The end of ski season

2009-07-04 17:13:01.000 – Brian Clark,  Observer and Meteorologist

No snow left in Airplane Gully

Happy Independance Day to everyone out there! Hopefully you are getting the weather you wanted for your planned activities. We certainly are not. It has been raining on and off all day with plenty of thick wet fog that will likely hang around long enough to prevent us from seeing any fireworks in the valley below tonight.

Yesterday there was a bit of a mixup among summit staff as both Mike F. and myself ended up posting Observer Comments. Since Mike’s was posted shortly after mine, it is likely that not many people ended up seeing my comment. So, I decided I would repost it today!

Yesterday afternoon saw an unexpected break in the fog that has engulfed the summit for the majority of the past week. This, along with seasonable temperatures in the upper forties and relatively calm winds made for a good chance to get outside for a little bit.

My short hike down to the Great Gulf Headwall had another purpose as well. I wanted to see if there was any snow left for some July skiing. Just slightly less than a month ago, Mike Finnegan and I found plenty of snow left in both Airplane Gully and Turkey Chute on the headwall. However, we have seen a lot of fog and rain between now and then, both of which tend to make snow disappear very quickly. This made me less than optimistic as I made my way down the Gulfside Trail, enough so that I didn’t even take my ski equipment with me.

I found exactly what I expected once I got down there, bare rock and alpine vegetation, neither of which are any good for skiing. There were a couple of small patches of snow left at the base of the headwall, but not worth the hiking and bushwaking it would take to get to the 4 or 5 turns they would provide. It was nice to get outside though and I even got to see some sunshine! The sad part is that this officially ends the 2008-2009 ski season for me. It was another great one with a ton of days on snow on and off the mountain (at least 70-80). Here’s hoping that the next few months go by quickly so that the 2009-2010 season can get started!

Oh, and check out the new entry to my AccuWeather.com blog for some pictures comparing what these places looked like yesterday to how they looked last month!

Brian Clark,  Observer and Meteorologist