Skivt2 Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 We've turned the corner. Tomorrow marks the exact middle of the time between lift served ski seasons. Killington closed on May 18th. It's realistic to think they could open by October 18th. 2 1/2 months done. 2 1/2 to go. Time to start thinking about next season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewbeer Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 Some controversy going on about Magic's change of ownership. Anyone have the inside scoop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitman Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 Oh baby! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mob1 Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 Nice to see this after a sinfully boring summer weatherwise, bring on winter! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 6 feet of new snow this week at Bariloche, Argentina...but like 8" of rain at the base, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastalWx Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 That is a weird perspective, Maybe it's zoomed in and skews the image, but that isn't a big change in elevation on that pic judging by the height of the lift poles relative to the mtn in the background, yet look at the snow difference. It must be zoomed in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 That is a weird perspective, Maybe it's zoomed in and skews the image, but that isn't a big change in elevation on that pic judging by the height of the lift poles relative to the mtn in the background, yet look at the snow difference. It must be zoomed in. Its just a really tight snow-line I think... I mean I've seen on Mansfield time and time again where literally 100 vertical feet is all it takes. Usually you need about 500 vertical feet to go from like nothing to feet, but given a maritime climate that the Andes seem to have (like our Sierra in the US), I'm sure there are some ridiculously tight snow levels that separate nothing from massive dumps. Its like it can be pouring rain at Lake Tahoe at 6,500ft but snow 5 feet at 7,000ft+. In the above picture, my bet is we are missing about 500 vertical feet between the top of that bare hill and where we can really see the snow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastalWx Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Its just a really tight snow-line I think... I mean I've seen on Mansfield time and time again where literally 100 vertical feet is all it takes. Usually you need about 500 vertical feet to go from like nothing to feet, but given a maritime climate that the Andes seem to have (like our Sierra in the US), I'm sure there are some ridiculously tight snow levels that separate nothing from massive dumps. Its like it can be pouring rain at Lake Tahoe at 6,500ft but snow 5 feet at 7,000ft+. In the above picture, my bet is we are missing about 500 vertical feet between the top of that bare hill and where we can really see the snow. But look at that first hill in the background...it looks like there is little change in elevation and relatively "close" given that those poles don't look far away. Clearly that hill with trees on it is lower than the one just behind it in the background...that one also has no trees. Sometimes stuff like that appears when you zoom in. Eh no big deal....super impressed by the gradient regardless. I would love to see some other shots. They definitely have sharp snow gradients within hundreds of feet in those climates..I agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbutts Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 6 feet of new snow this week at Bariloche, Argentina...but like 8" of rain at the base, lol. Interesting that there are riders on the double chair in the foreground, but the modern looking lift in the background doesn't even have the chairs or cabins on the line. Maybe an icing situation there between the rain and snow causing lift issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbutts Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Some controversy going on about Magic's change of ownership. Anyone have the inside scoop? I'll give you the non-insider scoop. There's a long thread on Alpinezone about it. Seems there are some questions about the previous operator's (JLS) usage of and or accounting of funds to run the ski area. It appears there will be some reshuffling of management but business as usual on the hill for next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Speaking of tight snow levels, I remember this one from October a few years ago here in Stowe... I was thinking we could be able to accumulate in the yard, but when I woke up in the pre-dawn darkness to see no snow, I was disappointed. Then daylight broke, and boom there was the snow literally 50 feet higher up. Like a 5-story apartment building would've had snow on the roof and none at the base. This is only like a 100 vertical foot hill...difference between 750ft and 850ft up on the ridge, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Interesting that there are riders on the double chair in the foreground, but the modern looking lift in the background doesn't even have the chairs or cabins on the line. Maybe an icing situation there between the rain and snow causing lift issues. The only other photo I could find from the recent storm was this one...doesn't really help, but there's obviously a sharp gradient somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastalWx Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 I've seen that even around here PF. The Blue Hills esp. Literally 100' is all you need. On a day where the temp decreases rapidly with height...100' could be close to 1F difference.....such as a day with an elevation dependent storm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbutts Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 The only other photo I could find from the recent storm was this one...doesn't really help, but there's obviously a sharp gradient somewhere. Looks like an amazing view from up there! I think SA skiing is going on the bucket list, seems very exotic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 I've seen that even around here PF. The Blue Hills esp. Literally 100' is all you need. On a day where the temp decreases rapidly with height...100' could be close to 1F difference.....such as a day with an elevation dependent storm. Funny you mention that because I almost included that in my post...that I bet the Blue Hills see that type of gradient somewhat regularly. Especially early season when the snow level may be 500ft or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 They are still skiing in the Sierra...lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go Kart Mozart Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 They are still skiing in the Sierra...lol. That's L.A.'s water supply for the next two months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tamarack Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 That is a weird perspective, Maybe it's zoomed in and skews the image, but that isn't a big change in elevation on that pic judging by the height of the lift poles relative to the mtn in the background, yet look at the snow difference. It must be zoomed in. At first glance I assumed the camera was aimed only a bit upward, but a look at that building on the right part of the frame shows that the pic is looking up at a significant angle, thus the elevation differences are much greater than that first glance would indicate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Been snowing hard down in Chile lately... That's the top of one of the chairlift towers...you can see the end of the sheave train sticking out of the snow. Trying to dig it out: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professional Lurker Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Wow! Berkshire East is in the middle of some of season upgrades. They're putting together a mountain coaster that's supposedly going to be the biggest in North America. Also, they're getting rid of their main lift and replacing it with a quad. Fixed grip, but apparently much faster. Loading and unloading from a carpet due to the increased forward speed. Can't wait! Hopefully ticket prices don't increase too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginx snewx Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Wow! Berkshire East is in the middle of some of season upgrades. They're putting together a mountain coaster that's supposedly going to be the biggest in North America. Also, they're getting rid of their main lift and replacing it with a quad. Fixed grip, but apparently much faster. Loading and unloading from a carpet due to the increased forward speed. Can't wait! Hopefully ticket prices don't increase too much. nice but u g h on the carpet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nzucker Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Been snowing hard down in Chile lately... You can see on the GFS that the 0C isotherm is fairly far north, well north of Valdivia, Chile with several systems tracking through the Southern Ocean. Conversely, it's not that cold further south as Patagonia routinely sees -10C 850s and the Antarctic Peninsula -20C 850s in winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex Posted August 18, 2014 Share Posted August 18, 2014 Where can one find RELIABLE stats for ski resorts? I was trying to figure out the averages for Attitash, but I see 100" on some sites, 155" on others... pretty significant differences! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORH_wxman Posted August 18, 2014 Share Posted August 18, 2014 Where can one find RELIABLE stats for ski resorts? I was trying to figure out the averages for Attitash, but I see 100" on some sites, 155" on others... pretty significant differences! It depends on the elevation they are talking about. The base of Attitash is actually pretty low for NE ski standards...only 600 feet, right? So the base might be closer to 100" for average there. Some ski areas will list avg snowfall for mid-mountain, I would think that would be closer to 150". Other ski areas close by there like Bretton Woods and Wildcat have a much higher base elevation. IIRC, Bretton Woods is 1600 feet and Wildcat is like 2,000 feet right there at Pinkham Notch. And there's really no official "reliable" site that has average snowfall for all these places...but you can kind of gather what the averages are based on nearby coops and the topography. Most ski resorts these days don't embellish too much since its harder to get away with that, lol. In the current era of social media and such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex Posted August 18, 2014 Share Posted August 18, 2014 It depends on the elevation they are talking about. The base of Attitash is actually pretty low for NE ski standards...only 600 feet, right? So the base might be closer to 100" for average there. Some ski areas will list avg snowfall for mid-mountain, I would think that would be closer to 150". Other ski areas close by there like Bretton Woods and Wildcat have a much higher base elevation. IIRC, Bretton Woods is 1600 feet and Wildcat is like 2,000 feet right there at Pinkham Notch. And there's really no official "reliable" site that has average snowfall for all these places...but you can kind of gather what the averages are based on nearby coops and the topography. Most ski resorts these days don't embellish too much since its harder to get away with that, lol. In the current era of social media and such. That makes sense... Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted August 18, 2014 Share Posted August 18, 2014 That makes sense... Thanks! http://50.87.144.177/~bestsnow/eastnet.htmTony has a great snow summary on his site above. Bestsnow.net is a good site for North America ski resorts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eyewall Posted August 21, 2014 Share Posted August 21, 2014 This year I got a pass for Bolton since it was cheap and close. I am hoping we do alright. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TauntonBlizzard2013 Posted August 21, 2014 Share Posted August 21, 2014 Speaking of tight snow levels, I remember this one from October a few years ago here in Stowe... I was thinking we could be able to accumulate in the yard, but when I woke up in the pre-dawn darkness to see no snow, I was disappointed. Then daylight broke, and boom there was the snow literally 50 feet higher up. Like a 5-story apartment building would've had snow on the roof and none at the base. This is only like a 100 vertical foot hill...difference between 750ft and 850ft up on the ridge, lol. Untitled.jpg Awesome picture. Pretty cool too see how close it actually is and how every foot can matter lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted August 21, 2014 Share Posted August 21, 2014 This year I got a pass for Bolton since it was cheap and close. I am hoping we do alright. The mountains usually do alright, especially for the amount of b'tching I did last winter, lol. Since I've been at Stowe, I've seen upper mountain snowfall range from 211" (2011-2012), to 374" (06-07, and 07-08). We've had a little run of below normal winters with 4 of the last 5 years failing to hit the 300" mark. Only 2010-2011 has done it lately. I'm torn between thinking we are due for a solid 300+ winter, but I'm also objective to know that 2000-2010 was the snowiest decade at BTV since 1882, and that likely translated to the mountain as well so it may skew our opinions to think its a poor winter if it doesn't snow 340". Although I think JSpin ran the numbers once and found no real change in the COOP's numbers between decades, but it's sort of a crapshoot what they come in with as density and wind play a factor in collection of each event. I think we'll do good this year...no reason to doubt it at all. Lots of powder will be skied. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeepowderhunter Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 I like your last statement...New powder skis for me this year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.