Clear and quiet conditions are great for skiing. But if you are only a fair-weather skier, you are missing a beautiful part of backcountry skiing. Understanding mountain weather allows you to take advantage of good conditions and avoid violent ones. Always ask yourself, “If the weather does change, how will it affect me?” The best rule is this: be prudent! Make camp or turn back before you are forced to. The good backcountry skier has a habit of constantly looking above and behind for weather changes and making mental notes on the route already skied.

Image captions (looking at small icons on the left):
Top left: Red sky at night, sailor’s delight? The next day it was snowing hard. Such sayings need to be backed up with what the barometer is saying. At the Jackel Hut, 10th Mountain Hut System, Colorado. Vivesphoto.

Top right: Incoming weather high above Ashcroft, Colorado. Notice winds whipping off the peaks as clouds are darkening and lowering – a good time to ski back. Vivesphoto.

Middle left: Clouds lifting and thinning above the Chamonix Valley. Barometric pressure was also increasing. The next day was perfectly clear. Vivesphoto.

Middle right: Perfect weather! Clear blue sky, no wind. Still, calm conditions near Winter Park, Colorado. Russelphoto.

Bottom left: Climbing up The Commando Run between Vail Ski Area and Vail Pass in terrible weather conditions late in the day (Colorado Super Tour). We were able to reach the town of Vail by nightfall. Vivesphoto.