Report on Lake Louise by Rob, posted Sunday Sep 5th 2010

I was up at Lake Louise last Thursday and so far there's no snow on top. There was definitely new snow on Temple and the Ten Peaks but it isn't sticking to the summit yet.

Report on Sunshine by RyderDA, posted Thursday May 13th 2010

For Sat May 8 & Sun May 9: I would have posted sooner, but could not get access for some reason. For extended reports and photos on each day, see my blog at http://drandkc.blogspot.com. The bottom line is that there was lovely fresh powder and fabulous conditions both days, and it's sad they have now shut Goat's Eye, Jackrabbit and Wolverine plus the ski out. It was certainly not for lack of snow coverage, with tons of snow the week of May 3rd. Both Saturday & Sunday were similar, with lovely powder coverage of 5-8 cms each morning. Depending on where you were, that powder was either on top of more powder, or powder on top of a sun crust. Conditions were, in short, fabulous, as temps stayed cool enough to offer snow retention but warm enough to get anything that froze overnight defrosted and soft. Sunday was very fun, as it started off sunny and cool, then alternated snow showers and sun from noon on. It absolutely dumped snow for an hour at noon, and the 5 or so cm that fell in the hour was silky until the sun hit it. This repeated three times in the afternoon. It was, as usual, busier on Saturday than Sunday, with all the parking lots full on Saturday, but Lot A only 70% full on Sunday. I'm not sure this late posted report will be all that useful given the warm temps that Sunshine's getting this week, but I will state that categorically, they have the coverage to make it through to May 24th without any issue at all. But this was days 27 and 28 at Sunshine for me this year, and the last two days of the season due to other commitments, and it would seem a shame to miss posting about them. I hope y'all have found my reports both accurate and useful. As I already have my season's pass ordered, I'll see you next year!

Report on Sunshine by RyderDA, posted Sunday Apr 25th 2010

For Sun, Apr 25: A bit of an atypical spring day -- more like winter for most of it. Boot top fluffy powder to start the day (it wasn't a day to arrive late) covered up most everything and AM tracks were very nice in mild temps and sunny skies. There was still ice and hard pack underneath but enough coverage to make most turns very nice. It clouded up and snowed a bit by noon, then got clear and sunny around 2. Prior to 2, there was no noticeable change in conditions due to the minimal daytime heating, but when the sun hit at 2, the snow on the really exposed faces (like Hill 205, Viking Ridge and Angel Flight) started to get heavy. That only lasted 30 min or so, and within 10 min of the sun going away, we were back to winter again. Coverage continues to deteriorate, especially on Goat's Eye; everything skiers left of Silver Scapegoat (including Free Fall, Gladerunner, Afterburner) is now closed. Lots of trees and grass on Rolling Thunder, and some on Silver Scapegoat. The South Side chutes are now closed with lots of trees showing through on Wildside and obvious avi damage on Farside (I give Goat's Eye another week before it closes unless a big dump arrives). Divide is faring much better, with the only obvious place at risk being the South Pockets. Bye Bye Bowl remains fabulous. Lots of folks in the Dive today, but I didn't hear a condition report. The crowd continues to shrink; A lot was about 80% full, and there was only the briefest of lines on Divide in the PM.

Report on Sunshine by RyderDA, posted Sunday Apr 18th 2010

For Sun, Apr 18: Similar to yesterday but with slightly cooler PM temps (12°-15°) and slightly warmer AM temps (+4° at 9:30 at Goat's Eye Base). The AM sun wasn't as strong courtesy of more cloud cover, and there were more PM clouds, too, but still lots of sun. I heard reports that Bye Bye Bowl was already soft by 9:30, but nothing softened on Goat's Eye until 11. The snow didn't get quite as sticky as yesterday, either, and the crowd was smaller, with Lot A only 90% full.

Report on Kicking Horse by Rob, posted Sunday Apr 18th 2010

Last day at Kick Arse and it was a beauty. It was soft right to the summit and there was still a ton of snow in the upper bowls. It was actually too warm because you'd almost come to a dead stop on the flats in Crystal Bowl and any terrain that wasn't well tracked was generally too isothermal to ski it with any kind of style. But we still found some great lines off CPR Ridge and lapped Blue Heaven several times. Lot's of hero slush in those areas. Right down the middle of Show Off was super sweet all day and ski out to the bottom was good fun. You had to be on your heels though because it was sneaky grabby in lots of places. The most enjoyable thing was the heat of the sun. Riding Stairway to heaven with your legs getting hot from the sun was a real treat. A great day!