NNE Winter Thread

[CoastalWx]

Great pic Eyewall.

[OceanStWx]

13 hours ago, J.Spin said:

PF, I love that shot, is it from your Canon?  If so, what focal length?  It’s got a wide look that provides some neat perspective.  It’s funny because one of the lenses I had along yesterday on my Bolton outing was the Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM and I was having a lot of fun shooting wide-angle shots with it.

I was actually going to pass along a photo update from yesterday in response to your west slope comment.  There’s actually still top-to-bottom snow at Timberline.  It’s assisted somewhat by snowmaking of course, but it’s still pretty impressive for this time of year for west slope terrain down at that elevation.  A shot from the Timberline Mid Station looking down toward the Timberline Base:

That has become the go to rental lens for my wife and I when we go on vacation. We rented it for our honeymoon and our most recent trip to Big Sur.

Actually, I rented it when I climbed Katahdin too. Maybe I should just buy it? 

[mreaves]

April going out like a lion?

[powderfreak]

That's pretty decent Mreaves.  You're around 1000ft right?  That's not a passing snow shower.

[eyewall]

2 hours ago, CoastalWx said:

Great pic Eyewall.

Thank you. There was around 4-5 inches when I was there. Lake Placid in NY was the winner as they reported 10" total this morning.

[wxeyeNH]

Congrats to all that got some snow.   Rain has started again 41.5F  wonder if it comes down hard enough if I can get some mangled flakes..

Spring cleanup has to be rushed to completion this week.  Black flies incoming!

[powderfreak]

Some decent reports east of here with Danville at 7.0" and Cabot at 6.8".

Thats some decent snow for April 29/30.

[mreaves]

2 hours ago, powderfreak said:

That's pretty decent Mreaves.  You're around 1000ft right?  That's not a passing snow shower.

1250' It's all gone here in Montpelier and I assume it will be soon at home too.

[J.Spin]

15 hours ago, eyewall said:

That was all in the base area accessible from the road elevation (2000ft or so). I hiked in just a 1/4 mile or so from the lot. 

I stopped in at Bolton for a ski tour this morning, so I can pass along the accumulations I found at that point from this latest storm for various elevations:

500’: 0”

1,000’: Trace

1,500’: 1-2”

2,000’:  3-7”

2,500’: 8-9”

3,000’: ~9”

Low clouds were obscuring the mountains by our house, but it seemed like the snow line this morning was down around 1,000’.  We did have some pretty good rounds of snow at our place yesterday, but nothing that I saw accumulate with temperatures still in the mid-30s F.  On my drive, the first signs of fresh snow accumulations this morning were indeed right around the 1,000’ elevation on the Bolton Valley Access Road, and then the world just got whiter and whiter as I headed up.  The larger range I’m reporting at the 2,000’ level was simply because I had time to get a sense for accumulations atop the different surfaces, with the low end being on paved or gravel surfaces, and the high end being on the existing snowpack, elevated surfaces, etc. 

In terms of what was out there on the trails for new snow, you can see that there really wasn’t a huge bump in accumulations above 2,000’, so I’d say those elevations did fairly well in terms of maximizing whatever snow they were going to get out of the available moisture.  We had ~¾” of liquid in the gauge at the house this morning, so presumably the mountains are somewhere north of that.  I started my tour at the Bolton Valley Village, which is a bit above 2,000’, so with the way this storm accumulated that meant decent coverage from there on up to the summits.  At the base elevations this morning the temperature was just edging above freezing in the 7:30 -8:00 A.M. timeframe, and the snow was definitely dense.  The fresh snow was wet, but not slushy or sopping at that point.  It was gradually falling of the trees on my ascent as the temperatures rose.  I headed up into cooler temperatures, but it was still warming all the way to the summit and I bet temperatures in the mid-30s F tracked with me as I ascended.

Although it can’t compare to the drier snow we had with last weekend’s storm, the turns were actually pretty sweet today.  I could tell right away as I began my descent that the density and consistency of the snow called for steep terrain, so I dove right down Spillway and that really hit the spot.  Even with 115 mm fat skis I was still touching the subsurface at times, but this snow was definitely dense enough to hold up pretty well on steep, aggressive turns.  A couple of shots from today’s tour:

[LongBeachSurfFreak]

1 hour ago, J.Spin said:

I stopped in at Bolton for a ski tour this morning, so I can pass along the accumulations I found at that point from this latest storm for various elevations:

500’: 0”

1,000’: Trace

1,500’: 1-2”

2,000’:  3-7”

2,500’: 8-9”

3,000’: ~9”

Low clouds were obscuring the mountains by our house, but it seemed like the snow line this morning was down around 1,000’.  We did have some pretty good rounds of snow at our place yesterday, but nothing that I saw accumulate with temperatures still in the mid-30s F.  On my drive, the first signs of fresh snow accumulations this morning were indeed right around the 1,000’ elevation on the Bolton Valley Access Road, and then the world just got whiter and whiter as I headed up.  The larger range I’m reporting at the 2,000’ level was simply because I had time to get a sense for accumulations atop the different surfaces, with the low end being on paved or gravel surfaces, and the high end being on the existing snowpack, elevated surfaces, etc. 

In terms of what was out there on the trails for new snow, you can see that there really wasn’t a huge bump in accumulations above 2,000’, so I’d say those elevations did fairly well in terms of maximizing whatever snow they were going to get out of the available moisture.  We had ~¾” of liquid in the gauge at the house this morning, so presumably the mountains are somewhere north of that.  I started my tour at the Bolton Valley Village, which is a bit above 2,000’, so with the way this storm accumulated that meant decent coverage from there on up to the summits.  At the base elevations this morning the temperature was just edging above freezing in the 7:30 -8:00 A.M. timeframe, and the snow was definitely dense.  The fresh snow was wet, but not slushy or sopping at that point.  It was gradually falling of the trees on my ascent as the temperatures rose.  I headed up into cooler temperatures, but it was still warming all the way to the summit and I bet temperatures in the mid-30s F tracked with me as I ascended.

Although it can’t compare to the drier snow we had with last weekend’s storm, the turns were actually pretty sweet today.  I could tell right away as I began my descent that the density and consistency of the snow called for steep terrain, so I dove right down Spillway and that really hit the spot.  Even with 115 mm fat skis I was still touching the subsurface at times, but this snow was definitely dense enough to hold up pretty well on steep, aggressive turns.  A couple of shots from today’s tour:

Great play by play I really enjoyed your narration “almost felt like I was there” 

I got to experience snow pretty much all day yesterday at 1900’ in NE Pa. It never accumulated but it did come down heavy at times. Since I was on a hill top and elevations of the sorrounding area only go to about 2,500’ I doubt there were any accumulations in PA.

[Hitman]

7" on lincoln peak summit cam, while only an inch on the mid mountain cam.  fwiw-they are only running the valley house lift this weekend so no upper mountain lifts.

[J.Spin]

12 hours ago, OceanStWx said:

That has become the go to rental lens for my wife and I when we go on vacation. We rented it for our honeymoon and our most recent trip to Big Sur.

Actually, I rented it when I climbed Katahdin too. Maybe I should just buy it? 

The Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM had actually been on my wish list for a while, since my everyday workhorse lens is the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM, and the 10-22 mm fits just about perfectly below that range.  Since my bias in most of my work is a bit more toward the telephoto end though, the 10-22 was a little bit down there on the purchase list behind a couple of other lenses.  But, my next door neighbor was selling his copy off last year all tricked out with the hood, and a slim high end B+W filter.  I can’t remember the exact price, but it was in the $200 range for everything, which is ridiculous for all of that.  I know my neighbor is meticulous with his gear, and he was giving me the insane next door neighbor first-refusal discount, so it really was a no-brainer to jump at that opportunity.

The 10-22 opens up some great options for unique shots, so depending on the time of year and available light, it’s often the second lens I’ll have in pack when the 24-105 is on the body.  The main issue I have with the 10-22 is that it’s not an L series lens, so it’s not fully weather sealed, which can be important for the type of environments I’m often shooting in.

I was about to say that there’s really nothing else in Canon-branded SLR lenses that will get you that perspective in APS-C, but as I look at the Canon Ultra-Wide Zoom Lenses page, I see that there are some lenses on there that I haven’t noticed before.  That Canon EF 11-24 f/4L USM looks great, but it’s pricey.  Take a look at that Canon Ultra-Wide Zoom Lenses page though and see if anything else is a better fit for your preferences, there are a number of options.  There are also other brands like Tamron, Sigma, etc. out there, but I’ve been very happy with my Canon lenses and haven’t really looked at their options.

[J.Spin]

17 hours ago, LongBeachSurfFreak said:

Great play by play I really enjoyed your narration “almost felt like I was there” 

Thanks, I especially like getting up on the hill during these early and late season storms because the resort’s not giving out daily snow reports, and it’s really hard to know what’s going on at the summit elevations unless you get yourself up there.  Getting the photos and other beta is sort of an ancillary benefit from getting out there for the workout and turns anyway.  I try to focus on the weather aspects with what I write here in the NNE thread, but it often serves as a good chunk of text for the reports on our website.

On that note, here are a few more shots from yesterday’s tour, starting out just above the snow line at the Bolton Valley Sugarhouse:

[Ginx snewx]

9 minutes ago, J.Spin said:

Thanks, I especially like getting up on the hill during these early and late season storms because the resort’s not giving out daily snow reports, and it’s really hard to know what’s going on at the summit elevations unless you get yourself up there.  Getting the photos and other beta is sort of an ancillary benefit from getting out there for the workout and turns anyway.  I try to focus on the weather aspects with what I write here in the NNE thread, but it often serves as a good chunk of text for the reports on our website.

On that note, here are a few more shots from yesterday’s tour, starting out just above the snow line at the Bolton Valley Sugarhouse:

 

 

 

 

Lol can I use this with credit to you, lol I laughed very hard. My wife called me that this April when she was so over winter. awesome

[eyewall]

Awesome report Jspin and definitely matches up well with what I observed (although I didn't get above the base area).

[J.Spin]

37 minutes ago, Ginx snewx said:

Lol can I use this with credit to you, lol I laughed very hard. My wife called me that this April when she was so over winter. awesome

LOL, no problem Ginx – I’m not actually sure who’s vehicle that is, but obviously someone up there in the Bolton Valley Village that loves snow.  I’d say they’re in the right place!

[J.Spin]

1 hour ago, eyewall said:

Awesome report Jspin and definitely matches up well with what I observed (although I didn't get above the base area).

Thanks eyewall, and it was great having your firsthand observations from Sunday.  Your report and the other reports of the lower snow levels on the western slopes are the kinds of info that really help when one is planning to head out for a ski tour.  Among the practical touring locations on any given day, it’s always nice to optimize snow amounts, snow quality, etc. to try to get the best conditions possible for skiing.  As I mentioned in my earlier post, the snow reports at elevation start getting sparse this time of year as the resorts close down, so any info from the elevations is useful.  Those Sugarbush webcams were definitely helpful in strategizing for this latest event, but I don’t know if they still run them once the lifts shut down.

When I saw your first picture from the base of Bolton Valley on Sunday, I was about to ask what link you were using to get the feed from the Bolton Valley Web Cam – all my links suggest they’ve shut it off for the season.  It wasn’t until I saw your other pictures that I assumed it was an actual photo you’d taken from behind the Bolton Valley Base Lodge?  Or was it?  If you do have an active link for their webcam though, let me know because I’d definitely add it to my bookmarks.

[eyewall]

3 hours ago, J.Spin said:

Thanks eyewall, and it was great having your firsthand observations from Sunday.  Your report and the other reports of the lower snow levels on the western slopes are the kinds of info that really help when one is planning to head out for a ski tour.  Among the practical touring locations on any given day, it’s always nice to optimize snow amounts, snow quality, etc. to try to get the best conditions possible for skiing.  As I mentioned in my earlier post, the snow reports at elevation start getting sparse this time of year as the resorts close down, so any info from the elevations is useful.  Those Sugarbush webcams were definitely helpful in strategizing for this latest event, but I don’t know if they still run them once the lifts shut down.

When I saw your first picture from the base of Bolton Valley on Sunday, I was about to ask what link you were using to get the feed from the Bolton Valley Web Cam – all my links suggest they’ve shut it off for the season.  It wasn’t until I saw your other pictures that I assumed it was an actual photo you’d taken from behind the Bolton Valley Base Lodge?  Or was it?  If you do have an active link for their webcam though, let me know because I’d definitely add it to my bookmarks.

That was my own quick shot behind the lodge from my cellphone. Unfortunately the webcam is down.

[J.Spin]

I don’t see any snow at our site today, so this is the first time in 143 days that there isn’t snow on the ground.  This is more than a week on the late side relative mean date of melt out for us, and we don’t typically hold snowpack into May down at our elevation, so that really speaks to the great April we had with respect to snow preservation.  Despite the relatively late melt out, that length for the continuous snowpack season was actually about average because the start of the snowpack (Dec 10^th) was on the late side this past fall.

[Angus]

Yesterday, while skiing at killington, I noticed two peaks to north distinctly capped in a uniform white - camels back and mansfield. Speaks to the grip of winter.

[mreaves]

42 minutes ago, Angus said:

Yesterday, while skiing at killington, I noticed two peaks to north distinctly capped in a uniform white - camels back and mansfield. Speaks to the grip of winter.

Camel's Hump!  Geezum crow, you gosh durned flatlanders don't know nuthin'!

[Angus]

25 minutes ago, mreaves said:

Camel's Hump!  Geezum crow, you gosh durned flatlanders don't know nuthin'!

LOL. Oops! This heat has me thinking about Arizona! Me bad.

[eyewall]

I wonder if flooding will become a concern with mid 80's here in the valley today with rain to come tomorrow. The snow must be melting fast in the high terrain.

[eyewall]

A shot from yesterday in the Greens and the second is today in Charlotte, VT:

[klw]

88 in Lebanon as of 3 pm

http://w1.weather.gov/data/obhistory/KLEB.html

[powderfreak]

Plowing out the Gondola work road... there's still an obscene amount of snow out there.  I just skied Upper Starr to the S-53 woods to Liftline just now.  May 2nd, temps in the 70s and skiing the woods on a 3-4 foot base at mid-mountain. 

If we were to get a thunderstorm to drop a quick burst of heavy rain over the mountain, the flash flooding down here in Stowe could get out of hand quickly.  The river past my house is swollen enough to canoe down when its normally ankle deep...and it hasn't even rained.

The snow surface before digging was on top of that wall.  That was the trail depth on Perry Merrill.

 

Another angle.  Tourists coming early in the summer season will likely find at least remnants of these piles when the Gondola opens in June.

 

[backedgeapproaching]

Not cooling off at all at 9pm...still near 80F and upstairs of house actually pretty toasty.

[alex]

14 hours ago, powderfreak said:

Plowing out the Gondola work road... there's still an obscene amount of snow out there.  I just skied Upper Starr to the S-53 woods to Liftline just now.  May 2nd, temps in the 70s and skiing the woods on a 3-4 foot base at mid-mountain. 

If we were to get a thunderstorm to drop a quick burst of heavy rain over the mountain, the flash flooding down here in Stowe could get out of hand quickly.  The river past my house is swollen enough to canoe down when its normally ankle deep...and it hasn't even rained.

The snow surface before digging was on top of that wall.  That was the trail depth on Perry Merrill.

 

 

Another angle.  Tourists coming early in the summer season will likely find at least remnants of these piles when the Gondola opens in June.

 

 

I have similar concerns over our river here. It's at bank level with no rain, and after last fall's flooding, it's hard not to be on edge! Fortunately it doesn't look like we are slated to get any major rainstorms over the next couple of weeks, and hopefully we can keep t-storms at bay

[tamarack]

Right after the end of 169 consecutive days with minima 32 or below, today makes 9 with minima 37 or higher, including today's low 60s - nearly 30° AN.  All signs of winter (except for lack of tree green-up) disappeared during the 5 days of grandkid time at/around an AirBNB near the CC Canal.  Even the shady-side snowbanks on Mile Hill Road were gone when we returned yesterday afternoon.

[eyewall]

The first signs of leaves now appearing in the valley.