CoastalWx Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 LOL at people thinking it's bad. C'mon Messenger, I mean Cweat, I mean Winston. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clinch Leatherwood Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 exactly, and Winston is not a tree skier. The ones complaining are the tree skiers. Stowe looks like it will be in great shape. Anyone who has skied for any length of time knows the drill, thaw refreeze, icy death bumps, welcome to New England Says who? I may go back for a round of 18 at SR's great golf course. Winter is over. What we had in December was actually the blow back from Leon opening his giant refrigerator. With New Years resolutions and all we're now back to stale kitchen air. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastalWx Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Yeah but we're talking about NNE as a whole. Before the snowstorm a week ago Sunday there was about 2" of "base" at the top of the lifts at SR. Most of the natural trails were bare patches. Mid elevations had maybe 1-3" under the lifts. Then 8-10" of powder fell. That's been compressed down to sh** now from what I'm hearing and getting wet and semi-torched. They'll be back to scattered patches and almost no natural base. This is base building time as others have said. Right now its probably 95% man-made and that's mixed with a ton of sleet and ice. They do need snow or at the very least they need these wet torches to stop. NH and ME have a ton of base dude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitman Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 wow, freakout in cyberland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 your days will come, you admitted being spoiled, perhaps you should ski another Mt to appreciate exactly what you have there. Treat Ryan well That's not a bad idea. I hear it from a lot of friends who are passholders but have the ability to go elsewhere every once in a while. They are usually pretty stoked to return to Mansfield. But yeah, I wanted to clear up that fact that I truly believe that 90% of the general skiing public (at least here) has had a good time this winter. Like myself, some of the local experts are looking for more adventurous stuff at this point, but the modern snowmaking/grooming couplet has created overall enjoyable conditions. We'll see what the next couple weeks bring, as it looks like there may be some challenges ahead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clinch Leatherwood Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 LOL at people thinking it's bad. C'mon Messenger, I mean Cweat, I mean Winston. You should probably actually GO skiing before you make a judgment on how the skiing is Aside of the day of and day after the most recent dump I thought it mostly sucked. Icy, scratchy, thin. Rocks and debris on many of the trails by lunch. Sure the trail count was high, but meh. I found the same at Sunapee and also at Bretton Woods. There are more trails open this year than previous years but I think the quality of the snow on those trails is lower. Burke and MRG, two great mountains but not known for their snowmaking are struggling bad. Burke is at 1/5th of their trails open and MRG is worse. It could be worse though, for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT Rain Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Have to say I'm not too stoked about rain on Saturday up north at Stowe. Happy I'll have all day Friday and Saturday AM before the rains come. Am fine with heavy, heavy beer and NFL Saturday afternoon and night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginx snewx Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 NH and ME have a ton of base dude.hydro reports had 20+ this morning, nothing is bare up there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginx snewx Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 You should probably actually GO skiing before you make a judgment on how the skiing is Aside of the day of and day after the most recent dump I thought it mostly sucked. Icy, scratchy, thin. Rocks and debris on many of the trails by lunch. Sure the trail count was high, but meh. I found the same at Sunapee and also at Bretton Woods. There are more trails open this year than previous years but I think the quality of the snow on those trails is lower. Burke and MRG, two great mountains but not known for their snowmaking are struggling bad. Burke is at 1/5th of their trails open and MRG is worse. It could be worse though, for sure. You were a week early,how much did Bethel have OTG when you were there? They had 19 this morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginx snewx Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Have to say I'm not too stoked about rain on Saturday up north at Stowe. Happy I'll have all day Friday and Saturday AM before the rains come. Am fine with heavy, heavy beer and NFL Saturday afternoon and night.lt rain, believe it or not and I am sure PF will concur. Skiing in lt rain with softer snow is not bad at all plus it drives all the Winstons inside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT Rain Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 lt rain, believe it or not and I am sure PF will concur. Skiing in lt rain with softer snow is not bad at all plus it drives all the Winstons inside. Still sorta sucks. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 bingo. that was bad. this is frustrating no doubt, but not terrible. Yeah and I think you can feel that from snow lovers around New England and in this forum...there have been great periods of winter, with good ski conditions and snow & cold. The frustrating thing though is the weekly thaw/mixed event that has seemed to crop up lately. Every time we get the ball rolling (like the skiing Friday-Sunday was truly awesome on most open terrain, no marketing BS), but then we get hit with a weather event like this. Same with before Christmas... the skiing was soooo good in mid-December, and then get hit with a 2-3 day ice/rain storm. Its the frustration of not being able to keep it rolling and gain some good momentum...but it isn't terrible. Even if snowfall here was comparable to December 2006 in raw amounts, temperatures averaged like 15 degrees warmer that December so you lose the snowmaking component. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clinch Leatherwood Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 NH and ME have a ton of base dude. Mt Washington has 15" or so on the ground with an inch of ice on top of it. All other things being equal...not sure I'd count that as a ton (and that was this morning). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT Rain Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Mt Washington has 15" or so on the ground with an inch of ice on top of it. All other things being equal...not sure I'd count that as a ton (and that was this morning). Snow depth up there is really hit or miss though. It gets scoured very easily. Not really representative of most ski areas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Have to say I'm not too stoked about rain on Saturday up north at Stowe. Happy I'll have all day Friday and Saturday AM before the rains come. Am fine with heavy, heavy beer and NFL Saturday afternoon and night. That goes towards the "frustration" side again... it'll probably be right around the time the mountain gets back to the "hey this is pretty darn good" stage, and then some challenging weather occurs. You just have to time it right...and you are if you're here on Friday, haha. In between these two weather events, Friday will likely be the best condition day (its always the day before the next thaw, haha), though depending on the timing and intensity of rain, the skiing during the thaws has been really good. More like spring skiing with soft snow and bumps. A cloudy day of like 40F can be surprisingly awesome if its only a couple sprinkles or some later afternoon showers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginx snewx Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Still sorta sucks. lolI guess if it's pouring but it still is fun with lt rain. Beer is always cold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginx snewx Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 That goes towards the "frustration" side again... it'll probably be right around the time the mountain gets back to the "hey this is pretty darn good" stage, and then some challenging weather occurs. You just have to time it right...and you are if you're here on Friday, haha. In between these two weather events, Friday will likely be the best condition day (its always the day before the next thaw, haha), though depending on the timing and intensity of rain, the skiing during the thaws has been really good. More like spring skiing with soft snow and bumps. A cloudy day of like 40F can be surprisingly awesome if its only a couple sprinkles or some later afternoon showers.I am not a MET but here is a forecast, Ryan will have an ear to ear grin Saturday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginx snewx Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Mt Washington has 15" or so on the ground with an inch of ice on top of it. All other things being equal...not sure I'd count that as a ton (and that was this morning).Lol you can not be serious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clinch Leatherwood Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Yeah and I think you can feel that from snow lovers around New England and in this forum...there have been great periods of winter, with good ski conditions and snow & cold. The frustrating thing though is the weekly thaw/mixed event that has seemed to crop up lately. Every time we get the ball rolling (like the skiing Friday-Sunday was truly awesome on most open terrain, no marketing BS), but then we get hit with a weather event like this. Same with before Christmas... the skiing was soooo good in mid-December, and then get hit with a 2-3 day ice/rain storm. Its the frustration of not being able to keep it rolling and gain some good momentum...but it isn't terrible. Even if snowfall here was comparable to December 2006 in raw amounts, temperatures averaged like 15 degrees warmer that December so you lose the snowmaking component. A majority of those that chimed in and were frustrated were people that have actually skied up north this winter....and frustrated for the very reasons you mentioned. I saw first hand how 6-12" dramatically improved conditions and a lot of that just got damaged again by this mess. It's frustrating...and I can only imagine being in your shoes. Those that are saying it's fine are primarily reading reports or snow maps that don't really paint a true picture of what's gone on. I was looking forward to two days this weekend and now that is out. I just have no interest in skiing on that same type of terrain again like a week ago. The hard packed ice isn't fun to me nor is skiing for 2 hours in the morning and calling it a day after first lift. The amalgam of man made snow, ice, sleet, some powder, more ice and mess...it's a weird ski base. Barring this stupid mild up today the next week or so was NBD, but this did sting again today. Hopefully we can jam a nice snow event in the hills in this transition pattern before MLK. I'm sure by the weekend SR and other places will be mostly recovered but like some of the others that chimed in, I'll wait for some natural and hit it later into the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginx snewx Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Should we post Jeffs snowmobile pics from yesterday, total suckage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 I am not a MET but here is a forecast, Ryan will have an ear to ear grin Saturday. He would especially be if the GGEM was any sort of decent weather model... the 12z run continues to be a more light snow event, while the GFS has H85 temps of like +8, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginx snewx Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 A majority of those that chimed in and were frustrated were people that have actually skied up north this winter....and frustrated for the very reasons you mentioned. I saw first hand how 6-12" dramatically improved conditions and a lot of that just got damaged again by this mess. It's frustrating...and I can only imagine being in your shoes. Those that are saying it's fine are primarily reading reports or snow maps that don't really paint a true picture of what's gone on. I was looking forward to two days this weekend and now that is out. I just have no interest in skiing on that same type of terrain again like a week ago. The hard packed ice isn't fun to me nor is skiing for 2 hours in the morning and calling it a day after first lift. The amalgam of man made snow, ice, sleet, some powder, more ice and mess...it's a weird ski base. Barring this stupid mild up today the next week or so was NBD, but this did sting again today. Hopefully we can jam a nice snow event in the hills in this transition pattern before MLK. I'm sure by the weekend SR and other places will be mostly recovered but like some of the others that chimed in, I'll wait for some natural and hit it later into the year. well there's a reason my 15-20 days of skiing take place in Feb March April, more snow, less ice, higher sun, less yahoo. Being older sometimes brings experience. When I was younger I had no problem skiing crap, now I know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Hey at least it snowed a coating today after the niar... always nice to see the flakes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clinch Leatherwood Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Lol you can not be serious. I was just up there after that last 'big" event. It was nice but todays torch is a big setback. go take a ride up to Newry and get back to me on that 19" snow depth you're talking about.,,,how many feet deep do you think the natural base is up at SR after a single 8-12" storm and then a few inches when a lot of the trails on Jordan/non snowmaking trails were basically bare prior? Like bare...you can see the grass and rocks bare. Throw your skis on the roof and go skiing in the rain this weekend...then tell us how great it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clinch Leatherwood Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 well there's a reason my 15-20 days of skiing take place in Feb March April, more snow, less ice, higher sun, less yahoo. Being older sometimes brings experience. When I was younger I had no problem skiing crap, now I know. Well it's not crap...those are your words. It's just not worth the drive to me right now having just skied through what were written up as "great" conditions after a similar meltdown...I thought it kind of sucked until that snow fell. Like you said...wake me up when we get through this 7-10 days of crap. I'm all set skiing on groomed glop. I'm looking forward to a strong Feb and March....this year we will just do more skiing in March like you. In fact a few turns down the mountain may be in order on our mutual ways to the FG. BTW, service at the FG was through the roof this year. Better food and service than in previous years by far. EDIT: I hope Ryan does go this weekend, may provide another opinion on the conditions. Like I said I expected a lot better based on the number of trails that were open Thur Fri Sat Sun am....it was tough. I'd be interested in seeing how it improves this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skivt2 Posted January 6, 2014 Author Share Posted January 6, 2014 Yeah but we're talking about NNE as a whole. Before the snowstorm a week ago Sunday there was about 2" of "base" at the top of the lifts at SR. Most of the natural trails were bare patches. Mid elevations had maybe 1-3" under the lifts. Then 8-10" of powder fell. That's been compressed down to sh** now from what I'm hearing and getting wet and semi-torched. They'll be back to scattered patches and almost no natural base. This is base building time as others have said. Right now its probably 95% man-made and that's mixed with a ton of sleet and ice. They do need snow or at the very least they need these wet torches to stop. My point exactly. My home Mountain is Pico. Pico makes snow on a few trails and the rest are natural. I pretty much ruined a new pair of skis on New Year's Day hitting rocks on open trails. With no water to make snow to speak of Pico needs Mother Nature. By last night we were back down to rocks and all natural trails were closing and that was before this rain. We are a breath away from the god wakeful 2011-2012 season right now with no clear sign of improvement. I don't want to spend this season on the white ribbon of death with all the herbs again. We need the natural snow trails and woods skiable or it is a disaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastalWx Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Mt Washington has 15" or so on the ground with an inch of ice on top of it. All other things being equal...not sure I'd count that as a ton (and that was this morning). Yeah the top of a 6,000' rock pile is a good proxy. They have plenty. 18-24". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoarfrostHubb Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 My point exactly. My home Mountain is Pico. Pico makes snow on a few trails and the rest are natural. I pretty much ruined a new pair of skis on New Year's Day hitting rocks on open trails. With no water to make snow to speak of Pico needs Mother Nature. By last night we were back down to rocks and all natural trails were closing and that was before this rain. We are a breath away from the god wakeful 2011-2012 season right now with no clear sign of improvement. I don't want to spend this season on the white ribbon of death with all the herbs again. We need the natural snow trails and woods skiable or it is a disaster. Just curious, why can't Pico make snow? Are they restricted by the state into only drawing a certain amount of water? (and also curious as to why you used new skis on poor conditions?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugarloaf1989 Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 You do realize it's only January 6th, right? Yes I know what the date is, but ski areas only have so much budgeted for snowmaking. If this pattern stays the same going forward and the snowmaking budget is spent on resurfacing rather than building the glacier on Superstar, Killington might not go late into May this year. Most of the snowmaking at Killington is historically finished within the next 30 days anyway, aside from spot resurfacing and late season base building. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Yeah the top of a 6,000' rock pile is a good proxy. They have plenty. 18-24". If Dendrite and Center Harbor were going 20"+ for snow depths prior to the rain, I'm sure those spots like Loon, Waterville, etc are fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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