Ruby Mountain

A quick moving storm on Wednesday deposited 25cm of new snow in Lamoille Canyon.  Today we skied in Right Fork Canyon and Box Canyon racking up 14k vertical feet.  

Light snow flurries during the day kept the skiing soft.  We made 7 runs in the Lamoille Canyon area before the heavy stuff started coming down. Temperatures look to stay cool this weekend and good flying weather is expected.  Low light made photos hard today, but here's another shot from yesterday in the Independence Mountains.

Sunny skies, calm winds, and Ruby-like ESP were found in the Independence Mountains today.  Wednesday's forecast is looking good for us to get another shot of snow.  Send Ullr some positive vibrations!!

The first tour of the season has ended, with good shallow powder skiing and most guests adding vertical to their trips. Our second tour has begun, with a great crew from Sun Valley and San Francisco.

Decent skiing yesterday in the southern end of the Ruby Range.  Tomorrow we're headed north to the Independence Mountains.  The storm track this season has been more favorable to the north and we are expecting to find good shallow powder skiing.

Stand by for photos and an update when we get back. 

RMH guide, El Jefe, in the hole checking on the snowpack.

Today we skied in the Independence Range north of Elko, NV.  We found excellent skiing with good snow coverage. 

Today we started operations with amazing skiing in Lamoille Canyon!  Over the past week the Ruby Mountains have received several storms setting us up with a good base for the 2012 season.   

The Ruby Mountains received between 40 and 60 centimeters of snow on Friday the 20^th and Saturday the 21^st. The snow, similar to other portions of the west had a high water content and the snow has settled out several inches over the last 24 hours. This is a vast improvement and it appears we’ll receive additional snow this week. There is about a meter of snow at 8,400 feet in the Independence Range. We have been doing a large amount of recon work with snowmobiles, fixed wing aircraft, and a helicopter. It appears that with the next storm the mountains will receive additional snow as there is winter wx warning posted for northern Elko County tonight through 4 PM Monday.

With this new snow we’ll anticipate skiing in the Independence Range beginning on the 27^th.

Should you have any questions about the snow conditions of an upcoming trip, please call us at 775-753-6867.

From the National Weather Service.  

"A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THE RUBY MOUNTAINS WEDNESDAY MORNING THROUGH 
 FRIDAY MORNING...AS PACIFIC MOISTURE WILL BE PRODUCING HEAVY SNOW IN THE RUBIES FOR SOME TIME TO COME. "

Most promising weather outlook in weeks.  The pattern does appear to be rearranging with a strong ridge beginning to develop over the Bering sea and up into the very high latitudes.  The long wave trough that is over Hudson Bay needs to broaden or shift east as well, but the next couple of days will tell.  Looks like westerlies will undercut the pacific high early next week and start to bring the storms a bit farther south.  Hopefully far enough south.

Christmas has come and gone, and while we had some terrific times with friends and family, and being thankful for all we have, we did not have the infamous “White Christmas”.   The Great Basin remains dry with several storms looming later this week, and while we have some snow we need more. 

We are working, moving fuel, last minute maintenance on the cats, buying new equipment and making certain that everything is in order as the guides arrive in three weeks for our scheduled opening on the 23^rd of January.

All of us at RMH want to wish each of you a terrific new year, with the best of health, prosperity, and of course some cold smoke.

Should you have any questions please contact us at 775-753-6867.

Happy New Year,

Joe Royer

Happy Holidays & our best wishes for 2012 from everyone here at RMH. As the season nears, we're eagerly awaiting the first heavy hit of the season, slated to come our way just after Christmas. Like the rest of the Western US right now, we're doing the dance and ready for the deep stuff.

We'll kick of 35 years in late January. Three and a half decades of life in the Rubies. Here's to another year of snowy turns and great times around the table with you all!

Weather updates coming soon, but for now have a great holiday and kick off to a new year!

Season number 34 has come to a close.  The staff at Ruby thanks everyone who visited this winter for all the good turns, times, and support.  Winter 2012 won't come soon enough, but in the meantime enjoy the warmer months and we'll see you next year.

Photo Caption:  Jules C. sending it in the Ruby Mountains.

Were sad to end the season when the skiing is so GOOD!

Sampling some of the goods we've been enjoying in the Great Basin.  The season is coming to an end this week, but the snow conditions are in full swing!

STILL SNOWING!!

Holy powder skiing Batman.  Paul Harmon gets a face shot.  More snow tomorrow.  March madness, or is it Ruby Madness?

Swervy, swervy in the pow-pow.  Windy conditions ahead of the next storm progged for late tonight kept us out of the high country, but great snow conditions are pretty much everywhere.

15-20cm overnight and cold temps during the day have made the skiing very nice in the Ruby Mountains.  Photos here now.

One of the Lawler Boys making powder "ESSES" in Conrad.  15cm new overnight, more storms on the way!

March Madness continues in the Ruby Mountains.  More snow expected today and tonight!   

Ruby Magic again.  Evening snow showers turned into shallow powder skiing in Right Fork.  More snow is expected off and on throughout the week. 

Warm temps and high winds have made for transitional snow conditions.  Still a beautiful day in the mountains.  Check out the Wall Street Journal Travel Section tomorrow, or today online.  

Ullr is my therapist.  Dan Peterson enjoying Ruby powder during the storm.  30cm at 9,500 feet.  How much could there be at 11,000 feet?  We'll find out soon enough.

March is starting off with a series of potent storms.  With an already above average snowpack in the mountains the skiing is shaping up to be incredible this spring. Come and ski some Great Basin powder, we have openings at the end of the month and possibly into April.

Strong prefrontal winds limited flying today.  Although Conrad with a fresh coating of Great Basin goodness kept the ball rolling after yesterday's 21k of skiing.  Tito Franco makes a smooth turn in the Ruby ESP.  A potent storm is expected through Monday then high pressure returning during the middle of the week.

March is beginning with snow in the Ruby Mountains.  Today, a constant barrage of convective snow showers laid down 15-25cm of new snow throughout the range.  More snow is forecast for late in the weekend.

Spring is coming and the Powder is on! More snow expected over the weekend. Come get some.

Last night cold temperatures and clear skies helped re-crystalize the recent storm snow.  Endless powder turns in the Ruby Mountains!  

The storm that has been over the Ruby Mountains for the past 48 hours broke early this morning with clearing skies, light winds, and 30cm of Great Basin powder snow.  Ruby Magic again!

Drop the knee, look at me.  RMH guide Hans "The Floppy Norwegian" Hjelde shows off his telemarking technique in Conrad.  Strong southwest winds kept us out of the helicopter today, but a couple of snowcats brought us to the Ruby Mountain goods.

Oakley Crowbar googles $$, Rossignol S7 powder skis $$$, A-Star B3 Helicopter $$$$$$$.  30cm overnight with the three previous items- priceless.

Winter returned to the Great Basin yesterday with a beautiful snow storm gracing us with 10 cm here in Lamoille and 30 cm, 12", in the mountains.  We were able to get out on the mountain today in both the snow cats and the aircraft and many smiles were shared all around.  It looks like we should be able to get some flying in tomorrow while Saturday looks like it's shaping up to be another good storm system for the Ruby's.  Keep your fingers crossed. 

Soft snow still can be found in the protected terrain of Talbot, Segunda, and Long canyons but high winds have prevented us from getting there today.  We were able to get out for 5 runs in the aircraft yesterday before the winds forced us into the cats.  Our streak of 22 days straight of skiing has come to a close but a large weather system scheduled to hit the Ruby's mid-day tomorrow looms on the horizon promising a reset.  The brunt of the storm will hit tomorrow evening and into Thursday morning. Residual storm cells should continue give smaller amounts of precipitation through the weekend.  After an unusually warm period for February it looks as if winter will return to the Ruby's.

Let it snow!

Today we found good riding conditions on North facing terrain.  We currently have approximately 20cm of soft powder snow on top of a crust layer.   Here's a picture of Lead Guide Fred Alldredge skiing the Shadow Line in Dry Fork Canyon.

Today we skied in Long and Segunda Canyons.  Warm spring like temperatures and sunny skies made for excellent riding conditions.  Still finding cold snow on North facing terrain with spring like conditions on South and West aspects.

The skiing in the Rubies continues to impress us with soft snow throughout the range! We've been opening terrain we've not visited in many years and have found good skiing on all aspects ranging from cold, shallow powder on the North to creamy, spring-like snow on the South. We've had a great run of 20 days consecutive skiing and look forward to seeing you here at the Ranch!

Ops normal in Ruby's.  Shallow powder during the day and Hebi beef tenderloin at night makes for a great time in the Great Basin.  The weatherman is calling for a pattern change sometime next week bringing a return to snowy weather.

Chilly temperatures and a couple inches of new snow continue to keep the skiing and riding conditions in mid-winter form.  We are expecting clearing skies and seasonal temps for the remainder of the week with a slight chance of snow for next weekend.

New snow and cold temperatures have brought winter back to the Ruby Mountains.  Skiing is great!!  We look forward to seeing you soon.

Beautiful blue skies and temperatures in the low 30's over the past couple of days have been ideal for both flying and skiing.  It's been almost a week since we received any precipitation but cold, shallow powder can still be found in much of the range.  It looks like our beautiful weather will continue into the weekend with a small disturbance and a chance for more snow moving into the area on Sunday.

The aircraft is here and we have been out and about in the mountains gathering terrain and snowpack data.  Over this past week the Ruby's have received a few inches of new snow adding to an already incredible base.  It's almost here!  The staff is looking forward to tomorrow as the first skiers of our 34th season arrive.  Oh yeah, Right Fork is skiing pretty well too.

The past week of warmer weather has finally made it's way through the Great Basin. The added moisture on top of an already abundant early season snowpack has helped to consolidate and stabilize the snowpack.  Colder temperatures and snow are expected Tuesday night through Wednesday and again over the weekend.  The guide staff has arrived and are working hard towards our opening on January 24th.  Red's Ranch is ready to go and we are excited to move into the mountains this week to have a look at the snow conditions.

Last week it snowed another one half to one meter of new snow in the Ruby Mountains, at upper elevation. The study plot at 9 thousand read 240c and the range looks like it does in February, even better. Super cold temps have kept the snow in the trees and skiing in the quiet areas really good.  The upper elevation snow has been hit by the wind but the cover is awesome. 

The breakfast-lunch chefs arrive this morning to practice on Mike and I. It’s always a treat. 

We are getting close to opening as the guides arrive on the 15^th.

The Ruby Mountains continue to lie in the storm track receiving large amounts precipitation up high for the last couple of weeks.  The mountains look like they do in February, even better. It’s very rare to see all this snow in the Great Basin so early. 

The forecast for this week is for continued snow. We are keeping up with the deep snow in the mountains, at the low elevation around the ranch there is only a foot of snow or so, which makes it easy to get round down here. (however it is snowing hard now)

We are wishing each of you a fabulous new year, with many turns in many places. 

Happy New Year, 

Joe Royer

Sunday the 12th of December was the first day we could really look around. Sunny, warm and blue skies. The snow pack has developed into a great base. The depth varies anywhere from 240c to 80c, depends on where one might measure it.The snow has been blown around, but it appears we avoided the rain, at upper elevation for the most part. There is a significant rime crust from about 8k up. The high peaks are plastered with rime, looks very maritime. 

The skiing was supportable at upper elevation, consistent skiing lot’s of fun in the sun. Lower elevation was a breakable rime crust but still skiable. 

More weather scheduled for the week.

Merry Christmas

The early winter in the Great Basin continues although winter has yet to start. This is probably the best early snowfall we have seen in ten years perhaps longer.

The early November snow came in super cold, with high winds, between one and two meters depending on where it’s measured. The snow settled with the warming trend that has brought temps close to season normal. It has made a great base.

The snow has since dried out and the skiing is good, just hard to get to. Like any mountain range there are good powder stashes around. 

We have the cat roads built to ten thousand feet and continue to prep for our opening, which is scheduled in mid January.

We are in the office and open to take calls.

Have a Merry Christmas,

Joe

Wow. From a nice fall with sketchy skiing to full on winter and great skiing. The snotels are reading around 30” at about 8k with about twice that at upper elevation. We didn’t see the mountains for four days, its blue bird today, super cold, as we dig out and continue to prep for the season.

We have had limited observations up until now, but we have a lot to be thankful for. It’s a great start.

Have a great Thanksgiving.

We have had our first dusting of snow, it is amazing how much a little snow and cool temperatures will get you fired up to go skiing.  The trees are just starting to turn, showing that light lime green tint, just before they get ready to make their final performance of the year.

Daytime temps are in the 70’s in the valley and cooler in the mountains, nighttime temps are near freezing. The weather is perfect for doing anything outside right now.

Even though the weather is so terrific we are in the office, making preparations for our 34^th season in 2011. If you have questions please don’t hesitate to call. 775-753-6867. We look forward to skiing and spending some time with you.

Joe Royer

The Ruby season has come to a close for 2010. We finished with two incredible days of skiing thanks to a beautiful spring graupel snow storm. We are looking forward to next year and want to send out a big thank you to everyone for a great season.

RMH 3_8_10 from Joseph Royer on Vimeo.

Spring time has arrived here in the Ruby Mountains. Today we found excellent corn snow skiing in Welch Creek and off the top of the Ruby Dome. Then we turned the aspect north where cold powder snow was found in the alpine terrain. A chance for light snow showers over the next couple of days then back to spring weather. We are looking forward to some good skiing during our last week of operation this season.

Check our Facebook account for more photos of the season.