Rich Bingham, snow safety director of Sun Valley Ski Patrol, can't sugarcoat this year's situation.
"Right now the natural snowpack in the bowls is as weak as I've ever seen it in all the years I've been here," he said.
Bingham's been here for 43 years and said he can't predict when the bowls will open or the amount of snow needed to do so.
"I think I'd be a fool to give solid numbers of inches needed," he said, adding that more factors are at play than a mere inch count in determining if Bald Mountain's bowls are safe for skiers.
But, of course, snowfall has a lot to do with it. And Baldy's bowls can't be helped along by snowguns but rely on the generosity of Jack Frost. The week before the mountain opened on Thanksgiving, the resort reported a summit snow depth of 32 inches, mid-mountain depth of 28 inches and base depth of 24 inches. Since then, the summit has increased by 16 inches, mid-mountain by 4 inches and the base by 4 inches.
"This is not the first season I've seen a late start," Bingham said, "but I would rather think of the glass half full."
The resort has been filling the bottom half of that glass using its snowguns and receiving only intermittent help from Mother Nature. And because of the resort's relentless efforts, skiers and boarders have a plethora of groomed terrain to keep their thirsts quenched this season.
"We've been aggressive in opening terrain this season," Bingham said. "I would like to keep it that way."
Backcountry enthusiasts don't have that advantage. Sawtooth National Forest Avalanche Center Director Janet Kellam said enough snow is out there for backcountry skiing, but offered some words of advice.
"Follow moderate slope angles," she said.
As with Baldy, she said, the backcountry snowpack is "weak," and skiers need to avoid anything as steep as Warm Springs run because of avalanche danger.
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Avalanche forecaster Chris Lundy said the area is "plagued with very weak, faceted snow near the base of the snowpack" in his Thursday advisory. He said the region is known for this weak layer of sugary snow.
"We typically get a big storm early in the season that helps squash and stabilize the layer," he said, "but this season our snowfall has arrived inches at a time."
He said this weakness was revealed Wednesday.
"A new avalanche released from the steep roadcut right below Galena Summit," he said. "This avalanche reportedly ... covered both lanes of the highway."
Sun Valley Heli Ski Guides is opening to customers this Saturday, making its first trip of the season.
Business manager Scott Desserault and operations manager Erik Leidecker said it's not uncommon for the company, in its 44th season, to wait until January.
The guides lead customers into the Smoky Mountains west of the Wood River Valley, and they said more snow usually falls out there. Snotel measurement sites reported a 50-inch snow depth there with about 40 inches at Galena Summit on Thursday.
"You can't judge what's going on in the backcountry based on what's happening in town, or even on Baldy," Leidecker said.
Even though they're skiing at elevations about 10,500 feet, Desserault and Leidecker said light valley snowfall still extends into the high country. Leidecker said Sun Valley Heli Ski Guides didn't operate at all in the winter of 2001.
"This isn't as grim as then," Leidecker said. "PMA, baby."
That's "positive mental attitude."
At the Sun Valley Ski Patrol, Bingham offered similar words of advice.
"Everybody needs to get on their knees and pray," he said and paused, "or sacrifice something."
He then chuckled for a moment.
Trevon Milliard: tmilliard@mtexpress.com
Although Bald Mountain’s bowls have not been opened, a wide range of terrain on both sides of the mountain is open and, by many accounts, offers very good skiing. Photo by David N. Seelig
