Zand
Well-known member
I'm sitting here reading all of these NY and VT reports and I've yet to see more than 8" of snow this year even though I now live in the NEK for 7 months of the year. Here's the gist of my year so far:
Thought I was getting off to a great start when I put in my earliest day ever at Sunday River and saw Columbus Day snow for the first time in about 10 years. After that week, I waited and waited. Finally, Sugarbush opened the first week of December and I was able to get my first real day in. And then bam, a day of freshies at Castlerock as trail openings exploded and things were going great. Then the first semester was over and back to MA I came.
My hopes for break were that some nice SNE storms would hit so I could snowmobile a little bit and not be jealous of the feet of snow I would probably miss in VT. We got a few small storms, but unfortunately never got enough to get the sled out. Had some decent days at Wachusett, but never got that standout day in.
Back in VT for second semester, I arrived to tons of snow on the ground. Skied a lot that week as the base conditions were awesome everywhere. Just about all those days were bluebird and 30 degrees. Then that damn rainstorm hit. It didn't hurt the depths too bad, but froze everything solid as the deep freeze set in. But the snow never came. I waited, and waited, and waited... nothing. Everytime I turned the news on I heard about how many feet DC and Philly were getting that weekend while we were getting jack. then the next weekend, FLORIDA is getting snow and MYRTLE BEACH got 6". Still nothing. The mild and partly sunny days had removed almost all the snow from ground level in Lyndonville. Burke was doing decent till the holiday crowds came. Finally, last Friday, 3" fell at LSC. I've never been so happy to see that little snow in my life. But, it was also the last day of classes before winter break (a northern VT thing...) so just as it was about to get good again, back to snowless MA I go.
Now back at home, forecasts are showing feet of snow from twin storm through the week. I wake up Wednesday morning to over a foot of snow, but rain is falling and the snow melts as fast as it fell, so still no snowmobiling. Meanwhile, 15" falls at Burke and they're at 100% for the first time in over a month. Today, as a light snow falls, I read about 60"+ in NY and a couple feet down in PA and NJ and some freshies in southern VT as well. Couldn't get further than Wachusett which was still a mess from the rain. But hey, I'll be back in VT in 3 days and can ski the freshies at Burke. But no, it's been raining there all day. And a sneak peak at next week in the NEK says what the first 5 weeks of the semester all said: "Sunny, 30s."
The moral of the story is... don't ski or even live anywhere near me as the snow will find a way to deceive you. Now that that's off my chest... expect a whopper in the NEK next weekend as I'll be in Saratoga for a conference.
Thought I was getting off to a great start when I put in my earliest day ever at Sunday River and saw Columbus Day snow for the first time in about 10 years. After that week, I waited and waited. Finally, Sugarbush opened the first week of December and I was able to get my first real day in. And then bam, a day of freshies at Castlerock as trail openings exploded and things were going great. Then the first semester was over and back to MA I came.
My hopes for break were that some nice SNE storms would hit so I could snowmobile a little bit and not be jealous of the feet of snow I would probably miss in VT. We got a few small storms, but unfortunately never got enough to get the sled out. Had some decent days at Wachusett, but never got that standout day in.
Back in VT for second semester, I arrived to tons of snow on the ground. Skied a lot that week as the base conditions were awesome everywhere. Just about all those days were bluebird and 30 degrees. Then that damn rainstorm hit. It didn't hurt the depths too bad, but froze everything solid as the deep freeze set in. But the snow never came. I waited, and waited, and waited... nothing. Everytime I turned the news on I heard about how many feet DC and Philly were getting that weekend while we were getting jack. then the next weekend, FLORIDA is getting snow and MYRTLE BEACH got 6". Still nothing. The mild and partly sunny days had removed almost all the snow from ground level in Lyndonville. Burke was doing decent till the holiday crowds came. Finally, last Friday, 3" fell at LSC. I've never been so happy to see that little snow in my life. But, it was also the last day of classes before winter break (a northern VT thing...) so just as it was about to get good again, back to snowless MA I go.
Now back at home, forecasts are showing feet of snow from twin storm through the week. I wake up Wednesday morning to over a foot of snow, but rain is falling and the snow melts as fast as it fell, so still no snowmobiling. Meanwhile, 15" falls at Burke and they're at 100% for the first time in over a month. Today, as a light snow falls, I read about 60"+ in NY and a couple feet down in PA and NJ and some freshies in southern VT as well. Couldn't get further than Wachusett which was still a mess from the rain. But hey, I'll be back in VT in 3 days and can ski the freshies at Burke. But no, it's been raining there all day. And a sneak peak at next week in the NEK says what the first 5 weeks of the semester all said: "Sunny, 30s."
The moral of the story is... don't ski or even live anywhere near me as the snow will find a way to deceive you. Now that that's off my chest... expect a whopper in the NEK next weekend as I'll be in Saratoga for a conference.
That is really late in the season for that to be happening. Stowe is the most reliable mountain in terms of snow fall in New England and the FIS guys have certainly documented how incredible the place can be when the rest of New England is sucking (Jay does get a little more but, due to the wind at Jay, Stowe can be considered more "reliable"). It may be $200 more than a Burke pass, but it is still an absolute steal compared to non-college rates.
