Bernie's FAR Update 2003/3/11:

I didn’t believe the forecast on the weekend. How can it be -20C one day and +5C the next? This isn’t Calgary after all. Well I was wrong! By Monday afternoon the temperature at the base had risen to several degrees above freezing and the precipitation was no longer white. During the night the snow slid off my roof and I heard a distressing pitter, patter... amplified by the metal roof. I did not expect today to be a banner day. Well I was wrong again!

It did not rain hard all day. There was some precipitation off and on all day and the snow line was somewhere around the base of the Bear Express. Up in the White Pass it was windy and cool. The light snow and gusty winds combined to create some very good snow conditions. Graupel (otherwise called snow grains) tend to lay down snow with a creamy texture. The wind filled in the troughs and I enjoyed one of the best ski days this season. The snow was definitely not powder but it was for the most part, soft. I like the firm, secure feel under foot that the creamy smooth texture presents. It’s a confidence builder and the run down Concussion, in basically untracked snow, was my “run of the day”. Once you got below the elevation of the Bear’s Den, the snow conditions were very spring like. Soft and wet, but no where near the “Spring Slurpy” that sometimes exists. All in all a very enjoyable day in what could aptly be described as “Very good Spring-like conditions”.

Since you all will have noticed that the weather in Fernie has changed since the weekend I wanted to post a quick update. The lighting today was quite flat and somewhat restricted at higher elevations. I didn’t take any photos so I’ll leave Jays great shots on until the next report.

Bernie - bernie@far.redtree.com