Snow update Sunday 31 March

The Weardale Ski Club Ltd

1st April tomorrow and still going strong (though the tow operators are beginning to show signs of strain!). The snow seems to be lasting really well and another fantastic day skiing today. The quality and quantity of snow is remarkable for this time of year. We skied until 6pm tonight and perhaps could have gone on for an hour or so more but everyone had packed up and gone home for their easter eggs!

We are planning to open tomorrow (Easter Monday) and will open at 10am. We will accept day members and as usual please print off the form from the website and complete it before you set off. The road is tarmac all the way (except for a few BIG potholes!) but parking may be tight so you may have to dig in further down the road so please ensure you bring a shovel and if needed dig in well off the road (after first checking for ditches).

Lost rucksac - there was an orange ultra22 sac left in the lodge. I have left it hanging up but if the owner wants it bringing down please let me know.

Orange tow rope - David Richardson left one near the stile - if anyone has found it please let me know.

James Cummings has posted some photos on Flickr from Friday if you want to have a look -

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamescummingspics/sets/72157633120584888/

Lets hope this Jet Stream stays in the south for a few more weeks and who knows could be skiing in May?

Steve

Another epic day in the Weardale Alps

The Weardale Ski Club Ltd

I am rapidly running out of superlatives to describe conditions at Swinhope. In the log diary yesterday conditions were described as mint, well today was double mint with choc chips! About 150 members (it is very hard judge as everyone spreads out over the hillside) enjoyed alpine conditons today, (especially the afternoon when I arrived!) with no wind (sorry kiters) and lots of sunny spells. Once again the snow was superb and the gullies, Black scar, the newly pisted runs to the east and the powder bowl to the west were immaculate.In between were the usual pisted runs which looked as good as any you will see in Europe (well done to the pistebasher drivers). I have never seen the main gully filled like this and Black scar so skiable without a rock in sight.

A slalom course was set up on F2 above the clubhouse which as timed and provided great sport reminiscent of the days when we used to hold the Weardale Olympics. If I can read the timers writing correctly in 3rd place was Ben Martin in a time of 33.09, 2nd place was John Pocklington 32.53 and the winner was Wellington Oak in a time of 31.50. Congratulations to Wellington (He is an army ski instructer after all!). I won't mention my time having fallen at the 5th gate!

Onto the next few days. We are planning to open again tomorrow (Sunday) from 10am and again this will be a members only day. We are also opening on Monday, again from 10am and will accept day members then. Not sure yet about Tuesday + Wednesday but certainly hopeful for one or both. Once again can I thank day members for printing off the forms in advance which makes life a lot easier for us. I would also like to comment on the parking which has been great the last few days with people digging well in off the road - a big thanks as it does make life a lot easier.

Finally lost gloves - Peter Burrows has contacted me to say he has lost some black Marmot mitts which he left on his roof when driving off today. He heard a car horn hooting and now knows why!! If you have found them can you please let me know and I will pass the word to Peter.

Steve

Snow report Easter Friday

The Weardale Ski Club Ltd

Another brilliant day today with approximately 300 people there and again a ski-anywhere day. The winds had dropped which was better for the skiers but wasn't so good for the kite-boarders though they seemed to enjoy it especially later on when it picked up a bit. The gully once again was superb and black scar was superb with a short but very steep section in great snow - Weardales "black run".

Parking was at a premium due to so many people being there but all seemed to go well and everyone dug in well off the road extending half a mile or more down the hill and before the bridge! One word of warning when digging in off the road - check the ground you are driving onto before driving onto it! It may sound silly but the ditches are all filled with snow and it is hard to tell what is solid groud and what is ditch as one Discovery driver "discovered" - fortunately he had been helped out by the time I got back down.
 

We are planning to open tomorrow from 10am but please remember that weekends are for members only so we will not be accepting any day members on either Saturday or Sunday. Please remember to bring your passes and try and have them visible. We will run a series of checks through the day so I apologise if you are stopped several times to show your pass.

On a separate note one of our members, Paul, has left his skis by the stile. If anyone has picked them up or moved them please will you let me know. I also have a pair of white earphones that were left outside the lodge on the picnic table.

Finally, collecting day fees was chaotic as usual. I took a full membership from one person - please can you contact me with your details to save me trawling through all the paperwork? We will not be taking any memberships on the slopes this weekend - all memberships must be done on line via the website.

Steve

Snow heaven

The Weardale Ski Club Ltd

A fantastic days skiing today with great snow everywhere and one of those days where you can ski literally anywhere with all the gullies filled and excellent wide pisted areas and loads of powder off piste. There were even significant periods of sunshine today which made up for the cold easterly winds. The kiteboarders were in great form today, shunning the road and kiting up from Westgate and producing some impressive aerobatic manouevres - I am sure some videos will find there way onto facebook and youtube in the next few days. The main gully was the best I have seen for years with big cornices and completely filled and skiable all the way down. The road was passable but still at risk if there is significant fresh snow. By the end of the day we were back to 90% tarmac bt that can change overnight so be prepared and ensure snow tyres or chains. The parking is very limited and also very deep snow so unless you get there early and find one of todays parking places you will have to dig in which can take time so make sure you have at least one decent shovel. Ensure that you dig in far enough off the road so you are not obstructing it and front in at an angle as close to the fence as possible. Don't worry about getting stuck,there will be plenty of people to help you get out atthe end of the day.

We are planning to open tomorrow (Thursday) from 10am and are also hoping to open Friday to Monday if the weather stays as it. We will accept day members on Thursday, Friday and Monday but Saturday and Sunday will be members only. Day members please print off the day membership form from the website and hand it to a Tow Operator before skiing - they will be pretty obvious with day glow orange jackets on saying Tow Operator!

Tomorrow we also have Channel 4 coming up to do some filming so if you see a camera pointing at you remember to smile!

Steve

Snow update Tuesday 26 March

The Weardale Ski Club Ltd

We are still not sure whether we can open tomorrow. The wind is forecast to drop a bit but there are further snow flurries forecast. The road has been ploughed leaving a very narrow route up which potentially will blow in if there is much wind or snow. There are drifts 6-7 foot deep which have been ploughed through but no turning points or passing places so if you meet another car it is a very long way to reverse. Someone is planning to go up in the morning and assess the road and will update the answerphone as soon as we know but it won't be before 10am. If we do open it will only be accessible to 4WD or 2WD with chains and you will need plenty of shovels to dig in as the parking is likely to be very restricted. Please do not try and to get up the road until the answerphone has been updated as one stuck car could be stuck for a very long time!

The cold weaher is due to last all over Easter so we are definitely hoping to open Friday and over the weekend if possible and this will give us more time to clear the route up.

Steve

Snow update Mon 25 March

The Weardale Ski Club Ltd

The winds have persisted and there are still concerns about the road blocking so we are not planning to open on Tuesday but will reconsider as the week progresses and update as soon as conditions beome favourable.

Steve

Snow update Sunday 24 March

The Weardale Ski Club Ltd

     It was a wise decision not to open today as it would have been mayhem on the road. John Carrick has done an excellent jobs digging out the road all the way up but the strong winds just blew a lot of it back in causing large drifts (one of which I got stuck in with my 4WD). There are strong easterly winds forecast all week but they drop a little on Tuesday and beyond so we hope to open on Tuesday 26 March and probably later in the week as well. It is looking promising for the Easter weekend and hopefully we will get several days then as well which will be a bonus. The answerphone will be updated regularly with our decisions once we see what conditions are like. Yad Moss had planned to open today but suffered the same fate with roads blocked so no skiing htere either.

      On the fell there is loads of snow and 2 board members were up today and pisted a lot of the runs. They report all the gullies filled with massive cornices on Black scar leading to one of the first avalanche warnings at WSC for many years! All the runs are covered and with temperatures set to remain low all week things are looking promising.

      For your information Nevisport in Newcastle is closing down and has a sale on currently with 25% off stock. Nevisport have sponsored our membership cards for many years and have been very supportive towards us, in the past sponsoring events like the Weardale Olympics etc - a shame to see them close.

Steve