Jason215

On 4/1/2019 at 1:07 AM, ChasingFlakes said:

Some footage of myself from last weekend March 23rd/24th and Magic Mountain and Jay Peak, respectively.

 

 It was interesting to see the difference in snow cover on the exposed rocks along the upper mountain ridge line at Jay.  March 11-13th the ridgeline was completely snow covered with the rocks being covered in rime.  On the 24th, at 830am as one of the first to reach the summit for the day, the exposed rocks were completely dry and it looked as if there was about 6” less snow as the week prior, despite receiving 24” both times. 

Rode for the last last time in PA for the season at Blue Mountain this past Thursday, March 28th. Nothing like riding through brown slush on certain trails, others were actually very nice with a lot of snow on them but the snow was super slow even with relatively fresh warm weather wax.   

Love that first jump you did over that waterfall! 

Just checked in at Jay Peak Stateside. Hoping we get the 3-5inches tomorrow night into Saturday to cover up the hardpack.   

On 3/25/2019 at 4:28 PM, LongBeachSurfFreak said:

93 must have been insane there. I think that was their biggest storm ever with 40” or something. The second storm last March was second with 36”. 36” is too much for that mountain though!

 

Nice! in 1993, I remember Stratton getting 27”. Maybe I’m wrong. But I have that number in my head. (Maybe it was Albany NY that got 27”)  Hunter Mtn Jacked with 48” in that one.  We didn’t ski that Sunday because It was bitterly cold and the upper lifts were on wind hold and they were charging full price tickets. There was a rediculous amount of snow up there in Bondville since they already had a deep snowpack (4 feet or so) prior to the 1993 Blizzard. 

Last March was Epic for Southern VT with about 80” of snow between the 4 NorEasters within a 15 day period. I was fortunate enough to partake of that bounty at Magic, Okemo and Killington. 

18 hours ago, powderfreak said:

Hard to beat days like today in the Stowe side-country... a quick 20 min walk from the top of the lift brings you to this...

Looks awesome!

With such an Deep snowpack, what is the anticipated closing date this year? Inquiring minds want to know! 

6 minutes ago, mreaves said:

Somewhere between Norton and Holland Vermont 1500'-1600' or so

Very nice!

3 hours ago, mreaves said:

Not here

WOW!! That is a boatload of snow! Where is that and approximately what elevation? 

You guys have it so good up there!

2 hours ago, LongBeachSurfFreak said:

I actually headed out over the weekend for a few careful runs. Powder and a deserted mountain we’re calling Friday. So I did a few again Saturday and Sunday. Actually my favorite weekend of the season. Stratton reported 9” but there was way more then that above 3000’ as Friday mornings snow was higher ratio the higher you get. That’s where Stratton’s extra elevation comes in handy with allot of terrain above 3,000’. I was debating on heading over to magic for the ski free day but it was raining at their base!!! Stratton’s peak at 3850 is a full 1k above Magic’s at 2850. Though Magic’s terrain is way more challenging!

Good call on avoiding the rain. I think snow surface quality trumps terrain. 

I have a shot at a good experience at Jay Peak in a 11 days, but it would be hard to equal what you guys had this past weekend. I’m glad you were able to get some despite your injury. Be careful and heal up!  I have a fondness for Stratton. It was my first big mountain I ever skied . Also skied there during the March 1993 Super Storm Blizzard until the lifts closed at 4PM. That was insane. Took over an hour to drive to the Red Sled motel just down the road and I was driving right behind a snowplow. There was thunder and lightning- the whole 9 yards! 

13 hours ago, snowgeek said:

Mount Snow rocked today too. Got 20,000 vertical of soft bumps, trees and silky packed powder. Very festive with bands and pond skimming and cardboard races. Sunny all day and no lift holds.


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Looks like a picture perfect day. That was the dream weekend Spring Day of the year. Looks like you got some air! Noice!

13 hours ago, radarman said:

Local hill, Berkshire East.  Softened around noon, skied beautifully thereafter.

Nice Mountain! Another Anti-Resort for sure. Skied there years ago when chasing the best snow. Since they were the furthest southeast- got the best snows from that particular storm.. similar feel to Magic, Plattekill and Bolton Valley. 

1 minute ago, radarman said:

Perfect weather for the season end festivities in a lot of places today.  Took in some of the cardboard sled races in between soft turns and they didn't disappoint.  Burgers cooking on the summit for ski patrol fundraisers. Music and rays.  Great day to be alive.

So Jealous of everyone who got out there!! What mountain did you go to?  At this point, I feel like going to the tanning salon with my goggles on!

1 hour ago, cny rider said:

We missed you at Plattekill today. In the woods:

 

Bluebird can't get any more bluebird than this:

 

 

 

Nice Pics!! Yeah, I know Platty was money today! 18 inches of new snow and all that sunshine. If there ever was a weekend to hit Plattekill, this was it. Glad you were able to cash in!!!  

Taking a few ski weekends off and then hitting Jay Peak April 4-7th.  I want to help them break the 400” mark. 

Congrats to you guys who are able to ski/ride this weekend. Between powder day Saturday and bluebird on Sunday with temps close to 40, it’s arguably the best weekend all season to hit the mountains.  Unfortunately I’ve got other obligations that kept me from attacking the mountains.

5 hours ago, J.Spin said:

There is certainly a level of training and skill required to ski on ice, and indeed ski racers absolutely want that type of surface – they want a consistent, firm, fast surface with no surprises (loose snow means surprises).  They’ve got the equipment, the edges, the training, (and hopefully insurance) to be out there.  But for just about everyone else, what’s the point of being out on crappy, dangerous snow?

There is this badge of honor thing put forth by many “Eastern” skiers about getting out there in all conditions and how “skiing on ice and crap snow makes you a better skier”.  From firsthand experience after living out in the Rockies for a number of years, I can tell you that by and large that’s a massive crock.  For the most part it’s just a defense mechanism or maxim used by skiers who are stuck skiing crap snow.  Racers from essentially everywhere in the world train on ice, since the courses are either specifically iced up for use, or they get that way from repeated traffic in the same lines.

I know a lot of us up here in the Northern Greens, much like many folks in the Rockies etc., are sort of “Powder Princesses” to some degree, because we get a lot of good snow days and can pick and choose to ski when the best snow is available.  It’s a recreational sport though, so why am I going to force myself to go out and do it (and potentially even spend money) if it’s not fun?  For the typical recreational skier, I’ve just never understood the point of “getting good at skiing on ice”.  Why?  So you can go out and ski more ice?  To me, skiing on ice is the equivalent of going out to swim in cold water on a cloudy day with temperatures in the 60s F.  Sure you can do it, but why?  Honestly, if people aren’t simply fooling themselves, and honestly find skittering around on sloped ice more fun than skiing soft, quality snow, then more power to them I guess.

From an instructional standpoint though, I find that my students learning to ski can push themselves much farther, they can improve faster, and they have much more confidence and fun on soft snow.  I see this borne out all the time, but a perfect example was just a couple of weeks ago when I was able to bring my students down the relatively steep pitch of West Slope at Stowe.  With the good snow available, it was right at the edge of their ability, but I know from previous experience working with them that they would have easily frozen up and panicked if the surface there was icy.  I would never have brought them there under icy conditions, but instead, they got to ski something steeper than they’d ever skied and improve their ability to manage their turns on that type of terrain.

A lot of the above is about preference, but a far more important aspect of avoiding overly icy snow surfaces is safety.  With all the injuries (and even deaths) I’ve heard about in this thread this season due to hard snow conditions, I’m glad folks are recognizing that major issue.

Totally agree with everything you said. I’ve come to realize that skiing a double black diamond in good snow is a lot of fun, and I’m confident my turns, but skiing the same terrain on sheets of ice would be much more intimidating and for good reason. Same trail, but difficultly and hazards increase with lack of snow quality.

I’ve taught many people how to ski and one thing I noticed is spring conditions makes for easy learning. The snow is relatively slow, soft and easy to sink an edge into. 

I rate snow quality on a scale of 1-10. If I think it will not at least be a 6, I won’t bother skiing it.  Many times the snow starts out at a 7.5 and decrades to a 6 by end of day.  Or vice versa if it’s thawing from a hard freeze overnight. 

I skied Killington in January after a Rainer/cutter. Rain ended during the early morning hours on Saturday..say 3AM. Temps then dropped to about 32 by 8AM and was in the teens by 4PM.

You could not have worse timing for the weekend. I convinced my group to sit out Saturday and let them blow snow for 24hrs and ski on Sunday. We did just that. I then mapped out all of the trails with a highlighter which either had snowmaking within past 24 hrs or were making snow during that day. Even using my strategy, the snow surface was between a 2 and 6.   I think Okemo would have recovered better in that situation. They have an impeccably deadly grooming/snowmaking routine. Not the most challenging mountain, but they do have their wheelhouse. 

When the snow is good, I’m hot dogging it under the lift, when the snow is bad, I’m more like a scared cat, LOL! 

Totally want to hit some mtn this weekend with the forecasted Spring Dump. I have other stuff to do, so I don’t think I’ll pull the trigger. 

Hitting Jay Peak in 2 weeks though. Ski in/out becomes affordable there at Stateside Hotel late season!!  

Jason

7 hours ago, LongBeachSurfFreak said:

I guess you missed the later post where I did it to myself the next day. Shattered my radious and have to have surgery. If there is one rule, one rule I will stick to from here on out forever it’s no more snow boarding on ice. I’ll just not head up or do something else. 

My buddys who are mountain safety guys and I had a good talk about why mountains on the east coast stay open on severely icey days. Iron clad wavers of liability. If it’s not brown send people down.

Oh man! I pray you make a speedy recovery. One thing I have learned from reading this thread this year is that Skiing/riding on ice is just not safe. It’s not a matter of whether it’s a pleasant snow surface or not. I had previously thought that skiing on ice just required more skill.

When I see a really really good skier, they look confident in all conditions (maybe they shouldn’t be). When I ski on ice, I’m much more timid and cautious with my turns.  After reading of all the injuries this year with these freeze/thaw cycles, I will be extra vigilant to not ski in crappy/Icey conditions. 

On 3/16/2019 at 7:16 PM, LongBeachSurfFreak said:

It was pretty bad today at Stratton  for anyone that was on the fence and decided not to go. Super icy and I took a good fall on some boiler plate. I assume it was the same situation most places as a friend of mine broke her wrist at Loon. 

Sorry to hear about your friends injury. This was one of the few situations where the poconos had better snow. Was visiting a friend in the Harrisburg PA area. Skied a small fun mountain (only 600ft vertical) called Roundtop. With temps around 45, snow had prime spring conditions. Points north such as Catskills, VT, etc were all ice. No thanks. Did that earlier this year at Killington. I had a rude reminder of how much I dislike skiing on ice.

Skied last Sunday March 3rd at Plattekill. Conditions were great. Then took off work this past Friday (March 8th) and hit Platty again. Friday was excellent! Got 25 runs in 5 hrs as you could just ski onto each lift without anyone in front of you. 

38 minutes ago, dendrite said:

You put your weenie in
You put your weenie out
You put your weenie in
Then you shake it all about
You open up Paint and you airbrush all around
That's what it's all about

Dude, you should be on TV!  That’s got to be the  in the top 5 funniest posts since Wright-Weather BB days!!  

Guys, what are your thoughts on Skiing Plattekill Mtn this weekend? They got 10” from Monday storm, another 4” inches yesterday.  I’m thinking it will be Primo- especially if we tack on a few more inches Saturday.

Anyone want to take a stab at what Saturday’s and Sunday’s weather looks like up there at 2,500 ft?

couple of questions...

any possibility of them getting any rain on Saturday or Sunday?

How much do you think they will get from Saturday’s system?

And finally, do I have to worry about driving home to LI in a raging snowstorm after 4PM on Sunday?

Thanks for your thoughts!

20 hours ago, Sugarloaf1989 said:

Good skiing conditions at Ski Sundown yesterday despite the rain on Sunday. Really nice groomed granular snow.

Me on Gunbarrel:

 

I’m sometimes surprised at how well some of these resorts are able to make lemonade out of a lemon. Cool shot of you staring down the Gun Barrel. 

On 2/23/2019 at 1:43 AM, snowgeek said:

Dumping at Timberline Lodge tonight. Tomorrow is a powder day then heading home. About 14” so far. Expecting at least 2ft. by morning.


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That’s an Iconic Lodge! Looks like you were filming that movie The Shining!!

On 2/22/2019 at 5:52 PM, amarshall said:

7" overnight at Alta. Dipped into mineral basin at Snowbird today. Bluebird. Other side of the mountain it dumped all day.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
 

That’s so cool how those microclimates work out there. Since Alta-Snowbird are connected- you can ski from Blue Bird into a powder day in a few minutes I’d imagine. Never been to the Cottenwoods, but they are definitely on my bucket list! 

On 2/18/2019 at 1:31 AM, snowgeek said:

Fantastic powder day at Bachelor today! Minimal lines. Bluebird summit day!


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Awesome pics! Glad you got the goods out there! 

1 minute ago, CoastalWx said:

Good consistency 

It’s totally my fault! I just booked a weekend trip with GF at Bolton Valley! Ugh 

1 hour ago, LongBeachSurfFreak said:

I should clarify that the reason for those winters being better would be the lack of wasted cold. 01-02 had little cold but it snowed when the little cold showed. 97-98 was a super nino furnace and was fully expected. The only winter I can think of (and remember we aren’t counting the November event) is 72-73. That’s the only other winter that has this ones cold and lack of snow. As much as we kept hitting home runs every time we were at bat the last few years we equally struck out this year. The ultimate thread the needle bad. Watch DC score another another one this week and we miss out (entirely possible).

I’m still optimistic that we score at least one advisory+ snow event before the end of the season. In order to do that we need to completely reshuffle the pattern. 40/70 baby

A agree with your sentiment of wasting the cold with nothing to show for it, but if you are going to discount November, are you also going to discount any March snows we may potentially get?  

Last year we got I believe more than half our snowfall in March, even though March is not part of “meteorological” winter. We had a surprise snowstorm this Pastor November, why would we not count it?  That being said, we still have about a month to make up for lost time, hoping we can make some lemonade out of this lemon! 

On 2/14/2019 at 9:16 AM, j24vt said:

My ranking of the areas I skied there:

1. Squaw

2. Alpine Meadows

3. Kirkwood

4.  Mt Rose

5.  Heavenly

 

My best powder day ever was in March at Squaw

Nice list, good to know! Thanks 

1 hour ago, snowgeek said:

Long day for me tomorrow. Driving 2.5 hours to Newark. Flying to Portland, OR. Arriving around 9:30pm. Renting SUV, heading to 24 hr Walmart to buy chains, driving 3-4 hours over the Cascades to Bend (meeting son). Hoping to arrive by 3am. Skiing Bachelor Sun, Mon, Tue. Hitting Timberline Lodge at the end of the trip next Sat. Flat landing it in between.


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Very cool! I was up at Timberline Lodge last July.  There was still snow on the trail that ended just shy of the lodge. I saw skiers and riders coming down at the end of the day. The Lodge itself is a national landmark, beautiful place. Nice views of Mt. Jefferson to the South. 

Enjoy your trip to Mt Bachelor.