klw Posted April 4 Share Posted April 4 Up to 10.9 inches now. 5.9 since 6:30am. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borderwx Posted April 4 Share Posted April 4 Home from the mountain to another 5”11” so far. 30F and light snow.Fun skiing, first laps in beaver pond tomorrow will be memorable for those who can get it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mreaves Posted April 4 Share Posted April 4 VERMONT ...Addison County... Lincoln 12.0 1240 PM 4/04 Public Bristol 9.0 1200 PM 4/04 Public 2 NE Monkton 9.0 845 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 4 ENE Starksboro 7.0 930 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 1 NE South Lincoln 5.0 700 AM 4/04 Co-Op Observer 2 SE New Haven 3.8 800 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 1 WNW Orwell 3.3 700 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS N Middlebury 1.5 700 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS ...Bennington County... Landgrove 14.0 1233 PM 4/04 WeatherNet6 5 NW Readsboro 8.8 1100 AM 4/04 Trained Spotter ...Caledonia County... Stannard 11.7 1059 AM 4/04 Broadcast Media 2 S Wheelock 9.2 700 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS Sutton 8.9 701 AM 4/04 Co-Op Observer N Danville 7.0 700 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 1 W Lyndonville 6.5 800 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 2 WNW Wells River 6.5 703 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 4 W Barnet 6.5 800 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 2 N Lyndonville 6.4 909 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS West Burke 6.0 721 AM 4/04 Public 3 NNE Danville 5.6 700 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 2 E Danville 5.5 206 PM 4/04 Public 4 WSW Groton 4.4 100 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS N St. Johnsbury 3.7 700 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS ...Chittenden County... 2 NW Westford 16.0 151 PM 4/04 NWS Employee 1 E Nashville 13.2 201 PM 4/04 NWS Employee Stevensville 12.5 112 PM 4/04 Public Milton 12.0 200 PM 4/04 Public 2 E St. George 11.4 102 PM 4/04 NWS Employee Richmond 11.0 122 PM 4/04 Public Underhill 10.8 804 AM 4/04 Public Westford 10.5 1118 AM 4/04 Public Colchester 9.5 1235 PM 4/04 Broadcast Media 1 ENE Essex Junction 8.9 208 PM 4/04 NWS Employee 1 NE South Burlingto 8.8 154 PM 4/04 NWS Office Essex Center 8.7 254 PM 4/04 NWS Employee 1 N Colchester 7.8 1206 PM 4/04 NWS Employee 4 NNE Underhill 7.5 700 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 2 SW Milton 7.1 1009 AM 4/04 NWS Employee 5 NNE Underhill 6.4 700 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS WSW Williston 6.0 700 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 3 SSW South Burlingt 5.8 850 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 1 S Essex Center 5.8 719 AM 4/04 NWS Employee 1 E Huntington 5.6 700 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 1 NNW Burlington 5.5 1158 AM 4/04 NWS Employee 1 N Hinesburg 5.2 823 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS Hinesburg 5.2 842 AM 4/04 Public 3 NE Charlotte 5.0 930 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 4 NW Burlington 4.5 800 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS N Winooski 4.0 748 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 3 SSW Williston 3.9 600 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 2 SW Hinesburg 3.6 730 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 1 ENE Shelburne 3.3 700 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS ...Essex County... Maidstone 7.5 826 AM 4/04 Public Island Pond 6.0 750 AM 4/04 Co-Op Observer 2 NNW Lunenburg 4.0 500 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS ...Franklin County... Richford 10.5 1159 AM 4/04 Public St. Albans 10.2 1216 PM 4/04 Public East Enosburg 10.0 1116 AM 4/04 Public Swanton 8.5 155 PM 4/04 Public 3 NW Cambridge 8.0 700 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 5 WNW Fairfax 5.3 900 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 4 ESE Montgomery 4.0 700 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 3 N Enosburg Falls 3.5 700 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 3 SW Swanton 1.6 757 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 1 NNE Swanton 1.5 700 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS ...Grand Isle County... Alburgh Center 7.0 1225 PM 4/04 Public ...Lamoille County... Stowe 20.0 237 PM 4/04 Measured at 3000 ft. 2 SSW Eden 12.0 838 AM 4/04 Trained Spotter Belvidere Center 11.0 1043 AM 4/04 Public Morrisville 10.5 210 PM 4/04 Public Wolcott 9.0 1236 PM 4/04 Public 2 WSW Wolcott 8.5 700 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 3 N Smugglers Notch 8.4 730 AM 4/04 Co-Op Observer SW Stowe 8.0 730 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 1 SSW Jeffersonville 7.5 700 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 2 N Johnson 7.0 700 AM 4/04 Co-Op Observer Johnson 6.0 719 AM 4/04 Public ...Orange County... Brookfield 20.0 215 PM 4/04 Public Tunbridge 18.0 157 PM 4/04 Public East Randolph 15.0 135 PM 4/04 Public West Topsham 11.5 123 PM 4/04 CoCoRaHS Williamstown 9.5 957 AM 4/04 Public 3 SW Braintree 8.0 700 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS ESE Chelsea 5.5 700 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 2 E Corinth Corners 5.1 700 AM 4/04 Co-Op Observer 2 SE Strafford 4.8 630 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 2 ENE West Fairlee 4.0 700 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 2 NNW Bradford 3.8 730 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS Union Village NEPP 3.3 700 AM 4/04 Co-Op Observer ...Orleans County... 4 NNE Greensboro 15.2 950 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 1 NE East Craftsbury 12.5 820 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS Albany 11.5 256 PM 4/04 Public 7 SE Morgan 11.0 700 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS Newport Center 10.0 953 AM 4/04 Public 2 NNW Greensboro 9.9 700 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 2 W Derby Line 8.6 220 PM 4/04 CoCoRaHS Craftsbury Common 8.1 700 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 1 WNW Westfield 8.0 715 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS ...Rutland County... 3 SSW Wallingford 8.3 121 PM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 1 W Shrewsbury 5.0 600 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 1 N West Rutland 3.1 615 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 1 N Rutland 2.7 700 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 1 SSE West Rutland 2.3 800 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 2 SSE Pittsford 2.0 540 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS ...Washington County... Moretown 14.0 253 PM 4/04 Public 1 SW East Barre 13.0 1254 PM 4/04 NWS Employee 3 SSE Warren 12.0 1100 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS East Calais 11.8 125 PM 4/04 Public Northfield 11.8 1043 AM 4/04 Public 3 E Warren 11.5 700 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 4 ESE Marshfield 11.0 233 PM 4/04 Trained Spotter Montpelier 10.8 216 PM 4/04 Public 1 NNW Woodbury 10.0 800 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 3 NNW Woodbury 9.5 700 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 4 ENE Cabot 9.5 800 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 3 N Waterbury 8.5 945 AM 4/04 Public 2 N Waitsfield 8.1 830 AM 4/04 Public 4 NE Waterbury 7.5 700 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 2 SW East Calais 7.5 700 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 1 ESE Plainfield 6.5 700 AM 4/04 Co-Op Observer 2 W Worcester 6.5 700 AM 4/04 Co-Op Observer 2 N Northfield 6.3 750 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 3 NW Waterbury 5.8 600 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS ...Windham County... Brattleboro 9.5 115 PM 4/04 Social Media Putney 6.5 1200 PM 4/04 Trained Spotter ...Windsor County... 2 NE Rochester 13.5 700 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 4 W Norwich 10.9 1255 PM 4/04 Public 3 S Ludlow 9.5 800 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS Rochester 7.0 720 AM 4/04 Public 4 W Hartland 6.4 800 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS NE Rochester 6.0 700 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS NNE Proctorsville 6.0 730 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 2 S West Windsor 6.0 700 AM 4/04 CoCoRaHS 1 E Woodstock 5.1 800 AM 4/04 Co-Op Observer 1 NNE North Hartland 4.0 700 AM 4/04 Co-Op Observer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmcginvt Posted April 4 Share Posted April 4 I havent reported yet but I am at 16. It just keeps coming. And im in another band of heavier snow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmcginvt Posted April 4 Share Posted April 4 6 minutes ago, dmcginvt said: I havent reported yet but I am at 16. It just keeps coming. And im in another band of heavier snow BTW depth is 13 for those that followed depth . I did wipe the board, and total fallen is 16. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.Spin Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 Below is the north to south listing of available snowfall totals from the Vermont ski areas that I’ve seen posted for Winter Storm Tormund thus far for resorts that made midday/afternoon updates today. There are ups and downs along the spine, with no overt trends, but it looks like there was a relative max in the Bolton to Stowe stretch of the spine, and totals fell off a bit in the far north and far south. Magic’s 20” is standing out a bit from what Bromley and Stratton are reporting for being so close together in the magic triangle, but the Magic report is indicated as being from 8:00 P.M. this evening. Jay Peak: 18” Smuggler’s Notch: 15” Stowe: 20” Bolton Valley: 24” Mad River Glen: 18” Sugarbush: 15” Pico: 19” Killington: 19” Bromley: 15” Magic Mountain: 20” Stratton: 14” Mount Snow: 14” 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.Spin Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 I was too busy to get up to the mountain for turns this morning, but in terms of lift-served skiing at Bolton, that’s not an issue because their current midweek lift schedule is 12:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. It’s pretty cool that they shifted to that schedule, and they aren’t even using the lights for it because daylight simply lasts so long, and their expansive western exposure really plays into that. I did have time to get out for turns this afternoon though, and despite the substantial snows that are being deposited in the mountains and even all the way down to the lowest valleys, the road conditions have been quite nice with April sun intensity and temperatures near the freeing mark. It wasn’t until I was up around 2,000’ on the Bolton Valley Access Road that the road held any snow, and even then it was just a bit of slush with the help of plowing and salting, etc. It was snowing hard when I arrived at the mountain, probably in the inch per hour range, but nothing too outrageous, then it lightened up a bit as the afternoon wore on. There was some wind at times, but at other points it would be nearly calm, even up to elevations just below the ridgeline. Temperatures were in the upper 20 s F, or maybe a little lower than that in the summit areas, but it was definitely comfortable. And the skiing… wow… what a resurfacing. I’m starting to lose count of the number of huge resurfacing storms we’ve had up here in the Northern Greens this season, but a quick look through my storm data from here at my site suggests the mountains have had at least 10 of them with an inch or more of liquid equivalent. That’s pretty impressive for a season that has been struggling to reach average snowfall around here, and it really gets one thinking about what an above average season can produce, since I don’t think we’ve had a solidly above average one since ’18-’19. In any event, I guess average to even a bit below average snowfall is certainly appreciated when it delivers like this. So we’ve had a decent number of these resurfacing storms this season, but this one… Winter Storm Tormund, it really put down a shellacking of the slopes. As soon as I dropped into my first few turns off the Vista Summit, I knew; there had to be at least two inches of liquid equivalent in that snow. This wasn’t just your typical “nice, this is definitely keeping me off the subsurface” type of snowfall, this was on that next level. This snow laughed at the thought of you getting anywhere near the subsurface. We’ve had about an inch and a half of liquid equivalent in the snow thus far down here at the house, and with the way that snow skied on the mountain this afternoon, they’re obviously well above that. The early morning report from the resort was 6 to 8 inches of new snow, so I was surprised with how deep it was when I was up there this afternoon. I routinely measured 16 to 20 inches off the Vista trails, with 24 inches common in some areas. I even got some 30 inch measurements, although those could easily have been in hollows or due to a little drifting. Bolton is reporting 24 inches as their top measurement as of this afternoon, and I’d say that’s right in line with what I found out there. The snow isn’t wet, nor is it super dense, but it’s dense enough that you are well protected from hitting anything below. As is typical with this type of snow, the best powder skiing required substantial pitch, and this type of resurfacing just begs for you to ski the steep stuff anyway, so I obliged and hit the really steep lines off Vista. The super steep sections of Devil’s Playground were a hoot – I always forget just how steep they are, but with this snow you can simply drop in and fly with reckless abandon. With the amount of liquid that’s already gone into the snowpack with this storm cycle, this is a major boost for the spring skiing season – at least with respect to the natural snow trails. The snowmaking terrain always lasts no matter what we get for spring storms, but having storms like these just opens up more natural snow options for much longer. And Winter Storm Tormund isn’t over yet according to the forecasts - it looks like it continues right into the weekend, so the storm totals and contribution to the snowpack will hopefully increase further over the next couple of days. Bolton was at 324 inches of snowfall on the season as of this afternoon, so it’s at least shaping up to be in the average range at this point. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borderwx Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 Another 4” overnight. Snowing on a N wind now.. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jculligan Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 Good morning old friends! It's been a while since I poked into this thread. Does Phineas still post in here? With the avalanche rating forecast to be "considerable" tomorrow I'm hoping to find some lower angle glades to ski instead of heading into the alpine, and I'm curious about the snowpack situation in the vicinity of Crescent Ridge. I'm sure they did very well with the recent storm, but I'm hoping it fell on a decent enough base. Down here in the Flatlands of southern NH we picked up 6" of incredibly moisture-laden snow. Decent event for the first week of April in this climo zone, but I was definitely missing the old cabin in Jackson for this one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginx snewx Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 8 hours ago, J.Spin said: I was too busy to get up to the mountain for turns this morning, but in terms of lift-served skiing at Bolton, that’s not an issue because their current midweek lift schedule is 12:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. It’s pretty cool that they shifted to that schedule, and they aren’t even using the lights for it because daylight simply lasts so long, and their expansive western exposure really plays into that. I did have time to get out for turns this afternoon though, and despite the substantial snows that are being deposited in the mountains and even all the way down to the lowest valleys, the road conditions have been quite nice with April sun intensity and temperatures near the freeing mark. It wasn’t until I was up around 2,000’ on the Bolton Valley Access Road that the road held any snow, and even then it was just a bit of slush with the help of plowing and salting, etc. It was snowing hard when I arrived at the mountain, probably in the inch per hour range, but nothing too outrageous, then it lightened up a bit as the afternoon wore on. There was some wind at times, but at other points it would be nearly calm, even up to elevations just below the ridgeline. Temperatures were in the upper 20 s F, or maybe a little lower than that in the summit areas, but it was definitely comfortable. And the skiing… wow… what a resurfacing. I’m starting to lose count of the number of huge resurfacing storms we’ve had up here in the Northern Greens this season, but a quick look through my storm data from here at my site suggests the mountains have had at least 10 of them with an inch or more of liquid equivalent. That’s pretty impressive for a season that has been struggling to reach average snowfall around here, and it really gets one thinking about what an above average season can produce, since I don’t think we’ve had a solidly above average one since ’18-’19. In any event, I guess average to even a bit below average snowfall is certainly appreciated when it delivers like this. So we’ve had a decent number of these resurfacing storms this season, but this one… Winter Storm Tormund, it really put down a shellacking of the slopes. As soon as dropped into my first few turns off the Vista Summit, I knew; there had to be at least two inches of liquid equivalent in that snow. This wasn’t just your typical “nice, this is definitely keeping me off the subsurface” type of snowfall, this was on that next level. This snow laughed at the thought of you getting anywhere near the subsurface. We’ve had about an inch and a half of liquid equivalent in the snow thus far down here at the house, and with the way that snow skied on the mountain this afternoon, they’re obviously well above that. The early morning report from the resort was 6 to 8 inches of new snow, so I was surprised with how deep it was when I was up there this afternoon. I routinely measured 16 to 20 inches off the Vista trails, with 24 inches common in some areas. I even got some 30 inch measurements, although those could easily have been in hollows or due to a little drifting. Bolton is reporting 24 inches as their top measurement as of this afternoon, and I’d say that’s right in line with what I found out there. The snow isn’t wet, nor is it super dense, but it’s dense enough that you are well protected from hitting anything below. As is typical with this type of snow, the best powder skiing required substantial pitch, and this type of resurfacing just begs for you to ski the steep stuff anyway, so I obliged and hit the really steep lines off Vista. The super steep sections of Devil’s Playground were a hoot – I always forget just how steep they are, but with this snow you can simply drop in and fly with reckless abandon. With the amount of liquid that’s already gone into the snowpack with this storm cycle, this is a major boost for the spring skiing season – at least with respect to the natural snow trails. The snowmaking terrain always lasts no matter what we get for spring storms, but having storms like these just opens up more natural snow options for much longer. And Winter Storm Tormund isn’t over yet according to the forecasts - it looks like it continues right into the weekend, so the storm totals and contribution to the snowpack will hopefully increase further over the next couple of days. Bolton was at 324 inches of snowfall on the season as of this afternoon, so it’s at least shaping up to be in the average range at this point. Woah nice pitch on that last pic. Excellent report as usual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backedgeapproaching Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 32 minutes ago, jculligan said: Good morning old friends! It's been a while since I poked into this thread. Does Phineas still post in here? With the avalanche rating forecast to be "considerable" tomorrow I'm hoping to find some lower angle glades to ski instead of heading into the alpine, and I'm curious about the snowpack situation in the vicinity of Crescent Ridge. I'm sure they did very well with the recent storm, but I'm hoping it fell on a decent enough base. Down here in the Flatlands of southern NH we picked up 6" of incredibly moisture-laden snow. Decent event for the first week of April in this climo zone, but I was definitely missing the old cabin in Jackson for this one... Phin got banned..maybe 2 years ago at this point? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jculligan Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 7 minutes ago, backedgeapproaching said: Phin got banned..maybe 2 years ago at this point? Well I am clearly out of the loop! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mreaves Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 VERMONT ...Addison County... 1 ESE New Haven Mill 15.0 624 AM 4/05 Public 2 NE Monkton 14.0 800 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS 1 NE South Lincoln 13.8 700 AM 4/05 Co-Op Observer 1 WNW Orwell 9.8 700 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS Bristol 9.6 645 AM 4/05 Co-Op Observer 2 SE New Haven 7.3 800 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS N Middlebury 3.7 700 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS Vergennes 1.2 522 AM 4/05 Co-Op Observer ...Caledonia County... Walden 20.0 904 AM 4/05 Public Sutton 16.6 720 AM 4/05 Co-Op Observer 2 S Wheelock 15.5 700 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS Stannard 15.5 906 AM 4/05 Broadcast Media North Kirby 15.0 848 AM 4/05 Public South Ryegate 14.0 812 AM 4/05 Public West Burke 14.0 748 AM 4/05 Public 2 WNW Wells River 13.7 708 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS 4 WSW Groton 12.1 100 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS Groton 12.0 931 AM 4/05 Public 1 W Lyndonville 11.8 800 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS Lyndonville 11.5 832 AM 4/05 Public West Barnet 11.0 958 AM 4/05 Public 3 NNE Danville 10.3 700 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS N Danville 10.0 730 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS Lyndon Center 9.5 954 AM 4/05 Public 4 W Barnet 9.3 745 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS N St. Johnsbury 9.2 700 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS ...Chittenden County... 4 NNE Underhill 22.0 700 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS 1 SSW Underhill 21.0 709 AM 4/05 Public 2 NW Westford 19.3 851 AM 4/05 NWS Employee 1 E Huntington 18.1 700 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS Underhill 17.0 844 AM 4/05 Public Westford 16.6 850 AM 4/05 Public Stevensville 16.5 813 AM 4/05 Public 3 SSW Williston 15.7 600 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS WSW Williston 14.5 700 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS 2 SW Milton 13.5 814 AM 4/05 NWS Employee 2 E St. George 13.0 757 PM 4/04 NWS Employee 3 SSW South Burlingt 12.8 900 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS 2 N Richmond 12.5 959 AM 4/05 Public 1 ENE Essex Junction 12.0 829 AM 4/05 NWS Employee Williston 11.0 901 AM 4/05 Public 1 NE South Burlingto 10.0 810 AM 4/05 NWS Office Essex Center 9.0 828 AM 4/05 Public 1 N Hinesburg 8.7 747 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS 2 SW Hinesburg 8.1 700 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS 3 NE Charlotte 8.0 830 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS 4 NW Burlington 5.2 800 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS 1 ENE Shelburne 4.7 700 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS N Winooski 4.2 740 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS ...Essex County... Island Pond 18.0 939 AM 4/05 Public 1 S East Haven 14.5 700 AM 4/05 Co-Op Observer Maidstone State Park 14.9 820 AM 4/05 Public 2 NNW Lunenburg 10.0 700 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS ...Franklin County... Enosburg Center 18.0 940 AM 4/05 Public 3 E Hill Farm Estate 14.0 630 AM 4/05 Public 2 NW West Hill 14.0 737 AM 4/05 Public St. Albans 14.0 827 AM 4/05 Public Franklin 13.8 902 AM 4/05 Public 5 WNW Fairfax 13.1 900 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS Binghamville 13.0 900 AM 4/05 Public 3 NNE St. Albans 13.0 845 AM 4/05 Public 3 N Enosburg Falls 11.2 700 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS 1 NNE Swanton 11.0 700 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS ...Grand Isle County... Alburgh 8.1 926 AM 4/05 Public 1 N North Hero 6.5 923 AM 4/05 Public ...Lamoille County... Stowe 23.0 1044 AM 4/05 Measured at 3000 ft. 2 SSW Eden 21.0 810 AM 4/05 Trained Spotter 1 SSW Jeffersonville 19.5 700 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS Wolcott 19.0 902 AM 4/05 Public 3 N Smugglers Notch 18.7 730 AM 4/05 Co-Op Observer Hyde Park 18.0 910 AM 4/05 Public SW Stowe 16.8 730 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS Jeffersonville 16.0 856 AM 4/05 Public Waterville 16.0 1009 AM 4/05 Public 1 N Johnson 15.0 1002 AM 4/05 Public 2 N Johnson 15.0 700 AM 4/05 Co-Op Observer Johnson 15.0 932 AM 4/05 Public 2 WSW Wolcott 14.5 700 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS Lake Elmore 14.0 956 AM 4/05 Public Morrisville 13.0 1017 AM 4/05 Public ...Orange County... 3 SW Braintree 22.0 800 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS Braintree Hill 20.0 907 AM 4/05 Public Williamstown 20.0 956 AM 4/05 Public Vershire 19.5 900 AM 4/05 Public Chelsea 19.0 901 AM 4/05 Public 2 E Corinth Corners 18.9 700 AM 4/05 Co-Op Observer Goshen 18.0 818 AM 4/05 Public 2 SE Strafford 15.3 630 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS East Randolph 15.0 118 AM 4/05 Public 2 ENE West Fairlee 14.0 700 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS 2 NNW Bradford 12.8 800 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS Fairlee 12.0 955 AM 4/05 Public Union Village NEPP 11.0 700 AM 4/05 Co-Op Observer West Newbury 10.7 827 AM 4/05 Public ...Orleans County... 4 NNE Greensboro 22.5 630 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS 7 SE Morgan 21.0 800 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS 1 WNW Westfield 21.0 700 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS Troy 18.0 1039 AM 4/05 Public Barton 17.9 858 AM 4/05 Public Greensboro Bend 17.0 816 AM 4/05 Public Craftsbury Common 16.4 700 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS 2 NNW Greensboro 16.3 700 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS Newport Center 16.0 903 AM 4/05 Public Derby Center 16.0 1019 AM 4/05 Public 1 N Barton 15.5 929 AM 4/05 Public Orleans 15.3 700 AM 4/05 Public 2 W Derby Line 14.2 700 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS Morgan 14.0 940 AM 4/05 Public ...Rutland County... Killington 23.0 813 AM 4/05 Measured at 1900 feet. 2 SSW Killington Vil 23.0 705 AM 4/05 1925` elevation North Shrewsbury 21.0 817 AM 4/05 Public Belmont 19.0 114 AM 4/05 Public Brandon 16.5 815 AM 4/05 Public Ira 14.0 831 AM 4/05 Public 1 W Shrewsbury 14.0 600 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS 1 N Rutland 12.2 700 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS 2 SSE Pittsford 12.0 800 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS 2 SSE Hyde Manor 12.0 1218 AM 4/05 Public 2 N Rutland 11.0 826 AM 4/05 Public 3 SSW Wallingford 9.4 749 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS 1 N West Rutland 8.6 615 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS Rutland 8.0 401 AM 4/05 Public 1 SSE West Rutland 7.1 800 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS ...Washington County... 3 E Warren 23.5 700 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS Northfield 23.5 935 AM 4/05 Public Barre 20.0 847 AM 4/05 Public Cabot 18.0 742 AM 4/05 Public Waterbury 18.0 936 AM 4/05 Public 2 N Waitsfield 17.9 1005 AM 4/05 Public 1 SW East Barre 17.8 1041 AM 4/05 NWS Employee 3 NNW Woodbury 17.0 700 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS Graniteville 17.0 1018 AM 4/05 Public 2 W Barre 16.0 957 AM 4/05 Public 4 ENE Cabot 16.0 800 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS East Montpelier 15.0 1000 AM 4/05 Public 2 N Calais 15.0 553 AM 4/05 Trained Spotter Woodbury 14.0 1006 AM 4/05 Public 2 W Worcester 14.0 700 AM 4/05 Co-Op Observer 3 NW Waterbury 13.6 600 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS 2 SW East Calais 13.5 700 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS 1 ESE Plainfield 12.5 700 AM 4/05 Co-Op Observer ...Windsor County... 2 NE Rochester 23.2 700 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS Barnard 20.0 818 AM 4/05 Public Sharon 19.0 855 AM 4/05 Public 3 S Ludlow 18.5 848 AM 4/05 Trained Spotter 1 NE Pomfret 16.5 907 AM 4/05 Public 1 SE West Norwich 15.5 542 AM 4/05 Public NNE Proctorsville 15.0 700 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS NE Rochester 14.9 700 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS 2 S West Windsor 13.5 700 AM 4/05 CoCoRaHS 1 E Woodstock 10.4 800 AM 4/05 Co-Op Observer 1 NNE North Hartland 10.2 700 AM 4/05 Co-Op Observer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.Spin Posted April 7 Share Posted April 7 Since things have cleared out today, it looks like Winter Storm Tormund is final over in the area, so I’ve put together the north to south storm totals that I could find from the Vermont ski areas. A number of areas aren’t providing storm totals in their summaries today, but it looks like snowfall topped around 2 to 3 feet in the Central/Northern Greens. Jay Peak: 37” Stowe: 26” Bolton Valley: 32” Pico: 27” Killington: 27” Bromley: 22” Magic Mountain: 21” Stratton: 15” Mount Snow: 16” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.Spin Posted April 7 Share Posted April 7 With Winter Storm Tormund still churning out the snow on Friday, I decided to head up to the mountain for some turns in the morning. For Bolton’s schedule at this time of year, the lifts don’t start running until noon on weekdays, so ski touring was the natural choice for morning turns. I was initially undecided about whether I was going to tour at Wilderness or on the Backcountry Network, but I ultimately didn’t end up touring in either place. On my way up the Bolton Valley Access Road, I was passing by Timberline and suddenly realized… duh, that was the place to tour! I’ve been touring almost exclusively out of Bolton’s main base area this season because of the access to the superior snowpack depth and snow quality provided by being able to start above the 2,000’ elevation. The snow depth and quality down at the base of Timberline at 1,500’ just hasn’t been there until very recently, and it had been so long since I toured down there, I’d almost forgotten it existed. But when the snow is good, you can’t beat the convenience of ski touring at Timberline with its shorter drive and immediate access to nicely pitched terrain, so once I was reminded, I jumped at the chance to start my tour there. Skier traffic was fairly light, with about a half dozen cars or so in the parking areas. There was some snow falling, but we were in a rather light phase of the ongoing storm cycle. I took depth measurements of the accumulations right at the Timberline Lodge as I was just beginning my ascent, and settled snow depths were right around 18 inches. From there, it seemed to increase by a couple of inches for each 500 feet of vertical gained. The resort was reporting 26 inches for a storm total at that point, and that would make sense for accumulations up around 3,000’ based on my measurements from those slightly lower elevations. Temperatures had cooled off overnight, so the most recent accumulations were drier and knocked the skiing up a notch relative to what I’d found on Thursday afternoon. Overall, it was still a moderately dense accumulation of new snow, but it had a little better gradient of density for powder turns. As I ascending the Timberline skin track on Twice as Nice, I was gauging my options for the descent. Even with the slightly drier snow topping off the ongoing accumulations, I knew from yesterday that having enough pitch was still going to be important for optimal power turns. I was leaning toward descending on Twice as Nice itself, since it has one of the most consistent pitches among the trail selections – it doesn’t have any heavy steeps, but it also doesn’t have the required compensatory flatter sections. My leaning changed when I watched a snowboard descending the trail with his dog, and I saw that he was bogged down and coming to a near standstill in one of the lower pitched areas. That was enough to convince me to head toward Spell Binder, where I knew I would at least get to sample the steep headwall section for some solid turns. As expected, the headwall of Spell Binder absolutely delivered. The turns were surfy and buoyant in the roughly two feet of fresh powder, and I could definitely feel the improvement that had come with that most recent drier snow topping off the rest of the accumulation. Just like Thursday afternoon, it was another session of plowing into the powder as deeply and aggressively as you wanted, and you were still nowhere near the subsurface. As a bonus, even the powder in the lower pitched areas skied fine, and I didn’t have any issues with speed. Either my 115 mm boards had surface area to spare for my weight relative to the snowboarder I’d seen, or he had some other issue (wax, etc.) keeping him from planing on those lower pitches. It was a great powder session to kick off the day, and with the storm continuing to roll along, it looked like there would be more fresh snow sessions on the way as we moved toward the weekend. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.Spin Posted April 7 Share Posted April 7 When I left home Friday morning, I’d packed an assortment of skis on the roof rack because I wanted to be ready to roll with whatever Winter Storm Tormund decided to throw at us for the next rounds of snowfall. Full fat Teles were definitely the call for ski touring at Timberline in the morning, and with the snowfall continuing throughout the day, stopping off for some lift-served turns later in the day seemed like a good way to mix things up and take advantage of the nicely shifted schedule that Bolton is now offering. In the afternoon before heading home from Burlington, I sent out a text to the family letting them know that I was heading to the mountain, and to try to catch up for some turns if anyone else was going to be there. My wife had let me know that my younger son might be heading up for some Friday afternoon turns, so I’d been watching my phone for an update about his plans. Low and behold, just as I’m heading down French Hill on I-89 in Williston, a red Subaru with a bunch of gear on the ski rack passes by on the left. It looked suspiciously like my son’s car, and before I knew it, I got a text indicating that he and his friends were right in front of me. Well, that settled that with respect to whether or not I’d be able to meet up for turns! It was raining fairly steadily as we drove through the lower valleys on our way to the mountain, and naturally we hoped that meant there was some nice snowfall occurring at elevation. Indeed, the snow line was pretty low, switching quickly to snow before we even hit 1,000’ on the Bolton Valley Access Road. Up in the Village, it was snowing pretty hard – much harder than what I’d encountered with I’d been out ski touring in the morning. The resort was busy with visitors, but there were enough people coming and going in the afternoon that we were quickly able to get a couple of parking spots right near each other in the top row of the main lot. Based on what I was expecting in terms of conditions, I grabbed my fat alpine boards for the session, since I knew we’d be encountering a lot more tracked conditions in all the dense new snow, and I figured we’d take full advantage of the opportunities the resurfacing would give us to jump into steep terrain. Main lift service for the afternoon was off the Vista Quad, so we hit a bunch of fun, steeper terrain like Vista Glades and Vermont 200 that made good use the resurfacing. Vista Glades was excellent, with all its stumps, rocks, ledges, bumps, and whatever other obstacles it contains well buried under a deep base and the thick layers of fresh snow. It offered lots of swooping and rolling terrain that made for a great ride. Even at higher elevations, the snow was a bit denser than what I’d encountered in my morning tour due to the warming of the day. Now that we were rolling into the second day of the storm cycle, plenty of folks had obviously been out enjoying the systems bounty, so we were mostly skiing tracked and packed snow, but it was skiing beautifully. The higher you went, the drier the snow was, but it was still quite decent down to even 2,000’. We did jump into some untracked areas as well, and that snow was certainly skiing denser than it had in the morning, but it was still plenty dry for some nice powder turns. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.Spin Posted April 7 Share Posted April 7 Saturday was the third day of our ongoing storm cycle, and Winter Storm Tormund had brought Bolton’s storm total to 32 inches after another few overnight. My wife and I headed up for a morning session of turns with our older son, and it was a great chance to see how conditions were looking as the system began to wind down. Bolton wasn’t kicking off lift service from the Vista Quad until 10:00 A.M., so there was no need to rush up to the mountain first thing in the morning. As a bonus, the Wilderness Chair was opening at 10:30 A.M. for the first time since the storm cycle started, so that represented a nice opportunity to get into some fresher snow. Snow was starting to mix with and change to rain in the valleys when we headed up to the mountain, but the snow line was still fairly low – certainly below 1,500’. More snow continued to fall all morning while we were out on the mountain, but it was of moderate to only occasionally heavy intensity. The clouds were also not as thick as they’d been earlier, and at times the weather was a mix of sun and snow, so the snowfall wasn’t accumulating as efficiently as it had over the previous couple of days. The upside of the thinner clouds was that the light intensity was much higher than it had been, so it made for some easier action photography. There was some wind when we first arrived up at the resort, and it really set up an overly wintry feel, but those winds dissipated before too long even up near the summits, and it started to feel more like a late-season ski day. Since temperatures had come down overnight, the new accumulations of snow were once again drier than what had been falling on Friday afternoon, so like I’d experienced Friday morning on my tour at Timberline, the quality of the powder in the morning was even better than it was in the afternoon. It does show the importance of typically getting out early for powder as we move through April, since the sunlight intensity is growing stronger and it more easily affects the quality of the snow. I brought my wife and son for a run through Vista Glades, since it had been so nice on Friday afternoon, and it delivered once again. Up at those elevations around 3,000’, the snow has been quite dry at any time of day, so you’re really getting some of the best conditions. We spent the rest of our session on Wilderness, taking advantage of all the new terrain it offered, and the lower traffic definitely helped supply a lot more fresh snow. Bolton Outlaw was skiing great, and we had some nice turns in the Outlaw Woods, and a couple of great runs in the whole length of Wilderness Woods. We explored some of the tree skiing terrain to the left of Peggy Dow’s that were really nice, and that’s a place I don’t visit too often. The freezing level seemed to be climbing as our session continued. Toward the end of the morning, on each run it seemed that the snow began to get wetter at a higher elevation. It did keep snowing all morning, but it was comfortable with the lack of wind and there was definitely an “April” feel to the storm yesterday because it didn’t have as much bite as a midwinter one. It looks like we’ll be moving out of the wintry conditions into more spring-like conditions in the coming days based on the forecast, so it should be fun to see how the snow changes. The snowpack should have some extra staying power after all the substantial late-season storms though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borderwx Posted April 8 Share Posted April 8 Not sure what’s more incredible The eclipse anticipation, or the fact that it is 61F. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mreaves Posted April 8 Share Posted April 8 4 minutes ago, borderwx said: Not sure what’s more incredible The eclipse anticipation, or the fact that it is 61F . Only 59.9° here. I'm getting screwed! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.Spin Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 Saturday was really the last day of powder and cold snow conditions from Winter Storm Tormund, but the storm cycle had delivered three great days of skiing and riding on winter snow, which is certainly decent for April. On Sunday, temperatures were expected to move into the 40s F in the mountains, which would be enough to start the snow transitioning to more spring-like conditions. My wife and I decided to head up for some turns at Bolton in the afternoon to take advantage of the sun, warmer temperatures, and hopefully the soft snow that would arise from the change in weather. Temperatures were indeed warm as expected when we headed up to the resort in the afternoon – somewhere in the upper 40s F. The mountain was certainly hopping with visitors, but we’d arrived late enough that some people had left and we could park right up near the main base lodge. Sunday was the first time this season I’ve seen the spring party atmosphere really take off on the back deck of the base lodge, so that was a clear sign of the weather. The claim to fame in the Northern Greens is really the snowfall, and true to form there’s been a solid amount of storm days in the past few weeks, so the spring vibe is especially noticeable when warm weather hits. My wife and I were extremely impressed with how the snow had transitioned from winter into spring so beautifully. We’d waxed the skis diligently in preparation for the transitioning snow, both with a good coat of regular wax followed by a topping off with Zardos Base Boost™ (i.e. NotWax that I learned about here on the forum), but we would have been fine without it. The snow in the sun was excellent – it was soft without any stickiness. Temperatures on the mountain were such that snow in the shade was actually too hard and not as fun to ski, so the sunny snow was the place to be! We had some great fun on steep terrain options like Spillway and Hard Luck – coverage was fantastic and any snow in the sun was providing beautiful peel away turns. We were finishing up a last run on Cobrass and discovered that people had set up a snowball gauntlet in the Cobrass Café area, but we managed to make it through alive. Lots of activity at the Cobrass Café is definitely another sign that spring skiing had arrived at Bolton Valley! Monday was eclipse day, so that was certainly going to be the feature presentation, but our day also involved skiing as well. We learned that Bolton Valley was having a special eclipse celebration, and they were restricting access to the resort to only season pass holders and folks who had purchased lift tickets ahead of time. Getting the chance to view the eclipse from atop a mountain peak seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up. We weren’t planning to ski a full day, but we headed up in the midmorning period to make sure we could get a parking spot. The resort was unsure of exactly how many season pass holders were going to come, so they had to be ready for some very heavy crowds. They did have a note posted on their website that they sold out of the available day tickets for skiing. Vehicle traffic at the resort was very regulated through a single path which went up and around the Village Circle, then an employee checked your pass credentials on a tablet via Wi-Fi. We were directed to park in the second tier from the bottom in the main lot, and all the tiers above were filled at that point. We hung out in the car and did some reading and work for a while, and our plan was to do some skiing after lunch. The bottom tier of parking never filled up, so eventually we moved our car right down in front of the Bolton Valley Sports Center, which gave us great Wi-Fi access. We watched a couple nearby that was assembling a very elaborate photography setup for getting images of the upcoming eclipse. We started skiing in the early afternoon, and the conditions had definitely changed since Sunday. Now, the snow in the sunny areas of the trails was rather sticky, and not that great for skiing, but the shaded areas were nice. Monday was a bit warmer than Sunday, and the temperatures had clearly crossed a threshold for snow consistency. In areas where there was appropriate shade though, like the left side of Hard Luck, the turns were very nice. While riding the Vista Quad Chair, we met up with a father and daughter who were up visiting from Connecticut. They are both ski instructors at Butternut Ski Area in Massachusetts. The dad is actually working to visit all ski areas in New England with over 1,200’ of vertical, and Bolton Valley was one of those. He specifically chose to go with Bolton for this trip because of course they were in the path of totality, but he also saw that they had western exposure, which sounded like a good setup for the eclipse. He chose very wisely. At around 2:45 P.M. we decided to get ready for the eclipse, and we opted to view it from the Vista Summit. Bolton’s game plan was to stop the lifts around 3:00 P.M. for about an hour during the darkest period of the eclipse, during which they didn’t want people skiing around the mountain. The eclipse experience itself was, of course, spectacular. There were some high clouds around, but nothing of significance, and having a few clouds actually set up some fun perspectives and views. As the light slowly faded with the sun disappearing, one aspect of the sunlight that was very special was the fact that it had the intensity of a sunrise or sunset period, yet it was still at a high angle. That’s certainly part of what makes the ambiance and lighting unique. Seeing the backlit moon in person was impressive, and of course the color and intensity of the surrounding light is very distinctive as well. I’d seen the partial solar eclipse in 2017, but this was my first time being in totality, and that’s obviously special. My impression was that it felt like being in a sci-fi movie on another planet. I was immediately reminded of the way the planet Vormir is represented in some of the Marvel’s Avengers movies. You get the impression that Vormir is sort of in a perpetual eclipse state, but they did a really nice job setting the environment for that location, because that’s the first thing that came to mind as a comparison to the scene of totality during our eclipse. From up on Vista Peak, we were able to watch the darkness of totality creep across the Champlain Valley and see lights turn on throughout the Burlington area. One thing I hadn’t heard about the overall eclipse experience prior to the event was the sunset aspect – areas just outside of totality displayed sunset/sunrise colors. Another superlative, but rather unexpected aspect of the eclipse was that it actually reset the snow surfaces so that they skied beautifully. As is common, the temperature dropped substantially during totality, but it was also lower during the partial coverage leading up to and subsequent to totality. All in all, it was enough to remove the stickiness in the snow and reset the surfaces to something similar to Sunday’s great conditions. Having solar eclipse totality centered right here over the Northern Greens in April with plentiful, deep, spring snowpack for skiing, and having beautiful weather for it, has got to be a one-in-a-lifetime event. It seems that the event also created some once-in-a-lifetime traffic congestion. We didn’t notice any issues when we headed home from Bolton in the afternoon, but later that evening when I had to head to Burlington, traffic in the other direction (southbound) was backed up for miles on both I-89 and Route 2. It was like that for hours, and my wife said it had just cleared on Route 2 when I was heading home around 9:00 P.M., but even then, the southbound lane of I-89 was still back backed up all the way to our house. What I generally heard though was that even people who were stuck in the traffic said it was worth it to experience solar eclipse totality. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.Spin Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borderwx Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 Taken a few days to let the events of the eclipse set in. Talking with my wife we were both taken by the stillness of the event. It is cool to see the crowds and hear the joy and excitement in everyone, but I am forever grateful to have had the chance to do it from our home. A home that reminds me daily of the beauty of the world, to have sat there during the eclipse was something I didn’t know would matter so much to me and my family. Very grateful.. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borderwx Posted April 21 Share Posted April 21 Debating if I should light the stove. Cheers NNE, what a place to live.. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mreaves Posted April 21 Share Posted April 21 20 minutes ago, borderwx said: Debating if I should light the stove. Cheers NNE, what a place to live. . You may not have seen it but this was yesterday in Lake Placid. Not quite NNE but similar interesting weather. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 Stowe closed today. For those interested, here is the measured snowfall at 3,000ft. The 4,000 foot elevations certainly had over 300 inches but we measure at a more useful elevation instead of the absolute maximum. Every inch of this was measured/observed and not estimated. This is what actually fell in a consistent and controlled environment on Mount Mansfield at the upper mid-slope elevation. November - 35 inches December - 34 inches January - 77 inches February - 42 inches March - 70 inches April - 31 inches Season Total - 289 inches 5 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mreaves Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 1 hour ago, powderfreak said: Stowe closed today. For those interested, here is the measured snowfall at 3,000ft. The 4,000 foot elevations certainly had over 300 inches but we measure at a more useful elevation instead of the absolute maximum. Every inch of this was measured/observed and not estimated. This is what actually fell in a consistent and controlled environment on Mount Mansfield at the upper mid-slope elevation. November - 35 inches December - 34 inches January - 77 inches February - 42 inches March - 70 inches April - 31 inches Season Total - 289 inches Mixing the conversation from the ski thread, 289” would be a new seasonal record at Whiteface. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 15 hours ago, mreaves said: Mixing the conversation from the ski thread, 289” would be a new seasonal record at Whiteface. Yeah, didn’t they say their record was 2016-17 winter? Thats also our largest since at least 2007-08…. We measured 375” in 2016-17 at the High Road plot. I’ll try to post the last 10 years later but this winter was solidly above at least the last 3-4 seasons. We were in a rut of like 220-240” seasons but 289” is more to what I believe average is, if not ever so slightly above. My gut says over time High Road comes in around 275-280” average with a range of like 220”-350” as the most likely “bin.” Could get a 2015-16 winter of 156” or a 2000-01 of like 430” on the extremes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 13 minutes ago, powderfreak said: We were in a rut of like 220-240” seasons but 289” is more to what I believe average is, if not ever so slightly above. Further supporting the case for average snowfall is the snow depths on hill at elevation were about as normal as it gets in the means. One thing that stands out that skiers noticed this year is the thaws. After each big snow and snowpack gain, it was almost immediately knocked back by a rain event. Even with 100” after March 1st, we had two big gains and the first one was wiped out almost immediately by rain and warmth. Without that, the snowpack would’ve gotten over 100” easily between the mid-March cycle and early April storms. March’s 70” and April’s 31” saved the season. March saw that 50” snowpack gain from 40” to 90”, which was super impressive and saved the season. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.Spin Posted April 23 Share Posted April 23 On 4/21/2024 at 10:30 PM, powderfreak said: Stowe closed today. For those interested, here is the measured snowfall at 3,000ft. The 4,000 foot elevations certainly had over 300 inches but we measure at a more useful elevation instead of the absolute maximum. On that note, I grabbed what was available for the season snowfall totals at the Vermont ski areas – the north to south listing is below. The numbers may increase for areas that are still open like Killington, Jay Peak, Sugarbush, etc., but typically the increases aren’t huge through the end of April and May. Jay Peak: 371” Burke: 180” Smuggler’s Notch: 264” Stowe: 289” Bolton Valley: 335” Mad River Glen: 242” Sugarbush: 249” Pico: 239” Killington: 239” Okemo: 133” Bromley: 135” Magic Mountain: 132” Stratton: 142” Mount Snow: 120” As you noted, I’m sure Stowe would be right up there above 300” if snowfall measurements were taken from ridgeline/summit areas like Bolton Valley and Jay Peak are presumably doing. I’m not sure what to make of the Smugg’s number though; they were traditionally right in line with the increasing snowfall numbers as one headed northward along the spine, but their numbers have been consistently on the low side all season relative to the other resorts in the Northern Greens. Perhaps they’ve switched to recording snowfall at mid-mountain or base elevations instead of near the summits. It wasn’t really a big season for upslope snow (December can be a big period it was relatively slow this season), so I thought that might be an issue for a west-side resort like Smugg’s, but it didn’t seem to prevent Bolton from getting roughly average snowfall, and it played out that way at our site in the valley with roughly average snowfall as well. That Smugg’s season total is still higher than anything reported from the Central Greens thus far, so that’s consistent with the usual trend. The snowfall numbers just fell right off a cliff once you get to the Southern Greens though. The snowfall typically drops off as you head southward, but this season showed an even sharper cutoff than usual - all those season snowfall numbers are even well below what we recorded for snowfall at our site in the valley at 500’. The perception of the snowfall in those Southern Greens resorts is very interesting. I can remember map after map after map this season showing projected storm jackpot zones in those areas, and some of them even played out that way in reality with pretty substantial hits of snow. Maybe those events just get big fanfare around here in the forum because they are more in line with systems that are affecting the more populated areas of the Northeast. I’m not sure exactly what the deal is, but the numbers are paltry, and it’s not as if it’s just one resort being conservative – that’s 120”-140” of snow for the entire season across five independent ski resorts. Mount Snow at the southern end of the state ultimately recorded less than a third of the snowfall that Jay Peak recorded at the northern end of the state, so the typical disparity was even more enhanced than usual this season. Ultimately, I don’t think a few big storms a season is really a great climate for a ski resort in the Northeast anyway, since the variability in the weather around here calls for more consistent refresher snowfalls to recover conditions back to something respectable. From what I’ve seen over the years, it’s not as if the northern areas are simply getting the same amount of snowfall just spread out more evenly throughout the season; the more consistent snowfall of various types vs. just large storms seems to end up in larger overall totals as well. I’ve seen people scoff at the disparity in snowfall from south to north because they assume the northern resorts are just inflating the numbers, but I think it’s perception – people seem to have a hard time integrating all the smaller, more frequent snowfalls into their perception of the overall snowfall vs. the larger, attention-grabbing systems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted April 23 Share Posted April 23 10 hours ago, J.Spin said: As you noted, I’m sure Stowe would be right up there above 300” if snowfall measurements were taken from ridgeline/summit areas like Bolton Valley and Jay Peak are presumably doing. I’m not sure what to make of the Smugg’s number though; they were traditionally right in line with the increasing snowfall numbers as one headed northward along the spine, but their numbers have been consistently on the low side all season relative to the other resorts in the Northern Greens. Perhaps they’ve switched to recording snowfall at mid-mountain or base elevations instead of near the summits. It wasn’t really a big season for upslope snow (December can be a big period it was relatively slow this season), so I thought that might be an issue for a west-side resort like Smugg’s, but it didn’t seem to prevent Bolton from getting roughly average snowfall, and it played out that way at our site in the valley with roughly average snowfall as well. That Smugg’s season total is still higher than anything reported from the Central Greens thus far, so that’s consistent with the usual trend. I know this is a sensitive subject and what I'm about to say is not accusing anyone of misleading or trying to be higher or market snowfall more. Smuggs has moved to a more controlled snow measurement with a branded measuring spot I've seen posted a few times. I think that's what you are seeing there. To me, Bolton stands out much more than Smuggs on that list. Did Bolton get almost 100 more inches than MRG this winter? Really think about that for a second. That's 8 more feet of snow, the snow depths must've really reflected that too? I have personally seen it happen at Stowe and truly believe it to be the case, that if you are doing the old school estimating snowfall version of Snow Reporting (just skiing around, finding a general 8 - 10 inches depending on where you are, and then always adding the higher value to the season total) you will have a noticeably larger season total over time. It isn't wrong per se, and skiers/riders won't find it off because they are skiing sometimes in 7-8 inches and sometimes they find some turns with 10 inches of new snow. But you are taking the deepest amount found in any storm and adding it up over time... and those deepest places aren't always in the same spot though depending on wind direction. Look at the ski areas that have gone to a more controlled measuring... Sugarbush has their stakes and cams, so does MRG. Smuggs looks to have pivoted to that direction from what I noticed the past couple seasons. We've gone that way at Stowe too. The two locations I have yet to see a consistent measuring site or some sort visual proof of like a plot or spot are Bolton and Jay. Again, this doesn't mean they are fibbing or making things up, but just going about it the old school way. But you'll see their numbers stay in-line with the old school numbers, which are a bit higher. An example is for those who have ever worked in Operations, say you call Ski Patrol to ask how much snow has fallen? You are going to get a range as an answer every single time. Just like if you asked any skier or rider. How much snow was there? Oh there was 6 - 8 inches out there on the hill. Sounds good. And it's usually correct that the snowfall will be in that range as one skis around a mountain. However, what if you only measured from one specific location or two specific locations? All the sudden the place you chose to represent snowfall shows 6.5". Now you are deciding to report 6, maybe 7 if you want to push it, but not 8 that the old school method would be. Take Bolton... when J.Spin goes up there he usually finds the reported snowfall in his wanderings around. But I'd be curious what that snowfall might look like if he went to the same exact location every single time. Maybe he finds only 7" at the designated spot because the storm came with a strong east wind, but skis around in the woods on his tour at some other aspect and finds 9" or 10". Old style would say there was 7-10" of new snow (maybe even 6 - 10 inches), but now the 7 would get recorded in the annual tally not 10. There is a subtle difference that adds up over time when talking about dozens and dozens of snowfall reports over a season. The larger the snowfall range I see from a ski area, the more likely I know they are going old school and estimating. Unless it is a highly marginal elevational storm with slop and pow up high, 6-10" on a snow report is a forecast, not a snowfall measurement. If I see "24 Hour New Snow: 8 - 14 " that's just tossing numbers out there in a windy snowstorm. Synoptic events and even upslope won't give anywhere near that range even at elevation. Synoptic events I've noticed are often very close between elevations and summits. The lift is occurring in the mid-levels. There's no reason for a large range of more than an inch or two. But occasionally we see these big ranges on snow reports, but that's the old school snow reporting method. No one will convince me otherwise, but there is a total snowfall difference annually between the old school estimated range method and any mountain that goes to a singular specific location that shows just one number and one number only with no adjustments. I believe we are seeing it happen with Smuggs now too, corrects downward. Old school snow report ranges of snowfall does capture a mountain's snowfall well in each specific event in my opinion, but will lead to compounding overtime as it is always taking the deeper value and adding it onto itself. As opposed to taking one number from the same exact location or two locations all season, regardless of wind direction, nuances, etc and adding that up. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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