NNE Winter Thread

[alex]

5 minutes ago, powderfreak said:

Nice, are they siblings to begin with?  I have no idea how the adoption process works, ha.  But really, congrat's dude.

Yep, siblings. We went through the state. Essentially you have to foster for at least a year, then you can petition to permanently adopt them. But that's in a very tiny nutshell . Crazy how many kids from our own back yards in one of the richest countries in the world desperately need a home. 

[wxeyeNH]

13 hours ago, alex said:

Yep, siblings. We went through the state. Essentially you have to foster for at least a year, then you can petition to permanently adopt them. But that's in a very tiny nutshell . Crazy how many kids from our own back yards in one of the richest countries in the world desperately need a home. 

Alex,  I know for you guys it's been a long process and the 2 of you make such good parents.  Giving the kids opportunities they never would have had. Again congrats to the new Foti family

[J.Spin]

15 hours ago, powderfreak said:

Yup that's the Rock Garden.  Completely filled in to almost a western bowl type status.

That would be a great corn snow run this spring...wait for a hard freeze and then hit it when the top inch or two is peel away corn.  What a fun run and then you get dropped off on Upper Perry Merrill and realize you still have 2,000 vertical feet to go.

That’s one of my favorite aspects of skiing Mansfield – especially from The Chin.  You come down from The Chin to the top of the Gondola and you’ve already skied 800’ of vert, essentially the vertical of a small ski area.  Then, you look down below your feet and you’ve still got another 2,000’ or so of vertical (the typically vertical of a large ski area) to go.  Here’s a shot looking down from Profanity Chute when we were up there last spring – I love how you can see all that skiing in the alpine, but then below that you’ve got all the trails spread out

It’s such a great setup, and it really doesn’t get any better than this time of year when that alpine snowpack is typically at its deepest.

[Ginx snewx]

20 hours ago, alex said:

 Thanks. 2 year old girl (almost 3) and 5 year old boy. They already love skiing!

So happy for you guys!

[alex]

1 hour ago, Ginx snewx said:

So happy for you guys!

Thanks!

[J.Spin]

I’m not sure when the precipitation switched over down at this elevation, but we’ve got some snow falling here in the valley now with a tenth of an inch on the boards.

[J.Spin]

1 minute ago, J.Spin said:

I’m not sure when the precipitation switched over down at this elevation, but we’ve got some snow falling here in the valley now with a tenth of an inch on the boards.

I just took a look at the local radar, and I guess the snow I’m seeing is the front edge of the moisture that appears to be pushing into the area.

[Whineminster]

How much of a hike is it to the snowfields from the top of the gondola at Stowe? Something I'll have to plan for next year. 

[J.Spin]

42 minutes ago, Whineminster said:

How much of a hike is it to the snowfields from the top of the gondola at Stowe? Something I'll have to plan for next year. 

The trip up typically takes 30 to 45 min, depending on what part of the alpine you're going to.

[powderfreak]

I see J.Spin is on it too...but I looked outside and noticed some fresh white coating the ground and light snow falling.

Looks like a pulse of moisture running into the mountains, I think I saw the NWS forecast had 1-3" for the Spine (esp. elevations) and that looks correct based on the radar presentation.

[powderfreak]

6 minutes ago, J.Spin said:

The trip up typically takes 30 to 45 min, depending on what part of the alpine you're going to.

Yeah agreed.  It's really only like 20-25 minutes or so to actually gain the ridgeline....but then it always takes me longer than I expect to actually walk along the ridge up to the Chin.  Rock Garden is sort of the same but in the southward direction.  The actual "work" part of the hike is the first 20 minutes or so...but once on the actual ridge its more lateral hiking rather than vertical.  Often takes longer than expected on the last part up to Hourglass, Profanity or the NW ridge as you're moving slower, watching where you step with a mix of rock, ice and snow up on the wind-swept ridge.

One of my favorites though is from the top of the FourRunner across the ridge...especially with skins, it can take 45 minutes to go across but it is a very enjoyable gradual rise with spectacular views on a nice day up there.  Just a real enjoyable tour on a bluebird day without a lot of wind.  Just 360 degree views almost the whole way, skinning along the Long Trail from the Toll Road to the Rock Garden or even Chin.

[J.Spin]

Event totals: 0.8” Snow/0.38” L.E.

 

Details from the 12:00 A.M. Waterbury observations:

New Snow: 0.8 inches

New Liquid: 0.03 inches

Snow/Water Ratio: 26.7

Snow Density: 3.8% H2O

Temperature: 30.7 F

Sky:  Snow (2 to 10 mm flakes)

Snow at the stake: 18.0 inches

[borderwx]

Ahh Spring.  Beautiful wind driven snow and 22F

Probably not a bad idea considering our valley river was starting to flood, lots of standing water and more field ice than I have ever seen. We get a solo freeze today I may skate to the mountain tomorrow

[J.Spin]

Event totals: 3.0” Snow/0.49” L.E.

 

Details from the 6:00 A.M. Waterbury observations:

New Snow: 2.2 inches

New Liquid: 0.11 inches

Snow/Water Ratio: 20.0

Snow Density: 5.0% H2O

Temperature: 22.8 F

Sky:  Flurries

Snow at the stake: 20.0 inches

[alex]

Just shoot me. Snow has gotten pretty heavy now. I'm so over it

[Ginx snewx]

1 hour ago, alex said:

Just shoot me. Snow has gotten pretty heavy now. I'm so over it

Lol embrace it,  NNErs crying for their Mommas

[J.Spin]

March totals: 30.0” Snow/3.41” L.E.

Last night’s portion of the current storm finished things off for the month of March, so the month came in with exactly 30.0 inches of snow.  That’s nothing like the past couple of Marches, which were up in the 50 to 60-inch range due to huge storms like Winter Storm Stella and Winter Storm Skylar, but it’s right around average and what we’d typically expect.

[#NoPoles]

On 3/29/2019 at 5:43 PM, alex said:

Oh and our kids adoption is official.

Omg, congratulations!!!!

[J.Spin]

3 hours ago, alex said:

Just shoot me. Snow has gotten pretty heavy now. I'm so over it

 

1 hour ago, Ginx snewx said:

Lol embrace it,  NNErs crying for their Mommas

LOL, Alex, you literally live…

In NNE…

And not just NNE, but in the mountains of NNE…

And not just in the mountains of NNE, at an elevation of 1,500’… in the mountains… of NNE.

You have literally signed your name on the dotted line for roughly 8 months a year of potentially wintry weather.  Ginx’s advice about embracing it is right on.

Even down here at our elevation, the snow isn’t typically gone from the yard until mid to late April, and then there’s generally time needed to dry things out.  I don’t plan on summer mode around here until Memorial Day weekend or June 1^st, which is when the leaves are finally fully out anyway.  We’re lucky though, we’ve typically got snow around to carry us through to that point, unlike a lot of areas of the country.  I’d say just embrace the exciting NNE weather and snowpack for several more weeks and let nature take its typical course.  It’s a lot less stressful.

[tamarack]

March summary - cold and not particularly snowy, though good for pack retention.

Avg max:  35.7   2.6 BN   Highest: 52 on 3/31, lowest:  16 on 3/6
Avg. min:  10.8   5.1 BN   Coldest:  -20 on 3/8 (also winter's coldest, 4th time that's come in March.)  Mildest min:  31, on 3 days
Avg. mean:  23.2  3.9 BN   4th coldest of 21, with all 4 coming in the past 6 years.

Precip:  2.60"   1.04" BN   Greatest day:  1.04" on 3/22  (1.5" SN = 0.9" of low 30s RA.)
Snow:  11.7"   5.9" BN   Biggest snowfall:  5.0" on 3/4
Tallest pack:  41" on 3/10.  Lowest:  26" on 3/31.   Avg. depth:  34.7", 2nd (though distant) only to 2008. 

[backedgeapproaching]

 Growing up in the Mid-Atl, April is probably the only month I would swap vs here in VT. Maybe early May I guess too sometimes. The rest I would take VT over there, and its not really that close honestly comparing month to month for me.

Definitely heard some complaining about the wind/cold/snow this morning dropping the kids off.   Non Weenies are for sure over it--and we don't even have any snow left on the ground here and had only like half an inch this morning! ha

[mreaves]

32 minutes ago, backedgeapproaching said:

 Growing up in the Mid-Atl, April is probably the only month I would swap vs here in VT. Maybe early May I guess too sometimes. The rest I would take VT over there, and its not really that close honestly comparing month to month for me.

Definitely heard some complaining about the wind/cold/snow this morning dropping the kids off.   Non Weenies are for sure over it--and we don't even have any snow left on the ground here and had only like half an inch this morning! ha

I’ve long said that if I were to go south in retirement it would be March 15 - May 15 or maybe even June 1. These months are the worst. I don’t even mind stick season as I like the feeling of impending winter. Mud season just plain sucks. 

[beavis1729]

3 hours ago, tamarack said:

March summary - cold and not particularly snowy, though good for pack retention.

Avg max:  35.7   2.6 BN   Highest: 52 on 3/31, lowest:  16 on 3/6
Avg. min:  10.8   5.1 BN   Coldest:  -20 on 3/8 (also winter's coldest, 4th time that's come in March.)  Mildest min:  31, on 3 days
Avg. mean:  23.2  3.9 BN   4th coldest of 21, with all 4 coming in the past 6 years.

Precip:  2.60"   1.04" BN   Greatest day:  1.04" on 3/22  (1.5" SN = 0.9" of low 30s RA.)
Snow:  11.7"   5.9" BN   Biggest snowfall:  5.0" on 3/4
Tallest pack:  41" on 3/10.  Lowest:  26" on 3/31.   Avg. depth:  34.7", 2nd (though distant) only to 2008. 

Nice!  Seems like your place has good retention, even with the increasing March sun angle.

Was looking through an old amwx thread on the snowiest towns in New England, and came across this:  Fort Kent 5,715 SDDs (83-84)

1983-84 must have been a fun winter up there.  Here in the Midwest, we had one of the great arctic outbreaks around Christmas, with Chicago's coldest mean daily temp on record (-18; -11 high, -25 low) on 12/24/1983.  I was only 9 years old, but it's the first weather event I remember. 

[J.Spin]

28 minutes ago, backedgeapproaching said:

 Growing up in the Mid-Atl, April is probably the only month I would swap vs here in VT. Maybe early May I guess too sometimes. The rest I would take VT over there, and its not really that close honestly comparing month to month for me.

Definitely heard some complaining about the wind/cold/snow this morning dropping the kids off.   Non Weenies are for sure over it--and we don't even have any snow left on the ground here and had only like half an inch this morning! ha

Yeah, I hear it around as well; it just seems like it’s the same old bitching and moaning that happens every year (sort of like the requisite bitching and moaning that has to be done about April weather in SNE).

I can’t say I like this time of year as much as fall, but there are so many things about it that I really enjoy.  I love the ridiculously deep snowpack in the local mountains, the elevation snowstorms that deliver those great late-season powder days, the soft spring skiing days, the deserted ski resorts and rock-bottom prices on lodging and other amenities, the long-lasting light for ski touring, the fact that I don’t have to spend time mowing my lawn until around Memorial Day because it’s dormant, etc., etc.

I don’t even plan to pull out the bike or other warm weather stuff until around Memorial Day/June 1^st, and by then, the weather is appropriate.  That’s just about the time most practical skiing is finishing up, but until that point though, the skiing is typically great.  Mother Nature actually has things synchronized pretty well as far as I’m concerned, but just like in the fall, folks are often chomping at the bit to move on to whatever is supposed to be next.

[backedgeapproaching]

1 hour ago, J.Spin said:

Yeah, I hear it around as well; it just seems like it’s the same old bitching and moaning that happens every year (sort of like the requisite bitching and moaning that has to be done about April weather in SNE).

I can’t say I like this time of year as much as fall, but there are so many things about it that I really enjoy.  I love the ridiculously deep snowpack in the local mountains, the elevation snowstorms that deliver those great late-season powder days, the soft spring skiing days, the deserted ski resorts and rock-bottom prices on lodging and other amenities, the long-lasting light for ski touring, the fact that I don’t have to spend time mowing my lawn until around Memorial Day because it’s dormant, etc., etc.

I don’t even plan to pull out the bike or other warm weather stuff until around Memorial Day/June 1^st, and by then, the weather is appropriate.  That’s just about the time most practical skiing is finishing up, but until that point though, the skiing is typically great.  Mother Nature actually has things synchronized pretty well as far as I’m concerned, but just like in the fall, folks are often chomping at the bit to move on to whatever is supposed to be next.

Yes, I meant to mention that I could see people enjoying the Spring skiing, empty crowds, etc--that is a perk. I'm not a die hard and someone who only got out about 8-10 times this year and mostly because my kids started their junior program in school. Non spring skiing related, the day to day weather is pretty crappy for the most part.

Speaking of kids skiing--was thinking of asking you, or @mreaves, @borderwx (I think VT natives?) or anyone else really, is it normal for most schools in VT to give half days during the winter months 1 day a week to go skiing?  Its cool that they do that around here for grades K-12, nice for kids to be able to get out there and enjoy what the local geography has to offer.  I was curious how many school districts offered that around VT-guessing mainly ones within a somewhat close proximity to a local hill--no idea.

 

[mreaves]

1 hour ago, backedgeapproaching said:

Yes, I meant to mention that I could see people enjoying the Spring skiing, empty crowds, etc--that is a perk. I'm not a die hard and someone who only got out about 8-10 times this year and mostly because my kids started their junior program in school. Non spring skiing related, the day to day weather is pretty crappy for the most part.

Speaking of kids skiing--was thinking of asking you, or @mreaves, @borderwx (I think VT natives?) or anyone else really, is it normal for most schools in VT to give half days during the winter months 1 day a week to go skiing?  Its cool that they do that around here for grades K-12, nice for kids to be able to get out there and enjoy what the local geography has to offer.  I was curious how many school districts offered that around VT-guessing mainly ones within a somewhat close proximity to a local hill--no idea.

 

Most have ski programs but no half days. Most in this area do Bolton after school so it bleeds into night skiing. 

[borderwx]

Foundation program for our local elementary schools. 7 full days at Jay scattered throughout the season. morning group lessons, afternoon fun ski. Our last is this Thursday..Caledonia county has the same at Burke. 

FWIW: I’m a Mainer hiding in VT:)

 

 

[borderwx]

Same temp as yesterday, different look to the yard though...

IMG_2817 by Chad, on Flickr

[J.Spin]

13 hours ago, backedgeapproaching said:

Speaking of kids skiing--was thinking of asking you, or @mreaves, @borderwx (I think VT natives?) or anyone else really, is it normal for most schools in VT to give half days during the winter months 1 day a week to go skiing?  Its cool that they do that around here for grades K-12, nice for kids to be able to get out there and enjoy what the local geography has to offer.  I was curious how many school districts offered that around VT-guessing mainly ones within a somewhat close proximity to a local hill--no idea.

I am a native Vermonter (although certainly not seven generations on my dad’s side, so not quite by the hard core definition).  The half days off during the week for skiing/other winter sports is quite variable, and as you surmised, it can depend on proximity to a local hill.  Growing up in the Champlain Valley School District, we didn’t have any of the midweek days off, but we did have the Bolton Valley afternoon/evening programs that mreaves mentioned.  In the school program that we currently participate in through Stowe Mountain Resort, the schools seem to have a mix of midweek and weekend days.  For our boy’s grammar/middle school (BJAMS), the time slot is Sunday afternoons, but for the Stowe School System, they have a Friday Program, which has long been a tradition there.  Having a designated midweek day seems to be more common in the mountain towns local to the resorts, but even there it’s still quite variable.

[tamarack]

18 hours ago, beavis1729 said:

Nice!  Seems like your place has good retention, even with the increasing March sun angle.

Was looking through an old amwx thread on the snowiest towns in New England, and came across this:  Fort Kent 5,715 SDDs (83-84)

1983-84 must have been a fun winter up there.  Here in the Midwest, we had one of the great arctic outbreaks around Christmas, with Chicago's coldest mean daily temp on record (-18; -11 high, -25 low) on 12/24/1983.  I was only 9 years old, but it's the first weather event I remember. 

1983-84 was only 3rd of my 10 winters there with 171", 15" below both 76-77 and 81-82, but for LE it was tops.  Nov-Dec combined had 16" precip and 73" snow, plus 2 ice storms - minor one near T-Day and a bigger one mid-Dec, and we entered the new year with 30"+ and a mid-pack crust that would carry a bull moose.  After an average-snow January, early Feb brought a surprise 18.5" overnight dump (forecast was 1-3", FK schools closed, one and only full-day closure we saw up there) that briefly covered the 61" stake.  Late Feb thaw compacted things top about 35" before a medium storm brought it back to low 40s ahead of the 26.5" storm of 3/14-15; 65" at the stake, 80" at the northern tip of Maine.  No more siggy snows, but wx stayed cool well into April.  May then turned out AN with very little rain, and the 15-20" LE melted off w/o a hint of flooding.

Thru a silly amount of patience, I took a core from the crust noted above.  It was 3" thick, with 1.25" of ZR-annealed IP top and bottom, 1/2" of clear ice in the middle, and 1.90" LE.