• Welcome to AlpineZone, the largest online community of skiers and snowboarders in the Northeast!

    You may have to REGISTER before you can post. Registering is FREE, gets rid of the majority of advertisements, and lets you participate in giveaways and other AlpineZone events!

Burke 12/17/12

Zand

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 30, 2003
Messages
4,109
Points
113
Location
Spencer, MA
Headed up at 9 for a few runs before finals. Picked up 4" of new snow last night and it was great to have some good conditions. Still the same trails as the last couple weeks but the guns were blasting on the Dippers. First couple runs were fantastic in the new snow but Willoughby and Bear Den were getting down to the hardpack (and you can tell how bad things were before last night) after a couple runs. Warrens stayed good the whole time I was there, put down fresh tracks on it all 4 runs. LI was closed today so a bit busier than the typical Monday morning (but no sign of BMA before 10 so Warren's was wide open).

Hope to be back up Thursday after yet another rainstorm tomorrow. Is it winter yet?
 

thetrailboss

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Jun 4, 2004
Messages
32,340
Points
113
Location
NEK by Birth
Fwiw LI never closed when I was there....certainly not for 4" of snow! Thanks for the report.
 

Zand

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 30, 2003
Messages
4,109
Points
113
Location
Spencer, MA
Fwiw LI never closed when I was there....certainly not for 4" of snow! Thanks for the report.

It was embarrassing for VTrans to be honest. They didn't touch the roads the night before and it was that perfect high density snow that can be rough with no snow tires. LI, STJ, Danville, Peacham, North Country all closed for 4" of snow. Not to mention it was all done by 8:30 AM. Plus with LI closed Lyndon DPW didn't plow anything so a lot of people couldn't make it up the hill to LSC.

I really couldn't believe it, but we all know how stupidly frugal VT has gotten with winter road treatment and then when there's problems they blame the driver for it. Hell, a half inch of snow shut down I-89 in Williston one morning in November because (surprise surprise) it took them about 2 hours to send out a salt truck. They should be embarrassed.
 

thetrailboss

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Jun 4, 2004
Messages
32,340
Points
113
Location
NEK by Birth
It was embarrassing for VTrans to be honest. They didn't touch the roads the night before and it was that perfect high density snow that can be rough with no snow tires. LI, STJ, Danville, Peacham, North Country all closed for 4" of snow. Not to mention it was all done by 8:30 AM. Plus with LI closed Lyndon DPW didn't plow anything so a lot of people couldn't make it up the hill to LSC.

I really couldn't believe it, but we all know how stupidly frugal VT has gotten with winter road treatment and then when there's problems they blame the driver for it. Hell, a half inch of snow shut down I-89 in Williston one morning in November because (surprise surprise) it took them about 2 hours to send out a salt truck. They should be embarrassed.

I noticed that they started this crap a couple years ago. They would not plow the interstates, tell folks to "drive slowly," and then hand out tickets to those that went off the road. Embarrassing. Outrageous. I never saw this growing up in the NEK, but now things have changed. It's the new VT way I guess. Really sad.
 

abc

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 2, 2008
Messages
5,811
Points
113
Location
Lower Hudson Valley
I noticed that they started this crap a couple years ago. They would not plow the interstates, tell folks to "drive slowly," and then hand out tickets to those that went off the road. Embarrassing. Outrageous. I never saw this growing up in the NEK, but now things have changed. It's the new VT way I guess. Really sad.
Well, it's a chicken and egg things now.

No snow, no visitors, no money to pay for road clearing.

For the rare time there IS snow, not plowing makes visitors hesitate to come at all, especially after one or two bad road experience.

No visitors = no money. Snow no longer matters.

(I'm one such, after getting stuck in non-moving traffic for hours more than once, now I don't go when there's a chance of snow on the road. Crave powder? I resort to the trusted routine of flying west)
 

thetrailboss

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Jun 4, 2004
Messages
32,340
Points
113
Location
NEK by Birth
Well, it's a chicken and egg things now.

No snow, no visitors, no money to pay for road clearing.

For the rare time there IS snow, not plowing makes visitors hesitate to come at all, especially after one or two bad road experience.

No visitors = no money. Snow no longer matters.

They are shooting themselves in the foot.
 

Zand

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 30, 2003
Messages
4,109
Points
113
Location
Spencer, MA
Well, it's a chicken and egg things now.

No snow, no visitors, no money to pay for road clearing.

For the rare time there IS snow, not plowing makes visitors hesitate to come at all, especially after one or two bad road experience.

No visitors = no money. Snow no longer matters.

(I'm one such, after getting stuck in non-moving traffic for hours more than once, now I don't go when there's a chance of snow on the road. Crave powder? I resort to the trusted routine of flying west)

If the state put more of their outrageous tax money toward road clearing (instead of wasting it on stuff that I'd be going on a political rant on so I'll refrain), it wouldn't matter how many visitors come. Being able to keep the roads safe should be a top priority, especially in VERMONT of all places.

I saw a VT State Police press release a few days ago that said they will ticket people $214 for reckless driving if they go off the road due to "poor conditions". We probably won't even see THAT money go back into road maintenance.

This stuff creates the biggest problems in lean snow years like last year and so far this year. Obviously if there's a foot of snow they're gonna go plow it but in years like this when there's 3-4" every so often they just say "why bother" when that 3-4" is just as slippery if not more slippery (due to high water content) than a good ol' foot of dry snow.
 
Top