January 14-15, 2017
This week marked the return back to work and school for most people. After a few hectic weeks of celebrations, get-togethers, vacations, and skiing (hopefully!), it's nice to get back into our normal routines. It's also a nice time to reflect on the holiday season of our local ski hills. The Christmas vacation period has always been an important time of year for ski hill operators, as they experience some of their busiest days of the entire year. It's also one of the most uncertain times of the year, because operators rely on natural snowfall and cold temperatures to get the season started, and ensure as much terrain as possible is open for the crowds. This year was, fortunately, markedly different from last Christmas. Cold temperatures throughout December allowed hills to open the majority of their terrain in time, and natural snowfall made conditions nice and ensured that people got into the mood of skiing. Last week was memorable in many regions, such as the Laurentians, where over 40 cm of snow fell in a few days.
The month of January usually marks the coldest time of the year, but this week was sadly an exception. We do like warm temperatures in winter, but this week was a little too warm for our liking. Yesterday and on Wednesday, the temperature shot up well above freezing, and it rained for the better part of these two days. Some of this rain fell as snow in places outside of Montreal, but the rain eventually made its way there as well.
Tonight, the temperature plummets to almost -20, which will no doubt make for some... "interesting" conditions, this weekend. It's certainly not optimal, but in my books, a not-great day skiing is better than a day with no skiing at all. Don't leave in the morning this weekend expecting powder all day, but know that, as always, there are ways to make the best of a situation like this. Here are a few tips:
1. If you're thinking of getting your skis tuned, now's the time! Sharp edges will allow you to dig your skis into the hard icy base, rather than skidding around.
2. Conditions will become scraped out and icy very quickly, especially on Saturday which is normally the busier ski day. If possible, plan to start as early as you can, to benefit from the fresh grooming.
3. Most people ski down the middle of the trail, scraping the snow away in their path. This means that the centre of the trail is usually icy, with all the loose scraped snow off to the sides. If you're advanced enough to remain in control at the edges of a trail, ski there! The base won't be scraped away as much, and there'll be a bit of loose snow to ski around in.
4. This one is obvious - don't venture off the groomed trails. Mogul runs and glades which aren't machine-maintained will basically be a hard crust of ice until the next significant snowfall.
Speaking of next significant snowfall, this coming week doesn't look the most promising. After a few cold days, it looks like we're in for another warm spell, with mixed precipitation that could likely end up as rain. Hopefully, outside of the city, this will fall as snow. After a great Christmas season, it's sad to see the weather turning on us, but we can only hope and make the best of what we have. The ski season is too short!