Maurice Mommen, Better known in the freeride ski scene as his alias – Meteo Morris, is a weather and snow forecasting expert and the mastermind behind the leading Freeride Community wePowder.com. Arnold Zimprich, editor at Bergzeit Magazin, spoke to Morris about the difficulties of snow forecasting in general and the wePowder community in particular.
Arnold Zimprich: You are – together with your colleague Arjen – the founder and mastermind behind wePowder. In the beginning, did you have any clue that wePowder would develop into a really large community with 45.000 Facebook Fans?
Meteo Morris: to be honest? No. I have been traveling or better chasing powder in the Alps now for almost 25 years. Riding powder made and is making my life so much more interesting. I have to admit that I am addicted to powder but as a side effect of my chases I was able to discover new countries, cultures and people and I am enjoying it.
“… 20 friends, have become thousands of friends and millions of pageviews in less than 10 years…”
How did it all start? Did you simply sit in front of your laptop and think “Let’s do this?”
It actually all started with an email which I used to send to some friends on a weekly basis. In this email I gave them some hints where to go and a short forecast for the upcoming days. As one of them asked me to put my forecast on a website it all took off. 20 friends have become thousands of friends and millions of pageviews within less than 10 years.
You are a self-taught-person when it comes to reading weather maps. Can you explain how a powder alert is prepared until it’s published? What’s the difference to other snow forecasts?
My knowledge is based on trail and error. I have been looking at weather maps for 30 years now. At first as a windsurfer, but nowadays as a surfer and snow chaser. Weather maps and charts are based on algorithms that have become smarter and smarter in the last decades. Computing power has grown enormously but there are still working with 9 or even 23 km grids. The Alps dp have a complex elevation model and a lot of algorithms do struggle with it. Besides looking at weather maps I have chased storms for 25 years. I learner a lot about the different micro climates in the Alps, the role of the geographical position in the Alps, the orographic circumstances and their positive and negative effects on snowfalls, the role of the seasons in relationship to the sun. I try to enrich my forecasts with these aspects and and as a effect try to suit them better to the needs of freeriders.
You have 20 years of experience in weather forecasting. Which region(s) in the Alps are most powder-prone?
There are 3 regions within the Alps that get significant more precipitation than the rest. As a start I would like to mention the Gotthard region. Due to its geographical position it gets snow from the South, the North and the west. As a second there is northern Vorarlberg who picks up snow from the west and the north and as a third there is the unknown region called Alpi Giulie. On the border between Italy and Slovenia there is this tiny resort called Sella Nevea which picks up a load of snow almost every winter. But keep in mind these are just averages. It all depends on the winter and the storm tracks. I would suggest to follow the 10 tips on wePowder.com to plan your ultimate powder trip.
“The topic of safety in powder is a lifelong learning process”
Climate change and snow scarcity are a fact, not a fiction. Does this make your work more complex?
No, my goal is to chase storms and find the best conditions. Every winter does have its own rhythm. Sometimes they take off early, sometimes late, sometimes they are cold and some are warmer. Better be flexibel than stare at longterm climate effects.
The wePowder Mountain Academy puts safety in the foreground. Does the freeride community embrace this?
Yes, we have more than 20.000 students already and awareness is rising. When we started riding powder knowledge was hard to get and not 24/7 available. With the internet we are able to make the knowledgee 24/7 available. Every time, anywhere. But safety doesn’t start or end with an online course. It is a lifetime learning experience in which you will look back in the online courses from time to time. Our goal is to make people aware and facilitate the personal learning curve as easy as possible.
How many people work for wePowder? You are the weatherman. Who else is there?
Our crew is on one hand a bunch of geeks that love to code stuff for the internet. On the other hand we have a group of free riders in different countries that want to share their knowledge with the world out there. The mix of passionate geeks and free riders is making our daily work so interesting. We are trying to serve our knowledge in a 2.0 or better 3.0 way.
Where’s the wePowder-line leading to? What’s the next big thing for powder-junkies?
Our geeks are working on our new website which we will launch fall 2017. I can’t tell you all about it yet, but make sure you tune in next winter.
You’re from the Netherlands. How many days a year do you ski and where are you skiing?
It all depends on the winter. There are years that I easily ride 80 powder days a year, but there are also winters that the ticker stops at 25 days. Winters are hard to predict and it takes patience to make the most out of it.
“To enjoy freedom, you have to take responsibility”
Surfing water and snow – that’s your life. Was that a dream of yours as a boy?
When I was young I wanted to become a famous football player or windsurf, but when I blew up my knee my career as a football player came to an end. After years in a competing environment I really enjoyed being out there. The freedom I enjoyed out there made me aware that we can only enjoy it full force if we are willing to take up the responsibility that the freedom enforces you to.
The most important question: Will winter pay the Alps another visit this season?
Yes, for sure. For the steeper stuff I do consider the best months to be March, April and even May. A solid base is present in the mid and higher Alpine, storms will kick in from time to time and direct colder Arctic air towards the Alps. I am ready. You?
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