Land Purchase

[ORH_wxman]

7 minutes ago, PhineasC said:

Down here in the tropics we look at ORH the same way. LOL do snow weenies in NH look at properties above the Arctic Circle and dream?

 

3 minutes ago, mreaves said:

The Chic Chocs Mts. in Quebec and Labrador

Laurentian Plateau in Quebec is always one of my favorites. They’ll have like a 5 foot snowpack in mid May well after northern Maine has already melted out. 

[wx2fish]

58 minutes ago, ORH_wxman said:

I’ve often searched the topo maps and real estate listings to find the weeniest snow spots in New England. 

One of my most underrated is the highlands east and northeast of Diamond Pond in Coos county NH. The Diamond Pond coop itself was only around for like 10 years or so but they averaged like 230” of snow. Yet there is more favorable privately owned terrain to their east and northeast. Some of those spots must be between 250-300”. Not much of anything out there either including ski resorts (the failed Balsams not withstanding), lol. It’s gorgeous country though.

 

That area gets hammered. It's the boonies, but it is within a half hour of colebrook with plenty of amenities. All snowmobiling and no skiing up there though. 

It's a shame the Balsoms project isnt getting off the ground. Dixville notch doesnt have the vertical relief of some of the other notches, but its surrounded by awesome cliffs and steep terrain. Theres a short hike up there to a cliff called table rock. Awesome views and a crazy dropoff. 

[mreaves]

9 minutes ago, wx2fish said:

That area gets hammered. It's the boonies, but it is within a half hour of colebrook with plenty of amenities. All snowmobiling and no skiing up there though. 

It's a shame the Balsoms project isnt getting off the ground. Dixville notch doesnt have the vertical relief of some of the other notches, but its surrounded by awesome cliffs and steep terrain. Theres a short hike up there to a cliff called table rock. Awesome views and a crazy dropoff. 

I had a good friend who had his first teaching job at N.Stratford, NH.  He got an apartment in Colebrook.  Lated one year and had to move back to this area.  I do remeber that the Chinese restaurant in Colebrook was pretty good when I went up to visit.  There was nothing going on up there.  That was back in 93 or 94 I think.

[wx2fish]

28 minutes ago, mreaves said:

I had a good friend who had his first teaching job at N.Stratford, NH.  He got an apartment in Colebrook.  Lated one year and had to move back to this area.  I do remeber that the Chinese restaurant in Colebrook was pretty good when I went up to visit.  There was nothing going on up there.  That was back in 93 or 94 I think.

Theres still not much there, but theres a grocery store, Dunkins and a handful of restaurants. Theres actually a couple pretty good restaurants up in Pittsburg because it's such a tourist destination

[klw]

On 4/2/2020 at 5:46 PM, PhineasC said:

Looking to buy 30+ acres in NNE. 

What would be a good general area to search, proximity to a ski place is a must. Otherwise, not many requirements. Big snow, too, obviously!

One thing to also consider is whether you like big storms or lots of little ones.  For instance, Woodford VT in far southern VT jackpots on virtually every coastal storm whereas things up in the NE of Vermont frequently get shadowed by the Whites in some of the bigger storms.  In the 7 years I lived in Peacham we never got more than 15 inches in a storm but a couple years ago here in Norwich we got 18 inches twice int the same week but in Peacham there were times when in snowed everyday for weeks on end.

[klw]

Here is a big parcel to consider:

Burke VT - on mountain bike trails and close to the ski resort

103.7 acre for $119,900.

https://beginrealty.com/listing/4701580/victory-burke-vt-05832/

[mreaves]

25 minutes ago, klw said:

Here is a big parcel to consider:

Burke VT - on mountain bike trails and close to the ski resort

103.7 acre for $119,900.

https://beginrealty.com/listing/4701580/victory-burke-vt-05832/

Easy access too, not too far from I-91

[backedgeapproaching]

Not bad..

[tamarack]

2 hours ago, ORH_wxman said:

I’ve often searched the topo maps and real estate listings to find the weeniest snow spots in New England. 

One of my most underrated is the highlands east and northeast of Diamond Pond in Coos county NH. The Diamond Pond coop itself was only around for like 10 years or so but they averaged like 230” of snow. Yet there is more favorable privately owned terrain to their east and northeast. Some of those spots must be between 250-300”. Not much of anything out there either including ski resorts (the failed Balsams not withstanding), lol. It’s gorgeous country though.

 

In Diamond Pond's 13 full winters (98-99 thru 10-11) the average was exactly 230", to the tenths, and they recorded 15 events of 20"-36" with at least one in 9 of 13 seasons. Their "worst" winter was 09-10 with a paltry 181.7".  Pack never was measured higher than 56", but I think they must've been in a windy locale as many sizable snows at well below 32 brought minimal increase in depth.

Edit:  The above table is slightly different from the numbers I found, but not enough to matter.

[ORH_wxman]

Yeah that location is truly ratter-proof. Fairly similar to some place like powderfreak described on the southwest slope of Jay. Garbage winters there are probably like 180-200”. 

Theres gotta be a few spots to the east or northeast of Diamond Pond that do even better. Prob average 250-300”. If you go a little further northeast, you cross into ME where literally nobody lives northwest of Mooselookmeguntic lake over to just south of Coburn Gore. That terrain just sticks up from the flatlands of southern Quebec. They must get destroyed but there’s nobody there to record it. I think dryslot said he had been snow mobiling up   near there a few times and it’s ridiuclous depths that even places like Rangeley-Eustis can’t match. 

[mreaves]

11 minutes ago, ORH_wxman said:

Yeah that location is truly ratter-proof. Fairly similar to some place like powderfreak described on the southwest slope of Jay. Garbage winters there are probably like 180-200”. 

Theres gotta be a few spots to the east or northeast of Diamond Pond that do even better. Prob average 250-300”. If you go a little further northeast, you cross into ME where literally nobody lives northwest of Mooselookmeguntic lake over to just south of Coburn Gore. That terrain just sticks up from the flatlands of southern Quebec. They must get destroyed but there’s nobody there to record it. I think dryslot said he had been snow mobiling up   near there a few times and it’s ridiuclous depths that even places like Rangeley-Eustis can’t match. 

Magalloway Bowl

 

 

[ORH_wxman]

5 minutes ago, mreaves said:

Magalloway Bowl

 

 

3200 feet just east of First Connecticut Lake would certainly be about as snowy as it gets. 

[dryslot]

13 hours ago, ORH_wxman said:

Yeah that location is truly ratter-proof. Fairly similar to some place like powderfreak described on the southwest slope of Jay. Garbage winters there are probably like 180-200”. 

Theres gotta be a few spots to the east or northeast of Diamond Pond that do even better. Prob average 250-300”. If you go a little further northeast, you cross into ME where literally nobody lives northwest of Mooselookmeguntic lake over to just south of Coburn Gore. That terrain just sticks up from the flatlands of southern Quebec. They must get destroyed but there’s nobody there to record it. I think dryslot said he had been snow mobiling up   near there a few times and it’s ridiuclous depths that even places like Rangeley-Eustis can’t match. 

That border cut area is ridiculous on totals depths, Its is just a very remote area that's not very accessible except by sled, My sled is not designed for riding those amounts of snow off trail so its not an area i frequent but the few times i went years back 300"+ was not far fetched by looking at the landscape.

[mreaves]

Just now, dryslot said:

That border cut area is ridiculous on totals depths, Its is just a very remote area that's not very accessible except by sled, My sled is not designed for riding those amounts of snow off trail so its not an area i frequent but the few times i went years back 300"+ was not far fetched by looking at the landscape.

My back has no sesire for the amount of digging needed to explore those areas.

[dryslot]

3 minutes ago, mreaves said:

My back has no desire for the amount of digging needed to explore those areas.

Nor does mine, We were single file going thru there and i was towards the back.

[tamarack]

1 hour ago, mreaves said:

My back has no sesire for the amount of digging needed to explore those areas.

Some of the sweatiest I've been in subzero temps was while helping to break trail in deep powder.  Done it the leap-frog way several times, and once on a hill climb near Hafey Mt (15miles north of Allagash Village) using the sled-snowshoe method.  I had the racquets as I was the heavier one (by far) and had maybe 1% the snowmobile experience of my chum.  So I headed up the unplowed road and when I'd hear the buzz approach, step aside.  Rider would get another 100' then paunch it, I'd slog up to help turn the sled downhill, then he'd ride down and do a u-turn while I continued up.  Wash, rinse, repeat- for a bit over a half mile and 270' elevation gain, about 10% climb.   Finally we reached a plateau and he was able to ride all the way to the town line post where we would work on boundary maintenance the next day, on flat to slightly downhill terrain.  After spending an exhausting hour-plus at the end of a long day, we took less than 10 easy minutes the next day getting to our starting point and refreshed 2+ miles of line, about twice the normal day's distance.

[wx2fish]

15 hours ago, mreaves said:

Magalloway Bowl

 

 

I havent been up there in the winter in a couple years, but I heard the logging company shut down the trail to the bowl this year 

The weeniest spot I've been to up there is stub hill pond. It's like at like 3400' 

[LaxSki]

On 4/5/2020 at 1:28 PM, wxmanmitch said:

Thanks, I did find the lot in question in Searsburg. 256 acres for $229K.

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/245-Route-8_Searsburg_VT_05363_M99787-41776?view=qv

We drive this road every other weekend on our way to our place at Mt Snow. The road is a steady climb to 2500’ and has incredible Snowbanks even in crappy winters. We’ve owned up there for 20 years and love the area , far enough so you feel like your away from it all but still close enough to restaurants, shopping and Bennington Hospital.. Some years stand out Snowfall wise March 18’, Feb 10’, Feb15’, Dec 02’ but March 2001 was beyond insane!!!! Great location year round and the Foliage in early October is World -Class...

[ORH_wxman]

43 minutes ago, LaxSki said:

We drive this road every other weekend on our way to our place at Mt Snow. The road is a steady climb to 2500’ and has incredible Snowbanks even in crappy winters. We’ve owned up there for 20 years and love the area , far enough so you feel like your away from it all but still close enough to restaurants, shopping and Bennington Hospital.. Some years stand out Snowfall wise March 18’, Feb 10’, Feb15’, Dec 02’ but March 2001 was beyond insane!!!! Great location year round and the Foliage in early October is World -Class...

I’ve always loved driving through S VT. I don’t do it often at all but each time I’m reminded how nice it is there. If I was looking for a place there, a big pro is I’d really love having the backup option of Magic Mountain during peak days where Stratton or Mount Snow are overcrowded. Or Bromley if you are more family-oriented with less gnarly ambitions.

 

[LaxSki]

7 minutes ago, ORH_wxman said:

I’ve always loved driving through S VT. I don’t do it often at all but each time I’m reminded how nice it is there. If I was looking for a place there, a big pro is I’d really love having the backup option of Magic Mountain during peak days where Stratton or Mount Snow are overcrowded. Or Bromley if you are more family-oriented with less gnarly ambitions.

 

20 years ago I thought we needed to go further north ( Killington) but I’m glad we settled on S.Vt .. Saves us an 1 1/2 hours each way more Sunday skiing. It is also nice to have decent choices for Skiing close by. Mostly ski Mt Snow as our condo has a ski-home trail from the mountain located at around 2100’ so it’s hard to get in the car and drive to another area. I also like the fact that I know the mountain well and can avoid crowds even on the busiest days. Local knowledge also keeps you in the know as to  where the best Snow is based on type of storm wind direction and time of year

[Angus]

My two-cents, I really like skiing Bromley. The terrain is pretty tame but the trails are interesting and kind of old-school. They have some nice, short but well space tree skiing and the vibe, family oriented, is very welcoming. Magic has great terrain but they need snow. I like Mt. Snow - the north side has some more challenging terrain but like Stratton, you get crowds on weekends.

[ORH_wxman]

Just now, Angus said:

My two-cents, I really like skiing Bromley. The terrain is pretty tame but the trails are interesting and kind of old-school. They have some nice, short but well space tree skiing and the vibe, family oriented, is very welcoming. Magic has great terrain but they need snow. I like Mt. Snow - the north side has some more challenging terrain but like Stratton, you get crowds on weekends.

I haven’t skied Bromley so it’s nice to hear some feedback on it. I love old school New England trails narrowly cut into the trees. S VT definitely has some nice options.

I would not be afraid of it from PhineasC’s perspective of looking for a place there. But yeah, heed the advice of making sure you clear 1500 feet since snowfall on location is a big factor. Luckily there’s a ton of options above that elevation as me and powderfreak discussed further upthread. 

[STILL N OF PIKE]

How bout some interested weenies ..we just pool together and buy a weenie spot above 2K somewhere that averages over 150” and is fairly ratter proof . Folks vetted thru the board can stay there and it could basically be a weenie weather heaven (no kids)  or ..wives please unless they can answer detailed questions about Dec 92, March 93 etc

[alex]

On 4/6/2020 at 3:51 PM, tamarack said:

In Diamond Pond's 13 full winters (98-99 thru 10-11) the average was exactly 230", to the tenths, and they recorded 15 events of 20"-36" with at least one in 9 of 13 seasons. Their "worst" winter was 09-10 with a paltry 181.7".  Pack never was measured higher than 56", but I think they must've been in a windy locale as many sizable snows at well below 32 brought minimal increase in depth.

Edit:  The above table is slightly different from the numbers I found, but not enough to matter.

I’ve driven up to the Canadian border from here a few times when my mom (a true weenie) visits. The area just South of the border is just about a postcard every time I drive it in the winter. 

[alex]

On 4/6/2020 at 1:22 PM, PhineasC said:

Down here in the tropics we look at ORH the same way. LOL do snow weenies in NH look at properties above the Arctic Circle and dream?

LOL. Quebec City definitely has my heart. The lure of the city with more snow than I’ve ever seen in any other city. One of my favorite places to visit in the winter (along with Yellowstone). 

[TauntonBlizzard2013]

On 4/6/2020 at 7:20 PM, ORH_wxman said:

Yeah that location is truly ratter-proof. Fairly similar to some place like powderfreak described on the southwest slope of Jay. Garbage winters there are probably like 180-200”. 

Theres gotta be a few spots to the east or northeast of Diamond Pond that do even better. Prob average 250-300”. If you go a little further northeast, you cross into ME where literally nobody lives northwest of Mooselookmeguntic lake over to just south of Coburn Gore. That terrain just sticks up from the flatlands of southern Quebec. They must get destroyed but there’s nobody there to record it. I think dryslot said he had been snow mobiling up   near there a few times and it’s ridiuclous depths that even places like Rangeley-Eustis can’t match. 

A bit off topic, but I went camping at a place called Russell pond, just south of loon mountain. Quick google looks like it sits at about 2000 feet. I remember looking at the trees around the pond and they seemed darker the first 5-10 feet up the tree. 
 

I always wondered if that was due to snowpack or not. I’d imagine that particular location got a lot of snow. 
 

That was almost a decade ago now but I always though that would be an awesome place to live, I’ll  ever forget it. Just felt like an area that would produce prolific snow amounts 

 

[LaxSki]

17 hours ago, ORH_wxman said:

I haven’t skied Bromley so it’s nice to hear some feedback on it. I love old school New England trails narrowly cut into the trees. S VT definitely has some nice options.

I would not be afraid of it from PhineasC’s perspective of looking for a place there. But yeah, heed the advice of making sure you clear 1500 feet since snowfall on location is a big factor. Luckily there’s a ton of options above that elevation as me and powderfreak discussed further upthread. 

Pictures at our place at 2100’ in S.VT March 2018. Front window and back deck both on 2nd story

[LaxSki]

3 minutes ago, LaxSki said:

Pictures at our place at 2100’ in S.VT March 2018. Front window and back deck both on 2nd story

 

[Angus]

That was a crazy month for SoVT. The reports from Magic were insane. My son drove up to Mt. Snow to ski after they got the 3' storm - the problem was the front face of mountain wasn't steep enough to ski outside the narrow paths they had groomed. 

[PhineasC]

Thanks for all the input guys. We just signed a deal for a place in Randolph, NH! We settle end of May so I will be in place for next winter. Looking forward to it.