NNE Autumn 2013 Thread

[moneypitmike]

temps droppin fast, 36-30 since the sun fell behind the hills.  The sunset almost makes you forget about the cold slurp that fell this morning. The N Greens didn't lose much today. Heavy frost incoming.

 

 

Nice shot!

[powderfreak]

Forecast lows for tonight by BTV... looks a degree or two warmer than an earlier map they had, but still pretty darn chilly for October.

 

[J.Spin]

JSpin, how often are you hitting rocks and other obstacles? The tracks look nice but you must be compressing pretty far down, no?

 

 

 

It really depended on elevation, snow depth, wind effects, ski width, pitch of the slope, turn shape, underlying trail surface, etc. etc.  That shot of the tracks there (I've added it again above for reference) was up above 3,000’, and at those elevations, unless one was in a wind-scoured area, you could definitely make most turns on appropriate terrain (not overly steep) without much concern for touching down to the ground, depending to some degree on one’s weight and ski width.  Those tracks shown are also on the Perry Merrill trail, which has a moderate pitch – one wouldn’t necessarily be able to say the same thing about the skiing on steeper, black diamond-type slopes, where the turns create more pressure.  Another thing to note is the consistency of the snow – if you look closely at that picture you’ll see that the edges of the tracks are fairly well-defined, vertical walls.  That’s a sign of powder that is typically on the denser side of the spectrum, or may have settled over time or been compressed by wind.  That type of powder holds its form well and doesn’t collapse because it coalesces and is not overly fluffy.  You’ll also notice that the tracks aren’t actually all that deep, just a few inches, and that’s also a sign of higher density and incompressibility.  Indeed it seems that although the snow up there wasn’t really wet, it was comprised of small flakes, and they pack closer and denser.  Snow like that helps to keep you from touching down on the ground below.

 

Contrast those tracks in the image above to the one shown in the image below from December 23^rd last year.  That track is much deeper (probably 1 to 2 feet deep) and you can pick out other differences such as how there is snow sprayed along the edges of the track.  You can also see how the sides of the track are ill defined because the snow along the edges collapses inward.  My analyses from the house indicated that that snow was very light and fluffy when it fell, as low as 2-3% H2O in some of the smaller accumulations I measured.

 

 

The snow in the first picture is great, but the snow in the second picture is pretty much the stuff of dreams for powder skiers.  Anyway, the point of the two pictures was just to point out that we weren’t skiing that light and fluffy type of snow.  If we were, we would have been skiing on the ground since there’s no base yet.  Thanks to the Perry Merrill trail having plenty of grass vs. rocks, we were actually in very good shape down to 3,000’, and even down to 2,500’ on Saturday.  Below that we were definitely encountering some rocks, especially on Sunday, and we even decided to walk down below 2,000’ that day instead of skiing the last bit.  So indeed some rocks were there this weekend, warranting the use of rock skis, but up in those highest elevations where that picture was taken, it was pretty rock free thanks to the relatively dense snow.

[dendrite]

CON 19F

SLK 12F

[mreaves]

19F. First teens of the year.

[Lava Rock]

Cracked freezing. 27.5f.

[Lava Rock]

Jspin, great explanation thanks.

[borderwx]

Thanks Mike.  Still trying to do our nook justice.

 

16 and calm.  Just one more, snow covered sunrise in October.

 

[MaineJayhawk]

Not often that MWN isn't the cold spot in the area, but currently they are at 14F and BML is 13F.  16F in my 'hood.

 

 

[Lava Rock]

Not often that MWN isn't the cold spot in the area, but currently they are at 14F and BML is 13F.  16F in my 'hood.

Damn, I have to move to your area for better radiational cooling. Guess the warmer temps at our house will be like this all winter. The only time where we might benefit by being on the hill is during the elevation rain/snow mix events. Had a couple last year.

[dendrite]

17F at CON. Only 22F at mi casa.

[tamarack]

BML bottomed at 12, IZG at 15.  My coldest for 10/29 is 17, in 1999, and I probably tied or beat it this morning.  Ice on the washtub was about 0.3", and Orion stood boldly in the southwest sky.

[MainePhotog]

24.3°F for the low. The water in my bird bath froze. Guess it's time to get out the heater.

[kdxken]

Thanks Mike.  Still trying to do our nook justice.

 

16 and calm.  Just one more, snow covered sunrise in October.

 

Very nice!

[Lava Rock]

BML bottomed at 12, IZG at 15.  My coldest for 10/29 is 17, in 1999, and I probably tied or beat it this morning.  Ice on the washtub was about 0.3", and Orion stood boldly in the southwest sky.

Is that what I have been seeing a lot of lately? I thought it was jupiter

[dryslot]

19.8F this am, 1st time cracking into the teens

[eyewall]

Low to mid 20's in the CPV with widespread frost. I hope the NWS forecast for a dusting of snow tomorrow morning pans out. I haven't looked at anything yet to make my own judgement on that.

[powderfreak]

18F at MVL and 16F at MPV.

[weatherMA]

22.2F, no teens here but coldest night by far.

[Ginx snewx]

Vodka cold, record low at Montpelier, 16 broke record by 5 degrees

[tamarack]

Is that what I have been seeing a lot of lately? I thought it was jupiter

 

Orion is the defining constellation of the winter sky - four bright stars in a vertically oriented trapezoid, three in a horizontal row across the middle (Orion's belt) and three less-bright stars stretching down from the belt (his sword.)  In summer it's below the horizon during the dark hours.

[powderfreak]

Vodka cold, record low at Montpelier, 16 broke record by 5 degrees

 

Damn, that's impressive.

 

[Lava Rock]

Orion is the defining constellation of the winter sky - four bright stars in a vertically oriented trapezoid, three in a horizontal row across the middle (Orion's belt) and three less-bright stars stretching down from the belt (his sword.)  In summer it's below the horizon during the dark hours.

Thanks, I feel stupid and had forgotten that orion was a constellation and not one star. I must be seeing something else in the sw sky at night. Very bright and even visible before complete darkness.

[powderfreak]

I just saw that wind chills on Mansfield got down to around 0F last night.  Pretty darn crisp.

 

That mountain is just glowing in the sunshine today... looks mid-winter from town.  Giant white-caked wall looming overhead.  Really puts a kick in your step.  Invigorating just to see that.

 

Go Sox.  So stoked they are only one win away.

[weatherMA]

44/14

Cool. Dry.

[powderfreak]

Beautiful day.

 

[dryslot]

All snow pics are great pics

[Lava Rock]

I just saw that wind chills on Mansfield got down to around 0F last night.  Pretty darn crisp.

 

That mountain is just glowing in the sunshine today... looks mid-winter from town.  Giant white-caked wall looming overhead.  Really puts a kick in your step.  Invigorating just to see that.

 

Go Sox.  So stoked they are only one win away.

I can see MWN on my way to work. With the sun coming up and shining on the mountain, it too looked like mid-winter.

[weatherMA]

Beautiful day.

 

Classic November....or late October...pic in NNE. Nice pic

[xram]

Thanks, I feel stupid and had forgotten that orion was a constellation and not one star. I must be seeing something else in the sw sky at night. Very bright and even visible before complete darkness.

That is Venus brilliantly shining in the SW at dusk.