powderfreak

What a day.

59F and mostly sunny at MVL! Wow, what a day. 48F at MMNV1 Picnic Tables. Was not expecting full sunshine with these temps aloft... records going to fall. Northern Greens and Northern Adirondacks some of the warmest around. Lake Champlain is still so cold you can see it cooling the readings in the Champlain Valley.

Mild morning in the mountains. 34F down in town and stuff seems frozen again, but up higher it’s in the 40s straight to the summits. Also getting some light rain. Strong SW upslope flow standing wave wringing out some precip in the northern mountains and east slopes.

35F and the snowpack is frozen again from within. The core snowpack temp is still cold and it started firming up (slick) at even 40 degrees earlier this evening. That cold core temperature of the pack will lock this snow up tight even if temperatures fail to show a solid freeze. On the slopes, it'll be firm in the early morning regardless of temperatures. A crispy coat overnight.

You down to grass on the hill? I figured you had some cover around.

Only a couple iPhone snaps today... but that March sunshine is intoxicating. 50F at the base and 40F at the summit this afternoon. Very dry air and low dewpoints in the teens kept it from getting slushy. The steeps on Mansfield remained fairly dry and still chalky packed powder on upper elevations from Nosedive through Starr on the aspect dial. Just an overall fantastic day to be outside.

That evergreen wall you’ve got around the property has to help preservation this time of year.

As usual, snowmelt was fairly minimal even with temps over 50F because dews were in the teens. That 20-25% RH air doesn’t melt it all that fast. But looks like tomorrow the dews get into the 40s and *that* is what really accelerates it. “Will see a noticeable increase in moisture as we tap into western Gulf of Mexico sourced air overnight tonight. The increased moisture, coupled with some weak shortwaves rippling through the southwesterly flow, will support thickening and lowering of clouds as well as dewpoints rising noticeably overnight. Will also see persistent southerly/southwesterly winds 10-20 mph overnight as a low-level jet moves overhead. The clouds, continued warm air advection, and windy conditions overnight will result in very mild lows in the mid 30s to mid 40s. Not much change in the pattern for the daytime on Thursday, with cloudy, warm, and windy conditions persisting. Highs Thursday will be in the mid to upper 50s across much of the region, and even in the low 60s for portions of the southern Champlain Valley and southern Connecticut River Valley. Dewpoints will rise into the low to mid 40s, which will allow for fairly rapid snowmelt during the day along with the warm and windy conditions.”

55F off a low of 14F. Just a phenomenal day out there. Pretty sure I got a little sunburn on the slopes... blindingly bright. South facing slopes just taking the brunt of the sun torch. Just got home from skiing, took the dog for her first swim of the season in between the ice. She loved it, couldn’t get her out of the water. Its so dry outside that the dog was almost entirely dry just 15-20 minutes after swimming when we got home. Only her stomach was still wet. In the summer she’s wet for like 3 hours after swimming. Water Evaporating fast today. Septic tank spot melted out today, ha.

43F at 750ft and 33F at the picnic tables.

That was Monday. Clear this morning. Low of 14F to start the torch day.

There's a trail called Rimrock at Stowe that connects the Quad side with the Gondola side at 3,000 feet or so. It's under the whole ridge and just seems to have shadows a lot of the time. In the spring time when you are traversing across/down it for what seems like over a mile... the trick is to get into the shadow on the side and keep your bases flat to glide as best as possible. It's funny to see a trail with everyone gliding single file down the immediate edge. Whenever you get into the sunny spots the snow slows down dramatically. You definitely can feel it even on the scale of individual tree shadows. Evergreens giving that larger shadow. Nice observation.

More days of this coming as we head into spring. Maybe I have more seasonal affective vibe than I used to, as I notice sunny days in the spring make me feel like I took a party drug. Tomorrow should be a good one... partly to mostly sunny, 40s, and mountains buried in snow to enjoy.

No sun here, temp stayed in the 30s. The strong NW wind was a bit surprising. It was hammering wind up on the mountain, even Sunny Spruce went on wind hold. Low 20s up top and wind chills in the single digits was not quite what I expected ha. Snow definitely didn’t soften on Mansfield. The haves and have nots with sunshine and warmth clearly visible.

Ha yeah man, been thinking I can’t wait for some passionate Sox arguments and discussions. Almost the season.

Yeah hey I’d take a snowstorm over everything... but if it’s not going to snow, sunshine and non-arctic temps are a nice consolation prize. My patience for arctic cold in March has definitely eroded over the past decade. Last weekend and the days leading up to it was not enjoyable, wind chill advisories and highs of 11F. Hard pass if it’s not going to snow. Not that we have any control over it though .

Ha I’m really not. Changing with age I guess. Can’t disagree with Dendy, Blizzy, Scooter and some of the others that have seen a little migration in preferences with age. I would’ve hated this with a burning passion even like 10-15 years ago. Bout to head out for a couple hours of skiing now that it’s warmed up a bit.

This is my attitude as well. Enjoy each winter for what it is. Like you, my biggest event was 10” in one time way back on November 2-3 upslope event. But for whatever reason it’s still be a very enjoyable winter for frequent snows and long access to winter recreation. We see what next year brings and most of the enjoyment is seeing how Nature will roll out the next winter. I’ve had far less enjoyable winters that have featured larger storms. Detaching enjoyment of winter from a climo comparison also helps. When I first moved up I think I found it very hard to enjoy a winter if it was below the median. Like a mental block, if snowfall and the Mansfield stake was below the average I couldn’t enjoy it. Maybe it’s living in VT longer and that chill attitude of overall experience has penetrated deeper into me that enjoyment doesn’t need to be related to numbers, ha. Either that or ‘15-16 just broke me and since then I’m very happy with more than 50”. Just take what’s thrown at you and we see what the character of next winter brings.

I mean I get it and love snow, but there’s no denying what a good sunny, mild day in March can do for the soul. Like seeing the world for the first time again after darkness of winter, lol.

Jealous. I think we might spike late. It’s trying to rise. Can see it coming from the south.

Warm front through. Was bouncing 29-32F this morning with low clouds but then shot up to 37F as we get a few breaks in the sky.

That's classic... Dogs are pretty smart with instincts. Hiding or running, they try to adapt to the situation, or just get scared/startled. Surprise birds scare me, though, ha. If we are hiking in the summer and get out on a ski trail (which acts as a giant tilted meadow), the grouse taking off straight upward when you get near them scare the crap out fo me.

Exactly. You’ll be wondering why it has to rain or change to freezing rain within days of each snowstorm. But the season total snowfall will be higher. Each winter has its own character. Or it’ll be all SWFE warm air thumps and it’ll be “for once it would be nice to just get an all powder snowstorm that doesn’t end with a crust.” Theres always a way to improve on a winter, except for the truly special ones that have big snows, no mixed, and no thaws.

Interesting. The pack is there and didn’t look too different than normal as J.Spin has posted from that site. Snowfall definitely down but the pack has been there.

Literally nothing has melted since like early January. Even BTV for their climo has gone quite a while with a good pack. Now the sun is coming out it’s starting to hit some spots with solar but the lengthy snow season has felt solid this winter. Other winters you’ll see more synoptic but also more melt and cutters mixed in. Been a great ski season because of that since the Grinch. Warm front nosing in, radar has some moisture building into the mountains, a Phin classic, dusting to an inch.