Sunday, May 29, 2011

Pali and North Side closed

When I wrote yesterday's blog, I thought we would be skiing the North Side at least through today (Sunday). The forecast was for moderate temperatures and cool and cloudy weather. By the time I was skiing Pali Face in the early afternoon I was quite surprised. The temps were quite warm, there wasn't much of a breeze, and skies were mostly clear. As I spent time with our patrollers, we knew the snow transformation was happening fast. The overnight low was well above freezing. Skiers were starting to punch through the snow. Our electronic probes that measure water in the snowpack gave positive indications. The flow of the Snake River started spiking. And it is even warmer today. Water is moving through the snow. The change happened very quickly. It was time to close the North Side and the East Wall. Sorry we were not able to give you more warning. Pali Lift will be open through tomorrow (Monday).