The 2016-17 Ski Season Thread

[ORH_wxman]

Snowdon Mountain is not that much harder than Ram's Head and they will probably be open first. Some of the blue trails on snowdon like Mouse Run and Great Northern used to be greens, but I think they wanted more intermediate skiers on there so they changed them.

[SR Airglow]

You can get a 2 for 1 lift ticket voucher at Killington here(http://www.killington.com/site/2for1/2for1-ski-16-17) - good until 12/16. Cuts their crazy $90 window rate to a much more reasonable $45.

[Skivt2]

The easier trails on Snowdon have been open for two weekends already.  Rams head will open momentarily perhaps tomorrow.

[Southshorewx]

All great news. Thanks guys.  Now I'm excited to go snowboarding . 

[skifly]

Hi All - I just moved from the DC area to Bangor, Maine a few months ago.  I've been following this board (albeit in the Mid-Atlantic)

for quite some time.  Thanks to all of the mets and other informed weather/ski enthusiasts for all of the great information.  I always learn something from perusing the site.

Anyway, I took a trip up to Sugarloaf yesterday.  The snow was great and the coverage on the mountain looks 180 degrees from this time last year.  They were still operating only one lift, but I talked to a few folks that work there and they expect to open quite a bit more terrain this weekend.  I snapped a pic of some of the light, fluffy dendrites that accumulated on my planks after a quick lunch break:

Thanks again.  Hope to see you on the hill!

[radarman]

19 minutes ago, skifly said:

Hi All - I just moved from the DC area to Bangor, Maine a few months ago.  I've been following this board (albeit in the Mid-Atlantic)

for quite some time.  Thanks to all of the mets and other informed weather/ski enthusiasts for all of the great information.  I always learn something from perusing the site.

Anyway, I took a trip up to Sugarloaf yesterday.  The snow was great and the coverage on the mountain looks 180 degrees from this time last year.  They were still operating only one lift, but I talked to a few folks that work there and they expect to open quite a bit more terrain this weekend.  I snapped a pic of some of the light, fluffy dendrites that accumulated on my planks after a quick lunch break:

Thanks again.  Hope to see you on the hill!

Welcome!  Look forward to your reports.

[powderfreak]

Best start in years...incredible how awesome the last week has been and the transformation on the mountain.

Theres a lot of pent up demand...best early Dec crowds in years too.

[Ginx snewx]

5 hours ago, skifly said:

Hi All - I just moved from the DC area to Bangor, Maine a few months ago.  I've been following this board (albeit in the Mid-Atlantic)

for quite some time.  Thanks to all of the mets and other informed weather/ski enthusiasts for all of the great information.  I always learn something from perusing the site.

Anyway, I took a trip up to Sugarloaf yesterday.  The snow was great and the coverage on the mountain looks 180 degrees from this time last year.  They were still operating only one lift, but I talked to a few folks that work there and they expect to open quite a bit more terrain this weekend.  I snapped a pic of some of the light, fluffy dendrites that accumulated on my planks after a quick lunch break:

Thanks again.  Hope to see you on the hill!

Serious upgrade right here. Welcome and see ya on the slopes. SR is great too

[subdude]

44 minutes ago, powderfreak said:

Best start in years...incredible how awesome the last week has been and the transformation on the mountain.

Theres a lot of pent up demand...best early Dec crowds in years too.

Good to hear our Northern mountains are off to a great start. 

[subdude]

23 hours ago, SR Airglow said:

You can get a 2 for 1 lift ticket voucher at Killington here(http://www.killington.com/site/2for1/2for1-ski-16-17) - good until 12/16. Cuts their crazy $90 window rate to a much more reasonable $45.

Sweet deal!

[powderfreak]

11 minutes ago, subdude said:

Good to hear our Northern mountains are off to a great start. 

This is the best start in a few years... 28" above 3,000ft and 14" at 1,500ft since last Thursday Night.  Good solid density on average.

We are about 50% open now, most on natural snow.

 

Even though this is really, really not recommended, leg-breaking not recommended, some are already skiing the woods.

[powderfreak]

And here's one from today:

 

[CoastalWx]

Wow. Drool worthy. 

[Ginx snewx]

9 minutes ago, powderfreak said:

This is the best start in a few years... 28" above 3,000ft and 14" at 1,500ft since last Thursday Night.  Good solid density on average.

We are about 50% open now, most on natural snow.

 

 

 

 

 

Even though this is really, really not recommended, leg-breaking not recommended, some are already skiing the woods.

Radarman FTW

[powderfreak]

6 minutes ago, CoastalWx said:

Wow. Drool worthy. 

Its a big deal getting the natural base laid down so early right now... we could start to live off nickel and dime stuff for the rest of the winter, if that makes sense.  That 2" liquid/ 22" snow stuff was really a season changing event to get the snowpack started in a substantial way.  Its all about getting QPF into the base to begin with as the more QPF the more protection you have from rocks and crap underneath...and its much more durable to skier traffic.  Once that's packed in, then you can just have fun with the fluffer-nutter events as a refresh or resurfacing.

 

 

[CoastalWx]

3 minutes ago, powderfreak said:

Its a big deal getting the natural base laid down so early right now... we could start to live off nickel and dime stuff for the rest of the winter, if that makes sense.  That 2" liquid/ 22" snow stuff was really a season changing event to get the snowpack started in a substantial way.  Its all about getting QPF into the base to begin with as the more QPF the more protection you have from rocks and crap underneath...and its much more durable to skier traffic.  Once that's packed in, then you can just have fun with the fluffer-nutter events as a refresh or resurfacing.

 

 

Yeah totally. I'm just craving those scenes...lol. Looks awesome and long time coming.

[OceanStWx]

I say it every year, but one of these times I'm going to get out in early December and try some of this fresh stuff.

[tamarack]

6 hours ago, skifly said:

Hi All - I just moved from the DC area to Bangor, Maine a few months ago.  I've been following this board (albeit in the Mid-Atlantic)

for quite some time.  Thanks to all of the mets and other informed weather/ski enthusiasts for all of the great information.  I always learn something from perusing the site.

Anyway, I took a trip up to Sugarloaf yesterday.  The snow was great and the coverage on the mountain looks 180 degrees from this time last year.  They were still operating only one lift, but I talked to a few folks that work there and they expect to open quite a bit more terrain this weekend.  I snapped a pic of some of the light, fluffy dendrites that accumulated on my planks after a quick lunch break:

Thanks again.  Hope to see you on the hill!

Welcome!! 

It's been a few years since anyone has been posting here from the northern 2/3 of Maine, so I'm glad to hear from someone to my northeast.  I lived in BGR while I was at U.Maine in 1973-75, on Walter Street (3-4 blocks north of Paul B), one of the slummier parts of town then and no rose even today.

[Angus]

reading about folks skiing in woods on other sites and just IMO a recipe for disaster. easy way to hurt yourself and be out for season or worse.  but yes, envious!

[powderfreak]

34 minutes ago, Angus said:

reading about folks skiing in woods on other sites and just IMO a recipe for disaster. easy way to hurt yourself and be out for season or worse.  but yes, envious!

Yeah I won't go in till the Stake up here hits 40" or so...once over 50" its really game on.

Currently at 28" of depth so I'm looking for another foot or so, though I will say this snowpack is more durable and a little safer than normal just because of the density. 

[powderfreak]

1 hour ago, CoastalWx said:

Yeah totally. I'm just craving those scenes...lol. Looks awesome and long time coming.

It has been...just driving around town today and everything is caked in snow from yesterday's 4-5".  It really looks like a Norman Rockwell painting with snow on every branch, pines all white, even the power lines have snow on them.  The type of stuff that happens when big dendrites are falling at 1"/hr for several hours.  It just keeps amazing me that this is already more wintery than it looked last winter.  Funny how big even an Advisory level event feels.

Maybe the few year NNE drought will finally see some improvement, haha.  This start is very encouraging and is just what the winter tourism spots need.  I've heard phones are ringing off the hook at area hotels and lodges for later in the season.  There's a lot of left over nervousness from last winter in terms of the public booking advance winter recreation vacations.  This past week will go a long way towards sending the message that 2015-2016 was a fluke of a winter.

[CoolMike]

Cool picture Albert A.C.

When did you start her snowboarding?  Did she start with skiing and then graduate or jump right onto the board?

I ask because I've got a little baby girl now and my wife and I are already making plans for beginning her ski and snowboard education at the end of the 2018-2019 season and into the '19-'20 season. (she was born in May).

[powderfreak]

7 minutes ago, Albert A Clipper said:

My daughter and I were at Stowe 12/13/15 for comparison....it looks more like April.

 

Yeah... this photo that I've attached is the one that hits me the hardest.

Christmas Day 2015.  0" at the stake for the first time in recorded history.

 

And here was a shot from about the same spot on the FourRunner Quad today:

 

[CoastalWx]

6 minutes ago, powderfreak said:

It has been...just driving around town today and everything is caked in snow from yesterday's 4-5".  It really looks like a Norman Rockwell painting with snow on every branch, pines all white, even the power lines have snow on them.  The type of stuff that happens when big dendrites are falling at 1"/hr for several hours.  It just keeps amazing me that this is already more wintery than it looked last winter.  Funny how big even an Advisory level event feels.

Maybe the few year NNE drought will finally see some improvement, haha.  This start is very encouraging and is just what the winter tourism spots need.  I've heard phones are ringing off the hook at area hotels and lodges for later in the season.  There's a lot of left over nervousness from last winter in terms of the public booking advance winter recreation vacations.  This past week will go a long way towards sending the message that 2015-2016 was a fluke of a winter.

I'm hoping to go up north and play after Christmas. Haven't been able to the last two years! Looks like we play this year hopefully. 

[SR Airglow]

8 hours ago, skifly said:

Hi All - I just moved from the DC area to Bangor, Maine a few months ago.  I've been following this board (albeit in the Mid-Atlantic)

for quite some time.  Thanks to all of the mets and other informed weather/ski enthusiasts for all of the great information.  I always learn something from perusing the site.

Anyway, I took a trip up to Sugarloaf yesterday.  The snow was great and the coverage on the mountain looks 180 degrees from this time last year.  They were still operating only one lift, but I talked to a few folks that work there and they expect to open quite a bit more terrain this weekend.  I snapped a pic of some of the light, fluffy dendrites that accumulated on my planks after a quick lunch break:

Thanks again.  Hope to see you on the hill!

Welcome from a fellow NE passholder! I'm usually at SR or Loon but try to make it up to the Loaf a couple of times a year - it's an awesome mountain and a snow magnet for sure. Definitely a substantial upgrade from DC area skiing.

[ono]

3 hours ago, powderfreak said:

Its a big deal getting the natural base laid down so early right now... we could start to live off nickel and dime stuff for the rest of the winter, if that makes sense.  That 2" liquid/ 22" snow stuff was really a season changing event to get the snowpack started in a substantial way.  Its all about getting QPF into the base to begin with as the more QPF the more protection you have from rocks and crap underneath...and its much more durable to skier traffic.  Once that's packed in, then you can just have fun with the fluffer-nutter events as a refresh or resurfacing.

 

 

what do you think it will take to get the woods to open up above 2500' at this point? A foot of fluff, or a foot of similar high QPF stuff?  because it seems like we could be looking at the 40" mark at the stake not too far off in the future.

[amarshall]

Utah FTW

http://www.wasatchsnowforecast.com/2016/12/06/dual-atmospheric-rivers/

 

[radarman]

16 hours ago, Angus said:

reading about folks skiing in woods on other sites and just IMO a recipe for disaster. easy way to hurt yourself and be out for season or worse.  but yes, envious!

So long as you aren't too concerned about your bases , I think it's fine to venture in.  The snow is perfect for it and at any rate, you don't necessarily need to ski it like you might in February.  I was there for the scenery, the incomparable silence, and was happy linking 2-3 turns at a time.  Normally at this time of year you're way more likely to be injured on the crammed icy death ribbons.

[ono]

2 hours ago, radarman said:

So long as you aren't too concerned about your bases , I think it's fine to venture in.  The snow is perfect for it and at any rate, you don't necessarily need to ski it like you might in February.  I was there for the scenery, the incomparable silence, and was happy linking 2-3 turns at a time.  Normally at this time of year you're way more likely to be injured on the crammed icy death ribbons.

yeah... it seems with the dense stuff, at least lower-angle trees, taken slowly with a few linked turns at a time should be fine.  Though, the next 3-5 days or so could really get interesting with respect to tree skiing looking at what the models are spitting out- at least north of 89 in VT.

[powderfreak]

5 hours ago, radarman said:

So long as you aren't too concerned about your bases , I think it's fine to venture in.  The snow is perfect for it and at any rate, you don't necessarily need to ski it like you might in February.  I was there for the scenery, the incomparable silence, and was happy linking 2-3 turns at a time.  Normally at this time of year you're way more likely to be injured on the crammed icy death ribbons.

I actually did that today...went in and wandered around just for the scenery.  It's like the magical candy land forest up there with everything just plastered in snow and rime.  And you're right it is dense and it's deep.  Lots of running water and water holes in the snowpack...need this weekends cold to really lock things up.  

Sometimes we get tunnel vision up here of how much snow it takes to open the high end high angle woods but the low angle stuff is sufficient right now.  

We are now 60% open on Dec 7th, most on natural snow top to bottom and the only reason more isn't open is because those lifts aren't open yet.  I'm really blown away with what I was skiing today.  ... I'm not sure I skied Starr or Lookout at all last year.