Hi All,

Yesterday's rain froze overnight as temps dropped into the 20's and created a dense fog this am. Skiing was rough early - frozen granular with only a minimal amount of trails groomed and very dense fog from the wine deck on up to the top. Where was Marty G in his bright yellow jacket when I needed him to lead the way? It was a damp cold 28 at the summit. The snow didn't soften and visibilty did not improve until 11 am when the fog lifted and some hazy sun came through. The mtn was deserted except for a few die hards and crazies. It is now 42 but cloudy and I am sure that the surface softened considerably. There was alot of snow lost yesterday and many brown / bare spots are spreading fast like the plague. The mtn has announced in its newsletter today that pond skimming is scheduled for Sat April 4 and closing day Sat April 11 (let's see about that!). Sun April 5 the mtn will honor any other mtn's season pass. Heavy cold rain & strong wind due tonight into tomorrow - yech! Tomorrow March 11, Ethel turns 92 - happy b'day.

Ski or rather slush on...!

Jon

Detailed Local Forecast

• Today: Overcast. Slight chance of an afternoon shower. Temps nearly steady in the low to mid 30s. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.
• Tonight: A mix of rain and freezing rain...changing to all freezing rain overnight. Low around 30F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of precip 80%.
• Tomorrow: Occasional rain tapering to a few showers late. High 44F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.
• Tomorrow night: Partly cloudy skies. Low 19F. Winds WNW at 15 to 25 mph.
• Thursday: Partly cloudy. Highs in the low 30s and lows in the low teens.
• Friday: Times of sun and clouds. Highs in the low 30s and lows in the upper teens.
• Saturday: More sun than clouds. Highs in the upper 30s and lows in the low 20s.

Hi All,

Heavy rains overnight and into this am combined with some mid-day wet snow left the mtn in a misty fog all day so needless to say yours truly did not venture out on the mtn today. I can tell you there are more brown & bare spots and the runoff from those small streams is substantial. The weather this whole week looks very changeable and will affect conditions hourly but hey............this is March! Hopefully tomorrow will bring a better skiing opportunity.

For those of you sitting in an office, you ain't missin' nuttin today - call it a bottom 5 day.

Ski ya,

Jon

Detailed Local Forecast

• Tonight: Mostly cloudy. Low around 20F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
• Tomorrow: Mostly cloudy skies early. A few showers developing later in the day. High 36F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
• Tomorrow night: Cloudy with light freezing rain expected...becoming heavier overnight. Low 28F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precip 70%.
• Wednesday: A mix of rain and freezing rain in the morning. Rain in the afternoon. High 41F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precip 80%.
• Thursday: Mix of rain and freezing rain. Highs in the low 40s and lows in the low 20s.
• Friday: Mostly Cloudy. Highs in the low 30s and lows in the low teens.

Spring has arrived in a hurry. The temp was 45 overnight and is now 60 (yes 60!) with a warm breeze as the rain dried up before reaching us this am. Rain would have been good as it would have washed the glue out of the recent new snow. The forecasters got it wrong as there is an inversion with much warmer temps on the mtn than down in the valley towns. The sun is out and the snow is melting fast. Skiing was very slow and the snow was sticky like glue so not enjoyable for me today. Many of you have been asking about the closing date and the answer is.......none set yet, as mgmt explained to me, it depends on "economics". They will not run at a loss for even a day. You can bet it will be sometime between April 5 & 12. Remember last year....they unexpectedly closed April 6 without notice / warning until Mon April 7th. Pond skimming most likely the 4th or 5th of April. Milan's Perfect Lift Restaurant will host its annual pig roast / old skis bond fire April11.

Ski on.......

Jon

Detailed Local Forecast

• Today: Cloudy. High 41F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph.
• Tonight: Cloudy. Low around 30F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.
• Tomorrow: Mostly cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy in the afternoon. High 48F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.
• Tomorrow night: Periods of rain. Low 36F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
• Sunday: Showers. Highs in the low 50s and lows in the mid 20s.
• Monday: Showers possible. Highs in the mid 30s and lows in the low 20s.
• Tuesday: Partly cloudy. Highs in the upper 30s and lows in the upper 20s.

Sweeeeet! A carbon copy of yesterday but with higher temps - now about 42 with hot sun, blue sky, no wind and courderoy grooming. Too bad it may come to a screeching halt with a wet system due to arrive late tonight for tomorrow. Skiing was hard and fast early but quickly softened in the sun. Claire's and Apurna were both closed due to ice but Wayout via Whitecloud was sweet. The whole front side was good - no trail better than another. There was a small quad line today - a first for a Thursday, as many played hooky to get in some spring skiing before the rains come. Suntan lotion was a must today on the deck where you could sit in just a T-shirt. Good luck to the 40 of you who are heading to Aspen this weekend with the Jimmy Sturr Travel group. Take a look at the news video of chairlift problems in Snowbird, Utah yesterday.

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=12340157&ch=4226713&src=news

Ski on...........

Jon

Detailed Local Forecast

• Today: Sunshine and clouds mixed. Temps nearly steady around 30. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph.
• Tonight: Cloudy with periods of light freezing rain after midnight. Low 23F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precip 50%.
• Tomorrow: Periods of rain and freezing rain early...then cloudy with a few rain showers in the afternoon. High near 40F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precip 40%.
• Tomorrow night: Mostly cloudy skies. Low around 30F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.
• Saturday: Occasional showers possible. Highs in the low 40s and lows in the mid 30s.
• Sunday: Chance of showers. Highs in the low 50s and lows in the upper 30s.
• Monday: Occasional showers possible. Highs in the upper 30s and lows in the mid 20s.

Wow ! Another top 5 day with great sun, no clouds, no wind, no people, lots of nice groomed powder and temps into the upper 20's. What else could you ask for? OK, OK a foot of snow would have been nice too..... but hey! The 70+ club race was on Madison today and there were alot of PSIA instructors and wannabees on the slopes mainly standing around in little groups doing nothing as usual. Skiing was effortless and enjoyable on all trails except Claire's which once again was more glare ice than snow. Cliff / Racer's was again my favorite of the day tho not by much over other front side trails. The snow makers were dragging the last of the hoses down the mtn today. The legs gave out and hunger set in before the desire to keep skiing. Tomorrow should be another super sweet day before the nasty weather arrives by Friday. FYI - Hunter has posted the following for this weekend in their newsletter:

Sat, Mar 7
Catskill Mountain Series Skier & Boardercross
Park & Pipe Workshop
Women Only Workshop

Sun, Mar 8
Catskill Mountain Series Halfpipe Finals
Park & Pipe Workshop
Women Only Workshop

Ski ya,

Jon

Detailed Local Forecast

• Today: A mix of clouds and sun. High 23F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph.
• Tonight: Some passing clouds. Low 4F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.
• Tomorrow: Mostly sunny skies. High near 30F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.
• Tomorrow night: Cloudy with periods of light freezing rain later at night. Low 21F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precip 50%.
• Friday: Morning rain/ice mixed. Highs in the mid 30s and lows in the upper 20s.
• Saturday: Occasional showers possible. Highs in the low 40s and lows in the upper 30s.
• Sunday: Showers. Highs in the low 40s and lows in the upper 20s.

Brrrrrrr! Bitter cold but very nice powdery surface conditions with brilliant sun after about 6" of dry powder yesterday which only starting to get scraped off late morning. We had some spring skiing in Feb and now we have winter conditions in March. The wind was moderate and stronger on the bottom than the top with temps only reaching 18 at the base by 1 pm and 0 (up from -6) at the summit. Grooming was spotty but the powder was actually better where they didn't groom. Rt. 80 was quite nice but Claire's was more shine than snow and Apurna was closed. On the front, Hgate & Eside were the best trails down to B'way, Ike, Kennedy & Gunhill all of which were nice. I was actually surprised how well the new snow held up considering the wind but the crowds have been very light. It will stay very cold until Fri when some wet stuff is due to move in for the weekend - yech! Once clocks are moved ahead on Sat the Mtn will stay open until 5 pm on Sat's only from March 14 till close and yes Buckwheat, that means the west side will also stay open an hour later. Just a reminder that you can also see my reports and add comments/info on my blog site: http://hunterskiscene.blogspot.com/

Ski ya,

Jon

Detailed Local Forecast

• Today: Sunshine and clouds mixed. Very cold. High 14F. Winds NW at 15 to 25 mph.
• Tonight: Partly cloudy. Low 2F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph.
• Tomorrow: Sunshine and clouds mixed. High 23F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph.
• Tomorrow night: Partly cloudy. Low 7F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.
• Thursday: Times of sun and clouds. Highs in the low 30s and lows in the low 20s.
• Friday: Showers possible. Highs in the upper 30s and lows in the mid 20s.
• Saturday: Occasional showers possible. Highs in the upper 30s and lows in the mid 20s.

Hi All,

It has been a very strange weather day. As of 8 am we only had about an inch of light snow (schools had a 2 hr delayed opening) but around 9 it started snowing and blowing heavy with an inch an hour and still near blizzard conditions with temps around 18. The roads are currently all white and the wind is drifting the super light snow. Visibility is poor, FYI - I can't see the mtn from my house. Skiing was fun, somewhat tricky but very cold as there were very few people and the new snow / wind kept filling in the earlier tracks which was good because as you all know there is nothing but ice underneath. The most frequented trails were scraped off in the middle so one must stay on the sides to enjoy the powder. The west side was equally as good as the front even tho a bit more windy - as usual. Best snow accumulated on Minya, Eside & Drop-off.

The rest of the week looks to be very cold and windy until Friday which will preserve the base as night time temps drop into single digits. Localmotion # 5 was held today on Madison and I was told the course was extremely icy and alot of racers wiped out. The race party is at White Star. The drawing late yesterday for the free trip for two to Telluride was won by Barbara Schultz after the first 3 names picked were not present to win and the fourth, Jeff Buelich, was disqualified for having gone on a previous trip won by his fiance now his wife - bummer! Tomorrow could be sweet squeaky powder but bitter cold skiing if groomed well.

Ski ya,

Jon

Detailed Local Forecast

• Today: Periods of snow. Very cold. High 13F. Winds NNW at 15 to 25 mph. 1 to 2 inches of additional snow expected.
• Tonight: Mainly cloudy with snow showers around this evening. Wind chills approaching -15F. Low 2F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 40%.
• Tomorrow: Mostly cloudy skies. Very cold. Wind chills approaching -15F. High around 15F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph.
• Tomorrow night: Partly cloudy. Low 2F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.
• Wednesday: Partly cloudy. Highs in the low 20s and lows in the upper single digits.
• Thursday: Partly cloudy. Highs in the upper 20s and lows in the low 20s.
• Friday: Showers. Highs in the mid 30s and lows in the upper 20s.