Hunter March 18 - winter storm warning

Hello Hunter Fans,

I hope everyone enjoyed their St Patrick's Day. Temps dipped to 9 last night but with the sun out early and no wind it rose quickly to 33 now.  Clouds have moved in with a front that should bring us some wet March snow tonight:   5 - 8" is the latest forecast. Grooming was excellent and skiing was fast on a frozen granular surface - it was an ego day.  Snow Forecast:

 

 

It will be cold through the rest of the week:  http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Hunter&state=NY&site=ALY&lat=42.2112&lon=-74.2157

and  http://www.ctweather.com/wrip-weather.php

 

Wish I could call it a powder alert but it looks too wet for that.

So much for an early spring,

Jon

Hunter March 15

Hi All,

Remember the words whispered to Caesar "Beware the ides of March" - well today there was nothing to beware of - yesterday's brutal arctic dark cold windy weather is gone. The sun was out early and strong with just a light breeze and temps were 20 overnight but 30 by the time the lift opened. The grooming was excellent and the surface conditions were hard, fast, flat, easy & enjoyable. Cliff/Racer's or Ike - great as was HBK and the Eside trails. There was no ice although Claire's had a bit of a shine to it and Wayout was in great shape. Where it wasn't groomed looked like moonscape. Not much coverage left on 44 or Apurna which were closed. The sun disappeared around 11:30 and it is snowing lightly now at 33. Looks like cold weather will preserve the snow for the weekend but you need good edges. Forecasts:  http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Hunter&state=NY&site=ALY&lat=42.2112&lon=-74.2157  or  http://www.ctweather.com/wrip-weather.php  Sunday - St. Patty's day, looks to be the sunnier of the two.

Movies:  http://www.catskillmtn.org/retail/movie-theater/index.html

Last weekend for Bear Creek - reservations recommended.

Watch out for that green beer and local law enforcement but stay thirsty my friends,

Jon

Hunter March 13

Hi All,

We had 2" of rain yesterday and the temps dropped to 29 last night (21 on top). I went out at 10 this am and called it quits after 1 run. Grooming was done on all trails except Racer's, Claire's & Alternate, Whitecloud, UpperK & Dropoff.  Although the sun is out now and it is 42 it was very cloudy this am and the surface was very variable / deep heavy granular sugar with marbles and occasional ice. Where the water ponded near the bottom of "F" and under the upper section of "B" it was a frozen lake.  The mtn was like a ghost town. The weather will turn much colder over the next few nights with some flurries possible and high wind as a cold front moves in.

Forecast:  http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Hunter&state=NY&site=ALY&lat=42.2112&lon=-74.2157  or http://www.ctweather.com/wrip-weather.php

Weekend movies:  http://www.catskillmtn.org/retail/movie-theater/index.html

Keep those edges sharp.

Jon

Hunter March 12

Hello Hunter fans,

Rain, rain go away.....It has taken a significant toll on the mtn as brown and bare spots appear.  All of the snow that fell last week is gone and then some. Front lawns are visible again for the first time in months. Those who skied yesterday am said it was only possible and good but heavy where it was groomed and not many trails were groomed. It was 50 yesterday and low 40's overnight with a temp now of 48, heavy rain, high winds and poor visibility. It has been raining hard since last night and typical of March, freezing temps in the 20's and teens are forecast for tonight thru the weekend nights.

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Hunter&state=NY&site=ALY&lat=42.2112&lon=-74.2157  or   http://www.ctweather.com/wrip-weather.php

Streams and creeks are high and getting higher as ice dams break up - flood warnings have been issued for the entire region.

This will be the last weekend for Bear Creek managed by The Lazy Swan as the seasonal lease ends so make reservations if you plan on dining there.

Better sharpen your edges again for the up-coming St. Patty's Day weekend.

Ski ya,

Jon

Hunter March 8 - powder day

Hi All,

The snow storm unexpectedly stalled over us and the snow has been coming down heavily all day so far. We will end up with about 10". Schools are closed and the streets including 23A are still all white - no significant plowing yet.The temp has slowly climbed from 25 to about 31 now and the wind has been steady at about 10 - 15 mph.  Very few trails were groomed and skiing I hear is alot of work with compromised visibility. The west side is better than the front as A'purna has opened and 44 is back on the open list. 

Expect warmer temps Sat and Sun with sunny skies for the Winter Carnival.

Movies:  http://www.catskillmtn.org/retail/movie-theater/index.html

Weather: http://www.cbs6albany.com/weather/features/7day/    or  http://www.ctweather.com/wrip-weather.php

Wax your skis,

Jon

Hunter March 5

Hi All,

After a miserable weather day yesterday that didn't warrant skiing, today started off cold 27 and cloudy with top 1/3 of the mtn in a fog but finally - no wind. After waiting an hour for some brightness to work its way in, the first two runs were still dominated by flat light.  The surface was great, soft, no ice, very well groomed. It got brighter and warmer with each run until the sun broke through and brought the temp up to 40. There were no crowds and no lines. Even the trails that had not been groomed like upper K and Eside were okay.  Best runs: Cliff to either Racer's or Ike and Rt 80. Did not ski Claire's as wasn't sure about the upper part - it had not been groomed. Some crazy daredevil on skis went thru the closed signs on 44 and was slowly working his way down the fence line - it was not well covered.

Hunter has a big winter carnival weekend coming up:

http://echo3.bluehornet.com/hostedemail/email.htm?CID=14769742023&ch=DC86D7DD43B77EAA3E5FA8D46595DF0E&h=8022e99faddd82a4a140ea56dfac21cf&ei=WWNsAqkNj

The weather for the rest of the week does not look that good with mixed snow & rain predicted but no accumulation:

http://www.cbs6albany.com/weather/features/7day/  or   http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Hunter&state=NY&site=ALY&lat=42.2112&lon=-74.2157

Ski on....Party on!

Jon

Hunter March 1

Hi All,

Did someone say crunchy? Yes it was frozen corduroy, noisy and fast with very poor visibility as low clouds dominated the day. Temps were 30 overnight and 34 now with occasional flurries. Wind was not a factor.  Reliable sources said grooming was sub-par but I was told that the entire mtn including Claire's and Racer's will get a facial tonight. I was told that good (not great) runs included WhiteCloud to Wayout. The trails were scraped off early and one had to stay to the sides to get the "sugar" otherwise it was slick city. The mtn was empty for a Friday. The weekend weather looks to be mostly cloudy with temps in the low to mid 30's.

Forecasts: http://www.cbs6albany.com/weather/features/7day/      http://www.ctweather.com/wrip-weather.php

For those of you who have AT&T as a cell phone carrier you will be happy to hear that they will add a dish to the older communication tower on top of the mtn very soon.

Movies:   http://www.catskillmtn.org/retail/movie-theater/index.html

Ski on.....

Jon