Jason215

I’ve skied Heavenly, Kirkwood and Sierra-at-Tahoe. Fun times! I haven’t hit Squaw or Alpine Meadows. I was looking for more cold smoke type snow and a region that I’ve yet to ski. But the Sierras got absolutely pummeled this year- Something to consider. Thanks!

You know it’s a bad winter when Hawaii has gotten almost double the snow we have!

I was in school the same years 1979 -1990. NYC public schools never closed even one time. Bliss of 1983 started about 2:30PM on Friday..school let out at normal time. By the time Monday rolled around, everything was cleaned up enough to open schools. Every KU storm we get nowadays is like payback for the 80’s.

Woke up this morning and to my surprise my 1.5 inches (eyeballing it) of snow/sleet has condensed a bit, but at least the ground is still white here in Melville LI. I would have thought the overnight rain would wash everything bare, but that sleet is amazingly resilient. Question for you guys.. Have we ever been able to overcome a bad MJO index with a major snowstorm? I remember a few years ago (was it 2012?) were we had a terrible MJO which ruined the entire winter with a SE Ridge that we couldn’t kill. I’m not technical by any means and that’s why I predominanty lurk on here, but it seems that the state of the MJO trumps all other indices. it also seems rather difficult to predict the state of the MJO more than a few days out. Curious to know what is the largest snowfall ever with a MJO of 5 for NYC/LI? I believe 5 is the most hostile stage for snow, right? -Jason

Amazing stats Liberty! Thanks for sharing. I learn something new here every day.

I’ve been to Breckenridge back in Jan of 2013. I was surprised that they didn’t have that much snow. Vail was markedly better. Breck must of had a snow drought that season. I also got altitude sickness. Had to get to an oxygen bar twice. If I were to hit that region, I’d rather hit Vail again. Vail was beautiful and the snow was very good. But I’m sure Breck is one of the least likely places to get rain sitting at 9,600ft. That being said, I would rather try out a new mountain if things line up right. Here’s me getting “drunk st an oxygen bar at Breck!

Totally jealous man! I can’t believe I’m excited about a 2-4 inch snowfall tomorrow. I’ve climbed down from my high horse of snow-snobbery of yesteryear. I’ve been expecting at least a blizzard every year. I’m still expecting one..just because.

So sad to hear this awful news. Makes my heart sink.

Steamboat for CO standards has a pretty low base altitude. I’m a bit more surprised to hear Big Sky Resort can rain being that it’s about 300 miles further north and a little higher base. Lake Tahoe area can have such wild swings in weather. Either prodigious snows or rain or severe drought. I guess no ski area is totally immune to rain then in the lower 48. You must have had some epic days since you’ve lived in ski country for years. I did ski Grand Targhee once (while on a Jackson Hole trip) and the snow was amazing. Like floating on a cloud!

Well how about that!!! Now we just need a good foot plus of natural to cover up the ice. Not too much to ask for in VT in February.

Okemo seems to be on top of their game re: grooming and snowmaking. They have quite a bit of water capacity to make snow. Killington for example- though they claim 75% of trails have snowmaking- if you follow their snow reports- they are only able to blow snow on 5-8 trails per night. It would take them well over a week to cover most of the mountain assuming they had an artic blast and it was sub 20 the entire time. A guy told me once they just don’t have the water pressure to blast large chucks of the mountain simultaneously (like Okemo does). Also, re:your experience at Okemo- you went on a Wednesday- the snow does not get skied off as quickly as a weekend day- (much less skier traffic) so the tilled snow is able to last most of..if not the entire day. Not too many mountains around here have south facing slopes, but I agree that would change my guidelines somewhat. Especially for March/April spring skiing. 37 on a sunny March day with a southern exposure would be enough to melt the ice into spring conditions. Okemo is a really good mountain, they make the best of whatever the weather throws at them. My gripe with them is they can get really crowded on weekends. Killington is so big, there are plenty of mid/upper mountain lifts where you can escape the crowds. They need to get that South Ridge lift moving already, that’s probably my favorite part of the mountain.

I’ve skied Powder Mountain and Snowbasin, but would like to hit the Cottenwooods. Leaning towards Canada at the moment- with the favorable exchange rate- The thing that I like about Fernie and Big White is the accommodations and slope side village. But I’ve always wanted to ski Lake Louise/Sunshine. I love the Spectacular Scenery. When I skied Breckinridge and lodged there for a week, I got altitude sickness- I had to go to the oxygen bar twice. I didn’t have issues at Vail or Beaver Creek. For Telluride- staying at Mountain Village would give me issues, so yeah in town would be better. My favorite mountain thus far is Big Sky, beautiful place, no crowds- just friendly folk.

You have a valid point! If I wasn’t so snow starved this year plus being traumatized by the rain we got at Whistler up to the 6,000ft level, (temp then dropped and 3/4 of mountain was ice) I would not be as paranoid about rain. I know some of those places in interior BC got rain at the their at the same time.. I think Fernie was one of them and for sure Revelstoke. Usually Whistler does not rain above 4500 ft. Funny thing is, I have never ever heard of any rain at like a Vail, Telluride or Big Sky during the winter months. I wonder if they ever get rain. I know Lake Tahoe resorts can get rain up to 8,000ft via the “Pineapple Express”

Yellowstone Club is for the high rollers! LOL. Big sky was my favorite mountain out west. Got a group of friends together and rented a ski in/out Moonlight Mountain House. From the house, we had the option of skiing Big Sky or Moonlight Basin. Both were amazing. No lift lines or crowds whatsoever. Pristine place. I couldn’t get enough of just staring at Lone Peak. Such a jagged and sharp summit. The view from the summit was spectacular.

In my opinion, assuming there is no freeze/thaw issues, I think the conditions are close to ideal when the temps are between 25-30 (for nice powder/packed powder). Colder than that is perfectly fine, but you just might not be as comfortable. After a rainstorm and then a hard freeze, you want to ski in temps about 40-45 or so to make sure the icey hardpack melts. This would provide soft spring-like conditions- which in my opinion is the second best scenario. You don’t want to go skiing after a thaw or rainstorm and then a hard freeze and temps remain sub freezing- the whole mountain would be all ice and terrible conditions.

My group ( except for myself) has either never gone out West or only once. So anything out there compared to east coast would be amazing. Revelstoke sounds amazing, but since their base is very very low, I worry about getting Rained on like what happened to me at Whistler. I’ve dealt with enough rain this winter, here on the LI rainforest. I think Kicking Horse is prolly too intense. Mostly double blacks from Summit. (My sweet spot is single and some double blacks, but that is east coast standards. West coast would be more like blues and single blacks. I’ve skied a handful of out west double blacks (Whistler, Big Sky, Jackson Hole) but that was to say I did it, rather than enjoying myself while doing it. We’re east coasters who want an out West experience, doesn’t have to be untracked- hellisking-like. A few tourists won’t scare us off. Heck, I’ve skied Vail, but don’t remember any lift lines (must have been a weekday). What are your thoughts on LL, SV, Banff Vs Telluride vs Snowbird UT, vs Vail. also, have you ever hit Big white, Fernie, etc? It would be great to take advantage of the favorable exchange rate we got going in Canada. Sorry for the long ramble!

Good question. Group is a mix of skier and snowboarders. None of us are that hard core. ( I’m only hard core by LI standards). I get humbled real quick out West. The only side- country terrain I’ve skied was “The Dip” at Jay Peak. Never did any backcountry. And I’d be a bit intimidated to ski the Face Chutes at Jay, but I’m sure I could do it. Can prolly do all double diamonds on east coast. Out West, I would need to be careful because I don’t do cliffs and mandatory air! We are all about the same ability. Night life would be great (a big plus for Telluride) but we’re not going to get hammered every night drooling over ourselves, LOL! We would probably want at least some night life. I’ve skied Jackson Hole, Big Sky, Whistler. I don’t think lack of expert terrain out West would be an issue no matter where we go. My main concern is good snowpack and great conditions and No rain issues like what happened to me at Whistler back in 2011 or was it 2010.

I’m Jealous!! I love the little secret place. It’s the Anti-Resort. The snow there holds up very well compared to other mountains. Not enough skier traffic to ski/scrape the snow off. Plus they aren’t open on weekdays. Glad you took advantage of the great conditions. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it up there this past weekend..

Hey Guys, I’m looking for some advice. Trying to plan a group trip out West with some friends. Between end of Feb to end of March. I’m thinking either Telluride Big Sky, Jackson Hole, Banff, Lake Louise/Sunshine Village. other possible options are Snowbird/ Vail. I haven’t really been keeping track of snow tallies out West, except I know the Lake Tahoe got absolutely buried. But I’ve already skied there and want to hit something new and I prefer cold smoke. Bucket list for me is Canadian Rockies or Telluride, but any of above lisT would work to. Anyone know how these resorts are doing? Thanks! -Jason

Glad you’re back at it! I agree you gotta strike when the iron is hot! Especially this season with all the cutters, freeze/thaw cycles. Last Feb/March spoiled me with all those back to back Nor’Easters.

I used to be clueless about all those metrics, but when people close to me were getting sick, I had to do some due diligence and find out root causes and resolutions. I take my mom to a Naturalpathic Doc in Forest Hills, Queens. We were able to get her off all statin drugs while also reversing her stage 4 kidney disease to stage 3. Mainstream MDs did nothing and offered no hope. She would probably be on dialysis now if left to them. Perhaps you can see a Naturalpathic Doc up by your neck of the woods. Expect to pay out of pocket- I don’t believe insurance covers that. I would get that blood work done, find out those metrics. Donuts are among the worst things you can eat. It’s fried, full of sugar. Probably fried in Trans-fat. That could totally be the culprit here along with any other ancillary factors. Hoping you are able to quickly resolve any underlying issues sir!

I never would have thought 6-8” of upslope would be sufficient to cover boilerplate. Amazing! Perhaps this was a fairly dense snow?

So sorry my friend to hear you had a heart attack. It’s not the cholesterol that’s the issue, how are your triglycerides? High triglycerides can be problematic. Also, how are your blood sugar levels? Transfats, refined carbs, wheat, white flour are what cause inflammation and may lead to heart disease. I eat plenty of whole eggs, red meat etc. my total cholesterol is 181, triglycerides 75, fasted glucose 86. I leverage a ketogenic diet, carb cycling, intermittent fasting and avoid mainstream MDs to maintain a healthy fit lifestyle. There are plenty of alternative health professionals online that would back me up. Your regular doc most likely will just prescribe pills and not fix/address root cause. Healthy people don’t make money for big pharma, LOL.

Agree. That was total insanity for us! We essentially had 5 blizzards between the winters of 2009/10 and 2010/11. In the 80s we would get 1 blizzard every 10 years. I think we get something big before winters over. I say that because some highly skilled posters/forecasters on this forum are still optimistic about Feb and I haven’t seen any of them jump ship yet to say it’s over.

Gotcha. I was too young to remember 78 and I was living in queens at the time. We got much less. But given the fact the a big chunk of eastern MA got about 100” of snow in 3 weeks time was stunning. Not to mention they are not Caribou ME and near sea level makes it all the more impressive. Living on LI, we got less than half that amount, but I recognize how anomalous that was for eastern MA. It was just so over the top. I would be curious to know what the record snowfall for Jay Peak, Stowe, Killington are for any 21 day stretch for a comparison. I wouldn’t be surprised if Killington has ever beaten that. When it comes to snow, Boston spits on the rest of the megalopolis, LOL.