MAKE TAHOE DEEP AGAIN ~ 2016/17 OFISHUL SNOW/FOOD/WHINE & STOKE THREAD

[TahoeBC]

Seems this storm is meeting expectations with the wind, but sure seems light on the amount of snow that's come down so far, least impressive totals I've seen over the last few days at least so far

[SchralphMacchio]

Isn't it supposed to keep snowing until midnight? Radar currently showing a fat band at Sierra Buttes and another over Sonora Pass right now. FYI, for those of you with sleds ...

[gimpy]

It's barely snowing with minimal wind right now at 7,500' top kbury. Kinda fucked up how often they keep stage closed during these storm events with standard sw flow on an east facing lower elevation lift. Used to be stage would often be only lift spinning during events like this

[powdork]

Seems this storm is meeting expectations with the wind, but sure seems light on the amount of snow that's come down so far, least impressive totals I've seen over the last few days at least so far

o ye of little faith. They always said there would be the warm advection part and the cold puffies part with the high snow ratios. They have trended up the snowfall amounts this morning

[old goat]

Serious question: any of you long timers seen roofs collapse with so much snow? I'm getting worried.

Like wolfy said--look for doors that won't open or close, also side to side sliding windows if you have any. I used to shovel my deck a lot--17 ft span 4x8's which seemed to me to be overspanned. I got tired of shoveling so I hung a weight a 1/4 inch above the ground from one of the joists, figured I'd shovel if the weight touched the ground. It never did. Your biggest concern is ice dams.

Nothing but criminals, drug dealers, and rapists come via the spur. Some real bad ombrés

And some I assume are good people.

[Ottime]

umm, jong question. on say a holiday weekend inbounds, what resort(s) with a view to crowds? Know storms change that geography but if storms not a factor which resorts are "less" crowded, or is it all just a shit show to which I realize i'm contributing ? thx kindly!

As 4matic pointed out, Kirkwood. Just get out there early to avoid the pain train and parking nightmare. And this is true as long as there are not wind holds. If the backside does not open on a busy weekend, 6 can sometimes get a short line. If the top does not open, there can be longer lines for only low angled terrain. In fair weather, I've never really seen lines at KW except maybe in Chair 4. But compared to other big resorts in Tahoe, these are all short lines.

[El Chupacabra]

I've seen or heard of decks and garages collapsing, and numerous propane tank explosions. Haven't heard of a roof collapse. That said, I'm getting pretty nervous about mine. A few feet of concrete from last week's storm, plus all the snow from this week is a lot of weight for an older house. I'm renting, can't really access it to shovel myself, and property management isn't too concerned, but plenty of people have been shoveling roofs around here. Not an easy task, especially for a single story, nowhere to put the snow except pile it around the sides. But I guess as long as the house remains standing it's the best problem to have ��

Propane explosion - why? I know to keep the top of the tank and regulator clear - - is it just that people are having propane pool, then something ignites it?

Galena Forest update from 5800': about 15" overnight, still snowing. Some very deep drifts.

Wondering about roof load here too. Maybe 3' accumulated. Concrete roof, and rain gutters (with lots of ice in them). Some of the houses in the neighborhood have gutters, many don't. Hoping ours don't rip off the house.

[TahoeBC]

o ye of little faith. They always said there would be the warm advection part and the cold puffies part with the high snow ratios. They have trended up the snowfall amounts this morning

They got the warm part right, just got done clearing snow again, this was the heaviest snow we have gotten in awhile. While putting a bevel into my driveway berms so the blower could get it out, very noticeable how easily the new snow sheared away from the last layer, got to be some major wind slabs out there now.

[TahoeBC]

It's barely snowing with minimal wind right now at 7,500' top kbury. Kinda fucked up how often they keep stage closed during these storm events with standard sw flow on an east facing lower elevation lift. Used to be stage would often be only lift spinning during events like this

Been very noticeable the cutbacks Heavenly is running on this year, guess they have to pay for Whistler somehow. Pretty sure we wont see the Raileys gate again this year its buried!

[bodywhomper]

i believe the propane explosions at serene lakes were during the 2010/2011 season and due to the snowload/weight on the lines.

structural ability for snowload is a real threat, as stated above. it depends on actual construction, year of construction, codes at the time of construction, and out of code construction. many of the older tahoe/truckee schools require their roofs to be shoveled because of known structural inefficiencies. for the schools, the hazard they see is an EQ occurring with a large snowload on the roof. Some of this, you could probably look-up. the snowload codes are typically lbs/sqft.

[AKbruin]

Skied a little BC this morning. The snow is still deep but much more heavy and stodgy. Yesterday was no problem with my 95mm-waisted spring skis (pow skis are on the mend). Today was a little tough.

Add me to the list of people worried about their roof. (Look at my daughter's green pants to get sense of scale.)

[hercule33]

Agreed that cutting the KT cat track is just plain gnarly and not to be underestimated. But at this point there's simply no denying that KSL is cutting corners by understaffing patrol, lift ops and general mountain ops. This was confirmed (second hand) by a long time patroller who said the delays are bullshit and all management cares about is money.

Thanks TahoeJ this confirms my suspicions. As for the KT cat track, the fact that it is gnarly and dangerous only makes it more important that there are more than two people trained to cut it. But these can't be just regular cat drivers so that means they cost more money and now we know how the KSL accountants feels about that, especially when they weren't needed in the drought years.

[hercule33]

I didn't want to take those risks on Chair 10 winds and 50 junkshow on the way home so I went to Flatstar for the day with my fiancée, and that was unbelievable. All lifts running, no lines, no wind, untracked shin to crotch deep every run. Yes, apparently you can white room even at Flatstar. Drive home ended up being the same as 50 would have been thanks to a wreck at Emigrant Gap that shut down 80WB for an hour, but whatever I'm home and chilling today. Next order of business: get some double planks wider than 106 underfoot!!!!

Northstar has really delivered for me this year especially for storm skiing. If you know where to look you can get fresh tracks all day and it has been deep, sometimes too deep. I love the fact that in a storm the whole mountain is open and many folks stick to the groomers. The terrain is getting a bit boring though.

[powdork]

my roof sheds wonderfully, which presents other problems (this was many feet ago)

[ShakeMeUp]

I've done structural design in the area since 2000. As has been stated, red flags are doors not opening, cracking drywall, dripping water from the ceiling from ice dams. Most permitted construction post 82/83 was built with appropriate snow loads, and most prior construction at least has a history of surviving some big winters by now, regardless of what my calculations would say. That said, we're definitely getting up there with accumulation, and no harm will come from removing some of the load, just don't do anything weird like only doing one side of a peaked roof, or compromise the shingles/waterproofing with overly aggressive shoveling. If you happen to know the load your roof was designed for (psf) you can get a ballpark allowable depth by dividing by 25 (pounds per cubic foot). For example, a roof designed for 150 psf could conservatively hold 6 feet of snow. Now would be a terrible time for a huge earthquake. old goat, those 4x8's are definitely way over-spanned, but real life performance can definitely contradict what the numbers say. Stay safe!

[TahoeJ]

That roof slide debris is the worst. Any reason I should be worried about the glass? This was a few days ago and I dug it about half way out so it's probably buried again by now. What you can't see is the giant tree limb buried in the middle of the berm.

[SchralphMacchio]

The terrain is getting a bit boring though.

Especially now! The 3 or 4 boulders and pillows back in Martis have got to be fully buried as I barely found them yesterday ... most interesting terrain now is smashing into the tops of buried willows or baby pine trees

Even Kirkwood gets a lot more "boring" after 8'+ of snow is on the ground ... in 2011 it was pretty silly having the top of the Wall being barely 35 degrees steep off the ridge with the face section no longer hanging, Once being 10 feet wide in the middle, mini-hucks in Eagle and Vista disappeared, Heart being a 15 footer off the bottom with no top entrance air ...

But hey, I'll take it! "Boring lines" means Father's day and 4th of July skiing

[BGnight]

stodgy

Good word! A new one for me

Meanwhile, snowmaggedon is getting outta hand at 5000' in NW Reno:

[smallies]

No ladder fancy boys?

[powdork]

Once being 10 feet wide in the middle, mini-hucks in Eagle and Vista disappeared, Heart being a 15 footer off the bottom with no top entrance air ...

from may 2011
still, if you look at the rest of the tr, it was pretty interesting
http://www.powdork.com/2011/oh-may-god/

[greatjones]

Fwiw- looks like the SB article on SV ops has been censored/removed. Can anyone post the text?

http://webcache.googleusercontent.co...a-lift-delays/

[SchralphMacchio]

^ For sure! Lots of new lines come into play with fat coverage as well. I'm just exaggerating like usual. Also, the only lines I am physically able to ski are pretty much boring anyways

[powpig]

i believe the propane explosions at serene lakes were during the 2010/2011 season and due to the snowload/weight on the lines.

There were about 30 different propane leaks in Serene Lakes in April of 2011, just the 1 explosion.
I was walking around up there with my dog and we'd turn a corner, take a sniff, and go the other way. Was scary.
I was told it was actually the freeze/thaw would move & shift the tanks. Folks would dig out the tanks and find the line actually separated from the tank. If that's the case, nothing to worry about in the short term until the temps begin to fluctuate.

[emcee]

It's been pretty much blowing sideways all day in KW valley today. Already planned to get snowed in, so no problem about the roads. We still managed a good day -- it takes a LOT of this light snow to pack a ramp. Feel free to hit it as you come in meadows drive.

[powderhound100]

Two minutes of Squaw/Alpine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PeN...ature=youtu.be