Pass it to the man and boom goes the dynamite! Finally, a no doubter.   The last of the MLK weekenders returned their stuff at Troy’s ski shop today as the snow fell and the weather was in and out all day. ( the best shop by far in the valley, especially for fat ski lovers,  shameless plug here). I had  a couple of 303er’s bitching that the storm “had passed through and is over Winter Park now.”   Obviously, if you didn’t know, the weather patterns and storms are synced to the vacation plans of our guests.  I would have to guess the two had Winter Park plans for a mid-week escape from the Front Range.  “Marge, cancel my appointments, Goddammit I’m gonna go ski Mary Jane.” Who was I to crap on their sandwich?  Inside I chuckled a little, as the storm was barely even there as these guys departed back down the hill around noon. Now it’s 11 pm here in EV and the wind and snow continues( I’m sure it’s dumping at Winter Park, too, it’s o.k guys).

On a much more serious note, the accumulation is getting there, upwards of ten inches up top by now with significant wind loading. I didn’t head out today, so I have no new beta on what is going on in EV. I do, however, have a good idea what tomorrow will bring.  Hopefully the arenas we need to rip will release naturally tonight during the storm, but that really is just hoping.   Throwing out the black flag guys all aspects elevations, which means if you are planning to head out you need to have your stuff wired tight and stay deep in the trees.  I’ll go out on a limb and predict that we will see significant avalanche activity in the next 24-48 hours.  Boom.

It’s zero to a hundred in a day, and by being lulled in to complacency by months of no snow, this is a dangerous time for us backcountry travelers still getting the feet in the midst of a storm.  Let’s look out for each other out there and use good protocol.  Deep breath, ready, go.