Weather Prediction NEEDED! Jan 31-Monarch Cat ski

[neversummersnow]

Anybody that can help out...

I have a reservation to do some CAT skiing on the 31st of Jan. The weather forcast is sorta sketchy. If I want to postpone I have to do it 10 days in advance.

What do you think? Postpone it, or leave it....

My gut tells me the next set of storms will be lined up for right around the 31st...maybe a bit after....argghhh I dont know what to do and def am not wanting to waste 200 bones.

[SkaredShtles]

I'd postpone it. It looks like something might be shaping up a bit for the SW at the end of the 10-day period starting now, but it'd probably have to be significant to straighten out the 2+ week dry spell before it.

http://grads.iges.org/pix/prec1.png

[Pau11y]

Save the $200, and rent snow mos here on the next big storm. You and 5 of your buddies can go up Buffalo Pass and lap Steamboat Powder Cats at a rate of 4 of your runs on snow mo to one in a cat. Bring a KFC lunch for everyone and a 12 pack of your fav. barley pop and you'd save around $900.00 in total for the 6 of yaz.

[neversummersnow]

well, there is a second part to it...

the guys I'm supposed to ski with are all big wigs (aka CFOs CEOs etc) of many Denver based companies. They are all young and supposedly good skiers. If this is true then these guys are ideal people for me to get to know for...

1-Internships...after watching me huck some 30 footer, they're way more likely to hire me

2-Sponsorship...if they love skiing why wouldn't they love mountain biking and be willing to kick some $$$ my way for racing/school...

Sure I give both of these a 20 percent chance but hey...it's a chance I HAVE to take!

200 bucks is a lot, but the pay off could be HUGE! Plus Monarch is sick...steepest cat skiing in CO!

[SkaredShtles]

Save the $200, and rent snow mos here on the next big storm. You and 5 of your buddies can go up Buffalo Pass and lap Steamboat Powder Cats at a rate of 4 of your runs on snow mo to one in a cat. Bring a KFC lunch for everyone and a 12 pack of your fav. barley pop and you'd save around $900.00 in total for the 6 of yaz.
I don't know. The purchase of avalanche gear would very quickly wipe out any savings from renting snowmachines...........

-S.S.-

[ladge]

My gut tells me the next set of storms will be lined up for right around the 31st...maybe a bit after....argghhh I dont know what to do and def am not wanting to waste 200 bones.

I think you are probably right. My precip forecasts are too big to attach, but they all show "drought" conditions for the rest of January. We are doing snowcat stuff at El Diablo/Molas Pass, but waiting until later into February in hopes that the snow starts flying again by then.

[Pau11y]

I don't know. The purchase of avalanche gear would very quickly wipe out any savings from renting snowmachines...........

-S.S.-

You can often rent that too. In Steamboat, Ski Haus or Backdoor Sports has 'em.

[SkaredShtles]

You can often rent that too. In Steamboat, Ski Haus or Backdoor Sports has 'em.
I'm going to have to stand up and say this snowmachine thing is a really *BAD* idea unless you have good, solid avalanche knowledge.

The cat operations have guides who are versed in this art, and some (like Monarch, I think) actually control the terrain they ski like their "in-bounds" terrain.

-S.S.-

[GravityPilot]

I'm going to have to stand up and say this snowmachine thing is a really *BAD* idea unless you have good, solid avalanche knowledge.

The cat operations have guides who are versed in this art, and some (like Monarch, I think) actually control the terrain they ski like their "in-bounds" terrain.

-S.S.-

I definatly agree. With the warmer temps the danger will get worse simple because the hard slab layers on top will be resting on weaker layers. I saw a lot of this on Vail Pass yesterday. There's also some evidence of this around Steamboat. You can check out the Colorado Avalanche Information Center for more info. It's a handy tool.
http://geosurvey.state.co.us/avalanche/