MRVexpat

3k NAM holding steady with a general 3-6" in C/NNH and NW ME. Skiing South Baldface Saturday and curious when the precip sets in? GYX seems to think mid morning while the models are showing an afternoon affair. Timing will likely determine whether I head up into the alpine or ski the glades. 

55 minutes ago, PhineasC said:

Given the solid pack heading into March, if we can avoid a mega-torch and rain it could be a really nice ski month.

March is #1 for skiing in my book. You've got a deep pack and then it either dumps or is sunny and warm. Can't beat it. 

Edit: obviously there are exceptions, its New England after all. But your odds are as good as they're gonna get!

30 minutes ago, J.Spin said:

So where I topped out was in the 3,000’ – 3,100’ elevation range, and I’d argue that it was already boot pack territory.  Boot packing up there would also be quite slow though because you’re pushing up very steep terrain with lots of powder.  It would be a serious slog through the snow once you were off your skis if someone hadn’t already broken trail, although you could stick to the more packed snow in some of the main chutes and that might offer some efficiency.  I don’t know how far that group of five went, but if they were going all the way to the summit at ~3,800’, it must have been a lot of work.  I’m sure one can make it up to the Big Jay summit by skinning that route, but it’s probably something to do if you’ve got a lot of time and want the challenge, it’s certainly not the efficient way to go.  I do wonder if there’s an approach from the Little Jay side that perhaps gets it done in a practical way.

Thanks for the detailed description! Yeah I think we've had similar experiences. If your objective is to ski as much powder as possible, the effort to vertical ratio just isn't there above 3k if you're going straight up the face of Big Jay. The trees are plenty steep in that 2400-3000' range anyways to make a lap or two super rewarding. A friend of mine actually booted up the last 700' or so just a few days before you did and said it was really slow going, for the reasons you described. That top part is sweet on alpine gear, but probably not worth it unless you're coming from the ski area. 

The bolded part is what I'm really interested in. I wonder how much progress could be made by zigging and zagging up the south facing ridgeline that separates the Big and Little Jay basins. Will have to find out someday... 

10 hours ago, J.Spin said:

We talked about that fantastic snow up in Big Jay Basin on Saturday, and it just kept accumulating throughout the time I was there.  Here at the house, the snowfall really ramped up on Saturday night, and I figured it had to really be unloading up there in the basin, so I told the family and we all headed out for a tour on Sunday.

 

The weather was quite a contrast between Saturday and yesterday – Saturday was relatively low visibility with constant snowfall, but yesterday there was hardly a cloud in the sky.  The basin area had definitely picked up more snow since I’d left on Saturday, but it was most notable above the road elevation (~1,500’).  On Saturday, I found powder in the 8-12” range down there, and it was probably closer to a consistent 12” on Sunday.  Up higher, I’d found 12-16” in the 2,500’ range, but my measurements show that the powder depth had increased to roughly 20” when we were there yesterday afternoon.  If one considers how dry that snow was, and whatever settling occurred, that was obviously another impressive shot of snow on Saturday night.

 

A few shots from yesterday’s tour in Big Jay Basin:

 

 

 

 

How high up on Big Jay were you able to get? In my experience the going gets really tough up above about 2800-3000 feet and to summit I'd guess you'd have to boot pack? I've also never skinned the ridge between Big and Little Jay basins so that may be the way to go. Its why I almost prefer Little Jay if coming from 242. You get nearly to the summit without much hassle and its a shorter approach as well. 

S+ on the Stratton cams. Radar returns are "only" 20-25 dbz. 

3 minutes ago, powderfreak said:

What a dumpster fire that was lol.  I think after that was my changing point.  No longer anxious for snow because I know it’ll come and be better than that winter haha.

Ain't that the truth! 14-15 was my first winter at the Bush and I was like oh, 250" a year is average, this is how it always is. Great! So yeah the following year did some bad things to my psyche haha. 

14 minutes ago, weathafella said:

Ripping nicely as the band from the west catches up with the nice oes band regenerating over us.

 

 

dang! that is cool to see

Coming down nicely here in Cambridgeport. Decent growth. Eyeballing 1.5" or so. 

1 hour ago, bwt3650 said:

Been a great stretch...no liquid or thaw/freeze has kept it fresh and any crust out of it.  Def flirting with the end of the streak tmrw, but should recover quick with the famous J-spin upslope insurance policy later in the week after the Friday Storm.  No Snorkel storms, but just good quality, consistent skiing.

 I haven't made it to big jay, but it's on my list (need someone experienced who knows it)…did you go up from the 242 parking lot or from that spot off Northway?

We went off of northway. It was pretty damn obvious where to go but the key is definitely to keep heading skiers right where possible once you drop in because it can be a long slog out of the bottom drainage to the road if you go too far; the boarder in our group definitely struggled and we were still conscious of this. 

Little Jay is a more accessible and fun skin from 242, some awesome lines in there. 

Spent 4 days skiing Jay and touring the surrounding area last week. Pretty incredible snow given the complete lack of thaws the past month or so. Definitely had that bottomless feel that you crave. First time skiing Big Jay from the top as well. That and the Mansfield chin are truly the definition of "steep and deep" in the region. 

16 minutes ago, powderfreak said:

Looks like the EURO bumped the moisture back up a bit with the light event tomorrow.  Biggest change was in Maine it seems.

Good event for S/C NE.  But that little bit of moisture up here should add to another little refresh.

Sweet! Seems as if the mesos bump QPF up even more along the spine...as expected. It seems they do this no matter if orographic enhancement is in play or not (I realize it often is)

38 minutes ago, bwt3650 said:

I’ll let the others more familiar with the meteorology, flow and wind pattern this week comment, but I will say that tues and weds look good for powder refills and right now, the woods are so deep that they don’t even really need much more than that when you will be there.  People are starting to pick up on how well the northern greens are skiing so maybe it will start to get a little more crowded, but mid week has been amazing and empty; zero lift lines.  Everything is staying fresh.  I would recommend the glades off ullrs (andres and beaver) as well as everglade right now. Also, the tram is not running weekdays, so hike up north way and Valhalla will be untouched or if you know the pump house.

Sweet! Yeah I'm really looking forward to it. Have skied Jay about 10 times over the years so I'm somewhat familiar with the terrain. My deepest east coast day to date was/is still my sophomore year of high school (March 06 I think?) where I learned in Beaver Pond that the "need a snorkel" joke wasn't a joke after all haha. 

Got a place just south of Jay Pass for the week, right where Big/Little Jay dump out. Looking forward to touring in the backyard and getting some midweek days in at the resort! Looks like tomorrow will bring yet another refresh to the area, otherwise what are thoughts on bread and butter related chances throughout the week?

1 hour ago, jculligan said:

I've got four skis in rotation right now. If I'm skiing fast groomers with no uphill involved, I have a pair of race skis that are 72 underfoot. My two touring skis are 95 and 97 underfoot, which seems to be perfect in most conditions here in the East...then I have a fat pair of 115s that I might only use once or twice a season. Definitely good to have a quiver!!

That's solid! I'm running 5 right now but the GS skis and powder boards (also 115 underfoot) rarely get used. My SL skis and all mountain skis (Line Supernatural, 86 underfoot) are good early/mid season and then I have my touring skis (4FRNT Raven, 104 underfoot, full rocker, 29 m radius)....so they're slightly flawed but ski a lot more reasonably than the #s suggest. Next year I'm looking to maybe ditch the pow boards and GS skis for another touring setup, something mid 90s and with a bit of camber to push into. 

Sorry if OT, but this thread and the ski thread sometimes seem like one in the same 

23 minutes ago, tamarack said:

100 mm - did not know there were Alpine skis that wide.  Except for length, those boards would look appropriate on the jumping hill.  

Yup that's basically the norm these days. Makes sense out West and in the kind of pattern we've been in recently but all too often I'll roll up to the hill in November and see hordes of people with these all mountain/powder skis strapped to their feet just lapping firm groomers. I guess that's why its best to have a quiver!

Just now, powderfreak said:

I know who he is.  He is an extremely educated and long time expert skier in NNE.  He's been in countless magazine photos and covers over the years like Powder, Skiing and Ski.  A Mad River Glen local.  That community is crushed.  

Yeah I was real bummed to hear about it. Didn't know him well at all but the definition of a local legend. 

6 minutes ago, PhineasC said:

My dad used to wax our skis at the end of each season back in the day. I do remember that wax smell. Good memories. 

I am thinking about getting the whole setup here. Just trying to figure out if this is done every 'x' outings or just when you think it's time based on how things are going out on the slopes.

For me the frequency with which I tune is a feel thing and vary ski to ski. Like if my slalom skis stop gripping on glare ice then we have a problem haha. Otherwise a classic rule of thumb for me is I wax about every 5 outings on a particular pair, edges every 10-15 or so and besides that fix core shots and edge burrs as needed. 

22 minutes ago, PhineasC said:

How often do you guys wax and sharpen your skis? I never used to ski more than a couple times a year so this never seemed like an issue. The beginning of season major tune up seemed fine. Now we ski five days a week. As always, the Internet has many opinions but some people take things like this overboard so what is the “normal” or average routine like? I have six pairs of skis to deal with so hoping to get by with not having to basically open my own tuning shop.   

I am not noticing any issues with my skis. So maybe not even an issue?

There's not a lot to it if you want to do it yourself. You'll need a work bench with vices, file, diamond stones, bevel angle/file guide for base and side edges, wax, iron, wax scraper, ptex sticks. Watch a few youtube videos and its quite easy to catch on. I typically only bring my skis into the shop when they need a base grind, otherwise the self tune has always worked fine. It probably won't be as precise as a shop tune, but there's just something about working on your own gear with a beer in hand and the smell of wax in the air. 

12 minutes ago, mreaves said:

My wife's father grew up on Tracy Hill.  His family owned a farm and he had 18 brothers and sisters.  The family still has a hunting camp on about an acre of land up ther but I don't think anyone has been there for a few years.

Very cool. The road leading up to the cabin is one of the steeper class 3 roads I've had the pleasure of driving. Going to be a good test for AWD and snow tires

1 minute ago, Fozz said:

I’ll be in town, staying in a nice Victorian home.

Nice! I was up on Tracy Hill in Roxbury for the week just down the road from Northfield, leaving tomorrow. Snow starting to pick up ever so slightly here. Should be a fun afternoon! Blocked the afternoon off for important "meetings" at Sugarbush. 

1 hour ago, mreaves said:

I should add that the air was so crystal clear today that the Presidentials looked like you could reach out and touch them. If I had binoculars I probably could have seen Phin disrobing to each model run as it came in. 

For real. Was on Camel's Hump and you could basically make out the Cog on Washington and Superstar at Killington could be seen clear as day. Low 20s and not a breath of wind on the summit while it was 5 below in the lot while we were booting up lol. 

16 minutes ago, TheSnowman said:

Ahhhh the Final tune was Spain, by Chick Corea.  Before it was If I ain't got You by Alicia Keys.  Another one was Panarea, a South American Tune.  Bella Chitarra, a Jazz Waltz.  Ahhhhh what else, La Vie en Rose with the Violinist.  Or the Romanian tune, which was the Fast Duo tune we did.  

Chick Corea! Totally makes sense now, that's the one. 

1 hour ago, TheSnowman said:

GUYS!!!!  

 

I Totally Forgot to tell YOU - I'm Livestreaming a Huge Concert I did in LA that has been Fully Edited and Never before Seen (unless you where there)!!  Starts at 6pm.  

 

 

Dude!!! So rad. What is the name of the tune that is currently being played??? (If you see this in time). I've seen Club D'elf cover it a good amount of times at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge where they have their residency. 

Was back at my old haunts yesterday for my first midweek day on the hill since being an employee three years ago. Sick snow globe feel and nobody around yielded around 3" by last chair. Visited some old favorites and while soft turns were had, we could use another 1-2' of consolidated base before the real fun starts.  

Went up to Brandon Gap for the day Saturday and found excellent ski conditions! Depth checks revealed about 20-24" @ 1800' and about 30" at 2900'.