# CATEGORIES

CATEGORY_DESCRIPTION:
No Bull Ski-Vermont subscriber only commentary and reports. If you are a subscriber you are encouraged to post your own reports and to discuss the reports and commentary posted almost daily here.


CATEGORY_DESCRIPTION:
Guide to the site. Comments from subscribers


CATEGORY_DESCRIPTION:
Use this area to post any questions or comments not related to any particular one ski area


CATEGORY_DESCRIPTION:
Advise on Changing passwords and sign up procedures


CATEGORY_DESCRIPTION:
If you have a weekend experience that you want to talk about, post it here. Post for any mountain and I will copy it over, or I can just leave it here.  It was a rainy weekend and poor skiing conditions.


CATEGORY_NAME:
Weekend Reports - Aftermath of the big Windsstorm

CATEGORY_DESCRIPTION:
Did you ski on President's Weekend. If so, what was it like?


CATEGORY_DESCRIPTION:
Skiing comments about Middlebury College Snow Bowl


CATEGORY_DESCRIPTION:
Post here your thoughts on how the No Bull Ski Report and the Subscribers' Blog could be improved.


CATEGORY_NAME:
Welcome to the 2006-2007 Vermont Ski Season


CATEGORY_DESCRIPTION:
Periodic Audio reports uploaded for members


CATEGORY_DESCRIPTION:
Skiing reports from the Beast of the East


CATEGORY_DESCRIPTION:
Discussion of this season's winter weather outlook


CATEGORY_NAME:
Welcome to the 2007-2008 Vermont Ski Season


# COMMENTS

COMMENT_TEXT:
Yes and its melting fast!  60 degrees at the base yesterday.  They should be in good shape with at least 4-8 trails when they open on Wednesday the 23rd based on colder weather moving in later this week.


COMMENT_TEXT:
Ouch!!  Will take a look at some of my favorite glades at Stratton late next week or the following weekend and report what I see.  I would guess that they would be one of the mountain's with manpower resources... but we will see!


COMMENT_TEXT:
Killington and Okemo are open, but since it is still November so conditions could deteriorate quite rapidly with rain or a thaw


COMMENT_TEXT:
Killington is going to get slammed from the storms this week...and in the best way possible.  12" at 
the KBL and probably up to 15-16" at the top of the K1. That place really 
benefits from its higher elevation as they likely won't have more than a 
few inches of slope down at RT4/100 and at their lower elevation base areas 
(Bear/Skyeship).  However, they do have the K1 from 2K-4K.  All other 
Vermont base areas except Bolton, are mostly in the 1,200-1,600ft range and 
so while Killington might be able to open trails on a caking 12-15" of snow 
above 2K feet, the other areas will need help getting down to that 1,200ft 
level.


COMMENT_TEXT:
It's still snowing this morning in northeastearn Vermont with about 10" on the ground. Snow fell across Vermont in the past 12-15 hours with most of it falling at higher elevations. Higher amounts were reported in the north. More snow is expected tomorrow, Thanksgiving, with possible hazardous driving conditions. 
So far, this has not been the big dump that was expected but we will see!

Gusty NW winds will make skiing unpleasant today!


COMMENT_TEXT:
Stratton is now open and yes they've got snow...abhout 3-5"


COMMENT_TEXT:
The Beast has the most snow and the most trails open at the moment. The skiing is not bad...good bet for this weekend if you can make it!


COMMENT_TEXT:
Most of the latest snow has fallen at the higher elevations. Not much fresh at the base. Good grooming on open trails..should be a good bet this weekend.


COMMENT_TEXT:
Jay Peak is reporting 5-6" on snow this morning...not as much as had been expected. I live 30 miles east of Jay at about 1,200 feet. When Jay gets hit, I can hardly get out of my door. That is not the case this morning


COMMENT_TEXT:
"Bolton Valley Resort plans to open some of its most challenging backcountry skiing to its guests for the first time ever. This is terrain that helped world famous extreme skiers Rob and Eric DesLauriers hone 
their skills˜chutes, cliffs, waterfalls, trees, and more. No longer the secret province of Bolton locals and insiders, Bolton‚s baddest backcountry will put a whole new spin on the Bolton experience." It remains 
to be seen if such efforts will really attract the enough folks to track out the sorts of areas described above.  Truly one of BV's greatest assets was the ability to casually hunt out untracked turns in somewhat obvious-to-a-woodchuck places well after a storm had ended. The efforts to essentially catch up with what Jay pretty much started (marketing-wise) and Stowe, SB, and even Burke have capitalized on 
is a smart move.In all likliehood, there will be several places BV can serve up fresh powder entrees long after the storm oven has shut down.


COMMENT_TEXT:
Having just skied Okemo from sunday-wednesday for a pre-season racing 
camp, I would say go to Sugarbush... the terrain is far better, and  
okemo, despite their high trail count, really doesn't have much real  
terrain open. There also isn't that much fresh (although the skiing  
was pretty good today). The real problem is crowds though. Even this  
week (I thought mid week there would be no one), there were a fair  
number of people on the limited slopes; thanksgiving weekend, I would  
expect them to be nothing short of packed...

-ben


COMMENT_TEXT:
In a quiet harbinger of the warmer weather, most ski areas have quit snowmaking.


COMMENT_TEXT:
The weather has turned quite disastrous for the Vermont ski industry. 50 and 60 degree temperatures, heavy rain and high winds can wash out a lot of snow. As of Tuesday morning, Sugarbush is closed. Others may follow. 

I really can't recommend that anyone come up to Vermont this weekend for skiing. You may find some trails open, but even if it gets cold and snowmaking resumes it will take a while to bounce back. I doubt that even Okemo can do it in time. What we need is at least a week of cold weather and a couple of good snowstorms to get back to where we were at Thanksgiving. As we approach the Christmas period remember that snowstorms and cold weather are a prerequisite for decent skiing..no matter how much snowmaking there is.

While the weather is a bit unusual it is not suprising in this time of climatic change.


COMMENT_TEXT:
The outlook for skiing this weekend remains poor. The weather is in the process of beocming more seasonal. Snowmaking has resumed, but it will take a lot more than some light snow to get things back to where they were during Thanksgiving. My advice is to skip this weekend. Conditions won't be that great.


COMMENT_TEXT:
The Jay Peak web site has an inaccurate, out of date weather forecast. There is no big storm coming this weekend...no 5" of snow expected.


COMMENT_TEXT:
Once again, I am reiterating about the poor skiing. I happend to drive past Magic Mountain yesterday (Thursday). Everything was that ugly brown you see in November and at the end of ski season There wasn't one spot of white on the mountain! Of course, you could see white trails snaking down nearby Stratton, but remember Stratton is making snow...what the coverage is like, I do not know but I would be suspicous!

The other thing I have to say is that the ski mountains are putting a lot of emphasis on the snow this weekend. In fact there won't be that much. Apparently the latest storm track misses Vermont.

If any of you go this weekend to Stratton, let me know how it was.


COMMENT_TEXT:
Coverage at Stratton was good this weekend on the 5-6 trails that they had open from the top to the base.  It always amazes me wht mountains call a trail to get the trail count up.  I would estimate that they got around 3-4 inches of snow on Sunday.  They are also making a lot of snow - I would expect the trail count to increase significantly next weekend. Coverage was good enough that I took out a brand new pair of skis on Sunday morning!  Late on Sunday some nice corn snow formed on the left side of one of two "steep" runs that were open (Spruce).

All in all good for early season.  There appears to be a reasonable amount (6-12 inches) of snow in the woods too.  The only issues this weekend was that a few trails good too crowded on Saturday afternoon due to the small trail count and the cafeteria for some reason was very inefficent (long lines as food was pretty much cooked to order to avoid waste!).


COMMENT_TEXT:
It's snowing again, heavily in northeast Vermont. No doubt Jay Peak is getting another dumb. You couldn't wish for better conditions at this time of the season. Expect dramatic increases in trail counts everywhere. Enjoy the conditions while you can. Here in Vt the weather is constantly changing and a dramatic thaw is always possible.


COMMENT_TEXT:
What about this potential for "snow" later this week? Any thoughts on that? Substantial or not? Another foot at Stowe would make things up there absolutely fantastic.


COMMENT_TEXT:
Yes, it would but kind of doubt it. Some sort of precipitation is expected on Thursday but it could be rain or snow....

Extended Forecast:   Mostly clear Tuesday night, lows 10 below to 5 above.  Mostly sunny Wednesday, highs near 20.  Sun giving way to increasing clouds Thursday, lows 10 below to 5 above, highs in the 20s to near 30.  A good chance of snow or mixed precipitation Thursday night and Friday, lows in the 20s, highs in the 30s.


COMMENT_TEXT:
Well, Jay, did not get slammed the storm track left it mostly with rain, but it will get snow Monday night.


COMMENT_TEXT:
I think you may have to lower the credibility rating for this mountain's ski reports.  The phone line referred to warm temperatures and moisture and made mention of liquid precipitation for Thursday's conditions.

In all fairness the skiing was pretty good on Thursday if you stuck to the few bump runs. Something about soft snow and old legs.


COMMENT_TEXT:
Yes, I've noticed the general obscuration of whomever is doing the reports at Stratton these days. They don't say much. About the only thing that can be relied upon is the temperature and wind report which is taken from the machines outside the ski lessons shop in the main base area.


COMMENT_TEXT:
As quoted above: "Jay Peak is the worst for this because of its Montreal clientel. Stealing other people's stuff is practically a way of life in Montreal!!"

Wow. I appreciate you weather commentary, as well as your warning about skis being stolen, but this really seems like a completely unnecessary blanket statement directed towards people from a great city. I am sure you didn't mean to make it sounds like it does, but this doesn't seem like the kind of stuff that should be included in a weather/skiing report.


COMMENT_TEXT:
Yes, I admit it was a bit overboard, but I visit Montreal  frequently and lived there for 5 years. The police fine you if you are found not to have locked your car. Living in a rural area, I find people are paranoid about theft and probably with good reason. I myself have had stuff stolen at Jay Peak. Management knows about the problem and (CEO) Bill Stenger has been known to board Montreal bound buses to retreive stolen goods!


COMMENT_TEXT:
There are practically hurricane force winds blowing at the top of Vermont mountains today. Along with it is rain, heavy at times. Have a look at our radar and you'll see what is going on....not good for skiing. There is going to be another severe melt down out of this!


COMMENT_TEXT:
The report is doing fine this year.  No complaints. It would be nice to get some additional weather commentary by some of the experts you have used in the past.

Not much to say over the last few weeks with the weather rollercoaster.  Hopefully winter will set in.

Bruce


COMMENT_TEXT:
Your web-site is like my VT skier "bible" which I eagerly read regularly.It helps me to make decisions on when and where to ski. So,my compliments to you for a great job which you continue to do.Hopefully the Snow Goddess  will bless us like she is doing out West, soon!


COMMENT_TEXT:
Good job so far. I check the reports religiously, although there has been little to discuss. We are embarking on trip to Stratton today until Wednesday. Will report back. If I could throw in my two cents here: I really enjoyed your video updates when you used to do them in years past. It added another dimension to your reports that the printed word alone can't touch.


COMMENT_TEXT:
I've thought of doing Podcasts. I certainly have the capability of doing them using an I-Sight Camera and MAC software. The trouble is that it takes time to produce this sort of thing - about a half hour per day to write the script, compress the video and upload it. If you were all prepared to pay $25 per month (recurring subscription agreement) for this service I could do this. It would appear every Thursday.  Let me know! :)


COMMENT_TEXT:
I really like the frequent weather blogging/updating, as you did today with the "Update on improving conditions" bit. Keep those coming. The more frequent the better, even if it isn't good news to report.
Thanks and keep up the great work!


COMMENT_TEXT:
I want to change my passwork, but don't know how.

Please send instructions

thanks


COMMENT_TEXT:
Don't worry, be happy. The weekend looks great! It's snowing here again in northeastern Vermont - that means Jay Peak is getting a dump. But the rest of the state is also getting snow..


COMMENT_TEXT:
We just arrived from Stratton after a few days skiing. With the 5 or so inches we received on Monday, the conditions were good, but not great as the whole mountain was a crud field by noon. I do like a challenge, but skiing in those conditions feels too much like work for me. I checked all the trails with my poles and found absolute bullet-proof boilerplate under the new powder everywhere! I shutter to think of what it might have been like if it were not for the fresh dump. 

Tuesday was a spectacular bluebird day with nearly all trails having been groomed save for a few short runs that were left natural, creating some small moguls after Monday's traffic. After skiing my brains out from first tracks until about 1 PM, I took a break at the main lodge with my wife and son. He got a cheeseburger and fries with a Powerade and I bought a bottled water to go with my Slimfast bar that I already had in my jacket. My wife had a pretzel and she and I shared the water. The bill came to over $20.00! I don't mind paying extra for a more upscale experience, but a gaff is a gaff. 

Wednesday brought a couple more inches of wet snow which was very easy to ski on, but management decided to blow the guns all over the place during the course of the day which put a crimp on what otherwise would have been another very good day.


COMMENT_TEXT:
I feel as if the site has taken a step back this year.  You seem to have less daily reports and little real updates from the overall resorts.  In addition, you make very general statements that do not always reflect the true conditions at individual resorts.

I check your site daily, however, I really find little value this year.

There is room to improve!


COMMENT_TEXT:
Your point is taken about the general comments. I will try to post more specific comments about each resort in the members area.


COMMENT_TEXT:
I also want to add that one of the purposes and values of your paid subscription is that you can post here without fear of your name or e-mail address being picked up by a spammer.Because it is a "closed" area, it is just like a private club where you can express yourself without fear of any kind of recriminations. I can assure you that only members see the posts.


COMMENT_TEXT:
Tim, I think we would have more participation in the ski reports from members if, when a member clicks on the name of the mountain under "Catagories", the "add your comment" dialog box would be available for that member to post his/her account. That way, any member could see at a glance by the number of posts that a new report has been made for that particular mountain. As it is, a report for a particular mountain can only be made as an addition to a thread that has been started by you. 

For instance, if a member were to want to share a report from Pico right now, there is no existing thread for that mountain and there is no way for a member to begin one. Even for those mountains that already have a thread begun, there are a few reports that have been added as comments to your original, but they don't show up in the count. My guess is that many of these go unread because it's not apparent they exist.


COMMENT_TEXT:
The Pacific Jet is just over-powering everything this winter.  The flow is 
constantly so progressive that no storm system is able to get up the coast 
once it reaches the east coast.  I'm not sure what trend is more disturbing 
this season...the fact that the Pac Jet is just slightly stronger than 
normal and pushes everything a little further east than normal, there's 
cold air available but it can't be tapped, or that every system that hits 
the east coast has been able to explosively deepen...they just get shoved 
out to sea.  Honestly the Atlantic is pretty warm for this time of year 
given last summer and now this winter's above normal temperatures.  Any low 
pressure system that hits the waters explodes but keeps trucking out to 
sea.  

So this leaves us with the next system moving to far SE out to sea to have 
any significant effect on northeastern skiing conditions.  Cold air will 
slowly settle southward today and tonight.  System goes to town once it is 
well E of the Benchmark and hits sub 978mb by late Tuesday night.  Only 
noticable effect could be winds and very high seas along coastal sections 
of Maine-NH-MA-and RI.  Along with the chance for a period of rain/snow 
along coastal New England sections.  No significant snowfall is 
anticipated.


COMMENT_TEXT:
You know for the first time this season, Stratton's Ski Report was more accurate than it has been for most of the season on Sunday.  They used words like rain and freezing rain in the report, they accurately reported what was going to be open from the top and that they would phase trails in as grooming operations progressed.  There was even a note of pessism in the report.  Tim, you probably should up them to a 5 just based on their ski report for Sunday.  They still are no where near as accurate as they were about 4 years ago.

As for the skiing this weekend.  Did not ski on Sunday after the torrential rains  on Saturday night/Sunday morning but Satarday was not too bad once they got the trail counts up (around 10-11 in the morning).  Prior to this, must people were concentrated on a very few trails creating dangerous situations as a result of congestion and the general obliviousness of many skiers to their surroundings. I spoke to a friend on Sunday and he said it was not all that bad - but personnally I have skied enough in the rain for over the past month.


COMMENT_TEXT:
Bruce:
I am still not happy with Stratton. For example they are listing their cross country area as being open. I find this hard to believe. Did you notice what it was like when you were there. I bet it was all brown!


COMMENT_TEXT:
I am limited by the software and am reluctant to change things mid season but I will improve things for the next one. I did not foreseee this problem - you are right!

I think in the meantime, I will create new threads for each area, once per week, starting on Monday or Tuesday. That way people can comment on their weekend experience.

Also if you really want to post right away, you could e-mail me your comments and I will post them right away!

Thanks
Tim


COMMENT_TEXT:
I think your being a way harsh here on Stowe, who in my opinion has excellent condition reporting. It was probably just a miscommunication or lack of knowing about the lift closing by the web page updater. Stowe failing to report this, this one time should just be looked at a simple mistake. It happened on a weekday during a particularly rainy week, what locals where even looking at the stowe page and planning on going skiing? NONE......no one except people from out of state would considering going skiing or care about the conditions and tourists don't normally have web access. Running the lifts  all-night  as you mentioned cost mucho denero, and considering the exceptionally low-turn and bad conditions  I am sure mountain oops figured it was probably cheeper to refund the lift ticket of anyone who complained and deice the lifts manually. The guy over at marketing who  updates the web-page probably wasn't aware of this at 7am when he updated the page and no one got around to changing it or they simply didnt know about it.

Whatever the case I highly doubt that stowe intentionally tried to cover this up and purposely failed to post any info about this on there web page. The web page thing was probably a mistake that effected very few people. The lifts not running for a few hours(you didn't say how many but i would bet they where running again by 10) effected only tourists who where probably over joyed to get there money back and who could of cared less about the web-page. What's the big deal? I don't see any? 

ONE small mistake in a mountain that normally has excellent reporting and you trash there honesty rating to bottom of barrel and start talking about how bad there management is and no one speaks english. Seems to be like you  a personal vendetta against stowe. I have skid stowe over 40 days(seasons pass) this year and only run into 3 employees who don't know english, and they have all had a english speaking employee working with them. As for management, they keep the mountain in way better shape than any other mountain in vermont. (Sugarbush and Jay and Killington are my comparisons). I personally agree with them saving money by not running the lifts, when they know turn out is going to be low, considering the BAD BAD BAD BAD conditions(who likes skiing in rain).

Raise the rating stowe deserves better. One small mistake  that you blew way out of proportion doesn't make them equal to somewhere like Stratton and lower than jay(should be lowered). 

-pat 
(i am in no way affiliated with stowe, i just really like the mountain the superior snow conditions and think they deserve better)


COMMENT_TEXT:
Woops my bad the stowe rating is equal to jay and slightly above Stratton..sorry haven't look at it in a while. Regardless it should be higher Stowe has excellent reporting.


COMMENT_TEXT:
I did not say that I was happy with their reporting - just that they reported accurately for a change on Sunday (and without the usually optimism).  

Believe it or not, there was snow on the Golf Course where the Nordic Center is located on Sunday last week.  I saw at least one set of ski tracks.  I do not know what the state of cross country skiing is and do not believe it is very good - but above a certain elevation there is still some natural snow pack in this section of Vermont.

Bruce


COMMENT_TEXT:
You have a point. Stowe is better managed than the others. I will adjust the rating. Thanks for posting your opinion and you are right about Jay...I have heard a lot of unsubstantiated negative things.


COMMENT_TEXT:
I  like how the J-Peak website says they have received 251 inches for the season. Are they counting rain and manmade snow? That number is astronomically higher than it should be 160-180 range. 70+ inchs of snow is a lot to invent. GEEZ. As for the lifts the only one that is any good is the green mountain flyer and its crowded. The Bonadventure chair is all-right but its slow and doesn't go high enough. The triple goes no where. The Tram is a gimmick that barley moves any people, its useless for any type of crowd. The only resort with a worse lift lay out is sugarbush. What does sugarbush have against top to bottom lifts? I hate taking 2 lifts to get to the top of the mountain. Its insane. Stupidest Lift layout i HAVE EVER SEEN bar none. Lots of short lifts that do not go anywhere and need to be taken to conjunction with other lifts to actually accomplish anything. At least they know how to count snowfall totals(wow its low), and open trails when they are ready. Unlike J.


COMMENT_TEXT:
Sugarbush has the worst lift layout i have ever had the pleasure of riding. There short lifts everywhere that don't go anywhere and need to be taken with other lifts. I am more tolerable of this out west where the mountains are much much bigger, but even then i find it stupid, and there is normally at least one top to bottom lift. Sugarbush has NONE!!!!!! Its just beyond me what they where thinking when they designed the place and put the lifts in.


COMMENT_TEXT:
Does anyone else think that Stowe is planning on buying and incorporating Smuggs. Lets look at the facts. 
1) Stowe has nowhere to expand. 
2) They are building a huge base at spruce peak area.
3) Spruce peak connects to Smuggs.
4) Smuggs is already established and right there, making it a quick and easy way to add a lot more terrain. 
5) The new HSQ ends at a different lower spot leaving a prime area for a new lift coming from the smuggs side of the mountain to disembark.
6) Stowe is to small to effectively compete with the larger resorts down south and the mega resorts out west as it stands right now.

just food for thought....anyone think its likely?


COMMENT_TEXT:
The new lift is nice, to bad its not HS. The mountain is really small, and corse feeling. New glades are nice, nice snow to be found. Definitely a step in the right direction for BV.


COMMENT_TEXT:
I think you have something here. The whole idea makes sense. I don't know much about Smuggs ownership and how they would react. All I know is that they have concentrated more on building condos than on improving the actual skiing experience...Stowe would have to build new lifts and upgrade the facilities to its standard. It would be a very big deal with a lot of money being thrown at the problem!!


COMMENT_TEXT:
I think the problem has been that there have been too many owners. The American Skiing Company's years at the 
Bush didn't help matters. You have had different management styles and different owners. That's what often leads to the lift craziness you speak of. Still, when there is snow, this mountain is pretty good. But, I really like neighboring MRG...it really has "an atmosphere.!"


COMMENT_TEXT:
The Jay website is a bit of joke. It just doesn't contain  the information that skiers need to make a good choice. They don't even count the number of trails they are grooming. Next to Ascutney, I think it is now one of the worst managed mountains in VT. Even little old Bolton Valley does better!
Still you can't beat Jay when there is a lot of snow and it does get more than the others. Just don't count on much else. I think its Quebec owners just want to extract every penny they can from it and take it back to Montreal.
I predict that Jay is going to have a lot of competition in the future from Burke Mountain. One gets the feeling that the new owners know what they are about. Customer satisfaction and treatment of customers is a major priority now at Burke.


COMMENT_TEXT:
Straton had small lines and excellent conditions this weekend and Monday.  Seemed like everybody cleared out on Saturday to get home before the snow.  They got around 4 inches of snow on Sunday - give or take.  The glades that we skied were all in very good shape starting around Sunday mid-morning through when we left on Monday at around 11:00. A lot of drifting snow in the woods. Coverage was really good and the snow was soft! Still could use a lot more snow to really open things up.  Wind and temps were not too bad either.


COMMENT_TEXT:
If you hike to the left of the gondola beyond bench, the snow levels drop off the farther past bench you go. Its really quite amazing how mansfield  has caused so much more snow to fall. Spruce seems to have gotten less benefit that the mansfield side, but is still excellent.


COMMENT_TEXT:
Stowe had a-lot of snow guns going today at the mountain. I counted at-least 20 guns. Strange that there still making snow in march, especially when they lots of it.


COMMENT_TEXT:
I think they are planning on staying open as long as possible and want to ensure good coverage when the weather starts warming up.


COMMENT_TEXT:
What's your opinion of the warming trend (and potential rain showers) predicted for the 3/11 weekend??

Bruce


COMMENT_TEXT:
I think this is why they are making snow...it may well be spring skiing conditions for this weekend...crazy!

Here is the NWS look ahead:

EXTENDED FORECAST DISCUSSION
> NWS HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL PREDICTION CENTER CAMP SPRINGS MD
> 158 PM EST FRI MAR 03 2006
> 
> VALID 12Z MON MAR 06 2006 - 12Z FRI MAR 10 2006
> 
> GOOD OVERALL MODEL AGREEMENT WITH THE FORMATION OF A DEEP MEAN WRN
> CONUS TROF AND ERN RIDGE. FIRST TROF COMES THRU CA EARLY NEXT WEEK
> FOLLOWED BY A REINFORCING SHORTWAVE DROPPING DOWN INTO THE MEAN
> WRN TROF. ENERGY EJECTS OUT NEWD THRU THE PLAINS/MS VALLEY WITH A
> FAIRLY WIDE SPREAD OF TIMING DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MODELS AND
> ENSEMBLE MEMBERS. HPC PREFERENCE FOR FINALS IS A SIMPLIFIED 12Z
> GFS ENSEMBLE MEAN SOLUTION.
> 
> ...EAST...
> MINOR LOW MOVING SEWD ACROSS THE OH VALLEY SUN NIGHT MAY BRING
> SOME LT SNOW ACROSS IN/OH INTO THE MTNS WV AND SWRN VA. LT RAIN
> EXPECTED ACROSS REMAINDER VA/NC MON. COOL HIGH PRESSURE WILL
> DOMINATE THE EAST THRU THURSDAY WITH AN INCREASING S -SW WIND AND
> A VERY CONSIDERABLE WARM UP FRI AND INTO THE WEEKEND WITH TEMPS IN
> THE 60S AND 70S MID ATLC REGION SWD..40S AND 50S INTO THE
> NORTHEAST AND NEW ENG WITH WEEKEND TEMPS REACHING NR 70 INTO THE
> NORTHEAST AND WELL INTO THE 70S AND EVEN 80S MID ATLC AND SWD.
> 
>  -


COMMENT_TEXT:
Had a good friend Ski Sugerbush on Saturaday. He says and I have seen the pictures, that they got around 2 feet at the top of the main Sugerbush Peak and Castlerock. They were hiking to the top from Castlerock due to high wind lift closures.

Bruce


COMMENT_TEXT:
It was interesting to see 0" for Killington. I skied Pico this weekend and it snowed all night Friday and all day Saturday. In all we got at least 3" of dry fluffy powder! Saturday was a spectacular day skiing with fresh pow all over the place save for the upper blacks which were wind blown and scratchy.


COMMENT_TEXT:
Yep:that snowfall information is a bit skewed. I know Pico and Killington got snow over the weekend.


COMMENT_TEXT:
Just looked at the Stratton Web Site.  They only have two lower mountain lifts and 10 trails open as of 8:00 or so this morning.  Do you think that they are trying to hold on to what they have for the weekends?

With the way this season has gone, I concur on the shutdown at the end of this Month!

Bruce


COMMENT_TEXT:
If possible, we would like to keep the posting until April 10th, would be great.  Even if it's just twice a week.  We are not packing our boards away until mid April.  

Thank you for all your updates.  They are a great help for us when planning a trip.  We have been a member for 3+ years and we always look forward to reading your website.

Thanks again, and we are ready for more.

Penny & Gary, 
Rider Dude & Betty from the Jersey Shore


COMMENT_TEXT:
Hi:
Well, if winter really does return, I will certainly do this, but if the current freeze turns into another devastating thaw, then thats it! Traffic is down on the web site...there is a general malaise about Vermont skiing at the moment, I fear!

Tim


COMMENT_TEXT:
No, I think the reason the trail count was so low is that they've got ice all over the place making the slopes extremely dangerous. So they've closed off a whole lot until they can chop up all that ice into something called  Machined or Frozen Granular, doubtless with plenty of death cookies on the sides of the trails!  They can't groom when its wet, it would do too much damage, so they always wait until it firms up.


COMMENT_TEXT:
i'm no expert.  but i see magic and i see a need to develop to remain 
financially afloat.  condos, hotels, lodges, and snowmaking, snowmaking, 
snowmaking.  also, i'm sure many have noticed many smaller areas catering to 
the terrain park/hypeskiing- it brings in the bucks from the youth, and, 
thus, families of southern new england which keep most NE resorts operating 
generally speaking.

it can't survive on great terrain only with a good snow season- that doesn't 
bring the $$$.

water rights are huge in VT- we all know this. aka stowe pipeline, etc.   
environmental law is a huge business in VT.  VT school of Law is the best in 
the field for environmental law, and for a reason- VT is a tough state for 
environmental law in general.   this is a good thing for sure- i would say.


COMMENT_TEXT:
I skied Jay on Saturday and had a great time.  The Jet triple was my lift du jour, trail coverage was good and the woods were even better.  My sister went back yesterday and said it was dumping most of the day.  I feel a "fever" coming on in the next few days....


COMMENT_TEXT:
I went to Jay Peak yesterday with hopes that the weekend and early week snowfall would improve the terrain.  The groomers were great early in the morning, nice & fast!  The sun came out a little around noon and starting softening things up a bit.  The woods were pretty decent too.  There is some ice showing on both types of terrain, but I think an early start over the next couple of days is a worthwhile venture.


COMMENT_TEXT:
With the current warming trend, I think this is the last weekend for decent skiing in Vermont. Jay, Stowe and Smuggs offer the best conditions at the moment.


COMMENT_TEXT:
Now do you understand why those of us who normally ski south of the Doogie Line
have been whining incessently about how bad it's been? Just about every
snowstorm went either north or south of Killington, yet every rainstorm parked
itself over the region.

I had a bad feeling while skiing in October that the deepest snow o!  f the  year
was going to occur a full two months before the start of winter, and that's
exactly what happened. Not only that, but the snowpack didn't reach 50% of the
October level for the rest of the winter.

There's a chairlift at Pico called Outpost that serves mainly natural snow
trails that didn't spin a single day this season. I'm thinking an old chair
like that which doesn't run for a season will probably never run again, partly
because ASC realizes they don't need it.

But enough about that. I was up north last weekend and will be so for the
remainder of the season.


COMMENT_TEXT:
No complaints.  How about a long term weather forcast??


COMMENT_TEXT:
It's now four days since I posted the above and there's talk of lower temps for the coming week. All the mountains are mentioning this in their marketing pieces and it agrees with the comment made by the meteorologist, mentioned above. Sugarbush is leasing a bunch of diesel electric generators next week to help with its snowmaking efforts. Other mountains are likely to do the same in one last ditch effort to get more trails open in time for the holidays.


COMMENT_TEXT:
Have skied Stratton for last three days and rate the conditions an 8---they have done an amazing job given the lack of real snow--much of the mountain is open and it has been cold enough that they have been making snow round the clock since Tuesday Dec. 26--anyone who thinks that there is no snow or poor conditions is missing out on more than decent skiing!!


COMMENT_TEXT:
I feel compelled to throw my two cents in with respect to Stratton. Maybe because my skiing season has not yet started and I'm a bit grouchy about that, but here goes...My family and I ski there frequently and for the most part, the management does an outstanding job. The snow making/grooming is hard to beat and the service/amenities are second to none. It's true that it comes at a cost but it's really not much more than other mountains whose service and trail management pale by comparison. 

On the other hand, the website is a dismal mess in my opinion. I live in Connecticut and I must rely on the completeness and accuracy of a ski area's website in order to plan my ski trips. Their snow report is not a snow report at all- it's a cheesy and shameless sales pitch. (By the way, if I see "Think Snow" on one more mountain's snow report I think I might break down into violent convulsions of vomiting.) Secondly, the interactive trail map is poorly designed. Specifically, you cannot layer more than one trail category over another. This includes the lifts. You can only observe one category at a time, meaning only the blues or only the blacks, etc. Also, the trail descriptions they offer include a comment as to whether the trail is open or closed, but there is a note at the top of the screen that states these cannot be trusted! That's nothing short of neglectful. Another beef: even lowly Wachusset has a streaming webcam. Surely they can the funds necessary in their budget for that. The least they can do is to put up more frequent shots of the skiing conditions. Come on Stratton, you can do much better than this!


COMMENT_TEXT:
I beg to differ about the price. For a lot less money you can have a family experience at Burke Mountain, now operated by the Ginn company. True, the number of trails open at this time is somewhat paltry compared to Stratton , but eventually, more trails will open and you can pick a weekend, or week based on info posted here. 

It's my impression that the northern mountains are offering better value this season even if it is a terrible one so far. I would not discount Sugarbush either, but forget Stowe..it is for the very rich now.

As for Think Snow - please don't barf..I have found a new one for you "funky"  This word is being used to describe the worst weather imaginable and its being used a lot these days. I am sick of it!

Tim


COMMENT_TEXT:
As reported earlier, there is the strong possibility of a major storm next week. Therefore, if you are wanting the biggest bang for your buck, hold off on all the hype being sent out about the MLK weekend and wait for next weekend. There could be a really big difference in coverage  at all mountains and if you are xcountrys skier there will likely be that too.

Tim


COMMENT_TEXT:
I was at Killington this weekend. There was good coverage all over and had a great time. I even spent some time in the woods. I recommend getting out there and skiing!


# ENTRIES

ENTRY_TEXT:
This ia a private, subscriber only blog. I am using this blog model because it permits not only me to post advise and commentary but also lets you the subscriber post comments as well. At the same time it keeps the spammers out. Your subscriber fee provides me a small income to keep the site updated and to provide information that you  might not get elsewhere without a lot of digging!


Hopefully, I will get some of you involved in writing up your experiences so that other members can benefit. This is a wide open discussion area, so feel free to talk about such things as road conditions, events, lodging and places to eat or shop.


ENTRY_TEXT:
As of this date, there is no snow in Vermont. Killington opened  earlier this month after the great wet snow dump, but now its closed again. Reports will likely start in mid December


ENTRY_TEXT:
Bolton Valley will have a new lift this season


ENTRY_TEXT:
November 10th and 11th saw lower temperatures in the mountains of Vermont. Bolton Valley, Sugarbush, Stowe, Killington, Okemo, Smugglers'and Bromley were all making snow at their higher elevations. The snowmaking was augmented  by several inches of natural snowfall. If you don't mind skinnying up the mountain, you will likley get some skiing in this weekend!


ENTRY_TEXT:
During the week of December 19th to 23rd you can ski at Bolton Valley for $4.00.  That's a great price if there's  snow!


ENTRY_TEXT:
Stratton has snow 
> on the top on about four trails.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Noticed this weekend no snow on Bromley.


ENTRY_TEXT:
If you are a glades skier you might find that your favorite glades are closed off this season. This is because of the disastrous ice and wet snow storm in late October which devastated Vermont and left thousands without power for days. The storm toppled trees and branches everywhere. Like the ice storm that struck Quebec about 5 years ago, trees and branches buckled over from the weight of the snow and ice.

Reports are starting to come in about the damage from places like Mad River Glen and Sugarbush. You can bet that other resorts like Jay Peak and Magic will have suffered as well. It is all a question of manpower and money to clear out the effected areas.


ENTRY_TEXT:
New apres ski bites come to Burke Dec. 10 when The Tamarack Grill opens at Burke Mountain Ski Area's Sherburne Base Lodge.

The restaurant, described by the resort as "a modern American bistro," will serve "fresh, nicely seasoned food in healthy portions," emphasizing local flavor, said executive chef Steve Grimes. A pub adjacent to the restaurant will serve vodka from Vermont Spirits of Passumpsic and a variety of Vermont ales.

The Tamarack Grill will be open year-round from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and 510 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. During winter holidays, the restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner seven days per week. Information available at 626-3322 or www.skiburke.com.


ENTRY_TEXT:
If this winter turns really cold, expect the ski resorts to have their electricity rationed just like regular folks. That could mean less snow making. Vermont, like other northeastern states has laws governing the distribution of electrical power when things are tight. A ski area like Killington or Okemo could be ordered to shut down their snow making in order to provide power to private homes, towns and villages. In other words, the ski areas are at the end of the pecking order when it comes to power rationing.

"New England set records for wintertime electric and gas demand -- and came close to rolling blackouts -- in January 2004 when temperatures stayed below 10 degrees on three separate days in a single week and hit a 24-year low of 7 below zero at Logan International Airport in Boston.
Officials at Independent System Operator New England, the Holyoke organization that manages the six-state electric grid, fear a repeat of brutally cold weather like that of January 2004 that could force them to shut off power to hundreds of thousands of people and businesses for one or two hours at a time to conserve available electricity." - Boston Globe


ENTRY_TEXT:
Seems like the Beast of the East has got more trails and lifts open that anyone else. There could be some snow later in the week.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Okemo snow guns have been going full tilt in the past couple of days with more trails opening every day. Trouble is, the discount prices are becoming less every day!


ENTRY_TEXT:
If you have travel plans around the northeast for the 
holidays staring on Tues and lasting through Fri or Sat, stay tuned...next 
week looks very interesting with high travel impacts (both on roads and 
aviation). Someone is going to 
get a lot of snow and someone else is going to get a lot of 
rain...backlash snow likely once the storm passes by...probably on 
Wednesday.  Right now, it looks like Thur-Fri some snow is likely across most of the 
northeast.


ENTRY_TEXT:
he mountain is expected to open on Friday with 2 lifts (the Jet Triple and Queen’s Highway t-bar) and offer 3 to 6 trails ranging from novice to expert.  Early season rates will be $35 for a 1-day Adult lift ticket and $25 for a 1-day Junior pass.


ENTRY_TITLE:
Got a question?  Need special information?

ENTRY_TEXT:
Got a question or need special information. I will endeavor to help you or other members may be able to help?


ENTRY_TEXT:
The mid winter conditions and snowfall that characterized the Thanksgiving Weekend are over. Starting on Monday, November 28th, temperatures will move up into the 40s and 50s, then move a little bit lower later in the week. This will be accompanied by RAIN and drizzle for at least a couple of days. This is not good news for skiing conditions. Although the resorts make "bullet proof" snow, the ground underneath never really froze so there will be a loss of trails as the week progresses. By the time the weekend rolls around, temperatures will have dropped again, making for sparse, icy coverage. Not a good outlook for the weekend at the moment.


ENTRY_TEXT:
A Florida resort company has bought the Burke Mountain ski area. Papers were signed Tuesday afternoon.

"The deal is done," Ryan Julison, vice president of communications for the Ginn Company, said in a telephone interview from his Celebration, Fla., office Tuesday. News of the sale comes months after speculation about the future of the mountain.

The deal brings a sigh of relief from Burke Mountain Academy, which has been operating the ski resort since buying it after a bankruptcy auction in 2000. "BMA has been the caretaker of the ski area," said Bobby Masters, executive vice president of the Ginn Company. "[The sale] allows the academy to continue in sound financial shape."

Masters said the ski academy has retained its easements on the mountain and will be able to use the slopes for ski training in the future. He added that St. Johnsbury Academy and Lyndon Institute will also be able to train and hold races at the mountain. "We are good neighbors," Masters said.

He said there are other parcels of land Ginn has under contract but has not closed on yet. These are some of the pieces of land sold separately during the 2000 auction. The long-term plan for the mountain has not been finalized yet, he said, adding that the permit process under Act 250, Vermont's land development law, is a long one.

The announcement comes while the ski area is busy getting ready for the upcoming ski season. A new, high-speed, detachable quad chair lift has been installed. Snowmaking has been expanded and the Sherburne Base Lodge is undergoing major renovations. Opening day is now predicted for between Dec. 10 and 15, depending on weather, Masters said.

Charles Hardiman will be the resort's new general manager. "We are committed to turning [the area] into a four-season resort," he said Tuesday. "But the ski area will be the anchor. We are still sorting details." Hardiman said he has been working at Burke since August, but has kept a low profile.

Dick Andross and Ford Hubbard, who have been in charge of operations at the mountain, will continue, Hardiman said. Marketing manager David Gwatkin said he will stay on in that position. "Right now, we are a ski area, but we will be much more," Gwatkin said.

Just how much more remains to be seen since final plans are not completed yet, but for now, the ski area will operate as usual with some finer amenities.

The ski area will celebrate its official 50th birthday in February. Those years have been a rocky time. It was during the 1970s that development really took off on Burke. Warren Witherwell founded Burke Mountain Academy and the ski area became well-known in the racing world. Condominiums started going up and the first snowmaking was installed on the upper mountain.

All this development cost money, and in the mid-1980s, the owners found themselves up to their ears in debt, forcing the company to file for bankruptcy. The ski area was sold a number of times and finally ended up on the auction block in 2000. A group of people associated with Burke Mountain Academy formed Burke 2000 and bought the core ski area.

Faced with yearly losses, Burke 2000 has been negotiating with investors to buy the ski area and make Burke Mountain a four-season resort. Until Tuesday, the name of that investor was kept secret.

About The Ginn Company

Incorporated in 1998, Ginn Clubs and Resorts, a privately held resort development and management firm, was founded by Edward Robert "Bobby" Ginn (pronounced with a hard "g" as in "get"). When it started, the business employed six people and now has more than 1,200 employees, according to the company's Web site.

Current projects include Cobblestone Park in Columbia, S.C., Belvidere Club and Resort in the Charleston area, Hammock Beach and Yacht Harbor Village near St. Augustine, Fla., Reunion Resort & Club of Orlando, Bella Collina north of Orlando and Tesoro in Port St. Lucie. The company also owns and operates Mahogany Run Golf Course in St. Thomas and has several projects under development in North Carolina and Colorado, according to its Web site.


ENTRY_TITLE:
Lake effect snows mean heavier snow fall

ENTRY_TEXT:
Jay Peak, Bolton Valley, Stowe, Smugglers' Notch and Sugarbush have benefited greatly from the latest "storm." Weather forecasters were predicting only a few inches but due to the effect of Lake Champlain, these mountains picked up a heck of a lot more snow. The scenario works like this: Whenever a storm moves in from up state NY or Ontario, Canada, it picks up moisture as it crosses Lake Champlain. Then when the winds hit the mountains where the ski areas are, the snow gets dumped!  This is why southern and central ski areas only got pitiful amounts of snow.


ENTRY_TEXT:
At this stage we are recommending the skiing in Vermont. It looks as though there will be ideal snowmaking conditions throughout the week. On Wednesday, temps will turn really cold...not sure what where they will be on the weekend. 
Stowe and Jay Peak are reporting prodigeous snow fall amounts and you can expect more trails to open. The mountains in southern Vermont, like Stratton, Bromley and Mount Snow haven't received much snow and are relying very heavily on snowmaking.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Ten percent of the trails at Vermont's Ski areas are now open according to the Vermont Ski Areas Association. A spokesman says this could triple in the next week if the weather co-operates. 

Vermont ski areas are engaged in some aggreesive marketing ahead of the Christmas period. Ski areas are flooding the internet with trail reports and marketing packages. The Christmas period is the one point in the season where the resorts can be sure of making money, but only if the weather remains moderately cold. If the weather becomes really cold, the resorts face having their electric supplies rationed and that directly effects snowmaking. You can read more about this issue in a story written during last season:
Cold Snaps may stop snowmaking


ENTRY_TEXT:
hey, what can we say? The weekend outlook is great! A major storm will hit southern Vermont mountains on Friday. With luck the storm will be tapering off by Friday night, allowing better driving conditions. Northern Vermont mountains are in good shape too, thanks to snow earlier in the week. Temperatures have been perfect for snowmaking. Expect a major jump in trail counts at all mountains by the weekend. If things keep up like this we could see 80% of Vermont's alpine trails open by Christmas.


ENTRY_TEXT:
You might be advised to bring your rock skies to Jay Peak. Word has it from a local ski patroller that there are still a lot of bare spots!


ENTRY_TEXT:
Terrain is slowly opening up at Smuggs.  They've got M2 spinning with  
one way down, and a few new things off Sterling on skier's left of  
the lift.  Snowmaking trail surface are still what you'd expect from  
snowmaking trail surfaces.  Natural snow trails still have not really  
enough coverage to be considered nice.


ENTRY_TEXT:
An arctic cold front is moving into northern Vermont. It extends from Quebec City and through Jay Peak. Expect very chilly temps for the next few days in northern Vermont. Of course, this is good news for the ski areas. It will trigger fluffy snow falls and help with the snowmaking. Things are looking good leading up to Christmas and even if we get a thaw, it will have to be a very substantial one to undo all the snowmaking and natural snow that has fallen.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Looks like we're going to get about 6" of snow on Friday. More details as they become available. Here's what one fairly reliable forecaster is saying:

it appears very 
likely that a winter storm will affect the north country on Friday.  
Models vary on surface low placement and track which will eventually 
determine snowfall amounts and amount of mixing with other precipitation 
types rather than snow.  Model sounds on the ETA and GFS are slightly 
different in each location with varying temperature profiles.  What is 
nearly certain is that no area north of a Concord to Albany to Binghamton 
line will change to plain rain.  Likely, a change to plain rain will not 
occur north of a I-495 to I-90 line.  A significant ice storm may occur 
somewhere in the transition zone along that line and even southward into 
parts of CT and the southern Hudson River Valley westward towards eastern 
PA.  

Further north in the Adirondacks, it looks like all snow.  No model has 
enough warming in any layer to have anything other than snow.  In Vermont, 
it'll likely end up coming down to the wire as model forecasts have 
different temperature profiles in various locations.  Most mixing right 
now appears to happen east of the Green Mountain spine as above freezing 
air moves in at the mid layer as far north as St. Johnsbury, VT with a 
strong SE flow.  

Model precipitation varies with the ETA/NAM being the wettest and GFS 
dryslotting VT with heavy snow back in NY.  With many mondel runs to go, 
it'll be an interesting ride.  Right now, I'm fairly certain of all snow 
in NY state north of I-90.  Based on model QPF it looks like a 6-12" 
snowfall in northern NY.  In Vermont, the Green Mtn spine might act as a 
dividing line between precipitation types.  Burlington looks like a snow 
to a period of sleet and back to snow.  I'm thinking 6+" good possibility 
west of Green Mtn spine.  East of the spine, warm air aloft should bring 
mixed precip types with snow to sleet or freezing rain and back to snow.  
Still could be 6"+ of snow with ice.

The Friday evening drive north could be very 
interesting!


ENTRY_TITLE:
Excellent conditions right on into Christmas

ENTRY_TEXT:
now showers, or local snow squalls likely north Tuesday evening north, a chance of a snow shower south, then becoming partly cloudy, lows zero to 10 above.  Partly sunny Wednesday, highs in the teens north and 20s south.  Partly sunny Thursday, lows zero to 15, highs in the low 20s to low 30s.  Partly sunny and milder Friday, lows 10 to 15, highs in the mid 20s to mid 30s.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Over the weekend, I went to update the site and accidentally deleted the entire members directory and all the blog postings!

Almost everything is back where it was except for two recent blog postings...somehow they got lost in the restore.

ugh! As most of you know I am not a programmer and each time things go wrong, I have to call for help. I am learning though!:)


ENTRY_TEXT:
I have decided to start posting in the regular ski reports open to the public a sort of ski report truthfulness rating. This is based on my experiences with each mountain and the way their staff operates. This year the guy doing the reports at Stratton is not to be trusted. I had to send an e-mail to him complaining about his snowmaking tallies...he wasn't even listing them. 

I have found that one of the best is Mad River Glen. They'll actually send out e-mails to all their members when the wind is blowing like hell and tell them not to come to the mountain!  I give them a 10 for that!


I wonder how many of you have driven to a mountain to find everything closed. It's happened to me at Killington several times!


ENTRY_TITLE:
More on upcomingh Ski weather and conditions

ENTRY_TEXT:
The Christmas weather outlook is for temperatures to be just a bit below normal through Christmas day. The flow of air continues to be northwesterly and out of the Canadian arctic. With an ample supply of snow cover to grease the skids and deliver reinforcing shots of this colder air without much in the way to modify it we’ll see little evaporation and even less if any melting. 


Alberta Clipper Systems or their troughs of lower pressure, will be timed roughly to move through Tuesday night and Thursday night. Each system will unload an inch to 4 inches of snow on the resorts, especially in the North. Lake effect snow, which is so prevalent this time of year in northern Vermont, will keep freshening up the slopes  in in-between.

There is some murmerings of a big snow fall over the Christmas weekend...that is Saturday and Sunday...but it is still too early to forecast.


ENTRY_TITLE:
Updated Weather - no big storm over Christmas

ENTRY_TEXT:
It doesn't appear at the moment as if there will be a big storm over Christmas. 
The more "Conservative" Fairbanks Museum in St. Johnsbury, VT says in its Eye of the Sky Extended Forecast:

Increasing clouds with a chance of scattered snow showers late in the north Thursday night, lows in the teens to near 20.  Cloudy Friday with a chance of snow showers north, and a chance of snow, sleet, or freezing rain showers south, highs in the 30s.  Mostly cloudy, a chance of snow showers Saturday, lows 20 to 25, highs in the 30s.  A chance of snow or a mix Sunday, Christmas Day, lows in the 20s, highs in the 30s.

Well, at least it will be warmer and skiing conditions should be excellent!


ENTRY_TITLE:
Revised forecast for the Christmas Period

ENTRY_TEXT:
Vermont's weather over the Christmas period is expected to be a continuation of the "Clipper Systems" as the forecasters call them. Each one bring a  little more snow. These are not big storms, but at the moment they are each bringing a bit of snow...sometimes as much as 6-8" at a time. Milder temperatures may change the precipitation tomorrow, Friday, to snow and freezing rain. Snow is more likely in the  nort. In the south, the snow is more likely to start mixing or changing to sleet and freezing rain. 
It will be even warmer on Saturday and mostly cloudy with highs in the 30s to low 40s.  A chance of snow or a mix on Sunday, Christmas Day, with lows in the 20s, highs in the 30s.
  
There's a chance of a larger storm on Monday but if it comes it will be the wettish kind with more freezing rain rather than snow. Of course the mountains may get all snow. Driving conditions may be hazardous on Monday, so keep a watch on the weather forecasts.
Over the entire Christmas and New Year's period we could  see as much as another 25" inches in the mountains. But watch out...you should try to enjoy the fabulous conditions while you can. I know the ski resorts will. This is one of the times when they make most of their money and they've hiked their ticket prices to collect as much of it as they can!



Long range outlook:
According to Vermont forecaster, Joshua Fox, it  looks more and more that we will have to confront a weak to moderate La Nina by Januaray since water temperatures in the equatorial regions of the Pacific have cooled. It could spell big trouble for us in the form of ice and rain.


ENTRY_TEXT:
High winds at the summits of the Green Mountain are forecast to reach 60 mph today. This means that upper mountain lifts will be forced to close. If you are planning to ski today, don't! Save your money and time for tomorrow!


ENTRY_TEXT:
If you are in the Bromley, Stratton and Magic Mountain areas this weekend obey all traffic signs and DO NOT SPEED. Winhall policer are out in force in their white and green 2x4s. Enforcement is particuarly strong going down the hill into Manchester from Bromley and at Stratton.


ENTRY_TEXT:
I made my first trip to Magic
Mountain yesterday and it was quite amazing to be skiing untracked snow (not
sure I can call it powder) all day, though it was many days after any major
storm. The place is quite funky (someone told me a story of a normal sized
woman getting on the chair and the seat collapsed and she ended up with her
skis in the air for about 10 feet before they shut off the lift) sort of
like Mad River when it was not chic. Almost nothing was groomed, there were
large exposed rocks, water bars and lots of ledges for jumping off and it
was 100!  % open,  even under the chair. The untracked snow was often really
good but sometimes crusty and there were many hidden surprises underneath.
The terrain itself is much more interesting than anything in southern
vermont and it is only $25. A great first real day skiing in Vermont in
many years, definitely worth going back when it snows again.
Bruce Shenker


ENTRY_TEXT:
Killington is in fantastic shape for the holiday week.  Pretty much 
everything is open with the exception of the glades (which are skiable) 
and some trails that have some extreme wind scouring.  Even though 
Killington has seen over two feet in the past week, there must've been 
some intense wind at times because some big trails are completely 
bare/windblown down the grass and rocks (Double Dipper, Ovation, and a few 
others I cannot remember).  Those trails had much better coverage in 
October when those three feet bonded nicely to everything.  The plus side 
of some high winds (today wasn't too windy, maybe 10-20mph which isn't bad 
at all at 4,000ft) is that all that snow has to end up somewhere.  Its in 
the trees.  I ducked into the woods on skiers right of East Fall and found 
a lot of snow in there.  Its got a little wind crust in spots but other 
areas are just dense, knee deep powder that explodes when you ski it.  
Very fun.  Other areas of the woods that were not wind effected have a lot 
of really light, fluffy (almost dust-like) powder.  The main problem with 
that is that you sink to the bottom; while I was skiing knee deep powder 
in spots, I was also hitting a lot of stuff under foot.  

Outter Limits opened for the first time this season...lots of snow guns 
but very fun.  Wildfire was also getting blasted and had some really 
massive whales that were fun; one could get "hospital air" if some of 
these were launched with speed...up 15 feet with a flat, straight 
landing.  It will be the terrain park in the next few days.  Woods up top 
on Bear were in some of the best conditions I've ever seen them.  Light 
fluffy powder with what seemed like more of a base than in other areas of 
the mountain.  It seemed like the blasting snow guns were depositing snow 
in areas other than the trails.  Bear was fun today...its always nice to 
enjoy Bear before Christmas.

Needles Eye area was skiing nicely too.  Needles Eye was the usual 50-50 
groomed and I find it boring most days but today the bumps on skiers right 
were perfect.  Light fluffy powder with chalky sub-surface and some 
surprisingly great lines.  Upper Vertigo was closed due to the granite 
reef up top but skiers left into the Vertigo woods was really nice.  Lower 
part was open and very soft.  

Cascade in the afternoon was the usual skating rink but was better than 
average.  The trees in the Canyon area are filled quite deep due to wind 
loading from the trails.  The added density made for great powder skiing 
and some really nice lines are opening up in Light and over by Anarchy.  
Toliet Bowl's got a little ways to go.  I really don't like how a lot of 
the local glade shots were put on the map and thus can be designated open 
or closed...now you need to duck a rope to get in.

Killington has a ton open, midwinter trail conditions, and the glades are 
on the verge of becoming completely skiable.  One more storm...

-Scott


ENTRY_TEXT:
There is a little dispute going on between Johannes von Trapp and his Trapp
Family Lodge on the one hand, and the cross-country ski center formerly
known as "Mount Mansfield", owned by AIG/Mt. Mansfield Company dba Stowe
Mountain Resort on the other hand.

As you may recall, several years ago, Mr. von Trapp bought a parcel of land
from some people named Adams.  (The so-called "Adams property" has been in
the news because of the possibility that a housing subdivision might be
built on it.)  It turns out this land includes some of the cross-country ski
trails in the trail system of AIG/MtMdbaSMR.  A couple or so years ago, big
signs were posted along the trails welcoming the skier to land owned by the
Trapp Family Lodge, but the trails were still maintained by AIG/MtMdbaSMR. 
Last Sunday, I noticed that one of the trails was roped off: the lower
section of the Stowe Derby, popularly known as the "corkscrew."  I thought
maybe they were just waiting for more snow.  Today, there was also a rope
closing off the first section of Timber Lane, the easy trail, so that all
skiers would have to go up the "power line hill" to get to an open trail. 
The Ranch Camp trail, which connects the Trapp trail system to the
AIG/MtMdbaSMR trail system, was not roped off, but ungroomed, and there were
numerous signs (only in the direction from AIG/MtMdbaSMR to Trapp, not in
from-Trapp direction) saying that the trail was closed.  I think part of the
Ranch Valley Cruise trail is also closed.

I gather that there have been some kinds of discussions or negotiations or
communications of some sort going on, but I don't know how far apart the
sides are, or whether the issue is simply money or also liability or what
else.  I also don't know whether this is at all an issue for the Stowe Derby
or the Catamount Trail, both of which use trails that are currently closed off.

Lew Lasher
Stowe


ENTRY_TEXT:
It looks as if Jay Peak will get slammed with a really heavy snowfall on Christmas Day and into Monday. But south of Jay, the weather pundits are calling for rain/ freezing rain or wet snow. Jay and the Quebec ski mountains along the border are expected to get 12-24". But it could be that Jay gets mostly rain. Certainly, the rest of Vermont will get rain. It all depends on whether temperatures drop or stay warm along a frontal line straddling the US-Canadian border. It could all be freezing rain. Whatever. The rain is likely to change over to 3-6" of wet snowfall on Monday afternoon. Sorry to be the bearer of this bad news for the Christmas period. No matter what happens, enjoy skiing out there this week and be happy for what we've got which is far more than usual at this time of year!  

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.  
Timothy Palmer-Benson
No Bull Ski Vermont Report


ENTRY_TEXT:
Skiing conditions have deteriorated somewhat. Yesterday one could hear the drip, drip drip of melting snow as the temperature moved up to almost 45 degrees. Then last night we got some torrential rain washing away non packed snow. Expect some trail counts to be reduced today, especially on natural snow trails. (Burke Mountain cut its trail count in half.)
All this could change tonight when some heavy snowfalls are predicted for the Green Mountains. Places like Stowe and Jay may get 8-10" which will help put skiing conditions back to where they were last week. In the meantime, carry rain gear with you and check those chair seats for wetness!


ENTRY_TEXT:
The recent thaw and then Sunday night's rain, followed by high wind and dropping temperatures has left ski resorts scrambling for their groomers. Icy conditions exist anywhere a trail is exposed to wind and which hasn't been groomed. Some mountains like Stowe started regrooming the mountain this morning. Conditions should improve later in the week.


ENTRY_TEXT:
It doesn't look as if ski conditions are going to improve at all this week. Infact, more freezing rain and rain is forecast for Thursday/Friday and on into the weekend. If you haven't got plans to ski Vermont in the next week or so, wait. Conditions will improve, but for the next three or four days it doesn't look good. Here's the extended forecast....and we all know what mixed precipitation means!

Thursday: Periods of rain, except rain or freezing rain near and north of the US/Can border. High 32-40.
Thursday Nt:  Rain tapering to showers south, rain or freezing rain tapering to rain or snow showers north.  Lows in the 30s.
Friday: Mostly cloudy. High 34-40.
Friday Nt:  Fair.  Lows in the 10s.
Saturday: Cloudy, chance for rain or mixed precipitation south, and chance for snow or mixed precipitation north.  High in the low-mid 30s north, and mid-upper 30s south.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Today's weather, mostly sunny, is short lived. Get out and enjoy it while you can. Tomorrow is not good...freezing rain and rain are VERY LIKELY and more of the same is forecast for New Year's.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Skiing conditions are deteriorating with the familiar saga...rain, freezing rain, then back to a bit of snow, icy conditions then thaw and rain again. Something pretty bad happened yesterday at Jay Peak, because today, the mountain is offering half price tickets to anyone who was there. I suspect it was so icy they practically had a mutiny from their customers. Conditions at Jay have deteriorated just like at other mountains though they try to disguise it.

In the south, the snowmaking at mountains like Stratton, Okemo and Killington will hold up the trails so skiing will go on, but it is certainly not at its best. If you have been holding off, hold off some more. The time is not optimum.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Following the overnight rain, ski areas are reporting anywhere from 0-5" of snow this morning. Temperatures are dropping accompanied by gusty Northwest winds. It will be mostly sunny on Saturday with continuing wind. Skiing conditions are not particularly good. You can expect a lot of icy patches and trails will likely get scrapped off very quickly.

[b]What's Ahead?[/b] According to one Vermont meteorologist, "the active weather pattern will feature a Pacific storm every 2 to 3 days going into next week. The storms next week are likely to take a favorable track. But, the question of whether there will be enough cold air so that snow as opposed to rain falls is an open question."

From this I think you can take it that conditions will slowly improve provided there is no rain.

I will be in a better position, in the middle of next week to tell you about next weekend, but at the moment it looks better than it did a week ago for the time period we are in now.


ENTRY_TITLE:
Snow events possible over the next 7 days

ENTRY_TEXT:
If this forecast pans out, next weekend should be a whole lot better, so keep a watch on what the weather is doing...

It looks as if periods of light to moderate snow will occur through next week.  The first shot could come tomorrow night and could result in  3" of snow across over most of Vermont. Then on Monday, another storm  looks like it will bring more snow or some sleet. Snowfall amounts from Killington and Okemo and north may be 4-8" . After that, another quick clipper moves in and transitions to the coast and could provide another light to moderate snowfall, maybe mixed with sleet south of Rutland  on Thursday and Friday. A fast Pacific fair low will keep these storms coming every 2-3 days with increasing strength with each storm through next week.  Over the next ten days ski resorts could get about 12" if this all pans out and next weekend will be good!  

Happy New Year everyone!


ENTRY_TEXT:
This post from Jim Roemer on the Killington site is in line with what I have been saying about the upcoming weekend.

A storm will approach Killington with natural snow on Thursday with from 2 to 5 inches and 30 % chance for 6 inches at the top. Lighter fluffy snowfalls will follow, this means additional snows of perhaps as much 4 to 8 inches by late Saturday.


ENTRY_TITLE:
Weekend Recommendaitons for January 7th and 8th

ENTRY_TEXT:
Things are looking pretty good for this weekend. Several inches or more of snow should have fallen by then at all resorts..maybe more. Temps will be in the 20s and no high winds. In addition, you can expect the slopes to be relatively quiet following the holiday period. If you are in the south, Stratton, and Mount Snow look good. Killington and Okemo are okay because of their snowmaking but neither has received much snow. The resorts in the north are less recommended. Surfaces are likely to be "hard and fast." They'll be good in the morning and scrapped off by one or two o'clock, depending on skier traffic. With sunshine forecast for at least Saturday, the weekend is a good bet!


ENTRY_TITLE:
Happy Saga at Mount Snow - definitely worth it!

ENTRY_TEXT:
We've been getting some reports about excellent conditions at Mount Snow. It benefited the most from the recent snow and is getting some more today.

Here's a description of someone's visit this week. Admittedly, the skier is very adventurous but it gives you a good picture of conditions which at this point only have to be better!

A bullet-proof base layer with 6-12" of fluff on top, plus a ton 
of "reserved" trails and glades made for my best day ever at Mount Snow.  
I have no idea why so many trails and trees were roped off, but whatever.  
With total disregard for ski patrol, trail closings, and trail names, we 
skied runs that mixed together open, closed, and wooded shots.  All 
powder.  Even the groomers were true packed powder where you can dig an 
edge in deep and its soft, soft, soft.

Lots of snow around the base, too, and what Mt. Snow lacks in pitch it 
made up for in medium angled powder. 
I don't know or remember any real trail names except for it was all 
good...North Face trails were beautiful, Ripcord had some slick spots but 
pockets of powder, and the trees of Ripcord were steep and deep.  Boot 
deep fluff would slough down the slots while skiing down made for 
consistently soft turns.  I didn't bring my camera out after lunch but 
wish I had.  We discovered some really nice closed trails in the Corinthia 
side that delivered 1,000 vertical foot shots of boot deep fluff on top of 
a bomb proof base making for easy turning.  Why were these trails not 
open?  We couldn't come up with any reason except that maybe if they let a 
couple hundred people down the trails, they might get a little beat up; 
but it kept getting better on each lap.  It seemed like trail after 
glorious trail was roped off...really made me question the patrols' 
decision to keep all this closed on a fresh powder, crowd-less, 
Wednesday.  Only one female patroller told us the trails were closed and 
we shouldn't be skiing them...then promptly took off to enjoy her own 
reserved powder run.  

No base damage on the skis, no rocks, nice solid base with powder on top.  
I suddenly have a deeper respect for Mount Snow.  I hope the north gets 
some powder out of this next system because I forgot how fun it is to 
wander around the mountain mixing trees, open spaces, and trails into 
various powder runs.  You know its a good day when even the groomers are 
pure butter.

-Scott


ENTRY_TITLE:
Stowe's Disgraceful Management and Obscuration

ENTRY_TEXT:
A mild ice storm shut down most of Stowe's lifts last week. The ice storm, which was predicted to be far more benign, froze all  lifts, rendering most of them inoperable by sun-up. Crews had to manually remove the ice from lift cables, towers and chair-lift mechanisms, as thousands of eager holiday skiers and riders descended on the resort. The company took the unusual step of giving full refunds on lift tickets to customers who would not be able to return later in the season.
No mention of this event was ever made on the Stowe web site which to me is a classic case of obscuration. Just like Goebbels could never admit to the allied bombing in the Second World War, Stowe can't tell its customers about the true state of affairs at the mountain.

The ice up of the lifts could have been avoided if management had not been so cheap and had opted to run the lifts all night to avoid the problem. 

Stowe MUST have some additional forecasting involved for *true* mountain operations vs. what can be put on its snow report.(Even cheap, cheap Jay Peak employees Steve Mileski at the Fairbanks Weather Center in St. Johnsbury as a part time meterologist.) With lifts these days, there are temperature sensors and some sort of data network at least at the top and bottom  terminal of each lift.  If its pouring rain and temperatures are at 31F, someone should be able to realize this wasn't going to be pretty.  Where were the groomers on this one?  They are out all night long, too.  If my 1993 car can have a temperature sensor in it, how can a new $100,000 
snowcat not have one?

There are so many red flags that could've popped up to let Stowe management know what was going to happen.


All this raises questions about the competency of Stowe's employees, many of whom don't speak English very well and are hired from overseas. What will happen in a real emergency such as a lift evacuation? Is management incompetent?


ENTRY_TEXT:
There appears to be concerted effort to steal skis and snowboards at Vermont resorts. The problem appears quite serious at resorts in the north. To avoid this probem, always split up your skis in a base area. Take your partner's ski and put it with yours, then place the unpaired skis far apart from one another. I don't have  solution for snowboarders, sorry.

Police are urging skiers to record their serial numbers or mark up their skis with their own numbers. I don't go along with marking up your skis. What happens if you want to sell them at a swap and they are all marked up? But, by all means, record their serial numbers somewhere. It just might help.

Jay Peak is the worst for this because of its Montreal clientel. Stealing other people's stuff is practically a way of life in Montreal!!


ENTRY_TEXT:
Well, my preditions for a great weekend seem to have come true..a little nippy if you are in the north, but comfortable further south. Enjoy the conditions while you can...there are faint rumbling about rain sometime next week. It is too early to tell.


ENTRY_TEXT:
The ugly "rain" word is being bandied about for later this week. Vermont Public Radio says: "expect thawing temperatures this week." While conditions, over all are good at the moment, they can quickly change. If you are planning a trip this weekend, hold off, conditions are likely to be not optimal.

By the way, strong winds today of up to 55 mph summits are likely to lead to widespread lift closures.


ENTRY_TEXT:
I had an e-mail yesterday from the marketing department about this site's coverage of Ascutney. I had complained that their web site's updating was appalling. This person wrote back that my reporting was inaccurate. We've gotten into a tit-for-tat dialogue. Anyway, I have put up a poor  credibility rating for the mountain because they continually leave blank such information as grooming and snowmaking. The weather is presented on a separate page and is computer generated from the local Brownsville weather station. It does not really tell you what conditions are like and certainly not at the summit. I explained to this person that my subscribers want to know if it is windy and whether lifts are likely to be closed before they drive to the mountain!

It seems the Asctuney got a new all CSS website with database driven pages designed for non human input. Perhaps management is trying to cut down on employing someone who can write a decent report as they do at Burke Mountain and Mad River Glenn every morning!


ENTRY_TEXT:
For sometime now I have been viewing with somewhat of a jaundiced eye, the reports coming out of Stratton. As noted by Bruce Nelson several posts ago, Stratton's web site reports are to be taken with a grain of salt. Today, whoever is doing it, just blew me away with his banter about colder temperatures. Bullshit! We are at the start of a January thaw with heavy rain expected on the weekend. Needless to say, Stratton's credibility rating has been lowered a notch. Perhaps it should be lowered some more! )


ENTRY_TEXT:
A typical January thaw is underway. It will start this afternoon as temperatures start climbing. Tomorrow's weather is calling for temps in the mid 40s and there may even be some rain. The real bad news is the weekend. It looks like there will be heavy rain on Friday for early Saturday morning. It might have been a nice snow storm but that's not going to happen. My recommendation is that you give this weekend a pass.


ENTRY_TEXT:
A check with the Rutland Police Dept. reveals that police are still looking for two suspects in connection with an armed robbery at the Big K on New Year's Eve. Two unidentified men bound three cashiers and held them at gunpoint while robbing the cashier's room at the Snowshed Base Lodge. One of the cashiers was assaulted during the incident, but required no medical attention. Killington is still trying to figure out how much money was taken. The robbery occured at about 5:30 pm. Three cashiers managed to escape during the robbery. The other three were bound and forced to lie on the floor. Police have a description of the suspects who apparently fled in a gold   colored Chrysler with white license plates. Surveillance cameras at Killington also recorded parts of the event.

Surely a sign of the times...skiing under surveillance!!


ENTRY_TEXT:
Ski areas are facing the threat of a major washout this weekend.   If weather forecasters are right, most ski areas will be hit with torrential rain Friday or Saturday accompanied by warm wind - a fatal combination for ski areas. Then winds will turn from being southerly to northerly and a few inches of snow will fall. Temperatures will drop and high winds will be prevalent on Sunday as the storm departs. Lift closures will be very likely! There could be significant snowfall in the north, but the north is unlikely to escape the initial rain. 

What is so important about this storm is that snow conditions are "ripe." That is to say that the snowpack has already been weakened by rain, warm temperatures and wind earlier this week. When snow is ripe, it melts very fast when heavy rain and wind hit it again. The possibility of a melt down has state officials worried about flooding this weekend. 

One other thing...sidewalks and roads are liable to become treacherous Saturday night and Sunday with the sudden drop to temperatures well below freezing.

The Jim Roemer weather forecast seen on some ski mountain web sites was saying this, this morning:
FRIDAY-WEEKEND--- This is a tricky forecast as models are all over the place. One model brings a major storm up here by later Saturday or Sunday with modest rains and 1-2" of back last snows by Sunday night and Monday morning. For now, we will call for a little mixed precipitation possible on Friday, we think the system will stay to our south, but so would escape with little or nothing, as well with generally mild weekend temperatures and the possibility for at least Saturday to be dry with temps in the 30's and 40's. 


Which one do you believe?


ENTRY_TEXT:
Rain, moderate to heavy at times today.  Rain changing to snow late in the day. 


TONIGHT: Becoming windy and sharply colder.  Light snow St. Lawrence Valley of Quebec, and e’n NY outside of the Adirondacks. One to four inches total.  Rain changing to glaze, sleet then to snow from west to east otherwise.  Precipitation tapering to light snow showers in extreme southeast VT and NH south of the Whites with accumulation 1-3” after midnight.  Snow may be moderate or heavy at times elsewhere, with possible accumulation 3-6” northern valleys and southern mountains; and 6-10” northern mountains.  Lows 5-15. Wind becoming NNW 15-30 mph.


SUNDAY:  Snow all of northern VT, and southern VT mountains, n’n NH, and Townships will taper to flurries by afternoon.  Additional accumulation 1-3” valleys, and 2-6” mountains.  Mostly cloudy e’n NY with scattered flurries.  Dry St. Lawrence. Scattered flurries s’n NH.  Windy, bitter.  Temperatures 8-18.  NNW wind 15-30 mph.





Tonight:  Clouds thickening with a chance of a shower this evening west of the Green Mountains, then rain spreading west to east. 


Tomorrow:  Rain, possibly heavy at times, mixing and changing to snow in the St. Lawrence Valley and Adirondacks in the early afternoon, reaching western VT late afternoon, and eastern VT and NH toward evening.  Highs in the 40s, falling into and through the 30s.  South to southeast winds 10 to 20 mph, shifting to the north.


ENTRY_TEXT:
The skiing remains dubious at best. Today, Jay Peak reported 65 mph winds at its summit. That is really something for a mountain like Jay to report this publicly. Conditions in the north are not good. Trails are windswept and icy! It is a little better in the south but you can tell from the trail counts and all the MGs in the conditions that things ain't that good either. Even Okemo broke down this morning to admit the winds were closing its lifts!
Things will warm up for the rest of the week with rain ande a bit of snow forecast for Wednesday. Long rang forecast predict more warm temps ahead with periods of ice, snow and rain. Save your money for February skiing. The long range forecasts seem to be point to longer periods of sustained, cold temperatures with periodic and significant snow fall.


ENTRY_TEXT:
The outlook for improved ski conditions is not that encouraging. The forecast is calling for more rain interspersed with a snow, sleet and freezing rain.

Tonight:  Clouding up with snow, sleet, and freezing rain developing near midnight, less than an inch of snow, then light ice accumulations, changing to rain west of the Green Mountains.  Lows in the 20s, rising to near 30 east, in the 30s west by morning.  Winds south to southeast increasing to 10 to 20 mph, with gusts over 50 mph in the Green Mountains. 

Wednesday:  Any freezing rain east changing to rain, moderate to heavy, changing to snow showers west to east in the afternoon.  Highs in the lower 40s, falling in the afternoon.  Winds southeast 15 to 30 mph, shifting to the southwest.

Extended Forecast:   Scattered snow showers Wednesday evening, then partial clearing, lows in the 20s.  Partly sunny Thursday, highs in the 30s.  Variable clouds and sun Friday, a chance of a rain or snow shower in the afternoon, lows near 20, highs in the 30s to near 40.  Clouding up with a chance of rain or snow Saturday, lows in the 20s, highs in the 30s.


ENTRY_TITLE:
Weekend Outlook for January 21st and 22nd

ENTRY_TEXT:
The weekend doesn't look very encouraging..with sleet, freezing rain, a bit of snow and rain alternating back and forth between now and Saturday. The major resorts like Okemo, Killington and Stratton can always keep their slopes open with a lot of snowmaking and grooming. Stratton, Stowe, Killington and Okemo seem particularly good at this. No matter what the weather does, they always have some skiiable terrain. But, none of them can provide a "Blue Bird Day" which is what it takes to give my full weekend recommendation. So, with mixed precipitation in the forecast and no big storms between now and then, I can't recommend this weekend. If you can hold off, do so. February may provide  some of this season's best skiing.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Another in what has a been a long line of pacific weather systems will race into the Mississippi Valley Friday evening and then quickly move northeast into the St Lawrence Valley. This trajectory is farther north than anticipated 48 and even 24 hours ago and more or less seals our fate. Temperatures are again expected to become very mild out ahead of this storm reaching into the 40’s on Friday and again on Saturday. Precipitation from this system will fall on Saturday in the form of a brief period of rain. It will then turn windy and sharply colder Saturday evening. The change to colder weather should be accompanied by snow showers but with a very limited accumulation of 2 inches of less. Sunday will be temperatures closer to normal with flurries.


ENTRY_TEXT:
The National Weather Service in Albany, NY has issued a high wind warning for southern Vermont. Sustained winds of 45 mph are expected at elevations of 1,500 feet. Higher wind gusts to 60 mph are possible. Lift closures are likely, starting this afternoon at Stratton, Bromley, Magic, Mount Snow. The winds may also effect operations at Killington and Okemo, though the warning did not mention these areas.


ENTRY_TITLE:
Sunday skiing and Next weekend Recommendation

ENTRY_TEXT:
There's been a dramatic drop in the temperature with a bit of fresh snow. The changeover from water puddles and wet snow has resulted in icy conditions. Boiler plate is under groomed surfaces and pure boiler plate is prevalent on windswept, ungroomed surfaces. Ski early before the groomed surfaces are scrapped off and stay off ungroomed surfaces unless you are ready to do a death slide!
 
The good news is that the cold may set us up for some decent skiing next weekend. There's no sign of another thaw in the offing and snowmaking will likely occur at all mountains. With the occasional light snowfall throughout the week and the possibility of a northeaster next weekend, the situation looks good.


ENTRY_TEXT:
No one seems to be posting here and there's been no feedback. How are we doing? Are you getting your money's worth?


ENTRY_TEXT:
It is snowing heavily in southern Vermont. Mount Snow, Stratton, Bromley are getting a good dump. Killington and Okemo are getting slightly less amounts. It is also snowing hard in northern Vermont. 

As you might surmise, the resorts are doing a snow dance. The terrible conditions will soon be a thing of the past. More snow is on the way this week. So to reiterate, skiing will be good this weekend at almost any mountain!


ENTRY_TEXT:
You can tell when conditions are improving...the MGs and FGs start disappearing from the reports to be replaced with Ps and PPs. And, that's what you will see more and more in the listings with the additional snowfalls.

Just as occured yesterday when the forecast called for scattered showers, there may be more snow in the north again tomorrow than is being forecast.

Cross Country Ski Conditions throughout Vermont will be steadily improving this week thanks to new snowfall. Centers throughout Vermont received 2-6" yesterday and more snow is on the way tomorrow. Expect weekend skiing to be good, though it may be a little colder.


Extended Forecast: Scattered snow showers Wednesday night, lows in the single numbers to low teens north, teens to near 20 south. Partly sunny and breezy Thursday, highs in the 20s. Mostly sunny Friday, lows near zero north, in the single numbers to near 10 south, highs in the 20s to near 30. Partly sunny Saturday, lows in the teens to near 20, highs in the low to mid 30s.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Tuesday, January 31st is Okemo's 50th birthday. Expect the mountain to be filled with grey hairs because if you are 50 or over, you can get a whole day ticket for $5.00. I am hoping to go. What with the improved conditions, it has gotta be the best deal of the season!


ENTRY_TITLE:
Final Weekend Outlook - Good skiing again

ENTRY_TEXT:
Varying amounts of snow have fallen on Vermont resorts. Okemno reports only an inch or so while Mount Snow got about six inches. Bromleyt and Stratton got about six inches. Stowe, Sugarbush, Mad River Glenn and Smugglers all got respectable snowfall overnight. It goes  without saying conditions are now back to where they were over Christmas before the rain. This should be the best ski weekend in quite a while. The forecast is calling for temperatures int he 40s and a bit of sun!


ENTRY_TEXT:
Sunday night may bring a big storm. Keep a watch on this if you are driving home. More details later


ENTRY_TEXT:
Today should be excellent. We may not loose that northwest wind which could gust as high 30 to 35 mph at the summits but temperatures will be a bit warmer…generally in the 20s.

Weekend: Milder air, but more cloudiness, this trade-off not that big a deal when you consider temperatures in the 20s and 30s at summit levels and winds fall off considerably. On Sunday a gathering storm will bring the next shot of snow developing in the afternoon and evening.

Early Next Week: A longer duration snowfall will add to bases throughout VT.  We could see anywhere from 5 to 10 inches before it’s finished up on Wednesday.

Beyond Wednesday: Temperatures to remain closer to seasonal normals.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Good trail skiing.  Didn't ski any woods.
Trails without snowmaking ==> ski base repair.
Trails with snowmaking were great.  
Most crowded I have ever seen it this year.
Fast lifts == short time in line
Windy now and then.  Spring skiing in afternoon.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Jay Peak is said to be having a terrible season. The rain and wind has exacted a toll. There have been significant reductions in the part time and full time workforce and a lot of complaints from skiers about lifts not operating. The lifts have not been operating at times because there is no crew to run them. This is particularly noticeable on week days. I do not recommend Jay Peak this season unless you can be sure of conditions. As usual the marketing department has been over blowing the positive side. It is also difficult to find out on a daily basis how many lifts and trails are groomed.


ENTRY_TEXT:
The following is a weather outlook posted by Mad River Glen  n a few days ago....

Precipitation may fall as something other than snow for a while late Sunday but there is cold air to be had and eventually it will become involved enough to prevent the dreaded extended period of rain. I would be surprised if we don’t see at least 10 new inches from this event by Wednesday and would not be surprised if the total does exceed 20 inches or more. I don’t want any “kiss of death” emails on this since I offered up the our best possibility along with two other scenario yielding lesser results.

Rest of next week
In the wake of this storm, northwest steering currents will ensure that temperatures remain seasonable to below normal although not extremely cold through next Saturday February 4th. The next system looks to be a clipper at this point, impacting the region either Friday or Saturday with lighter snows. At the same time, the flow will remained split with a portion of the Pacific Jet getting diverted into Texas and the Southeast. There are indications of a big system with this southern branch of the jet, certainly one that could turn north and bring a whole mess of weather into the northeast during the early part of the first full week of February but its difficult to translate this into anything specific. There is more big potential here but the lack of available cold might also become a problem. Even by next weekend, the pattern will remain somewhat in flux and certainly not one featuring a widespread outbreak of below normal temperatures anywhere in the country.

Signs of cold on the horizon
A few days into the first full week of February there are signs of a full fledged lock and load situation where temperatures would turn below normal in widespread fashion and instead of worrying about snow or rain we would merely be worried about how much snow can fall and when. It would involve the elimination of that dreaded Mid-Pacific, Aleutian Island ridge and the development of a real positive PNA regime. It is still a long way but it really is quite therapeutic to look at this evolving regime and realize that it is gradually moving in our favor as we approach the two best months of skiing in Vermont.


ENTRY_TEXT:
You can change your password but not your username. To change your password, go to this url:

http://www.nobullski-vermont.com/members/join/change_password.asp

If you get an acknowledgement that the password has been changed, it should be working. Check by logging in again.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Annual high school ski club trip to Mt Snow yesterday.
Conditions very good not, excellent.  Good natural coverage with recent 
storm. Stiff mostly westerly wind kept things cool up high.  Sun kept 
bottom comfortable.  North Face natural snow trails very good.  Trials 
Woods, Challenger and Jaws skied well (top of Challenger was sketchy).  
Woods in Carinthia are were fairly well covered, had to keep alert for 
fallen limbs and pucker.  Mt Snow made a ton of manmade so groomed 
areas were well covered, but hard packed and got icy as the day wore 
on.  Exposed natural trails were wind swept and narrowed, some closed.  
Choke and Overbrook good choices late in the day.
Very crowded and a bit of lift line chaos on the North Face as line 
attendants either took time off to ski or ASC is cutting staff.
36 kids on time at 5:30 am and all accounted for at the end of the day.

Ed


ENTRY_TEXT:
I must say I underestimated the transformation of the upper half of the mtn. that accompanied the installation of the new quad.  The Vista Glades are a very nice addition to the trail network and there's more potential 
up there with a bit of clearing.  The downside is that the funky and charming Show Off trail is essentially gone.  BV's somewhat legendary Little Rock and Big Rock now have a much less prominent place in the view 
of skiers heading up or down Vista.  

Skiing highlight of the day was sampling the young but fairly well-cleared Vista glades w/Conor, to TNT, to a few dozen powder turns in completely neglected woods.  3-4 days after a "storm", BV delivers consistently.  
After some stump removal in the next off season, several of the new areas cleared will improve dramatically.

BV has made some real improvements to the mtn. with the quad, and the snow quality at the top of that valley is probably often some of the best in 
VT, even if the terrain is not.  Two big drawbacks to BV, though, still, are the in the base lodge:
  1) Given the brick floor, plastic deck-
furniture tables and chairs, and unprotected doors, it's just not a terribly comfortable place to spend time.
 2) No baby changing table in any of the base lodge bathrooms.  Family place?  It's time to install one of 
those suckers.

Started snowing hard about 2:00 p.m., and still snowling lightly when we left at 3:45.  Changed to rain at the bottom of the access road to Richmond, but then back to snow by Williston and it's still snowing 
lightly at 10:00 p.m.  Turn-back-the-clock day at MRG on Tuesday might be pretty good.

-Jim B.


ENTRY_TEXT:
First, let’s establish that we are not going to strike gold on our end of January event. It was another opportunity missed but not entirely lost. It was also not unexpected. I felt we had a 30 percent chance at hitting the jackpot 3 days ago and in spite of the shank we will still end up with new snow each of the next three days starting Monday. The pattern also continues to become more interesting and will provide us with another opportunity either lots of new snow or the not so attractive mixed variety next weekend. By the 6 th or 7 th of February, there continue to be signs that the Mid-Pacific ridge will be eliminated and a positive PNA regime will emerge. This would allow the pattern to become more uniformly aligned in our favor thus allowing our questions concerning new snow to steer in the direction of how much and when rather whether or not.

Our end of the month event
Alright, let’s iron out the details with this event. The primary surface low and accompanying upper level feature will approach the region Sunday night and bring a period of snow mixed at times with sleet. We would be capable of 6-7 inches by Monday morning if we could avoid this sleet mixture but this appears unlikely; instead, our hybrid precipitation will accumulate 3-4 inches before tapering off as we reach a lull in the storm Monday. At this point, the second and more powerful storm will be organizing to our south, while the initial low begins to dissipate. Even as the powerful coastal low focuses the bulk of the precipitation in coastal areas, an area of snow of less intensity will re-emerge in the area near the upper level low or across interior New England Monday night. It is this area of snow which should provide us with an extended period of powder late Monday and into Tuesday. In the end I think it will mean a few inches of new snow both Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, enough to bring the storm total to near a foot but for my own convenience we will just give a generous range of 8-14 inches. What a disorganized mess this event turned into and it results from the fact that the phasing with this storm did not occur at the right place and at the right time. Even if you follow weather leisurely, you will notice how in certain years the stars seem to magically align for a big snow at almost every opportunity while in other years we will find new and improved ways to avoid the big snow. 

Balance of the week and Super Bowl Weekend
There is limited available cold air so temperatures are expected to remain above normal for the duration of the week although for the most part will stay 20’s for highs and teens for overnight lows. The reason for the lack of cold can be attributed to the lack of a cold air delivary mechanism which often in the case of the Eastern United States is the positive PNA regime. There are signs that such a regime may develop around Super Bowl Sunday but until then we will still be making the best of the current pattern which is still “in flux”. The result may not be so bad however. There is a clipper system that is indicated to bring a light accumulation of snow late Thursday into early Friday and then this is quickly followed up by a southern branch, big precipitation producing system for the weekend. The track of this latter system is extremely critical as far as the skiing on super bowl weekend. The inland track will mean that snow goes to sleet and then rain for a time before going back to snow. The track right along the coast would bring huge amounts of new snow. Its really too early to call at this point and the various medium range computer models have shown both solutions depending on what run of the model you look at. One positive concerning this system is that in either solution, we would receive a healthy dose of backlash or wrap-around snows. These snows are extremely elevation sensitive. Wrap-around snows fall following the passage of the surface low but in close proximity to the upper level low.  At the very least it is something to look forward to even if the event does turn out to bring some rain to the mountain next weekend.

Pattern turns favorable
As mentioned above, it does look extremely rosy after February 5 th with the potential emergence of a PNA pattern. It would be the first time in over a month that we would proceed without the miserable Mid-Pacific Ridge, Aleutian Island Ridge and also mean a real outbreak of below normal temperatures across a widespread area of the Eastern United States. It would be a welcomed change for us because even if we continued to avoid the big snow, the smaller events would add up and provide us with several powder days. Its ironic because it was Super Bowl weekend last year where the big change took place and we moved into a blessed 5-week stretch of fantastic skiing which lasted well into March. Lets hope the same happens this year !!

Summarizing in a Sentence
Wide left on the end of the month big snow but around a foot over a three day period is still realistic and we can then look forward to a real favorable pattern setting in after super bowl weekend. 

J. Fox - Meteorologist


ENTRY_TEXT:
After the glory of skiing on Saturday, today's skiing conditions have turned rather depressing. While there is no big melt down going on, the rain and drizzle is not pleasant. Unfortunately more of the same seems to be in the offing next weekend, though the trail counts should unaffected. I can't honestly recommend skiing next weekend as things stand at the moment, though it won't be that bad.


ENTRY_TEXT:
There's a strong likliehood of rain this weekend, so I don't recommend it for skiing. While there has been snow all week, the snow is not of the type that builds up a base. It has been too warm! This has been an unusually warm January. February looks better, starting about the middle of next week.


ENTRY_TEXT:
The mountain prides itself on excellent grooming and snowmaking, yet I am getting reports of many bare spots at Okemo. I assume that the natural snow runs, such as the glades, aren't in good shape, but the snowmaking is pretty bullet proof. Comments anyone?


ENTRY_TEXT:
Hi folks,

The usual crowd of cheapskates converged on Mad River Glen today to take 
advantage of the $3.50 lift tickets on the annual Roll Back the Clock 
day. It was fairly busy, but not oppressively so, until the double chair 
broke down around 11:00, and everyone descended on the single. I had 
just boarded the double when this happened, but was only about 6 inches 
off the ground, so was able to join in the exodus. From that point on, 
there was about a 15-minute lift line for the single, until about 1:00. 
Then it was like someone blew a whistle or something, and everyone left, 
because the crowds simply evaporated. Coincidentally, that's also the 
time they got the double running again. From then on, it was ski on to 
either lift.

The skiing? It was good. Not great, but good, and certainly the best day 
I've had so far this season, which admittedly isn't saying much. The 
2-3" of snow last night did a good job of softening things up just 
enough, particularly in the morning on the trails. Later in the 
afternoon untracked was a bit harder to find, until I discovered that 
the right side of Fall Line was still nice and soft, to the point of 
there being a bit of untracked left, and the farther right I drifted the 
more untracked there was and the better things got, until I was pretty 
well into ****house Woods. Being solo, I had been avoiding the woods, 
but this was too good to pass up. Sure it was only a few inches, but the 
base under the fresh was nice and forgiving.


ENTRY_TEXT:
As has been the case in January, we get into a good weather pattern to produce ample precipitation but it warms up ahead of or during the weather system responsible. The low pressure system responsible will die a slow death over the Great Lakes wile pushing too much warmth once again into the region.

Significant arctic air remains bottled up unable to break away into the Northeast due to the nature of the westerly flow from off the Pacific Ocean. Even though we will see a (wet) Nor’easter develop off the Hatteras North Carolina coast it will be to far out to sea to do justice in northern mountainous New England. So the second best result will be lighter more occasional snows, with relatively mild temperatures for skiing.

THURSDAY-WEEKEND: The pattern looks moderately active! There could be a little light snow on Thursday with a dusting-2",mainly again on top but little accumulation at the base level in this still very mild set up. Temperatures ranging through the 30s.

By Friday and Saturday, a more significant storm approaches from the southwest. Temperatures in the higher 30's to near 40 at the base and 27-33 at the summit. Right now, expect mostly a rain event, with occasional mixed precipitation and a little snow on top Friday night into Saturday. Mixed precipitation changes to snow later Saturday or Sunday with a few inches of snow by later Sunday.

There’s a glimpse of a colder weather pattern taking shape after our next rainstorm this weekend. As we get closer in time we’ll take a better look at this but there does appear to be two important factors that could really change our weather for the colder and snowier over time.

Roger Hill, meteorologist


ENTRY_TITLE:
Forget this weekend but plan on the next one!

ENTRY_TEXT:
Today's storm will bring wet snow and rain, rain, rain. Rain on Saturday too. It will also bring howling winds at the summits. Winds are expected to gust to at least 60 mph or more. At the top of Mount Washington this morning, winds were gusting to 80km. We all know what this means...no lifts! 

But...
If you have written this winter off you better go back to the drawing board because next week begins the next chapter and it is already scripted to be drastically different then January. Temperatures will remain at or below normal through which means low 20's for highs and single numbers for lows. A small disturbance Monday may be enough to bring a few inches of mountain induced snows but it will otherwise until very late in the week. The next chance for snow mostly likely comes from a clipper late Thursday or Friday but one way or another there is a very good chance for new snow either Friday or during the weekend of the 11th and 12th. It honestly be very difficult for rain to ruin this weekend, the new pattern simply does not support such an occurrence.

Potentially turns very cold after the 10th
The positive PNA regime will be driven by a strong ridge in the jet stream that is eventually predicted by the ensembles to dig in its heals across upper British Columbia. I call this the 130 ridge because it is centered at 130 west longitude and usually opens a powerful pipeline of cold air into the eastern United States. When these types of features develop, a strong, vigorous polar jet often suppresses many of the bigger storms so much of the snow falls from Clipper Systems or simply from mountain induced snow. If the polar jet is not as vigorous and we develop into a pattern where the cold air is included in more of a split flow regime then the big snows are possible. I gotta tell you though, I would be happy with anything if it includes no rain for several weeks and we have a good shot at that after Friday.

Summarizing in a Sentence
Bad news in the form of Rain on Friday and Saturday but the pattern takes a nice decisive turn Sunday and will make our recent January struggles merely a memory.

Tim & Joshua Fox


ENTRY_TITLE:
At last, and end in sight to this winter scourge!

ENTRY_TEXT:
The following was posted last night on the Mad River Glen web site:
Big weather pattern change around the corner.to colder weather and some snow.

A strong inland storm will track to our west through the Great Lakes Sunday and into Canada, where it will eventually settle and spin and spin and spin. Initially, we will see yet another shot of rain but not much.generally anywhere from a tenth to about a half inch of rain arriving late Saturday and Saturday night. The shield of rain will be long gone by Sunday mid morning, and breaks in clouds should yield some sunshine along with a gusty southwest wind for a pretty nice day Sunday of skiing.

This storm is very important as it will be a huge break in large scale weather pattern that has continued to bring abnormally warm weather. A negative NAO or a blocking high pressure ridge through Iceland into Greenland will combine with a +PNA or western ridge of higher pressure along the Pacific coast to bring colder air into the Northeast US for about the next week to two weeks. A predominant northwesterly flow around this much colder gyre (centered in eastern Canada) will continually keep some refrigeration going on our lean but still ample snowpack (see graphic). As far as new snow; A series weak disturbances around the periphery of this Canadian cyclone will bring lake effect moisture and weak Alberta clipper-like weather systems to our region for much of the next two weeks. The first snows are expected Sunday night and Monday followed by drier air with some sunshine Tuesday into Thursday. A more promising batch of snow will reach us about the end of the week.

Forecast:

Saturday: Sunshine dimming behind thickening clouds. Mild temperatures levels in the 30s. Rain arrives late.

Sunday: Rain departs to a mix of clouds and sunshine as a "dry slot" within the storm circulation works in overhead. Temperatures will start out mild but will fall during the afternoon along with gusty southwest winds with speeds as high at 30 mph at the summit.

Monday: Occasional snow shower activity with from 2 to 5 inches at the top. Temperatures in the upper teens and 20s on the slopes.

Tuesday - Thursday: Generally dry but colder with good snow making conditions. Temperatures in the teens at the top and in the 20s otherwise periods of sunshine each day.

Friday & Next Weekend: Snow or snow showers with around a half foot of new snow. There is a 30% chance of ten inches at the top.


ENTRY_TEXT:
This is not the day to ski at Stratton. Grooming operations have been delayed and high winds may cause lift closures.


ENTRY_TEXT:
A very poor at the Big K. Rain overnight and this morning has prevented some grooming. Conditions are wet and maybe icing. Coupled with this is the prospect of high winds which may close some upper mountain lifts.


ENTRY_TEXT:
I am glad that I did not recommend this weekend as a good ski weekend. It is pretty darn poor. But if you look at the weather post, you will see that conditions are about to improve. It will  be interesting to see who spends money on snowmaking at this stage in the season. I am betting on Killingon, Stratton, Mount Snow, Okemo and Stowe as sure bets. You can probably forget Jay Peak - it rarely makes snow this late in the season and in any case they have laid a whole lot of people off.


ENTRY_TITLE:
Weekend Recommendation - Winter is back again

ENTRY_TEXT:
I am going to stick my neck out and recommend skiing this weekend. Why? Well, because as you no doubt have been hearing from other sources (good skiers always have their ear cocked for weather forecasts!) winter is back in Vermont. But, it is going to take a while to build up the slopes again.

Last night, I returned from Montreal to northern VT and found virtually no snow by the roadside. It had all been washed away by the rain. I was shocked! Never before have I seen this in early February. But, this morning, I woke up to a virtual blizzard. It is suprising how things can change so quikcly. A check around Vermont indicated that almost everywhere had received at least a couple of inches. The other good thing is that that the ground is frozen, so the snow is accumulatiing. With successive snowfalls this week...maybe totally 10" enjoyable weekend skiing is a good possibility. It won't be the best but you'll get your money's worth.

The southern mountains like Mount Snow, Stratton, Okemo and Killington were hit hard by the weekend rain. Of course, modern snowmaking ensures the slopes are pretty bullet proof, although they always become impossibly icy after a rain and then a drop in temps. It will take a couple of days of grooming and a bit of fresh snow to make them nice again.
10-15" of snow between now and the weekend should do it nicely!


ENTRY_TITLE:
Now this is the kind of weather report we need!!

ENTRY_TEXT:
Lake Effect Snows look like they will be in the 20-40" range over the Tug 
Hill.  Snowmobilers and X-C skiing looks good up there.  Spotters over 
Lewis County, NY are reporting 1-5"/hr rates.  Should become more showery 
during the day today, likely more cellular with solar heating.  This will 
also allow snow showers to break out just about anywhere across the North 
Country today.

Radar showed one strong band moving through northern Addison County this 
morning thats producing the snow in Waterbury/Huntington/MRG/Camels Hump 
region.  Snow looks to also be breaking out up and down the central to 
northern Green Mountain spine.  VAD profile from BTV radar shows 20-40kt 
southwest winds in the lowest 5,000ft of the atmosphere.  This southwest 
wind flow is actually favorable for the mountains surrounding I-89 along 
the spine and mostly the MRG/Sugarbush/Camels Hump area and northward to 
Mansfield.  Composite radar is lighting up from SB to Stowe along the spine 
as snow showers/squalls are almost moving straight up the Green Mountain 
spine after they enter VT in Addison County on a SSW trajectory.  Pretty 
good returns just crossed I-89 and are now in the Bolton/Mansfield/Madonna 
region.  Returns continue to backbuild over Addison County.  

In the Adirondacks, Saranac Lake is down to 1/2 mile in moderate snow.  
Gusty winds of up to 40mph on the west facing slopes of the Adirondacks 
will continue to bring snowfall to this region.  

Where do we go from here?  

Light snow with occasional heavier squalls that could produce rates up to 
2"/hr in the Adirondacks and 1"/hr in VT through early evening.  

All models are in very good agreement with a wind shift and vort max 
bringing in another frontal boundary between 6pm-10pm.  A burst of snowfall 
is likely this evening even down to the valley floors.  The band of 
snowfall will move in from southern Canada and will be the vort that will 
move the heavy lake effect band southward into the I-90 corridor of NY 
tonight.  This band and associated frontal boundary will connect and form a 
line of showers and squalls that will sag from just across the Canadian 
border southward through Jay Peak, Smuggs, Stowe, Bolton and then into the 
MRG/SB region and Killington before losing dynamics and washing out.  
Tonight, light upslope snow showers will continue north of I-89 as the wind 
shifts to WNW.  Downsloping from High Peaks region should cut off any 
upslope south of I-89.  I do not expect much additional accums after 
midnight, however.  So during the day today and tonight, accums will be 
highly variable but will stick with the numbers put out last night.  6-12" 
northern Adirondacks.  4-8" northern Greens north of I-89.  3-6" central 
Greens.  Will cut back on southern VT snowfall to 2-4" as spotter in 
Woodford only recieved 1.25" last night and I was thinking more like 3.  
They'll pick up another couple tonight but that should be it.

Lake band tonight aligns right down the Mohawk Valley and upslope regions 
west of Albany (higher terrain MA/NY border) should pick up 2-3" tonight.  
If this band shifts further south than progged, the northwest slopes of the 
Catskills will get hit but at this time it looks unlikely that more than 1-
2" falls there.

Scott


ENTRY_TEXT:
Post your weekend experiences here for any mountain. I can either leave it here or copy it over to the mountain you mention. 
This is an attempt to encourage posting of ski experiences at individual mountains. I will create a new category every two weeks..so the next one will be for mid February and so on.


ENTRY_TEXT:
It is still snowing quite heavily up north. Jay Peak is getting dumped on again. While this is not a storm perse, northern VT ski areas are doing pretty well out of it but less so in the south.

Jay Peak...11-15"
Stowe and Smugglers Notch...8-10"
MRG...3-6"
Sugarbush...5"
Mount Snow and Gore Mountain...4"
Bolton Valley...2-3" (interesting)
Killington...2"

Higher amounts than expected north of I-89 except Bolton, not sure what happened there.  3-6" was good in the central regions.  Band skipped Rutland and parked itself down south in the southern Greens and northern Berkshires straight across I-90 back towards Oswego, NY.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Mount Snow is sending out e-mails, saying that it got 6" of snow overnight, while Stratton has been sending out an e-mail saying 0".

Well, Stratton is right...there was no snow last night...might have been the night before, but not last night. 

Other than this blip on the radar today, there is not much going on. It is a fairly decent ski day with some sun. Bromley is crowing about that! Tomorrow we should see some more snow...not a big dump but at least something and the weather is remaining cold.

Good skiing ahead this weekend!


ENTRY_TEXT:
The southern ski resorts are making snow like crazy. It's and extradordinary and costly effort to run compressors on more a dozen or so trails, but tha's what's been going on these past few days at Mount Snow, Stratton, Okemo and Killington. Even Bromley has gotten into the act. With the possibility of some snow this afternoon and a snow storm late weekend, you are pretty well assured of great skiing this weekend. Take the chance while you can.  This cold spell may not last that long. See latest post on advanced weather.


ENTRY_TITLE:
9 Pretty Good Days then Big Mid-Month Questions

ENTRY_TEXT:
The following is from the Mad River Glen Web site:
It is edited for easier understanding...a bit rambling, but basically the guy is saying that by the middle of next week we could be out of winter again, but then again maybe not...

We are into the cold thanks largely to the ridging which has emerged in Western Canada and the elimination of the Mid-Pacific Ridge which prevailed through much of January. The cold will persist long enough for us to receive a shot at new snow from a clipper for the upcoming weekend and perhaps another small dose of the white stuff early next week. I wasn’t all that pleased however with the picture some of the model guidance has painted after the 16 th. It is then when the positive PNA regime is shown to again break down and the ridging is shown to shift back toward the Aleutian Islands. There will be a lot of cold air in Canada as a polar vortex develops over the course of the next week and strengthens the polar jet. Where the cold air focuses however will be key late this month as to whether we can maintain the pattern which will keep the rain away for the next ten days or whether we will again disintegrate back into a regime where we will again be rolling the dice.


Next Weeks Moment of Truth
Another clipper system early next week will bring the the next chance of snow. This will arrive as the Polar Vortex across Canada really begins to crank and readies itself to send some seriously cold weather somewhere into the United States. The Monday-Wednesday time frame should be safe from any trouble and we should get new snow one of the three days from the aforementioned clipper, but after that we arrive at what I think will be our moment of truth. 

If arctic air plunges into the West as some of the model guidance indicates we could be in big trouble by the weekend of the 18 th since it would mean a re-strengthening of the east coast ridge and ultimately another big northward push of mild temperatures. Since there will be some cold air on our side of the poll, the territorial cold air verses warm air battle may shift southward and perhaps we can escape the doom and gloom which greeted us for January ’06 and keep the new snow coming. 

The situation late next week does not appear such a relapse into the January pattern but the chance for sleet, freezing rain and rain which is next to zero over the next 9 days will increase after the 16 th. 

Summarizing in a Sentence
Cold over the next several days with disturbances and clippers bringing us small doses of the white stuff but then the moment of truth arrives toward the middle of the month.

Joshua Fox


ENTRY_TEXT:
There have been blue bird ski days throughout this week and today is no exception, though once again it is darn cold. You'll need to watch out for frostbite this weekend but other than that the ski should be great.


There is a winter storm watch out for Bennington and Windham Counties in southern Vermont. The storm is expected to hit Saturday night and Sunday. Probably Sunday since the weather forecasters always seem to be a bit ahead on their schedules. This could be a major storm bringing lots of snow to southern Vermont ski areas. Following the storm there should be continuing light snows through to Wednesday....


See, I told you,,,the best skiing was a ahead, just when most people are thinking the winter is over!


ENTRY_TEXT:
At this time, it does not appear the two streams are going to phase in 
time for truely heavy snowfall to make it even as far northwest as the 
Catskills, southern Vermont, or Berkshires (except maybe the southern 
1/3rd).  The time frame we are looking at is tomorrow for the central 
Appalachians and mid-Atlantic...and tomorrow night and Sunday as you head 
up the northeast coast.  

Mountainous regions that will recieve heavy snow include the southern to 
central Appalachians with the WV highlands, Blue Ridge area, and higher 
terrain of Kentucky likely seeing the heaviest snowfall.  In this region, 
a general 6-12" will fall with some of the highest ridges along the 
Appalachian spine seeing up to 15".  

This axis of heavy snow will then run ENE to I-95 and then follow I-95 
from Washington D.C. to Boston and possibly Portland, ME, including all 
the major metro areas inbetween there.  The Washington D.C. to Philly zone 
will see 5-10" while north of Philly (most of NJ) through NYC (including 
Long Island), Hartford (and all of CT), Providence (and all of RI) and 
Boston sees 8-14" with locally up to 18".  The low pressure will track off 
the coast near Virginia Beach and continue trucking to just southeast of 
Cape Cod where it will slow as it deepens.  This deepening will bring high 
winds to the area between NYC and Boston, especially on more exposed areas 
like Long Island and Cape Cod.  High winds will likely extend inland at 
times but constant blizzard conditions and heavy drifting of snow can be 
expected in coastal communities.  Rapid deepening, high winds, and 
snowfall rates of up to 3" per hour in banding will make Sunday morning 
through early afternoon a fairly rough time in southern New England as far 
as travel goes.    

As far as snowfall totals in the interior go, the Worcester Hills back 
through the southern third of the Berkshires (I-90, I495, I290) sees 6-12" 
with blowing and drifting likely...once you get back towards NY state, 
this band of 6-12" will include the southeast slopes of the Catskills like 
Slide Mountain (Ulster County).  North of that line, the rest of the 
Catskills will see 3-6" of fluffy snow.  Northern Berkshires and 
Bennington and Windham Counties in VT will see the sharp drop in snowfall 
from 7" along the MA/VT border to 3" across the northern portions of those 
counties.  In southern NH...same thing.  7" along the NH/MA border will 
quickly taper to 3-4" near Concord...with the 3-4" line running up through 
Augusta, ME from Concord.  

Anywhere north of these areas, a general dusting to 3" can be anticipated 
especially along the Green Mountain spine and in upslope areas favored by 
an onshore flow of the White Mountains in NH and southeast facing slopes 
in ME.

Ski areas that might be fun on Sunday afternoon...anything in WV, western 
Maryland, Mountain Creek in NJ, maybe Jiminy Peak in MA, and Wachusett in 
MA.

Now, there is still time for a NW shift and some models extend heavy 
snowfall further into the Catskills, southern VT, NH, and ME.  I'm not 
buying into those as I do not like the model spread that is still a decent 
distance out to sea.  In order for further NW areas to see significant 
snowfall, the upper level low needs to close off quickly over the northern 
Mid-Atlantic region.  Right now, I believe the upper low will close off 
when it is already ENE of Cape Cod which would be too late for interior 
regions.  There will be a very sharp NW end to the snowfall where dry air 
eats into precipitation amounts.  This is another reason why I am going a 
little lower across the interior than some models have.  However, that is 
also a good thing going for this storm...the cold temperatures across all 
regions, especially the interior.  Ratios could be up to 20 to 1 in the 
interior with temperatures in the 15-20F range.  Thus, any precipitation 
that does fall will be maximized in terms of snowfall totals.

I will continue to monitor the situation but this is the final forecast 
and we'll let it ride from here.  Any large changes will be addressed.

-Scott


ENTRY_TEXT:
I am convinced that there is something to be learned from the intense snow making activity going on at most of the larger resorts this week. You can bet that all of them have contracts with either local meteorologists or national weather forecasting firms. I would not be surprised if they have been told: " You can count on it being cold enough for good snowmaking for the next couple of weeks, even though the storms my pass you by." That's what I am reading into it.

If there is another thaw and then it turns colder again, it will be interesting to see if the snow guns come out again en masse this late in the season.

Good skiing this weekend. Hope you enjoy it. I know I will!


ENTRY_TEXT:
One can’t even buy a Nor’easter this year so far. Down payments have been made with seven weeks of off and on rain storms but despite a wasted advantage of a strong +PNA and a weak –NAO well no sir! The big pattern change as advertised occurred but this coastal storm and all it’s “hype” will stay well to our south. There is a 20% chance that a few virga/flurries will reach the ground but here’s the deal; The atmosphere is set up is just too very dry with dew points in the single digits and teens below zero. A weak high pressure center to our north will bleed cold but dry air into the developing coastal system.

Looking out ahead to next week –there are a few major opportunities with a cold upper level trough squeezing out snow showers Monday night into Tuesday and more significantly a series of weak systems somewhat juiced up for some snowfall the middle and perhaps the end of next week.

Forecast…

SUNDAY: High and mid level clouds with some breaks of sun. A 20% chance of a flurry…but mostly dry and cold. Temperatures mostly in the teens with a strengthening northerly breeze up to 20 mph.

MONDAY: Scattered snow showers developing late in the afternoon. Colder with temperatures in the single digits up top and teens at the base lodge.

TUESDAY INTO THURSDAY: Frequent lake effect flurries and snow showers. A few inches are likely with temperatures will be a bit warmer generally in the 20s on the slopes.

Roger


ENTRY_TEXT:
Burke is under new ownership and management. There's an almost IntraWest atmosphere developing here. Despite the lack of snow this season, management has been spending lots of money on snowmaking. But, despite their efforts, the skiing surfaces feel like hard, concrete with death cookies along the sides of the trails. Most experienced skiers are quitting around noon. It was strange but I did not see any Burke ski school or instructions. For the first time at Burke, they were operating a Ski Check at the main base...this is the first time I've seen such a thing here...

Tim


ENTRY_TEXT:
Although there could be some overnight rain or freezing rain on Thursday, the outlook for next weekend still looks good.

Extended Forecast:  Periods of clouds Tuesday night, lows in the upper teens to lower 20s.   Mostly cloudy south, a chance of snow showers north Wednesday, highs in the mid 30s to low 40s.  Partly sunny followed by increasing clouds, and a chance of snow or rain showers late Thursday, lows in the 20s, highs near 40.   A chance of rain or snow showers Thursday night, changing to snow showers Friday, lows near 32, highs in the 30s, falling in the afternoon. 

Saturday and Sunday look like a return to colder temps.


ENTRY_TEXT:
It’ll be a different kind of week ahead of us, with a temporary warm up for Wednesday and Thursday making for some rather nice runs and it not being so chilly, some messy winter weather Thursday night and into early Friday, and then an arctic blast arriving for this weekend.

Three separate weather systems will pass through Green Mountain State. All will be associated with a frontal boundary that will play a role as the highway for each disturbance and that will not be too far away for most of the week.

Disturbance #1 arrived Monday night, but it’s weakening phase and moisture starved circulation and did not provide even enough snow to cover up the tracks.

Disturbance #2 will have a little more moisture to play with especially if it juices up while over the Great Lakes. I would not call this much more than a light snowfall event.

Disturbance #3 will originate with more of a southerly track, with an ample feed of Gulf of Mexico moisture. Good news, lots of moisture with accumulating snows, bad news, warmer air will eventually change over to a mix of rain and freezing rain, but that appears to be at the tail end of the storm for a bit of a shorter than usual duration.

Following the larger disturbance above, expect a shot of much colder arctic air to filter in on gusty northwest winds.

Forecast…


TUESDAY NIGHT -WEDNESDAY: A better chance for more snow shower activity in the 1 to 2 inch category but a 30% chance for greater than 3 inches up top. Temperatures on Wednesday afternoon will reach into the low to mid 30s on the slopes feeling a bit like spring.
THURSDAY-THURSDAY NIGHT: Clouding up but mild. Snow may fall moderate at times with some “lake effect” enhancement a possibility, 2 to 4 inches of wet snow before changing over to rain late Thursday night.
FRIDAY: Snow showers with additional accumulations of 1 to 3 inches are possible again some lake effect moisture to play with. Expect a temperature crash! Blustery from the northwest with falling temperatures through the 30s into 20s and teens.
THIS WEEKEND: A slight chance for flurries and a slight additional coating early Saturday…then lots of sunshine along with colder temperatures and great snowmaking. Chilly on the slopes in the single digits and teens.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Stowe has been picking a lot of local snow this season. Just yesterday, when the area forecast was predicting a few flurries, the mountain picked up about 5". It is has been like this every time there have been flurries in the forecast. Neighboring Smugglers' Notch hasn't benefited quite as much from these local snows.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Bone chilling wind and dangerous frosbite conditions will exist at all Vermont mountains this weekend. The arctic front will arrive Friday night and bring the COLDEST readings of the season with temperatures way below zero at the summits and in the single digits in base areas. There will be strong winds on Saturday which will make things unpleasant. Winds will diminish on Sunday. Ski surfaces will be fast!


ENTRY_TEXT:
Today and Friday will see some yukkie weather and especially at northern ski areas, then it will turn really cold. Personally, I would skip the weekend. The sudden drop in temperature forecast for this Saturday will result in some very icy conditions.

There has also been a melt down going on. This hasn't really effected slopes with snowmaking but it sure has eaten away at any natural snow runs.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Here are some facts about yesterday's storm:

Wind speeds of 143 mph were clocked by the National Weather Service (NWS) on the summit of Stratton Mountain yesterday.

There is so little snow at Sugarbush that the Slide Brooke Express that links the resorts two ski areas is not operating. The lift cannot operate if there is no means of rescuing people, normally done with ski sleds.

A lift hut at Sugarbush blew off its foundation yesterday.

Mad River Glen is a a sheet of ice

Stowe's super Quad is reported damaged. No mention was made of anything untoward on the Stowe web site this morning. Guess the name of the game is to say nothing unless it is positive.

22,000 Vermont residents are without power this morning

11 emergency shelters are in operation

Against this back drop it was interesting to read Okemo's usual prattle on its ski report as if nothing was wrong at all. The inane obscuration appeared on the Stratton web site. Surely there was some damage from those high winds and why didn't they mention that the lifts have to be checked very carefully after high winds like this.  It is almost as if there could be a major mudslide in VT with hundreds of deaths and these mountains would prattle on with their inane marketing obscuration.


Comments anyone? :)


ENTRY_TITLE:
Dangerous Wind Chills and Icy Conditions

ENTRY_TEXT:
The aftermath of Friday's high winds, rain and dramatic temperature shifts are still being felt at the ski areas. Killington is still not making snow for some strange reason..is it a limitation on power?(Okemo is making snow like crazy.)

The north seems to have suffered the worst. Stowe's trail count has been drastically cut. Lifts are not working at  Stowe and Sugarbush. Jay Peak is finally back in operation after a virtual two day shut down. Mad River Glen continues to be mostly a sheet of ice.

The winter gusts forced many ski areas to stop lift operation. At Sugarbush some skiers were trapped on the lifts and had to be rescued.

"We had a burst of wind. We had 70-mph winds and so we had to shut the lifts down," said Win Smith,President of the Sugarbush Ski Area. 

The cold continues, but will ease somewhat by the end of today. Still, the wind chill factor is enough to postpone ski racing at Burke Mountain.

Obviously this is not and has not been a good ski weekend and I am glad I warned you ahead not to bother skiing in Vermont for the time being.

The week ahead looks as if there will be improving conditions.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Police say no charges will be laid against an Okemo snowboard  instructor who collided with a a 79-year old Vermont man at Okemo on Thursday. Everett Gassett from Putney died after the instructor, Nathan Hawkins collided with him. Gassett was pronounced dead on arrival at Springfield Hospital. Results of an autopsy conducted Friday won't be available until next week.Hawkins suffered a broken clavicle.

Ludlow Police Chief Jeffrey Billings said no charges would be filed.

"It was an unfortunate accident," he said. "I wouldn't say either party was skiing out of control."


ENTRY_TITLE:
Slowing improving conditions - Cold Weekend ahead

ENTRY_TEXT:
Ski areas are trying to make the best of it, but in reality, skiing conditions are still not that great. There is almost no natural snow around, except perhaps at Jay Peak. Ski trails are liable to be icy by about noon when there is skier traffic. 

As the week progresses, we should see a gradual accumulation of snow. Overnight dustings are likely. 

Here is the extended weather outlook:
  Mostly cloudy Wednesday night, a chance of snow showers west after midnight, lows in the upper teens to low 20s.  Scattered snow showers Thursday, possibly mixed with rain showers near the Massachusetts border, highs in the 30s to near 40.  Partly sunny Friday, a chance of a snow shower in the mountains, lows 10 to 20, highs in the mid 20s to mid 30s.  Partly sunny Saturday, lows 0 to 15, highs in the mid 20s to mid 30s.


ENTRY_TEXT:
The latest "unofficial forecast" has increased snowfall through Saturday to a general 4-8" across most mountainous terrain in the Adirondacks, Green 
Mountains, and White Mountains...with the outside chance of someone seeing an additional 8-10" by Saturday morning.

I would not be surprising to see another 2-5" during tomorrow, mostly in the afternoon...with another 2-5" on Friday and Friday night in the northern 
Greens and with equal chances in the central Greens.  

Those episodes of precipitation will not necessarily be organized and snowfall amounts will likely be highly variable and orographically driven. Snowfall will likely be heavy at times but also non-
existent at other times...sort of a quick 1-2" and then a break...and then another 1" and a break, etc.

Saturday is a brochure day.  White coated mountains, sunshine, crisp temps.

Sunday brings another chance of light snow.  Accums look light with up to 2" possible.


ENTRY_TEXT:
A cold front is moving into Vermont today, bringing with it gusty northwest winds which may be in excess of 50 mph  in southern Vermont. The cold will bring zero degree temperatures over night and single digit temps over the weekend. HOWEVER, this will be one of the better weekends of the season. It has been snowing lightly all week. Killington and Pico have received about a foot this week.  Everywhere the surface conditions are changing from MG and FG to powder and packed powder. That's a good sign. So it will be cold but not too cold.


ENTRY_TEXT:
SIGNIFICANT/HAZARDOUS WEATHER:
Strong winds will gust over 50 mph, especially over the higher terrain south, with a possibility of local power outages.  Falling temperatures and lingering snow showers over the mountains will mean some slippery roads in the gaps and over higher elevations. Lift closures are likley, especially in southern Vermont!


ENTRY_TEXT:
Blizzard like conditons may develop later today (Saturday) as the latest snow storm moves up the state. So far, the north has benefited the most from the almost daily snowfalls, but this latest storm may even things out. Expect it to be chilly on the slopes today, especially this afternoon when the winds are likely to pick up. 

Sunday looks like high winds and dangerously cold wind chills. Still, skiing conditions are on their way to being really good..the sort of skiing we've been denied so far. Stowe is 100% open and so is Jay Peak. Enjoy the skiing and if you miss out this weekend, the next one should be good too!


ENTRY_TEXT:
Note:  this story came out before the latest snows.

I have never seen so little snow driving up to Mt Snow on Thursday morn, at this time of year. However, the mountain was in a cloud, and I introduced my son to the phrase "dust on crust" or "dust on dirt",  but it was neither. The skiers were quiet under us as we first appoached summit. And indeed the mountain was in fine shape. Copious man-made covered the old glacial ice of our long ago winter, and the light powder falling was a delight. On some of the north face one could find the natural surfaces underneath (by 2 P.M) about 3" light powder, and if this was on anything at all steep it was still a slide for life. But lots of good bumps, and light powder on cordury which no one had carved up. Good race training viewing too. Last run we always try to find a low angle run where the cops ain't, for a head to head tuck and race to the base. This headed us to skiers right on the Main Mtn, I was thinking Uncle's or whatever, but that all changed when we came upon the Exhibition chair closed, and Shoot Out (or Upper Exhibition) roped off with no tracks, and more importantly, no twigs or grass showing. So...you have to initiate the boy at some point...so, we ducked the rope, and laid down non-stop tracks all the way down to entrance at bottom South Bowl. Superb! 
     From my glances, they are pinching pennies in all areas except snowmaking. A fair amount of peeling paint on some lifts, and the lodge looking very tired in some areas. Bare dirt/mud around the outside leading to the beat up ski check/tune area gave a third world feeling to that scene.

Stuart


ENTRY_TEXT:
Magic has advertised on CT radio to say they are open and making (made) snow. And the place didn't look that bad, save for the mostly bare ground. Hey, who can complain when on a Friday morn at 9:30 of President's week, there are 2 cars in the parking lot? On the mountain they had gottten about 2" overnite, on top of 1" on Thursday - blow away light powder. And the skiing was very good where they had made snow, the standard stuff on skiers right - Magic Carpet, Medium, Wand, Trick, and on the left, Wizard to Talismand, and that was it. Fine skiing, a lot of untracked 3" powder. But a little limited for me. I don't know if this winter will finally sink Magic, but I don't imagine its good. They invested in a lot of new snowmaking fan guns - Areco? is the name maybe - each driven by a V-2 cylinder air cooled engine, nice looking units - I counted 14. They cranked out a lot of snow (for Magic). The trails got mowed in the fall. The lodge was clean, the lunch counter staffed. The ski school had uniforms. There are new wood ski racks outside the lodge. Its all quite sad. I figure by noon, there were 150 skiers on the Mtn. All day ticket was $49. Do the math.
      BTW, Timberside trails are mowed every year, lots of good hike-for turns and high elev. tour to Magic. Of course, that's if there's snow.  - Stuart


ENTRY_TEXT:
It's been a really bad winter for the Vermont ski industry but as the week draws to a close there is, all of a sudden, fantastic skiing. Although it is very cold and windy, the snow is here to stay and there's been plently of it..almost a foot everywhere and more to come. Set yourself up for several weekends of good skiing to close out the season!


ENTRY_TEXT:
Dangerous wind chills exist at all mountains today and tomorrow. It will feel like -25 degrees, if you really feel that. Exposed skin can freeze very quickly. In short, it is too darn  cold to ski unless you are out to prove something!:)

Other than this proviso, skiing surfaces are the best they have been all season and are likely to remain so for at least another 10 days. Plan on skiing this weekend.

At Ascutney we are hearing that they got at least 10" of snow over the weekend, but that there is no solid base formed from good snowmaking when things were bare. As result, we are hearing complaints about sinking through all the light fluff onto the rocks. The same goes for Magic. Magic did make snow earlier but not on its steep, natural snow trails.

The best skiing is at Killington, Pico and Okemo. These areas got the most of the recent snow. Also Stowe seems to be getting some really good dumps because of the local topography and Mount Mansfield.


Looking ahead this week, there's the possibility of a snowstorm on Thursday. The track looks like it may just hit southern Vermont. Forecasters are being cautious about this storm. It may not amount to much.


ENTRY_TEXT:
What could be wrong , empty  slopes, intermitten sun and 10 inches of perfect fluff on the best terrain in  southern Vermont? And that was precisely the problem  , there was nothing but the 10 inches of fluff and though they let you ski  anywhere you like, at least half the turns went right to bare ground and rocks  (not to mention fallen logs and funky holes) which made for very dodgy , even  dangerous skiing, happy to have a helmet but with even a 4 inch base it could  have been an epic day. Oh well.
Bruce


ENTRY_TEXT:
Start making plans to come up here next weekend.  And maybe the week after that. The Green Mountain spine natural snow system has been turned on. Chances of snow will be Tuesday into Wednesday and then again Thursday into 
Friday and then again early next week (surprising similarities on models right now to March 5-7,2001, in vicinity of Town Meeting Day).  

I do not think this week will yeild quite the snowfall totals of last week and over the weekend but refreshing snowfall will occur.  Cold air moderates but stays below freezing throughout the next week.  Wind looks to stay relatively high with a greater likelyhood of wind holds at any time. Gradient looks to relax tomorrow through Thursday with wind possible again on Friday and Saturday...and then again early next week -Scott


ENTRY_TEXT:
It appears that the storm forecast for Thursday isn't going to happen. The storm track will veer south of Vermont resulting in just a few inches in southern Vermont and nothing in the north. As well, you should know that there will be a return to the bitter cold this weekend. It is very cold today with dangerous wind chills at the summits because of blustery northwest wind. I am afraid it isn't going to get better, just colder than it is right now.

The ski resorts are running into the problem of huge wind drifts. Any snow that hasn't been packed down has been whisked away into the woods or piled up in drifts. The snow has taken on a fine dust consistency. You will certainly know it if you hit one of these drifts!

I have been trying to repair a Sundance hot tub that sits exposed on a deck. Working on it this week has been a real challenge!

I read on another list about a young man who wants to ski in Stowe because of all the good snow. He said he wanted to save on costs by camping out in his tent! The locals on the list told him to forget it!! Yes, it is and has been and will be bitterely cold!


ENTRY_TEXT:
Just a heads up for you nutmeg state ski club members.

Ct Ski Council Awareness days now include Sugarbush this Fri/Sat/Sun,
3/3, 3/4, 3/5. Prices are $37, $63 and $84 for 1, 2, and 3-day
tickets. This coincides with a "Carnival" at Sbush, and, note that the
tix are only available "at the main mountain".

http://skiclub.com/Default.aspx?uc=MemberBenefits

Drill down to member benefits and open the PDF.

$84 for 3 day ticket? Nice!


ENTRY_TITLE:
Cold and Windy at Mount Snow, Stratton and Magic

ENTRY_TEXT:
Winds will be gusty Saturday mostly after an arctic chill that arrives Friday the day before with flurry or two possible. The winds will die down considerably for Sunday but will be persistent at moderate speeds early to mid next week. Dangerous wind chills may exist at the summits


ENTRY_TEXT:
THE GENERAL FORECAST:   Mostly cloudy north of Rt. 2, a slight chance of snow showers in the mountains.  Elsewhere, clouds mixed with sunshine, becoming mostly cloudy near the Massachusetts border with a chance of light snow, but little if any accumulation.  Highs in the mid 20s to low 30s.  Winds northwest less than 10 mph.

MOUNTAIN FORECAST:     Mostly cloudy north and south, more sunny intervals in between, with only a few snow showers in the northern mountains, and clouds mainly above the summits.  Variable clouds Friday, with northern summits above 3000 frequently obscured by clouds and snow, clouds fewer and bases higher going south, with scattered snow showers, windy, and colder.

A cold weekend again with temps moderating a bit on Sunday: Extended Forecast:  Snow showers in the northern mountains, otherwise periods of clouds Friday night, lows 5 to 10.   Variable clouds and sun Saturday with a chance of snow showers in the northern mountains, breezy and cold, highs in the 20s to near 30.  Partly sunny Sunday, lows zero to 10, highs in the mid 20s to low 30s.  Partly sunny Monday, lows 5 to 15, highs in the upper 20s to mid 30s.


ENTRY_TEXT:
---The northern mountains are going to get a few more inches of snow this afternoon or overnight.

--The Roemer report for Mount Snow is warning of 50 mph winds at the summits tomorrow. Other forecasts are saying much the same, so expect lift closures...who wants to ski in a blizzard anyway?

-- Little old Bolton Valley has been reporting copious amounts of snowfall this week. I think is worth visit.


ENTRY_TEXT:
What was forecast has flurries has now turned into a full tilt snow storm for northern Vermont. Expect snow fall amounts of at least 18" at Jay Peak, 11" at Stowe, and 8-10" at Sugarbush and Smuggs. Bolton Valey already reports 6" this morning.
Southern Vermont will get a few inches. Enjoy it while you can. Looks like another dramatic change in the weather will be upon us by next weekend.


ENTRY_TITLE:
Expected Snow Fall Amounts through Tuesday

ENTRY_TEXT:
Southern VT...SW moist flow favors southern VT and here, 4-7" is likely 
above 1,500ft in eastern Bennington/western Windham Counties including 
Woodford, Wilmington, and Reading.  1-4" in western Bennington and eastern 
Windham.

Central VT...Killington/MRG/Sugarbush: 3-6".  12z workstation ETA pumps 
out 8" bullseye over Killington Peak on a moist SW flow with amounts 
tapering to 3" over the Sugarbush/MRG/Camels Hump region.  I'm goign to 
blend together the amounts and call it 3-6".  

Northern VT...Bolton/Stowe/Smuggs/Jay: 4-8".  The Bolton/Stowe/Smuggs 
region will likely see snowfall in the 4-6" range but will leave room for 
variability.  Jay Peak could deserve its own forecast with this one and 
they will easily be in the 6-12" range.  For now, will leave it at 4-8" to 
include everyone north of I89 although it will likely see more snowfall 
than areas just to the south.
Scott


ENTRY_TEXT:
The following look ahead comes from the Mad River Glen meteorologist.


The warm-up
The first precipitation will be associated with the push of warmer temperatures Thursday. Often times when warmer air ties to rapidly overspread Vermont, the area gets socked in with low clouds and fog along with any precipitation that falls. The precipitation will fall either in the form of rain or freezing rain depending on what temperatures are at the surface but do not expect any snow from this. By Friday, any precipitation that falls will be in the form of rain. Friday could actually turn out to be a halfway day with the bulk of the rain confined to Quebec and Ontario but it’s a little too early to tell. If the latter does occur, temperatures would rise into the low 50’s with limited amounts of sun, if it were to rain then the overcast conditions would keep temperatures into the 40’s.

The Weekend
Expect the weekend to feature mild above-freezing days with temperatures dropping to near freezing at night. With enough sunshine, the weekend could be decent at least from a comfort standpoint but we would need to avoid the rain. At this point, it appears as though the best chance for rain is in the Thursday Friday time frame which sets the weekend up well to enjoy the softer snow that the warmer temperatures will produce.

What to expect for mid-march ??
The ensembles indicate that the cold weather across the west will make an eastward push while modifying. Hypothetically this would mean that the weather will consist of milder temperatures earlier in the week with a good chance of rain or mixed precipitation followed by colder weather late in the week. I have no confidence actually that things will actually play out like this. March is one of the most volatile and can be one of the most unpredictable months of the year and I have little doubt that some things remain unforeseen at this time. Since the La Nina has shown signs of weakening in the Pacific, the La Nina pattern which is expected to produce the mild weather for the weekend may not stick around all that long.

Summary in a Sentence
Pattern will relinquish control by Thursday and a thaw is imminent so at this point we are hoping to avoid as much rain and wind as possible.


Roger Hill


ENTRY_TEXT:
Here is the  tally on the surprise snow in northern VT over the weekend. The snowfalls were very local and were caused by a phenomena known as uplsloping. This is where snow falls as the elevation increases.

Jay: 28 inches
Smugg's: 20 inches
Stowe: 20 inches
Bolton: 30 inches
Mad River: 8 inches
Sugarbush: 4 inches
Middlebury: 3 inches
Killington: 0 inches
Okemo: 1 inch
Further South: all 0 inches


ENTRY_TEXT:
I was hoping to report that it wasn't going to happen, but unfortunately it is. Rain will fall on VT ski slopes on Friday and it will be warm on the weekend. Mount Snow may experience 60 degree temps. If you like spring skiing, that's what will be offered along with some rapid  melting and disappearance of natural snow. It really is such a pity. The skiing right now is fabulous, especially up north, but I suspect the best is coming to an end.


ENTRY_TEXT:
The winter's pattern of cold, snow and then warmth continues. A solid 5-7 day period of mild weather 
will strike this weekend and then indications are that cold and snow returns in the second half of March and early April. Of course, time is slowly running out, but we all know big snows can and do hit in late March/early April...but lower elevations are going to start to run out of time as those storms are almost always highly elevation dependent.

 Scott


ENTRY_TEXT:
The winter's pattern of cold, snow and then warmth continues. A solid 5-7 day period of mild weather 
will strike this weekend and then indications are that cold and snow returns in the second half of March and early April. Of course, time is slowly running out, but we all know big snows can and do hit in late March/early April...but lower elevations are going to start to run out of time as those storms are almost always highly elevation dependent.

Expect southern facing mountain's like Bromley to be hit severely by the weekend temps. This may be the last good weekend at Bromley.

 Scott and Tim


ENTRY_TEXT:
THURSDAY: Becoming breezy with thickening clouds and warmer conditions. A possibility of wet snow could add a couple quick inches…before changing over to rain showers Thursday night. Temperatures in the 30s to low 40s on the slopes. Very windy with gusty winds to 55 mph. Lift closures likely!

FRIDAY: Rain showers depart…to mostly cloudy skies…with areas of fog giving way to sunny breaks . Temperatures in the mid 20s to mid 30s.

SATURDAY: Periods of sunshine and some great spring skiing. “Maybe a sap run.” Temp’s in the mid 30s to mid 40s on the slopes in the north and about 10 degrees warmer in the south..

SUNDAY: chance for more rain showers…but a 30% chance for wet snow mixing in at the summits. Temperatures in the 30s.


ENTRY_TEXT:
The Roemer forecast for Mount Snow has this to say about the weekend:

Clouds and some showers or light rain on Friday with gusty south to southwesterly winds and temperatures approaching 60 on Friday and then in the 40's to lower 50's this weekend." — Roemer on Mount Snow.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Friday will be a bit ugly with rain showers throughout the day and high winds. Temperatures will be in the 50s. This kind of combination means a melt down. Natural snow will disappear quickly leaving just the man made boiler plate. But, don't despair, Saturday should be a blue bird day with plenty of sunshine. The man made boiler plate will be soft...so some good skiing. Unfortunately, rain is expected again on Sunday in southern Vermont. 

This may be the last weekend of nice skiing with decent coverage. Trail counts are already starting to decline in the south.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Rain, wind and warm temperatures have indeed taken their toll on the Vermont ski slopes. There has been a rapid melt down which will continue for a few days. Don't expect to find any natural snow. It has disappeared from sidewalks and driveways. Some upper mountain meadows have patches of white but for the most part, the landscape has taken on that dark brown color! Expect parking lots to  be muddy. Hard packed ski slopes are softening and offer some nice spring skiing, but it looks like this season will end  early even though there will another period cold

 
Here's the latest weather prediction from Scott:

All indications point to winter returning next week following more rain on Sunday and further rainfall on Tuesday. After that, a weak Polar Vortex is 
forecasted to form over eastern Canada and will bring temps back to consistently below freezing by the end of next week through next weekend.  A few snow chances in the cards, too.  Still, not seeing a "big" one in 
terms of a nor'easter.


ENTRY_TITLE:
Spring Skiing at Middlebury College Snow Bowl

ENTRY_TEXT:
Hi folks,

I woke up this morning with plans of rounding up the kids and enjoying 
the sunshine at MRG. Then I remembered the telefest this weekend and 
thought better of it, so I deftly changed direction and the family 
headed up to the local hill to take in the beautiful weather at the Snow 
Bowl instead. Upon hearing this, Diane announced that she wanted to ski 
Allen from the top. Allen is the signature advanced trail at the Snow 
Bowl, and features enough steeps to be seriously daunting to a cautious 
intermediate skier like Diane. But she figured that with all the soft 
snow, slim crowds, and of course the beautiful sunshine, this was to be 
the day to go for it. I should point out that she has never skied a 
black diamond trail of any sort on any mountain, ever, so this was a big 
leap for her.

Rather than going off and hitting their favorite jumps right away, the 
kids all hovered around and went up the lift with us, and buzzed around 
Mom offering their encouragement as she slowly, cautiously, but 
confidently made her way down the upper steeps. The spring slush was 
eminently forgiving and by the time we reached the bottom she was ready 
for another run, so up we went again, kids again tagging along for the 
spectacle. Run Two was even better than the first, and for the rest of 
the day Diane skied nothing but more black diamond trails, primarily the 
short trails over off the little lift, where she could practice on the 
steeps with smaller increments of commitment.

It was great day, and everyone finished the day smiling; even when Diane 
took a particularly awkward splat, and we admitted that we weren't 
laughing with her, we were in fact all laughing at her, she even took 
that with the good humor it deserved. Sometimes the rewards of skiing 
come where you least expect them.

After Diane went in, I did a few runs with daughter Gillian, and we 
finished up with a high-speed bombing run down Ross. The trail was 
mostly empty, and skied it just about as fast as I possibly could while 
still remaining comfortably in control, with Gillian right on my heels. 
At the bottom she passed me in a tuck, and then complained that she had 
practically had to stop at one point because I was skiing so slow and 
she couldn't safely get by. Kids.

This was sort of the winter equivalent of those lazy summer days where 
you sit around the back yard, reading a book in the shade and playing 
ball with the kids. If I can't be off skiing powder in BC, I'll take a 
day like this.

Dave G.


ENTRY_TEXT:
AS OF THIS COMING WEEK THE MOUNTAIN HAS DECIDED TO  SUSPEND ALL MID-WEEK OPERATIONS AND WE ANTICIPATE OPENING FOR THE  WEEKEND WITH REGULAR OPERATING HOURS OF 8:30 AM- 4:00PM.  ALL  PASSES WILL BE HONORED.


ENTRY_TEXT:
My feeling is that we are at end of season, at least 2-3 weeks early. What's the feeling of you, the members. Do you want continued postings?  It will be colder later in the week, and perhaps there will be some snow...even a nor'easter but over all the outlook is for declining trail counts and a downhill skiing experience!  My plan is to stop everythng at the end of this month.
Tim


ENTRY_TEXT:
Magic Mountain appears closed for the season


ENTRY_TEXT:
This is the final day of the three days of on and off rain. It has done quite a bit of damage. Ski areas have lost at least a foot of their base, there are bare spots all over the place! 

Tonight it will turn much colder and there'll be some snow...what is being termed "sugar snow". That's that sticky stuff with a crusty consistency. Jay Peak is expecting about a foot of it over the next day or so. Other northern mountains may get 5-8" but it is not going to save the season which will get zapped again next week with another round of warm weather!


ENTRY_TEXT:
A weather system over Canada is expected to provide wintery conditions in Vermont through the weekend. Snow squalls, heavy at times especially in northern Vermont, are expected over the next day or so. Temperatures will be in the 20s and perhaps even colder over the weekend. 
Jay Peak says it is expecting a foot of snow in the next day or so as the wintery weather continues to blanket the area. However, snowfall amounts are expected to be much lower in central and southern Vermont. As of this morning, ski areas were only reporting a minimal one inch or so in the south. Coupled with this are blustery NW winds gusting to over 45 mph at the summits, so the upper mountain lifts at Killington, Okemo, Bromley and Stratton are likely closed today.

Conditions are not good. There are a lot of bare spots

The prolonged thaw, melt down and now the freeze has made surfaces very icy. Expect a machine groomed surface with an icy boilerplate this weekend. Guess it will be okay if you ski early before the machine granular gets skied off! Don't look for any natural snow...unless you come north.

All ski areas at the moment are showing substantially reduced trail counts. It is doubtful that this weather will change that much.

Tim


ENTRY_TEXT:
Stowe and Jay Peak are reporting about a foot of snow from the continuing snow squalls. 

The major southern mountains are making snow prior to the weekend. These include Mount Snow, Stratton, Stowe and Killington.

But, this announcement from Mad River Glen kind of says it all:

The  mountain has been thoroughly evaluated and without further snowfall  we will not be able to open for the weekend.  The snow totals  range from 0” to 12” with many of the trails windblown clean of  snow, and in many cases there is nothing more than a glacier  base.  Tomorrow we will re-evaluate the  mountain and make a FINAL decision on the weekend  operations.  Our weekly update including any  decisions regarding this ski season will also go out  tomorrow. The Jr. Mogul Challenge,  Mogul Challenge, Vertical Challenge, and 63rd Annual MRG Family  Tournament are CANCELED!  Due to the safety of the  mountain we are also discouraging people from  hiking.


ENTRY_TEXT:
The following appeared on Wednesday in the Brattleboro Reformer:

 LONDONDERRY -- Magic Mountain ski area is about to get its fourth owner in 10 years, as the current owners expect to sell the resort to a group led by a Connecticut lawyer for about $3 million.

General Manager Gary Aichholz confirmed that the deal is in its final stages, and described its completion as imminent.

The names of the buyers haven't been released, but Aichholz said the lawyer from Connecticut has a home near Mount Snow in West Dover, and plans to relocate to the area.

Magic Mountain was not listed for sale, Aichholz said, but there has been plenty of interest in buying the property. He said the resort's management has been approached about potential deals at least 15 times since 2002.

He said the new owners, who have not previously owned a resort, are going to spend as much or more than the price of the acquisition on improvements already planned for this summer.

Magic Mountain will triple its snowmaking capacity by adding new, more efficient snow guns and increasing the water flow. Aichholz said the mountain will file for state and local permits to increase the size of its snowmaking pond within the next few months.

He said the new owners are also planning to improve some of the mountain's lifts and build bicycle trails for off-season use. Both of those projects will require new permits as well.

The sale won't affect the jobs of the resort's current 30 to 60 employees, who have already been informed, Aichholz said.

He doesn't expect it to change the status of an agreement with Glebe Mountain Wind Energy, a developer that wants to build a generation plant on top of the mountain.

Some of the turbines would be sited on Magic Mountain property if the project wins state approval.

"The new owners are for clean energy," Aichholz said.

The current owners, Magic Mountain Management, bought the resort in a foreclosure auction in 2002. That foreclosure was brought on by disputes among stockholders.

Aichholz said previous ownership groups had been reluctant to spend money to bring Magic Mountain's snowmaking up-to-date.

The independent mountain owns no condominiums, and relies on visitors for its income, he said. So if there's not enough snow, ticket sales suffer.

"There's never really been enough money pumped in (for snowmaking)," he said. "Once Magic has snowmaking back to all it can be, we'll definitely be a competitor."

Aichholz said this summer's improvements, planned with the outgoing ownership group, will be a step in the right direction. This season, with its mild weather and light snowfall, has seen skier volume at Magic Mountain fall by about 25 percent.

He said the outgoing owners will take care of delinquent real estate taxes owed to the town of Londonderry. The resort owes two years of back taxes, worth about $29,000, plus interest.

Aichholz said the resort fell behind on its taxes because of the slow season.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Having looked over the model data from the past day or so, we've got cold 
temperatures through the middle portion of next week with highs in the 
20's and lows in the single digits and teens across the mountain regions.  
Persistent NW flow and strong polar vortex will continue to wrap moisture 
back into the north country.  Models vary in their timing of this moisture 
but it looks like Saturday and then again Sunday afternoon through Monday 
will be the best chances for accumulating snowfall across northern NY and 
northwest facing slopes of the Greens.

So basically, those who've gotten snow, will keep getting snow...and 
additional snowfall through Monday should be in the 4-8" range with the 
outside chance of a foot.  The stuff will be pure dust but there's a 
decent base up there, so go out and enjoy it.  Winds will also stay a 
little gusty but no real strong winds are anticipated; all lifts should 
run at all mountains this weekend.

Currently, there's another band of snowfall sagging southward through the 
Champlain Valley and Green Mountain spine dropping a quick additional 1-3" 
this evening.  Its shaping up to be a pretty decent weekend.
-Scott


ENTRY_TEXT:
Scott's forecast suggested that the most snow would be at Jay and their web site said 7-9 yesterday, so I hit the road for Jay at 5:30.  It was well worth it!  There was about a foot on the ground when I got there and all the trails had pretty good cover. There were some icy patches, especially near the top, but mostly it was piles of powder everywhere.  The snow was shin deep in the woods and there were good deep lines all day.  The
gondi was on wind hold until noon, so the was a bit of a crowd at the triple in the morning.  But they left when the bondi started, it kept on snowing, and the wind blew it into
the tracks, so the conditions actually improved as the day went on.  The woods between the trails on the  triple were wonderful.  I stayed mostly on the notch side of the triple. The woods there 
were more open and less used than the gondi side of the triple.  This was my best day of the year.  The temperature got to about 30, so the snow firmed up a bit, so with a few more inches it will be nearly as good again tomorrow, so I'm heading back.  Anyone else? 


George


ENTRY_TEXT:
Jay Peak will be heading towards 5 feet of new snow in 1 week by Wednesday 
or Thursday...if not more thanks to 2 feet on Thursday and another foot in 
the past 36hrs...with another foot for tomorrow...then another 8-16" on 
Tuesday into Wednesday.  

Mansfield isn't far behind...

Time to call in sick as this could be the best ski week in northern VT of 
the entire season.  Should be good.  MRG should be open next weekend, and 
if they are not, just drive to Stowe, Smuggs, or Jay.  

-Scott

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BURLINGTON VT
1021 PM EST SUN MAR 19 2006

...SOME LOCALLY HEAVY SNOW FOR PORTIONS OF THE NORTHERN GREEN MOUNTAINS
THROUGH MIDDAY MONDAY...

.AN UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS THE NORTH
COUNTRY OVERNIGHT AND INCREASE THE COVERAGE AND INTENSITY OF SNOW
SHOWERS. ABUNDANT LOW LEVEL MOISTURE AND NORTHWEST WINDS ASSOCIATED
WITH THIS SYSTEM WILL BRING WINTRY WEATHER TO THE NORTHWESTERN SLOPES
OF THE ADIRONDACKS AND NORTHERN GREEN MOUNTAINS.

VTZ006-016-201130-
/O.UPG.KBTV.SN.Y.0006.000000T0000Z-060320T1500Z/
/O.NEW.KBTV.HS.W.0003.060320T0321Z-060320T1800Z/
LAMOILLE-EASTERN FRANKLIN-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...JOHNSON...STOWE...ENOSBURG FALLS...
RICHFORD
1021 PM EST SUN MAR 19 2006

...HEAVY SNOW WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 PM EST MONDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BURLINGTON HAS ISSUED A HEAVY
SNOW WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 PM EST MONDAY FOR LOCALIZED
6 TO 12 INCHES OF SNOW IN LAMOILLE AND EASTERN FRANKLIN COUNTIES
IN VERMONT.

OCCASIONAL SNOW AND LOCALIZED HEAVIER SNOW SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE
THROUGH EARLY AFTERNOON MONDAY ACROSS THE NORTHWESTERN SLOPES OF THE
NORTHERN GREEN MOUNTAINS. GENERAL SNOWFALL OF 3 TO 6 INCHES IS
EXPECTED WITH LOCALIZED AMOUNTS OF 12 INCHES ALONG THE WESTERN SLOPES
OF JAY PEAK LIKELY.

PLEASE STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...YOUR LOCAL MEDIA...OR
GO TO WWW.WEATHER.GOV/BURLINGTON FOR FURTHER UPDATES ON THIS
WEATHER SITUATION.

Discussion:

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BURLINGTON VT
1007 PM EST SUN MAR 19 2006

.SHORT TERM /REST OF TONIGHT/...
PRVS FCST APPEARS IN GOOD SHAPE. PERSISTENT VORTEX...CYCLONIC
UPSLOPE FLOW INDICATIVE OF JAN/FEB NOT ON THE "EVE OF SPRING".

KCXX HAS BEEN OTS SINCE ARD 00Z BUT LOOKING AT ADJACENT KGYX/KENX/KTYX
AND OUR FRIENDS TO THE N...COVERAGE APPEARS TO BE DIMINISHING.
HWVR...BUFKIT FCST SNDGS SHW NO CHGS WITH CPAE VALUES ACRS LAKE CHMPL
>300 J/KG AND NICE UNIFORM FLOW WITH INVERSION HGTS ABV 5K AND
DECENT SNOWGROWTH.

SNOWFALL RPTS SKETCHY BUT HIGHWAY DEPT RPTS >5 INCHES ON WRN
SLOPES OF JAY ALRDY AND PARAMETERS ARE THERE THRU MIDDAY MON.
MEANWHILE... DUST TO INCH ARD UNDERHILL IN ERN CHITTENDEN WITH 2
INCHES ARD DUXBURY IN WASHINGTON CTY.

NAM12 SHWS NO/LTL FOR CHITTENDEN TIL AFT 03Z WITH DECENT SNOWS IN
ERN FRANKLIN/WRN LAMOILLE THRU ERLY MON AFTN THEN ANTHR RESURGENCE
MON EVE.

I'LL UPGRADE ADV TO WRNG FOR ERN FRANKLIN/LAMOILLE ATTM AND LET
MIDSHFT/DAYSHFT DIGEST SNOW REPORTS AND HOPEFULLY KCXX FOR
ANYTHING ELSE.

REST OF FCST REMAINS PRETTY MUCH INTACT WITH PSBLY AT LAST MINUTE
TO LESSEN SNOWFALL IN CHMPL VLY.


ENTRY_TEXT:
The last blast of winter will end on Thursday night as another warming trend sweeps through Vermont. Conditions at some mountains in the north, particularly Jay Peak, are very good at the moment, but I suspect that this will end very quickly, starting this weekend. We've got 12 hour days now and with sun and warm temperatures, the snowfall we had last weekend will quickly disappear. The snowfall was light and fluffy...not packing snow and not snow that sticks around. Even the groomers have been staying off it at Sugarbush for fear of ruining some nice poweder runs!
Enjoy it while you can, if you can. The ski season my end  very quickly once this latest cold period ends.


ENTRY_TITLE:
Skiing the Beast of the East in late March 2006

ENTRY_TEXT:
Having been a regular at Kmart for longer than I care to remember... 
I have struggled to find that magical moment during every visit.  Often my 
ski day is only 3-4 hours since I have a two year old to tend to, but I 
have been able to get out twice on fresh snow days.  Of course it was only 
5 inches at Kmart when it was 14 up north.  In early March I hiked East 
Fall and then got in the first gondola cabin.  I was the first tracks on 
East Fall, Escapade, and then found the mother load in the Dipper woods.  
I was the first and third person down those trees.  I did stop and notice 
that the snow was 12" deep in places while other slide down the steep 
Dipper headwall, I just chuckled to myself.  Over the next three runs, 
only three other people were onto my tracks.  My favorite observation 
about getting out early and getting on the gondola at 730am, was just how 
few people there were on the mountain until about 900-930.  A lot of 
people sure missed out on a lot of nice skiing, only because they slept 
late. 

Last Sunday I should have hiked, but ended up with first tracks on 
Downdraft and early tracks on Dipper.  The ungroomed stuff was just rock 
solid under 5", but the new snow went a long way to improve things.  

Most of the season I have been able to ski some 'relatively' soft snow on 
the edges, and half into the trees, but the general Glade runs have been 
almost impossible on a regular basis. 

I know it is Kmart with all of its usual problems, but it works for me 
given location and family obligations.  I Just have not been organized 
enough to get farther north. 

Typically Bear has been closed the week after BMMC, so I wonder if that is 
going to change this year, because as Scott mentioned that pile is going 
to be there for a long time.  I have attended BMMC during years that we 
walked up in the dirt under the chair with a cooler and other years where 
every single trail and glade were open, ie 2003. 

Kyle


ENTRY_TEXT:
Periods of clouds Friday night, lows in the 20s.  Lots of clouds Saturday, a chance of light snow or rain showers, highs in the upper 30s to mid 40s.  Mostly cloudy Sunday, a slight chance of a flurry or sprinkle, lows in the 20s, highs near 40.  Partly sunny Monday, lows in the 20s, highs in the 40s.


ENTRY_TEXT:
I've ended the regular reports on each resort because warm 50-60 degree weather and strong sunshine every day this week really does signal the end of the season. It is good sugaring weather, though!  Anyway, thanks everyone for your support and I hope to see you back here next season. 

If you have any thoughts on improvements to this service, I have set up a cateogory for you to post. 

Thank again

Tim


ENTRY_TEXT:
Great spring skiing, sugaring, and outdoor recreation weather in general through Saturday morning. Temperatures will be in the 40's and 50's at ski area base elevations during the day, increasing a few degrees each day this week, with teens and 20's at night; some large daily temp swings will occur (30-40F swings likely in mountain valleys).  Snowmelt will be very gradual in the higher elevations with quick freeze-up as the sun goes down 
each night.  Weather will be near clear and calm with a lot of sun through Friday afternoon.  Friday night, clouds will increase and the corn cycle will be broken.  Freeze up might not occur on Friday night.  Occasional 
rain showers are likely on Saturday but not a complete washout.  Sunday could go either way between showers and sun.  Next week, corn harvest again with sub-freezing nights and seasonably mild days.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Thanks for signing up for this year's No Bull Ski Vermont Subscriber's Blog. If you have any suggestions or questions, let me know. This is a private blog where you can post and learn from others on the list without fear that your address will be spammed. 

We are starting to add bits and pieces of information about each ski area. These are attached to each report under "more".  There isn't a helluva lot to report. Last season was so disastrous that there isn't much capital spending for this season. That is except for Stowe which is about to go condo crazy!

Tim


ENTRY_TEXT:
Looks like the temperatures have dropped to allow snowmaking, but the ski areas are a bit behind schedule due to the recennt warm weather.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Snowmaking is likely suspended at all mountains as temperatures moderate. The warming trend began last night and will continue throughout most of the week. Rain is forecast for today through Wednesday, Temperatures will drop again by Friday and snowmaking will be resumed. I am not planning on doing much updating unless:

1) you complain

2) There is a substantial snowfall


It is early days yet.


Tim


ENTRY_TEXT:
Winter conditions will prevail throughout this week, allowing for snowmaking conditions at all mountains. But the outlook for the final weeks leading up to Christmas remains unclear. The weekend storm should have been a full fledged snow storm, but instead it brought dangerous winds, tornadoes and lightning. This was accompanied by driving rain with an intensity rarely seen in the northeast.It should have been snow, but it wasn't. My feeling is that we are going to see further violent weather systems with unpredicatable snowfalls.

If you are planning on Christmas skiing, you would be better off to go out west. Unless we get a couple of good  snow storms in the next two weeks it doesn't look as if there will be much skiing except on artificial snow.

Tim


ENTRY_TEXT:
Looks like there will be some good early skiing this weekend, especially in the north where light snowfall has been almost continuous all week. An Alberta Clipper heading in from the northeast is expected to dump light snow tomorrow and Friday on Jay Peak, Stowe, Smugglers and Sugarbush. 

Elsewhere, Stratton has reopened and Bromley hopes to open on Saturday. No big melt down in site at the moment.  Ski areas are spending a fortune on snowmaking with Killington using the equivalent of the power requirements of a small town! If there is severe cold, look for snowmaking to be cut back as power becomes rationed.


ENTRY_TITLE:
More on Weekend Ski Conditions for December 9th

ENTRY_TEXT:
Well, it might as well be mid January with blustery arctic winds, dangerous wind chill and lifts down. That's the way it is today in northern Vermont, but it is only a one day event and by tomorrow, the chilly weather will have abated. Sunday looks the best with temperatures climbing into the 40s and some sunshine. We haven't seen much sunshine this week. 

Northern mountains have been getting the most snow this week, with Jay Peak topping the list. 

The ski resorts are desperate to make as much snow as they can, leading up to Christmas. It looks as if about 50% of trails will be open by the end of the month. But of course, this depends on no big warm ups and no rain!


ENTRY_TEXT:
Looks like Stowe, Smugglers and Jay are the best bets this weekend. Jay Peak has been reported the most snow and has a two for one ski ticket. However, at last report, Jay had not announced the price of that ticket. They are really badly organized as usual with untrained, under paid staff..what do you expect.

This weekend may be the best for a while, since I am hearing rumblings of another warming trend. Also NOAA is predicting a warmer winter than last year.


ENTRY_TEXT:
This past weekend was a decent one for early season skiing, but not so the coming weekend. It looks as if we are in for yucky weather all the way to Christmas.Any of you who have looked at the long range forecast will see  that things are going to be much as they are today. This means snow and rain with rain very likely mid week and more rain later in the week. Snowmaking has been halted because of the warm temps and a slow melt down is going on. Up here in north eastern Vermont, it has turned sort of wet and warm with thick fog caused by a lot of moisture in the air. Natural snow in the driveway is melting and the back roads are very slippery.  We will need at least one good snow fall to get back on track otherwise you are likely to see declining trail counts and thinning base depths. At the moment the outlook does not look promising.


ENTRY_TEXT:
The Vermont holiday season is not likely to be a good one for skiers. There is little to say that is positive. Up and down temps are going to really test the snowmaking and mtn ops crews. Natural snow skiing in VT is going to be hard to come by at least through the 25th unless some freak event takes place.
Here's what one meteorologist says:

"We have a classic case of a Pacific Jet that is just overwhelming the pattern and flooding the U.S. with mild, maritime air.  As far as the various indices are, the Arctic Oscillation is +4 standard deviations into 
the positive side while the Pacific/PNA looks not-that-bad; the PNA is the only thing keeping the NAO and AO from absolutely blowtorching NNY and NNE.  An AO of +4SD has the potential to bring incrdible warmth into the east but instead, what we are left with is a marginal temp regime (highs above freezing, lows below freezing) with showery precipitation. 
Models indicate a core of warmth next week, starting Sunday-Tuesday before any indication of a pattern shift happens around Dec 20th.  The period between the 20th and the 25th is the only possibility of salvaging holiday skiing here in the east.  Many pro mets have stressed the end of December at least being a 
cold/snowy period for the northeast."



So, it looks like the December holiday season will be relatively snowless across the region with manmade snow 
being the only true skiable surface.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Annual high school ski trip to Okemo went well despite the lack of 
terrain.    41 kids 3 adults one sore thumb (not mine).
Okemo has opened terrain so that you can travel from the main mountain 
to Solitude Base to the Jackson Hole base.  Gives newcomers something 
of a sense of adventure and an opportunity to sample the goods, 
(gastronomic that is from the various mountain restaurants)  Even the 
waffle haus was open.  But there is basically one or two ways down to 
each base area.  Made for some crowded areas especially where there 
were terrain parks set up for the young hucksters.  But the trails into 
Solitude and Jackson Gore were relatively free.  In the 18 years we've 
been running this pre-Holiday trip I have never seen such a lack of 
cover.  Open trails were well covered, but very little white anywhere 
else even up top.  Kids didn't seem to mind though, and I must admit 
the warm temps made kept me out a bit longer than I would have.  East 
needs snow or at least cold temps.  (I know, I'm a master of the 
obvious.)  Kind of wished I had my kayak, the little Black River was 
running high.


ED


ENTRY_TEXT:
The holiday period is going to see continuing mild temps and very light snowfalls, if any...

Here is a run down on the upcoming days....


Thursday...Cold front sags southward out of Canada bringing a chance of 
flurries in Vermont and snow showers (dusting-1") in the northern 
Adirondacks.  Temps about 5-10F colder than Wednesday.

Friday...Colder but still only around average for this time of year with highs just below freezing in the valleys and 20's on the mountains. Clouds increasing late in the day.

Saturday...Mixed precipitation, likely in the form of sleet to start then going to rain or freezing rain in some mountain valleys.  Showers or steady light-moderate rain on Saturday afteroon with total precip amounts around a half inch liquid.  Only catch here might be if we can spawn a 
secondary low south of SNE to strengthen enough, which appeared possible the other day, but now appears to be a long shot as any low that forms will not be strong enough to transport deeper moisture into our region in 
the cold sector. Thus, Saturday night and Sunday morning will see a  transition to mountain snow showers and valley sprinkles or flurries.  
Sunday...Snow showers in VT possibly lingering in the west slope regions through the afternoon.  Only a dusting-2" though.

Monday...Day inbetween systems with sun and average temps or slightly above for Christmas Day.  Good model support the last two days, from the data I've looked at, for a low pressure system to form in the deep south 
near the Gulf Coast and track NEward, reaching Cape Hatteras Monday night.

Tuesday...Models diverge with many tracking the low ENE off the coast of NC/VA, grazing the I-95 corridor with some light snowfall accums during Tuesday.  Clouds in VT, chilly.

Chance of a Post Christmas Storm?

Wednesday-Friday...High pressure and temps becoming mild with above average likely most of the Holiday week...unless Tuesday's system can deepen and track further north we could be able to tap cold air in Canada as the low passes to help mitigate any push of mild air in from the southwest.  This is the primary system I am watching right now as late last week, the long range models had this storm near or just after 
Christmas tracking up into the Gulf of Maine bringing good snowfall to the north country.  Models have had this system, in one form or another, over the last 5 days...all with tracks from the Gulf of Mexico to the the coast of NC/VA but have varied in the direction after that.  Watch the time period right after Christmas, if it doesn't hit ski country it has the 
potential to produce some snowfall in many areas closer to the coast that haven't seen flakes yet.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Following Saturday's torrential rain, another storm system is bearing down on Vermont which should bring at least six inches of snow. However the storm won't arrive until after Christmas and it will be accompanied by freezing rain and howling winds that will surely close down any upper mountain lifts. This storm comes as Vermont ski resorts struggle valiantly to maintain man made trails that were hit hard by at least 15 hours of continuou rainfall. The storm also marks the beginning of a change in the overall winter weather pattern. The meteorological gurus are saying that January and February will see predominately arctic-like temperatures and at least two nor'easters. The first one will come somewhere between January 5th and 10th. The other one will come in February. In between, expect pently of other "activiity!"  Let's hope that they are right and that there will be some decent snow at last! So far, this has been one of the worst ski seasons on record.


ENTRY_TEXT:
As of the morning of Christmas Day, here is what is going down...Starting this afternoon we should see the the biggest snow storm of the season. Snow, sleet, and rain will will preceed the really serious snowfall  which will come overnight and Tuesday. Northern Vermont will get it the heaviest...about 12" is expected and it will snow throughout most of the day on Tuesday. The ski areas that will benefit the most from this storm will be:
Jay Peak
Burke Mountain
Bolton Valley
Stowe
Smugglers' Notch
Sugarbush

Lesser snowfall amounts will occur at:
Killington
Pico
Killington
Okemo
Mt. Ascutney
Stratton
Mount Snow
Bromley

As I stated before, the consensus among the weather gurus seems to be that this storm signals the start of real winter conditions. The  arctic cold will move down from northern Canada and each weather system will bring more snow throughout January and February.


ENTRY_TITLE:
Season Prediction from Josh Fox at Mad River Glen

ENTRY_TEXT:
The following is a discussion by VT meteorologist Josh Fox who is a avid skier at Mad River Glen. MRG has still not opened for the season which is almost unheard of for this time of year. Neverthless, Mr. Fox seems to draw the same conclusions as others in the weather forecasting community - that we are in for some good snowfalls in January and February. I find Mr. Fox's explanations rather rambling but reading between the lines you will see that he is saying the same thing as the others.

Winter 2007: El Nino Strikes Back !!!!!! 
 
After weathering one of the worst winter ski seasons in Vermont in a decade I find myself looking at the sky and thinking “you owe us one!!” It is a comforting thought to dissolution myself with the idea that mother nature owes me a favor but as you know it doesn’t exactly work that way. We are however at the point where the forces of old man winter start to tip their hand and thus it is my pleasure to present another winter forecast for the 2006-2007 season. First let me say that it is a pleasure to be back doing this again. I have had a lot of fun with it over the past two years thanks largely to a passionate group of mad river skiers who continue to read even in the face of a busted forecast and we had a few of those last year. Though a few of the predicted inches of snow never fell last year, the seasonal forecasts for both last year and the year before have actually turned out fairly well. In the case of last year, the signal was relatively clear that it might be a struggle, but December provided us with one of the great head fakes in winter weather history. We as skiers were not the only ones to have gotten juked. The Natural Gas and Crude Oil markets exploded last December as early season cold gripped much of the nation only to give way to one of the mildest January’s on record. I myself was bewildered at how dramatically the cold pattern disintegrated at Christmas never to make a full return for the duration of the season. As for this season I am confident we are going to see some major improvements. There are a few factors that contribute to this “confidence” but none more than “El Nino” which over the last few months has shown us that she intends to be a major player on our weather outcome for 2006-2007.
EL NINO STRIKES BACK !!! 
This first section is appropriately dedicated to discussing the ENSO situation. For the first time in several years, there is a real possibility of a major ENSO event (which is the El Nino I had mentioned in the opening paragraph.) Major El Nino’s have occurred most recently in 1997-1998 and 1982-1983 where water temperatures in the equatorial pacific were as much as 2-3 degrees Celsius above average. Lesser but significant El Nino years have occurred in 1986-1987, 1987-1988, 1992-1993, and 2002-2003. Cases of the very strong El Nino’s (1983 and 1998) tend to see such a vigorous southern branch of the jet stream that much of the arctic air remains bottled up in Canada. Even the lesser El Nino’s often have the characteristic of above normal temperatures in the northern third of the country, particularly the Midwest and Plains. In all cases though the southern branch of the jet stream is the dominating and most visible part of the El Nino’s personality. Precipitation tends to fall in above normal quantities not only in Southern California but across the southern tier of the country and also much of the immediate east coast. For New England the presence of El Nino is good for skiers because it keeps the storm track to the south and prevents the type of rain events which were so prevalent last year. There are in fact many occasions during El Nino years where storms track too far south for big snow in Vermont but this presents a much better risk/reward when compared to a storm which may bring rain or freezing rain or snow to Mad River and surrounding Vermont.
El Nino can be tracked visibly on a sea surface temperature anomaly map on this site.
http://www.cdc.noaa.gov/map/images/sst/sst.anom.gif
El Nino can be tracked numerically in terms of raw data at the site below.
http://www.cpc.noaa.gov/data/indices/wksst.for
In the past few weeks, as indicated by the map (the first link) there are areas in the equatorial regions which are close to 2 degrees Celsius above normal which would push the ENSO category to a major El Nino. Conditions in the ENSO regions can change very quickly so there are still some questions which remained unanswered. Last year for instance, the ENSO situation appeared neutral during the fall but then a weak to moderate La Nina developed which was a disaster as far as east coast skiing is concerned. The basis of the seasonal forecast last year was the PDO and snow cover but then La Nina decided to pile on to the already lopsided equation and we got the warm and rainy January. We know with almost 100 percent certainty that a La Nina is out but the strength of the El Nino certainly remains to be seen. Weaker El Nino’s have produced some big results for Vermont namely 1992-1993 which saw a furious late winter season onslaught of snow which persisted through the end of March. 1987, 1988, and 2003 were also very good east coast winters overall. During the strong El Nino’s of 1958, 1973, 1983 and 1998, the winter season was warm overall but there were some good snow events and limited rain events. The moral of the story here is that we have to hope that the El Nino maintains its current intensity and does not intensify further. An El Nino of the current intensity is a positive contributor overall but a stronger El Nino may induce a winter which is simply over run with too much mild weather which can get in the way of skiing even if the storm track is favorable.
Round 1: ENSO – conditions are favorable for above average temperatures because of the El Nino but also above average snow if the El Nino maintains its current moderate strength. 
I am still waiting on a crucial piece of snow cover data which is do in a couple of days and should help complete not only this section but the forecast overall. I have always been a big proponent of using hemispheric snow cover area as a predictor for weather during a winter season. Above normal snow cover over the northern hemisphere in the autumn months has a history of preceding cold winters and vice versa for warm. I have been amazed at the correlation and is the main reason why I tend to hold back on conclusions for the winter until I can get my hands on all of the snow cover area data for October. The piece of missing data that we are still waiting on can be found on this page and will show the final total snow cover area in square km for October 2006. Right now the table shows data through September of 2006. As soon as the update comes we will complete the section.
ftp://ftp.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/wd52dg/snow/snw_cvr_area/NH_AREA
We can get some additional information form the maps below which show a snapshot of snowcover across the Northern Hemisphere and also for North America for this year compared with that of 2005, 2004 and 2002 on the same date.
2006 NH map: http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/SNOW/ARCHIVE/NHem/ims2006324.gif
2005 NH map: http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/SNOW/ARCH05/NHem/ims2005324.gif
2004 NH map: http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/SNOW/ARCH04/NHem/ims2004324.gif
2002 NH map: http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/SNOW/ARCH02/NHem/ims2002324.gif
The maps for North America show a similar type of trend and are easier to view/compare.
2006 NA map: http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/SNOW/ARCHIVE/USA/ims2006324_usa.gif
2005 NA map: http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/SNOW/ARCH05/USA/ims2005324_usa.gif
2004 NA map: http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/SNOW/ARCH04/USA/ims2004324_usa.gif
2002 NA map: http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/SNOW/ARCH02/USA/ims2002324_usa.gif
The most striking observation is the difference in total snow cover across the Northern Hemisphere this year compared to last year (the first two maps linked). This year features more snow across much of western Canada, portions of northeast Asia and especially across the western quarter of Russia compared to 2005. Across North America, the most extensive snow cover in the maps that are linked occurred in 2002 but 2006 is not that far behind. It is not easy making conclusive determinations from these types of illustrations but it is another way of supporting the more empirical evidence as it comes in.
Round 2: Snow cover – conditions are favorable for a colder than average winter with slightly higher than average snowfall 
Round three deals with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation or more commonly known as PDO. The PDO describes the oscillation in the distribution and configuration of sea surface temperature anomalies in the mid-latitude Pacific Ocean. As I understand it the PDO was discovered by marine biologists within the last 15 years who were studying changes in the salmon population in that same region. A more detailed description of the PDO can be found at the site below. (This section was cut and pasted from last year but the background is still quite relevant).
PDO - http://tao.atmos.washington.edu/pdo/
Last year the index measuring the state of the PDO was at -1.32 for October which later decreased to -1.50 in November only to make a violent swing back into positive territory by January. The negative PDO was a big part of the evidence used last year to make the “mild” winter forecast and it turned out to be the development of La Nina rather than the PDO made or contributed to the mild winter. This year’s data showed a negative PDO in September but the October index was close to zero leaving the state of the PDO for the winter somewhat of a question mark. A positive PDO index has shown to be correlated to some of the more colder, snowier winters although the relationship is more directional and says little about what the actual intensity of either cold or snow might be.
Round 3: PDO – The PDO index of near zero does not indicate a clear signal for a warm or cold winter and does the same for snowfall. 
Welcome to year two of the exploration into the world of analogs and also the last section of the 2006-2007 seasonal outlook for the winter. Last year the venture was met with some success and I say that not because of the outcome of winter but because the weather had such a strong personality last fall that it was easy to make distinctions and ultimately draw analogies to other years which exhibited similarities. Recall that last year we saw a record number of hurricanes followed by unprecedented rains in October across New England. None of that high level drama occurred over the last several months and overall the current autumn season has had a more difficult time producing anything worthy of distinction. We did again see heavy rain in October across Northern New England stemming mostly from one big rainstorm on October 20 th. What was more striking was that both September and October featured a fairly widespread area of slightly below normal temperatures across the U.S. breaking a consecutive string of months with above normal temperatures which prevailed through the summer. The hurricane season was a weak one but this can be attributed in part to El Nino which proved to be disruptive during to storm development during the peak of hurricane season.
The results of the analysis were somewhat frustrating this go around. There were plenty of relatively cool September’s and October’s over the U.S. which preceded any number of different outcomes for winter. Furthermore, many of the autumn months which featured heavy rain in New England were also warmer than average. During months with developing El Nino’s, there were several autumn months that were similar to this year but factoring ENSO into this type of analysis would be cheating. In the end I would prefer to just day that the analogs are inconclusive and just leave it at that.
Round 4: Analogs – Looking back through history it is difficult to find a pattern to the behavior of this fall and match it up with anything that has happened during the last 50-100 years. We will therefore award no points for this section.
Conclusion 
The scorecard this year has a total of a half a point for above average temperatures. The El Nino situation gives a point to above average temperatures while the snow cover situation awards a half a point to below normal temperatures. No points in either direction for temperatures are awarded based on the state of the PDO or the analogs. A revision may be required here once the final October snow cover numbers arrive. As far as snowfall is concerned it is far better news. 1.5 net points are awarded for above average snow. A full point awarded for the El Nino and a half a point for the snow cover situation. So what is the prediction? I think temperatures overall will average about a half a degree above normal for the winter but I think snowfall on the mountain approaches the magic 300 inch number which would be tremendous. At least I have some real rooting interest in my expectations for the winter. Think Snow!!


ENTRY_TEXT:
There were great hopes and forecasts too about yesterday's storm. But, it fizzled over northern Vermont. Still temperatures have dropped and snowmaking has resumed everywhere. While conditions are still not really worth the price of ski ticket, the future looks better. Light snow will fall in most areas north of Killington for the next few days. All eyes are on a storm heading in from the Pacific Northwest. It's expected to dump heavy snows, and if predictions are correct about a change in the Jet Stream, it will also bring snow to Vermont. We will know more around Tuesday of next week.

If you must go skiing in the next couple of days, I would recommend Sugarbush or Killington. Forget Okemo unless you can put up with pure made made snow and nothing else. Stowe's ticket prices have become so outrageous, I hesitate to recommend this destination unless it is truly outstanding which it isn't at the moment.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Hello from the family skiing guys...just wanted to let you folks who are curious about snow and 
skiing what it is like up at stowe right now..well despite skiing with three kids, we found sweet 
snow, but kinda unexpectedly! 

Stowe is funny...I am used to smaller mountains with just one or two ways down from the top....it 
is so confusing up there, what with the crowds and the little trail signs! I think we took a wrong 
turn or two...it is funny skiing with kids! They do the darndest things skiing! Sometimes instead of 
just doing the icy groomer, they seem to follow their noses to that good snow, even if nobody else 
is skiing it! Kinda hard, keeping up, being just an old dad, so I guess I just follow sometimes.

anyhow, I think I followed those crazy kids onto the original road up there by that stone house we 
saw. Then we skied this nice mellow trail that used to be an old road or something...nice snow in 
there, and even a bit of a woods shot between two sections of it--anyway, kinda boring to read 
about it, but it was real powdery! 

Come to think of it, It was really nice, skiing that layer of powder that had fallen last night! Oh, 
and then I think I got all turned around when the kids and Dad #2 took a rest break...anyway, I 
guess i went the wrong way and the next thing I knew I was on that old race-trail they used to 
hike and sk in the 1930's...the snow was pretty cool, 'cause it was a mix of powder, wierd snow 
and chucky-monkey type stuff you had to blast through...anyway, it was cool skiing, and I really 
like the way nobody else was on the trail the whole way! Oh, the kids and Dad#2 and I skied 
something off the gondi that had real soft, natural snow too. Gotta love those 2150 foot vertical!
All in all a fun day and worth it!


ENTRY_TEXT:
Tues dec. 26th- 4" my crew hiked up to jay, as I was preaching snow.  Rain 
all the way up until troy area.   wet slop at the hill with only a few 
trails open. It rained, sleeted, then snowed hard by noon. Talk of 8-10" 
total (in the valleys) got hopes up.  Skiing was generally ok.  Had to 
be “creative” to find decent snow.  Nobody really showed up to ski, but 
the place still felt crowded with so few options to ski (4 top to bottom 
runs total).  snow died off later in the  afternoon to flurries.  then 
nothing.

Wens 27th- woke up this morning from the lodge in jay village.  No snow 
accumulation over night, but a few flurries total valley accumulation 
around jay village (4 miles down from the lifts) was but a few inches.  
Storm was a COMPLETE dud.  My friends were starting over with the “where’s 
the snow, this is a waste of time” talk.  

We get to the hill at 9:00am. Socked in with clouds, light-moderate snow.  
a little sun at the base with light snow while dark, windy and snowy above 
2000ft (i'd guess) was the day's weather.  		

up the bonaventure chair, we took a little risk in our trail selection 
(too good, albeit irresponsible- I do not condone ducking/poaching, but 
I’m I’m sticking with the ‘everybody’s doing it defense’), and ducked some 
ropes.  Ended up doing the same off the jet triple (taking a right off the 
chair and staying far to the  skiers left).  nice pow, boot deep in spots- 
I’d estimate 4" generally.  

itched for more.   Took the freezer. Stayed far skiers left.  Fields of 
powder 6-12" deep, untouched.  Snowed pretty well throughout the day while 
we skied this area to off the freezer.  probably 6 or 7 laps of pretty 
fresh lines total.  

the trails leading to and including the beaver pond glade had the most 
snow- you could see the rime on the flier’s towers on the way up- the wind 
was coming out of the west northwest- textbook upslope stuff.  Dropped 
snow most heavily below the flier in the “west bowl” area.
  
Beaver pond glade was hit 2x.  We had some of the first tracks (of the 
season?) In it.  Last run was taking a right off the top of the flier, 
through powder fields down to Beyond beaver pond area- surely the day’s 
best run- untracked 10-12"+ powder- all alone back there. NOBODY all day 
poached it, and it was ours.  amazing.  Dropped a couple small cliffs, 
skied some boot-knee deep in spots.  Incredible treat no one even thought 
could exist (i'd guess- cause no one thought to ski it). we kept heading 
further out to the skier's left, to the streambed- serious fun. Never 
really scrapped bottom up top.  Bottom 1/3 of BBP got sketchy.  still, 
amazing- we all couldn't stop talking about it (to the dismay of one of 
the crew who was hurting and missed out).  heading back up to jay on 
friday.  got the itch.

the day came at a cost- core shots for two of us.  Repairable, and worth 
it.  There was definitely more snow than the reported 5" if you dared to 
search (many did).  jay's base isn't too bad up top anymore.  definitely 
needs more snow, but it's at least coming along, and got a shot in the arm 
in the past few days.  looks like there still getting snow there now.  
hopefully is a sign of things to come.


ENTRY_TEXT:
The positive AO pattern which has prevailed since early December continues to reign supreme, but in the last few days we have made the most out of a rather lousy situation. First we managed to get some snow, a concept which has lately seemed quite foreign. Although the snow was wet and was interlaced with periods of drizzle, we did manage to sneak some cold into the area in the wake of this storm system. I would define this as relative cold since it has moved temperatures to within a few degrees of normal after over 2 consecutive weeks of much above normal temperatures. In the larger view, we have not changed the pattern and in my view it will continue to haunt through most of next week. There are hints of changes however in the overall pattern that could very well manifest itself as early as the first full weekend in January. By January 10th, the ever-so-stubborn AO index may finally get turned on its head and begin to work in our favor. We still have a ways to go and a storm to talk about this weekend, but if we can flip the AO for the middle and end of January while keeping the southern branch alive, we could be looking at a dramatic and much needed turn-around in the skiing at MRG and the rest of the northeast.

Normal temps this weekend then snow then ice for New Years Day

The normal temperaturatures across normal which again will feel quite cold in a relative sense is a result of a large confluence area in the Jet Stream which is emerging in the Canadian maritimes. Whatever cold air is available in the eastern part of Canada is therefore driven southward as a result of this feature and our very battered northern New England skiing industry will get a much needed stretch of below freezing temperatures as a result. Impulses running through this fast moving Jet Stream will also provide some help. This occurs Saturday as wave will likely be the catylist for a few light and fluffy inches of snow.

The real precipitation producer though comes Sunday. The track of this system is a concern only because the storm arrives as the once cold air becomes stale and modifies; otherwise we might be in light healthy thumping of snow. Instead, precipitation will begin as snow and likely to change sleet and freezing rain. Although the cold air is stale it will be difficult to flush out the below freezing temperatures in many areas so I would not be surprised to see some icing in this case, particularly early on New Years Day. A prolonged break in the action then occurs for the duration of the day Monday during which conditions will remain cloudy along with some drizzle. The upper air system then comes to the rescue, cooling the atmosphere and providing perhaps a few inches of snow for Tuesday. Its not an ideal situation by any means but my gut feeling here is that most of the heavy precipitation occurs before the atmosphere is capable of supporting plain rain Monday although the ice is more than a possibility.


Mild weather and maybe rain targeting New England late next week

Whatever snow does fall early Tuesday will not officially get us out of the woods. The pattern is still being driven by the very adverse positive AO and indications are that there will be another push of much above normal temperatures later next week. We were able to escape a potential warm-up which was originally slated for late this week and we will have to pull another rabbit out of the hat if we intend to escape another round of potentially very mild weather and ultimately some rain late next week. To be honest, it will take quite a tap dancing performance to get us out trouble late next week. We may avoid 1 or 2 of the mild days the models are currently advertising but at least one day of above freezing temperatures along with some rain is a good bet. Models indicate that this occurs next Friday although I would expect some shifting in the predicted outcome.

Pattern change speculation

By late next week, there will be so much warm air piling up at Jet Stream level across Eastern North America that it will attain some fairly significant “ northern hemispheric” significance. It is also expected to get shoved eastward and what we are hoping for is that this area of warmth at jet stream level can get gradually pushed toward the northern latitude Atlantic Ocean thereby working as a block in the jet stream and changing our destiny for the better. Such an occurrence will shift the North Atlantic Oscillation to negative. By January 10th, the American Ensembles switch the sign of the Arctic Oscillation to negative which would end a devastating 6-week stretch where the index has been positive. This solution has not gotten the full support from the European Ensemble package as of yet but even the European shows some degree of change with the AO by 2nd week of January. There are no immediate signs of arctic cold air for the weekend of the 6th and 7th of January or “significant” snowfall. There are indications of a cool-down however and further indications that this might be the first step in a process which could lead to more serious cold by the weekend of the 13th or 14th of the month. Like I mentioned in the opening paragraph, if we can successfully make these changes while keeping the southern branch awake it will represent a very appetizing scenario for us. Lets hope !

The Quick Summary

A little snow and an icy mixture of weather around New Years day and then some more warm weather late next week, but a more significant pattern change may finally beginning to emerge.

Joshua Fox - Mad River Glen meteorologist


ENTRY_TEXT:
Yesterday's surprise snowfalls at ski mountains in northern VT (and to a much less extent in the south) is another indication of a change in the weather pattern. From the Skiing Weatherman to Roemer and Joshua Fox, there is a consenus that the pattern changed will deliver consistently cold  air through most of January and February. 

So, don't be alarmed by tomorrow's freezing rain and 50 degree temps in the valleys. This is temporary and the ski mountains should survive it without much damage. However 30-50 mph winds will not make skiing in sleet and freezing rain very pleasant.
Following this event, it will turn colder again. Plan on more trail openings by next weekend and better conditions!
Tim


ENTRY_TEXT:
This is not a ski day! Freezing rain fell overnight in all areas and there is more of it this morning, along with some rain. Added to this, southwest winds will be blowing at up to 60 mph. You can't run lifts with that kind of wind. I would not be surprised if almost every ski area is closed this morning. The good news is that its not going to last and we will be back to snow by this evening. 

Tim


ENTRY_TEXT:
As we head into the first January weekend of this season, I can only say, hold off! The skiing is not that great. Most mountains are only 50% open or less, except perhaps for Stratton. It will be mild most of the week and there is talk of rain on Friday. So the weekend doesn't look good. But, the meteorologists keep insisting that there is an Arctic shift afoot that will bring snow after january 10th. Here's part of what Josh Fox is saying:

It would still be a little early to be too definite but record warmth is a big possibility at least on one day this  week. Records (the warm version) in northern and central Vermont in January are defined by 40's across the mountains and 50's in many of the valleys. The unfortunate part of mild weather in the northeast, at least for us skiers, is that a return to colder weather is usually preceded by rain. This too is not a definite for this week but appears very possible either on Friday or sometime during the weekend. The return to more seasonable weather which will follow this onslaught of warmth will mark the beginning of a somewhat new regime, but what excactly will it be and how much will it benefit New England remains to be seen.

The January 10th change
Changes in the Pacific are what look to finally bring arctic air deep into North America. One of the many features that has been a fixture in this most recent pattern is a deep trough situated across western Alaska. This feature will be removed by next weekend and looks to be replaced by a ridge which will extend from the mid-lattitude Pacific up to the poles. This in effect will act as the mechanism for the southward transport of Artic air and if this feature emerges as advertised much of Western Canada and the eastern Rockies stand to get a huge onslought of cold as we head toward the middle of January. Indications are that some of this cold gets transported east but the ridge-trough position is not shown to be favorable for the eastern states to maintain a healthy stream of colder temperatures. Such a pattern would instead favor outbreaks of below normal temperatures interlaced with brief outbreaks of milder temperatures. It is a pattern one would normally see more of in a La Nina as opposed to a El Nino year and I am somewhat skeptical that as we get closer to this January 10th target date, some of the changes and consequences of these changes are handled differently by the models.


ENTRY_TEXT:
This weekend looks really yucky but there are some good signs that the following weekend looks good with possible snow fall from the south early in the week then a juicy clipper pegged for the middle of the week, that looks similar to last Saturday's event.  Overall, next week just has a colder/snowier look to it...But, will it hold or give way several days later like every snowy period we've had so far this winter?  I think we hold onto
it


ENTRY_TEXT:
Snowmaking trails were great (Cascade and Superstar) with perfect man-made being laid down and people skiing it out
into those soft, chalky, small bumps that usually pop up from on-going snowmaking.  Groomed trails were ok, frozen ice cubes (not granular, larger chunks of ice) and some packed powder on trails that recently saw snowmaking.  Anything ungroomed was not skiable.  Don't bother trying, I did, it wasn't fun.

Reasoning:  Above 3,000ft, the damage from last Sunday's ice storm was evident.  Not necessarily damage to the forest (thought likely some) but damage to the skiing surface.  Overall, Killington had more natural snow
than I was expecting but the ice from Sunday was something else...brings new meaning to the skiers reference to an "ice skating rink.
-Scott


ENTRY_TEXT:
Just heard that temps may hit 60 degrees tomorrow or Saturday. The unusal warm spell along with consistent rain showers throughout Friday, Saturday and part of Sunday means base loss, and lots of ice when it finally starts to get cold on Monday. Next week promises colder temps and the chance of some snow storms. Lets hope the weather forecasters are correct and we are in for more winterlike conditions!


ENTRY_TEXT:
--Second half of January winter begins with two weeks without any thaw due to the coldest air of the season now developing over Canada.
-- Major snowfalls due to lake effect at northern VT mountains but also effect southern ones as well some time   between January 15th and February 1st.

--Likeliehood of a February thaw at beginning of the month, then back to winter through to March.


ENTRY_TITLE:
VT Ski Association says MLK Wkd is a Make or Break


ENTRY_TEXT:
The Vermont Ski Areas Association is bracing for another bad holiday weekend. Parker Riehle, President of VSAA says the season is at a critical balance point."There are a lot of areas that don't have all their trails open." says Mr. Riehle. He adds that although temperatures will be suitable for snowmaking no big snowfall is expected over the MLK weekend."This is one of our top three periods," says Mr. Riehle. "We definitely need a lot more snow to turn the corner on the weekend. The prospect of that happening is pretty slim."

The Vermont Ski industry normally generates about $750 million in direct sales with about half of that amount being spent at B&Bs, Restuarants, shops and gas stations.

"But, it is really hard to get skiers up here when they don't have snow in their backyards in the down country markets," explains Mr. Riehle. "It's been one of the most difficult starts to a season in a long time."
Are any resorts heading for bankruptcy yet. Mr. Riehle says no, not yet.
Expect a big effort maketing effort by Vermont in the so called down country markets  if and when snow does come. The latest on that is sometime next week..maybe :)

Parker Riehle's comments were broadcast by Vermont Public Radio at noon today.

Tim


ENTRY_TITLE:
VPR Interview with Eye on the Sky Forecaster

ENTRY_TEXT:
This is a conservative explanation for the winter we are experiencing. It has some good points and the forecaster is well respected in Vermont. You'll need the Flash player to listen to it.Click on the link below..


[link=http://www.nobullski-vermont.com/members/blog/audio/nobullski_audio.html]Global Warming Interview[/link]


ENTRY_TEXT:
Seeing as how most meteorologists fawn over his every step, this sure
 looks promising. I even like the last sentence


WINTER TO COME "WITH A VENGEANCE"
Prolonged Period of Cold and Stormy Weather Appears on the Way

(State College, PA - January 8, 2007) - The unseasonably warm winter experienced by much of the country is likely to "turn on a dime," in the words of AccuWeather.com Chief Long-Range Forecaster Joe Bastardi.

Bastardi said that the weather pattern from mid-January through mid-February has a chance to mimic the winters of 1965-66 and 1957-58, each of which ended cold and stormy after a warm start. A worst-case scenario would be if this winter plays out as did the winter of 1977-1978.

Similar to this year, 1977-1978 was a winter with a waning El Nino. After a tepid start, the second half of the winter was noted for its cold and remarkable storminess, including back-to-back-to-back blizzards in the Northeast.

"Those who think that winter 2006-2007 is going to remain mild are in for a shock," said Bastardi. "Winter is likely to come with a vengeance. A week from now, we'll start seeing truly cold air across much of the country, and we expect this change to last."

Added Bastardi, "Whether we end up with seasonably cold weather, or something far worse, remains to be seen. There are indications that this winter could parallel severe winters of the past. Even should we not see an extremely cold and snowy conclusion to winter, you can be sure that by the end of the month, when those in the Northeast are shoveling out their driveways and sidewalks, the mild weather we're experiencing now will be a distant memory."

Where Will Winter Go From Here?
The first signs of change will be noticed this week. A passing shot of cold air will knock temperatures down to typical January levels in the northeastern part of the country for a few days. Temperatures will return to unseasonably warm levels by the latter part of week and last into early next week. The seeds for the more-lasting change, however, will be planted in the western part of the country.

Arctic air from western Canada will pour southward into the Pacific Northwest, northern Rockies, and northern Plains this week, and this will mark the beginning of a true winter weather pattern that will encompass much of the nation over the next couple of weeks. The core of the coldest air by the latter part of the week will be centered in the Rockies and northern Plains, and the arrival of the cold air will mean another round of accumulating snow for Denver later this week.

The cold air will slowly push southward and eastward from this weekend into early next week and will likely arrive in the eastern part of the country by the middle of next week. Much of the nation will then have a cold weather pattern for the second half of the month.

Long-range forecasting expert Bastardi points out that it's too early to say with certainty that the change in the weather pattern will be long-lasting or produce heavy amounts of snow. However, he believes that if the weather pattern reaches its full potential, the dramatic change from warmth to cold could result in "one of the top-five coldest 30-day stretches in the past half century."


ENTRY_TEXT:
Just in case you might have heard something about this, there was a tv report today that said that Bromley and Stratton were closed. I have had no info about this. Bromley was down to its last trails over the weekend and looked pretty sad when I passed by it on Sunday. But, people were skiing. It may be that they closed things off for snow making.

It looks like were are going to get some snow over the next 24 hours but only in the north. It will probably be sleet and rain in the south. I can't recommend a weekend of skiing unless you are desperate. If so Stowe and Sugarbush would seem to be the best bets. Also Jay Peak seems to be getting good snowfall. Here's what they were saying at 2.45 pm


"Nice 3 hour shot of heavy snow this am, with light to moderate squalls for the past few hours.  Heavy, blowing snow all over the place with 6" on the ground since last night and pushing 12" in the past 72 hours.  20 trails open and more ropes ready to drop this afternoon and in the am."


ENTRY_TEXT:
The National Weather service issued the following Special Weather Statement last night....

Been a while since we've seen one of these:

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BURLINGTON VT
300 PM EST FRI JAN 12 2007

NYZ026>031-034-035-087-VTZ001>012-016>019-131000-
NORTHERN ST. LAWRENCE-NORTHERN FRANKLIN-EASTERN CLINTON-
SOUTHEASTERN ST. LAWRENCE-SOUTHERN FRANKLIN-WESTERN CLINTON-
WESTERN ESSEX-EASTERN ESSEX-SOUTHWESTERN ST. LAWRENCE-GRAND ISLE-
WESTERN FRANKLIN-ORLEANS-ESSEX-WESTERN CHITTENDEN-LAMOILLE-
CALEDONIA-WASHINGTON-WESTERN ADDISON-ORANGE-WESTERN RUTLAND-
WINDSOR-EASTERN FRANKLIN-EASTERN CHITTENDEN-EASTERN ADDISON-
EASTERN RUTLAND-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...MASSENA...MALONE...PLATTSBURGH...
STAR LAKE...SARANAC LAKE...TUPPER LAKE...DANNEMORA...
LAKE PLACID...PORT HENRY...TICONDEROGA...OGDENSBURG...POTSDAM...
GOUVERNEUR...ALBURGH...SOUTH HERO...ST. ALBANS...NEWPORT...
ISLAND POND...BURLINGTON...JOHNSON...STOWE...ST. JOHNSBURY...
MONTPELIER...MIDDLEBURY...VERGENNES...BRADFORD...RANDOLPH...
RUTLAND...SPRINGFIELD...WHITE RIVER JUNCTION...ENOSBURG FALLS...
RICHFORD...UNDERHILL...BRISTOL...RIPTON...EAST WALLINGFORD...
KILLINGTON
300 PM EST FRI JAN 12 2007

...POTENTIAL FOR MAJOR WINTER WEATHER EVENT SUNDAY NIGHT INTO
TUESDAY MORNING...

A LOW PRESSURE AREA WILL DEVELOP OVER THE OHIO VALLEY SUNDAY NIGHT...AND
THEN MOVE NORTHEAST ALONG THE SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND COAST THROUGH MONDAY
NIGHT. A COLD HIGH PRESSURE AREA WILL BE CENTERED OVER QUEBEC SUNDAY
AND ON MONDAY...WHICH WILL HELP TO BRING COLDER AIR INTO THE REGION.
THIS...COMBINED WITH ATLANTIC MOISTURE BROUGHT ASHORE BY THE APPROACHING
SURFACE LOW...WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BRING SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL
TO VERMONT AND NORTHERN NEW YORK ON MONDAY. SNOW IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP
ACROSS THE REGION AFTER MIDNIGHT SUNDAY NIGHT...AND THEN CONTINUE THROUGH
MONDAY NIGHT...BEFORE TAPERING OFF TO SNOW SHOWERS ON TUESDAY MORNING.


ENTRY_TEXT:
It looks as if this storm has been a total disaster for the ski resorts in southern Vermont. Instead of snow, they've all been getting ice...Stratton, Bromley, Mount Snow and Magic all had trouble with icing on their lifts this mornng and had delayed openings. Further north at Killington, and Okemo there was no big snow fall, but rather 5-6" along with freezing rain and sleet. The big beneficiaries of this event are Stowe, Sugarbush, Bolton Valley, Smugglers, Jay Peak and Burke. They will all be boasting about the snow falls very shortly. So, with arctic like temperatures following the storm, snowmaking will proceed apace this week, making next weekend a sure bet for good skiing in northern Vermont.  Sorry, but really can't recommend the south..

As I write this, snow is falling at about one inch per hour here near the Canadian border.

Tim


ENTRY_TITLE:
Ski conditions at Killington following MLK storm

ENTRY_TEXT:
It appeared that about 3-4 inches of snow had fallen before I arrived at about 10:30 am.  It had changed to little white pellets at that point.  The conditions were actually pretty good, although almost every square inch of the place had been groomed flat (on Saturday I'm guessing).  It changed to freezing rain at about 1:00 and then to liquid rain at 2:00.  Still soft, but it was  beginning to set up at 4:00.
No Bumps anywhere.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Well, yesterday's storm was much ballyhooed, but much to the chagrin of the weather forecasters it fizzled. Yes, ice sleet and rain fell almost everywhere. It was actually raining at Killington and Okemo. Further north, the story was a bit better with a good six inches or more falling on the northern resorts. Jay Peak did the best with about 9 inches. But even here, it ended up with an icy crust on top of things. Bring on the groomers!

Tim


ENTRY_TITLE:
Skiing at Bolton Valley after the MLK Storm

ENTRY_TEXT:
The skiing surface on BV's trail was fantastic yesterday.   There was plenty of new snow this week, and this time it wasn’t the dry angel dust stuff that we’ve had in some of the earlier storms this season.  A lot of it was moderate-density snow in roughly the 8-10% H2O range (and some heavy-density precipitation if you consider the sleet), so it really bonded well to the underlying base.  Bolton only reported 4 inches of new snowfall yesterday morning, it was a heavy snow and silky.  On top of all the previous snowfall, the new snow really made for a satisfying ski surface.  Even with some sleet mixed in, no one had any gcomplaints because the density is really going to help build the snowpack.  It sounds like Mother Nature became crueler to the ski slopes the further south you went.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Hi:
I found this story on Snow Country...I wonder if any of you have any comment...


Stratton Mountain Resort is now using renewable energy. Officials announced the purchase of 16,500,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of renewable energy credits from Renewable Choice Energy, a leading national provider of renewable energy products. Stratton Mountain purchased enough credits to offset 100% of the electricity consumption of its entire operation.

"Stratton Mountain has an important legacy of environmental stewardship, so we are proud to do our part to support clean power production" said Sky Foulkes, General Manager of Stratton Mountain Resort. "Together with our guests, we strive to balance our enjoyment of the mountains with a culture of environmental sustainability. By purchasing 100 percent renewable energy, we continue the tradition."

Stratton Mountain's commitment to renewable energy will avoid over 22 million pounds of carbon dioxide pollution each year. That has the same effect as taking 2,000 cars off the road or planting over 3000 acres of trees, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

To encourage its customers to follow its lead, Stratton Mountain will offer FREE lift tickets to customers who sign up with Renewable Choice Energy for one year of wind power.

The announcement is part of Stratton Mountain's recently launched "Fresh Tracks" environmental campaign. Stratton Mountain has earned recognition for environmental excellence, including four Silver Eagle Awards, two Vermont Governor's Awards and Landowner of the Year from the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Renewable Choice Energy is a leading national provider that is building the market for clean and renewable sources of energy through renewable energy credits. Produced by renewable energy facilities across the country, these renewable energy credits support the production of clean electricity generation and make purchasing renewable energy possible. When a wind farm or biomass facility produces electricity, renewable energy credits are issued to track the exact amount of power created. By purchasing these credits, companies or consumers can ensure that the electricity they use is being replaced onto the grid from a renewable resource.

"Renewable Choice Energy is proud to be working with Stratton Mountain to bring clean and renewable energy to its slopes. This purchase will help drive the development of new renewable generation facilities across the United States," said Quayle Hodek, CEO of Renewable Choice Energy. "Electricity generation from fossil fuels is the leading source of industrial air pollution. By choosing renewable energy, Stratton Mountain is reducing its environmental footprint and reducing the country's dependence on fossil fuels."


ENTRY_TEXT:
As predicted by a number of forecasters, we have now turned the corner into a more typical weather pattern for this time of year. We should see trail counts climbing steadily from now on, especially at the northern resorts. 

I have revised my recommendation about skiing this weekend. It is going to be uncomfortably cold on Saturday with dangerous wind chills. You can also expect widespread lift closures due to high winds. Sunday should be fine and the actual skiing surfaces should be pretty good. So plan on skiing on Sunday. I'd recommend Killington in the south, and Stowe and Sugarbush in the north. Jay may have mechanical problems with its lifts and tram.

Lake effect snows should provide several inches of snow to northern resorts. Jay says it may get 10". 


If you are skiing Okemo, and resorts south, I am afraid it is ALL man made snow...

They say it will only take one more storm for Stowe to open all its trails.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Having got a little bitten by last weekend's recommendation, I am adopting a more cautios attitude! There is good news and bad news for the weekend as far as I can see. An arctic cold front will sweep into Vermont on Wednesday night and Vermont Public Radio's Eye on the Sky predicts it will bring the coldest temperatures so far this winter. The artic freeze will last at least until Friday and possibly into the weekend. Now you all know how I missed the cold last weekend, so be warned!
The good news is that winter weather is here to stay for the moment and the skiing will get progressively better anywhere you go. I still like Killington, Stowe, Sugarbush and Jay the best.

Tim


ENTRY_TEXT:
The following is meteorologist Joshua Fox's predictions for February:

The pattern from the perspective of the wide-angle-lens will change little over the next 10-14 days but there is a subtle and important shift next week involving the position of jet stream features which will impact Vermont greatly by the first weekend of February. The focus of the cold which determined by the mean position of the trough will shift from New England late this weekend and early next week to the Midwest by the first of February. The pattern will on the overall still be dominated by cold over a broad area of eastern North America but the extreme cold will focus on the upper Midwest while below normal temperatures are more "garden-variety-like" across New England. The shifting of the mean position of the trough will better make use of the baraclinicity created by the Atlantic Ocean which is a better way of saying that approaching storms will pull Atlantic Ocean moisture deep into New England more effectively. The end result ? Well, I think there will be one to two significant weather systems leading to snow. The first will occur leading up the weekend as the initial Midwest trough amplification occurs around February 1st. Subsequent to that will be another chance for a significant storm system around the 4th or 5th. I am obviously getting a bit ahead of myself but its exciting to watch the pattern engineer what I hope will be a historic comeback for us.

The Quick Summary
Light snow leading to an accumulation this weekend and then a subtle shifting in the pattern should bring the chance for much bigger things in early February.


ENTRY_TEXT:
This weekend look like a good one with the possibility of snow in southern Vermont! The snow should come on Friday, but it may not be much of a snowfall. Still, southern VT doesn't have much anyway so even a little bit will be appreciated. It has also been snowing a little bit this week. Along with the snow will be some slightly milder temperatures, but after the weekend, it will be back to the freezer.

Stratton, Bromley, Mount Snow and Killington and still making snow, but many of the others are slacking off especially in the north where there is decent coverage and most of the trails are open.

There was a good sign this week for southern Vermont...some cross country ski centers opened.


Are any of you skiing???????


ENTRY_TEXT:
Another good skiing weekend is ahead, because just like this last weekend, temperatures will warm up into the 20s. Then after the weekend, its back into the freezer again. Can you believe it...second week in a row it has done this!

Here's the weather outlook:

Partly sunny Saturday, more clouds in the mountains with a chance of snow showers, lows 5 above to 10 below, highs 10 to 20 north to south.  Partly sunny Sunday, lows 5 above to 10 below, highs 10 to 20 north to south.


 It has been a bad week for the resorts in terms of wind and cold. On Tuesday, Killington was all but shut down because of high wind. Blizzard like conditions have been reported at Jay Peak. But, the snow is GREAT! Killington is running at 100% trail count (and misrepresenting its count by including Pico's - why do they do this!)


A nurse at North Country Hospital who works in emergency says they are getting on average about 10 injured skiers per day from Jay Peak. Most of them are Canadians who are patched up and shipped back to Quebec or Ontario. This injury figure seems quite high...any of you know what it is like at Stratton or Okemo?


ENTRY_TEXT:
"All National Weather Service models (projections) are pointing to two storm threats...one in the
middle of next week (mostly mid-Atlantic states and would benefit the
southern/central Appalachians)...so that's around the 14th or 15th, then
another threat around the 18th-20th when indications are that one would be
further up the coast.  Overall, air still looks cold enough to support all
frozen precipitation, if precipitation at all. "


ENTRY_TEXT:
The largest snowstorm to hit the interior Northeast since 2003 is now forming in the southern Plains; skiers and riders should prepare for a wide area encompassing many of the Northeast's ski and snowboard resorts to receive snowfall totals of over a foot and high winds, creating blizzard conditions across upstate New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

Starting late on Wednesday..10-18” of snow with near blizzard conditions throughout Vermont. The highest snowfall amounts are expected to occur around Jay Peak, Smugglers and Stowe with 18” or more. Killington and Okemo should benefit from similar amounts. Look for about a foot of snow at Stratton, Bromley, Mount Snow

All upper mtn lifts across all of the northeast are on potential wind hold from Wednesday at noon till Thursday PM.  Wind direction will be moving from SE to N during that period and wind hold occurs mostly when high
winds are moving across the (lift) line.  If the winds are coming up or down the line, the lifts can run at a much higher wind speed...albeit often at a
slower speed.


ENTRY_TEXT:
One of the best weekends ever is about to happen in the Vermont ski world. With over two feet of snow at most resorts, the skiing is fabulous. The uncomfortable temperatures will be gone this weekend too..Nice 20 degree stuff and fresh powder everywhere. There is even more snow in the forecast.

Here's the official forecast from the Fairbanks Museum and Eye on the Sky:
Partly sunny Saturday, lows 5 below to 10 above, highs in the upper teens to mid 20s. A chance of snow showers Sunday, lows zero to 10 above, highs in the 20s

A couple of notes...the state of Vermont is about to unleash a huge advertising campaign in CT, MA, NY and NJ to get people to drive to VT for skiing. Expect to see and hear a lot of tv and radio ads. For a change, what they will be saying will be true!

The "poor" ski areas have been told that they don't have to pay their taxes on time. Business must have been really bad up until now.


ENTRY_TEXT:
There's a report that Killington/Pico was sold today. The rumor has it that Powderr Corp is the buyer. They currently own Park City Mountain Resort, Mt. Bachelor, Alpine Meadows, and Las Vegas Ski & Snowboard Resort. If its true, expect a big jump in the price  of a season pass.


ENTRY_TEXT:
This may be the last great week of pristine snow conditions. The balance of the week is likely to see further light snow falls and a dry weekend. The freezing temperatures are about to become a thing of the past. We are on a warming trend, and a worrisome one at that. There are fears that next week's storm will be a rain and  ice event rather than snow..it is a strong possiblity. So ski now..I'm betting that conditons won't be as good next week or indeed later .


ENTRY_TITLE:
February to end without one drop of rain or ice

ENTRY_TEXT:
By Joshua Fox a† Mad River Glen:
February to end without one drop of rain or ice, March is up for grabs

No ice or rain early next week but although one battle appears won another will need to be fought between the 2nd and 4th of March. As I mentioned in previous posts, we already have one unfavorable force driving the weather pattern which is the general troughing across western North America or the negative PNA, but by early March more teleconnection indicators will turn against us and may have us on our heals by the first full week of the month. I am not at all calling the situation dire as we may yet find ways to fend off most of the trouble through even March 10th, but ominous it remains.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Went over to Spruce early  - beat the last of the Presi week  
crowds and avoided the Stowe Derby stuff at Mansfield.   Am finally  
cycling back into Vermont ski mode after getting stuck on "island  
time"  since our return from BVI sailing... sigh.   Got smacked with  
THE snowstorm after a JUST IN TIME return...

    Hadn't skied much til January (wonder why?) and once the season  
turned around missed a few good opportunities various reasons. (BVI  
Anniversary trip was one) skipped a few opportunities due to nasty  
winds and/or super cold, but today was GO time.   Of course hubby and  
other folk I might ski with couldn't go... so I schlepped to Spruce  
by myself.   I enjoy Spruce when I have to ski alone.   The biggest  
kick is seeing how the instructors take the munchkins down Upper Main  
Street and West Slope (two steeper groomers at Spruce) places you see  
adults struggling down or freaking out.      So when I ski Spruce I  
don't feel so bad... I look better in comparison than I do on  
Mansfield.  Hows that for an excuse? (smile)  Wish I had learned to  
ski when I was a munchkin.  I was a late-comer to skiing.  Fooled  
hubby when we met... he was way ahead of me in the skiing department  
- but I was found out soon enough.  Still remember 30 years ago when  
he took me up Killington Peak -- oh boy do I remember the trip  
down... we're still together, so that wasn't the END (good thing I  
liked skiing in spite of myself).

    Went up to top of Big Spruce (the ride is still cold as old --  
new lift makes it's own wind) Took "new" Main Street down and it was  
probably a bit too early and too cold... the groom crumbs (thankfully  
SMALL size) were still frozen and made for somewhat chattery ride  
until further down.   Not much anybody going up there so no traffic  
to crunch it up either.    Guess that Spruce sun needed more time.   
The views off Upper Main Street are photo-ops.  Need to bring camera  
next time.  It's steeper than you'd expect for ole mellow Spruce.  It  
really doesn't get much traffic and is a super cruiser, but lacks the  
length of the Gondi runs.

   Best snow was off Little Spruce (and lower lifts) and had some fun  
lapping Lower Smuggs to West Slope.  Oddly, you'd think they would  
have been terrible due to exposure but I guess warmer down or more  
traffic or what.... Go figure #1.     My one venture onto one of the  
"au natural" runs (East Run) where I usually find powder ... NOT.   
Had been wind scoured?, not groomed, and very thin cover part way  
down, which must have melted and re-frozen sometime last week?  Go  
figure #2, especially since it is pretty well tree-sheltered.   
Strange.    That put me off any further "au natural" ideas - bummer  
-- one of the nice things about Spruce are those natural trails  
(usually).   So... I missed the best of the recent storm bounty...

	Just call me aging gracefully my own way.  Or call me a whose.

  	Oh - love the "teenager" comments.  The good news is -- it is  
temporary -- Our guys are pushing 30 big time and it's a whole  
different game -- especially with our first grand kid.   Hey, you'll  
wonder where the years went.... yeah, those teen years are looong.    
Be patient.

	Carol


ENTRY_TEXT:
As I suggested last week, the President's Week skiing was probably the best skiing of the season. Although we could bet another big storm the chances are more likely for rain, sleet and freezing rain from here on. Indeed, that's exactly what seems in store for the end of this week, so keep an eye on the weather. They are already talking about the sap running in southern VT...hasn't happened yet, but it is definitely around the corner. Coverage remains good and with the snow pack nice and deep, there will be good skiing throughout March.


ENTRY_TEXT:
The latest forecasting scuttlebut says that we are going to get a foot of snow in the north on Friday and that there will be less freezing rain and sleet than has been publicly forecast. More later.

Tim


ENTRY_TEXT:
Kmart - A fun day with pleasant temperatures (around 30 high), sun and no
wind.  There is good snow cover, but it is by no means epic.  By my estimate
snow cover is slightly above average.  Devils Fiddle opened for a few days
and is now closed.  Julio is open but rocky in spots.  Still it was a
very fun day and not too crowded for a sunny Sunday.

Mighuel Naughton


ENTRY_TEXT:
Conditions are epic.  Today was a 10, w/o
any doubt.  The highlight was two back-to-back runs down Chin Clip creekbed.
Conditions were just so perfect.  The extreme-left path down Tres Amigos
was also great, but greatness was to be found all over the mountain.

Miguel Naughton


ENTRY_TEXT:
-It will change to sleet or at least mix with sleet all the way to the
Canadian border, except in ME and possibly far northern NH.  Those areas
will be furthest away from the warm layer, which will move into other
regions from the SSW. 
-Winds will be very strong tomorrow morning out of the south.  Wind holds
are likely  on some lifts.  Winds look to be fine for Saturday and Sunday. 
No problems expected.

-A wall of snow is expected to move into the region in the early morning
hours.  It was snowing in Burlington by 5am and is steady at 1"/hr. Only 1-3" on the ground at daybreak.

TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS...will be 7-14" from SB/MRG northward through Jay Peak
in VT, in the northeastern Adirondacks of NY, the northern half of NH, most
of ME except maybe coastal sections.  Highest totals will be in NH and ME
where some spots could see over 14".  Lowest totals will be across central
VT and the northeastern Adirondacks where I expect more mixing...but if that
does not come true, then over a foot of snowfall is likely.  South of there,
near a  Gore-Killington-Sunapee line, 4-8" with sleet, and possibly freezing
rain, will fall through Friday night. New snow might have a crust layer.  In
the Catskills, Berkshires, and southern VT...expect 2-6" with the 5-6"
amounts falling in the Berkshires and southern VT.  Only a couple inches is
expected at Catskill ski areas before significant icing.  Heavy sleet and/or
freezing rain accumulations are also possible in S.VT, and the Berkshires on
top of the snowfall.  

Scott Braaten


ENTRY_TEXT:
Wow, what a weekend!
Again, this is from a bump perspective.
Saturday, everything at the bush was soft bumps.  Rumble was excellent.  Middle Earth ditto.  Paradise check.  Stein's, zero ice.
Today, it snowed all day at KMart, and their website is actually reporting conservatively.  I would have said 4 to 5 inches in the parking lot.  They say 3.  And they did get that 19 or 20 that they reported on Fri.
Everything was good, but we spent a lot of time on Vertigo.  Big, deep bumps and great lines.  
After the lifts closed at 4, I saw a kid about 16, just flop onto his back into the snow, and yell "This was such a GREAT DAY"


ENTRY_TEXT:
I am sure you have read other reports. The skiing in Vt is the best it has been in years and there's more to come with another cold front moving through tomorrow bringing "significant snows."

Unlike most seasons, the trails don't seem to be scrapped off in the afternoons. There is so much natural snow depth, it covers up the icy boiler plate from artificial snowmaking
Tim


ENTRY_TEXT:
If you have been reading the regular resort reports, you know it has been very cold and windy. On Tuesday, there were widespread lift closures. However, there is good news for the weekend. After a final burst of Arctic weather on Friday, the weekend will suddenly see warmer temps. Indeed, there maybe some rain!

Conditions are great at every mountain in Vermont with 100% coverage. We should see skiing go on well into April.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Winter makes a 5-day comeback after some rain Thursday
As the cold front sags south Thursday the doors will be open for rain which should fall mostly during the morning hours. Drier and colder air will then push south and assume the drivers seat position. Although it will not stay dry the cold weather will remain in place through the middle of next week which opens the door for a resurgence in more winter-like conditions on the mountain. The first chance for snow comes late Friday or early Saturday as the front (now well to the south) is re-energized and an east coast system of a somewhat uncertain nature comes to life. The possibility range is still a bit wide here and if we fail to entrain enough cold air into the region on Friday we could be looking at a cold rain or ice. The more optimistic outcome has snow either late Friday or Saturday and at least a few inches of powder for Saturday. Following a cold and somewhat blustery Sunday, a clipper system approaches for Monday bringing another chance of both synoptic and later terrain induced snow. The cold is then re-enforced very significantly with much below normal temperatures Tuesday or Wednesday.

Long range has a very warm appearance
Unseasonable warmth of a rather incredible magnitude is the indication for the period beginning late next week and lasting through next weekend. Many of these ideas could change significantly but a fair translation would be for few days where temperatures exceed 60 degrees and a lot of melt. Not unusual I suppose to see anomalous weather in March and such may be the case beginning late next week on the warm side.


ENTRY_TITLE:
Big Snow fall for southern Vermont Friday night

ENTRY_TEXT:
Precipitation Type: All snow in far NW MA, NY State from Poughkeepsie
northward, all of NH except coastal sections, all of Vermont, all of ME away
from the coastal areas.  I-95 region will start as mainly snow but will
change to sleet and rain between BOS, PVD, and NYC.  The amount of rain will
depend on the final track of the surface low.  Some significant sleet on top
of the snow could occur in the far southern Hudson River Valley, NYC,
western L.I., all of CT, and a good chunk of interior MA. 

Initial Snowfall Forecast from noon Friday to 4pm Saturday: This is
preliminary and an update will not come till late tomorrow night (flight
gets into Albany at 10:45pm).  I'll do this by general regions where I
expect snowfall to exceed 6”...due to time, if your area is not on here I’m
not expecting 6” or more.  This forecast is listed for points SW (starting
with Catskills) to NE (Maine) of the interior.

Catskills: 6-12” with all snow.  Some spots may exceed 12” especially along
the eastern slopes where orographic enhancement from easterly winds will
occur.  

Hudson River Valley including Poughkeepsie and Albany: 6-12” with POU seeing
the best chance at 12”.  My fear here is that easterly winds cause some
downsloping off the Berkshires and could reduce snowfall amounts up towards
Albany.  I am leaning towards 6-9” for the immediate Albany area.

Berkshires: Heavy snowfall here with 10-15”. 

Interior MA, NW of I-90/I-495 especially the RT 2 corridor: 5-9” with some
accumulation of sleet on top.

Southern VT (South of Killington): Heavy snowfall with 10-15” of accumulation.

Central and Northern VT (Killington and points north): Significant snow with
7-15”.  I’m leaving a larger range here due to less confidence in the NW
extent of very heavy snowfall but feel, at the worst, this area is still
looking at 7-9”.

White Mountains: Heavy snowfall with 10-15”

Sunday River and Sugarloaf in Maine: Heavy snow, 10-15” of snowfall.


ENTRY_TEXT:
You've heard about the snowfall. Well, it's true. Conditions are the best they've been in years for mid March. But, this will probably be the last week of really good powder and packed powder skiing. It will be warming up this weekend and into next and a fast thaw is liable to ensue. Ironically, many of Vermont's mountain's are relatively deserted, especially during the week.


Extended Forecast:    Mostly clear and quite cold Tuesday night, winds diminishing, lows zero to 10 above south, zero to 15 below north.  Mostly sunny and not as cold Wednesday, highs in the low to mid 30s.   Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers Thursday, much milder, lows in the 20s, highs in the mid 40s to low 50s.  A chance of showers Friday, lows in the 30s, highs in the upper 40s to mid 50s. 

From meteorologist, Josh Fox: "The warmth which will come fast and intense and corn up all of the snow by the end of the week. This is not above-freezing warmth either,  this is potentially 65-degree warmth by Friday the 23rd. Assuming we keep the rain away, some big time spring conditions can be had. There will be oscillations in the intensity of the mild weather but it will persist for a time and seriously eat at the base before the month is out. Nothing unusual for late March but the pattern fundamentals appear especially warm in this case presenting the possibility of another 1998-like late March situation."


ENTRY_TEXT:
Skied Tuesday afternoon and all day Wednesday at Okemo.  Yesterday was 
near perfect.  A little wind at the top and some heavy powder in the 
trees.  I sliced my nose on an early foray into the woods between World 
Cup and Chief.  Took a while to stop the bleeding and had to visit the 
Patrol for some assistance in cleaning up the mess.  With face patched 
up I continued some woods exploration in Solitude area, lines were 
filled deep but snow was heavy and the going slow.

Blue bird day today.  Stuck on the Phoreskins at the house for a 
morning skin up our family made Stove Pipe Trail to the South Face 
Lift.  A bit slow going as snow was over boot-top deep and a little 
thick.  Temps were low, sun bright, and woods silent, until I neared 
the South Face Lift.  Lifties had some Clapton and Rod Stewart going 
for us boomers.  This was the third day on my next year's midweek pass. 
  Pass with tax was $295 for next year, but with an extra $50 upgrade I 
can use it for the rest of this year.  It can be used it at Sunapee and 
Stratton, too. This deal and grooming makes Okemo a mecca for us active 
retirees.  I'll still use the free hour when I go on the weekends, but 
this was too good to pass up now that retirement gives me more time to 
ski mid-week.  Okemo has deals.

Views from the top were stellar.  Ascutney, Sunapee, Magic, Snow, 
Stratton, Killington all visible along with Monadnock, Marcy, and Mt 
Washington.  Played mostly on the groomers as conditions were perfect 
for speed and wide arcs with soft packed powder and virtually 
unoccupied trails.  Un-groomed had mild soft bumps, some crustiness 
because of light traffic.  While cover was generally good, some spots 
are starting to show.  I only went into the woods on Supernova in 
Jackson Gore.  Snow was soft but sun facing pitches were showing 
growing bare spots.  Treated self to a gormet pulled pork sandwich for 
lunch at the posh Epic Restaurant in Solitude.  With final tuition 
payment handed over, meal time may take on a new ambience.  Skied back 
to the house on Stove Pipe.  Work I did in the fall and early winter, 
and the nearly 4 feet of snow on the ground made everything smooth.  
Even two crossing logs near the top, that I couldn't clear, were 
completely covered.  Snow was heavy, but deep and very enjoyable.

Not sure I'm ready for spring, but if this was the last of the winter 
season, it was a great day.

Ed


ENTRY_TEXT:
If you enjoy Spring Skiing, this weekend looks excellent. Sunny skies and 50 degree temps on the slopes. You may find that trails are hard packed and difficult in the morning, but they'll soften up as the day progresses. There was a terrific base loss at most of the ski areas last week, but this week has seen very little melting. Coverage should be pretty good. Jay Peak seems to have kept a lot of its snow and so has Sugarbush and Stratton. Bromley seems to be fading fast. Magic is closed. Pico closes this weekend.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Snow, sleet and rain are falling across the spine of the Green Mountain this morning. It is expected that the precipitation will turn to all snow later today and that the ski resorts will get about a foot of heavy, wet snow overnight. This kind of snow is ideal for resort bases and will encourage them to stay open later. Expect some fairly decent skiing at Stratton, Killington, Okemo, Stowe, Sugarbush, Smugglers and Jay Peak this weekend. Bromley may open for the weekend. Mad River Glen, Burke and Magic are closed.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Winter just doesn't want to quit. We've got one snow storm coming in today and possibly another one on Sunday/Monday. If you want to do some more skiing, Mount Snow, Okemo, Killington, Stowe, Smugglers, Sugarbush and Jay Peak will be open this weekend. The skiing is truly excellent for this late in the season. And, if you don't like crowds, the slopes are a whole lot less crowded. Reduced ticket prices are also in effect.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Sorry, I have changed this weekend's recommendation for skiing. Looks like the weather is not going to be very good. 
From the recent Wx, it seems that this is going to be a big wind event with very wet snow. Given the timing of the storm (sun/mon) I think that traveling to ski this weekend may not be worth the costs vs the snow quality/weather conditions. This goes for all the ski areas, unless you are going to ski just on Saturday.


ENTRY_TITLE:
Big wet snowfalls expected Sunday and Monday

ENTRY_TEXT:
This storm looks freakin'
massive on the model progs.  Widespread liquid equivalent of 1-3" with the
Adirondacks and northern half of Vermont getting absolutely destroyed Sunday
night/Monday as the low stalls out and a 70kt low level jet pumps Atlantic
moisture over us for 24 hours or more.  With the height of this storm being
during the Sunday overnight hours through noon on Monday, we should not have
any problems with April sun angle (similar to what, late August now?) so
even the valleys should be picking up some very heavy snow.  Instability is
noted so strong banded snowfall rates of up to 2"/hr are possible,
especially above 1,000ft where ratios will be higher.  Thundersnow wouldn't
surprise me either.

So here's the bottom line in terms of timing and impact:
1) Starts Sunday morning in SNE and spreads to NNE by later Sunday
afternoon.  No real problems for skiers.  Should be all snow at the ski
areas with only the larger valleys starting as rain (ie. by 3pm it'll be too
warm for snow in the CPV but as the sun goes down and precip becomes heavy,
we go to snow in the evening).

2) It then snows heavily through Monday afternoon with snow showers and
additional mountain accumulations likely well into Tuesday.  Heavy snowfall
and highest impact will occur overnight Sunday and through early afternoon
on Monday.  Monday morning will be a disaster across much of the North
Country.  Total snowfall is hard to give due to long duration,
melting/compacting in the valleys, etc but I am going to broadbrush it with
12-24" above 1,000ft in VT and   all of the Adirondack Park through Monday
evening.  Will address additional snowfall beyond that point later.  Below
1,000ft, expect 6-14" and I give a high range because I'm not sure exactly
how much snow will be on the ground at any given time.  There are
indications that even the Champlain Valley could realize a foot due to the
timing of the event and where it looks to stall (near BOS).  This keeps the
CPV on a northerly low level wind flow and enhances convergence as air is
funneled into the valley and forced up by the surrounding high terrain.  

3) High Winds.  Monday, not many lifts are going to turn in the northeast. 
Every mountain will have problems with wind on Monday.  Additionally, this
will be a wet April snow for the most part in inhabited areas and with
significant amounts hanging onto trees and powerlines, power might be an
issue for some resorts.  Widespread tree and power line damage is likely due
to heavy snow and strong winds.  This will likely be the largest impact this
storm has on the greater population.  Plan accordingly.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Rain and wet snow is forcecast throughout Vermont up until Thursday. There will be more rain than snow as the week draws on. The season is drawing to a close despite the weekend storm. Okemo and Killington will be open, but  my guess with limited skiing. They've still go some decent base but the temperatures consistently go above freezing every day and the snow is very slushy. If you really want to have a decent ski experience this weekend, go north to Jay, Stowe or Sugarbush. I'd opt for Jay.

Incidentally, Killington is closed for a second day due to the high winds. They've got no power! Okemo is limping along with only two lifts running.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Before I start, I tried to ski Monday, but of course...no power. On my way up, on WEBK, a guy was being interviewed who I think was either from the power company, or emergency management. He said, "We know that many power lines are down. If you see a power line down, please do not call us, unless you see arcing and flames. Our phone lines are swamped, and we need to keep them open for real emergencies." 
That's when I figured that the spit had hit the spam.
....Anyway.
Today, I couldn't get there until the afternoon. The conditions were something between cream  cheese and deep cake. Sort of like deep cheese cake. Without any blueberries.
This was the deepest, heaviest, most dense stuff I've ever seen. I mean like depleted uranium. But soft. You plant a pole too hard, and it goes in a foot and a half. You weight a ski and it plunges in and gets grabbed by the quicksand. Pretty sweet.
John Bonin


ENTRY_TEXT:
This weekend will see temperatures in the 60s and lots of sun. The sun is very strong and is melting the snow very fast! I'd recommend avoiding Okemo and Killington if possible and heading further north to Jay or Stowe.
Tim


ENTRY_TEXT:
It would appear from my research that this is going to be a warmer than normal winter. If I am right, this will will mean more instances of rainfall than snow. Accuweather.com is calling for warmer temperatures than normal across most of the country. Long range forecaster Joe Bastardi says mid December through February could be one of the ten warmest winter periods on record.  East of a line from the Great Lakes to the Northwest could see temperatures above normal 75% of the time. 

The National Weather Service also says predicts a "warm" winter for most of the country with a 33% chance for Vermont to be warmer than normal. NOAAA doesn't predict snowfall but it does predict a wetter winter int eh northwest and the Midwest. Not much is being said about the Northeast.

Here in northeastern Vermont the people who sell Christmas wreaths are feeling pretty uneasy. A real cold snap is needed in order to weave the wreaths and it doesn't appear to be in the offing.

So, it looks as if most of the skiing will be on artificial snow this winter, and perhaps more rainfall than snow.

Tim


ENTRY_TEXT:
Temperatures have been in the teens most nights for the past week at Vermont ski areas. The lower temperatures are allowing some serious snowmaking. The pace of operations is almost frenetic.

Guns are going all night at Okemo. Looks like Defiance and Geronimo (aka Upper Worldcup) are covere. Guns were going on Saphire today, looks like Timberline might be covered.  Also, snow could be seen 1/2 way down Lower Worldcup, and Mountain Road from the Northstar down to the base area. Okemo is expected to open this Saturday

Mount Snow is open with 11 runs including some beginner terrain.



 At Stowe it has ben snowing on Mount Mansfield and Spruce Peak all week. Upper elevations at Stowe Mountain Resort have received 6-10 inches of natural snow this week.  Opening day is scheduled for Wednesday, November 21 if not sooner.
If the weather stays cold, early season skiing should be a good deal with ticket prices well below their normal rates.


ENTRY_TEXT:
A Friday storm brought almost 10" in Jay Peak and Sugarbush. It was one of those lake effect snows (from Lake Champlain) that benefitted Stowe, Sugarbush, Mad River Glenn, Smugglers and Jay. Jay, Stowe, and Sugarbush were filled with avid skiers this weekend. To  the south, only a couple of inches fell and mountains like Mt. Snow, Killington and Okemo relied more heavily on made made snow for their opening weekend.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Enjoyable free hour at Okemo today.  Three lifts open, top to bottom  
skiing.  My runs were Defiance, Upper World Cup, Timberline to Upper  
and Lower Arrow.  About 4000 vertical feet.  Saphire was also open  
for the jibbers.  No real crowd.  (Some said yesterday was crowded,  
two busses.)  Snow conditions were hard packed.  Wall to wall  
coverage, but most was hard machine groomed. Sky was blue bird, no  
wind.  Snow making in progress on several other trails.  Natural snow  
dusting at about 1000'--maybe 4-5" on top.  After chopping some wood,  
I walked up our improved (?) Stovepipe trail (cleared to provide  
access to four well sites).  Only had to clear a few small blow- 
downs.  Fluffy snow on top, crusty and spotty further down.  Not  
ready for skinning.


ENTRY_TEXT:
Right now, (MOnday) it is sunny throughout most of Vermont but it will be clouding up by this evening and mixed precipitation is expected overnight. In the morning, the precipitation is expected to turn to rain, especially in southern Vermont. It will then be warm ...in the 50s with Southerly winds...a real killer for snow trails. However, by Thursday or Friday it is expected to get cold again. All in all, not such a good weekend as the opening one, but there will be some skiing and the best conditions will be at Jay, Sugarbush and Stowe.


