In mid-October the first North American ski areas opened for the season. Killington, Mont Saint-Sauveur, Arapaho Basin and Loveland Basin rolled the chairlifts with limited terrain and lift tickets north of $70.
![snow guns](https://i0.wp.com/fernie.com/files/2014/10/Screen-Shot-2014-10-18-at-10.11.43-AM.png?resize=467%2C288&ssl=1)
In all manner of ways, it’s a new season.
Not far behind will be any ski area near Mr. Rainier. The headline from KOMO News in Seattle, “13 FEET of snow, 65 mph winds — just another day atop Mt. Rainier”
At this time, most of the passes in British Columbia, Washington and Oregon are snow packed with limited visibility. It’s heading to Fernie. Time to roll down to Canadian Tire and have those winter treads slapped on all four corners.
Perhaps the most prescient comment on weather forecasts, the accuracy and reliability of such, came from Robin Siggers (FAR Operations Manager) one day sitting at the board table at Freshies. Someone made a comment on the “big storm coming in at the end of the weekend”. Robin, having access to all sorts of long range and micro specific forecasts said with more than a hint of derision, “Anything over three days is science fiction.”
That simple statement immediately became my Fernie weather mantra; “Any forecast over three days is science fiction!”
![Fernie Griz](https://i0.wp.com/fernie.com/files/2014/01/Screen-Shot-2014-01-12-at-9.27.03-PM.png?resize=512%2C275&ssl=1)