TR: Give Us 6 Inches, and We’ll Schuss a Meter

By: Greg
January 11, 2011 2:55 pm | Category: Full Trip Report, Skiing | Permalink

Last week we put in our time studying the mountains of New Hampshire in order to schuss high alpine powder safely. Indeed, after hours of number crunching, a day of reconnaissance, and an evening of libations, in the end we arrived at New Hampshire’s magic mathematical secret: 1 inch=1 foot. For this trip we just tweaked a few parameters in our equations in order to tailor the calculations to Vermont. Then after we re-ran the simulations we discovered another surprising mathemagical fact: 6 inches (ok ok… 5 and a half)=1 meter. Discover more in the full TR:
click here for the full TR
Click the picture or here to read Give Us 6 Inches, and We’ll Schuss a Meter


The Coastal Report: Storm brings snow to same places as last time (But this time a lot more)

January 11, 2011 9:24 am | Category: Weather | 9 Comments | Permalink

Stop me if you’ve heard this before (and you have- here , here and here) : a deepening coastal low will bring snows to a large strech of the Northeast, however it’s inland reach is debatable.

WRAP-UP

Wow…what a storm. Sometimes things just blow up. And this one sure did. It was hard to keep up with its expansion as it deepened. I’ll be the first to admit the models and the forecasts (including mine) missed the boat on the 10 or so inches that fell in the ADK along with the heavy snow that fell deep into Northern NH. I’m happy with my morning update and it’s catch of the totals along the southern spine. I was a little low on the totals in the MRG region but wasn’t quite as slow updating and realizing some good snows would fall there as the NWS. Further North I under forecasted the totals in places like Jay and Stowe by about 50%. Can’t be perfect I suppose.
Anyway…brief wrap up of snow totals:

Cannon Mt: 24 inches
Bretton Woods: 18 inches
Wildcat: 20 inches
Loon: 12 inches
Waterville: 15 inches
Sunapee: 18+ inches
Cranmore 14 inches
Ragged: 18-24 inches

VT
Jay Peak: 15-19 inches
Mt Snow: 20 inches
Stowe: 9-12 inches
Killington: 17 inches
Okemo:14-16 inches
Sugarbush: 11-18 inches

ME
Sugarloaf: 8-10 inches (that little?)
Sunday River: 14 inches
Saddleback 18-20 inches

MA
Jiminy Peak: 22-32 inches
Wachusett: about 2 feet
Berkshire East 12+
Nashoba Valley: 13+ inches

UPDATE:

It’s inland reach is debatable no longer.  Upper level dynamics have pivoted the system and is driving precip towards the NW.  With an incredibly heavy band passing through Southern VT and the Berkshires, these areas will have little trouble reaching the higher end of the forecasted totals below. 12-16 inches of snow is likely in many places.  Further north The Green spine from K-Mart through MRV will see amts in double digits along east facing summits.  In the Mansfield region east facing slopes will see the highest totals and those will be in the 4-9 inch range with lesser amounts north.

Older Post:

Not much to say on this storm aside from what I already said.  Low pressure emerged off the NC coast, stole some energy from a weakening low on the western side of the Appalachian mountains and is deepening.  It will move up off the NJ coast and then head NE towards the Cape.  In doing so it will tap strong moisture feeds from the Atlantic and a deep cold conveyor belt from an cold high pressure to the North.  This will spike snowfall for a large portion of the NE.  Coastal areas from NYC though Boston are looking at some serious snows. 12-24 inches will be possible in this region through the end of the day Wednesday. 

Further to the north the snowfall is less clear.  There is a pretty wide model spread regarding the QPF totals for much of NY, VT and NH.  Using history as a guide and leaning towards a slightly more easterly track, I’m forecasting 6-12 for much of southern VT.  Perhaps a pocket or two of higher amounts are possible (say 14-16) if we get some decent orographic lift on the NE wind.  NY looks like the least likely to get significant snows. Catskills are in the 3-5 range with the ADK looking at just a few inches.  NH will have quite a spread.  Coastal and southern NH could see significant snows with a steep cutoff towards the North.  MTW and the Presi range will likely be in the 8 range.

I’ll update you as the storm kicks into high gear later today and tonight.

To respond to some of the comments below regarding upslope snow:

I actually think there will be a period of pretty strong upslope snow on the evening of the 12th and on into the early morning of the 13th.  Time/height analysis shows strong low and midlevel lift, saturation through the column and some very good temps for snow growth.  Ideally you want maximum vertical ascent through air that’s at or near saturation and temps between -10 and -15C to maximize dentritic growth.  While we’re at only -8C to -10c  along the spine and a little colder in the ADK that should be more than sufficient to get some nice flake shape.


UFO Sighting

January 11, 2011 7:37 am | Category: Quick Update, Skiing | 2 Comments | Permalink

Dwyer’s been absent from almost all of the FIS posts this winter.  And for good reason, his schussing skills have progressed to the point where he skis so quickly that he is nearly impossible to catch on film.  OR. And this is the more likely scenario, he gets so remarkably deep that it’s impossible to verify his presence in any reports.  He’s become the UFO of the Wasatch – The Unidentifiable Faceshot Obtainer.  Dwyer’s never refused a faceshot, and doesn’t plan to start declining them in the foreseeable future.  Unlike most UFOs – we know who this powder criminal is – we just can’t verify his existence.  That is, until now.

Sleuthing around the Wasatch, camera in hand, I found what I thought were frames of the masked powder pillager, yet when I returned home, I couldn’t tell for sure.  Here, see for yourself.

UFO

And again, I shot what I thought would amount to a crisp, clear sighting, and nothing.

sighting

I even snuck up behind him, but alas all I could see were his top sheets!

ufo top sheet sighting

These time tested ski photography techniques were not working.  All of the sudden I knew what all the loonies (not Canadian dollar notes) felt like, they knew they’d seen UFOs, they just didn’t  have any proof!

So I resorted to a new technique.  A yodeled into the wild, thick Wasatch forest, and with my best yodeling voice I said, “Young Dwyer, come out of the woods and stop being a poward [powder coward].  Show yourself.”  And, I heard back, almost immediately, “Yee shall be rewarded with the gift of my powder presence on one condition – if and only if, you agree to buy me as many Chicken Wings as I can consumer at the Iron Blossom.”  Promptly, I agreed, for what else was I going to do, shoot artsy shadows all day?

One. Two. Buckaroo.  Dwyer put the Famous, into Famous Internet Skiers right from the start.

FIS

waves of pow

He kept on coming until it was almost certain he’d shellack the lens with snow.

shellacking

A quick brotherly rendezvous occurred.  Dwyer repenting from his curmudgeoness, and myself welcoming him back into the fray.  He quickly set the agenda for the afternoon — proceeding to Dwyer’s private powder knob in the distance.

private powder

So this is where he’s been hiding.  He didn’t want me dilly dallying, nor taking pictures of the entrance to his hidden mountain.  I only scraped together one shot of the journey to this faceshot obtainer’s home.

obliger

The day was drawing to a close, and the sun was low on the horizon.  Just enough time for one lap through this heavenly place.  Dwyer figured if he was going to be on camera, he’d do it justice, damn it!  And so he did.

vertical

Dwyer find one last ribbon of light, and shredded the heck out of it.  Shredding lessons in.

3.

3

2.

shredding

1.

played

One last glimpse was caught on camera.  It’s been passed around a few of the quieter spots on the inter-webz, so if you’ve seen it, pardon me.  If you haven’t it’s been likened to Hermann Maier downhill fall in Nagano.

maier

Except. Dwyer didn’t crash.  Reeled it right in and kept skiing, like the champion he is.  Here’s to verifiable, yet hard to find skiers who know how to get deep, and stay there!

If you haven’t caught up with what Greg and Ben are up to, check it out.  Earn your turns right along with them.  AND check out Allen and his Goats, and a spectacular shot of a stupendous sunset.


Goat Mtn, A Perfect Day

By: Allen
January 10, 2011 6:18 pm | Category: Skiing | Comment | Permalink

Brian, Tyler, and I hit the jackpot yesterday. We had a day that was as close to perfection as I have come in a long time. It all started out when we were easily able to drive the 3 mile approach that we though we would have to skin. Things just got better from there. The dryland hike was a breeze and we gained vert quickly and efficiently. When we reached snow line we hit quality powder in no time.

Puffy clouds were rolling around the valleys all day but none of them lingered where we were.

The runs were superb.

We got to the top of our last skin just as the alpenglow was starting to work its way up the face.

It was a perfect day… Too bad Sam had to work.

There are no pictures of the skiing because that’s all video… so stay tuned.


Deeper Sleeper

By: Greg
January 10, 2011 5:27 pm | Category: Quick Update, Skiing | 7 Comments | Permalink

Today was one of those sleeper days… just deeper.
Ben gets deeper on a sleeper day
Continue reading Deeper Sleeper


  1. Older Stuff:
  3. 1
  4. ...
  5. 58
  6. 59
  7. 60
  8. 61
  9. 62
  10. 63
  11. 64
  12. ...
  13. 137
Stay in touch: Click here to follow us on Twitter. Click here to subscribe for updates to be delivered via RSS. Click here to become a fan on Facebook. Click here to read and share real time weather observations. Learn more over at the account. It's awesome. We promise!