The 2014-2015 Ski Season Thread

[Whineminster]

I'll probably hike up and ski down this weekend, maybe have a beer at the top to celebrate the end of the season. Skip doing Kmart....head to tucks!

[powderfreak]

Speaking of skiing...the rough winter they had out west is still blowing my mind.

 

Alta, Utah is on track to break their futility record of 314" between November 1st and April 30th...they are currently at 288" as of April 15th, so it'll be close.  They just got a 20" storm in the last 24 hours, so its up to 288"...they can still make it easily in 2 week if they get a good storm cycle.  But right now, they are still in futility territory since the 1940s.

 

This map is from 2 weeks ago on April 1st, but the percentage of normal SWE is insane... like 2% in the Sierra, and 15-40% in the Wasatch of Utah.

 

The Colorado Rockies are better in the 60-90% range, and the Tetons of Wyoming where Jackson Hole is one of the highest in the west with 83%.

 

[powderfreak]

Jay Peak is either #1 or #2 in the United States for snowfall this season... though I think Alyeska in Alaska is beating them.  Granted that is with a lot of speculation that they are actually measuring snow, which a lot of people question.  Rumor mill says its often an eyeball guess, as I've never seen any sort of photos of a stake or official measuring set-ups.

 

Edit... here's the new article on it titled, "Vermont Leads Nation in Snowfall" haha. 

 

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/local/vermont/2015/04/13/vermont-leads-nation-snow/25722359/

 

 

I didn't realize Mount Snow received its most snow since 2000-2001 with 193"...that seems very interesting seeing as that didn't seem to translate to the lower elevations anywhere near there. 

 

But Jay Peak does mention, like we've been saying on the forum, that in terms of snowfall is an average winter in the northern half of VT. 

[ORH_wxman]

You know you are a good snow spot when your futility record is 314".

[powderfreak]

You know you are a good snow spot when your futility record is 314".

 

Haha yeah that's pretty hard to comprehend. 

 

They were also spoiled quite a bit since 2000, just like we have been in the east.  They had like a 5-year run of like 600-800" seasons...and generally have been in a surplus since 2000.  I think they even exceeded 800" one year recently...maybe 2010-2011?

 

Its odd how polar opposite this season was between east and west.  I've actually noticed between comparing snowfall amounts that when they have a big year out there, we often likewise do well in VT.  Years like 2007-2008 and 2010-2011 were both above average in both regions...and I gotta think that correlation has to do with amount of storminess and moisture in the general pattern.  If they are getting hammered with a train of storms all winter, that energy has to then come through somewhere in the east as well. 

 

Granted there are years like this year when the two east/west areas are vastly different, but it surprised me to see how many of their big snow years were also big snow years here...often they are La Ninas too for whatever reason.  But like the past few years have been a little more meager relatively speaking here in northern VT, the same has been true out west the past few years.  If I have time I may run a comparison between Alta and Stowe and see if there's a real correlation between snowfall at the two spots. 

[ORH_wxman]

Haha yeah that's pretty hard to comprehend.

They were also spoiled quite a bit since 2000, just like we have been in the east. They had like a 5-year run of like 600-800" seasons...and generally have been in a surplus since 2000. I think they even exceeded 800" one year recently...maybe 2010-2011?

Its odd how polar opposite this season was between east and west. I've actually noticed between comparing snowfall amounts that when they have a big year out there, we often likewise do well in VT. Years like 2007-2008 and 2010-2011 were both above average in both regions...and I gotta think that correlation has to do with amount of storminess and moisture in the general pattern. If they are getting hammered with a train of storms all winter, that energy has to then come through somewhere in the east as well.

Granted there are years like this year when the two east/west areas are vastly different, but it surprised me to see how many of their big snow years were also big snow years here...often they are La Ninas too for whatever reason. But like the past few years have been a little more meager relatively speaking here in northern VT, the same has been true out west the past few years. If I have time I may run a comparison between Alta and Stowe and see if there's a real correlation between snowfall at the two spots.

La Niña makes sense for good snow in the intermountain west since -PDO there correlates well with troughiness.

Often it will be a gradient up in our region.

[Angus]

I skied at Alta and the Park City side resorts during winters of '10, '11 and '12 - '10 & '11 were great snow years while '12 was so-so...without a minimum of 70-90" settled base, Alta especially looks completely different - boulders and rocks sticking up everywhere, unfilled chutes very sketchy. I sometimes look at pictures posted on Alta's website and can't even recognize some of the bowls with the low snow depths.

[Sugarloaf1989]

Had a nice day skiing with my son at Saddleback. The weather stayed fair until 2pm when light rain showers moved in. Prior to that it was partly to mostly sunny skies and warm, with temps in the 50-60F range.

 

Overall the mountain has good cover, but some of the natural trails have numerous bare spots. Tomorrow is the last day of the season.

[NECT]

Had a nice day skiing with my son at Saddleback. The weather stayed fair until 2pm when light rain showers moved in. Prior to that it was partly to mostly sunny skies and warm, with temps in the 50-60F range.

 

Overall the mountain has good cover, but some of the natural trails have numerous bare spots. Tomorrow is the last day of the season.

Took my kids up to the loaf Wed. & Thu. Very firm in the a.m, i.e. you could only ski the stuff they groomed until the rest softened up. Blue skies and comfortably warm both days.

[radarman]

Tomorrow is the curtain call at MRG. Heading up early and sort of hoping for a firm start. I have a sick hard bump fetish. Builds character.

[Sugarloaf1989]

Area skied: Saddleback, Maine

Date skied: April 18th from 9:30am - 2:00pm

Weather: sunshine and clouds, rain showers after 2pm.

Surface conditions: frozen granular, Idaho mashed potatoes, corn snow.

I skied Saddleback today with my son and I am glad that we choose to ski today as the weather was much nicer than we expected based on the forecast.

We started skiing at 9:30am, when Saddleback opened which was a bit too early for soft snow due to sub-freezing temps on Friday night. Green Weaver was chatteroy as was Supervisor. America skied a lot better with soft groomed corn snow.

America:



Tri-Color was next with soft groomed snow, we skied this to Lower Hudson Highway which had un-groomed rotten snow and bare areas depending on exposure.

We skied off the Cupsuptic T-bar and went down Silver Doctor and Blue Devil, both with fabulous soft corn snow. We went back to the summit via Green Weaver and skied Tight Line twice with great soft snow.

Cupsuptic T-bar:



Silver Doctor:



Lower Tight Line was survival skiing with numerous bare spots and narrow lines to ski. We skied Green Hornet and Dusty Miller and ended the day at that point with dark skies and rain showers moving in.

Tight Line:



Lower Tight Line with poor trail selection by my son:



 

[ORH_wxman]

Lift tickets under $30 next weekend at Jay Peak....am seriously considering going up...especially if they can get pounded a bit by some upslope...there's legit potential in there with the pattern setting up.

[CoastalWx]

Jay Cloud may be good this week. Man that could be nice. 

[Dan76]

Area skied: Saddleback, Maine

Date skied: April 18th from 9:30am - 2:00pm

Weather: sunshine and clouds, rain showers after 2pm.

Surface conditions: frozen granular, Idaho mashed potatoes, corn snow.

I skied Saddleback today with my son and I am glad that we choose to ski today as the weather was much nicer than we expected based on the forecast.

We started skiing at 9:30am, when Saddleback opened which was a bit too early for soft snow due to sub-freezing temps on Friday night. Green Weaver was chatteroy as was Supervisor. America skied a lot better with soft groomed corn snow.

America:

Tri-Color was next with soft groomed snow, we skied this to Lower Hudson Highway which had un-groomed rotten snow and bare areas depending on exposure.

We skied off the Cupsuptic T-bar and went down Silver Doctor and Blue Devil, both with fabulous soft corn snow. We went back to the summit via Green Weaver and skied Tight Line twice with great soft snow.

Cupsuptic T-bar:

Silver Doctor:

Lower Tight Line was survival skiing with numerous bare spots and narrow lines to ski. We skied Green Hornet and Dusty Miller and ended the day at that point with dark skies and rain showers moving in.

Tight Line:

Lower Tight Line with poor trail selection by my son:

 

Thats the next place on the bucket list....out of the way and not crowded.

[radarman]

Closed out MRG the right way, with sun and bumps. May not get exercise like that again for several months. Awesome day, awesome year.

[MarkO]

I skied Mt. Washington in July once, but interesting to hear folks have skied it year round. More interesting that glaciated ice existed in the Mt. Washington region long after the retreat of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. 

 

source: https://www.mountwashington.org/experience-the-weather/observer-comments.aspx

 

15:41 MON APR 20, 2015

Gazing Into the Rockpile's Icy Past

It is late April at the end of a long cold winter and the ravines on Mount Washington are just about full to the brim with snow. More snow may be on the way this week and it’s almost hard to imagine that it will all melt before the snow flies again in the fall. That will probably seem foolish come July, but there have been times in local memories when small pockets of snow endured the summer months tucked away in hidden corners of the mountain, and a few dedicated skiers claimed streaks of 20-30 consecutive months of turns. The lore of perennial snow in the Whites is impressive, but it wasn’t long ago that winter ruled and the mountains of northern New England were saddled with the glaciers that carved the many cirques of the Presidential Range. By some estimates mean summer temperatures would have needed to be 5-9 degrees C below modern-day value to support glaciers in the White Mountains (assuming equal amounts of winter precipitation).

Drawn in by the spectacular cirques of Tuckerman and Huntington Ravines, geologists have been contemplating the glacial history of the range for almost 200 years, although they weren’t always aware of the glacial origins of the ravines. A popular idea of the early 19th century was the “drift theory”, which attributed glacially-derived sediments and striae (grooves on rocks) to a marine flood throwing icebergs against the mountainsides. The conclusion may have been a bit off-point, but the observations and measurements on which it was founded were the initial steps in a lengthy collaboration that has, in today’s understanding, identified no less than 17 glacial cirques on the Presidentials. Some, like the Upper Great Gulf, are classic examples of alpine cirques, with steep headwalls and broad flat floors. Others, like the Ammonoosuc Ravine, are a little less convincing, perhaps due to fluvial erosion that has occurred since the glaciers retreated. All together these cirques have an average height of 452 meters and a total collective volume of 4.21 billion cubic meters!

 

Aside from identifying the many cirques, there have been a few large-scale questions about the glaciation of the White Mountains, and other ranges in northern New England, that have puzzled those who study it. The morphometry, or shape, of the most pronounced cirques, with defined lips at the upper edge and a high headwall-floor slope ratio, is suggestive that independent alpine glaciers carved the cirques, and that they were not formed by a continental ice sheet or tongues of ice extending down from an icecap centered on Mount Washington and the rest of the range. Continental glaciation has, however, been an active part of forming the landscapes of New England, and the question arose of whether the cirque glaciers outlasted the Laurentide Ice Sheet, which left the moraine of Long Island as it began its recession 15,000 years ago.

Dating the recession of cirque glaciers in the Whites is a difficult proposition due to the limited number of tarns (small lakes that sit at the base of a cirque in the depression formed by the weight of the ice). While the two tarns of the Presidential Range (Spaulding Pond and Hermit Lake) have not been cored for organic material to date, minimum radiocarbon ages for retreat have been determined from cores of Lost Pond in Pinkham Notch (12,870 +/- 370 years) and the lower of the Lakes of the Clouds (11,530 +/- 420 years). These dates are the ages of the first organic material that collected in the bottom of the ponds, and indicate that deglaciation occurred at least that long ago.  The question of whether cirque glaciers survived beyond the recession of continental ice is still a debated topic, due in part to complex glacial features (debated provenance of till in cirque floors, presence or absence of terminal moraines on cirque floors) and the lack of high resolution dates for the local recession of the ice sheet. It is still fascinating, however, to look out our windows and imagine the glaciers draped on the sides of the surrounding ridges (and how much fun they be to ski!).

[Skivt2]

Great day at Killington today. Full on winter conditions with powder snow and hard bumps. Even skied some woods. June seems very very likely. If you know a pass holder and want to go, ask them if they have any 1/2 price vouchers left. Every pass holder got 5.

[powderfreak]

Great day at Killington today. Full on winter conditions with powder snow and hard bumps. Even skied some woods. June seems very very likely. If you know a pass holder and want to go, ask them if they have any 1/2 price vouchers left. Every pass holder got 5.

Yeah winter is definitely still holding strong in the higher elevations.

Some friends skiing pow at Stowe today...still like 4-5 feet in the upper mountain glades.

[HoarfrostHubb]

Okemo keeps cranking along. New snow at Sugarloaf

[ORH_wxman]

Going up to Jay Peak tomorrow...they haven't gotten killed, but they've picked up around a foot of new snow the last few days and that's enough to convince me. Winds should be down tomorrow too.

[ORH_wxman]

I'll be skiing solo so if anyone is interested in meeting up send me a PM....

[powderfreak]

Have fun dude and take some pics. I'd go up if I had the day off.

[Ginx snewx]

Going up to Jay Peak tomorrow...they haven't gotten killed, but they've picked up around a foot of new snow the last few days and that's enough to convince me. Winds should be down tomorrow too.

should be sweet, a friend is there right now

[powderfreak]

Here's a sweet video from Mansfield/Stowe yesterday that a friend of mine put together... nice run, rough ending.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R10o6ethpl4

[HoarfrostHubb]

That was sweet, until the tar

[eekuasepinniW]

Here's a sweet video from Mansfield/Stowe yesterday that a friend of mine put together... nice run, rough ending.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R10o6ethpl4

Does the ski area thin the trees to allow skiing like through them like that?

[CoastalWx]

Will sent me a pic atop of Jay Peak. Looked pretty sweet. He thought there was about 10-12 OTG even after settling.

[Damage In Tolland]

[ORH_wxman]

Awesome conditions out there. Esp upper half of mountain. Bottom half is starting to stick and grab at the skis now as we warm up.

But I didn't get on the slopes until 9am and I've gotten 13 runs in 3 hours (been on lunch break the last 25 min). 6 of those were summit tram runs too. They aren't short.

[Ginx snewx]

Awesome conditions out there. Esp upper half of mountain. Bottom half is starting to stick and grab at the skis now as we warm up.

But I didn't get on the slopes until 9am and I've gotten 13 runs in 3 hours (been on lunch break the last 25 min). 6 of those were summit tram runs too. They aren't short.

Pam spray the skis