NNE Winter. Will it ever snow again?

[mreaves]

I'm getting real close to cancelling winter up here

I'm stunned you haven't done that already. Looking out at my bare and almost as important, unfrozen, yard, I think I canceled when Tuesday's snow melted away.

[dryslot]

I'm stunned you haven't done that already. Looking out at my bare and almost as important, unfrozen, yard, I think I canceled when Tuesday's snow melted away.

I have shown patience, I said I would give to the 20th or so if it looked like it was favorable, But I think it's over, Next winter should be much better as we will move towards a La Niña

[eduggs]

Hopefully you are skiing.

It's really good. Another 3" on upper half last night so 8" past 48 hours and it's dense. Jay Peak up to 14" now.

It's still snowing out. Probably some of the best conditions of the year from 2,500-4,000ft.

I was at Whiteface Sat. and Sun.  Rain to 2500ft and a coating of wet snow above there.  I can't believe how much it sucked in the Dacks this weekend.

[Hitman]

Not so lucky here at Sugarbush. Missed out on most of the snow and got too warm yesterday. Fast and furious today. On the positve side, Most of the mountain is still open. Some ok skiing on Spillsville and Tumbler and a few others. Groomers have a lot of manmade and are edgeable and fast. Need snow or spring at this point.

This. Yesterday was fantastic. Today, not so much. No fresh and everything was locked up at mt Ellen.

[sgottmann]

This. Yesterday was fantastic. Today, not so much. No fresh and everything was locked up at mt Ellen.

I think fantastic is relative to this season. Fantastic for Feb. 20 is more powderlicious in my mind. I certainly enjoyed the inch or so on Sat. At Mt Ellen. No lines (other than for the bus) and lots of fun. On sunday, at south it never really unlocked other than the bottom few hundred feet. Best run was spillsville but it was thin and firm. Ripcord was ok and grinder lived up to its name. I would have loved it on Dec. 1. Hopefully we luck out with a dry slot and then a few inches on the backside. The Bar bills are extra high this year. Gotta play the cards you are dealt.

[powderfreak]

LOL PF, I didn’t see your message, but apparently great minds think alike – I immediately took my crew to the Gondi and never looked back.  We spent our entire time there and I wasn’t even tempted to take them anywhere else – it was basically “bird in hand”.  We’d hit on and off piste down to around 2,000’ and then run it out on the trails.  Up high there were plenty of nice spots where 8-10” of mid-weight powder had accumulated.  I had a few photo ops so I’ll see if I got any decent shots to post later.

 

Haha nice.  I got this shot on Waterfall.  Your plan was pretty much the same as ours... hit a variety of stuff until somewhere between 2,000-2,500ft and then cruise the trails to the bottom.  Such a weird funky surface on the lower mountain, halfway between ice and wet snow (classic spring wet snow that gets packed out and slick)... but man upper mountain was skiing some of the best its been in a while.  Goat, Starr, Chin Clip, etc all opened up today so Patrol definitely agreed that steeper natural snow stuff was good to go with just the right density to the snow.

 

[powderfreak]

Man just saw Jay Peak is up to a 16" storm total and now 100% open.  And I thought we were doing decent with 9".  Another world up there.

 

Be interesting to see if the Mansfield Stake hits 30" with this evening's report.  Would be the first time of the season, and a full month later than the previous "latest date to hit 30 inches" record.

[Lava Rock]

I'm getting real close to cancelling winter up here

Yep. Snow just about gone. I washed the truck today, burned some brush, looking at areas in the lawn that need reseeding. All the while I kept telling myself it was only Feb. crazy.

[powderfreak]

Holy crap we did it!

 

30" at the stake. 

DAILY HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL DATA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BURLINGTON VT
535 PM EST SUN FEB 21 2016

Station            Precip   Temperature   Present         Snow
                   24 Hrs   Max Min Cur   Weather     New Total SWE
...Vermont...
Mount Mansfield     0.44    32  21  21   Cloudy       3.0  30

And bless the Co-Op's way of measuring...they got pretty close to reality with 3.0" in the bucket. 

 

However the snow depth increased by 4" since yesterday (26" to 30") and the 3,000ft snow board agreed with 4" a full 1,000ft below the Co-Op.

 

[Hitman]

I think fantastic is relative to this season. Fantastic for Feb. 20 is more powderlicious in my mind. I certainly enjoyed the inch or so on Sat. At Mt Ellen. No lines (other than for the bus) and lots of fun. On sunday, at south it never really unlocked other than the bottom few hundred feet. Best run was spillsville but it was thin and firm. Ripcord was ok and grinder lived up to its name. I would have loved it on Dec. 1. Hopefully we luck out with a dry slot and then a few inches on the backside. The Bar bills are extra high this year. Gotta play the cards you are dealt.

Limited for sure and no powder day, but what was skiable, skied great. Got a few runs on untouched powder on ripcord. Of course, I want more, but it is what is.

[LongBeachSurfFreak]

Holy crap we did it!

30" at the stake.

DAILY HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL DATA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BURLINGTON VT
535 PM EST SUN FEB 21 2016

Station            Precip   Temperature   Present         Snow
                   24 Hrs   Max Min Cur   Weather     New Total SWE
...Vermont...
Mount Mansfield     0.44    32  21  21   Cloudy       3.0  30

And bless the Co-Op's way of measuring...they got pretty close to reality with 3.0" in the bucket.

However the snow depth increased by 4" since yesterday (26" to 30") and the 3,000ft snow board agreed with 4" a full 1,000ft below the Co-Op.

February_21.jpg

Pf why is your snow board only at 3k? I know why the resort doesn't go all the way to the top as you have explained that to me in the past but you guys do go allot higher then 3k why not put it at you're top elevation

[J.Spin]

Your plan was pretty much the same as ours... hit a variety of stuff until somewhere between 2,000-2,500ft and then cruise the trails to the bottom.  Such a weird funky surface on the lower mountain, halfway between ice and wet snow (classic spring wet snow that gets packed out and slick)... but man upper mountain was skiing some of the best its been in a while.

 

Yeah, that funky wet surface always reminds me of the lower slopes at Whistler Blackcomb – I think it happens a lot there down by the Whistler Village elevations being in a place with lots of moisture and temperatures often fluctuating around the freezing mark.

 

Anyway, the upper 2/3 of Mansfield was awesome today from the Gondi – a good 8-10” of sorely needed medium-weight goodness for powder-starved NVTers.  I’ve added a few shots from today below, and I’ve got some more in our full report from the day.  Up in the clouds I went with the Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM at F/2.8 on the 7D II and it was nailing just about everything.  I’m working on how bright I can push that aperture for dark conditions – I’ve done some F/2.0 work and the keeper rate on high-speed action drops a bit as that depth of field gets thinner, but I’m going to keep working on seeing what the lens can do.  It’s focusing is definitely fast enough for ski action if you’re ever looking for a super-bright prime lens.

 

 

 

[Skivt2]

You guys in N VT are in a different world than at Killington. All natural snow trails and woods are unskiable down this way. There is talk of Pico not being able to stay open after the rain. Hard to believe how little snow has fallen.

[J.Spin]

You guys in N VT are in a different world than at Killington. All natural snow trails and woods are unskiable down this way. There is talk of Pico not being able to stay open after the rain. Hard to believe how little snow has fallen.

 

Yeah, it’s pretty amazing how for storm after storm after storm it’s simply a less than optimal track.  I actually don’t know how one could calculate what percentage of typical synoptic storms would actually be optimal or favorable for one’s area, but it’s got to be pretty low unless one has a lot of elevation.  So in some respects, I’m amazed that we even expect the majority of our storms to be all snow around here.  As I always say, if you live in a location that’s not high enough in elevation to ensure that most storms cutting to the west of you remain all snow, then you basically deserve whatever rain you get and probably shouldn’t expect otherwise.  There’s no doubt that this year’s string of storms has been conspicuously suboptimal in terms of track, but in some respects we’re getting exactly what we deserve when things are left up to chance.  Thankfully we’ve got alternative storms like Alberta Clippers that are a much closer to being a lock with respect to snow vs. rain in the winter.

 

With that said, hopefully this next sandwich storm is a net gain in various areas like the last one.  And thus far from what I’ve seen on the models, there seems to be more potential for backside snow with this next one.  We’ll have to see if that holds, but the BTV NWS is at least mentioning it in their discussion:

 

THE SURFACE LOW WILL PULL WELL NORTH/NORTHEAST OF THE AREA THURDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY WITH THE ASSOCIATED COLD FRONTAL PASSAGE BRINGING THE ONSET OF COLD ADVECTION AND A GRADUAL COOLING TREND. THUS PRECIPITATION WILL TREND MORE SHOWERY IN NATURE OVER TIME AS P-TYPE TRANSITIONS BACK TO LIGHT SNOW/SNOW SHOWERS. SOME MINOR BACKSIDE ACCUMULATIONS OF A FEW INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE, MAINLY ACROSS THE HIGHER TERRAIN AS TEMPERATURES FALL BACK TOWARD MORE TYPICAL LATE FEBRUARY VALUES.

[Jebman]

Just wanted to mention - J.Spin - I have savored many a happy hour in your FABULOUS website!

Pages like this one http://jandeproductions.com/1997/96-97reports.html

 

One day, I AM GONNA FIND A WAY TO VISIT NEW ENGLAND IN DEEP WINTER.

 

Before I get too damn old.

[mreaves]

Just wanted to mention - J.Spin - I have savored many a happy hour in your FABULOUS website!

Pages like this one http://jandeproductions.com/1997/96-97reports.html

One day, I AM GONNA FIND A WAY TO VISIT NEW ENGLAND IN DEEP WINTER.

Before I get too damn old.

Well, you don't have to worry about coming up this year at least.

[eyewall]

Yeah, it’s pretty amazing how for storm after storm after storm it’s simply a less than optimal track.  I actually don’t know how one could calculate what percentage of typical synoptic storms would actually be optimal or favorable for one’s area, but it’s got to be pretty low unless one has a lot of elevation.  So in some respects, I’m amazed that we even expect the majority of our storms to be all snow around here.  As I always say, if you live in a location that’s not high enough in elevation to ensure that most storms cutting to the west of you remain all snow, then you basically deserve whatever rain you get and probably shouldn’t expect otherwise.  There’s no doubt that this year’s string of storms has been conspicuously suboptimal in terms of track, but in some respects we’re getting exactly what we deserve when things are left up to chance.  Thankfully we’ve got alternative storms like Alberta Clippers that are a much closer to being a lock with respect to snow vs. rain in the winter.

 

With that said, hopefully this next sandwich storm is a net gain in various areas like the last one.  And thus far from what I’ve seen on the models, there seems to be more potential for backside snow with this next one.  We’ll have to see if that holds, but the BTV NWS is at least mentioning it in their discussion:

 

THE SURFACE LOW WILL PULL WELL NORTH/NORTHEAST OF THE AREA THURDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY WITH THE ASSOCIATED COLD FRONTAL PASSAGE BRINGING THE ONSET OF COLD ADVECTION AND A GRADUAL COOLING TREND. THUS PRECIPITATION WILL TREND MORE SHOWERY IN NATURE OVER TIME AS P-TYPE TRANSITIONS BACK TO LIGHT SNOW/SNOW SHOWERS. SOME MINOR BACKSIDE ACCUMULATIONS OF A FEW INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE, MAINLY ACROSS THE HIGHER TERRAIN AS TEMPERATURES FALL BACK TOWARD MORE TYPICAL LATE FEBRUARY VALUES.

 

If I could move to the higher terrain I would. That just isn't an option right now. I understand cutters happen every year but this winter has been different with every big ticket possibility ending up in the Lakes region or instead of a cut, whiffing to the southeast. Even in the valley there is usually at least a couple of decent storms, and certainly a lot more snow than this. All of that is what makes this storm especially frustrating. I Do hope it is a net gain up there. I hope we see at least a back end dusting down here.

[alex]

If I could move to the higher terrain I would. That just isn't an option right now. I understand cutters happen every year but this winter has been different with every big ticket possibility ending up in the Lakes region or instead of a cut, whiffing to the southeast. Even in the valley there is usually at least a couple of decent storms, and certainly a lot more snow than this. All of that is what makes this storm especially frustrating. I Do hope it is a net gain up there. I hope we see at least a back end dusting down here.

 

I've got to say, I'm learning that even higher elevations are a double edged sword. In my new place at 1250 ft in Bartlett, we get much more wind to take away what little snow we get (in a winter like this), and warm up much more easily during cutters. There consistently seems to be more snow in the valley. Of course, when elevation brings upslope, it's a different story...

[Hitman]

You guys in N VT are in a different world than at Killington. All natural snow trails and woods are unskiable down this way. There is talk of Pico not being able to stay open after the rain. Hard to believe how little snow has fallen.

when I drove by pico yesterday, It was remarkable how little snow there was.

[dendrite]

The euro is pretty ugly, but you guys in N/C VT should see some upslope on the backside. Close the shades on Thursday though.

[Lava Rock]

I've got to say, I'm learning that even higher elevations are a double edged sword. In my new place at 1250 ft in Bartlett, we get much more wind to take away what little snow we get (in a winter like this), and warm up much more easily during cutters. There consistently seems to be more snow in the valley. Of course, when elevation brings upslope, it's a different story...

Same here on my little 730' hill.

[Hitman]

The euro is pretty ugly, but you guys in N/C VT should see some upslope on the backside. Close the shades on Thursday though.

ugly is an understatement.  1.5" of non crystaline precipitation. dont see how we get to a "net gain" from there. and fwiw-F the Euro.  hasnt done us any favors. 

[Cold Miser]

You guys in N VT are in a different world than at Killington. All natural snow trails and woods are unskiable down this way. There is talk of Pico not being able to stay open after the rain. Hard to believe how little snow has fallen.

Definitely sad.

[ono]

You guys in N VT are in a different world than at Killington. All natural snow trails and woods are unskiable down this way. There is talk of Pico not being able to stay open after the rain. Hard to believe how little snow has fallen.

That's why it's ALWAYS worth the extra time on the road for some folks... I haven't skied south of Sugarbush in many years (even before I lived here).

[Skivt2]

That's why it's ALWAYS worth the extra time on the road for some folks... I haven't skied south of Sugarbush in many years (even before I lived here).

Can't imagine more than 6 hours in the car round trip every week for 8 months especially in a snowy winter where 3 hours turns into 5 or 6. 150 miles one way is plenty for me. Walking into work last week one guy was telling me "well that's why I only ski out west". Doubt he get 90+ days in. The closer you are the more opportunity to get turns in on any given day. On the bright side my ice skiing is really improving dramatically this year.

[ono]

Can't imagine more than 6 hours in the car round trip every week for 8 months especially in a snowy winter where 3 hours turns into 5 or 6. 150 miles one way is plenty for me. Walking into work last week one guy was telling me "well that's why I only ski out west". Doubt he get 90+ days in. The closer you are the more opportunity to get turns in on any given day. On the bright side my ice skiing is really improving dramatically this year.

Just depends on what you like to ski. During good years, plenty of folks go Boston-Stowe many weekends. Depends on the person. This year, I have under 10 days as it stands. The mountains are 30-45 minutes away. Missed some powder days due to schedule, and don't really want to ski groomers at the resort all day. Different strokes I guess.

[Cold Miser]

Can't imagine more than 6 hours in the car round trip every week for 8 months especially in a snowy winter where 3 hours turns into 5 or 6. 150 miles one way is plenty for me. Walking into work last week one guy was telling me "well that's why I only ski out west". Doubt he get 90+ days in. The closer you are the more opportunity to get turns in on any given day. On the bright side my ice skiing is really improving dramatically this year.

Late Sept. to early May? 

[Skivt2]

Late Sept. to early May?

late October to Memorial Day.

[Hitman]

What gives? Everybody's abandoned ship?

[eyewall]

What gives? Everybody's abandoned ship?

 

Hahah I think it is looking that way.