The 2016-17 Ski Season Thread

[radarman]

11 minutes ago, ORH_wxman said:

Haven't done Beast yet...but I'm intrigued given the hype by the crowd on here.

 

It does look like a nice little mountain from the pics posted and rarely seems to have lines.

 

There's several smallish mountains I'm all for trying...esp when you can grab one of those really good deals they frequently seem to have for lift tickets. Even a 1000-1200 foot vert can be a blast with short lines.

If we get a decent year in S VT you might add Magic to your list.  It's kind of like a bigger Beast, smaller MRG.

[Ginx snewx]

11 minutes ago, ORH_wxman said:

Haven't done Beast yet...but I'm intrigued given the hype by the crowd on here.

 

It does look like a nice little mountain from the pics posted and rarely seems to have lines.

 

There's several smallish mountains I'm all for trying...esp when you can grab one of those really good deals they frequently seem to have for lift tickets. Even a 1000-1200 foot vert can be a blast with short lines.

Beast is at its best with tons of snow and cold. Midweek literally have been there with 15-20 people on the whole Mt. Kids arrive by schoolbus around 3. A Mini SR with all different connecting trails. so much fun to rip around.

[Ginx snewx]

Will I'd be up for meeting you at the Pike commuter lot in Auburn and driving in this winter. Only midweek though if you can get  day off. 

[powderfreak]

2 minutes ago, radarman said:

If we get a decent year in S VT you might add Magic to your list.  It's kind of like a bigger Beast, smaller MRG.

Yup best terrain in SVT... My buddy is interviewing for their Mountain Manager (VP of Operations) job so I may need to visit if he gets it haha.

[ORH_wxman]

8 minutes ago, Ginx snewx said:

Will I'd be up for meeting you at the Pike commuter lot in Auburn and driving in this winter. Only midweek though if you can get  day off. 

 

 

Yeah totally. I'd love to do a weekday trip to a place like that.

 

13 minutes ago, radarman said:

If we get a decent year in S VT you might add Magic to your list.  It's kind of like a bigger Beast, smaller MRG.

 

Totally forgot about Magic, but yeah. I've heard very good things about it. Heard they have some fun glades.

[powderfreak]

A-Basin snow:

[ORH_wxman]

Nice.

 

Starting to get those systems that drop snow in the Rockies. That big storm in the beartooth range a couple days ago too. Always a sign of summer losing its grip.

 

Next, we need MWN to get frosted at the top and then finally we get the others like Sugarloaf, Mansfield, etc to get something later in September usually.

[Baroclinic Zone]

1 hour ago, ORH_wxman said:

I was thinking how I want to get to a ski mountain I haven't skied yet this winter. What are your top ones?

 

My top places I haven't skied yet in New England:

Stowe, Sugarloaf, Saddleback

 

I'd also like to try Burke Mountain...mid-tier place, but have heard some decent things about it. Old school feel with the trails.

Saddleback may never open again, unfortunately.  Looks like they are trying the "coop" route from what I've read.

[Baroclinic Zone]

Will, you will love Shawnee Pk.  Actually a pretty good value.

[ORH_wxman]

4 minutes ago, Baroclinic Zone said:

Saddleback may never open again, unfortunately.  Looks like they are trying the "coop" route from what I've read.

Wow that sucks. They just got new ownership I thought and was assuming they'd finally reopen. What a waste of awesome terrain if that's true. 

[Baroclinic Zone]

1 minute ago, ORH_wxman said:

Wow that sucks. They just got new ownership I thought and was assuming they'd finally reopen. What a waste of awesome terrain if that's true. 

http://www.newenglandskiindustry.com/viewstory.php?storyid=469

 

I monitor this site for news.

 

also Sunday River is replacing the Spruce Peak triple with a new triple after the incident in July.

[powderfreak]

1 hour ago, ORH_wxman said:

Nice.

Starting to get those systems that drop snow in the Rockies. That big storm in the beartooth range a couple days ago too. Always a sign of summer losing its grip.

Next, we need MWN to get frosted at the top and then finally we get the others like Sugarloaf, Mansfield, etc to get something later in September usually.

Yeah the first sign of changing seasons is the snows at those spots that are like 11,000-14,000ft like Loveland, A-Basin, spots in the Tetons and southern Montana.  Then it'll eventually hit the more notable passes in Colorado  (plowing snow in Montana in August though still blows my mind) and MWN will get frosted with rime and some -SN/graupel accums.  I always look forward to MWN's first coating as it usually means Mansfield is up next (along with Jay Peak, Sugarloaf, Cannon and Wildcat as the higher elevation northern spots). 

Locally, Mansfield (and also in town) almost always sees its first frozen during one of those NW flow CAA shots where cellular/popcorn style cells drop flakes and graupel in short duration but high intensity rates.  Its almost never during a synoptic event for whatever that's worth, though a couple years ago the first snow was with a 4" snow above 3,000ft from a synoptic system of rain changing to snow.  The vast majority though is CAA NW flow cellular stuff for first flakes and minor accums.

[radarman]

1 hour ago, powderfreak said:

Yeah the first sign of changing seasons is the snows at those spots that are like 11,000-14,000ft like Loveland, A-Basin, spots in the Tetons and southern Montana.  Then it'll eventually hit the more notable passes in Colorado  (plowing snow in Montana in August though still blows my mind) and MWN will get frosted with rime and some -SN/graupel accums.  I always look forward to MWN's first coating as it usually means Mansfield is up next (along with Jay Peak, Sugarloaf, Cannon and Wildcat as the higher elevation northern spots). 

Locally, Mansfield (and also in town) almost always sees its first frozen during one of those NW flow CAA shots where cellular/popcorn style cells drop flakes and graupel in short duration but high intensity rates.  Its almost never during a synoptic event for whatever that's worth, though a couple years ago the first snow was with a 4" snow above 3,000ft from a synoptic system of rain changing to snow.  The vast majority though is CAA NW flow cellular stuff for first flakes and minor accums.

I always love being in ski towns in Oct with whitish rime or maybe a light coating on the peaks... there's a buzz that's hard to describe... palpable anticipation even if we're still a month away from the goods.

[ORH_wxman]

On ‎8‎/‎26‎/‎2016 at 6:17 PM, Baroclinic Zone said:

Will, you will love Shawnee Pk.  Actually a pretty good value.

 

I missed this from earlier...but yeah, I was thinking about Shawnee when we did vacation up on Moose Pond this year. Driving past Shawnee made me think the mountain would be a nice little day-tripper or even a 1 night/2day get-away. It's got like 1300 vertical and some decent looking steeps. I also liked that there were two different summit lifts from the base. I have seen them with some good deals online but haven't gone yet.

 

Magic Mt and Burke were some other mid-tiers I want to try.

 

And yeah, I'm definitely down to meet up with Ginxy and anyone else who wants to do a weekday Beast excursion. Seems like a perfect place for one of those where you get in a ton of runs with no crowds during the week.

[LongBeachSurfFreak]

On August 26, 2016 at 5:45 PM, powderfreak said:

A-Basin snow:

Amazing how those trees grow so huge with an insanely short growing season. Might be 3 months in cold years 

[#NoPoles]

On 8/26/2016 at 6:21 PM, Baroclinic Zone said:

http://www.newenglandskiindustry.com/viewstory.php?storyid=469

 

I monitor this site for news.

 

also Sunday River is replacing the Spruce Peak triple with a new triple after the incident in July.

Oh man, I did a week day ski and stay combo at Saddleback the winter before it closed. It is so beautiful and awesome. I'm so sad to read this update.

 

I'm really curious as to why it is so hard to make money in the ski industry? Is everything just too expensive to operate that profits are impossible with current lift ticket prices?

[TauntonBlizzard2013]

Booked 2 nights a few days before Christmas up in North Conway. Fingers crossed.

havent committed to a mountain yet. Probably will go with the best conditions at the time.

[tamarack]

10 hours ago, LongBeachSurfFreak said:

Amazing how those trees grow so huge with an insanely short growing season. Might be 3 months in cold years 

About what I had when I lived in Fort Kent.  The 10 seasons there ranged from 127 days (thanks to our riverfront apartment and Sept valley fog) down to 44 with frost in every month.  Scorched my pumpkins on July 31, 1978.  IIRC (numbers are elsewhere), the average growing season was in the high 80s.  Trees grow quite nicely there, being adapted to the climate just as the ones at 10k in the Rockies are similarly adapted.  However, ripening tomatoes indoors under newspaper, with ripe apples for company, was the gardener's stock in trade there.

[Baroclinic Zone]

15 hours ago, #NoPoles said:

Oh man, I did a week day ski and stay combo at Saddleback the winter before it closed. It is so beautiful and awesome. I'm so sad to read this update.

 

I'm really curious as to why it is so hard to make money in the ski industry? Is everything just too expensive to operate that profits are impossible with current lift ticket prices?

That's just it.  It's becoming extremely expensive run/operate these places and it you don't offer a lot of the modern amenities that patrons are looking for you'll struggle.  Lack of natural snow will also kill a place.

[ORH_wxman]

7 minutes ago, Baroclinic Zone said:

That's just it.  It's becoming extremely expensive run/operate these places and it you don't offer a lot of the modern amenities that patrons are looking for you'll struggle.  Lack of natural snow will also kill a place.

 

It can be a struggle for those mid-tier places...they are kind of stuck between trying to add more modern infrastructure and amenities like nice lodges but also keeping overhead low enough to turn a profit. Smaller places like Beast don't try and be fancy, but their overhead is really small so they function. Also, further north, the mid-tiers have to compete with the behemoths like K-mart, Stowe, Sunday River, etc.

In recent years, the slow Decembers have probably hurt too...even though it's not even a great time to ski, so much business occurs during Xmas week and New Years...so good natural snow during that period probably helps a ton and keeps snow making costs down when you are trying to open as much stuff as possible for that Holiday rush.

[HoarfrostHubb]

Will, you should def. try Sugarloaf if you get the chance,.  Great mountain

[LaxSki]

I  love skiing Nov- Dec. Even though most years it's just man-made and groomers the slopes are generally empty. Some years can be good woke up the morning of my 50th Birthday to a foot of Powder at Mt Snow in Mid Dec 2013 was able to Ski the woods that day. What a Great present!!! Drove up 2 weeks later in 60s and Fog for our Christmas trip. 

[HoarfrostHubb]

It's coming

we hit the Wachusett Labor Day sale to get gear for our kids

We decided to lease skis and boots for our daughter. $139 for the season.  Otherwise we would have bought used gear next month at the swap. Here it is brand new stuff that she can exchange if she outgrows the boots

our son (15 now) bought his first brand new board (he is paying for most of it) We will sell their old stuff at the swap and probably come out near even

We also got 2 early season lift tix that we probably won't use (we buy passes)

 

need snow

[powderfreak]

Looking back at photos from last year, we did have some good days among possibly the worst winter on record.

154" of snow and 51% of normal at 3,000ft plot... hopefully this winter we do a heck of a lot more of this type of skiing and less re-frozen groomer tracks.

[Hitman]

On 9/6/2016 at 11:56 AM, powderfreak said:

Looking back at photos from last year, we did have some good days among possibly the worst winter on record.

154" of snow and 51% of normal at 3,000ft plot... hopefully this winter we do a heck of a lot more of this type of skiing and less re-frozen groomer tracks.

Yeah, I had one legitimate powder day last season.  out of 30 days skiing.  usually average 8-10.

 

[BrianW]

Love looking at the webcams out west and dreaming of this....

 

 

[Quakertown needs snow]

 

sunshine village

[ORH_wxman]

They've been getting good snow out there recently...hopefully they can get hammered in October/November when it actually starts permanently sticking.

[amarshall]

Was just talking to my customer who owns a seafood company in Manchester Center VT.  A VT resort needs to offer the deal that Bretton Woods offers.   Season rental for the kids at participating ski shops and a free pass for the kids for the year. Both of my boys (age 4 and 7) will be in ski school most of the year at Bretton Woods.

Does two things:

1) Gets mom and dad up spending money before New Years. (Have to pick up your passes before Jan 1)

2) Makes damn sure I only ski at Bretton Woods.  I'd never drive that far normally in NH.  I would for VT areas.

[Lava Rock]

Loveland getting some snows too.