Fozz

My trip to Garrett county began when I arrived yesterday afternoon during the WAA phase of the storm. The storm hit hard and heavy from the very beginning, and by the time I arrived in Accident, MD, it was already ripping. I knew from that moment that I was in for a very memorable trip.

We eventually got a dry slot and a bit of a lull.

But then by this morning, the upslope had begun, and as I headed to Wisp, it was already coming down hard. At the top of the hill it was basically a blizzard.

Later on I headed to Timberline, and on my way I was treated to lovely scenes such as the one below.

Then once I arrived and hit the slopes, I couldn't believe how much fresh snow I found on the trails, and into the glades. This was a very common sight today on that mountain.

And although it was only snowing lightly when I arrived, the squalls returned with a vengeance, and by late afternoon, the blizzard was back.

But on my way down on my last run, I still had the chance to take in this scenery.

Overall it was an incredible trip, and what I saw and experienced today easily beats my visit to Jay Peak 10 months ago. Maybe not the mountain itself, but certainly the storm and the conditions (both on the roads and on the slopes).

I will never forget this.

Just now, DDweatherman said:

Earlier I heard things were awful when the bands were cranking. Whiteout conditions every few minutes. 

Oh yeah, the afternoon had brutal conditions, blowing snow, visibility of a few feet, and whiteout conditions especially in the open fields where blowing snow from massive drifts made it impossible to see ahead and was very disorienting. Even now the open fields are a bit treacherous, but not as bad as earlier.

1 minute ago, DDweatherman said:

Fozz, hows 219 looking? I’m over towards Glendale and Glade, and the roads just are not looking great right outside the development (which they kept up on with plowing). 

This was absolutely a classic storm for me out here, rivaled some of the fiercest conditions I’ve been in this morning. 

219 is alright, much better than it was in the afternoon.

2 minutes ago, SomeguyfromTakomaPark said:

Canaan is up to 16.4 as of 7pm. 

I'm not surprised. It certainly felt like classic New England skiing nearby in Timberline. Those mountains could end up with close to 20" by the time it's done. 

I ended up going to both Wisp and Timberline today because I just couldn't help it. The snow actually calmed down early in the afternoon when I made my trip to Timberline, but then it got heavy again towards closing time, back to the way it was earlier in the day. But on my drive back the conditions weren't too bad.

Incredible day all around. I've never enjoyed as much fresh snow on any slopes as I did today. And Timberline has some fantastic glades, something you don't see very often on a mid-Atlantic hill. I'd have to say this event is an all timer for me when it comes to snow chases/ski trips, right alongside my trip to SNE in Feb 2013 when they were hit by a HECS. Now I need to head out west.

As for the town itself, it certainly has the look and feel of a near-HECS. Definitely a Garrett county classic.

4 minutes ago, nj2va said:

Curious how it is too - we’re on the fence about skiing today with these insane conditions.  

I think as long as you stick to the main roads and take reasonable precautions you should be fine. Looks amazing here and I can’t wait to head up on the lifts.

1 minute ago, mdhokie said:

Hows Wisp? we are planning to head up in the next hour.

Probably 12-16" so far with off and on heavy snow. Just shoveled the driveway and its already white again.

I just parked. Eating a sandwich and then I’ll hit the slopes.

6 minutes ago, psuhoffman said:

It’s ok. It happens. Can’t control the weather. I might try to get some turns tomorrow since we decided to stay another night. The road is awful right now. Took me an hour to go 500 yards from condo to the top. Problem is all the people getting stuck and blocking the road. Maybe I could get home today if I tried but with 2 little kids it’s just not worth the risk. It’s bad out there and would be for about 75 miles until you clear east of the high ridges to the Shenandoah Valley. And I’m not even sure how good they got those roads there yet but at least there is no upslope snow there. 

I was on the fence between Wisp and Timberline for today. I’m so glad I chose Wisp. Driving an hour and a half in these wild conditions would be too much, and who knows whether Timberline would have a wind hold as well by the time I would’ve arrived.

I’ll hit Timberline tomorrow. My ticket there is good for any day.

5 minutes ago, DDweatherman said:

Definitely need a blizzard warning for those in the mountains…

Do you think skiing is possible tomorrow, or will the winds be too high for the lifts to operate?

1 minute ago, Maestrobjwa said:

Did you recently move?

From New England back to Maryland? Yes.

But no I didn't move to the mountains (part of me wishes I did lol). I'm just making a little ski trip out of this storm, just like I did for the last one.

21 minutes ago, DDweatherman said:

Radar has nothing really over us but I just went out and it’s some of the most brutal winter Wx I’ve been in (chased LES storms in Upstate NY). 

some 3-4’ drifts out there too, moderate to heavy snow. Almost a complete whiteout at times. I’d say at least 8”

It's almost impossible to measure. And yeah as I learned the other week, the weather here in the mountains doesn't care what the radar says.

This storm is easily on par if not better than the ones I've seen in northern NH and Vermont.

Just now, Kleimax said:

Not sure, probably around 3 inches give or take

That’s a nice decent total. Definitely was a good few hours.

1 minute ago, Kleimax said:

Sleet in Timonium now

How much snow did you get prior to the changeover?

We’re in a lull/dry slot for now in Accident and throughout Garrett county, but until now it’s been incredible so I have no complaints.

19 minutes ago, nj2va said:

You picked a good storm to chase - stop by Firefly Farms in Accident if its still open.  One of our favorite places out here.  

Looks like it closes at 4pm. Maybe I’ll check it out Tuesday on my way out.

3 minutes ago, nj2va said:

My partner asked me to go outside to get a photo of the winter margarita on the deck in the snowstorm for his Instagram. The things we do for our SOs

Also, winds gusting in the 40s making for blizzard conditions at times.

1 minute ago, DDweatherman said:

@nj2va we’ve been getting absolutely hammered here. Conditions rivaling some of our best storms back home. I’d say probably 5-6” depending on location? 

Same here… and I can definitely attest to it looking like a blizzard at times.

Just now, jacindc said:

I don't know why people are always in a hurry to take down lights. Leave em up and you get such pretty tableaus when it snows!

IMO the lights should stay up for the whole winter. It always makes for amazing scenes on a snowy day like today.

I’ve rarely seen such huge flakes at 14 degrees.

Staying in Accident and might head to Wisp.

I just arrived in Garrett county. Coming down very hard here. Probably the heaviest snow I’ve seen all season in daylight.

4 minutes ago, SilentTalkie said:

careful with the jokes. We have some raw weenies in here. 

Just cook them, put them on a bun and add ketchup. Problem solved. 

As I mentioned in the other thread, here are the pics and videos from my visit to Jay Peak during my long stay in Vermont last year. There were on and off snow squalls and the whole afternoon was a blast. Probably one of the best days of my whole journey.

20 minutes ago, nj2va said:

Yep, when you see the final accumulation maps showing 10”-12”+, there’ll be some folks out here screaming bust when there’s mixing tomorrow night/poor snow growth and 1-3” on the ground.  It’s sort of a two-parter - WAA where we’ll deal with lower ratios and mixing with sleet and then pure fluff Monday into Tuesday AM where we stack up.

Y’all are going to clean up with the the upslope down there.  I’ll do well up here but this setup will crush Davis.

I'll be staying in Garrett county Sunday through Tuesday, but I'm thinking I will head to Timberline on Monday. It's a bit of a drive but it looks way too good to resist. And this time it looks like just about the entire mountain will be open. An amazing opportunity coming up.

It's ok to be disappointed. But you can't let it ruin your day. The solution is to shake it off and move on.

12 hours ago, Jebman said:

Absurd snowfall? Hit the Sierras. You might not be able to leave lmao kinda like the Donner Party

I was at Jay Peak last March during a snowstorm. I can share the pics in the picture thread if you’d like.

Does the NAM know something that the rest of the models are missing? Will they score the coup?