Whistler ski conditions and fog explainer
From the Grand Poobah of Powder
Hello everyone,
Hope you are getting some turns in as the skiing has been good. Snowpack is near normal. As you know, it will be very cold and clear with this current outbreak of dry modified arctic air in progress over the NW. Prepare for highs in the teens for the Cascades and lows in the single digits when you arrive. Bundle up to the max.
In the past 10 days, I’ve skied Crystal, The Summit, and most recently Whistler. The coverage and quality of snow have been good. Off-piste is variable with some isolated thin spots near the ridges.
The weather at Whistler was fantastic, with million-dollar views, when I was up there. I know the weather there can be fickle. Their biggest weather challenge, IMO, is visibility. Especially up in the treeless alpine bowls. Abundant light gray overcast with white snow provides no contrast and flat light. You’ll need those light-tinted lenses,
Xero Optics.
Beyond contrast, another piece of the visibility problem is the fog layers, clinging to the slopes. I have noted over the decades skiing at Whistler (1st time 1973) there can be 1-3 layers of fog. The moisture comes off the Howe Sound and Strait of Georgia to produce the fog. The air rises slightly and cools to form a low fog layer near the Village. But with the overall proximity of the Pacific moisture, there can be multiple fog layers or singular layers. They can persist at low, mid, or higher mountain elevations. The fog layers tend to be shallow 500 -1,500 ft thick - so there is room to ski around, up, or over them, considering about 5,000 vertical at W/B.
Winds from the northeast (like today) are usually dry and can minimize or eliminate fog while providing sparkling views. However, normally winds are moist, from the west or southwest, off the ocean, causing clouds or fog. Another issue with the fog is it is liquid water droplets, but often below freezing. It’s called supercooled water which freezes on contact. Sometimes causing a frosty rime on your clothing or goggles.
You can do a ski workaround to improve fog layer visibility problems. Use the extensive lift system, by adjusting your preferred ski slope elevation and slope aspect to stay under or stay above the fog layers. As you know the weather down low and up high can be radically different at times. I worked with the visibility difficulties last week, staying in the alpine, without fog issues. In the picture, you can see the fog in the lower elevations, with clear skies above and great visibility.
Larry Schick - The Grand Poobah of Powder
Meteorologist
