Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Blast from the Past: Ski Magazine February 1978

Thanks to Dr. Google, every now and then I run across some great old article that puts a smile on my face.  Recently, I ran across the article provided at the bottom of this post, which appeared in Ski Magazine in February 1978 and examines both the avalanche history and its famed reputation for powder at Alta.  I especially liked that it referred to a quote from Ed LaChapelle in a 1962 Forest Service report on Alta snow, which I also used a portion of for my book Secrets of the Greatest Snow on Earth:
"The highest snow densities in terms of grams of water content per cubic centimeter of snow are found at Alta...This reflects a fact known to the experienced snow ranger but usually ignored by the average skier: the best deep powder skiing is not found in the lightest snow, but rather in snow with enough 'body' to provide good flotation for the running ski"
For those of you who want further context, the Forest Service report, entitled The Density Distribution of New Snow, is available online from the Marriott Library (they are always on top of things!).

The report compares 24-hour snow densities from avalanche study sites at Alta, Stevens Pass (WA), Berthoud Pass (CO), Squaw Valley (CA), and Girdwood (AK).  The surprising finding of this work was that the mean snow density at Alta was higher than any of those sites, hence Ed's comment above that the highest snow densities were found at Alta.

That finding has always been perplexing to me, particularly Alta having higher snow densities than Stevens Pass and Squaw Valley, and, although Ed attempts to explain it, I never found his reasoning in that article to be all that compelling.  Altitude, wind exposure, and many other factors can influence snow-density measurements and I've always wondered if the data he used was representative of the general snow characteristics at each site.  At Alta, for example, one would find higher snow densities if data was collected in an area affected by wind transport and related densification.

Nevertheless, I always liked the latter part of the quote about the best deep powder skiing not being found in the driest snow, but rather in snow with enough body to provide good floatation.  That has always been my experience.  In my view, great powder skiing is found in snow that is "stacked" right, with the low-density stuff sitting on top of the high-density stuff which is optimal for ski flotation as well as face shots.

Enjoy the below (click to enlarge).








9 comments:

  1. Count me amongst the nonbelievers. I love the bottomless cold smoke, and was denied my last chance at such with a sick kid Tuesday morning(skins on, work notified, and in he walks w that look said "no chance").

    Humor me, if we were going to design a forecast for these 2-3 times a decade events, what would we look for? Off the top of my head; >4' of snow at less than 10% density, winds under 5 mph, temps <20 f(clouds) or < 10 if sunny.

    Even with that I'm thinking you'd have to be on the snow with in 12 hrs of last fall to get the best of the best, whadda ya think?

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    1. Yes, different "stokes" for different folks.

      I've had many good BC powder days a few days after a storm, but full on full bore face shots typically requires you get on it before it strongly settles.

      I'm also not sure this is a 2-3 times a decade event. I would suspect the frequency is higher based on experience. I typically look for a 1-3 day period with unstable NW flow and 700-mb temperatures in the dendritic growth region (-12 to -18C). That being said, prediction in unstable NW flow is notoriously tricky.

      Jim

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    2. Thanks for the reply. I'd like to believe these events are more common, estimate was based on comments between my brother and I as we monkeyed around breaking trail last Friday.

      I'll keep an eye out for the conditions listed, sacrifice some skis and keep the fingers crossed.

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    3. My impressions are, of course, purely anecdotal.

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    4. Thanks for the memory. Since my first time at Alta in January 1979, inspired by Ski, Skiing and Powder magazines I have had blower days including that first trip. Not once in a decade, but almost every time I visit Utah. I have a picture taken by my wife in Jackson Hole that looks just like the guy in red only I am wearing orange and yellow. It hangs on my wall still today to remind me of all the snorkel days I have skied since 1979 at Snow Bird, Alta and Jackson where the density is important, but a waist deep blower day is still just that when skiing the best resorts and snow in the world!!!!! Greg "Lone Eagle" Keller from Colorado.

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  2. surely you've all seen this before: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-liVCYKHEs concurrently contemporaneous to the article cited above

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    1. I had not. Thanks for sharing. The Three Dog Night is an especially nice touch...

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  3. By the way I said blower, but I really meant a Snorkel Day!!!!!

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  4. As a SoCal boy, learning to ski powder in Mammoth in the late 70's was a difficult challenge with those skinny skis. It wasn't until I visited Alta and Snowbird for a week that I learned the techniques described within and mastered the pow. Once the parabolics came out, skiing Sierra powder became immensely easier and the need to visit Utah or Colorado disappeared. Today's skis make it all the easier; so yes, Alta and the Rockies have amazing snow, but I've found bliss with my 'local' hills with the new skis. One day I hope to go back and relive those amazing memories.

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