Need help on choosing mountain

Question
Hello Windlover,

I'm a snowboarder for about 4 years now. I'm still not as knowledgable as i'd like to be, so I have a few concerns for my up coming snowboard trip. I've noticed that snow hasn't been our best friend as of yet, so is a little scarce. My question is, what is the best mountain to go to for the dates of december 5th to 7th. I've had my eye on kicking horse but they don't open until the 12th. I'm looking into places such as fernie and revelstoke but I'm worried the snow conditions won't be suitable. On the fernie site it mentions snow levels of 1400-1700 metres and I'm not sure how good that is? Also, I've seen some place with a snow base of 38 cm, and i'd also like to know what is a good base ?

Hope to hear from you soon,

Cheers,

Franjo

Answer
Hey Franjo,

Snow levels of 1400-1700 meters is the elevation that it is snowing. Below that level will be rain. The key is to know what elevation the base of the ski area is. If it is above the 1500 meter mark, then the base is building. 38cm is a decent start for a base but probably not enough for the area to open. Most area would need 50+ cm to open groomed runs but ideally 100+ cm would allow riding all areas of the mountain.

As for recommending a location, for early season riding I would say going the farthest north would give you the best chance of good snow. Which would mean Revelstoke. The other thing to look for is elevation of the base and the top elevation. A ski area with a higher base elevation will have good snow sooner.

Check the ski reports for base depth and also look to see if they list mid mountian and top depths. Many ski areas have upper runs that are good while the lower runs are only good where they groom. Also check forecasts to determine projected snow levels.

Hope this helps.
Keep on riding,
Windlover