It's winter here...

Jason managed to get first tracks (left) and I managed to get second tracks (right) on Chairline yesterday morning. 25cm of new snow!!!

Conditions are peaking right now... every trail is in amazing shape... the snow surface is absolutely incredible. Make plans to be at Crabbe this Saturday and Sunday. The long and short of it is... Crabbe Mountain is 100% open and conditions are excellent. - SB

Follow Crabbe Mountain on Twitter...

We're always looking for new technology to help get information to our skiers and riders. Twitter looks to be the new craze... follow Crabbe Mountain in Twitter: http://twitter.com/crabbemountain

There's even a Crabbe Mountain Twitter status box embedded on the site column of the Crabbe website. It's similar to updating your Facebook status, only for your website. We'll post random information of what Crabbe Mountain is up to. - SB

I like the sound of this...

Environment Canada: Issued : 4.00 PM AST Tuesday 27 January 2009
Winter storm watch in effect.
Tonight
Clear. Low minus 26.

Wednesday
Day: Increasing cloudiness. Periods of light snow beginning late in the day. High minus 11.Night: Snow at times heavy. Amount 20 to 30 cm. Wind becoming northeast 20 km/h gusting to 40 in the evening. Temperature rising to minus 6 by morning.

-SB

34 runs in one day at Crabbe is alot of skiing...

This past Sunday was the Mt. Everest Ski & Snowboard Challenge... a fundraiser for the Crabbe Mountain Volunteer Ski Patrol. Take your first run from the lodge to the chairlif and add 34 runs on top of that and you will have skied the height of Mt. Everest in vertical drop... 29,029ft.

Gotta give kudos to Andy Cotter for finishing 1st... two years in a row. Here's the list of Everest Challenge finishers provided by the Crabbe Mountain Volunteer Ski Patrol:

Andy Cotter - completed 29,029ft.
Tied for 1st.Matt Rutledge - completed 29,029ft.
Tied for 1st. Roger Pickel - completed all 29,029ft.
Tied for 2nd. First day on skis this season.
Jason Crawford - completed 29,029ft...NO Breaks!!! Tied for 2nd
Kevin Duguay - completed 29,029ft. 3rd place solo.
Lorraine Woodford - completed 29,029ft. 4th place solo. 1st Female to finish.
Jenny Wheaton - completed 29,029ft. (Mother Lorraine above BEAT daughter)
Cassandra Stairs - completed 29,029ft.
Wyatt Sewell - completed 29,029ft. (age 12)
Ben O'Blenis - completed 29,029ft. (age 12)
Brandon Bustard - completed 29,029ft.
Nick Morgan - completed 29,029ft.
Les Jones - completed 29,029ft. Patroller
Ethan McCarthy - completed 29,029ft.
Amos McCarthy - completed 29,029ft. First day on skis this season.
Ian McKessock - completed 29,029ft. Son of Rookie Patroller George.
Craig Cameron - completed 29,029ft.
Bruce Cameron - completed 29,029ft.
Gord Allen - completed 29,029ft.
Justin Goddard - completed 29,029ft.
Steve Willis - completed 29,029ft.
Darrell Hennigar - completed 29,029ft.
Matt Dykeman - completed 29,029ft.
Barry Watson - completed 29,029ft.
Peter McGaw - completed 29,029ft.
Ben Graham - completed 29,029ft.
Benito Zefferino - completed 29,029ft.
Norm Seely - completed 29,029ft. Late registrant still finished...good job.

I started at 9:15am and got done around 3:45pm even did a victory run down Harold's to finish off the day! Now that was alot of skiing and even more time on the chairlift. I figured out that i spent a total of 4.08 hours on the chairlift on Sunday. (35 trips up @ 7 mins per trip = 245 min or 4.08 hrs). - SB

PS. Looks like we have a storm heading our way for late Wednesday... could be a powder day on Thursday am. Get lots of work done tomorrow, you might be calling in sick on Thursday am.

Crabbe Web Cam on your iPhone...

Got and iPhone? Check out the Crabbe Mountain Web Cam on the Webcams.travel app. Don't have an i phone and want to check out the site... here's the direct link: http://www.webcams.travel/webcam/1232723550
Isn't technology pretty cool? - SB

All glades are open...

Been skiing alot in the trees this week. It's been absolutely awesome. Diddle Daddle Glades, Pug's Powder and Sunvalley all have lots of snow and are in great shape. Steve's Drive-Thru has great snow but could use one more snow storm. Keep in mind... there is a ton of snow in the woods, it's still January and there are a few rocks and stumps under all that powder. See above pic. - SB

All trails open...

Michelle rippin' through a newly cut, short but sweet, gladed section we've dubbed "Poker Face" still in the R & D stage.

25 cm of light fluffy powder yesterday was quite a treat! The entire mountain is good to go. If your looking for powder a day after the storm... grab a trail map and check out Diddle Daddle Glades, Pug's Powder, Steve's Drive Thru and sections of the Main "Glades" trail... Sunvalley, War Dance, Little Brave. After skiing all day a couple of us did a six pack of runs through a section of glades we worked on in the fall. After yesterday it seems all that work was well worth it. See the above pic. Taking the pics isn't a bad thing... it means first tracks every time. - SB

East winds and new snow equal Pug's Powder...

If you come up today drive carefully. 15cm overnight and 10-15 more forcast for today. East winds overnight, Pug's Powder, Chairline, and the Glades are going to be prime-time. Gotta eat breakfast and get my ski boots on. Chair opens in an hour forty five! - SB

It's already started snowing...

Snowfall warning to this evening and overnight. Could Monday be a powder day? Here's the deal on some Crabbe glade skiing areas, as of Sunday, January 18th. Diddle Daddle Glades, Steve's Drive Thru are open and skiable with early season conditions. Pug's Powder is open and has the best coverage, exit via the lower Family Trail. If the forecasted snow becomes a reality... the glade skiing at Crabbe will come alive again. Remember ski and ride 3 in the trees. - SB

Crabbe Mountain hits Ski Canada magazine...

If you're planning to spend some time inside over the next couple of days... be sure to pick up the new issue of Ski Canada. There's an article on East Coast skiing, including Crabbe Mountain. - SB

PS. The temp outside the Snowmaking Building is currently
-37C at 8:47am.

Chilly...

Jay and Richard are out shaping the main terrain park. We'll post pics on the main site as soon as it's ready to go! Snowmaking crews are burying Elgee's as i write this. -32C forecast for overnight tonight. All this mega cold air is good for two things... 1- making a ridiculous amount of snow... 2 - freezing up the entire snowmaking system. We run a fine line making snow at these temperatures, it's like trying to run a snowmaking system at the top of Mt. Everest. Speaking of Everest... the Mt. Everest Ski & Snowboard Challenge is Sunday, January 25th. - SB

they won't even know you're gone...

Been working on a new page for the Crabbe website. We'll be launching it shortly in conjunction with the opening of the Main Terrain Park. Jay, Richard and Larry are away at a Park Scapers course today and tomorrow. The snow is amazing right now! Definitely worth skipping out on work for. Bring your laptop, there's free WiFi in the lodge. They won't even know your gone! - SB

The skiing and riding today is great...

This is what a snowmaking hose looks like at -15C when it cracks and water sprays out.

The trees at the summit of the mountain are caked in snow.

Got out for a couple of runs early today. Skied Dave's Dream and Upper Tippy to Lower Elgee's. The view of Mt. Katahdin was excellent today from the top of Tippy Canoe. Lots of enthusiastic skiers and snowboarders are here today taking advantage of the great conditions. Get up here! - SB

Super snow...

We're almost done making snow in the Terrain Park.

Ski Patrol Gord skiing the Flume.

Man-made snowstorm in the Terrain Park.

Went out for an evening ski tonight. All i can say is... WOW! Gotta say the snow is super good. I skied Dave's, the Flume and the Horn. Nice soft, grippy, edgable snow. Can't wait to get the boards on again in the morning. The forecast is for sunshine tomorrow... i'm predicting a big day... get up here early! - SB

PS. Saturday, January 10th - Apres Ski in the Thirsty Boot Lounge - 2pm-6pm - FLAT TOP. See you there!

Congrats Melissa and Erik...

Congrats... Melissa and Erik. The promo above will be appearing in Friday's edition of the Fredericton Northside and Southside Community Newspapers. The snow was like velvet tonight. Around 10pm tonight it's still -10C and there is a bit of freezing rain mixed in with the snow, hope that won't last long. Tonight was our first night of Alpine Adult Wednesday Night Race League... good turnout considering the weather. Still hoping for a powder day in the am. - SB

Let it snow...

There's quite a buzz aroubd the mountain today over the snow! Let's hope we get the larger amount in the forecast! Snowmaking will be soon moving the snowmaking guns from Upper Dave's and Greg's Way to the Terrain Park.

Speaking of snow, Crabbe Mountain falls into the Stanley Doaktown Snowfall Warning... check it out! - SB

Stanley - Doaktown - Blackville Area
10:40 AM AST Wednesday 7 January 2009
Snowfall warning for Stanley - Doaktown - Blackville Area continued 15 to 25 centimetres of snow tonight.This is a warning that significant snowfall is expected in these regions. Monitor weather conditions..Listen for updated statements.An intensifying low pressure system is expected to move across New Brunswick tonight. Snow will develop over southwestern New Brunswick near noon and spread northeastwards to all sections tonight. North of the lows track snowfall accumulations of 15 to 25 centimetres are expected. Over southern sections the snow will change to ice pellets and then to freezing rain. Over the southern most counties the freezing rain will change over to rain Thursday morning for 3 to 5 hours then switch back to snow before tapering to flurries later on Thursday. Additionally...Higher than normal water levels are expected at high tide along the southern gulf of st. Lawrence coast Thursday afternoon and evening.

Look at the forecast...

We're following this one closely!!! Let's hope they're right. If they are you'll be calling in sick Thursday am. - SB

Thanks Stuart...

Skiing the Headwall of King's Horn.

It's been a busy couple of days here at the mountain. Got a great email from Stuart from Fredericton Bound dot com today. They were up skiing a couple of days ago (their first visit) and had such a great time they plan to be back real soon, he even put a link to the Crabbe site on his website... http://www.frederictonbound.com/ Thanks Stuart... there looks to be snow in the forecast possibly later this week. - SB

King's Horn top-to-bottom Saturday AM...

Snowmaking this afternoon on the Headwall of King's Horn.

The top of the mountain is buried.

Snowmaking crews are currently moving their snow guns to Upper Dave's, Greg's Way and the Terrain Park. The Horn will be open for top-to-bottom tomorrow morning! Saturday should be a big day, get up early and head to the mountain. - SB

-18C all day today...

Flume Chute being buried, a favourite short cut for snowboarders to the Flume.

King's Horn near chairtop.

Dropping a man-made snowstorm on Upper King's Horn.

It was -22C this morning at Crabbe and temps stayed around -18C all day making a ton of snow on Upper King's Horn. With all the high winds today, i'm sure the Upper Flume got a fresh coat of snow indirectly as well. Winds are forecast to drop down to about 15 km/hr by Friday morning! - SB

Let it snow...

Pretty breezy today at Crabbe. Someone just came in and said that if you opened your jacket on Dave's Dream you could actually ski in reverse! I'd believe that. Snowmaking has been laying down a winter storm on the Upper Horn since Tuesday and it's looking great! We're currently skiing and riding The Beginner Hill, Dave's Dream, Upper Dave's Dream, Hume's Flume and the lower 2/3's of King's Horn. Keep in mind the rest of the mountain has a great base started and it won't take much to get the entire mountain open again. Keep an eye on the forecast... not sure when it might arrive... but 20-30cm of new snow and no wind would do the trick... and could be just what the doctor ordered. Happy New Year! - SB