is december gonna be a wash

[skidbump]

Kinda lookin like a suck ass next few weeks and with me being able to ski 7 days a weeks it really sucks sittin and waitin for friggin cold weather...belleayre 12/12 was spring conditions"good spring conditions" but i want cold..i want bitter cold..i want it so cold that only the die hards go out and all little kids are crying cause they have frozen hands and feet.....sorry needed to rant

thanks
Pat

 

[nelsapbm]

Today is certainly going to be a wash. The one good thing to come out of it is that I won't have to take my car through the car wash this week.

 

[Greg]

I said this about November too. Better now than in January. However, I would still like to see some better bases being built right now. Nevertheless, the ski areas are doing a great job putting down the snow when they can. I too would like cold weather, but I'd rather have consistent long-term cold over a 2-3 week cold snap and then a warm-up again. I'm not saying that since Nov. and Dec. had these warm spells that it won't warm up later in the winter, but I'm at least hoping it will stay cold once it gets cold. All in all, I'm still optimistic, and at least we are able to slide around on something unlike the middle of November.

 

[threecy]

If this keeps up, get ready for higher ticket prices next year! Costs are way up and revenues are way down, across the board.

 

[thetrailboss]

I just hope that the pattern switches back soon. We were saying in November, "better now than later," and now we are saying that again. But if this keeps up, there won't be any season left to wait for

So far, the weather up here is not too bad. It is foggy and rainy, but Killington has a solid base and the temps are looking to get colder later this week.

 

[CapeSkier]

I know it has been better in the past, but isn't December always a dicey proposition? More reliable weather usually hits in January. I don't like it either, but chances are very good that this whole thing will be moot a couple of weeks from now.

 

[Vortex]

You know.... Can't contol it. At least you can get out if you want to. I'm lookign forward to this weekend as much as any other ski weekend.

 

[SKIQUATTRO]

better start getting colder and snowing, dont want my Smuggs trip mid Jan to be a wash,,,,,,

 

[loafer89]

Last friday night was downright delightful and I have been waiting all summer for painfully cold weather, but the 180 degree turn around to warmer weather by saturday afternoon was depressing. I am only 35 years old, but I cannot remember such a quick hitting and modifying shot of Artic air.

Half of December has already been a wash, and I am not very hopefull for the rest of the month.

At least we have spring skiing in mid-December:lol:

 

[andyzee]

This winter really sucks, I mean it's too warm, there's no snow, we got rain, a late start to season. Price of gas is up, why drive to the mountains and spend money on these crappy conditions. My suggestion is that everyone put away their equipment and stay home for the rest of the season, hey, there's always next year. Cut your losses, aggravation is no good for you health. As far as this season goes, don't worry about it, I'll be a trooper. I promise to get out as much as I can and take as many pics of all the crappy conditions and report back to you as much as possible. Remember, there's always next year.

 

[thetrailboss]

You know.... Can't contol it. At least you can get out if you want to. I'm lookign forward to this weekend as much as any other ski weekend.

I agree. I can't complain. Have five days under my belt so far for this season. Last two were really good.

But I understand that the original author is in a situation where he is trying to ski in the Catskills, which are south of where I am.

 

[Jean-Pierre Skier]

My ski shop guys did some research about historical weather patterns in the VT - NH area over the past couple of decades. It seems as if these types of weather patterns in November - December aren't unusual and often lead to snowy and cold weather in January-March. Remember two years ago? We had the same thing. No snow in November - Mid January and then we got dumped on every week through March. A great ski year.

Just keep avoiding the rocks until the snow comes!

 

[loafer89]

I Also think that we have a good chance a cold and snowy January-February, but a good portion of the ski season will already have been lost by that point and more importantly this current warm weather, especially in the big cities keeps people from thinking about skiing as much as they could be and this may hit ski area bottom lines quite hard.

Last year the skiing from mid-January through March was largely uncrowded because alot of the average joe skiers gave up on the season after a lousy December and MLK weekend. At least this was my observation with skiing in the Poconos, Catskills and Greens after that time period,

 

[Jean-Pierre Skier]

I Also think that we have a good chance a cold and snowy January-February, but a good portion of the ski season will already have been lost by that point and more importantly this current warm weather, especially in the big cities keeps people from thinking about skiing as much as they could be and this may hit ski area bottom lines quite hard.

Last year the skiing from mid-January through March was largely uncrowded because alot of the average joe skiers gave up on the season after a lousy December and MLK weekend. At least this was my observation with skiing in the Poconos, Catskills and Greens after that time period,

I thought that by moving from sales of day lift tickets to inexpensive season passes like the All East Pass and the S-S-O Value Pass, the big ski companies in Vermont and New Hampshire are effectively locking in their revenue from ticket sales. Now, smaller crowds do hurt them in the concessions and lodging areas of their income statements, but I'm not sure it's as disasterous as a bad snow year used to be for the mountains. Thoughts?

 

[ski_resort_observer]

Season Pass sales is important revenue for ski resorts in August/Sept/October that they need to get things going. Xmas is critical and I can only assume that people are starting to call to cancel their holiday trips or try to. Alot of Xmas vacations have very restrictive cancellation policies so if you don't take action at least 2 weeks prior to your arrival it's going to cost you alot to cancel later.

Last year in Vermont skier visits were down 6%, with kmart down 19% and Mt Snow down 15%. So far this year it isn't getting any better.

The other night there was an interesting show on the History Channel that showed there was a global warm-up 900-1300AD following by the "Little Ice Age". That's how Greenland got it's name from the Vikings arriving when the place was full of grasses and other foliage. When the "little Ice Age" came it killed the Vikings off. So don't dispair, if history is any judge, this warm-up will be over in 3-400 years....

 

[goldsbar]

I don't have any Xmas plans but I'm hesitating on booking a mid-January vacation to Sugarbush/MRG. Not driving 5+ hours for a few groomers... I can find that in the Catskills. My guess is many others are doing the same.

 

[loafer89]

My thinking is that if ski conditions are still the same as they are right now at this time next month, ie, little natural snow and mostly snowmaking groomers, this ski season will be in trouble.

I would say that in regard to season pass sales, better than 75% of the skiers that I saw at Sugarloaf and Sunday River last weekend where season pass holders. Who would want to pay full price to ski on limited terrain?

I never thought I would say this, but so far this season is worse than last year.:x

That will not stop me from skiing, last night was alot of fun, the snow was great for carving, and the temperatures where very comfortable for a night in Mid-December.

There is always the trip to Colorado in February to look forward to:grin:

 

[from_the_NEK]

In my opinion as the natural snowdepths are again shrinking, this winter is so far mirroring the 2001-2002 season better than the 2004-2005 season. In the below graphs you can see that natural snow depths on Mt. Mansfield nearly bottomed out for over a month in November and December.
For more go to: http://www.uvm.edu/skivt-l/?Page=mansel.php3

2004-2005 (black line is 2006)

2001-2002

 

[Greg]

I never thought I would say this, but so far this season is worse than last year.:x

Absolutely. Last December was fnatastic. It's still too early to compare seasons.

 

[loafer89]

Absolutely. Last December was fnatastic. It's still too early to compare seasons.

Yep, I remember powder skiing at Killington on the 17th of the month and we also had a nice dump for Thanksgiving as well.

Sugarloaf was a total disapointment on saturday, and looking up at all of the delicious terrain higher up on the mountain was enough to make me want to :sad: