PhineasC Posted January 7, 2022 Author Share Posted January 7, 2022 Still basically mod here but radar is starting to dry up so could lull for a bit until the winds shift. About 2.5 out there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jculligan Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 Snow just ended here. Total accumulation 1.3 inches. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 Ski area has another 2” since the snow board flip at 6am. Almost 5” including yesterday daytime snow. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhineasC Posted January 7, 2022 Author Share Posted January 7, 2022 Still going here, on the border between light and moderate. We will see what the NW winds bring. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mreaves Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 1.5" Still lightly snowing 23F Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMontpelierWhiteout Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 1 hour ago, powderfreak said: Ski area has another 2” since the snow board flip at 6am. Almost 5” including yesterday daytime snow. We have a friend coming from out of state to ski at Stowe with us tomorrow. Is any appreciable upslope snow possible this afternoon/ evening with expected position of the low pressure in the GOM? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhineasC Posted January 7, 2022 Author Share Posted January 7, 2022 Winds out of the NW now. Let’s see what happens. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.Spin Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 Event totals: 2.0” Snow/0.15” L.E. Details from the 2:00 P.M. Waterbury observations: New Snow: 1.3 inches New Liquid: 0.08 inches Snow/Water Ratio: 16.3 Snow Density: 6.2 % H2O Temperature: 26.8 F Sky: Light Snow (2-10 mm flakes) Snow at the stake: 5.5 inches Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patriot21 Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 Snow just picked up a little bit here, at 1.5" right now. Feels and looks like one of those days it could snow all day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 1 hour ago, EMontpelierWhiteout said: We have a friend coming from out of state to ski at Stowe with us tomorrow. Is any appreciable upslope snow possible this afternoon/ evening with expected position of the low pressure in the GOM? Hard to say, we were at 5” since yesterday morning as of 12pm. Probably another inch since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.Spin Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 I haven’t been up to the hill since last week as I’ve been waiting for conditions to pick up, but Bolton’s morning snow report indicated 3-4” in the past 24 hours, and that seemed like enough to head up for a ski tour to check out the new snow. Since yesterday’s snow was feather-light with ratios in the 60 to 1 range based on my analyses down here at our site, I was wasn’t expecting it to contribute much in terms of building up the powder depths. I’m sure the depths I found today were bolstered by some of the additional smaller events we’ve seen in the past week, but whatever the case, the combination of those events, yesterday’s snow, and now the addition from Winter Storm Garrett has been substantial. Right off the bat I was finding 4-5” of surface snow at 2,000’ and up at 3,000’ it was 6-7”. The powder wasn’t just fluff either – there was a good deal of substance to it and a great right-side-up gradient with the current upslope snow falling. I was on midfats today, and powder turns were easily bottomless on low and moderate angle terrain that was untracked/unscoured. This past week, and especially these past couple of storms, have been an absolute game-changer for the Wilderness terrain up at the resort. The skiing was nice enough that I decided to stick around to check out the lift-served terrain as well. The past week and the most recent couple of storms have made a difference there too, because they’ve now opened some natural snow terrain, and people are definitely skiing the trees and glades on the lower mountain. I didn’t notice a huge improvement in the quality of the on-piste skiing that I sampled; it was fine, but these recent storms just haven’t delivered enough liquid equivalent to provide a real resurfacing for lift-served levels of skier traffic. There was more good news in terms of the current weather, because there was plenty of snow coming down while I was there. At 2,000’ the snowfall rate was moderate, and it was definitely heavy when I was up around 3,000’ on the Wilderness Summit. Snowfall rates above 2,000’ were notably heavier than what we’ve had down here at the house, and if it keeps up like that for a bit this evening, conditions should move even another notch up tomorrow. A few shots from the mountain today: 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMontpelierWhiteout Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 22 minutes ago, powderfreak said: Hard to say, we were at 5” since yesterday morning as of 12pm. Probably another inch since. Thanks, any thoughts on wind issues tomorrow AM? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 Measured 2" on my deck (didn't feel like venturing too far lol) but then I noticed that the other side has like half a foot, so there's some drifting going on and probably more than 2" in reality. It's actually turning into a nice little "bread and butter" event 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jculligan Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 31 minutes ago, J.Spin said: I was on midfats today, and powder turns were easily bottomless on low and moderate angle terrain that was untracked/unscoured. This past week, and especially these past couple of storms, have been an absolute game-changer for the Wilderness terrain up at the resort. I've been wanting to check out the Wilderness Trail at Bolton, but I have a girlfriend who is a lot more nervous about skiing a thin base since she is still new to the off piste stuff. Wondering if we should give this a go this weekend, or wait for one more storm cycle. I've been itching to get off groomers and at this point I'm willing to drive a few hours if I have to! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 Snow has picked up again in intensity and switched from the sugary type to larger flakes 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#NoPoles Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 Snowing harder now than during the synoptic part of the storm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhineasC Posted January 7, 2022 Author Share Posted January 7, 2022 Uplsope blasting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhineasC Posted January 7, 2022 Author Share Posted January 7, 2022 Wonder how long this can go? GYX disco doesn’t refer to it at all. Says the snow all shut off already, but they seem super concerned about blowing snow down in Portland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 2” last hour. Just crushing snow at 1500ft. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhineasC Posted January 7, 2022 Author Share Posted January 7, 2022 13 minutes ago, powderfreak said: 2” last hour. Just crushing snow at 1500ft. You always make up lost ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.Spin Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 34 minutes ago, powderfreak said: 2” last hour. Just crushing snow at 1500ft. Yeah, at one point we had some huge flakes up to ~2” in diameter here at the house – and it’s really high-quality champagne. The 2:00 P.M. analysis was 6.2% H2O, so we’ll see what the next one says. Either way, it looks like the mountains are getting a nice shot of backside snow, and that’s on top of what we already had today. It bodes well for turns tomorrow with those upslope streamers doing their thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhineasC Posted January 7, 2022 Author Share Posted January 7, 2022 Always cracks me up to drive down rt 2 and it’s just stray flurries in Gorham meanwhile it’s pounding in Randolph. Just did the drive. I would hate to be a snow weenie down there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 23 minutes ago, PhineasC said: Always cracks me up to drive down rt 2 and it’s just stray flurries in Gorham meanwhile it’s pounding in Randolph. Just did the drive. I would hate to be a snow weenie down there. That's how I felt driving from Bretton Woods to Bartlett when I lived there. That's why now I live amongst the moose and the bears... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 16 minutes ago, alex said: That's how I felt driving from Bretton Woods to Bartlett when I lived there. That's why now I live amongst the moose and the bears... Speaking of, I was surprised on radar how far those streamers are going downwind. They’ve been training over Jackson and Bartlett area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex Posted January 8, 2022 Share Posted January 8, 2022 Interesting, good for them! It's dumping here. That's why I don't get worked up if we get fringed by the storm. Usually they still give us some fun times even if it's not feet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.Spin Posted January 8, 2022 Share Posted January 8, 2022 3 hours ago, jculligan said: I've been wanting to check out the Wilderness Trail at Bolton, but I have a girlfriend who is a lot more nervous about skiing a thin base since she is still new to the off piste stuff. Wondering if we should give this a go this weekend, or wait for one more storm cycle. I've been itching to get off groomers and at this point I'm willing to drive a few hours if I have to! In terms of whether or not to wait another storm cycle, it will depend on the terrain pitch and level of variety you’re looking for. If a couple routes of green/low blue pitch with ~500 verts is enough, that terrain is good to go. Sufficient base is in place below whatever is currently falling, and the only remaining factor left on that terrain is water bars. Any water in them is frozen, and they are covered with snow, but they are not yet filled 100% up to grade with snow, so attention has be paid when approaching/crossing some of them. The Lower Turnpike trail (see the far left of the map below) is where the resort’s Wilderness Uphill Route is located, and it’s also the default descent route for folks that are just looking for a quick outing. It’s about as perfect a setup as you can get for earning turns when the snowpack is just getting going. It starts above 2,000’, it’s well protected from the wind, it’s pitch is low to prevent the scraping associated with the aggressive edging required on higher-angle terrain (folks in the Rockies would probably equate it to “Meadow Skipping”, if you’re familiar with the term), the snow is preserved well because it’s packed to a reasonable degree by skier traffic, and it literally starts right from the Bolton Valley Village for convenient access. The pitch is perfect for bottomless turns on 6”, and up to about 12” of champagne, or reasonably dry, sub 8-10% H2O powder (and ski width will play into it as well). Above those depths, or slightly lower if the snow is dense, you’ll start battling insufficient pitch for fun turns. One huge aspect of Lower Turnpike that people may not notice at first is the fact that while it’s low angle, it’s very consistent, so you’re not battling flat spots (a bigger deal for split boarders, but still a nice touch even for skiers). I remember talking with the former ski patrol director of the mountain, and he was a huge fan of Lower Turnpike indicating that it was actually one of the best trails on the mountain in that regard. For someone who is taking a first foray into skinning for turns in powder, Bolton’s Wilderness area, and specifically the Lower Turnpike trail, is just about the best place I can think of in the Northeast due to the combination of everything I mentioned above, and availability of fresh snowfall since it’s the Northern Greens. A big appeal for someone new to earning turns is the security of being in bounds, right on resort trails. So in that respect, it’s not really “backcountry” skiing, but an added plus as people advance is that one can easily access the resort’s backcountry network right next door using the same ascent route. The backcountry network begins right at the edge of the Wilderness Uphill Route shown on the map, and the details of that area are available on their backcountry network map. Just a few final notes about the Wilderness area – the pitch is roughly green to mild blue on the lower half to two-thirds of the mountain, and above that it gets up into higher blue and black pitches. The higher pitches are much more exposed to the wind, so they are easily scoured. A typical approach I use is to simply ascend as high as the snow quality allows. That’s a good approach if someone is uncomfortable with the skiing due to insufficient base. The bottom half of the Wilderness area is actually so well covered by natural snow that the resort will often open up lift accessed skiing there for skiers to connect over from Vista, long before they start running the Wilderness Chair. I’m not sure if they’re quite there yet, but they are definitely close, since I saw today that they’re starting to open natural terrain on the lower parts of Vista. With the way the snow continues to plow into the spine this evening, it’s definitely got me wondering how close they are. That’s just something to consider in terms of powder access because at that point, lift-served skiers will start to work their way over there as they discover it, and the powder on the lower half of Wilderness will see more traffic. If you have other questions about the setup, just let me know and I’ll be happy to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dendrite Posted January 8, 2022 Share Posted January 8, 2022 57 minutes ago, powderfreak said: Speaking of, I was surprised on radar how far those streamers are going downwind. They’ve been training over Jackson and Bartlett area. Almost a congrats lava rock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#NoPoles Posted January 8, 2022 Share Posted January 8, 2022 2 hours ago, #NoPoles said: Snowing harder now than during the synoptic part of the storm Oops, I scared it away...not long after I posted the snow lightened up significantly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhineasC Posted January 8, 2022 Author Share Posted January 8, 2022 A mix of snow and blowing snow now. Still coming down well. 17 degrees. I think I have 4” now. Satisfied with that given the setup. We will see if I can get another fluffy inch. It’s a shame the Randolph observer is offline. I always liked to check my weenie measurements against his much more accurate obs. Oh well this is the best you guys are gonna get because I don’t plan to measure the flakes at midnight. LOL 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex Posted January 8, 2022 Share Posted January 8, 2022 Seems to be going in waves. Lightens up then picks up again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now