Whistler/Blackcomb to open this Friday. It's dumping now, and expected to continue. El Nino has hit BC, Canada. Olympic Site blanketed with powder.

	Whistler Alpine Recreation Forecast
Alpine recreation forecast for the South Coast Mountains issued by Environment Canada at 2 PM PST Tuesday 10 November 2009. The next mountain forecast will be issued at 5 AM Wednesday. Synopsis..An unstable onshore flow will bring a series of weak disturbances across the Whistler region tonight through Wednesday. Whistler - Blackcomb. Tonight..Periods of snow. Alpine low near minus 6. Snowfall accumulation 10 to 15 cm. Freezing level lowering to the valley bottom this evening. Mountain top winds southerly 40 to 60 km/h easing to southwest 20 km/hr overnight. Wednesday..Periods of snow. Alpine high minus 2. Snowfall accumulation 10 cm. Freezing level near valley bottom in the morning increasing to 900 metres in the afternoon. Mountain top winds southwest 30 km/h easing to southeast 20 late in the day. 5 Day Trend..A weak ridge will build over the South Coast on Thursday bringing drier conditions to the Whistler region. By early Friday the ridge will shift eastward allowing a frontal system to bring snow to the long area. Another system will spread snow to Whistler Saturday. Thursday.. A mix of sun and cloud. 30 percent chance of morning flurries. Snowfall accumulation trace to 2 cm. Freezing level 900 metres. Friday.. Periods of snow. Clearing late in the day. Snowfall accumulation 10 to 15 cm. Freezing levels 900 metres falling to valley floor in the afternoon. Saturday.. Snow heavy at times developing. Windy. Snowfall accumulation 20 to 30 cm. Freezing level 800 metres rising to 1500 m in the afternoon.

Winter Olympic Games 90 days away at Whistler. All systems are go for the gold

It continues to snow at Whistler-Blackcomb in B.C. Canada which once again enjoys the best pre-season snowfall totals in North America. November 26th is the scheduled opening, but the lifts and Gondola's may start moving earlier. This past weekend at Ft Mason in San Francisco, ski resorts of the West gathered as part of the Snowbomb.com Ski and Snowboard Festival to pump up snowsporters for a visit to their resorts. Whistler, which will host most Alpine events at the Winter Games in mid-February had marketing guru's Stuart Remple and Erik on hand in San Francisco and spoke about the upcoming Olympics, the early snowfall, and excitement connected with the upcoming season.

San Francisco Ski and Snowboard Festival. A Snowbomb.com presentation.

Thousands of Ski and Snowboard enthusiasts jammed Ft. Mason in San Francisco this weekend, for the 2nd annual Snowbomb.com Ski and Snowboard Festival. Dozens of ski resorts from Western North America set up displays, gave away goodies, and fired up fans of winter sports. There were great deals on equipment and clothing...contests for great giveaways, drawings for freebies and some freestyle cycling and skateboard entertainment as well. The brainchild of Snowbomb's Jim McAlpine, this years event was held on a beautiful weekend, unlike last year when it rained like mad. In case you missed San Francisco's festival, the action moves to the Santa Clara Convention Center next weekend for a repeat performance for folks in the south bay.

A look at the Valle Blanche Glacier in Chamonix, France. It's melting at an alarming rate.

A few years back, I visited France, Italy and Switzerland on a ski adventure. We skied over glaciers that still remain, but have dramatically been affected by global warming. The Valle Blanche Glacier is posted here, not to remind us of situation which is indeed grave and could spell the end of skiing and riding as we know it before the end of this century...but to signal the beginning Winter with hopes that an El Nino season will bring megameters of snow to our Sierra slopes and provide a long season and tremendous runoff as a result. The month of October has already dusted Lake Tahoe Area resorts 3 times with powder, and snowmaking operations are ready to go when sustained temperatures below freezing allow for a consistent supplement to mother nature. Loveland in Colorado became the first ski resort to open this season, as they started running chairs on October 7th...their earliest opening in 40 years. Tahoe resorts are hoping for a pre-Thanksgiving experience. To get ready for that holiday and the rest of the season, Snowbomb will once again present the San Francisco Ski and Snowboard Festival Nov. 7-8. The following weekend, the event moves to Santa Clara. Skiers and riders can take advantage of many free lift ticket offers, freebies galore, the latest equiptment, super deals and other attractions to get everybody fired up for the season ahead.

Warm weather storm drenches Sierra.

The snow level rests on the highest Peaks at Sierra Ski Resorts, but early rains are a better indicator than early season snows which always are followed by Indian summer days. This mid-October storm is unlike the past 3 seasons when early excitemen...t evaporated. Winter storms in the Sierra are often ushered in by a warm front. Hoping to stay in a wet pattern and maintain it when the temperature drops. Meanwhile, as the winds blow it's a winter wake-up call. With the Winter Games coming to Vancouver and Whistler in February 2010, Snowsports in North America could get a monumental boost with early and often dumpage. Our Lake Tahoe area resorts desperately need Thanksgiving weekend to be their latest openings without interruption through the season. To open and then scale back drastically or close entirely, which has been the case all to often in recent seasons, is a pattern 2009-10 must avoid. Bring on El Nino, and let it hang around a while. Read More

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Northstar at Tahoe adds the Ritz-Carlton on the mountain. Opens December 9th.

Members of NASJA-West were treated to a preview look of the new Ritz-Carlton under construction, but scheduled to open in about 2 months. The high end hotel sits at 6900' and will offer nearly 200 rooms and all the amenities. The project is coming in under budget and on time, thanks to sales of fractional ownerships that go for a quarter million dollars, and solid financing despite these challenging times. Bridget led our hard hat tour through the property.

Historic Snowboard event coming to Northstar at Tahoe

NORTHSTAR-AT-TAHOE™ RESORT SELECTED TO HOST ULTIMATE BOARDER CHAMPIONSHIP
3rd Annual Board Sport Triathlon to Kick-Off March 13-14, 2010 at Popular North Lake Tahoe Resort

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TRUCKEE, Calif. - Aug. 31, 2009 - Today, Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort announced it has been selected to host the snowboarding events of the 3rd Annual Ultimate Boarder Championship, March 13-14, 2010. The Ultimate Boarder Championship, the board sport triathlon, is a one-week competition focused on showcasing the talent of athletes who can conquer the arts of snowboarding, surfing and skateboarding. The event was created in response to the growing popularity of snow, surf and skate industry, and is recognized as a way to promote healthy, athletic lifestyles among young people.

An event designed for participants of all ages, Ultimate Boarder encourages professional and amateur athletes from around the world to compete for the Ultimate Boarder title and a prize purse of almost $60,000. The event will be open to male and female solo competitors, as well as teams of three, with each participant competing in one of the three disciplines. And, new this year, the event will include a youth division that will crown the first Ultimate Boarder in surf, skate and snow under the age of 16.