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Post by patrick on Dec 9, 2016 14:48:48 GMT -9
12/9/16 2:30 PM A solid 2-3 feet of snow at the pass! It is deep up there. Sleeting now to the top of the jibber, but snow is fast to the parking lot. The road is plowed too. Excellent skiing! The north bowl should have deep powder. Below around 1600 feet there is a thin crust.
It also looks like the upper buskin gained snow, but it looked very wet. Best to avoid the trails when really wet because you leave ruts that freeze solid and sort of wreck it for later. The old boot jammed in the rut thing.
Patrick
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Post by Philip on Dec 10, 2016 15:14:16 GMT -9
12/10/16 3:00 PM I headed up around 11 AM. It was calm and just above freezing. Most of the mountain had obvious rain runnels in the snow up to about 1500' elevation. The Summit Ridge and the top half of the North Bowl was excellent with uniform coverage and decent snow. Below that it turned into a breakable crust that tended to lock you into your direction of travel and made turning a bit difficult (though not impossible). I did 2 North Bowl laps and then came down the Jibber. The Summit Ridge was fun but the Jibber was sort of survival conditions. Likewise from the Spruce Knob down. The light was a bit flat in the North Bowl and I took a pretty good digger when I flew over a feature I couldn't see. Tomorrow the light should be better and I'll probably head back up. It's likely the only game in town now. The road up is a sheet of ice and they haven't plowed the parking lot at the pass, but the road is wide enough to park. Looking up at the South Bowl:  Just above the Spruce Knob looking down, you can see all the rain features in the snow:  Looking up the Jibber:  My skin track out of the North Bowl:  Folks on the shoulder below the summit:  |
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Post by patrick on Dec 18, 2016 13:53:28 GMT -9
DEEP snow on Pryamid and coming down hard. As of 1PM there was around 5 inches at the parking lot and more than a foot in the jibber bowl. Surprisingly little wind and even above 1700 feet it was not drifting. It was snowing an inch an hour when I left. Also the road is surprisingly good. The road up the pass:  Jibber:  |
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Post by Philip on Dec 19, 2016 18:44:16 GMT -9
Monday Dec 19 Today was a rare day on Pyramid. As yesterday's snow fell in the Jibber Bowl it was barely affected by wind, so if ended up being pretty uniform. It also fell in such a way that you could not feel the old, crusty snow underneath, with a smooth, unnoticeable transition under the new pow. It made for wonderful conditions of about a foot of fresh, light, lovely powder. The lower salmonberry face up from the parking lot was so-so and a bit crusty, but with acceptable coverage. The summit ridge above the Jibber had pockets of nice snow and some exposed crusty stuff. It's possible the South and North bowls were good, but I didn't bother going up there since I was enjoying the sun in the Jibber. The road up is pretty bad. Very icy. There are some frozen slush berms above the switchbacks that could scrape low clearance vehicles. You will really appreciate 4wd and good quality winter tires if you want to drive up there. They still have not cleared much space to park, but folks are making it work. It's a popular destination even on weekdays now with the school holidays. The weather tomorrow should be lovely, so another opportunity if you missed today. Climbing into the Jibber:   Skintrack pow:  A bit thinner on the summit ridge:   Sun and good snow. A rare combo:    |
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Post by patrick on Dec 25, 2016 14:52:27 GMT -9
12/25 The good news is that we gained snow from the knob on up - the bad news is that it is no were near as good conditions as last week. Around 6 inches of new slush in the jibber and slow conditions. More snow up high and actually pretty good skiing. Even blue patches above!
I'd ski today because once it freezes it will be awful. Tomorrow the mountain will be a sheet of ice. It looks like it rained to the 2000 foot level for at least a little while near the end of the storm.
Also the road is not too bad. Not great either. Actually the worst part is right after the golf course and then from the gravel pit to the parking lot. Those 2 places are water on ice. But in between there are lots of bear spots and gravel on the ice. the switchbacks are very do able.
Finally - the golf course looks to be 90% snow covered. Again - soft today and a skating rink tomorrow. Tomorrow I think I will try skate skiing at the pass.
Patrick
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Post by mrsquishy on Dec 26, 2016 8:26:20 GMT -9
I hate those bear spots - my claws are not long enough to gain purchase.
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Post by Justin on Feb 8, 2017 9:57:35 GMT -9
I'm new to the island but I have a snowmachine and was wondering next time it snows really well what's a good place to ride? can I go up this way or should I try to go up past the ski chalet? Also if anyone wants to ride I'm always available. jjsliker@gmail.com
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Post by Philip on Feb 8, 2017 10:59:18 GMT -9
Hey Justin,
There is a sort of social understanding that Pyramid and the north side of Anton Larsen Bay Road is for non-motorized activities like skiing and snowboarding, and the chalet-side/south-side of Anton Larsen Bay Road (and basically the rest of the island) is okay for motorized winter use. There are snowmachine routes leading up the hills behind the chalet that can access lots of terrain. If I were you I'd just follow the tracks and do some exploring. I don't know how active the local snowmachine club, the Snow Bruins, are these days, but you could probably track some of them down.
Cheers,
Philip
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