Monday, February 17, 2014

We had some snow and it got rained down. There is still a lot up in Hope Valley and Kirkwood. But for those of you that like to Hike and Bike we are having the perfect early spring weather. Here is Kirkwood's Snow Report. the weekend and all of March is still open at Merrill's Carson River Guest House. Merrill Carson River Guest House

February 17, 2014 at 3:59 PM

Partly Cloudy

Current Temp

27

Wind

13
SSW

Today's Forecast

Updated @1600: Sunshine today with some clouds possible in the afternoon. Temperatures forecast to be in the mid to upper 30's.

Short-Term Weather Outlook

Updated @1600: Weather Discussion: A weather system raced across Northern and Central California to bring strong winds and considerable cloudiness but only modest snowfall to the Lake Tahoe Basin last night. Mostly sunny conditions have returned to the Lake Tahoe Basin as lingering cloudiness has already broken up. Clear skies overnight will allow weak to moderate strength inversions to form by dawn as valley, canyon floor locations observe temperatures dipping to around 20F while adjacent higher terrain notes readings hovering closer to 30F during the night. At any rate Monday will begin sunny but will observe some increase in cloudiness in the afternoon and a bit more cloudiness tomorrow night as the first in a series of less than impressive weather systems clip the North State on their way inland. This initial system is unlikely to bring any precipitation (rain or snow) to the Lake Tahoe Basin with its passage. A second, more promising disturbance could Tuesday night into Wednesday but even if successful, amounts would on the order of what fell last night (i.e. 1-3 inches for favored locations.) Models now show what was suppose to be the coldest of this week's system to mostly stay north of California although some cold air is likely to filter southward down the backside of the Sierra Nevada in the wake of this disturbance's advance eastward across the northern Great Basin. Dry, increasingly mild weather pattern looks to set up late this week (Friday into Saturday) and persist at least into the middle of next week before breaking down significantly. Doesn't look like temperatures will get as warm as in January but most Tahoe locations should at least warm above freezing during the day but only higher terrain will do so at night.

Snow Stats

Base Summit
Last 24 Hours 0" 0" Last 7 Days 5 - 8"
Last 48 Hours 5" 8" Seasonal Total Range 165-231"
Storm Total 5" 8" Base Depth 62"
The data for this real-time snow and weather report is obtained directly from the snow weather plots at Kirkwood Mountain Resort and the surrounding areas. Snow totals and snow accumulation are consistently 15 to 20% more than reported as a result of wind, micro squalls and snow loading. Weather patterns at Kirkwood Mountain Resort are exceedingly difficult to predict – when venturing into the mountain, be prepared for rapid, dramatic weather changes.

Surface Conditions

Powder / Skier & Rider Packed packed / Machine groomed

Road Conditions: Open

Hwy. 88 via Tahoe: Updated as of 1600 as reported by Cal Trans: Open / No Controls
Hwy. 88 via Jackson: Updated as of 1600 as reported by Cal Trans: Open / No Controls

Lift Operations

Lift   Status Groomed Runs
#1 SnowKirk Scheduled
#2 Caples Crest
Scheduled
Flying Carpet, Bark Shanty, Whiskey Slide
#3 Iron Horse
Scheduled
Easy Rider, Herringbone, Upper Bud's Alley, Lower Bud's Alley
#4 Sunrise
Scheduled
Elevator Shaft, Happiness Is
#5 Solitude
Scheduled
Home Run, Mokelumne, Lower Zachary, Lower Monte Wolfe, Outlaw Park, Lower Olympic, Lower Lookout Janek
#6 Cornice Express
Scheduled
Sentinel, Zachary, Stump Run
#7 TC Express
Scheduled
Home Run, Bandit Park, Hole N Wall, Up N Over, Jane's Jaunt, Squirrel Ridge, Jambi's Jaunt
#9 Bunny
Scheduled
Graduation, Funny Bunny, School Run
#10 Wagon Wheel
"The Wall"
Scheduled
#11 The Reut
Scheduled
Wagon Trail, Shortspoke, Conestoga, Shotgun, Caples Crest Traverse, Buckboard
#14 Vista
Closed
#15 Covered Wagon
Closed
Lifts open from 9am-4pm.
* Lifts 12 & 13 are our Magic Carpets at Timber Creek. These are for exclusive use by the Tahoe Learning Center during lessons and not open to the public.
* Lift operation is dependent on weather conditions and snow safety and therefore subject to change at any time.

High Angle Grooming

Sentinel, Zachary

Open Bowls

Button, Happiness Is, Sunrise, Conestoga, Headwater, Thunder Saddle, Devil's Draw, Palisades, Wagon Wheel, Eagle Bowl, Sentinel

Expedition: Kirkwood

Expedition:Kirkwood AIARE Level 1 - A three day introduction course to the avalanche phenomena. Students will develop a good grounding in how to prepare for and carry out a trip, understand basic decision making while in the field, and learn rescue techniques required to find and dig up a buried person. View Dates: Feb 25 - Feb 27 Cost: $315 Time: 9am to 3pm Info/Res: 209.258.7360

Parks & Pipes

Outlaw (Chair 5)
Closed
Bandit (Chair 7)
Open

Timber Creek Learning Center Open

Timber Creek is open, This includes Timber Creek Retail, Rentals, Ski and Ride School, as well as, Timber Creek Cafe.

Mountain Village Open

Kirkwood Mountain Sports Retail - 8:30am - 4:30pm Kirkwood Mountain Sports Village Rentals - 8:30am - 4:30pm Kirkwood Mountain Sports Demo Center - 8:30am - 4:30pm M-F 8:00am - 5:00pm Sat/Sun Expedition Kirkwood/Ski and Ride School - 8am - 4:30pm The Edge Tuning Center 8:30 - 4:30 Monday - Friday Village Ticket Office - 8:00am. - 4:30pm K-Bar - 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Monte Wolfes - 8:00am - 4:30pm Off the Wall Bar - Friday, Saturday - 11:00am - 9:00pm Off the Wall Bar - Sunday 11:00am - 5:00pm

Kirkwood Cross Country & Snowshoe Center Open

Our Cross Country center is open with 70 kilometers of groomed. Trails to Schneider Camp are now open up to Coyote pass. We also have 5 miles of Snowshoe specific trails available. We offer both group & private lessons daily, lessons start at 10:30 and 1:30 daily. Don't miss our Sierra Crest guided snowshoe hike on Sunday Feb. 23rd. Please give us a call for info and reservations @ 209.258.7248.

Special Events & Remarks


KSEF Ski Team Raffle - February 15th & 16th Our annual Ski Team Raffle will be over Martin Luther King weekend. Tickets are $5 each and will be available at the Ski Team tent in the Plaza. The drawing for final prizes will take place on Sunday the 19th at 4pm in the Plaza.