The 2013-2014 Ski Season Thread

[HoarfrostHubb]

Wait what? Are they now including some of those trails between Conifer and 10th etc?

[subdude]

I wait all year for March spring skiing, looks likely to be April this year

Ya looks like I may be extending into April as well. Used to hit Sugarloaf every year in April. May do it again if they get hit with a late season dumping. 

[HoarfrostHubb]

Reggae week at the Loaf FTW

[subdude]

Wait what? Are they now including some of those trails between Conifer and 10th etc?

ya they added middle Mass Pike, Middle Balance Rock and what used to be Salamander cutoff is now Oxbow Chute. They just came out with the new maps last week haven' t updated the web page yet.  lol

[subdude]

Reggae week at the Loaf FTW

Good Times. 

[ORH_wxman]

They should reopen Mt. Watatic Ski Area in Ashby....give WaWa some competition. Would be a bit smaller, but still 600 foot vertical drop is respectable for areas around here. I'd def go a few times a year.

 

But it sounds like that place will never reopen. I think the locals opposed it years ago when discussion about it came up.

[HoarfrostHubb]

ya they added middle Mass Pike, Middle Balance Rock and what used to be Salamander cutoff is now Oxbow Chute. They just came out with the new maps last week haven' t updated the web page yet. lol

I hate that. There are really only like 17? trails and they count as 27 for bragging rights

They need to add a bathroom in the lodge, a few more lift attendants, fix some of the lights.

The employees I talk to have been awesome 99% of the time. Never an issue

[MarkO]

Wachusett needs some old school narrow trails, or maybe some tree skiing. That would bring me to that mountain.

 

So colder than usual temps next 10+ days. Looks like northern NE should fare well. They always do well with late season elevated storms, but the snow is often heavy. But nothing like spring skiing in the 70's on hero snow. Looking forward to it!

 

Do you guys think it will be a later than average closing date?

[powderfreak]

Yep, I'd be surprised if Newry ME gets away without a solid hit (10"+) between now and 3/20. The pattern is looking very nice. As long as we avoid those cutters (and I think we will), there's mostly just upside to this pattern in NNE. Its either cold/snowy...or just pretty cold to maintain bases. I don't see much shot at warmups or cutters in this pattern outside of the occasional March 40F sunny day with -4C 850 temps which of course doesn't do much damage at all to bases.

 

Yeah I don't see how we get out of this without at least one more solid warning event... although its been a lower than average snowfall season so far, February came in exactly at average (which is still a lot of snow at 68"), and the natural snow depths are just slightly below normal (though still a good 5 feet on the upper mountain). 

 

Definitely doesn't look like spring, that's for sure.

 

 

I love the snow formations that start to form this time of year, with like 3 foot mushroom caps.

 

 

Even down at the base areas at 1,500ft we are now sitting around 30" of depth, finally making the backcountry fun and skiable.

 

 

 

 

 

As long as we get no thaws and can throw in another warning event plus more frequent little systems like yesterday's 3-6 incher, we'll be in good shape heading into the spring. 

[ORH_wxman]

Wachusett needs some old school narrow trails, or maybe some tree skiing. That would bring me to that mountain.

 

So colder than usual temps next 10+ days. Looks like northern NE should fare well. They always do well with late season elevated storms, but the snow is often heavy. But nothing like spring skiing in the 70's on hero snow. Looking forward to it!

 

Do you guys think it will be a later than average closing date?

 

 

Yes...the typical late season mountains that are not afraid (and have the financial latitude) to ski well into April should have very good conditions this year I'm guessing.

 

There's no telling exactly how the pattern will shake out in early April, but March looks like its is going to add, rather than subtract to bases. So I think at least going into April will have very good spring skiing up north.

[powderfreak]

Yes...the typical late season mountains that are not afraid (and have the financial latitude) to ski well into April should have very good conditions this year I'm guessing.

 

There's no telling exactly how the pattern will shake out in early April, but March looks like its is going to add, rather than subtract to bases. So I think at least going into April will have very good spring skiing up north.

 

Agreed.  The one thing is that it can turn very quickly in April, so you never really know.  Something like on March 30th you're thinking winter will never end, but by April 12th you are running out of snow from 5 straight days of temps above freezing.  Its pretty much at a week by week deal by April, as all it really takes to do some serious melt is like a string of days with sunshine and 850mb temps of +10, followed by a heavy rain FROPA once the snow has been ripened...which is not unheard of in April.

[dendrite]

At Loon...Ice castles FTW.

[ORH_wxman]

Agreed.  The one thing is that it can turn very quickly in April, so you never really know.  Something like on March 30th you're thinking winter will never end, but by April 12th you are running out of snow from 5 straight days of temps above freezing.  Its pretty much at a week by week deal by April, as all it really takes to do some serious melt is like a string of days with sunshine and 850mb temps of +10, followed by a heavy rain FROPA once the snow has been ripened...which is not unheard of in April.

 

 

Yeah that is why I left over any further than "going into April", lol. You get a cutter or two where its 56F at the summits and a few torch sunny days, and things go downhill in a hurry. But through March I'm guessing is going to be really good.

 

If we can have a wintry pattern to open April (like '03, '07, '13)...then we could have pretty awesome skiing for quite sometime. Esp 2007...that was beyond epic.

 

 

 

This def won't be one of those years where it is struggling to keep terrain open on St. Patty's day or something. I remember skiing up north at Loon and Waterville Valley on St. Patty's Day 1995...and it honestly felt like mid-April instead. The natural snow was almost melted out....pretty awful for mid-March.

[Clinch Leatherwood]

yep...the moguls churned up from the President week storms are solid death bumps now...need a good 12 incher to fill those in or some spring temps to soften them up, otherwise you need to stay away from most natural trails that haven't been groomed. 

 

Yeah I took a class A yard sale on one of the natural trails about a week ago...still shaking off the cobwebs.  The change from Thursday to Saturday was incredible after the rain.  They need some snow and haven't gotten the fluff jobs like Vermont since.

 

Oh there is plenty of time for that one big one, hopefully 3 17

 

There is...just hope it happens soon would like to get back up there.

[Ginx snewx]

Nice pics,these March bases are direct result of the excellent sustained cold pattern. A couple of decent storms and bases at the big mts will have no problems skiing well into April

[powderfreak]

Yeah that is why I left over any further than "going into April", lol. You get a cutter or two where its 56F at the summits and a few torch sunny days, and things go downhill in a hurry. But through March I'm guessing is going to be really good.

 

If we can have a wintry pattern to open April (like '03, '07, '13)...then we could have pretty awesome skiing for quite sometime. Esp 2007...that was beyond epic.

 

 

 

This def won't be one of those years where it is struggling to keep terrain open on St. Patty's day or something. I remember skiing up north at Loon and Waterville Valley on St. Patty's Day 1995...and it honestly felt like mid-April instead. The natural snow was almost melted out....pretty awful for mid-March.

 

This is the data from March 2012 (the 9th through the 25th) for the 1,600ft station at the base of Stowe... 5 straight days of highs in the mid to upper 70s, with lows between 45-55F.  I've never seen snow melt as fast as it did towards the end of that warm spell.  It took a couple days to really ripen, but when it did, it was like 18" per day.  Like 5 feet just disappeared in a matter of a few days.

 

[powderfreak]

At Loon...Ice castles FTW.

image.jpg

 

Holy crap!  How'd they do that?  Looks like a snowmaking pipe burst gone wrong, lol.

 

Here's a shot of a friend climbing one of the 30+ foot snow banks around the resort today... I wish we could see how long they last into the spring, but alas, once the ski area closes, a bucket-loader will spread the snow back around the parking lots in an effort to get them to melt faster.

 

[powderfreak]

Yeah I took a class A yard sale on one of the natural trails about a week ago...still shaking off the cobwebs.  The change from Thursday to Saturday was incredible after the rain.  They need some snow and haven't gotten the fluff jobs like Vermont since.

 

 

The ungroomed stuff up here hasn't been too bad...you're right though as we've quietly racked up about 18" in the past 10 days (a much more normal VT snow pattern of nickle and dime that other mountain areas seem to miss out on), and although its largely been fluff, it still helps.  The bump runs will always have their slick spots with the amount of rain we saw this winter (that stuff just never goes away), but for the most part the ungroomed is skiing fine right now.

 

This was today, still sort of powdery.

 

[dendrite]

Everyone should check these out at night. Awesome...especially at 5F.

[ono]

Holy crap!  How'd they do that?  Looks like a snowmaking pipe burst gone wrong, lol.

 

Here's a shot of a friend climbing one of the 30+ foot snow banks around the resort today... I wish we could see how long they last into the spring, but alas, once the ski area closes, a bucket-loader will spread the snow back around the parking lots in an effort to get them to melt faster.

 

 

curious why bother expediting melt?  Is it an aesthetic thing for Stowe?  

[powderfreak]

curious why bother expediting melt? Is it an aesthetic thing for Stowe?

Haha no, it's actually about collecting all the sand tied up in the snowbanks. The parking lots get sanded all winter (no salt up here) and that sand gets plowed with the snow. The snowbanks get pushed out into the parking lot to get melted and then the sand is brushed into big piles where it can be scraped and picked up by the loader, then trucked out.

It's essentially to prevent as much sand as possible from entering the river. There are a lot of practices in place to keep sand, silt, and organic matter from running off into the West Branch.

[HoarfrostHubb]

Don't let Blizz see the above post

[#NoPoles]

pony-o, larvay, ginxy, tb, prolurker, myself, and a non-weather friend meeting at Berk East for some fun tomorrow

[HoarfrostHubb]

Damn I wish I could go...

[HIPPYVALLEY]

I'll try for the B'East gtg tomorrow but all depends on my neighbor being able to watch the boy for a few hours.

[N. OF PIKE]

Weenie flakes last cpl hrs @ bolton valley. Happy w conditions....the fluff sun am im sure didnt hurt.

Now home to the cp ,

Pfreak took a drive on some upper mtn condo roads at stowe...prolly around 2k or so...man those houses up there on a few higher roads as well. Weenie heaven.

[powderfreak]

Weenie flakes last cpl hrs @ bolton valley. Happy w conditions....the fluff sun am im sure didnt hurt.

Now home to the cp ,

Pfreak took a drive on some upper mtn condo roads at stowe...prolly around 2k or so...man those houses up there on a few higher roads as well. Weenie heaven.

You mean like up Edson Hill road to Sanborn Rd and Upper Sanborn or Robinson Springs? That area is bar none probably one of the weeniest spots around but also the most expensive. They are mostly in the 1,600-2,300ft range and right on the actual east slope of the Spine. They get snowfall comparable to the ski area at that elevation.

The Kellogg family mansion that's up there is nuts. I guess if you build that brand like they have for Kellogg cereals, money isn't really a problem.

[eyewall]

I had an absolute blast at Smuggs today. I waved to powder over at Stowe from the Madonna Summit . Anyway conditions were good, especially on Mondonna Mountains where as the Sterling peak suffered a bit with more trails in the open sun. They have some great blue cruisers and some black diamonds that are a lot of fun but not super crazy (although they have that too if you want it ). I definitely put smuggs at the top of where I skiied so far. I haven't been able to ski Stowe yet though.

[Ginx snewx]

Fantastic day of weather nuts getting together. Berkshire East fast and furious. Mid winter cold and conditions. Flying around alone, there were 7 cars when we pulled up. 20 as we left including our 5.

[Professional Lurker]

Good day! Hard n fast.