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Getting a handle on snow levels

Tuesday saw Cypress report 38 cm of new snow, while Grouse reported 7 cm

DESPITE sharing similar geography and being in close proximity, the three North Shore mountains sometimes record vastly different snowfalls, a trend that regularly bewilders at least one Grouse Mountain employee.

"We're all in the same mountain range. We can see each other on a clear day. I can't understand why there would be such a fluctuating number," Grouse Mountain spokeswoman Sarah Lusk said.

While the bears slumber away the winter and the reindeer make their way to Grouse, Lusk found herself particularly mystified by the snow disparity on Tuesday. "Yesterday was one of those wacky days," she said. "The numbers were all over the map."

Within the same period, Cypress Mountain reported a 38-centimetre dump of snow while Grouse recorded seven cm of powder.

Joffrey Koeman, marketing director for Cypress Mountain, said it could be a simple matter of height. "First and foremost, I'm sure that all the mountains are measuring their snow on different altitudes," he said. "Secondly, you wouldn't get the same amount of snow in Burnaby as you would in North Van."

Grouse Mountain dispatches ski patrols nine times each day to measure snow at both Grouse's peak and plateau, according to Lusk.

"We do this throughout the day and the website is updated accordingly," Lusk said.

The Grouse plateau has an elevation of approximately 1,158 metres, and the peak is closer to 1,250 metres.

Typically, ski patrols at Cypress measure snow levels three times a day, according to Koeman. "When it's snowing heavy, they might go out several times," he said.

Measurements at Cypress are done at the mountain's weather station, which is at an elevation of approximately 1,189 metres.

While Grouse measures at peak and plateau and Cypress measures at mid-mountain, Mount Seymour takes their measurements next to minivans and SUVs.

"It is at parking lot level . . . it's right at the base," said Julie Mulligan, marketing coordinator for Mount Seymour.

Typically, Mount Seymour's ski patrol measures snow level twice each day, although patrols measure more frequently during heavy snowfall.

"Whenever there's news in the city that the snow is falling heavily on the mountains, people keep checking back in and we just want to give them a more accurate and timely reading," Mulligan explained.

Not included in the measurements on Grouse or Cypress is machine-made snow.

Each of the mountains records separate measurements for manufactured powder, although Koeman said Grouse uses a different measurement system. "I know Grouse measures it in centimetres and it doesn't really equate well to centimetres, because you're obviously making snow in spotty areas and spreading it around, and it doesn't obviously cover the whole mountain," Koeman said.

Measuring the snow in cubic feet is a more telling measurement, according to Koeman, who said Cypress currently has the equivalent of 50 football fields covered by one foot of machine-made snow.

"Our snowmaking's made a huge difference," he said. "Only 30 centimetres of natural snow had fallen and we were able to open up a bunch of runs up here."

Cypress Mountain has been open since Nov. 8, and Koeman said the snow machines were a big factor in the early opening date. "It's full-on winter up here," he said.

Grouse opened Nov. 18.

In anticipation of today's opening, Seymour has added a 134-metre magic carpet lift, a covered mountain escalator designed to allow new skiers to scale the mountain with ease. The mountain is reporting a more than 100-cm base of fresh snow.

jshepherd@nsnews.com