Hunter January 30

Hello Hunter fans,

All I can say is the best part of today was the sun because it sure wasn’t the skiing. Looks can be very deceiving. The temps started out at 9 but climbed to 32 now with a strong cloudless and windless sun / sky.

After all the snow making, which was very inconsistent as was the skiing, only 2 trails from the top were groomed flat with a frozen granular surface: the main line and East Side. The west side, north side and Belt Parkway were all CLOSED today due to very inconsistent whale humps from the snow making. Skiing once again was noisy with some guns still blasting away. There was a wet one near the top of Racer’s with inconsistent terrain below. Ike had nice powder but that was it.

All other trails required some defensive and focused skiing / riding. The crowds were light with minimal lines – no D or F. 

It is forecast to cloud up at some point tomorrow and last through the weekend with a mix of precipitation.

Disappointingly,

Jon

 

Detailed Forecast

This Afternoon

Mostly sunny, with a high near 32. Calm wind.

Tonight

Partly cloudy, with a low around 15. Light and variable wind.

Friday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 35. Light and variable wind.

Friday Night

A slight chance of snow showers after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 26. Light southwest wind. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Saturday

A slight chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 37. Calm wind. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Saturday Night

A slight chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 24. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Sunday

Mostly cloudy, with a high near 36.

Sunday Night

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 29.

Hunter January 29

Hi All,

Finally a sunny day after several cold dark flat-light days.  The temp today went from 21 to 29 now with a breeze but great sun that broke through around 10 am.

It was cold and the slopes were frozen solid with some loose granular on the surface and some powder from all the snow making that is in progress. I do not ski under the guns as the risk of hitting one wet gun is not worth it for me.

Racer’s, East Side, Minya, Ike and Claire’s (chutes only) all had heavy snow making. Skiing was very noisy and scratchy and I honestly did not enjoy it as it was defensive. One needed sharp edges. Wayout was hard and fast like the rest of the trails. Looking up at Claire’s from below was intimidating to say the least but it was open for the brave and crazies. The main line, 42nd St. and Cliff – Bleeker to Gunhill were the best in my opinion. I did not go over to the north trails.

Today marked the second day of the firefighters races – east coast hosers. Hopefully with around the clock snow making, tomorrow should be better as long as the sun comes out. It is supposed to cloud up pm Friday with a mix of wet snow & rain for at least the second half of the weekend. See the forecast below:

Sharpen those edges,

Jon

Detailed Forecast

This Afternoon

Sunny, with a high near 33. Northwest wind 11 to 13 mph.

Tonight

Mostly clear, with a low around 8. Wind chill values as low as -1. Northwest wind 6 to 11 mph.

Thursday

Sunny, with a high near 32. Wind chill values as low as -2. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the morning.

Thursday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 16. Light and variable wind.

Friday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 37. Light southwest wind.

Friday Night

A slight chance of snow showers after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 24. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Saturday

Mostly cloudy, with a high near 37.

Saturday Night

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 25.

Sunday

Mostly cloudy, with a high near 35.

Hunter January 22

Hi All,

Another day in paradise. Today was a copy cat day of yesterday but even nicer. Early temps of 7 climbed to 20 by 10 am and 37 now under a cobalt blue sky with very strong sun and no wind.

The entire front side except Milky Way was groomed to perfection. Racer’s was cut down flat but the guns were on from top to bottom and it was open. Other than a few slick spots on Ike, the trails were fast and easy. No one run was better than any other. One can see that the base is thin in the usual spots with some brown and pebbles showing.  The Flyer line had a very minimal wait if any and no D or F.

I cannot give you first hand reports on the west or north but others did say Wayout and some north trails were well groomed. I had no info on Claire’s which did open.

There were a few more people here today but that is normal for a Wednesday.  Snow making has stopped due to the warm up. Tomorrow is forecast to be a three-peat of nice days for the week with even warmer temps. The weekend still looks like messy weather with wet snow & rain per below.

Stay focused while on the hill,

Jon

 

Thursday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 39. Light southwest wind.

Thursday Night

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 25. Calm wind.

Friday

Partly sunny, with a high near 39. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Friday Night

A slight chance of snow after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 25. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Saturday

Snow. High near 33. Chance of precipitation is 90%.

Saturday Night

Snow. Low around 30. Chance of precipitation is 90%.

Sunday

Snow likely before 1pm, then rain and snow likely between 1pm and 4pm, then snow likely after 4pm. Cloudy, with a high near 33. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Hunter January 21

Hi All,

Pleased to advise I’m back on skis after dealing with a damaged big toe issue for close to a year.

It was a great morning to be on the slopes with a sun drenched blue sky and temps from 9 to 24 now. It is cloudy now however. The mountain made a nice recovery from the warm weather and the holiday record breaking crowds at or near 10,000 Saturday & Sunday. All front side trails except Racer’s (frozen bumps and closed) were groomed flat with some granular & powder on the surface. It was a bit noisy and good edges helped but it was easy skiing with no lines at the Flyer. D and F were closed. The top of East Side had some guns making nice fluffy powder with excellent visibility due to the strong sun. No one run was any better than another. I did not go west or north due to shadows and darkness plus my legs could only handle so much on day one. Claire’s is getting a heavy dose of snow making. The rest of the week through Friday morning looks to be a copy of today which is rare for this season.

Here is a link to Albany Channel 10 ABC news piece on Hunter from yesterday: 

https://www.news10.com/video/locals-hit-the-slopes-at-hunter-mountain/4259784/

 

Also please vote for Hunter’s snow makers in a national contest:  https://www.saminfo.com/i-am-a-snowmaker?start=5

 

Below is the current outlook for the week with a storm watch for the weekend:

Happy Trails,

Jon

 

Tonight

Partly cloudy, with a low around 12. West wind around 9 mph.

Wednesday

Sunny, with a high near 35. Wind chill values as low as zero. West wind 3 to 8 mph.

Wednesday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 20. West wind 3 to 6 mph.

Thursday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 44. Light and variable wind.

Thursday Night

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 24.

Friday

Mostly cloudy, with a high near 39.

Friday Night

Cloudy, with a low around 25.

Saturday

A chance of snow after 1pm. Cloudy, with a high near 33. Chance of precipitation is 50%.

Saturday Night

Snow likely. Cloudy, with a low around 29. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Sunday

Rain and snow likely. Cloudy, with a high near 33. Chance of precipitation is 70%.