# What's the damage?



## C-Rex (Dec 23, 2013)

So, how much damage did this liquid snow and warm temps do to the wonderful conditions we were enjoying?


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## Puck it (Dec 23, 2013)

A picture is worth a thousand words.


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## deadheadskier (Dec 23, 2013)

More like one word

FVCK!!!!!!


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## C-Rex (Dec 23, 2013)

Where is that?!


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## canobie#1 (Dec 23, 2013)

^looks like cannonball at cannon.

Killington got washed out too.  Not a good start to winter.


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## DPhelan (Dec 23, 2013)

C-Rex said:


> Where is that?!


i don't see any snow guns, so hopefully just a trail that they hadn't started snowmaking on yet


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## drjeff (Dec 23, 2013)

My 100% HONEST, non Mount Snow Cheerleader report, as of when I left yesterday PM.

When I got to the mountain on Friday night about 10PM, I still had about 6" of natural snow on my deck.  When I woke up Saturday AM, the only snow on my deck was where some piles from snow falling off the roof, or sliding off my grill cover were. When I got home from the mountain about 4PM Saturday, my deck was snow free.

When I woke up and looked at the Mountain on Saturday AM, you could see that the natural snow was thin on the majority of the non snowmaking areas, but there was still far more white than brown visible.  The snowmaking trails, where the guns had reached were looking very solidly covered.  All the natural snow trails had the ropes up by 10AM on Saturday. Come Sunday morning, it was visually clear that the natural snow trails were more brown than white, and when I left on Sunday PM the natural snow trails were maybe 25% or so patches of snow and 75% grass. 

There are patches on most of the snowmaking trails where bare spots exist, however, 90% or so of the snowmaking trails that are open had very solid coverage still.  It will take more of some spot snowmaking, rather than "start over from scratch" snowmaking to get them back to full, mid winter condition once the cold air arrives.  The natural snow terrain is done until mother nature decides to be "nice" again.  And by done, I mean, starting from scratch essentially done, not "just a few inches and it's time to drop the ropes" done.

With the COLD air set to stream in during the next few hours, most major resorts with solid snowmaking systems will be back to mid winter like conditions on their previously open snowmaking terrain by the 26th or so.  At least in Southern VT, the natural snow terrain is done until decent amounts of snow (as in a good foot plus) fall again


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## Tin (Dec 23, 2013)

Some of the best December skiing to horrible spring conditions in 72 hours.


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## Puck it (Dec 23, 2013)

C-Rex said:


> Where is that?!




Top of Cannon, that was all snow covered a few days ago.


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## C-Rex (Dec 23, 2013)

Well, at least the snow making ponds all got a good refill (a VERY thin silver lining).  I figured the trails with good manmade bases would be ok and it seem like they are. Good news is there's plenty of cold on the way so the resorts with solid snowmaking should be able to make a quick comeback.  Hopefully, mother nature got her warm, rainy spell out of her system and is ready to hit us with the good stuff for the rest of the winter.

I'm just trying to stay optimistic.  Time to do a few snow dances and make some sacrifices to Ullr!


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## mlctvt (Dec 23, 2013)

Wow that sucks that the lossis that bad! What a change from Friday where at Mount Snow the conditions werefantastic. Even the natural only trails skied great with just a little grasssticking through on trails that weren’t mowed in the fall,  like Plummet



Well I don’t ski over the holidaysanyway unless there are great conditions, so I’ll just have to wait for thenext storm.


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## ScottySkis (Dec 23, 2013)

mlctvt said:


> Wow that sucks that the lossis that bad! What a change from Friday where at Mount Snow the conditions werefantastic. Even the natural only trails skied great with just a little grasssticking through on trails that weren’t mowed in the fall,  like Plummet
> 
> 
> 
> Well I don’t ski over the holidaysanyway unless there are great conditions, so I’ll just have to wait for thenext storm.



Cold hopefully lake effect snows hit soon.


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## Abominable (Dec 23, 2013)

Scotty, you still planning on Mountain Snow for Christmas or changing plans?


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## wa-loaf (Dec 23, 2013)

My front yard is still holding out ...


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## yeggous (Dec 23, 2013)

There is more snow in my yard in northeast Massachusetts than there appears to be in the mountains. We were from a solid two feet down to a few inches.

With that said, I disagree with the premise of this thread. There have been some very positive results for Peak Resorts:
1) Crotched probably has a good amount of water in the pond (just guessing)
2) Judging by their recent reports, it appears that the Wildcat snowmaking pipe has thawed! They are saved! Huzzah!


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## SIKSKIER (Dec 23, 2013)

My yard in Bedford NH has much more snow than mine at Mittersill,which is none.


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## hammer (Dec 23, 2013)

wa-loaf said:


> My front yard is still holding out ...


Mine is as well although if I didn't already know where the septic tank was I know now.

Back deck and paths for the dogs are clear but the rest of the yard looked white when I left for work this morning.


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## xwhaler (Dec 23, 2013)

http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/nerfc/graphics/snowmaps/sd1_today.jpg

Maine is looking like the best place to find snow at the moment


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## Tin (Dec 23, 2013)

The recovery process begins....dumping at Jay.


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## Warp Daddy (Dec 23, 2013)

People Skiing today with full side to side coverage , no brown spots at all at Titus mtn. 

Check the live snowcam at the base on their website  

We plowed our drives and walks 13 times in the last 4 days as we got not only an ice storm up here BUT snow , sleet etc . Pleased that the mtn opened up today with 35 trails . But the snocam is showing that even the base area is full on . We will b there thursday with my entire extended family


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## KD7000 (Dec 23, 2013)

I'm wondering how far north I'd have to go to get somewhere decent on Friday?  I generally avoid vacation week, but I'm looking to take my daughter up to NH or VT.  Had been eyeballing Ragged before the tropical meltdown...


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## steamboat1 (Dec 23, 2013)

KD7000 said:


> I'm wondering how far north I'd have to go to get somewhere decent on Friday?  I generally avoid vacation week, but I'm looking to take my daughter up to NH or VT.  Had been eyeballing Ragged before the tropical meltdown...



Pretty far north. I believe Tremblant & the Quebec City areas got all snow out of this weather system. A bit far for a day trip I'd say.


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## KD7000 (Dec 23, 2013)

Yeah, Canada is a bit out of range.

This sucks.


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## Smellytele (Dec 23, 2013)

I still had a good amount of snow in my yard this morning when I left in Henniker. Pats Peak actually came through this pretty good. Not including glade trails they have 25 of 26 trails open still. Saturday the place was skiing great with spring like conditions and the only brown spot I saw was over in the new area where they had groomed a little to low. Sunday they didn't get much rain and it stayed around 35 the whole day. Not sure what it looks like today.
I would think Crotched would be okay as well seeing they are so close to each other.


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## C-Rex (Dec 23, 2013)

As someone said, it's snowing at Jay.


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## KD7000 (Dec 23, 2013)

C-Rex said:


> As someone said, it's snowing at Jay.


Sweet!  Except, like I said:





KD7000 said:


> Yeah, Canada is a bit out of range.


 :lol:

If conditions were spectacular, I'd consider driving up late Friday and skiing Saturday.  But unless there is some crazy snow action this week it'll be marginal at best.

We skied Pat's last year and had a great time.  I'd consider Crotched; I'll have to keep an eye on trail reports as the week goes on.


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## C-Rex (Dec 23, 2013)

Yeah, you're probably 3.5 hours out. Not exactly a quick trot down the road.


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## mbedle (Dec 23, 2013)

They closed our local place to help preserve the incredible base they got down already. As previously stated, cold coming back tonight, so hopefully a recovery will come quick. Heading up to Stratton and Okemo this week - should be interesting.


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## drjeff (Dec 23, 2013)

What wouldn't surprise me at all too see over the next couple of days, especially since typically they're slower volume days (even during this Holiday week) is to see some areas purposely keep some "redundant" snowmaking trails closed for a day or 2, keep the cats off them, and let some water drain out of the saturated snow pack. Then that way they're more likely if they've got an adequate base, to be able to work the snow via some machine grooming to get a nice, skiable surface without the death cookies that tend to show up when you groom too wet of a freshly frozen surface.  

The core snowmaking trails, or any that need either a few touch up spots or worst case an almost full rebasing snowmaking wise will be 1st under the guns, but if there's far more acreage to resurrect ahead of Thursday, when typically the BIG crowds will start showing up, than there is snowmaking capacity, don't be at all surprised to see more than a few mountain ops managers look to manage their snowsurfaces via some good old fashioned patience before grooming. This also just might be the proper time frame and weather window to utilize this option in certain cases


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## Tin (Dec 23, 2013)

This will be a good week to let injuries, soreness, and the mountains recover while the kiddos run into one another and slow the lifts down.


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## Judder (Dec 23, 2013)

I would second what's been said.  Head way North.  Jay and the Mansfield area probably made out the best from this as they didn't have the massive inversion seen South of there.

I was at Stratton yesterday, and holy crap did they lose a ton of snow - it was in the mid 60's with some serious sustained warm wind.  I would venture to guess that all of the natural snow is gone today (it was 90% bare yesterday).  It felt like late April.

It's going to be a clusterF when this freezes and temps get down to the teens tonight.  Dust on crust anyone?

If you can, head north...


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## drjeff (Dec 23, 2013)

Judder said:


> I would second what's been said.  Head way North.  Jay and the Mansfield area probably made out the best from this as they didn't have the massive inversion seen South of there.
> 
> I was at Stratton yesterday, and holy crap did they lose a ton of snow - it was in the mid 60's with some serious sustained warm wind.  I would venture to guess that all of the natural snow is gone today (it was 90% bare yesterday).  It felt like late April.
> 
> ...



Fixed it for you! 

I whole heartedly believe that for the majority of ski resorts, who have anything resembling "decent" snowmaking firepower, the next 60 or so hours of full maxed out snowmaking system running and VERY good temps, will turn this into a "good" X-mas vacation week for what the majority of the masses (and mind you the typical AZ crew here isn't the "typical" masses) want.  Good, machine made/machine groomed packed powder/loose granular surfaces,  and if anything it will help show more of the "masses" what major snowmaking can do, which isn't a bad thing for future business IMHO


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## Nick (Dec 23, 2013)

wa-loaf said:


> My front yard is still holding out ...


Really? Mine looks like a dirt patch. Horrid.


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## yeggous (Dec 23, 2013)

Nick said:


> Really? Mine looks like a dirt patch. Horrid.



I can see the shrubs in front my house again. Still a few inches on the ground.


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## herlich (Dec 23, 2013)

C-Rex said:


> So, how much damage did this liquid snow and warm temps do to the wonderful conditions we were enjoying?



From mount snow on 12/22


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## Euler (Dec 23, 2013)

herlich;8


07744 said:
			
		

> View attachment 9927
> 
> From mount snow on 12/22


Wow...just wow.


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## andrec10 (Dec 23, 2013)

herlich said:


> View attachment 9927
> 
> From mount snow on 12/22


Oh the HORROR!:-o


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## xlr8r (Dec 23, 2013)

herlich said:


> View attachment 9927
> 
> From mount snow on 12/22



Hopefully seeing that through the blue bubble comes out looking better


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## andrec10 (Dec 23, 2013)

xlr8r said:


> Hopefully seeing that through the blue bubble comes out looking better



A turd is a turd, no matter how you polish it!


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## snoseek (Dec 23, 2013)

Whatever. I would still much rather be somewhere like sunday river next week than anywhere in Tahoe. 2013 is the driest year on record for the state of California. Ever. You all have snowmaking and as Drjeff points out key areas will rebound quick. Here the skiing is just awful, with no sign in the future of improvement....in fact what little we have is melting a little more everyday. Fuck this place!


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## andrec10 (Dec 23, 2013)

snoseek said:


> Whatever. I would still much rather be somewhere like sunday river next week than anywhere in Tahoe. 2013 is the driest year on record for the state of California. Ever. You all have snowmaking and as Drjeff points out key areas will rebound quick. Here the skiing is just awful, with no sign in the future of improvement....in fact what little we have is melting a little more everyday. Fuck this place!



Did not realize it was that bad out there! Sorry to hear that!


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## snoseek (Dec 23, 2013)

andrec10 said:


> Did not realize it was that bad out there! Sorry to hear that!


We had a decent storm a few weeks ago but the snow was fluffy and is now consolidated to a thin pack. I saw workers shoveling snow into piles for the groomers to push out onto the trails today....saddest sight ever. Things can change quite fast here though so maybe at some point in January it will start snowing and not be 50 everyday. One thing the last 3 winters has proven to me; when the skiing here sucks, it sucks royally for extended periods of time.


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## NotEasyBeingGreen (Dec 23, 2013)

We're going to put down the money tomorrow and give Stowe a shot, since we've been here since Sat. night. But it is forecasted to be cold as frick the next two days. And when all this slush and the many deep puddles outside my door turn to ice in the next few hours, it's going to be pretty interesting, to say the least. Oh well. Beats working. I'll put up a report tomorrow.


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## goldsbar (Dec 23, 2013)

snoseek said:


> One thing the last 3 winters has proven to me; when the skiing here sucks, it sucks royally for extended periods of time.



Yeah, but when it's mediocre, it's better than anything here!


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## yeggous (Dec 23, 2013)

snoseek said:


> We had a decent storm a few weeks ago but the snow was fluffy and is now consolidated to a thin pack. I saw workers shoveling snow into piles for the groomers to push out onto the trails today....saddest sight ever. Things can change quite fast here though so maybe at some point in January it will start snowing and not be 50 everyday. One thing the last 3 winters has proven to me; when the skiing here sucks, it sucks royally for extended periods of time.



I just read that Heavenly had 19 lifts serving 17 trails serving 13 miles. That lift count is crazy, but the open terrain is pretty comparable to what you'll find in the east right now.


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## snoseek (Dec 23, 2013)

yeggous said:


> I just read that Heavenly had 19 lifts serving 17 trails serving 13 miles. That lift count is crazy, but the open terrain is pretty comparable to what you'll find in the east right now.


Yeah in maybe 3 days your skiing will be miles better than Heavenly. The real number is acerage.....and that would be 138 acres out of 4800. People fly in from all over the world this week and those 19 lifts will stack them onto a trail that's so packed it'll make early season Killington seem not so bad. I would rather wait in a line to go up than down.


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## snoseek (Dec 23, 2013)

goldsbar said:


> Yeah, but when it's mediocre, it's better than anything here!


The last time we had better skiing than the east coast was January of last year....maybe early February at certain locations. Remember it didn't snow after Christmas at all last year. We are due


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## drjeff (Dec 23, 2013)

herlich said:


> View attachment 9927
> 
> From mount snow on 12/22



Like I said in my earlier post specifically about Mount Snow, I was not a cheerleader, but 100% honest - that trail, the mid section of Exhibition hasn't had any snowmaking on it yet this year (the had moved portable fan guns to it last week as a next on the list pre positioning before the warm air arrived) - that's what basically all the natural snow terrain there looked like yesterday PM. The previously open snowmaking terrain, while there were some thin + bare spots was much better

Sent from my DROID RAZR using AlpineZone mobile app


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## Cannonball (Dec 23, 2013)

We had a start to the season that was well ahead of schedule.   I'm going to assume (hope) that this is our January thaw, also ahead of schedule.  That sets us up for a nice Jan-Mar.   For now I'm ignoring what this theory means for late March...


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## crank (Dec 23, 2013)

Cannonball said:


> We had a start to the season that was well ahead of schedule.   I'm going to assume (hope) that this is our January thaw, also ahead of schedule.  That sets us up for a nice Jan-Mar.   For now I'm ignoring what this theory means for late March...




Sorry but this is just the Post Christmas thaw come a week early.  Still to come: The January thaw, the later in January thaw, the mid February thaw and the early March thaw...  let's see, did I miss anything?


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## SIKSKIER (Dec 24, 2013)

Tahoe will get its snow and when you do it will come in 3-6 foot dumps,especially towrds March.Then all of us in the NE will be saying F this place.


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## C-Rex (Dec 24, 2013)

SIKSKIER said:


> Tahoe will get its snow and when you do it will come in 3-6 foot dumps,especially towrds March.Then all of us in the NE will be saying F this place.




Exactly.  Tahoe locals whine about no snow in December and then get 30 feet from Feb through April.  A-holes.


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## 4aprice (Dec 24, 2013)

The snow guns are on (at least here locally - PA)  From what I hear cold weather is in the pipeline.  The recovery has begun.  

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ


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## Rowsdower (Dec 24, 2013)

I'm really surprised how well the slopes held up. I'm at my parents for the holidays and even little local Bear Creek isn't showing any brown spots. Guns are on up in the Poconos as well. Camelback is making snow and Hunter is going full tilt, so it looks like the recovery is well under way.


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## SIKSKIER (Dec 24, 2013)

Check out this Attitash webcam shot


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## Rowsdower (Dec 24, 2013)

So shiny.


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## skifree (Dec 24, 2013)

somehow I would find my way into that shiny area


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## snoseek (Dec 24, 2013)

C-Rex said:


> Exactly.  Tahoe locals whine about no snow in December and then get 30 feet from Feb through April.  A-holes.


We got zero snow in that time frame last year....none. The year before there was not a flake on the ground till January 20th, not even a flurry. This drought is very real and affecting more than just skiers, again 2103 was the driest year EVER recorded. Sure do hope you're right about that 30 feet of snow though! And yes, I know it will come, it always does.


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## Tin (Dec 24, 2013)

Day looks to pick up.and inch or so daily. Not much but it will add up.


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## MadMadWorld (Dec 24, 2013)

It's one of those days where if you fell you would slide for a loooooong ways


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## goldsbar (Dec 24, 2013)

Just posted a trip report on Belleayre.  Plenty of damage but plenty still there.  Overall, really not bad for this time of year.


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## ScottySkis (Dec 24, 2013)

goldsbar said:


> Just posted a trip report on Belleayre.  Plenty of damage but plenty still there.  Overall, really not bad for this time of year.



I might go now thanks for twisting my arm.


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## yeggous (Dec 24, 2013)

I just got back from Crotched. I'll try to throw together a trip report. Conditions exceeded expectations. I am relieved.


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## dlague (Dec 24, 2013)

yeggous said:


> I just got back from Crotched. I'll try to throw together a trip report. Conditions exceeded expectations. I am relieved.



We hopped on the $7 Waterville deal and the same can be said!  The conditions were really good and there were no lines.  Trio report to follow as well!


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## xlr8r (Dec 24, 2013)

Was at Waterville as well.  I was there late so the conditions were not the greatest, but still enjoyable.  Edge to edge coverage on the trails that were open.


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## 180 (Dec 24, 2013)

Hunter snowmaking on everything right now.  Hellgate, 42, Cliff, Minya Ike, Kennedy, Belt, Upper K all had guns blasting.  No crowds and tomorrow will be even better.


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## steamboat1 (Dec 25, 2013)

Christmas dinner was amazing.


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## BenedictGomez (Dec 25, 2013)

steamboat1 said:


> Christmas dinner was amazing.



That's the "damage" done I'm most worried about right now.  Usually lasts through New Years Day.


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## keyser soze (Dec 25, 2013)

180 said:


> Hunter snowmaking on everything right now.  Hellgate, 42, Cliff, Minya Ike, Kennedy, Belt, Upper K all had guns blasting.  No crowds and tomorrow will be even better.



Just looked at the mountain cams now and they are blasting snow all over and coverage looks great.  I will head up there New Years Day for sure and have an empty mountain while everybody sleeps off their hangovers


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## Huck_It_Baby (Dec 25, 2013)

There is Ice all over everything in Northern Vermont. We lost a ton of natural base from the rain/ice storm. I skied Smuggs this afternoon (12/25) and places I was skiing in the trees a week ago only have a couple inches and lots of ice covering them.



Stowe however is blasting today! I'm sure conditions across the notch are better than most places. Some natural snow is forecasted tomorrow.


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## xlr8r (Dec 25, 2013)

Bretton Woods has recovered very well with most trails offering machine groomed packed powder, only a few runs still have a mostly frozen/ loose granular surface.  However they were not making any snow today which surprised me.


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## HowieT2 (Dec 26, 2013)

Sugarbush recovered surprisingly well.  All natural snow trails are done and the woods are obviously out of the question.  But the man made trails that were open before the thaw are in fairly good shape and I expect them to have all or most of the snow making trails open by the weekend.


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## dlague (Dec 26, 2013)

Was at Sunday River yesterday had nice runs. Nothing too challenging but conditions were fast and carve-able!  We had a blast.  You definitely can cover a lot of ground there!


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## BenedictGomez (Dec 26, 2013)

HowieT2 said:


> Sugarbush recovered surprisingly well. * All natural snow trails are done and the woods are obviously out of the question.  But the man made trails that were open before the thaw are in fairly good shap*e and I expect them to have all or most of the snow making trails open by the weekend.




Is there at least some good ice, crust, small snow base in the woods so that a good 10" or 12" could open them?


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## WWF-VT (Dec 26, 2013)

BenedictGomez said:


> Is there at least some good ice, crust, small snow base in the woods so that a good 10" or 12" could open them?



It's been snowing all day here at Sugarbush which is a good start.  We'll need way more than 10-12" of new snow to bring the woods back into play.


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## octopus (Dec 26, 2013)

pretty much everything except manmade was lost at smuggs too. I'm here right now, got up here on the 22nd. i heard rumors before the storm it was pretty much full coverage, its now gonna take a pretty good storm to fill in again.


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## skiking4 (Dec 26, 2013)

octopus said:


> pretty much everything except manmade was lost at smuggs too. I'm here right now, got up here on the 22nd. i heard rumors before the storm it was pretty much full coverage, its now gonna take a pretty good storm to fill in again.



Can confirm, up at smuggs from Saturday until today. Skied at jay yesterday (Wednesday 12/25) and there's a dramatic difference in snow. A lot of the woods are kinda skiable but it's rock solid and a couple inches will make some woods truly skiable. Smuggs needs a dump on the otherhand, however today's couple of inches does help.


Sent from my iPhone using AlpineZone mobile app


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## crank (Dec 26, 2013)

skiking4 said:


> Can confirm, up at smuggs from Saturday until today. Skied at jay yesterday (Wednesday 12/25) and there's a dramatic difference in snow. A lot of the woods are kinda skiable but it's rock solid and a couple inches will make some woods truly skiable. Smuggs needs a dump on the otherhand, however today's couple of inches does help.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using AlpineZone mobile app



Smuggs is reporting 8" in the last 24 hrs.  Accurate?  I heard "5" of fluff" at Stowe.  I just got up to Sunape and am thinking I will just ski groomers here tomorrow with today's 2" mixed in.


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## octopus (Dec 26, 2013)

I'm thinking Stowe is closer to the truth.  Maybe 6 of fluff, it was fun but it's not gonna open anything else non man made.


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## xlr8r (Dec 26, 2013)

Loon got 6" today.  I think they wee in the sweet spot for NH.  Everyone else seems to have gotten 4" or less.


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## Glenn (Dec 27, 2013)

I haven't been out since the 24th. The mountain lost a lot of snow. But they've been making snow since the 24th. I'd be curious to hear how the recovery was going. Lines on the webcams look pretty long...good for business.


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## drjeff (Dec 27, 2013)

Glenn said:


> I haven't been out since the 24th. The mountain lost a lot of snow. But they've been making snow since the 24th. I'd be curious to hear how the recovery was going. Lines on the webcams look pretty long...good for business.



The recovery effort at Mount Snow has been pretty good!  Generally speaking back to machine groomed backed powder after a bunch of snowmaking.  Are there some spots on narrow points of main trails that get scraped down to the bulletproof base later on in the day, yup, are there a few spots with the occasional "death cookie", yup, but those are in the minority.

The crowds yesterday (the 26th) weren't bad at all, but there was LOTS of arriving traffic as I was leaving yesterday, so the holiday masses have appeared to finally arrive

Honestly, I think the "worst" thing that happened yesterday, and one that will cause a bunch of a couple of year crowd to complain a bunch, is the 3" or so of snow that fell yesterday - just enough to cover the ground that wasn't reached by snowmaking, but now where near enough to make it skiable/rideable - there will be some base damage and tumbles as a result 

An impressive comeback from what was left after the blowtorch finally departed on Monday PM! It's back to typical mid winter machine groomed surfaces at Mount Snow.  The woods and the natural terrain are still about a foot of natural away from being back in play IMHO.  The snowmaking ponds though still have plenty of water and Mount Snow has switched from recovery mode back into expansion mode


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## skiking4 (Dec 27, 2013)

crank said:


> Smuggs is reporting 8" in the last 24 hrs.  Accurate?  I heard "5" of fluff" at Stowe.  I just got up to Sunape and am thinking I will just ski groomers here tomorrow with today's 2" mixed in.



Nah it's less than that. But conditions are great. It was probably 3-6 inches depending on wind.


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## yeggous (Dec 27, 2013)

Attitash was not good today. Everything was bullet proof and scraped clean. Way too many people on too few trails. Half of their "open" terrain is the interconnect.


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## deadheadskier (Dec 28, 2013)

yeggous said:


> Attitash was not good today. Everything was bullet proof and scraped clean. Way too many people on too few trails. Half of their "open" terrain is the interconnect.



I keep waiting for a reason to head up to Attitash or Wildcat, but I'm not hearing one.  I got the Granite Pass figuring I'd ski primarily up there, but so far this season, the skiing has been better at Crotched from what I've experienced and heard.  Obviously the terrain is better at Attitash and Wildcat, but today the skiing at Crotched was fantastic.  Perfect packed powder on all trails except for Moonwalk getting scraped down and Velocity, which just opened and needed a bit more grooming.  Longest wait I had for the Rocket was maybe 8 chairs riding the singles line.   Until things improve up north, it's kind of a no-brainer for me.  Drive an hour and twenty minutes to great conditions, minimal crowds and lift lines vs. driving two hours plus for what you describe at Attitash.


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## Edd (Dec 28, 2013)

The early season conditions as Wildcat/Attitash for the last (2?) seasons when I had a pass there partly motivated me to go back to Boyne, at least for this season.  I did not have the Crotched option.  I think that's something they added this year onto the Sun-Fri pass.  

I've got the Bold/Beautiful also and still haven't made it to Cannon yet.


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## deadheadskier (Dec 28, 2013)

If I weren't even lazier than you, I'd have gone for the Boyne pass myself.  I just cant deal with the weekend crowds at Loon nor deal with the 2.5 hour one way drive for day trips to Sunday River on a regular basis.


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## steamboat1 (Dec 28, 2013)

deadheadskier said:


> If I weren't even lazier than you, I'd have gone for the Boyne pass myself.  I just cant deal with the weekend crowds at Loon nor deal with the 2.5 hour one way drive for day trips to Sunday River on a regular basis.



Complaining about 2 1/2 hour trips to SR is lame. It takes me that long to get to Mountain Creek or Camelback. Catskills I'm pushing better than 3 hrs. This is why I haven't done day trips in years.

Substantial snow will come the week of the 6th when everyone goes home. This is my time to shine.


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## Edd (Dec 28, 2013)

deadheadskier said:


> If I weren't even lazier than you, I'd have gone for the Boyne pass myself. I just cant deal with the weekend crowds at Loon nor deal with the 2.5 hour one way drive for day trips to Sunday River on a regular basis.



Are you skiing weekdays anymore?



steamboat1 said:


> Complaining about 2 1/2 hour trips to SR is lame.



The man did say he was lazy.  Lazier than me, I truly doubt.


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## bigbob (Dec 28, 2013)

steamboat1 said:


> Complaining about 2 1/2 hour trips to SR is lame. It takes me that long to get to Mountain Creek or Camelback. Catskills I'm pushing better than 3 hrs. This is why I haven't done day trips in years.
> 
> Substantial snow will come the week of the 6th when everyone goes home. This is my time to shine.



What he fails to mention is the brutal traffic on the Maine Turnpike, let alone the crawl up Rt 26, NYC isn't the only place with bad traffic


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## yeggous (Dec 28, 2013)

Word around my club is that Bretton Woods was fantastic yesterday. No word either way about Wildcat.


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## deadheadskier (Dec 28, 2013)

steamboat1 said:


> Complaining about 2 1/2 hour trips to SR is lame. It takes me that long to get to Mountain Creek or Camelback. Catskills I'm pushing better than 3 hrs. This is why I haven't done day trips in years.
> 
> Substantial snow will come the week of the 6th when everyone goes home. This is my time to shine.



You think my complaining is lame, yet you admit to not doing day trips in year?  Seems logical and makes a whole lot of sense.  

Between a hospital internship, full time school and full time work, my time commitments per week average 70+ hours.  I ONLY have time for day trips except for a couple of small trips per season, one of them being the AZ summit.  With that kind of schedule, I don't want to spend 5 hours in the car each day I go skiing.  I'll do it a few times per season, usually a couple of times to Killington, Sunday River and even Sugarbush at 3+.  That said, I do need to have an option on closer to home.  Hence, why I went with a Gunstock pass the past few years (an hour and ten away) and the Granite Pass this year with having Crotched an hour and twenty away.


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## Warp Daddy (Dec 28, 2013)

Great day at Titus with the grandboyz and their dads. 36 inch base covered with boot deep ungroomed powder.....HOG HEAVENWE did 25 runs skied the entire mtn......simply great coverage ,35 trails open .


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## Warp Daddy (Dec 28, 2013)

DHS : Sounds like you are advancing very nicely on the new career path! Keep your chin up .

As a board officer i am in the hospital 2/3 days each week lately and   know how intense it is right now as i often observe our interns scurrying around the Med Center here . It will all be worth it in the end and i sense that have chosen well .. All the best in 2014.

warp


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## deadheadskier (Dec 28, 2013)

Thanks Warp!  It's been a tremendous experience so far.  Looking forward to finishing up and getting my license in June.


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## ScottySkis (Dec 28, 2013)

So I up at Catamont today conditions are good considering what happened a few days ago. Not to crowded for a holiday weekend and 40$ for lift tickets through potter brothers I am so be skiing day #5.


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## twinplanx (Dec 28, 2013)

deadheadskier said:


> You think my complaining is lame, yet you admit to not doing day trips in year?  Seems logical and makes a whole lot of sense.  .



In steamboats defense, I think it was more of a comparison of the ski areas mentioned, then anything else. Sometimes you guys up North fail to realize just how good you have it... 

Sent from my SCH-S735C using Tapatalk


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## BenedictGomez (Dec 28, 2013)

bigbob said:


> What* he fails to mention is the brutal traffic on the Maine Turnpike*, let alone the crawl up Rt 26, *NYC isn't the only place with bad traffic*



You deserve a severe internet beating for comparing traffic in Maine to traffic in/around NYC.


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## billski (Dec 28, 2013)

bigbob said:


> What he fails to mention is the brutal traffic on the Maine Turnpike, let alone the crawl up Rt 26, NYC isn't the only place with bad traffic


 - BB, would you please define "brutal traffic"?   Beauty is in the eye of the beholder/abused.


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## Smellytele (Dec 28, 2013)

billski said:


> - BB, would you please define "brutal traffic"?   Beauty is in the eye of the beholder/abused.



In BB defense I have seen the maine turnpike dead stopped for hours on Fridays and Sundays both in the summer for the coast traffic and winter snow storm traffic.


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## twinplanx (Dec 28, 2013)

Lol you can get a real sense of community around here with all the posters defending one another ;-) 

Sent from my SCH-S735C using Tapatalk


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## Savemeasammy (Dec 28, 2013)

Sometimes when I am going to work in the morning, the traffic light in town turns red just before I get there and I have to wait.  What a pisser! 


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## steamboat1 (Dec 28, 2013)

twinplanx said:


> In steamboats defense, I think it was more of a comparison of the ski areas mentioned, then anything else. Sometimes you guys up North fail to realize just how good you have it...
> 
> Sent from my SCH-S735C using Tapatalk



Exactly. There isn't anyplace worthwhile skiing close enough for a day trip for me. My BIL lives in Tannersville (Camelback). I don't ski there. My friend has an A-frame at the bottom of Hunter. I don't ski there either.


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## billski (Dec 28, 2013)

twinplanx said:


> Lol you can get a real sense of community around here with all the posters defending one another ;-)
> 
> Sent from my SCH-S735C using Tapatalk



Funny, but you're right.  It takes time to understand where people are coming from.  Opinions and emotions are difficult to convey by text without inciting a flamed-base war.   If you look back to the early days of BB's and forums, AZ was always a standard (in my book) of civility and respect, even when we disagree.  Kudos to Greg and Nick!


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## ScottySkis (Dec 28, 2013)

steamboat1 said:


> Exactly. There isn't anyplace worthwhile skiing close enough for a day trip for me. My BIL lives in Tannersville (Camelback). I don't ski there. My friend has an A-frame at the bottom of Hunter. I don't ski there either.



If I had more salary I would probably ski Vermont 90% of the time so I get that.


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## steamboat1 (Dec 28, 2013)

Scotty said:


> If I had more salary I would probably ski Vermont 90% of the time so I get that.



That's the thing Scotty. I don't spend a lot of money skiing. I'll get my season pass down to $20 per day by the time the season is over. I'm lucky that I can get employee discount tickets at Sugarbush. Use VT. Passes to ski around a little bit more. Take advantage of ski club appreciation days that many ski areas offer throughout the year. I hope to be skiing Stowe the 10th & 11th with a $69 two day ticket. My lodging costs are inexpensive at our ski club lodge near K. I usually cook dinner in & bring a brown bag lunch, breakfast is included with lodging. I can spend a week in VT. for only $300-$400. Free time is a factor for most people. I paid my dues & am now semi-retired so free time is not a factor for me. I have a good wife that lets me go skiing whenever I please.


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## ScottySkis (Dec 28, 2013)

steamboat1 said:


> That's the thing Scotty. I don't spend a lot of money skiing. I'll get my season pass down to $20 per day by the time the season is over. I'm lucky that I can get employee discount tickets at Sugarbush. Use VT. Passes to ski around a little bit more. Take advantage of ski club appreciation days that many ski areas offer throughout the year. I hope to be skiing Stowe the 10th & 11th with a $69 two day ticket. My lodging costs are inexpensive at our ski club lodge near K. I usually cook dinner in & bring a brown bag lunch, breakfast is included with lodging. I can spend a week in VT. for only $300-$400. Free time is a factor for most people. I paid my dues & am now semi-retired so free time is not a factor for me. I have a good wife that lets me go skiing whenever I please.



See that is cheap but when you make less then 50,000 a year is still a thing I could afford to do. I think it is great that you can do that and hopefully one day I be able to afford more expensive ski trips. But I do love the access from where I live for skiing all these nice hills and know what to expect snow conditions to.


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