sankaty Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Skiied yesterday at Statton. Snow was great. Trees skiable (defensively) but need a bit more snow depth. Stratton had groomed literally every open trail, which was highly annoying. The few ungroomed trail shoulders skied fantastically. Definitely one of the better first days of the year in memory, and nice to open the season so early. The next couple of days should be fantastic up there with the several inches of fresh snow received last night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TauntonBlizzard2013 Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Possibly heading to wawa or sunapee this weekend. I am thoroughly impressed with wawa, this has got to be one of their best early seasons ever Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoarfrostHubb Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Possibly heading to wawa or sunapee this weekend. I am thoroughly impressed with wawa, this has got to be one of their best early seasons ever This weekend looks kinda dreary... drip drip and warm... It can still be fun, but def not a powder kind of day/night Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TauntonBlizzard2013 Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 This weekend looks kinda dreary... drip drip and warm... It can still be fun, but def not a powder kind of day/night Yeah good point, I almost completely forgot about that lol. Plenty of chances after Christmas. Usually like to hit the slopes at least once or twice before Christmas, but time constraints have not allowed this year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitman Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/22/travel/in-pursuit-of-powder-tips-for-finding-it.html?src=dayp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoolMike Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 I have a sort of a IMBY question for the board and I though I could place it here since it is ski / snowboard related.Right now the plan is to go up to Sunday River (Newry, ME) to ski all day on Sunday. I will be staying the night on Saturday and drive home sunday evening. With the potential for significant ice on Sunday am I likely to get stranded? Will the ice form up early enough in the day to cause problems leaving the mountain (I'd be trying to leave at 3:30pm roughly). Should I try and switch the plans to ski on Saturday? What do you guys think? Thanks very much for any info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoolMike Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Unfortunately I was out of the country for the two storms this last week. The snow at my house looked like sweet snowboarding powder to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radarman Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 I have a sort of a IMBY question for the board and I though I could place it here since it is ski / snowboard related. Right now the plan is to go up to Sunday River (Newry, ME) to ski all day on Sunday. I will be staying the night on Saturday and drive home sunday evening. With the potential for significant ice on Sunday am I likely to get stranded? Will the ice form up early enough in the day to cause problems leaving the mountain (I'd be trying to leave at 3:30pm roughly). Should I try and switch the plans to ski on Saturday? What do you guys think? Thanks very much for any info. Not sure if this got answered already in the event threads, but my advice would be to get the heck out of there before the storm, which will be earlier than you expect most likely. At best the roads are going to be treacherous once the precip starts. If it's possible to ski Saturday you probably should. edit- In fact I take that back, driving home Saturday will be awful. In fact there's a chance the drive home might be better Sunday night, although the skiing might be pretty lousy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Man the skiing has been sooooo good lately...sucks it'll get crusty and damaged. We are in our daily "Cpick specials" light snowfall pattern, with a couple inches for yesterday and then another 2-3" last night. Doesn't do much for the snowpack, but keeps refreshing the mountain each day. Amazing conditions that are about to do an 180 degree turn-around by Monday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Couple from this evening. wawa_131217.png wawa_131217_1.png wawa_131217_2.png wawa_131217_3.png Awesome! Looks sweet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radarman Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Man the skiing has been sooooo good lately...sucks it'll get crusty and damaged. We are in our daily "Cpick specials" light snowfall pattern, with a couple inches for yesterday and then another 2-3" last night. Doesn't do much for the snowpack, but keeps refreshing the mountain each day. Amazing conditions that are about to do an 180 degree turn-around by Monday. Nice. It really has been a great start to the year. Bluebird today at Berkshire East. They've been closed to blow snow the last 3 days, and so today was a beautiful combination of pristine winter cord, hardpacked and lightning fast, with puffy piles of natural fluff and cold weather manmade on the sides. Tomorrow may well be spring like which would cap off an incredible week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoarfrostHubb Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Look at those lines Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HIPPYVALLEY Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Nice. It really has been a great start to the year. Bluebird today at Berkshire East. They've been closed to blow snow the last 3 days, and so today was a beautiful combination of pristine winter cord, hardpacked and lightning fast, with puffy piles of natural fluff and cold weather manmade on the sides. Tomorrow may well be spring like which would cap off an incredible week. Look at those lines Yeah, might have to grab a few hours at the B'East tomorrow. Prolly bump up nicely by mid-morning. There will be a dozen or so other skiers out there at mid morning. Lots of contemplative/self reflective time on the lift. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ono Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 Jay Peak has a way with words. Their forecast for the weekend says it all. I'm always a bit skeptical of Jay's reporting, and while I understand marketing and the importance of the Christmas week- this is just not realistic at all. Waited for them to update the forecast/conditions this afternoon- but their "cloudy" forecast for Saturday and Sunday- it's weird that they do this in this age where everyone pretty much has up-to-the-minute weather forecasting and reporting. I still can't understand how they, apparently, are not in line with everyone else at this point as far as transparency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TauntonBlizzard2013 Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 Jay Peak has a way with words. Their forecast for the weekend says it all. I'm always a bit skeptical of Jay's reporting, and while I understand marketing and the importance of the Christmas week- this is just not realistic at all. Waited for them to update the forecast/conditions this afternoon- but their "cloudy" forecast for Saturday and Sunday- it's weird that they do this in this age where everyone pretty much has up-to-the-minute weather forecasting and reporting. I still can't understand how they, apparently, are not in line with everyone else at this point as far as transparency. Your right, I've noticed several places over the years, where stuff seems off or not in like with most forecasts. I understand the marketing aspect, and if the forecast calls for heavy rain or something, it's probably not good for business. However, you still have to be honest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radarman Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 Turned out to be a stellar day of skiing down here. Fog lifted by 9 yielding late spring conditions, soft turns on melty piles of manmade. Some weak sun through wispy mid-level clouds, temperatures noticeably warmer at the peak. No rain most importantly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professional Lurker Posted December 22, 2013 Share Posted December 22, 2013 Turned out to be a stellar day of skiing down here. Fog lifted by 9 yielding late spring conditions, soft turns on melty piles of manmade. Some weak sun through wispy mid-level clouds, temperatures noticeably warmer at the peak. No rain most importantly. Yeah, there was quite an inversion out there today, huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT Rain Posted December 23, 2013 Share Posted December 23, 2013 Looks like the Berkshires and S VT are not in very good shape. The high dew points must have been an absolute killer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radarman Posted December 23, 2013 Share Posted December 23, 2013 After a pretty epic week for December in SNE there's no doubt the ski areas have taken a hit, but the cold weather leading up to the torch allowed the resorts to blow huge piles on their major thruways, and cold weather following will make for nice surfaces by the weekend. Natural trails will have to wait, but such is life this side of White River Junction. With the arctic push next week, you'd have to think streamers will be incoming on the spine. The extra drive time will be worth it, if you like Champlain fluff that is... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT Rain Posted December 23, 2013 Share Posted December 23, 2013 Thinking about Mount Snow on Saturday. Should be enough time to recover from the disaster plus I haven't been to crazy party Mount Snow after a day of skiing in a while! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clinch Leatherwood Posted December 23, 2013 Share Posted December 23, 2013 Long as they go into the icebox I think most places like sunday river are fine by Thursday. They'll be dumping snow i am sure 24/7 the next few days? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N. OF PIKE Posted December 23, 2013 Share Posted December 23, 2013 However, you still have to be honest. I dont think B.S'ing has cost them money. Prob made them money bc despite all the bs they get on ave the most snow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastalWx Posted December 24, 2013 Share Posted December 24, 2013 LOL at the spin Killington is calling this. What a joke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted December 24, 2013 Share Posted December 24, 2013 I'm sure you're all skeptical of me in this position, but its not a base depth issue, just a snow surface issue up here. And I think Radarman has the right mentality...natural snow trails are shot for a little while. Just accept that and move on. But the snowmaking runs will come back very quickly. In fact the skiing this morning isn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Its still edge-able and although its fast, its just a different variety of eastern skiing, haha. Under the snow guns though its great skiing. The quality of snow out of most snow guns reaches its best at about 14 degrees, and that's exactly where we are sitting at. Its like silky powder snow under the guns. I'd assume all the other big mountains are doing the same thing... dust and run program where you light up trails for 6-8 hours to put a top coat down, then go to the next set of trails. We should be able to hit all snowmaking terrain in the next 4 days or so and I'm sure Killington/Sunday River/Okemo/etc are doing the same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clinch Leatherwood Posted December 24, 2013 Share Posted December 24, 2013 I'm sure you're all skeptical of me in this position, but its not a base depth issue, just a snow surface issue up here. And I think Radarman has the right mentality...natural snow trails are shot for a little while. Just accept that and move on. But the snowmaking runs will come back very quickly. In fact the skiing this morning isn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Its still edge-able and although its fast, its just a different variety of eastern skiing, haha. Under the snow guns though its great skiing. The quality of snow out of most snow guns reaches its best at about 14 degrees, and that's exactly where we are sitting at. Its like silky powder snow under the guns. I'd assume all the other big mountains are doing the same thing... dust and run program where you light up trails for 6-8 hours to put a top coat down, then go to the next set of trails. We should be able to hit all snowmaking terrain in the next 4 days or so and I'm sure Killington/Sunday River/Okemo/etc are doing the same thing. snowguns2.JPG snowguns1.JPG PF I'm about to put in 6 straight days up north. How much snow can those guns in the top picture throw down on a trail in a day? I see them at all the mountains now. I'm with you I think the conditions are going to be phenomenal. To put it in perspective back about 5 years ago when we made our first NYE trip to SR they had 29 trails open and every local was stunned there were that many. This year by the time we arrive they should be back to 80 or maybe 90. To me this is one of the best weekends of the year to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoarfrostHubb Posted December 25, 2013 Share Posted December 25, 2013 Scott, I have seen one of those guns make a whale 15' high and 30' across overnight 1 gun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitman Posted December 25, 2013 Share Posted December 25, 2013 I'm sure you're all skeptical of me in this position, but its not a base depth issue, just a snow surface issue up here. And I think Radarman has the right mentality...natural snow trails are shot for a little while. Just accept that and move on. But the snowmaking runs will come back very quickly. In fact the skiing this morning isn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Its still edge-able and although its fast, its just a different variety of eastern skiing, haha. Under the snow guns though its great skiing. The quality of snow out of most snow guns reaches its best at about 14 degrees, and that's exactly where we are sitting at. Its like silky powder snow under the guns. I'd assume all the other big mountains are doing the same thing... dust and run program where you light up trails for 6-8 hours to put a top coat down, then go to the next set of trails. We should be able to hit all snowmaking terrain in the next 4 days or so and I'm sure Killington/Sunday River/Okemo/etc are doing the same thing. snowguns2.JPG snowguns1.JPG Same thing at sb. There are still large piles of snow to be groomed out. The conditions today were beyond all my expectations. The snow being made was great and the groomed trails were fun. I'd expect by tomorrow they have all the whales groomed out and are finished refreshing the man made snow trails that were open before the storm. With the cold temps, they could be in a position to have all the snow making trails open by the weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted December 25, 2013 Share Posted December 25, 2013 PF I'm about to put in 6 straight days up north. How much snow can those guns in the top picture throw down on a trail in a day? I see them at all the mountains now. I'm with you I think the conditions are going to be phenomenal. To put it in perspective back about 5 years ago when we made our first NYE trip to SR they had 29 trails open and every local was stunned there were that many. This year by the time we arrive they should be back to 80 or maybe 90. To me this is one of the best weekends of the year to go. Yeah tower guns are the best thing in snowmaking and lots of mountains have them...the benefit is that they are fixed equipment, meaning a lot less time is wasted on set up, and moving guns around the mountain. With fixed tower guns, all you have to do when you want to start making snow on another trail is valve it out and redirect the water. In the other picture I posted is a Ratnick land frame gun, and those are good but not great. They require snowmakers to move them from trail to trail so the set up time is much longer...how're they are still good for certain situations like high winds as they are lower to the ground. Going back to the HKD Tower Guns (one of the best brands and one you'll see at a lot of mountains like Sunday River and Okemo), in ideal conditions that include 14 degrees and no wind, those guns will pump around 60 gallons per minute (compared to 30/min for a land frame and 300/min for a fan gun), which in one overnight period can put down a 10+ foot pile that's maybe 30ft by 20ft. HubbDaves dimensions are about spot on. They'll do over a foot per hour of snowfall in their fall zone with temps mid-teens and calm winds. They are highly energy efficient too, so they will use less compressed air than a land gun, and the tower height allows for more hang time and better crystal formation. Needless to say, those guns are great with the only disadvantage being in high winds they'll blow snow all over the place due to their height. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bch2014 Posted December 25, 2013 Share Posted December 25, 2013 Are fan guns kind of out of vogue? I feel like I see less and less new ones compared to five or six years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoarfrostHubb Posted December 25, 2013 Share Posted December 25, 2013 Wachusett bought a bunch of new fan guns last year. Mostly for the beginner trails Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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