Closing Day

 Closing day of touring season at Alta was a beautiful one with a low-angle sun lighting the scene.

Conditions offered up a mixture of cream on crud, gunpowder, and groomers as the resort prepares to open for lift-served skiing on Wednesday.  Natural cover in upper Collins Gulch is quite good for mid-to-late November.  

It was a pretty interesting day meteorologically if you're into the snow energy balance.  Check out the observations from the top of Mt. Baldy.  Temperatures climbed during the day, reaching almost 31˚F by 2 PM, but dewpoints were quite low.  

As a result, the area in the shade of Mt. Baldy was a pretty good icebox.  With clear skies and very very low humidities, conditions were ideal for radiative cooling due to the lack of incoming short-wave and long-wave radiation, as well as sublimational cooling.  

Alta should have good lift-served conditions for opening day on Wednesday.  If you are hoping to see more natural snow, however, pickings look slim for the next week.  Give thanks for upper-elevation north-facing terrain and hope that Mother Nature changes the pattern soon.