Unofficial Rose

 Yeah... so the Cold Front that blew through yesterday slammed what was once impeccably beautiful light dendrite crystals into wind packed round balls that formed windslab and sastrugi. The SW and W winds were strong enough to rotor down onto most exposures and if that didn't do it the switch to the North winds last night took care of the rest. There still exist some very protected powder pockets if you poke around but the wind sure did a number on the almost perfect conditions we had earlier in the week. So it goes. Hope you got out there when it was good because... it was really really good from top to bottom and beyond. Those of you that got into the BC know just what I mean. All that wind loading did result in some slides here and there but generally damage was limited.  Crowds were thick as flies on a rib roast today (as Uncle Eddie would say) judging from the parade of cars traveling very slowly up the highway in the morning. I am sure conditions remain good on the mount...

 Slide opened this morning along with the parking lot  followed by the chutes in the afternoon, although I was out in the BC after Slide tracked out. Good skiing all around with nice cold temps and reduced winds. First tracks on slide were delicious. Experienced a few small slabs of new snow in the BC on the steeps but all in all the snow has stabilized nicely in general. Some cold weather coming up without blinding whiteouts... time to get out there! Skiing conditions are excellent with Rocky Mountain quality pow! Sven

 It has been an epic storm up here in the Carson Range with close to zero vis much of the time due to the hurricane force winds and heavy snow. The drifts are bigger than I have ever seen up here and the snow hasn't stopped for the better part of a week. Low vis and machines are often poor soulmates as the pics below attest... pic one is of an NDOT rotary ditched out on 431 and the little red smudge you see to the right of the tree at the end of the orange rescue line is a Mt. Rose Ski Area snowcat down in Winter's Creek. The operator certainly experienced a Mr. Toads Wild Ride as he was clearing the Slide lot. I would estimate we have had about 8'+ of snow the last four days which happens to be the exact number our friends over at: www.tahoeweatherblog.com predicted. Great job over there gentlemen!  With all the wind transport some slopes will be ready to slide on a hair trigger... be careful out there tomorrow should the resort and highway reopen.  Sven

 Its been howling up here the last 3 days pretty much non-stop so many slopes have been wind loaded and will be slabby for awhile, especially with another two feet forecast for tonight. A skier was killed in the slide crown photo below in Colorado recently on a windslab so, PLEASE be careful and do your due diligence when probing into the BC tomorrow or Tuesday. Some slopes may have a hair trigger, especially in the Carson Range where the winds have been whipping. If you don't know, don't go. And even if you do go, remember to dig some evaluation pits looking for layering, practice good route selection and have your avy kits and know how to use them.  Hopefully you can be Care Full when you go out for some turns and not let the Sirens of Powder seduce you into a line you had hesitations about. Above all, listen to that voice whispering in your head, beyond all the shovel shear tests, pit evaluations and understanding the wind direction and snow transport, your subconscious may...

Merry Christmas... and what a gift we have all received... unless like me you're at the wrong end of a shovel. In any event I have only three words of advice, GET OUT THERE. We haven't had a dump like this since 2017. Unbelievable how much snow has fallen. Here is a shot of one of Rose's Groomer carrying on the Dave Hahl tradition... working with his skis instead of a cat... If you plan on going BC. Do take heed, the windloading is extreme. Choose your path wisely.  Sven

 Greetings all on Solstice Eve,  The sun will finally stop its downward descent on the horizon and from tomorrow morning on will once again edge up higher on the horizon each day toward summer's zenith. Hope you celebrate the very middle of winter with a run or two in the days and weeks to come. According to the forecasts from our friends at tahoe weather blog it will be worth it. To keep up with storm forecasts go check out his Carson Range based forecasts at: www.tahoeweatherblog.com. As of now we are slated for between 4 to 5 feet by weeks end.  Firstly though I wanted to comment on the numerous complaints about the lack of grooming of some of the slopes this weekend or poor quality of the grooming that was done on Ida's and others. After some investigation I have discovered three valid points that led us to this junction: 1) Dave Hahl, a 30 year grooming wizard at Mt. Rose, whose commitment to perfection and variety and number of slopes groomed is legendary across the...

 Some of the sweetest lines ever to be had both in the BC and inbounds when The Chutes opened a little after noon. Beehive brought smiles all around as the snow had stayed put unlike other chutes. Although the skiers left of Nightmare went according to it's namesake, it was actually Jackpot that fared the worst with a 10 foot crown just 25 feet inside the gate. The slide was big enough to take a lot of snow down to the run out and leave a lot of boulders just waiting for your p-tex. Oddly enough the debris was mostly soft and skiable in the runout making for some fun nature groomed turns at the bottom. Cardiac Ridge needed an ER doc at the bottom for the Heart Attack Victims, needs much more snow. What hasn't slid out is rock laden... often just under the surface. Chutes were fairly uncrowded and you could easily score a half dozen without crossing too many tracks. Ian Dwyer shows us how it's done below. On another note entirely our friends over at tahoeweatherblog.com are ...