Snow update

The Weardale Ski Club Ltd

There has been some snow but so far not a great amount. More forecast every day for the next week it seems but with it some strong winds. We are going to try and do some pisting tomorrow if there is enough snow and once we have a good base will open if the wind allows later in the week. 

Steve

Snow report Sat 17th Feb

The Weardale Ski Club Ltd

We had a good (typical Weardale) day today with 15-20 members enjoying mixed conditions which were actually better than they looked. There was a mixture of good snow, icy stretches and bare patches. It was not ideal for snowboards or beginners but there were some very good routes down but you had to look for them. The forecast is for milder weather so we are not planning to open on Sunday and will have to wait for the next fall of snow. March is forecast by the met office to be very cold indeed so fingers crossed.

For any member who has struggled with the road this year below are a couple of links to some Auto Express tests comparing 2WD and 4WD on summer and winter tyres. Watch it and if you do not have winter tyres on I suspect you may want to pop out and buy some. Driving up the snowdome looks easier than our road at times!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfuE00qdhLA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elP_34ltdWI

Steve

Skiing Saturday 17th Feb

The Weardale Ski Club Ltd

We are planning to open the tows tomorrow from 0930. A fell inspection today has shown mixed conditions - there is some good snow, some ice and a few bare patches but snow on F2 is good and there are several complete routes down. It is probably not a day for beginners. The road was clear today until the last climb which was icy and needed snow tyres.There is a forecast of a little more snow overnight so do not attempt the road without at least good snow tyres.

Please note that we only allow full members to ski at weekends and do not allow day members with the exception of Yad Moss members but they seem to have good snow over there as well.

Steve

No plans to open Friday for skiing

The Weardale Ski Club Ltd

There is some snow at Swinhope but it is a fairly thin covering so a decision has been made to save it for the weekend when more members are able to get there. There is a forecast for a little more snow on Friday night/Saturday morning so hopefully we will open Saturday but I will update this once a decision has been made.

Steve

Snow report Wed 14th Feb

The Weardale Ski Club Ltd

Officially England's most romantic ski club with official data released showing that we have opened for skiing in 5 out the last 9 Valentines Days!

Approximately 30 people turned up today and enjoyed  a mixed bag with s

un, cloud, wind, snow, sleet, rain, powder, heavy snow, slush, ice and 

s

ki conditions changed from excellent, very good, good, poor, awful 

making it a fairly typical Weardale Ski Day. Only F1 ran due to the high winds but those there enjoyed it and many stayed until close at 1445.

We are not planning to open tomorrow but Friday and Saturday remain possible if conditions are suitable so will update this tomorrow.

A note for all visitors - please pay attention to the messages especially regarding the road conditions which are very difficult to predict and can change hour by hour. Even if you can get up without snow tyres blown snow can stop you descending safely after skiing so always err on the side of caution. 2 visitors today attempted to get up without winter tyres and 2wd and guess what happened? Also remember to pack a shovel and bit of old carpet can also help if you get stuck.

Steve

Skiing Wed 14th Feb

The Weardale Ski Club Ltd

Why not celebrate Valentines day with your beloved (ski club or partner) tomorrow as we appear to have had a good covering of snow looking at the webcams.There seems to have been quite a bit of drifting but also excellent cover on all the runs by the look of it.

We are planning to open on Wednesday from 0930

Day members welcome - please print off the day membership form and bring it with you along with the correct money and speak to a tow operator BEFORE skiing.

The road may be tricky depending on drifting and whether the snow plough has been up so ideally 4wd or chains but you might be OK with snow tyres after a few people have been up.

Weather looks good in the morning but snow/sleet/rain in the afternoon so do not turn up late as there may be an early close.

Steve

Snow report Sun 11th Feb

The Weardale Ski Club Ltd

2 Board members opened up today and below is the report. There is more snow forecast this week but it is unclear how much and how strong the winds will be so as soon as we know whether we can open up I will send an update and also update twitter, Facebook, snow-line etc. The good news from the Met Office is that they are pretty certain that the weather pattern is going to follow 2013 and give us a very cold 2nd half of February and March so lets hope that includes plenty of snow.

Steve

Sunday 11th Feb report

An acceptable day's skiing for advanced skiiers

5 members came up - conditions were generally hard and fast with sufficient soft patches to give the knees a rest and with  some good sunshine. We did not open F2 due to moderate westerly wind which was gusting up to 30mph

Skiing Sunday 11th Feb

The Weardale Ski Club Ltd

There is a thin covering of snow so tow operators are planning to open from about 0945. Conditions look marginal but temperature is -2 so it should be ski-able. Due to a moderate fresh wind it might be only possible to ski the lower runs which is where the better snow looks to be anyway.

The road may well be icy as the snow was preceded by rain so ensure you are prepared.

Steve

Possible skiing Sunday 11th Feb

The Weardale Ski Club Ltd

Sadly the wind and rain made skiing unsafe today as we have been left with a mixture of ice,bare patches and deep heavy snow. Once again the weather forecast is hard to interpret for tomorrow with different sites suggesting rain followed by snow in varying amounts so we are going to postpone a decision until the morning on whether to open tomorrow. I would suggest look at the webcam at about 8am and assess conditions and if the snow looks good we will open and I will update the ski-line (01388 317767) and the facebook and twitter sites.

If we do open then that is likely to imply fresh snow on the road so do not travel unless you can confidently cope with the road - better to hitch a lift up.

Steve

Snow melt

The Weardale Ski Club Ltd

Sadly looks like we had rain overnight which seems to have washed away most of the snow and it looks very unlikely we will be able to ski today. We will have a fell inspection at 9am and if we plan to open will update the Twitter and Facebook pages but currently looks a non starter. Still hopeful we may get some for tomorrow.

Steve

Skiing this weekend

The Weardale Ski Club Ltd

There was a fell inspection today and after some lousy weather this morning the sun came out and there was a surprising amount of good snow on F1 though F2 was rather bare in places. The forecast for the weekend is hard to interpret and it looks like the cold temperatures tonight will keep what snow we have for tomorrow morning but temperatures are predicted to rise in the afternoon so it may well end early. We are then predicted snow overnight Sat/Sun which will hopefully make Sunday good.

We are planning to open Saturday morning from about 10am but please note that we may well close early and we may only run F1. Hopefully we will have both running on Sunday but will update tomorrow night. 

Members only at weekends so please bring along your membership cards.

The road may be icy so do not attempt to drive up without at least snow tyres and ideally have chains and a shovel and ensure that when you park you are not obstructing the road at all or blocking any gates. There have been quite  enough incidents on the road this season already!

Steve

Snow update

The Weardale Ski Club Ltd

We have had a covering of snow overnight but it has fallen on wet ground and looks like it will be very heavy and hard going so we are not planning to open today sadly. Will keep watching what happens and there is a possibility we might open this weekend but they are predicting warmer weather tomorrow so uncertain at this time.

Steve

Snow-go

The Weardale Ski Club Ltd

Sadly we have had milder temperatures today with drizzle which means most of the remaining snow has gone. There is some snow forecast overnight but unless this is significant we are unlikely to be able to operate the tow on Friday as planned. If things change and we plan to open I will update this email, Facebook and the Snowline message at @ 0830 on Friday.

On a separate note great news for two of our young skiers - Amy + Will Forster have both been selected to represent England in the ESSKIA senior squad and are heading over to Norway for training later this month and before that are competing in Bormio at the English alpine championships. I am sure everyone will wish them the best of luck and we will put a more detailed report in our next newsletter.

Steve

Skiing update 7th Feb

The Weardale Ski Club Ltd

A beautiful day skiing today with sun, blue skies and great snow and about 50 people turned up to enjoy it. The cold temperatures have held the snow nicely and it looks like we might get a bit more in the coming days though some may fall as rain??

Currently it looks like Friday and Sunday will be the best days to open but we will update this email, facebook, twitter and the ski-line ( 01388 317767) when we make a final decision.

Steve

Skiing Wednesday 7th Feb

The Weardale Ski Club Ltd

A good day skiing was had on Monday and we plan to open again on Wednesday as the snow seems to have lasted despite seemingly missing out on today's snow. Hopefully the road will be clear but may be icy at the top so ensure snow tyres as a minimum and come prepared for snow.

We plan to open from 10am and day members are welcome.

Steve

Skiing this week

The Weardale Ski Club Ltd

Another great day today, our 9th of the season so far, with about 4" fresh powder. About 50 members enjoyed the skiing and the temperature dropped later on in the day and the sun re-emerged so we are hoping conditions will be even better tomorrow. Currently we are planning to open on Monday from 10am and probably Wednesday from 10am if the predicted snow comes on Tuesday.

The road was fairly clear today apart from the last climb which was a little icy but not difficult with snow tyres.

Day members welcome weekdays but please bring the correct money (£20 for an adult) and complete the day membership form and bring that along with you (http://www.skiweardale.com/dayTicketForm.pdf)

Steve

Skiing Sunday 4th Feb

The Weardale Ski Club Ltd

We have had what looks like sufficient snow to operate the lifts tomorrow. A fell inspection today showed a good cover of spring-like snow and temperatures are set to remain below freezing so hopefully it will be a good day tomorrow. There is more snow forecast tonight and tomorrow morning so the road might be difficult so please do not attempt to drive up unless you have snow tyres on as a minimum and ensure that you pack chains if you have them and a shovel in case. A bit of old carpet is always very useful if you do get stuck. If in doubt do not attempt the road and hitch a lift up, someone will always stop and give you a lift and the fewer cars we have the better.

After the parking fiasco we had last time please take care over parking and ensure that you are parked at a 45 degree angle facing off the road and are not obstructing the road at all.

We aim to get the lifts running by 0930-10am. Members only so please bring your cards as we will be doing membership checks throughout the day.

Steve

Snow update

The Weardale Ski Club Ltd

We have had a thin covering of snow over the last few days but not quite enough for skiing but they are forecasting up to 10cm snow tomorrow so all being well we might be open for business on Sunday. Will try and update this tomorrow when we see if the snow arrives!

Steve