dendrite Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 31.4F light freezing rain. Hoping to hold on to my snowcover the next few days. It will make the arctic plunge more severe. I think we will as we have a cement layer under the softer snow! Brian, is your Netcam going to go online? Love mine! Finally down to 31.9F here. No on the cam. I need to get an enclosure for it and find the perfect location. I may try it WiFi too. I just spent $800 for oil so I'm not exactly in the spending mood right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dryslot Posted January 12, 2013 Author Share Posted January 12, 2013 Finally down to 31.9F here. No on the cam. I need to get an enclosure for it and find the perfect location. I may try it WiFi too. I just spent $800 for oil so I'm not exactly in the spending mood right now. Going to burn some of that $800 next weekend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
free_man Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 a little icy, 31.4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ono Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Aspect is starting to matter a little bit... the lower elevation south facing stuff at Spruce Peak softened to a little skin crust on the snow, while anything on Mansfield (east to north facing) stayed dry from top to bottom. Good chalky and wind-blown powder. The 1" that fell last night was dense and with high winds knocking more snow out of the trees, a lot of the glades skied like 3-6" of snow fell. Amazing how once you take a lot of the snow in the trees and blow it around the mountain, how good of a refresh that can be, haha. didn't seem like 3-6" in the notch yesterday. more like 1-2" if you could avoid the wind. north side of the notch road cuts are blasted bare, no sun melt, just bare/exposed ground. there's a reason that Stowe's such a success over time- it's tucked up on Mansfield in a generally great spot for max snow. Smuggs is a bit more exposed, but generally does pretty well with aspect to sun, but not well-sheltered on Madonna to prevailing winds... such a difference aspect can make. Case in point- Jay Peak skied 4-12"+ around the lifts last Saturday depending on where you were, wind holds and all (they reported a foot- which was fair in some spots, as typical Jay-style reporting). Wind plays a huge role in any mountain environment, but seems more so at Jay- the trail layout is terrible for snow retention. but the backside at Jay (outta bounds in the bowl) was all 12"+. Stowe likely benefits most from orographics and leeward shelter effects. Jay's greater benefit may be from slightly colder temps combined with having unobstructed low level moisture the related taking prevailing weather systems on the chin- that is, getting hit head-on. but while the resort side may get slammed with snow, the wind takes a toll. It seems the backside of Jay has more of a sheltered eastern aspect like Stowe. It always seems deepest back there, both snowpack and fresh snow totals. Maybe they should've built the lifts back there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 didn't seem like 3-6" in the notch yesterday. more like 1-2" if you could avoid the wind. north side of the notch road cuts are blasted bare, no sun melt, just bare/exposed ground. there's a reason that Stowe's such a success over time- it's tucked up on Mansfield in a generally great spot for max snow. Smuggs is a bit more exposed, but generally does pretty well with aspect to sun, but not well-sheltered on Madonna to prevailing winds... such a difference aspect can make. Case in point- Jay Peak skied 4-12"+ around the lifts last Saturday depending on where you were, wind holds and all (they reported a foot- which was fair in some spots, as typical Jay-style reporting). Wind plays a huge role in any mountain environment, but seems more so at Jay- the trail layout is terrible for snow retention. but the backside at Jay (outta bounds in the bowl) was all 12"+. Stowe likely benefits most from orographics and leeward shelter effects. Jay's greater benefit may be from slightly colder temps combined with having unobstructed low level moisture the related taking prevailing weather systems on the chin- that is, getting hit head-on. but while the resort side may get slammed with snow, the wind takes a toll. It seems the backside of Jay has more of a sheltered eastern aspect like Stowe. It always seems deepest back there, both snowpack and fresh snow totals. Maybe they should've built the lifts back there. Good post, dude. Yeah its always so variable. Its funny though... on certain west slope events that Smuggs does well on, there can be a surprising amount of new snow at Spruce Peak (part of Stowe) because the mountain is lower and there's almost like "gaps" for the moisture to work through, when Mansfield's ridge at inversion level just blocks everything. Then there are the days when Mansfield terrain has like 10" and you go to Spruce and you are wondering where all the snow went. I'd love to be able to have a station to monitor personally on the Underhill side of Mansfield. One of the Stowe ski patrollers (the guy that put together our snow plots and stakes) who isn't around here as much anymore (I've sort of taken it over), used to have stakes every 1/4 mile all the way into the Notch from Chin Clip. You could see them uphill of the traverse out there and you could literally watch how the wind and storms interacted with the terrain. Sometimes the stake closest to Smuggs at the top of the Notch would have 10" while it decreases as you head to Stowe, then othertimes its the opposite. I really think it all evens out over the course of a season, thus the average snowfall at the resorts all seems to be within like 15% of each other north of I-89. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 A surprising amount of ice this morning at 1,500ft. RT 108 was a skating rink past Harlow Hill. You know when the large sand trucks go off the road, its slick. Perfect conditions for icing with just a steady light drizzle/mist all night long at 30-31F. Around a tenth or a little more of solid ice on everything. Trees look beautiful though...creaking and cracking in the light breeze. Temps rising fast though... already up to 32.5F and you can hear the ice dripping off the trees. 34F now at both 2,650ft and 3,600ft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allenson Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Had a nice little round of freezing rain/drizzle last night. The roads became very slick--particularly the dirt roads but even the pre-treated paved roads were a little hairy. Up to 32.7 at last look. Starting to drip-drip-drip... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJonesWX Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 no ice here. the snowpack took a real beating in the last 24 hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaineJayhawk Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Today I hiked Mt Moriah (4049'). A warm and cloudy day ... 32F at the trailhead and above freezing at the summit with winds under 10mph. The trees at 3500' or so were totally caked in snow, which provided an outdoor shower experience when traveling underneath - I actually put on my rain jacket. Clouds and fog on the ascent, but that lifted while I was on the ridgeline. Nice day overall, but will like to see the Arctic hounds freeze things up. Below are a few pics - enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginx snewx Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Today I hiked Mt Moriah (4049'). A warm and cloudy day ... 32F at the trailhead and above freezing at the summit with winds under 10mph. The trees at 3500' or so were totally caked in snow, which provided an outdoor shower experience when traveling underneath - I actually put on my rain jacket. Clouds and fog on the ascent, but that lifted while I was on the ridgeline. Nice day overall, but will like to see the Arctic hounds freeze things up. Below are a few pics - enjoy! 2013-01-12 10.33.30-1.jpg 2013-01-12 09.45.52-1.jpg 2013-01-12 10.35.18-1.jpg Beautiful shots man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#NoPoles Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Today I hiked Mt Moriah (4049'). A warm and cloudy day ... 32F at the trailhead and above freezing at the summit with winds under 10mph. The trees at 3500' or so were totally caked in snow, which provided an outdoor shower experience when traveling underneath - I actually put on my rain jacket. Clouds and fog on the ascent, but that lifted while I was on the ridgeline. Nice day overall, but will like to see the Arctic hounds freeze things up. Below are a few pics - enjoy! 2013-01-12 10.33.30-1.jpg 2013-01-12 09.45.52-1.jpg 2013-01-12 10.35.18-1.jpg totally awesome! but what are you going to do when you run out of mtns to hike? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Sweet pics, Jayhawk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 We started the day with 10" of snow depth (I had 10" at 4:30am and it looks like CoCoRAHS did too) here below 800ft and as of 3:15pm we are down to 9" with temps in the low 40s. Only lost 1" so far today... but I think its going to be the overnight above freezing temps that should do a number on it and tomorrow. I'm hopeful we can escape with a crusty couple inches left. Here's 315pm this afternoon... will see what it looks like in 48 hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaineJayhawk Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 totally awesome! but what are you going to do when you run out of mtns to hike? There's always The Grid that I could tackle. I don't think I'd be able to complete that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaineJayhawk Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Freak, you oughtta do a time lapse. I always thought it'd be cool to take a pic at noon from the same spot every day for a year and then make a loop out of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#NoPoles Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 There's always The Grid that I could tackle. I don't think I'd be able to complete that. what's the grid? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allenson Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Rotted away in the mid-30s here all day, in, or just under, the fog. Cooling a little now--down to 34. Not sure if we'll get to 32 or lower or not. My guess is no but we might squeak it out. No much melting just yet--more like settling. 12" at the stake now where this morning it was at 13". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaineJayhawk Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 what's the grid? The grid is summiting each of the 48 New Hampshire 4000'ers in each calendar month. That's years and years of work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dendrite Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Max 38, min 32...fluctuating between 34-35 now. Not a lot of snow melt yet, but you can tell that it is primed to rapidly melt away. The fog was dense most of the day and still is now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eekuasepinniW Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 The grid is summiting each of the 48 New Hampshire 4000'ers in each calendar month. That's years and years of work. Have you hiked Sandwich Dome? I've read that the views from the summit are particularity impressive, but that it doesn't get as much attention since it's a few feet short of being in the 4000 footer club. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaineJayhawk Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Have you hiked Sandwich Dome? I've read that the views from the summit are particularity impressive, but that it doesn't get as much attention since it's a few feet short of being in the 4000 footer club. I had plans for it a few weeks ago when there was much less snow, but ended up elsewhere. I don't think it sees much use in winter (at least I don't see any trail reports from it), and I don't have the inclination to break out the trail myself. That will wear a person out in a hurry. So I will wait for warm weather months to summit it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mreaves Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Down to 31.3F with things starting to crust up. Was expecting to stay above freezing. Might have been forecast but I stuck my head in the sand to try to block out the impending ugliness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Unbelievable inversion this morning... I had 33F at my house at 750ft (snow depth 8.5", so -1.5" last 24 hours) and crusted snow... temp stayed pretty steady and dropped to 32F at 1,500ft base of the mountain with ice on trucks/railings, etc from freezing fog. Temp profile: 4,000ft...47F 3,600ft...42F 2,600ft...46F 1,500ft...32F 750ft...33F The groomers say its been wild watching the thermometers in the snowcats tonight... you find that line low down on the mountain and they say within like a couple hundred feet the temp goes up like 10 degrees and you can feel the warm breeze. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT Rain Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Unbelievable inversion this morning... I had 33F at my house at 750ft (snow depth 8.5", so -1.5" last 24 hours) and crusted snow... temp stayed pretty steady and dropped to 32F at 1,500ft base of the mountain with ice on trucks/railings, etc from freezing fog. Temp profile: 4,000ft...47F 3,600ft...42F 2,600ft...46F 1,500ft...32F 750ft...33F The groomers say its been wild watching the thermometers in the snowcats tonight... you find that line low down on the mountain and they say within like a couple hundred feet the temp goes up like 10 degrees and you can feel the warm breeze. Cool! Not surprised... MWN is 48. The soundings will be neat at 12z. Should be some nice undercast today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Cool! Not surprised... MWN is 48. The soundings will be neat at 12z. Should be some nice undercast today. Yeah...socked in here at 1500ft but reports from up top say great visibility to all neighboring mountain ranges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT Rain Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Yeah...socked in here at 1500ft but reports from up top say great visibility to all neighboring mountain ranges. Looking forward to some pics later... get on it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allenson Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Got down to 32 here by this morning afterall. Heavy heavy fog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tamarack Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 I think that 48 at MWN sets a new Jan high temp for the Rockpile. Like everywhere else in NNE, dense fog here, temp 33-34. Hasn't affected the snowpack yet. Low-mid 30s with neither sun nor significant precip = no harm, no foul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastalWx Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Rivers of water flowing down Mt Mansfield. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Rivers of water flowing down Mt Mansfield. lol... for whatever reason, the melting has not been bad at all. I'm assuming its the lack of rain and a generally dry air thaw so far, but even with warm temps last night, the snow surface was crispy and pond ice this morning. I really think that having a 3-week long cold/snow pattern led to the the snowpack being so cold that with this dry air warmth (all stations on hill are showing wet bulb temps in the mid 30s despite mid 40 temps), its just not melting like it would if it was 45/45 with rain/fog. I really expected like waterfalls coming down the stream beds but they're all still snowed over and frozen. I'm also impressed that as of this morning, I'd only lost like 2" of snowpack (probably just settling?) in town between Thursday morning and Sunday morning. Dry thaws rock, haha. We've had less than a tenth of an inch of rain with this whole warm-up so far and look like we'll only see another tenth tonight. That's a heck of a lot better than some of our January thaws that seem to come with 1.5" of rain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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