mcglups

Wildcat skied quite well this morning. As typical with my routine, I was the 10^th or so chair to start the day and there were 2 main trails down the mountain (total trail count of 9) and I found that the amount of slippery/icy spots were a minimum and the groomed frozen granular was enjoyable. With a slight respiratory illness and fatigue from my medication, a six-pack of runs is sufficient to satisfy my craving, restock the stoke, and it is especially fun to watch the little kids in the ski team zipping down the mountain. Wildcat has a vibe that is stuck in the 80’s (or 90's I get the confused, ha!) and while I go there because it is 18 miles from my home (and the epic northeast is just $555), I think it is a great mountain. For Sunday, I’m heading to Attitash for the opening of the high-speed quad to the top of the mountain, replacing the “slowest triple chair ever”. Let’s hope the cutters coming up are cold enough that even a soaking of rain doesn’t tax the snow pack across the region. 

The new quad at attitash is coming online on sunday. This, along with mountain snow forecast will keep me up north for the day.  

3 hours ago, Layman said:

Do you typically go to the more northern mountains like Bretton Woods, Wildcat and Attitash?  Or do you make it further down to Loon, Waterville, etc?  

I can't recall the last time I was up in Berlin or how long of a ride it is!  

If these model runs hold together, it's looking like an adventurous ride south for you on Sunday.  

I ski at wildcat, at the tail end of the season I'll venture to sugarloaf.  From door to door it is 255 miles.

Who knows, maybe I'll ski last run and attempt the drive at 5pm.

Can I get a few runs on Sunday morning and then drive back to RI, or will this turn into a 10-hour commute! As it looks, Saturday will be a fun day to return after a 3-week hiatus. Bring on the ski season for 2024!

have not traced this into the forecast, but that storm in the NPAC means business.

https://manati.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/datasets/SGWHData.php

altimeter with a huge swath of 40+ foot seas and several 50+

50 minutes ago, mreaves said:

So what do people do during an eclipse? I get driving to the area that gets longer totality but to experience that you don’t need to be anywhere specific, right? You could just be on some back dirt road or out standing in your yard. It just sounds like there shouldn’t be an issue finding someplace to pull off to the side of the road. I don’t know, maybe I’m underestimating the crowds that will be around?

I agree with your thoughts, the one thing that is sneaking up in interest is how local and state police are going to manage this event. For example, in Franconia Notch during leaf season the put out miles (literally miles) of orange cones every 3 meters that prevent people from pulling off the side of the road. Are people going to be able to pull off the side of the road on 26/145/3 in Coos County and just stay there for hours on end? Having just 1 car on the side of the road brings the average speed down quite a bit, to have mass amounts of car on the side of the road will turn these state highways into parking lots. The weather is the other wildcard, if somehow snow pack materializes, all the side roads, fire roads and construction access roads will be a sh%t show. --- It should be interesting to see how this evolves!

10 minutes ago, mreaves said:

Wait, haven’t you heard? I have it on good authority that  it’s never going to snow again. 

With our luck, all ski resorts will close early due to lack of snow and torrential rains in Mid-March, and then we get a long duration cold snap in April and the mountains take in feet of snow pack for the eclipse. I'm all about experiences, so I'll take the mixed bag!

1 minute ago, powderfreak said:

It is… it hit me today, knowing another mild rainy day is coming tomorrow, with a little CAA on Friday but not much.  It has felt very much like April over the 7-10 days.  Flooding rain/snowmelt was now 9 days ago and nothing close to winter since then.

As much as I want to drive north and get in some season pass free runs, the idea of a 500 mile round trip to get these conditions has me sticking to the ocean this weekend. Hoping that we can get below freezing by Monday and guns turn on for days.

1 hour ago, wxeyeNH said:

I saw one total eclipse in my life.  Traveled to Aruba.  The most awesome thing I have ever witnessed as far as nature is concerned. Better than the 2 tornadoes I once saw on a tornado tour I went on.  Tell your boss you want the day off.  I know that Colebrook NH is planning on 30,000 people.  If it looks like a nice day the interstates going north are going to be jammed so plan ahead.  I live about 35 miles south of the path of totality.  I know many of the back roads going north but of course will wait.  If it there is a departing storm and it looks better in NY State we will just head that way the day before and sleep in the car if necessary.

You HAVE to be in the path of totality.  Even if your location has a 99% partial eclipse that 1% screws it up.  I heard an expression about a total solar eclipse regarding the path of totality.  It is like almost being dead to really being dead.

Wow, that is a big $ss event for Colebrook, I can't imagine that many people in that town.

In terms of the path of totality, referencing the above chart at the start of the thread, is it anywhere between the red lines, or is there a good reason to get as close to the blue line? I'm in Berlin and planning to drive into Canada, but if I head towards Wentworth's Location that is a much easier experience.

Even if it is snowing, to have it go dark in a snow storm mid-day would be equally awesome

Already have the 8th off from work

Driving across Pittsburg crossing and heading to megantic national par in canada.  I have no idea if anything is planned and the weather is a long shot, but I'll see what happens!

23 minutes ago, bwt3650 said:

Nothing natural is skiable. Too many rocks poking through, water bars, bare spots. If it was just an even, consistent melt I think some of them would have been bad, but open. The heavy rain washing stuff out is was really hurt. You won’t see anything but snowmaking trails at jay, and probably anywhere in vt until at least 6-8 fresh IMO. I guess the good part is there is snow on the trails, just not the entire trail. The other problem is that because terrain is so limited now, even the groomers are getting beat by 10am with holiday traffic. It just sucks after how good it was for the better part of 4 weeks. Need to get the 28th to changeover faster and overperform, or sit nearby so we can at least upslope our way back to respectability. The resorts with snowmaking fire power like killington, Stratton and Stowe are the winners right now.


.

Agreed. I have a 250 mile drive to my place up north (which I enjoy the travel) but to plan to just get at-best 6 runs each day that lessen in quality to the point of the final run being on the verge of dangerous, is a tough sell. A couple of weeks ago I was halfway down a run and looked around and saw high school kids tearing it up with fearless courage, middle-age folks like myself with wild ranges of skill and risk taking, and then people learning to ski (because there is just one run down) and just decided to hold off until conditions improve. Then, the next weekend the devastation hit!  --- I will probably venture back up just to check-in, but I agree wholeheartedly that we had a magnificent start and now we need a full reload.

9 minutes ago, Layman said:

Are helmets required PPE at resorts nowadays or just a smart decision to keep the semi-important grey matter in tact?

It's been many years since we've been snowboarding and are planning on taking the kids this year while seeing if taking a break for half our lives has had any impact on our abilities...

I have not seen (or heard of elsewhere) of helmets being mandatory. I was on the tram at Cannon about 12 years ago, looked around, and it was just me without a helmet, so I've worn one ever since (including a helmet when biking around town). Last season I caught a rail, couldn't control my speed and fell to the side (ski's stayed on) but my left hip bumped the earth with some force and my left side of the helmet has a tiny scratch on it from hitting the surface.

However, statistics from resorts on accidents would be way more definitive to aide in decision making. Of immediate awareness, most places have a frozen foundation, even more so this season right now.

A friend shared this map on social media and it even further tells the story of the lack of snow coverage. I believe VT has 5,000 miles of snowmobile trails, and there are 0 miles open.

https://vtvast.org/trails.html

A wild ride to watch the devastation and recovery underway up north. Despite my interest to enjoy more days on the slopes, the combination of the holiday uptick of people and the limited/recovered terrain, and health issues that don't have any capacity for injury, I'm playing it safe and resuming weekend trips on January 5th. If the 7-day forecast holds for a warm system to drop rain, that is unfortunate to say the least. ... As time marches into the decades ahead, warm systems with copious amount of rain (in very short time periods) will occur every month of the year, but timing is everything and I am sure we will all squeak out lots of awesome days.

On 12/18/2023 at 8:07 PM, drstuess said:

Maybe McGulps will weigh in, but biggest seas I have seen in RI. Novelty waves breaking way up the bay and Block buoy was 30' all day. Ocean is mean.

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk
 

Agreed that the significant wave heights with the 2023 system (calling it Vince just in case NHC reclassifies it) was right up there with the wave heights from 2012 (Sandy). With many similarities such as surf way up the River (which is a site to see!) Sandy scored a more impactful score in the duration of a sustained sea state over 5 meters and a greater amount of time of longer period swell already in the waters prior to the max event. 2023 did have a high wave energy at time of peak impact with the 9 meters at 17 seconds while 2012 had 9.5 meters at 14 seconds.

Either way you slice it, weather in western boundary mountains in Maine or the shoreline of Rhode Island, the impacts of more heat and moisture in the atmosphere is a reality that we need to develop residential and political will to think long term for adaptation to the new normal, resiliency for extreme events, and sustainability to make every day decisions that protect our quality of life, for future generations, and making sure the most disadvantaged communities are prioritized first.

what an amazing storm as it comes to be! that 'red' shading is appearing here.

Day 04 & 05 at Wildcat on Friday and Saturday and conditions were very good with groomers in mid-winter form and ungroomed trails with plenty of snow and manageable. I think the recent round of a foot or so wet-snow boded well for adding to the base and covering up the surface, often times that dry snow just blows around and never sticks. Saturday skied better than Friday, but the crowds did show up, and while I can ski in comfort with other people, my interest in navigating diverse skill sets (people learning, race team practicing) is fading with age! Overall, very enjoyable.

2 hours ago, powderfreak said:

The rain will be tough but what a run it’s been early season.  Three solid events moved through, producing high-end skiing and riding.

Today:

Looks great. Just arrived up north and its a winter wonderland and ready to get some runs Friday and Saturday before the rain. 

41 minutes ago, nj2va said:

We just booked a trip over New Years to Northern NH to celebrate my 40th.  Staying in Jackson and will probably check out Wildcat and Bretton Woods.  My partner is from NH originally so we love getting up there any time of the year.

Have fun!  There is a Mexican restaurant called "la casita" in Berlin that is very good

Day 03 at Wildcat this morning and conditions were groomed and packed powder, very surprised (and welcome) not to make any hard scratches, so in general the conditions were much better. This is partially attributed to the summit quad now running so a complete 2,100 vertical feet. Very impressive to see the amount of natural snow at 3,000 feet upwards, looks like 12" plus. Crowds for the 1st day of December were minimal. Very apparent temperature inversion with my drive through Gorham registering a low of 30 and at my place it was 47 and the base of Wildcat was 42. | We are all very fortunate at the start of December to be enjoying these conditions across the greater ski country of the northeast!

Day 02 at Wildcat this morning and conditions were just a bit better than yesterday where it seems the grooming was a bit better. Quite a few more people had shown up by the time I had left, looking ahead I've heard they are putting a cap on lift ticket sales, but I'd be curious on any given day to know how many people are actually buying lift tickets versus pass holders. Daily tickets are right now at $103 and peak season it will be $129, meanwhile you can get an epic northeast pass (unlimited, no restrictions) for $555 so it just hard to imagine that anyone is buying daily tickets. Onward and looking forward to expanded terrain in the weeks to come!

Season officially underway for me with a few runs at Wildcat this morning. The old school Tomcat Triple Chair up about 1,400 vertical feet with a run on "cat walk" then "middle wildcat" then "bobcat". Conditions were firm yet fun, and crowds were minimal. A fair amount of natural snow about 2,500 feet, I could see a 12+ storm allowing for terrain expansion.

9 hours ago, Angus said:

and Wildcat doesn't have the summit lift running today - not sure where they made snow but having ridden the mid-mountain lift (old and slow) in similar storms - skiers/riders are probably feeling mixed blessings

Yes. Last year at start of season they went all-in on 2,100 vertical feet, but the summit lift can be struck with wind-hold and resulted in closure for hours. So, this approach builds the foundation of skiable options, but hopefully they can get the quad going soon. Riding the old/slow lifts makes me feel like I'm at MRG, which is a good feeling too!

Solid SE surf this morning from the storm that started off the Florida coast on Friday and travelled northward around 68 longitude. Light NW winds with temperatures in the 30's. Clear skies all day. | Meanwhile, snow guns blazing up north with reasonable outlook of natural snow opportunities for the mountains, all equates to skiing next weekend. | Good to get out there and enjoy what mother nature dishes out!

1 hour ago, Angus said:

just saw a post that Sugarloaf opens tomorrow with the SuperQuad running which is listed at almost 1,800' vertical feet. Basically, Tote Road top-to-bottom with a few off ramps but that's 3.5 miles long.

Indeed! Seen a few piles built up, I am sure they cured well in the recent days and the trail is ready to go. SL is such a great mountain, but far from my reach in accessibility. Even with a place up north, it is still 100 miles to SL. Hopefully all the mountains score some natural wet snow for a solid base on Wednesday and a few days afterwards of cold and snowmaking, should create a reasonable foundation for the season.