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Expectations After Rain and Refreeze

dlague

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I find it very entertaining to see so many people post about boiler plate, boney, bullet proof, skating rink, scraped off, shit show, etc.

Hello! It rained and before it could drain it froze. What do people expect? Obviously, they have to resurface and 3 inches of natural will fix squat. It resorts how long to open terrain and it will take them almost as long to properly resurface. If done poorly then by 10 am trails are scraped down to ice. Happened at Cannon often.

It should come as no surprise to anyone on this forum.

I am beginning to see the difference between West vs East for early season that being October to January. While it has warmed up on the Front Range the Mountains have stayed cold or at least cold enough. There have been no significant warm ups since mid November and a train of storms. Snow is dry and mostly natural so it does freeze up the same way apparently.

I hope things get back on track for NE. The weather was solid for a stretch and I loved seeing the Northeast powder days. Hoping the mixed weather coming with be short lived and all the boiler plate, boney, bullet proof, skating rink, scraped off, shit show, etc. Type of conditions go away.

So those of you who decided to go skating, I mean skiing what we're the expectations?


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wtcobb

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Cannon today was better than expected - since I expected wall to wall sheer ice with an inch of snow scratched off by the first three skiers.
 

Tin

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Ice? Crowds? Who cares. Send it right into the holiday week!
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wtcobb

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I did see a great Jerry crew today getting on the lift just ahead of me. Three middle-aged men, one with the requisite GoPro to capture that sweet icy groomer footie for the boys, and one with goggles on upside down. #prayformiddleguy
 

snoseek

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I've skied a couple days since the refreeze and its been ok. These areas bounce back fairly quick. Colorado does really nice in the early winter months because out there its not the rain that messes things up its the sun. Without fresh snow going into march places like steamboat and vail can get pretty firm. Then again it always seems to nuke everywhere in march
 

VTKilarney

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I don't think anyone here has had unrealistic expectations. There has been some strategy discussion about the best options, which makes sense.

It's a bummer, though, since we were off to a very good start.
 

4aprice

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I've skied a couple days since the refreeze and its been ok. These areas bounce back fairly quick. Colorado does really nice in the early winter months because out there its not the rain that messes things up its the sun. Without fresh snow going into march places like steamboat and vail can get pretty firm. Then again it always seems to nuke everywhere in march

Another smack for the west comin up. I say build those bases out there. :p Can't wait to get back out there.

March and April are heaven in the Rockies.

I believe the east will take a break and ramp up again late Jan/early Feb for a good overall season. Till then its man-made groomers for the most part. The snow making equipment is such that I agree these areas can bounce back quickly and provide a nice skiing surface.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ
 

bdfreetuna

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keep the faith
Just saw some photos Gore posted on Facebook and the conditions looked great. Good coverage in the woods and packed powder trails. Was kind of surprised because I don't usually pay attention to snowfall in that area.
 

VTKilarney

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Just saw some photos Gore posted on Facebook and the conditions looked great. Good coverage in the woods and packed powder trails. Was kind of surprised because I don't usually pay attention to snowfall in that area.
I drove the Northway today from the Canadian border to Albany. It's really surprising to see how much the snow levels can change in just a few miles. The mountains and the lake really play a role in snowfall in eastern New York.
 

drjeff

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some days my strategy is 1st chair to late in the day chair, other days (especially post thaw/freeze) it's 1st chair, 1st barstool! ;-)

As an Eastern skier, you learn to make the most out of the situation mother nature hands us!

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tnt1234

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If there is a solid base, sometimes it doesn't take much to wake a mountain up. I remember s few years ago, had two crappy days at stowe after a thaw/freeze, then hit MRG on the way home and 4-6" of snow made for a solid to great day.

Likewise, last year in that crap season, things were frozen solid, but Jay got 6" and we had a real nice day - trails scrapped off and were tough to crappy, but the woods were fun all day.
 

wtcobb

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I'm fairly used to the December-January thaw. Even two years ago with that vaunted winter we had a huge thaw during Christmas week and again toward the end of January before it seemed like it would never stop snowing in February. I think I got in more hiking than skiing from the end of December through January of that year.

A good start is definitely a tease and gets the stoke flowing high.
 
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