Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Hunter Dec 26 - POWDER ALERT

Hi All,
I hope you are enjoying the holidays.
There is a winter weather advisory posted for 7 pm tonight thru 7 PM Thursday with minimum 6-10 inches expected but could be alot more. Surface conditions have been good with snow making around the clock and it has not been too crowded considering the holiday.....so far at least. Visibility has been poor with cloud cover most of the time. New trails including the west side are opening daily.
For those of you new to my postings please note I only ski early mornings and report on those conditions. Conditions, weather and surface, at Hunter can change hourly as you all well know with either new snow, scraped off hardpack or very soft spring-like snow.
Ski ya soon,
Jon
 
 
** Nearly all of the NewsChannel 13 viewing area is under a winter storm warning from tonight through Thursday night  **
 

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Hunter News 12/20

Hi All,
Get ready for some rough weather (see below). The ski conditions are poor - frozen granular, sugary, bumpy and chunky at best. I do not ski when it is defensive and one has to use all of one's skills to survive. Yes, it is sunny out but recent high winds with cold nights / warm days made it very hard & icy with narrow paths to navigate. The groomers do not have enough base to really dig down and crunch it up.
Long range forecast calls for cold snow making weather next week.
Happy Holidays!
 
WNYT Albany - 
Winter Storm Watch is in effect This Evening thru Friday Morning for most of Warren County, Hamilton, and Northern Herkimer Counties . . .
High Wind Watch is in effect Late Tonight thru Friday Afternoon for the Greene County & Ulster County Catskills, The Berkshires, Southern Vermont, and Essex County.
Snow & Sleet: High terrain of the Catskills - Coating to an inch of snow/sleet tonight into Friday.  4 to 8" of snow & sleet will be possible across the higher terrain of the Adirondacks.
Winter begins "offically" on Friday at 6:12 AM . . .

Friday, December 14, 2012

Hunter News 12/14

HI All,
As expected another perfect weather day to ski. There was fresh powder on H-B-K but the Belt was still a disaster - it needs some serious grooming. Temps got into the teens last night but 40 now with brilliant sun. Although there was no line at the lift, Hgate was getting a bit busy and was scraped off by 11 am. Fresh snow was made on LowerCross and Minya which are scheduled to open tomorrow. Hunter One was also covered. There has been no snow making on any other trails yet.
The Copper Tree bar and restaurant should be open for the weekend of Dec 22-23.
The weather for Sat looks very nice but there will be a change as mixed precip comes in Sun thru Tuesday - at best it will be wet snow.
WNYT Albany Forecast http://wnyt.com/article/708/
Thanks to those of you signing on to my blog as "followers" but I need many more to do so. http://hunterskiscene.blogspot.com/
Ski ya,
Jon
 

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Hunter News Dec 13

Hello All,
Putting things in perspective, today was the best day of skiing so far. Brilliant sun, nice powder blown from mid station on down and Hgate was flat, firm but softened by 11. Temps were in the low 20's last night but 40 now. Snow can only be blown at night.
Belt was the worst trail - dark, frozen, crunchy and very variable mainly due to a water line break up there last night. There are no other trails on the main mtn even close to opening. There is snow on Minya but not much on Lower Cross. The weather looks great for Friday and part of Saturday but Sunday could be a mix of rain/snow depending on where the frontal line sits. There is also talk of a temperature inversion for the weekend into next week.
Pray for snow,
Jon
Please visit my blog site and sign on as followers - need more people to keep it active.  http://hunterskiscene.blogspot.com/
 
WNYT forecast:
High pressure will keep the weather dry for us for the rest of the work week into Saturday.  Some clouds will move through from time to time but with a light breeze, highs will top out in the upper 30s and lower 40s.  Overnight lows will drop to the 20s.
On Sunday, the first in a series of disturbances heads our way as the weather pattern gets more active.  Right now it looks like we will be right on the line between rain and snow.  The subsequent storms will move through into the early and mid part of the week keeping the rain and/or snow threat going into Wednesday.

Friday, December 7, 2012

Hunter News Dec 7

Hello Hunter fans,
First a tribute and remembrance for those in service who lost their lives at Pearl Harbor 71 yrs ago today (1941).
The weather continues to be a big problem for the start of the season. It is 39 with light rain now and the rest of the weekend thru Monday is not looking good.
There was a lot of snow blown on the main line and Belt yesterday. HBK was marginally groomed but was, for the most part, nothing but moguls all the way and if you didn't have your ski legs yet, it was a real work-out.  Visibility was also poor with flat light - not a fun or long morning for me at least. Belt was not opened as they are saving it for tomorrow - big woop!
Demo day has been postponed, as I had imagined, until Thursday Dec 27 during Xmas week.
Looks like alot of people will attend the movies this weekend - Sky Fall: http://www.catskillmtn.org/retail/movie-theater/index.html
The tree lighting with music and wine tasting will be in the lobby of the KMC Hotel at 5pm today.
Someone please do a snow dance that will work!
Ski ya,
Jon
 
 
Weather - WNYT Albany forecast: read it and weep!
The clouds have thickened and now we continue to track the incoming precipitation.  I say "incoming precipitation" because we are dealing with some "spitting" flurries, some light rain showers, and some light freezing rain / freezing drizzle.
We'll continue to deal with the precipitation-type issues this evening and into the overnight period.  But, it appears that any threat of freezing rain / freezing drizzle will be up across portions of the North Country into the Adirondacks as well as parts of Vermont.  Lows will be in the upper 20s and lower 30s up north with lower & mid 30s around the Capital District points south & west.
Any freezing rain / freezing drizzle up north Saturday morning will transition to rain showers.  And, that threat of rain showers remains with us all day Saturday.  Otherwise, it'll be cloudy & damp.  Highs will be in the 40s.
The threat of rain showers diminishes Saturday night with the opportunity for some sunshine on Sunday.  We'll all see the threat of rain on Monday with perhaps some snow showers in the forecast for Tuesday.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Hunter News Dec 5

Hello Hunter fans,
As you know the Snow Gods have not been kind to Hunter. Maybe we didn't sacrifice enough skis at the ULLR-fest.
The unusually warm temps have wreaked havoc on the conditions with temps yesterday at 60 and rain last night. With very sloppy spring conditions grooming has been next to impossible. The guns will definitely be turned on tonight as temps cool off (still in the low 40's now) but for how long remains to be seen. The week ahead forecast (below) is not exactly favorable. You can see what snow is left yourself by clicking on this link to the snow web cams:  http://www.huntermtn.com/huntermtn/webcams.aspx
 
Consumer demo days are scheduled for this weekend but I am not sure that it will be feasable.
The weekend movies include James Bond / Skyfall:  http://www.catskillmtn.org/retail/movie-theater/index.html
 
Thanks to Al D. for the following info for you mid-week skiers:
We have a mid-week co-ed Clinic that is scheduled to start on
Dec. 12 that has a few spots open.
If anyone is interested in getting some feed back and direction on how to increase their skills...it's an ideal time. We mostly ski. But individual observation is prevalent. If you're interested contact Kris Karas at the Ski School. The price is about $15. a day.
 
Also note this weekend is a toy collection by Hunter Mtn for the kids on Staten Island affected by "Sandy":
This Saturday and Sunday we will be collecting new toys in the Marketing office by Snowsports Services. These toys will then be donated to Saint Margaret Mary’s Parish in Staten Island, to be given to children for the holidays. This area of Staten Island (NYC precinct 122) was severely hit by Superstorm Sandy in November, so many families will need a little extra cheer this season. Please help us share some joy by bringing in a new, unwrapped toy or two—it will be greatly appreciated.
Ski ya soon,
Jon