Hunter update

Hi All,

Snow guns were turned on early this am as temps dipped into the mid 20's. We are now experiencing a natural snowfall / dusting as temps sit near 34 but no real accumulation expected tho it is sticking to the ground. Weather prediction is for rain on Wed night into Thursday before turning colder again. See below forecasts.

Don't forget that all reports are posted to my blogsite ( http://hunterskiscene.blogspot.com/ ) and comments are welcome there as well.

Ski ya soon,

Jon

First Warning Forecast (wnyt Albany)

Temperatures will turn fairly chilly tonight behind a cold front sliding South of Long Island and New England. Skies may slowly clear from North to South overnight. Low temperatures will slide into the teens in the Adirondacks and Green Mts, and the 20s elsewhere.

We'll have a mix of sun and clouds tomorrow with highs in the lower 40's. Wednesday starts off nice before the clouds increase during the late afternoon. Rain will arrive with the next system Wednesday night and Thursday with colder air to follow heading into the upcoming weekend.

Detailed Local Forecast (weather.com for 12442)

• Today: Snow showers this morning becoming more scattered later. High 37F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 40%.
• Tonight: Partly cloudy skies. Low 26F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.
• Tomorrow: Sunshine early then becoming cloudy later in the day. High near 45F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.
• Tomorrow night: Windy with evening showers evolving to a steady, soaking rain later at night. Low 38F. Winds SE at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
• Thursday: Windy with showers ending. Highs in the low 50s and lows in the upper 20s.
• Friday: A few snow showers. Highs in the upper 30s and lows in the low 20s.
• Saturday: Mostly cloudy. Highs in the low 30s and lows in the low 20s.

Salomon binding safety recall

Hi All - sorry forgot to include the below link to this safety recall for those of you with Salomon skis (thanks to Mike Scharf for this).

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10045.html

Jon

Hunter ski report - tentative opening Dec 5-6

Hi All (75 of you now on the list) and welcome to season 3 of my ski reports.

As you know the weather has not cooperated for snow making. It is 56 here now and partially sunny but with rain and warmer than normal temps predicted for the next 5 days at least. Other than a few new snow making guns, pumping stations and some paint on the lifts there has been no major work on the slopes over the summer.

The Zip line project is a signed deal but unfortunately construction has been delayed until spring.

The following is official from the Hunter website today:

Mother Nature has not been at her best lately, but after lots of time and speculation we've got a tentative opening date: December 5 - 6, 2009! The guns & crew are reading for snowmaking, which could begin as early as this weekend.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and pray for snow / colder temps.

Ski ya soon I hope,

Jon

First Warning Forecast (From NBC WNYT Albany Ch 13)

High pressure over the Canadian Maritimes will bring more clouds, areas of fog and drizzle and a few rain showers to the Capital District for the next few days. There could be a few breaks of sun from time to time and highs will reach into the lower to mid 50's through tomorrow.

The next storm will move into the Great Lakes on Thursday. We will stay mainly dry with just a couple of showers possible in the evening. Highs will be in the lower 50's.

On Friday, that storm will transfer its energy to the East Coast. A secondary storm will form near the Delmarva Peninsula. The exact track and strength of this storm will determine our weather. Right now it looks like a cold rain for Friday with highs in the lower 40's.

It will turn windy and cold for Saturday. Look for rain and snow showers behind the storm with highs near 40 and in the mid 40's with a mix of sun and clouds on Sunday.

Detailed Local Forecast (weather.com for 12442 Hunter)

• Today: Considerable cloudiness. High 47F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph.
• Tonight: Mostly cloudy skies. Low 33F. Winds light and variable.
• Tomorrow: Cloudy. High 49F. Winds light and variable.
• Tomorrow night: A few showers early with overcast skies late. Low 38F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%.
• Thursday: Cloudy. Highs in the upper 40s and lows in the upper 30s.
• Friday: Snow. Highs in the upper 30s and lows in the upper 20s.
• Saturday: Snow showers possible. Highs in the upper 30s and lows in the upper 20s.

Zip Line Update

Hi All,

I attended The Town of Hunter planning board meeting last night at which the project was presented, discussed and approved. There will be a public hearing on the issue in 2 weeks as required by state law but that is just a matter of formality. Construction can commence after the meeting and the first phase (of three) which would be the challenge (obstacle) course near the base lodge could be completed by end December weather permitting. The other two phases would be built in the spring. The zip line course from the top of the mtn will be the longest in the world consisting of six zip lines zig-zagging 3 miles and terminating near the top of "C" lift. They are studying installing parallel zip lines so two can zip along side by side but independently. The courses will be open 365 days a year employing about 25 people during lift hour operations subject to weather conditions. They will provide a small fleet of back-up six wheel drive army type all terrain vehicles which can transport 12 people at a time up or down the mtn in the event of lift failure (which we all know is a given). No zip lines or canopy lines will criss-cross the slopes or require any tree line cuts. The zip line weight limits per person: 60 lbs min / 260 lbs max (sorry Victor) - no age limit. This is the single largest project on the mtn top since the mtn was developed for skiing. If successful, more such projects can be developed on the west side. Paul Slutzky spearheaded this so when you see him, please show your appreciation.

Zipping along soon,

Jon

Hunter - big news!

Hi All - hope your summer has gone well in spite of the unusual cool rainy weather.

Big news from Hunter - finally they are taking steps for year round activites.

Hunter has entered into an agreement with an Int'l Eco Tour Company (Canopy Tours Inc. - New York Zips) to set up zipline canopy tours on the mtn.

There will be a zipline tour starting from the top, a canopy tour from midway and a challenge course at the base. Once permits are secured it will take 3 -4 months to install and train personnel. The zip lines will start from the edge of the cliff somewhere near the Rip Van Winkle sculpture and zig zag down the mtn via a series of zips over the gulley to the skiers right of K-27 and end somewhere near the top of Mossy Brook. The canopy tour will be located between Hunter One and Mossy Brook over the stream. The challenge course will be set up between the base lodge and the Liftside Condos / D-lift. This project was just presented to the Village Planning Board (of which I am a member) last night and will go in front of the Town Board Tuesday Sept 1. This company chose Hunter over Windham as a partner after many months of talks with Windham. This company has similar facilities in NH near Loon Mtn and on the island of Jamaica among other locations.

Keep your fingers crossed and stay tuned................

This is a bigger customer draw than what I first thought. The operators of the Zip Line near Loon have a great site to get a feel for what could be in the future for Hunter: http://www.alpinezipline.com/

This site covers the "Best Zip Line Tours - Top Ten in the USA".

http://www.americasbestonline.net/index.php/pages/ziplinetours.html

Ski ya soon,

Jon

Please note the following sad news which I was asked to pass along to you all:

Karen Sanderson's Father Lyle Sanderson passed this past Saturday.

Karen's address is

2-7 Cresent Drive

Thiells, NY 10984

The wake is Tuesday June 2 from 3 to 5 and from 7 to 9 at

W. J. Lyons Funeral Home

1700 Washington Ave.

Rensselaer NY 518-286-3400

Wednesday at 10am will be a service at the Lyons Funeral Home followed by the burial service.

In lieu of flowers please contribute to

American Lung Association

3 Winners Circle

Albany NY 12205

I am saddened to let everyone know that Dan Macilwain, former Ranger and Ambassador, passed away on April 2nd while fishing on his boat in Florida. Carol is on her way back from Florida to Greenville but is not taking any calls at this time as she is still in shock. Cards may be sent to:

Carol Macilwain

19 S Court Drive

Greenville, New York 12083

Sandie and Howie Vipler