saturates the snow pack and strips anything thin but it's remarkably resilient stuff and if you hit it at the right time of day once it's softened after overnight freeze it's not that offensive at all
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FAQ
. It'll be a buggr if it has - I'll have to cancel my own trip there 
