Dave's Blog

Check out this forecast for the weekend

Hi Folks,

OMG! (oh my God) look at this latest San Juan Mountain update from NOAA. No sleep tonight!

...MAJOR WINTER STORM TO BRING WIDESPREAD HEAVY SNOW TO THE REGION
THIS WEEKEND...

.UPDATE...FORECASTERS CONFIDENCE CONTINUES TO RISE WITH THIS STORM
AS VERY MOIST SUBTROPICAL AIR CONTINUES TO STREAM NORTHWARD INTO THE
SOUTHWESTERN STATES. BRAND NEW 00Z MODEL RUNS CONTINUE BEING VERY
AGGRESSIVE WITH SNOWFALL AMOUNTS OVER MOST OF OUT MOUNTAINS...WITH
AREAS ALONG AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 70 HIT THE HARDEST STARTING
MIDDAY FRIDAY AND CONTINUING INTO SATURDAY NIGHT. SEE LITTLE REASON
TO CONTINUE ON WITH THE WATCH AS WARNING LEVEL SNOWFALL WILL OCCUR
WITH THIS STORM. POTENTIAL FOR OVER FOUR FEET OF SNOW NOT OUT OF
THE QUESTION...ESPECIALLY FOR THE SOUTHWEST SAN JUANS...WHERE 24
HOURS OF MOIST SOUTHWEST FLOW...COMBINED WITH STRONG JET DYNAMICS
BRING US OUR HEAVIEST SNOWS IN QUITE SOME TIME.  ALSO TAKING NOTE
THAT THE SYSTEM APPEARS TO BE JUST A TAD COLDER THAN EARLIER
THINKING.

Do a little dance, sing a little song, get down tonight,, get down tonight...

Opening Day - November 28!

Hi Folks,

It was a beautiful day today and everyone was so happy to make some turns at Telluride! Here is a picture of our guests getting ready at the top of Chair 4:

The Freestyle Terrain Park Dept. set up a nice little rail park for the kids who were out of school today on parent/teacher conference day:

Village Bypass has really good coverage - no rocks to be found:

Snowmaking on Misty Maiden continued all day due to the favorable temps:

We've been watching a potential snow storm coming our way. If you want the technical details, here they are:

PATTERN CHANGE WILL BEGIN TO TAKE SHAPE THURSDAY NIGHT WITH THE
FLOW BACKING TO THE SOUTHWEST AS A TROUGH MOVES ASHORE OVER THE
PACIFIC NORTHWEST AND A CLOSED LOW OFF THE BAJA COAST BEGINS TO
ADVECT DEEP SUBTROPICAL MOISTURE OVER THE SOUTHWEST STATES.
INCREASING MOISTURE OVER THE AREA AND WARM ADVECTION EXPECTED ON
FRIDAY AS THE BAJA LOW GETS PULLED NORTH BY THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
TROUGH AND THEY BEGIN TO MERGE. KEPT CHANCE POPS ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS
AND VALLEYS NEAR THE FOUR CORNERS WITH SOUTHWEST FLOW PROVIDING SOME
LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE INTO THE AREA AND INCREASING JET SUPPORT
ALOFT. MODELS SUGGESTING THE BULK OF THIS SYSTEM WILL ARRIVE FRIDAY
NIGHT SO HELD OFF ON WINTER STORM WATCH FOR NOW BUT IT DOES LOOK LIKE
THE MAKINGS FOR A POTENTIAL WIDESPREAD HEAVY SNOW EVENT THIS
WEEKEND.

.LONG TERM...FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY...
MODELS ARE STILL ADVERTISING A STRONG STORM SYSTEM FOR FRIDAY NIGHT
THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT. TWO TROUGHS WILL PHASE WITH THE SOUTHERN
TROUGH PUMPING MOISTURE NORTH INTO THE CWA AS IT EJECTS NORTHEAST THE
SAME TIME THE NORTHERN TROUGH DIGS OVER THE INTER MTN WEST. ABUNDANT
MOISTURE IS EXPECTED OVER EASTERN UT AND WESTERN CO. SOUTHWESTERLY
MID AND UPPER FLOW WILL INTERACT WITH THE MTNS PROVIDING GOOD
OROGRAPHIC LIFT. A STRONG SURFACE LOW ALSO FORMS AND STRENGTHENS OVER
THE CWA. SNOW LEVELS SHOULD REMAIN FAIRLY HIGH AT FIRST AS THIS FLOW
PATTERN BRINGS WARMER AIR. THE ZERO DEGREES AT 700 MB FOR FRIDAY
NIGHT RUNS FROM THE FOUR CORNERS TO THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF THE CWA.
TEMPERATURES DROP ON SATURDAY AS THE SECOND TROUGH MOVES EAST BRINING
INCREASED INSTABILITY RESULTING IN INCREASE SNOW RATES. THE EC AND
THE GFS ARE IN FAIRLY GOOD AGREEMENT ON PLACEMENT AND TIMING OF THIS
SYSTEM. THE NAM IS SLOWER BRINGING THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE LOW
NORTHEAST. BEST CHANCES OF PRECIP WITH CURRENT TIMING ARE FRIDAY
NIGHT AND SATURDAY AND THIS SYSTEM COULD BRING THE MOST SNOW WE HAVE
SEEN THIS YEAR ESPECIALLY FOR THE SOUTHERN MTNS. AFTER THIS STORM A
RIDGE BUILDS AND TEMPERATURES SLOWLY WARM.

Let's keep our fingers crossed! Feel free to post a comment, we love to here from you!

- Dave

Telluride Ski Resort to open November 28th!!

Hi Folks,

I'm pleased to announce that Telluride Ski Resort will open to the public November 28, 2007.

Excellent snowmaking weather over the last week plus a foot of fresh powder has resulted in our ability to open on a partial basis. Chair 4 will be open at 9:00 a.m. through 4:00 p.m. daily. Runs on opening day will be Village Bypass and Boomerang. They have a good base and will be groomed for everyone's pleasure. Also, our Freestyle Terrain Park Department is setting some rails.

Lift tickets prices, until we open additional terrain, will be:

Adults - $40

Senior 65+ - $30

Child 6-12 - $20

Kids 5 and under - free

We will continue to expand terrain and lifts as conditions allow. Enjoy!

Feel free to post a comment - we love to hear from you! - Dave

November 26 - Opening Update

Hi Folks,

Progress continues in order to get the resort ready to open this Friday, November 30th.

The snowmaking team relocated several guns yesterday to the upper pitch of Village Bypass extending to the top of Chair 4 and are making great progress:

Groomers are dozing out huge snowmaking piles near Gorrono Ranch:

One of the new Prinoth 350s is showing its stuff:

Other cats are grading the runs level, blading and track packing Village Bypass:

And finally, even more cats are putting down the final corduroy surface with the tillers. This is a picture of Boomerang - and it's looking really good:

A team of patrollers are ski packing the steeps off Chair 6. Tomorrow, we'll have the winch cat rolling the steeps up at Chair 14. This is all to preserve and prepare the base so we will have a good chance of opening some advanced terrain soon.

Village Bypass and Boomerang will be the only trails open on November 30th (and the small magic carpet for Children's lessons). Those runs will have a very well prepared surface which you should enjoy. We're now going to move snowmaking guns over to Misty Maiden and will focus on that area. We also will be blowing snow under the Chondola.

The weather models are talking about a slight chance of snow mid-week with a better chance over the weekend. Tempuratures look good for snowmaking all the way through.

Let me know if you have any questions or comments - feel free to post!

Thank you - Dave

November 25 - opening update

Hi Folks,

The groomers are attacking the mountain today - for the first time this season. They are spreading the snowmaking piles, covering rocks, leveling runs, and smoothing things out.

The maze area at the bottom of Chair 4 at Mountain Village is complete.

I appologize for the dark light in the pictures, the sun was going down as I went out to get these pictures..

Check back tomorrow for another update. Remember, we're opening November 30th!

- Dave

November 24 - SNOW UPDATE!

Hi Folks,

This is so awesome! By the time the storm ended we recieved 12 inches up at the telemetry site near the top of Chair 6. Also, temperatures have allowed for continued snowmaking.

I had to go for a walk this morning and check it out. Here are a few pictures I'm sure you'll enjoy.

The Town of Telluride looks happy in white:

Village Bypass with a foot of powder on the completed snowmaking piles:

The snowmaking crew has done an outstanding job:

The beautiful Gorrono Ranch awaits opening:

Snowmaking is almost complete below Gorrono Ranch on Village Bypass:

Mountain Village is looking great too. The snowmaking pile at the bottom of Chair 4 is almost as tall as the chairlift terminal behind:

The Peaks Resort and Golden Door Spa at Mountain Village:

A big THANK YOU goes out to our fantastic snowmaking crew! See you on the slopes November 30th!

Let us know if you have any questions or thoughts by posting a comment - we love to hear from you!

Enjoy the weekend - Dave

Opening date announced

November 23, 2007

Hi Folks,

Telluride Ski Resort will open for lift served skiing and snowboarding on November 30, 2007!

A snow storm did roll in late last night as predicted and we've received about 5-7 inches of snow as of noon today. It's snowing moderately on and off today but that should end late this afternoon. It sure is nice to see winter arriving!

We're still making snow 24 hours a day and with the cold tempuratures over the last 3 nights we've made more snow than over the last 3 weeks. It sure has helped.

Some people have posted blog comments asking if we'll open earlier. The reason we are waiting until 11/30 is that we still have about 700 yards of snowmaking to accomplish at the top of Chair 4. We're just finishing up the areas on lower Boomerang and below Gorrono Ranch on Village Bypass also. While the natural snow we received certainly helped, it's not enough to ski on yet. We should be able to complete the snowmaking priority route off Chair 4 by 11/30 though.

The next chance for a snowstorm is the middle of next week. At this point, it looks pretty interesting and aggressive. We'll have to wait and see.

Thank you for all your questions and comments on the blog. We love to hear from you!

Enjoy! - Dave

November 22nd - opening update

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

I had an opportunity to go on a hike this morning and check out the snowmaking progress. It was nice and cold again last night and the snowmaking team did a great job.

Here is a picture of Village Bypass, just below the top of Chair 7, with Wilson Peak in the background. Wilson Peak is 14,246 feet tall and is located in the Lizard Head Wilderness.

Here is a picture of Upper Village Bypass, Chair 4, Wilson Peak in the center and Sunshine Mountain (12,930 feet) is on the left over the trees. Snowmaking is complete in this area. All that is left to do is for the cats to come in, spread the piles and groom it out.

Below is a picture of a SMI Super Polecat snowmaker. We have several different types of snowmaking machines but these babies really build a pile fast if the tempuratures are right.

Here's a SMI in front, with several Ratnik air/water guns behind. This whole stretch of Village Bypass had almost no snow on it yesterday.

Here is a picture of a HKD snowmaker. We have some really nice piles now on Boomerang.

Here is a picture of The Beach at the bottom of Chair 4. This pile is looking good enough to build a maze area.

The bottom line is that we are filling in the gaps on the priority route off Chair 4 very nicely. We have one fairly large gap on Upper Village Bypass from the top of Chair 4 down to the top of Chair 7. We won't be able to open this weekend but the probability of opening next week is very high now.

Now for the really good news. Check out the Snow Advisory that was posted this morning for our area:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
344 AM MST THU NOV 22 2007

NORTHWEST SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS-SOUTHWEST SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...OURAY...TELLURIDE...LAKE CITY...
SILVERTON...RICO...HESPERUS
344 AM MST THU NOV 22 2007

...SNOW ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO 5 PM MST
FRIDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND JUNCTION HAS ISSUED A SNOW
ADVISORY...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO 5 PM MST
FRIDAY.

A STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE INTO THE FOUR CORNERS REGION TONIGHT AND
EARLY FRIDAY...BRINGING WIDESPREAD SNOW TO THE SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS.
TOTAL SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 5 TO 10 INCHES ARE EXPECTED...WITH
THE HEAVIEST AMOUNTS ALONG SOUTHWEST FACING SLOPES. THE SNOW WILL
DECREASE IN COVERAGE AND INTENSITY BY LATE FRIDAY AFTERNOON.

A SNOW ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW WILL CAUSE PRIMARILY
TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SNOW COVERED ROADS AND
LIMITED VISIBILITIES...AND USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING. COAL
BANK...MOLAS...RED MOUNTAIN AND LIZARD HEAD PASSES THROUGH THE SAN
JUAN MOUNTAINS WILL ALL SEE SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS ON
FRIDAY.

Here is a picture of the cut-off low working it's way toward us now 

from the Great Basin:

November 21st - Opening update

Hi Folks,

Nice cold tempuratures moved in late yesterday. Honestly, last night was the first "real" snowmaking weather of the season - and it sure made a difference in our productivity.

Here are a few pictures from today:

The forecast is for continued cold tempuratures into Saturday, likely allowing for 24 hour snowmaking until Saturday morning. There is even a possibility of some natural snow Thursday night into Friday. That would be a welcome sight!

I'll update again over Turkey Day with more pictures and information on the progress made by our excellent snowmaking staff.

Thanks to everyone posting comments and checking back on the blog. Have a wonderful meal tomorrow!

Dave

November 20 - Opening update

Hi Folks,

I just returned from a long hike on the mountain with the mountain department team and want to give you as clear a picture as I can regarding the probability of opening for the holiday weekend.

Here is a picture of Lower Boomerang from this afternoon:

Here is a picture of Village Bypass:

These areas look really good and I want to thank the snowmaking crew for their hard work. With the short shifts due to the warm tempuratures, it has taken far longer than usual to accomplish what you see in these pictures. The snowcats have not spread out the piles of snow yet because time allows them to cure.

Our focus and attention has been on making enough snow to open one good run on Chair 4. The problem is that there is a good sized stretch of no snow from the top of Chair 4 to where the snowmaking begins on Village Bypass. Also, there is another good sized stretch of no snow near Gorrono's. Then there is another smaller stretch of no snow between the bottom of Lower Boomerang and the bottom of Chair 4. This is the priority route we are trying to establish - it's actually a pretty long run. We have snowmaking infrastructure in these gap areas and we are now focused on filling these gaps as quickly as possible.

It is definitely getting colder as I type this blog this evening which will allow the snowmakers to increase the water/air mix which will increase productivity tonight (more snow on the ground from the guns). The weather front that is giving us these cold temps is a dry front though (no natural snow included with this one). The next possibility of natural snow is Friday but the weather models are in disagreement over how much will actually hit our area. Time will tell.

I realize that many people are asking for my best guess on when we'll be open - and I can appreciate why, given the holiday.

As of this afternoon, I would give a low probability that we'll be open this weekend... I could be wrong - but that's my best guess for now and I wanted to share it with you. I will update this blog tomorrow and hopefully I'll have a better set of computer models to look at and additional information on how the snowmaking goes this evening. If things change for the better, I'll revise my prediction accordingly.

Talk with you soon - please feel free to post a comment - we enjoy hearing from you.

Pray for snow! Thank you.

Dave

Opening Day Update

November 16, 2007

Hi Folks,

We announced this afternoon that we are delaying our opening day due to unseasonable warm and dry weather. We had scheduled to open on November 21st with the Telluride Ski and Snowboard Club Donation Day and the official opening day was scheduled for November 22nd.

Temperatures have not allowed us to make snow efficiently and effectively. Looking at the weather forecast, early next week we should get some very cold temperatures and some natural snow which should break down the blocking high pressure system which has been parked over the entire region for weeks.

Since many people will be in Mountain Village and Telluride over the holiday, the Village pass office will be open Monday-Friday 8am - 5pm (9am - 2pm Thanksgiving Day) for season pass and 6/10 day pass pick up. The nursery will be open Wednesday - Saturday 8:30am - 4:30pm and Kids Camp open Thursday - Saturday 10am - 3pm. Slopeside locker facility will open by appointment (please contact 728-2719 to set up an appointment).

I'm a believer in the law of averages so this all means that we'll get some serious snow soon!

Feel free to post any comments or questions. We love to hear from you :-)

- Dave

Ski season is coming soon!

Hi Folks,

The nights are getting colder so we've fired up the snowmaking system. This picture was taken on Village Bypass just above Gorrono Ranch. All pictures were taken by me on the morning of November 4, 2007:

This picture is of Lower Boomerang:

This picture is of the base area at Mountain Village:

Here is another one of Village Bypass:

We have 16 new snowmaking machines which were loaded on trucks last week. They should arrive early this coming week. These machines are going to make our snowmaking operation much more efficient and effective. Additionally, almost 8,000 feet of new underground pipelines were installed this summer.

Our official opening day is scheduled for November 22, 2007 although a special Telluride Ski and Snowboard Club donation day is being held on November 21st. Go to www.tssc.org for more information.

Wax those boards - see you soon on the slopes! - Dave