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Has anyone being skiing in Scotland at cairngorm mountain in February, is the snow conditions good?

How do you gauge skiing conditions from a snow report?

  • e.g., Snow Report: 0" new snow today 298" total snow this season 100" summit base What ranges of values for these metrics indicate good skiing and what other factors are important? E.g, current temperature, how far into the season, etc...

  • Answer:

    Lets break these items down into individual parts: Summit Base This is referring to the depth of the snow at the bottom of the mountain. Snow depth will vary dramatically as you move up the mountain (due primarily to wind conditions, blowing snow into pockets in the mountain that are shielded). This is a very useful number when you become a local at a mountain since it will give you a very clear indication when you can ski certain areas. For example, when I was a local at Killington, VT - I knew the backside of the mountain would open up once there was a base of 35" or greater. You might be thinking but wait...can't you get that info at the lodge at the start of the day? Yes but if you are interested in finding the secret stashes of powder on the mountain (not necessarily on a main trail), knowing the amount of powder required to cover the rocks on a particular trail that you enjoy is critical info (especially when its off piste). Total Snow for the Season I primarily just use this as a guage for how well the season has been thus far. Compare it to the average snowfall for a particular mountain at that point in the season and hope its on the high side ;) On the east coast of the US, anything over 300" is epic. For the west coast, you are probably looking for something closer to 500". Those numbers are totals for the season so take into account what month it is when you check and adjust accordingly. New Snow Today Depending on the existing base (see summit base), you can use the recent snowfall to set you expectations for the day. If you've already got a great base laid down (100" is fantastic just about anywhere), then anything over 6" will make for a very fun day. If the base is on the light side, you may need a powder dump of 12"+ for a great day. When the starting base is lower, you tend to run into icy sections more often. The exact numbers depending on the mountain and type of trails you like to ski. Temperature & Humidity (for snow conditions) These two combine to give you an idea of the quality of snow that recently fell. If you are a die hard powder fan, you'll want both the temperature and humidity to be low WHILE the snow is falling. This will produce the smallest crystalline snow flakes aka sweet powder :) Temperature & Wind Chill (for human enjoyment) Lastly check the temperature and wind chill for a range that is acceptable for you and your gear. I've done the -30 degree powder day because it dropped 3 feet the night before (woot!) but to be honest I enjoy a day of spring skiing in my t-shirt way more. I'm leaving out a ton of stuff but hopefully this point you in the right direction.

Todd Cullen at Quora Visit the source

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As a Tahoe skier I tend to pay most attention to the past and future temperature.  What I'm looking for is the daily highs. For instance over Christmas this year we were getting snowfall and the daily temperature was staying below freezing.  Which is a rarity and ment that day to day the snow was going to be soft.  More typically in Tahoe we'll see a weather pattern where we have below freezing nights and above freezing days, which tends to set up the snow to be very firm on top.   These days you'll find yourself tracking the sun to see where things are softening up nicely. If I've seen a snow report that has a warm, near freezing, temperature and snowfall I'll know that we've gotten a bunch of heavy wet snow rather than if it's a snowfall at 20' where the snow will have a lower moisture content and be lighter.  This is an area where resort snow reports tend to be lacking, is that on the NOAA weather forecast they tend to publish the freezing elevation...

David Koblas

When I check snow reports from the Alps, I want to know: how long ago was the last new show (the longer ago, the better the piste preparation has to be done) what is the depth of snow / day temperature / night temperature in the valley (the more snow in the valley, the better the conditions on the hill) what is the depth of snow / day temperature / night temperature on the summit … and the wind speed (the warmer and further away from the freezing point on the hill, the worse the conditions will get by noon - so I will get up earlier)

Jens Wuerfel

I put little faith in those reports - the ski resorts tend to minimise reporting on anything that would keep people away. I often see snow depths reported that are gross exaggerations of what is really there. I rely on web cams, so I can see the snow conditions myself and the weather report - again you have to find one that is reliable for your resort. I can access 5 or six services for my resort and most of them are rubbish :-) I am not sure what it is exactly you are looking for - but a decent weather report and a web cam and you know what you are letting yourself in for :-)

Riccardo Brizzi

They gauge it based on the depth of the snow and what type of snow it produced, like frozen granular, packed powder, packed granular. Try to look at this site: http://www.skiernet.com/snow-conditions.html

Nica Martinez

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