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NNE Cold Season Thread 2021/2022


PhineasC
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17 hours ago, powderfreak said:

There’s been at least some snow cover for many of us the past couple weeks.  The sales team at Snow.Inc has had auto-replenish set to on with several light events that keep the ground white.

 

16 hours ago, backedgeapproaching said:

Yep, certainly not epic, but there has been that wintry vibe past few weeks, even down here. 

These comments prompted me to head to the data, since we’re far enough into the winter season now to take a look.  We’re removed enough from the SVT climate that the data can’t quite speak to the averages there, but for up here in the Northern Greens, snowfall says that we’re right on track.  You can see from the plot that we were a bit behind normal pace in early November, but Mother Nature has caught right up to her averages.  Mean snowfall through today at our site is 23.5”, so this season has been hanging with that average pace.

We’ll probably fall off average pace in the coming days because of the tracks that some of the larger systems are forecast to take.  It won’t mean no snow in the coming stretch, but averages now get up into the 1-2”/day range, and the upcoming storms in the forecast just don’t look like they’ll be able to maintain that pace in the short term.

Indeed as noted, nothing epic, but when average means plenty of light events, snowfall on many days, consistent snow cover, constant snow replenishment, etc. etc., then “average” is quite good.

09DEC21A.jpg.ad4329321e3039b3bee9a996b9adaa96.jpg

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Very concerned about the icing potential from Bartlett into Jackson and Conway east to Maine tomorrow morning. Looks like a pretty good slug of QPF early in the day (0.50"+) when temps are almost certain to be below freezing at elevations lower than 1500 feet. With a few very cold days leading up to the event, it looks like a prime setup for freezing rain with efficient ice accrual. Some of the QPF will likely run off, but I would imagine 1/4" of ice isn't out of the question in the notorious cold pockets.

Wind potential tomorrow night looks fun too. I'm sure it'll be roaring up at my cabin, but I won't be returning north until Sunday morning...so I get to miss all of this. Hopefully the mild air can work its way into the valley before the wind kicks up.

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18 minutes ago, jculligan said:

Very concerned about the icing potential from Bartlett into Jackson and Conway east to Maine tomorrow morning. Looks like a pretty good slug of QPF early in the day (0.50"+) when temps are almost certain to be below freezing at elevations lower than 1500 feet. With a few very cold days leading up to the event, it looks like a prime setup for freezing rain with efficient ice accrual. Some of the QPF will likely run off, but I would imagine 1/4" of ice isn't out of the question in the notorious cold pockets.

Wind potential tomorrow night looks fun too. I'm sure it'll be roaring up at my cabin, but I won't be returning north until Sunday morning...so I get to miss all of this. Hopefully the mild air can work its way into the valley before the wind kicks up.

Do you have an off the grid cabin?

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16 minutes ago, DavisStraight said:

Do you have an off the grid cabin?

Not really "off the grid" but it's up at 1500' about a mile past Black Mountain Ski Area. One day I would love to have a cabin or a yurt that requires hiking or skinning to access, but this is just a dream for now. For the time being, I certainly can't complain about being a mile away from the nearest chair lift...not to mention that I can skin to the summit of North Doublehead from my backyard. It's not a bad spot!

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6 minutes ago, jculligan said:

Not really "off the grid" but it's up at 1500' about a mile past Black Mountain Ski Area. One day I would love to have a cabin or a yurt that requires hiking or skinning to access, but this is just a dream for now. For the time being, I certainly can't complain about being a mile away from the nearest chair lift...not to mention that I can skin to the summit of North Doublehead from my backyard. It's not a bad spot!

Is Black Mt going to even attempt to get open this season? I see no updates on any opening dates or progress with snowmaking on their website... yet they are willing to sell you a season ticket...

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21 minutes ago, PhineasC said:

Is Black Mt going to even attempt to get open this season? I see no updates on any opening dates or progress with snowmaking on their website... yet they are willing to sell you a season ticket...

They have very, very limited snowmaking from what I understand. Last year they essentially blew snow for the rope tow to get the beginner's slope open and left the rest of the mountain at the mercy of the weather. As a result, they weren't really "open" until close to February 1st and ended up with a six-week season. Their south-facing exposure is great during arctic blasts, but results in a very early melt-out compared to the other resorts...especially when we don't have a deep natural snowpack to begin with.

I bought their uphill pass for this season, but could not justify spending several hundred dollars on a season pass when the "season" may barely last more than a month.

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2 minutes ago, jculligan said:

They have very, very limited snowmaking from what I understand. Last year they essentially blew snow for the rope tow and left the rest of the mountain at the mercy of the weather. As a result, they weren't really "open" until close to February 1st and ended up with a six-week season. Their south-facing exposure is great during arctic blasts, but results in a very early melt-out compared to the other resorts...especially when we don't have a deep natural snowpack to begin with.

I bought their uphill pass for this season, but could not justify spending several hundred dollars on a season pass when the "season" may barely last more than a month.

It's amazing that they even survive.

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23 minutes ago, PhineasC said:

It's amazing that they even survive.

I always love reading about the old ski resorts back in the day that relied 100% on natural snow. So many of them were open for like 4-6 weeks all winter. Or even worse in some awful years. A lot of the old mom and pop hills might open for 3-4 weeks in January/February and that would be it.  They typically made most of their money during February vacation week so that is the week they hoped to be open. 

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26F  A bit of light snow this morning.  I'm already guessing how tomorrow will go.  Some freezing rain in the AM.  Then a dark day with some rain with temperatures struggling to get up to the mid to upper 30's.  Then the warm air will break through just before fropa to give a brief warm up.  Highest temps maybe with fropa and mixing?  A few inches of snow on the ground.  Wonder how much will make it through?  Even if it does their will be more melting the next few days.

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9 hours ago, ORH_wxman said:

I always love reading about the old ski resorts back in the day that relied 100% on natural snow. So many of them were open for like 4-6 weeks all winter. Or even worse in some awful years. A lot of the old mom and pop hills might open for 3-4 weeks in January/February and that would be it.  They typically made most of their money during February vacation week so that is the week they hoped to be open. 

Back before liability insurance rates crushed all of them.  When they just had to cover property taxes, some maintenance and property insurance rates.

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39 minutes ago, dryslot said:

The rope tow was a glove eater back in the day, I would opt for the T bar as the chairlift was to much $$$ back then.

Glove eater or glove polisher.  When someone ahead was having issues, one needed to "slip the clutch" to avoid a collision and that polished all the grip from gloves.  Happened often in Fort Kent before they added a chair (long after we moved south.)  The other issue with that tow came when few were on the hill and snow was deep, so that the rope burrowed deep into its "notch".  When the steep section flatted out near the top, the rope pulled above the snow about 5' from my ski tips and felt like it weighed a hundred pounds. 

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