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NNE Winter 2015-16 Part 1


klw

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We headed up to Bolton Valley for turns yesterday, so I’ll pass along the snow observations and pictures from the area.  There’s no snow cover in the lower valleys around here, and even though you can see that the mountains are white, it’s still quite a shocker when you actually hit that snow line and then within a few moments you’re in an entirely different world of winter.  It’s really dramatic on days like yesterday where it’s sunny, mild, and comfortable in the lower elevations and doesn’t feel like there should be snow so close.

 

On our way up we saw the first signs of snow along the Bolton Valley Access Road in the 1,300’-1,400’ elevation range by the big S-curve below Timberline, and the accumulations really shot up quickly above that elevation.  By the time we got above 2,000’ to the Village, there was a good 2-3” of dense snow on the ground, and temperatures were holding in the 34-35 F range.  The snow at Village elevation was wet, and perfect for snowball building:

 

05DEC15F.jpg

 

Looking up into the higher elevations, the scene got even wintrier:

 

05DEC15D.jpg

 

At ~2,200’, soon after the start of the ascent for our ski tour, I was already measuring 3-4” of snow along the edge of the skin track.  We continued up to around the 2,600’-2,700’ elevation range, and the snow up there had increased to a depth of roughly 4-6”.  Even at midday, it was obvious that the temperature was holding below freezing because the snow was quite dry.  My son tried to build snowballs as he’d done at the base and had no success; the snow was fluffy and just crumbled away like sand through an hourglass.  What was bad for snowballs was great for skiing of course.  On our descent we were able to get a feel for where the snow transitioned from wet to dry, and that was around the 2,400’-2,500’ range, so that was presumably about where the freezing line was located.  I’ve added a couple more shots below, and we’ve got more photos and details from the day in the full report at our website.

 

05DEC15G.jpg

 

05DEC15B.jpg

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Here’s an update for the North to south listing of available snowfall totals from the Vermont ski areas for this most recent storm; the additions were very consistent with that north to south trend in the initial list:

 

Jay Peak: 6”

Smuggler’s Notch: 5”

Stowe: 5”

Bolton Valley: 4”

Mad River Glen: 3”

Sugarbush: 3”

Killington: 1”

Stratton: 2”

Mount Snow: 0”

 

Actually just noticed Jay's reporting 10" in the past week...seeing as that was really the only snow event, I wonder if they upped their storm total.  They just started counting their seasonal total (giving everyone a little head start) but didn't take long to catch up as they have picked up twice as much snow this week as the Stowe/Smuggs area.

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What a beautiful December day.  55F, clear skies and no wind.  I have been wanting to buy a professional drone to play around with.  I think they may become highly regulated so wanted one before that happens.  Took it up over Newfound Lake today.  The Lake was stunning because it was mirror calm.  That only happens a few times a year, no boat traffic or wind.

 

Here is the 2 minute video.  As I pan around my house is on the ridge to the east of the lake.

 

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That's pretty damn cool Gene.  Love the shots looking straight down so you can see under the water along the shoreline.

PF,  Love this drone.  I sold the Canon 5D Mark 3 and bought the drone.  FAA regulations say you have to keep it below 400 feet above ground level.  So this is the height I shot the video.  The drone is capable of flying up to about 2500 feet.  I have no airline traffic in my area.  Yesterday (don't tell anyone haha)  I briefly took it up to 1300 feet above my house.  White Mountains clearly visible with snow capped Mount Washington in the distance.

 

 So cool!!!  Just for point of reference here is a picture of my house  500 feet above the lake(gray cape on right) and Newfound Lake to the west.  My webcam shoots SW over the little pond.

post-268-0-72600300-1449442610_thumb.jpg

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Great shots. Has the pond recovered?

Thanks nzucker.   The pond is only about 1/3 full.  This is still about the lowest I have ever seen it this time of year.  It has no natural water source since it is man made.  It relies on runoff from the pasture above.  There is a low spot in the pasture down to the pond so if the ground becomes saturated water runs down that trench and fills the pond.  The ground just has not been saturated to the point of flowing run off since last spring.  A one inch rainy day will not help.  I need a quick heavy thunderstorm or a few days with 3-5" of rain.  Spring snow melt usually fills it to brim full.

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Gene, sorry to hear the pond is struggling. I wonder if there is anyway for you to fill it.

Drones take amazing pictures. Someone posted a few of the Finger Lakes at peak foliage, absolutely gorgeous given the expanse of different trees. I do suspect FAA regulations will become stricter, especially given security fears and recent incidents.

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What a beautiful December day. 55F, clear skies and no wind. I have been wanting to buy a professional drone to play around with. I think they may become highly regulated so wanted one before that happens. Took it up over Newfound Lake today. The Lake was stunning because it was mirror calm. That only happens a few times a year, no boat traffic or wind.

Here is the 2 minute video. As I pan around my house is on the ridge to the east of the lake.

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

Awesome. Which drone is that? I fly rc.
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Awesome. Which drone is that? I fly rc.

Hi Lava.  My drone is a Typhoon 4K by Yuneec. The camera on this drone can take 4K video but this video is shot in lower 1080.  This summer I ordered a Phantom 3 from DJI.  The firmware would not update and had to return it.  Sent a second one and on taking off 2 props would not turn on correctly and it tipped over and broke. Finally bought this drone and love it.  Range is 1/2 mile a little less than the Phantoms but the controller has a built in viewer so don't need a smartphone or tablet and no constant firmware to update.  Last week we broken low clouds and I was able to fly it and get over the clouds.  Very cool.  I would post the video but its too long. 

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What a beautiful December day.  55F, clear skies and no wind.  I have been wanting to buy a professional drone to play around with.  I think they may become highly regulated so wanted one before that happens.  Took it up over Newfound Lake today.  The Lake was stunning because it was mirror calm.  That only happens a few times a year, no boat traffic or wind.

 

Here is the 2 minute video.  As I pan around my house is on the ridge to the east of the lake.

 

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

That is awesome.

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Not far from there, but it's from the top of mt. Spitzenburg in blue mtn reservation in Peekskill. There's a good view of the Hudson from bald mtn in teatown.

Haven't done Spitzenburg but I've hiked some in Teatown, Breakneck Ridge/S. Beacon Mountain, and the Rockefeller Estate...I've also summited Bear Mtn and Storm King on the other side of the River. A lot of great spots around here though the winter woods look better with snow.
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Awesome. Which drone is that? I fly rc.

Me too.  Small sample size here says wx nerds are likely to also be rc nerds!

I'm hooked on FPV lately.

Have thought many times about getting a larger stabilized cam quad, but can't really justify it for just messing around.

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For the first time in 36 hours, MVL has 10sm visibility again.

 

Man what an inversion to have fog/freezing fog stuck in the valley for so long. 

 

From 10:40pm on Dec 5th until 6:45am this morning (Dec 7th), the MVL ASOS never saw visibility go above 3/4sm.  It was pretty much 32 hours of 1/4 to 1/2 mile visibility.

 

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