ORH_wxman Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 How bad is tomorrow looking for the SL SR region? Hoping to get up to SL next week. Maybe a couple inches on front end (a little more for Sugarloaf?) and then rain. It doesn't look like a disaster though....they'll have plenty of snow left. They get CADed for a while too. The heaviest rain might even stay well SE of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 I would love to get another day in, believe me! Alas, I have yardwork, and spring cleaning galore. One kid has baseball, another has crew, its next to impossible. Could be a mental thing, but it also could be the fact that now that its a little warmer, there's more on our plate. Even if the courses here were open, I couldn't golf if I wanted to. ...but it is growing on my mind. This is the issue. There are other things for folks to do locally now in other parts of New England. Up here, the Stowe high school fields are still fully snow covered (those kids have a short school sport schedule, haha) and so a lot of local folks are still skiing because it looks like winter out there. Its amazing, from the top of the lift you look out over the valley and all the farmer fields are still white and in fact it looks more like mid-winter now than it did in January after those rainstorms when the fields were just muddy. The main thing is no one really drives any distance to ski now except the hardcore skiers and there just aren't enough of them to keep all the resorts open. Even in December when the skiing can suck and you are on riding 10 snowmaking trails that are essentially white ribbons of death, folks will travel up here and pay for that because they feel that's what they should do in December. Its dark out, the landscape is barren, and there's just nothing that makes you want to hang out around your house doing outdoor chores on a weekend that time of year. Its just a reality of the sport and industry...lift tickets at Stowe right now if you buy online ar $49 and the skiing is absolutely incredible. Everything you can get to off of any open lift right now is fair game and bare spots are still several feet deep, haha. However, people will pay twice that price in December and January to ski icy , cold, windy runs on limited terrain. A Monday in early January after a rainstorm and its now -15F will have three times as many skiers at the mountain as there are today, during the cheapest tickets of the season, with 50F, full sunshine, and all terrain nice and soft. Stuff like this today just isn't appealing anymore to the bulk of the skiing/riding population for whatever reason....they are over it. Even sunshine, warmth, and full coverage doesn't change it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginx snewx Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 Really quite ironic because for those who have moved on, those ready for spring and warmth... Few things make you warmer than turns in corn snow, sun reflecting on your face, reggae music, and the smell of hamburgers cooking on the outdoor grill. Contrast that with sitting in Fenway... you're likely to freeze your *ss off some of us have known this for decades my hope is it remains an obvious secret. There also is a very strong analog to what we who grew up on the southern coast know. The water is warm after Labor day most years and the beaches free and empty. Best 2 obvious secrets ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT Rain Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 some of us have known this for decades my hope is it remains an obvious secret. There also is a very strong analog to what we who grew up on the southern coast know. The water is warm after Labor day most years and the beaches free and empty. Best 2 obvious secrets ever. For whatever reason people's lives get busy this time of year. I have a million things to do and haven't really been able to find a day to head up north, unfortunately. During the week people with kids have spring sports, yard work to take care of, etc. etc. etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginx snewx Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 For whatever reason people's lives get busy this time of year. I have a million things to do and haven't really been able to find a day to head up north, unfortunately. During the week people with kids have spring sports, yard work to take care of, etc. etc. etc. of course same goes for post labor day but one mans misfortune is anothers fortune. If you hate overcrowding like I do you seek alternatives and make accommodations. Of course being kid free and not tied down helps. Great time of life right now,almost like a teenager, only have the funds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORH_wxman Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 some of us have known this for decades my hope is it remains an obvious secret. There also is a very strong analog to what we who grew up on the southern coast know. The water is warm after Labor day most years and the beaches free and empty. Best 2 obvious secrets ever. Just randomly looking at average snow depths for typical ski area locations...like Pinkham Notch is a good proxy for the N NH areas (and a place like SR over the border in ME) being nestled in the mountains at good elevation. Avg snow depth on 3/15 there is 32 inches. Avg snow depth there on 1/15 is 21 inches. On 12/15 it is a relatively paltry 11 inches. A place like Mansfield near powderfreak has similar behavior. Lower down in the 800-1000 foot villages, you tend to get a peak more in mid to late February and then it declines fairly quickly in March...but up at elevation on the mountains, it is really pretty much peak depths in early to mid March. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radarman Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 some of us have known this for decades my hope is it remains an obvious secret. There also is a very strong analog to what we who grew up on the southern coast know. The water is warm after Labor day most years and the beaches free and empty. Best 2 obvious secrets ever. It is a close analog, the one obvious difference being that kids go back to school and work schedules usually get a lot busier after labor day which partially explains the latter. But I do agree beach days in September are some of the best, especially with TCs passing offshore and the lovely, distinct feeling of late summer sun. To be honest I do understand the yardwork excuses... I was scrambling to burn brush piles on Saturday so I felt like I accomplished something and could spend all day Sunday on the hill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginx snewx Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 It is a close analog, the one obvious difference being that kids go back to school and work schedules usually get a lot busier after labor day which partially explains the latter. But I do agree beach days in September are some of the best, especially with TCs passing offshore and the lovely, distinct feeling of late summer sun. To be honest I do understand the yardwork excuses... I was scrambling to burn brush piles on Saturday so I felt like I accomplished something and could spend all day Sunday on the hill. setting priorities is always tough but finding solutions is easy. Example Lol,rather than put off yard work so I could ski in April I have been known to bribe a kid,grandkid,neighborhood kid or 2. I totally get why people can not go but like it alot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j24vt Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 Every full price day ticket sold in November/early December should come with a voucher for an April ticket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoarfrostHubb Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 Every full price day ticket sold in November/early December should come with a voucher for an April ticket.Tru dat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 Just randomly looking at average snow depths for typical ski area locations...like Pinkham Notch is a good proxy for the N NH areas (and a place like SR over the border in ME) being nestled in the mountains at good elevation. Avg snow depth on 3/15 there is 32 inches. Avg snow depth there on 1/15 is 21 inches. On 12/15 it is a relatively paltry 11 inches. A place like Mansfield near powderfreak has similar behavior. Lower down in the 800-1000 foot villages, you tend to get a peak more in mid to late February and then it declines fairly quickly in March...but up at elevation on the mountains, it is really pretty much peak depths in early to mid March. I bet our snow depth on average would peak in town during the first week of March...up at the Co-Op on top of the mountain, the snow depth average peak is March 21st, with a second peak on April 7th. That April second peak is fascinating to me that in 60 years of snowpack data the mean actually goes back up in early April. Makes sense though, with the higher sun angle and warming temps causing a melt back, but inevitably the high elevations will see additional snowfall(s) in April. This year is a special case though with snowpack and the overall ridiculous amount of snow on the mountain. Snow has been melting the past week, but its nothing really noticeable to the naked eye on the slopes. With the paltry snowfall and rain events in January and general lackluster "feel" that we were getting from Mother Nature, the ski area made a freakin' ton of snow. It pretty much got to the point of "well, we have to assume it just isn't going to happen this year for natural snowfall, so we need to make sure we can get to April 20th"...so a ton of snow was made (more gallons of water made into snow than ever before I think), and then what happens? We do average snowfall in February, and then have the coldest March on record (Mansfield Co-op coldest March since they started keeping records around 1954) plus the snowiest March since 2007. Now the mountain is sitting on a ridiculous amount of snow, because there was zero melting in March at all, and a huge net gain in natural snow. This year seems like there may actually be a chance of some north facing snowmaking run like the upper Nosedive to provide early June turns or something ridiculous like that. It takes a while to melt 10 feet of very high water content man-made snow on an aspect that never truly sees direct sunlight. The combo of snowy March plus coldest on record, has led to it taking a while to really look like spring around here. This was the view today from the mountain, with the valley still white. This view looked more brown in mid-January this year than it does today, April 7th. Up on the hill I'll have to take some pics of the number of trail signs that are almost even with the skiing surface, and in the summer all these signs are like 8-12 feet off the ground. This is at a mid-elevation around 2,300ft and although its a combo of snowmaking and natural snow, there's still a lot of melting to go. The valve house at 3,300ft has the snow level with the roof, where as down here its about 2 feet below the roof-line. Needless to say, we will be able to skin/hike the mountain for a very long time once it closes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NECT Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 Maybe a couple inches on front end (a little more for Sugarloaf?) and then rain. It doesn't look like a disaster though....they'll have plenty of snow left. They get CADed for a while too. The heaviest rain might even stay well SE of them. Thanks. As for Spring skiing, it can be the best skiing of the year, but it's hard to plan a trip. A cloudy day with off an on flurries is finme in the winter, but a cloudy day with off and on showers is not a great day of skiing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 For whatever reason people's lives get busy this time of year. I have a million things to do and haven't really been able to find a day to head up north, unfortunately. During the week people with kids have spring sports, yard work to take care of, etc. etc. etc. I think its a mental thing this time of year...although people don't acknowledge it or like to draw attention to it, the winter-time blues are a real thing. Kids still have basketball or indoor track, or indoor soccer leagues or whatever in the winter, and people still have things to do...but people are generally a bit lazier in the winter. Its time to travel or just sit inside and do nothing. Once spring comes, the increasing sun angle, much longer daylight, warmer temperatures, etc motivates people to be busy. The yardwork deal is one thing, and spring sports are true, but I think its just that people finally feel alive and motivated again...they take on more projects than they do in the winter. Its sort of like turning an emotional corner in human productivity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoarfrostHubb Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 I blame my kids. Soccer, scouts, baseball. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skivt2 Posted April 7, 2014 Author Share Posted April 7, 2014 This drives me crazy! If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me in late March if ski season was almost over or if there is still snow up there I would be rich. We skied lift served until May 26th last year. I expect at least mid may this year. Killington will become a bar (umbrella) with a ski area instead of the other way around but they will stay open. It's why most people I know chose Killington as their home mountain. This is a picture of Outer limits Sunday. Killington hosted its awesome party the Bear mt mogul challenge this past weekend and it is still almost 100% open next weekend and the weekend after that. Lift hours are now extended to 5 pm to take advantage of the sun softened bumps for longer. It's odd to me but I hear people say all the time that they have to get out early before the snow gets mushy. The key is to wait until it's really really good and soft because the transition from frozen to soft can be a little odd some days. People need to do themselves a favor. Get a pair of short fat rockered skis and learn to surf the slush and ski bumps. It's the best time of the year for skiing now and it's just getting started. So to all those people who ask...... YES there is still snow up there and h*ll YES we are still skiing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginx snewx Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 Thanks. As for Spring skiing, it can be the best skiing of the year, but it's hard to plan a trip. A cloudy day with off an on flurries is finme in the winter, but a cloudy day with off and on showers is not a great day of skiing. hmm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkO Posted April 8, 2014 Share Posted April 8, 2014 I blame my kids. Soccer, scouts, baseball. For us dads at least. I was hoping to head north to ski this weekend but Jake's first game is Saturday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBRI Posted April 8, 2014 Share Posted April 8, 2014 I bet our snow depth on average would peak in town during the first week of March...up at the Co-Op on top of the mountain, the snow depth average peak is March 21st, with a second peak on April 7th. That April second peak is fascinating to me that in 60 years of snowpack data the mean actually goes back up in early April. Makes sense though, with the higher sun angle and warming temps causing a melt back, but inevitably the high elevations will see additional snowfall(s) in April. This year is a special case though with snowpack and the overall ridiculous amount of snow on the mountain. Snow has been melting the past week, but its nothing really noticeable to the naked eye on the slopes. With the paltry snowfall and rain events in January and general lackluster "feel" that we were getting from Mother Nature, the ski area made a freakin' ton of snow. It pretty much got to the point of "well, we have to assume it just isn't going to happen this year for natural snowfall, so we need to make sure we can get to April 20th"...so a ton of snow was made (more gallons of water made into snow than ever before I think), and then what happens? We do average snowfall in February, and then have the coldest March on record (Mansfield Co-op coldest March since they started keeping records around 1954) plus the snowiest March since 2007. Now the mountain is sitting on a ridiculous amount of snow, because there was zero melting in March at all, and a huge net gain in natural snow. This year seems like there may actually be a chance of some north facing snowmaking run like the upper Nosedive to provide early June turns or something ridiculous like that. It takes a while to melt 10 feet of very high water content man-made snow on an aspect that never truly sees direct sunlight. The combo of snowy March plus coldest on record, has led to it taking a while to really look like spring around here. This was the view today from the mountain, with the valley still white. This view looked more brown in mid-January this year than it does today, April 7th. Up on the hill I'll have to take some pics of the number of trail signs that are almost even with the skiing surface, and in the summer all these signs are like 8-12 feet off the ground. This is at a mid-elevation around 2,300ft and although its a combo of snowmaking and natural snow, there's still a lot of melting to go. The valve house at 3,300ft has the snow level with the roof, where as down here its about 2 feet below the roof-line. Needless to say, we will be able to skin/hike the mountain for a very long time once it closes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted April 8, 2014 Share Posted April 8, 2014 MBRI... that's a different valve house. I just went up and took a cell phone picture of that snowmaking valve house a few minutes ago as a comparison... similar foggy/misty type of day up there, too, haha. There's some serious snow to melt this spring on the mountain. You can only see the very top of the building right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginx snewx Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 While most of us are in spring mode Tim Kelly reporting from Stowe 2pm treasure today. huge surprise how nice today's 2-4 new skied Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 While most of us are in spring mode Tim Kelly reporting from Stowe 2pm treasure today. huge surprise how nice today's 2-4 new skied lol I was just going to post some of his pics...he's sent me like 10 and several videos, sounds like a much better than expected day. We only reported 1" at the summit but most are saying 2-3" in the woods...hard to tell on the trails with wind filling in the moguls and rapidly decreasing with elevation . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 Another from Timmy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radarman Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 I would think tomorrow will be a real winner. Going to try to head up... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 I would think tomorrow will be a real winner. Going to try to head up... Yeah...I was actually wondering if the new snow may have been a bad thing, haha. That's going to ski real sticky tomorrow without a proper spring wax. It'd almost be better if it was just frozen granular that softens quickly to corn. It's only the high elevations that have the new snow though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoarfrostHubb Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 Hoping to ski Wachusett Friday evening/Sunday day, which, I think....will be the latest they have ever been officially open They are still stating that they might be open the next weekend, at least on Friday. The road to the summit is all clear except for the trails, and they got special permission from the DCR to be open so late Very cool of them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 A little sticky today from yesterday's new snow warming up rapidly, but still fun. T-shirt weather almost...have seen some folks in shorts out here. Working on the goggle tan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radarman Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 Killington was pretty great after the clouds moved out in the morning. True spring day, first of the year for me. Got some badly needed color heheh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 Today turned out epic this afternoon...all the natural snow steeps were just in prime form. Amazing snow cover for this time of year...mid-winter snowpack and you can ski the trees right to the base area. Didn't want to ski with the backpack so had to settle for cell phone pics today. The coverage is just awesome good right now...usually the rock reefs are starting to show through on the natural snow trails, but its just buried out there. Can't wait to start skinning after the ski area closes. I love those peaceful walks up the mountain with the birds chirping and deep, deep snowpack. Just you and the mountain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 Always sweet to be able to ski over 2,000 vertical feet of trees straight to the base on April 10th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginx snewx Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 Friends skied today blasting me with sun tan pics and tall beers with wish you were here tags,bastards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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