Summit at Snoqualmie has announced a real Black Friday special for the rest of us. Alpental will host Seattle’s shred heads for the 2009/2010 opener tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. No need to jump out of bed at 4:00 a.m. for this door-buster (unless you live three hours away).
For those interested in the weather, snow levels jumped up to above 7000 feet on Tuesday and turned the leftovers from Sunday and Monday’s massive powder dumps to mashed potatoes. Fortunately, the rain tapered off and the sun made a brief appearance so those of us that had not already packed up the gear and hit the road were treated to spring-like conditions.
So for those considering a Black Friday run to Alpental, unless the snow level drops significantly you can expect some wet, heavy glop. The current Alpental weather telemetry from the Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center (NWAC) indicates significant rain has fallen since early this morning and the current front of warm air should push gradually southward. This will result in gradually cooling temperatures, with freezing levels lowering to between 2000-4000 feet by Friday morning. Maybe just a bit too late to guarantee fresh pow for the Alpy riders on Friday.
The NWAC mountain weather forecast indicates cold front should continue through the weekend with snow turning to showers on Saturday. Reports indicate that we could see snow showers decreasing by Monday, followed by a ridge of high pressure building on Tuesday and Wednesday. Just in time for me and the wife to fly to Phoenix for a few days of warm weather beginning Thursday morning. I’m glad the forecast isn’t calling for a huge winter storm to set in the day we fly out.
