Fall Weather 2023

[saratogahalfday]

I know.

@MNIAW at TGR had this grave assessment on Magic yesterday:

I have to think Magic can survive a bad start to the season financially. They've diversified pretty well since they took over (weddings, mountain rentals, concerts, act). Yes, they've spent a lot on expanding the holding pond and getting the black chair up and almost operational, but season pass sales were strong this season and hopefully they presold some daily tickets.

One thing that could be an issue is I'm sure their commercial insurance rates continue to rise dramatically, given the recent flooding. I'm no expert in the VT market, but it has to be a pressure point for them these days.

 

[saratogahalfday]

Ugh this is horrible. I've only been into skiing for about 18 years but I never recall Bristol only having 1 run barely open or not even open by Christmas. My early years of skiing they'd have most trails if not all open for the period between Christmas and New Years. This is supposed to be a huge money period for them, so this is a huge financial hit. Yeah they're business is built for this but there's simply been a lot of years now strung together with warm weather.

I've been skiing for over 40 years now, and I can certainly remember some lost Decembers in the past. They are definitely more recent now.

Time to look north for my future skiing homes.

 

[Campgottagopee]

Now what? | ilsnow.com

Darrin at ilsnow.com says that El Niño remains large and in charge! Denying it won't change it.

ilsnow.com

 

[x10003q]

Prior to the major eastern areas going to 90% snowmaking with huge pumping capacity in the late 1980s, crap xmas weeks were fairly typical. Until the late 1980s, the only larger area that really could open the whole mountain after a warm weather event was Hunter. The Slutzky Brothers built a monster snowmaking system and always used it. Epic seems to have lost the key to the Slutzky's snowmaking plant.

 

[chumpomatic]

No need to worry too much, OpenSnow predicts 10 inches at Whiteface next Thursday and Friday!

 

[tirolski]

Prior to the major eastern areas going to 90% snowmaking with huge pumping capacity in the late 1980s, crap xmas weeks were fairly typical. Until the late 1980s, the only larger area that really could open the whole mountain after a warm weather event was Hunter. The Slutzky Brothers built a monster snowmaking system and always used it. Epic seems to have lost the key to the Slutzky's snowmaking plant.

During that same time snowmaking got much more efficient.

 

[TheGreatAbyss]

I know comparing trail counts is never apples to apples, but Belle with 30 open trails vs Hunter with 13 and Platty with ?2,3? shows just how important snowmaking fire power is becoming in the new normal. The calculation is no longer how much snow making do I need to cover X number of trails by Y date, but how much snow making power do I need to cover X number of trails overnight.

On the positive side all this water eliminates one constraint on snowmaking if mountains invest in reservoirs equipped to capture it.

 

[Campgottagopee]

Prior to the major eastern areas going to 90% snowmaking with huge pumping capacity in the late 1980s, crap xmas weeks were fairly typical.

Agree

This is nothing new

 

[Brownski]

Before snowmaking- back in the days of wooden skis, leather boots, ski trains, walking up the hill etc… there were years that had no skiing at all. The idea that it used to be cold all the time but now it’s warm is just wrong

 

[takeahike46er]

Misery loves company!

Not much better in the PNW. After multiple rain events and persistently high freezing levels, the base depths are now back down to where we were in November (which was an abysmal start).

Could you imagine traveling all this way to ski this?