Super deep snow, but be careful

Since Bob Dylan says that “…you don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows…”, perhaps it’s true that you don’t need a weatherman to tell you that there’s deep snow out there.

But just in case you do need a weatherman to remind you, here’s a chest-deep picture at Wolf Creek on Tuesday.

Be careful out there, though.  In a tragic story, a young man at the University of Colorado died after being caught in a tree well at Wolf Creek.  Have fun skiing the trees, but make sure someone is watching you as you ski (and visa versa).  It’s seems easy enough, but this great website outlines some basic (at times too basic) tips on staying safe in the trees, brought to you by our friends in the Pacific NW (who know about deep snow and big trees).

Here are the storm totals from Sunday through Wednesday.  The snow down south was about 10:1 snow-to-liquid (not light, but not too heavy), and the snow from Crested Butte on north was lighter, likely around 15:1 or more.

The main wind direction (from the Southwest) was the key to this storm.  A moist wind hitting a mountain and being forced upwards (orographics) equals snow (and wind coming down a mountain equals ziltch).  Areas north of Aspen didn’t see good snows until the storm passed Tuesday morning and the wind switched to the west.

Check back in tomorrow (Friday) for a plan (and a forecast) that’s guaranteed to give you a good Monday morning.