Here is a good one from our bros Big Dave, Craig, Jason and Erick (all “Whitefish Powder Ninjas”) last week at Whitefish Resort, proving once again that any day/kind of skiing is still better than a great day at work.

Doing the Tim Tebow @ apx 3:16 PM on there third break after 16 laps.

If you want to see a vid of a guy who had a GREAT day at work be sure to click this LINK!!!

Lots of chatter this past week online in regards to the top 20 “summit” snow depths in the United States, well here is a peek at # 4 on NYE 2011. Enjoy and Live to Ski Another Day!

TNT – Alpental bc – photo by Robert Bolton

Andrew Eckels on Moment Ghost Chants - Alpental bc - photo by Robert Bolto

We have lots of friends asking where to go for snow. Well, the New Year is off to an amazing start at Whistler Blackcomb, B.C. and Mt. Baker, WA with another 11″ in the last 24hrs. For Whistler Blackcomb, that brings their 7 day total to 32″ (25″ of it in the last 48hrs). They’re forecasting another couple of inches today. The slopes of Whistler Blackcomb have received nearly 17 feet! of snow since opening day. And note that these measurements are taken at Pig Alley Weather Station which is located mid-mountain at an elevation of 4950 ft (1650m) on Whistler Mtn so upper elevations will almost always have more snow.

Meanwhile at Mt. Baker, they’re reporting the 3rd deepest snowpack in N. American and the forecast is calling for up to another 11″ by tomorrow at around 3600′.  Also, this Sunday 11am-230pm is their Baker Beacon Rally.  The free event will take place at Heather Meadows with awards and raffle at 215pm.  Beginners can learn about basic search technique including beacon, shovel and probe use. Seasoned veterans can learn more about rescue strategies and go head to head with a partner in a timed beacon race. With 3 hrs of backcountry safety education and >$2,000 in gear give away, all who enjoy or plan any skiing out of bounds, touring, snowshoeing, snowmobiling or any backcountry travel in the winter, should plan to attend.  Registration is free at the event site on rei.com.  If you haven’t skied Mt. Baker, you should. Check out our shots from a previous story here.  Live to ski another day!

December 31 was a great day for most in the NW (including BC,Canada).

TNT – Alpental bc – photo by Robert Bolton

My day started right at the home base, Hyak, w/ Robert Bolton for a couple of laps before we headed for the 2+ feet waiting in Alpental’s bc. I am still working on a couple edits of Summit East (Hyak) and Alpental but in the mean time Andrew has his self edit finished. Here is Andrew getting after it the last day of 2011 on Snoqualmie Pass, WA.

Bryan Johnson – Alpental bc – photo by Robert Bolton

If you thought the snow conditions were bad in the Sierras, well, we’re sad to report that results of yesterday’s first snow survey of the new year confirms it:  California’s mountain snowpack is presently among the driest for the date on record.  Manual and electronic readings recorded the snowpack’s statewide water content at 19% of the January 3 average (only 7% of the average April 1 measurement, when the snowpack is normally at its peak before the spring melt). At around this time last year (December 27), the statewide snowpack water content was 202% of average. With no snow, la nina’s clearly been a no show for the region.  But “fortunately, we have most of winter ahead of us, and our reservoir storage is good,” said DWR Director Mark Cowin. Results of today’s manual readings by the Department of Water Resources (DWR) off Highway 50 near Echo Summit are as follows:

With the snow depth readings being what they are, it’s hard to believe that DWR’s initial estimate is that the State Water Project (SWP) will be able to deliver 60% of the slightly more than 4 million acre-feet of water requested by the 29 public agencies that supply more than 25 million Californians and nearly a million acres of irrigated farmland.  Mountain snow that melts into reservoirs, streams and aquifers in the spring and summer provides approximately one-third of the water for California’s households, farms and industries.  One thing’s for sure: We’ll continue to watch and hope for signs of snow for our friends at Lake Tahoe and Mammoth…Maybe the Pacific NW storm hitting us hard now (supposed to possibly drop up to another foot of snow at our higher elevations of NW WA and British Columbia- Whistler Blackcomb’s going to be sick tomorrow!) will send some that way.

Fellow Alpentalic and Snow Trooper, Robert Hammond, spent his NYE w/ K3 Cat Ski located just 30 minutes out of Revelstoke, British Columbia. Robert and company sure hit it right, this vid is MONEY! Happy New Year and Live to Ski Another Day!

Glen Plake returns with the Snow Troopers for some Down Home (new) Schoolin’ in the New Year. This 1/2/12 episode at 49 Degrees N. in WA shows you how to do another cool ski trick: how to ski with your legs crossed (aka leg cross overs) (something that might come in handy if you inadvertently find yourself in that position after a big night out). Pacific NW ski areas rang in the New Year with up to 2ft of new snow so conditions are fantastic today – get out on the snow and have some fun practicing this trick and check out our earlier episodes with Glen Plake teaching you how to do tip rolls and polish donuts. Resorts in the Pacific NW and AK continue to lead the nation with the deepest snow pack. It’s again forecast to snow pretty much all week in the Western Cascades. So if you can’t wait for powder conditions, head this way. We’re hoping some of it heads to CA, CO, UT and WY too! Happy New Year!

It’s coming down hard in the Pacific NW – TNT says there’s about 6″ new at Snoqualmie Pass already and the storm is supposed to build overnight and continue all day and night tomorrow. This means we might have a solid 2ft (or more) of powder to ski and ride on New Year’s Eve at Snoqualmie Pass, Stevens Pass, White Pass, Crystal, Mt. Baker, Mt. Hood and Whistler Blackcomb. What a way to ring in and celebrate the New Year.

Here’s a good powder day from this past February on Seymour Mountain w/ the Traslin bros. With both Mike and Andy Traslin from and still living in North Vancouver the quick fix for them has always been Mount Seymour, which is just down the road from both Grouse and Cypress Mountains. In my opinion, having the these three resorts rocking all day and night above the rat race puts Vancouver in the top three of my list of “best North American Ski Cities” (for the working man who needs the big city but also needs to SKI daily). Salt Lake and Seattle also make my top 3 list.