bwt3650

The last two were below normal up here and December skiing has been terrible. It looked great at Thanksgiving (I think Killington actually did the best with almost two feet in that storm), but fizzled fast and was just "ok" until late season. I feel like the constant upslope was what was lacking last year and totally agree about the "feel" of a good winter not just about the number, but the overall snow pack, lack of warm ups and days with snow in the air. January was tough up here too because there wasn't a ton of upslope and it was brutally cold, even for northern Vermont. I remember multiple days of double digit below zero wind chills with very little upslope around. The late March/Early April kind of saved the season in my eyes, but as mentioned, the Mansfield snow stake was well below normal until mid March. I remember the conversation of can it get down to 15-16 levels. I haven't been around long enough to know the relationship between slow starts up here and the season (if there is any) but I'm perfectly fine with punting October and November in favor of a sustained rocking December through March. I would be nervous for the first part of the season though, if it doesn't start to look promising in 2-3 weeks. And I know early season snow is always good for the ski business. The big city ski season is Thanksgiving through Presidents Day.

With the next few weeks looking fairly dismal, I feel like we might be starting behind up here. Not sure the actual data, but I feel like the past 3-4 winters here, we were seeing snow by the first or second week of November. November definitely moves quick with the transition to winter though.

Looks like k-mart is going for it and going to try and open this week with this short window they have. .

Ahh, I see it now. Downdraft leading into dipper with the canyon lift should have given it away. Where’s it shot from, north ridge? Need a big early start like that this year. .

Where is that? .

Stick season…but perfect weather for a beer festival .

That's not a bad upslope look early-mid next week. Tons of time, but that looks like it could produce meaningful snow and a decent snowmaking window for the early season starters.

I'm thinking more like tourist towns, in particular, my jersey roots come to mind as the shore towns bring on as many as 20-30 police officers for the summer at $25-35 an hour instead of full time officers at 100k plus a year with benefits packages. Long term rentals wouldn't require quite so many, but substantially more full time officers. But my statement implied a one size fits all; which, to your point, is incorrect.

I agree, but this goes to not being able to make everyone happy. The small businesses benefit immensely from Short Term Rentals. More people in town means more people renting skis, going to restaurants, going on snow mobile tours, buying gas at the convivence store etc. Hotels generally tend to keep people more isolated to the businesses in or immediately near a hotel. Short term also saves towns tons of money because there are no kids going to school like long term rentals (and schools are by far the biggest impact on property taxes) Towns also hire seasonal part time police with no benefits, instead of full time officers, the second biggest impact on the municipal budget. The mountain is usually the biggest employer in the nearby town, so more people equals more jobs. Economically, it is a substantially superior model. The downside is the local resident, who wants a less crowded experience at their mountain. Everyone bitches about Stowe being too crowded, but isn't the real issue a one lane road leading to a dead end? I kind of equate this to a stadium. No matter what you do (besides expanding for about 8 days a year) you are going to have traffic before and after a football game. It's like a powder day at Stowe, or the 7am-10am period on Saturdays in mid winter or two weekends in October. Do you really build another road (even if you could) to accommodate that? I love the idea of a town gondola; I just don't know if the expense could be justified. Stowe is not Breck or Vail or the western giants. Maybe. The other bitching is just vail sucks guy, who wants the mountain to himself and is ok with a $1799 season pass because he skis everyday, can afford it, and it's "their mountain". Full disclosure: I rent out my condo a couple weeks a year, so I am one of those Short Term rental people everyone hates. We use it a ton so if we couldn't rent it for those two or three weeks a year, it's no big deal. But I know a lot of people who would have to sell, as theirs's are strictly rentals and I wonder what that flood of supply would do to everyone's property values.

I think I'll sell the 4" in northern Jersey even harder than the 1-2 feet in N VT and NH....but it wont be long.

Probably a test, but still great to see. The official start to east coast snow making season. .

That's 4-6" in 6 weeks or so...A perfect refresh. I'm up next weekend and I think I'll be at the tail end of the color. Some impressive pics this year, but I have to be honest, I'm ready for the snow guns.

Agree 100 percent .

Can’t we just let him back in this thread? We need his observations…and anger. .

Some legit cold shots out in clown range on the gfs. Good to see showing up. .

Perfect fall day yesterday…looks like 2000-2500’ has the most color right now. I would guess this will peak in the next 10 days. .

Below freezing temps, first flakes possible tonight and the return of snow on the GFS clown range. I figured I'd start the thread from the snowiest place in the east with hopes that leads to a great NNE snow season. If it winds up being crap, I'll never start one again and just blame phin.

Sub freezing and chance I see first flakes this weekend while I'm up north...NNE Cold Season Thread time!

Best possible result…should continue to be the jay everyone loves, with some new capital for much needed upgrades. .

The official countdown begins..always look forward to this post. Game on! .

It’s not a don’t deal yet..they were extremely profitable last season and the bids went up. Pacific group is basically the starting bid and others can come in higher. That said, I think they have a very good chance and would be a great owner. I’ve heard they intend to keep current management and be more or less hands off. .

Absolutely perfect day out there. No humidity, slight breeze and a bright blue sky. Dog was in heaven on our walk. .

It’s coming this winter. .

Decent amount of rain overnight. Sleeping with the windows open was like one of those sleep apps. Chilly this morning, but clearing out. Love this NNE summer weather. What a change from a NJ July day. .

Deep summer up here this week! .