Hunter skiing 12/22

Hi All,
Another nasty weather day. Temps around 23, windy and very cloudy - in fact the top 1/3 of the mtn has been in the fog all day - visibility was slim and none but the surface conditions I was told were very sweet and powdery as snow was made all night and continues today. The base is really building up! Apurna opened but I was told required very defensive skiing. The crowds are slowly building each day but still short to no lift lines due to the weather. Hopefully there will be some sun tomorrow in between snow showers.
Here's a link to another recent Zip Line video: http://www.ziplinenewyork.com/top-mountain.html

Hope to ski ya soon, http://hunterskiscene.blogspot.com/
Jon

Detailed Local Forecast
Today: Mostly cloudy. High 27F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy with snow flurries developing late. Low 21F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph.
Tomorrow: On and off snow flurries are possible along with variably cloudy skies. High 28F. Winds NW at 15 to 25 mph.
Tomorrow night: A few clouds from time to time. Low 16F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph.
Friday: Partly cloudy. Highs in the mid 20s and lows in the low teens.
Saturday: Times of sun and clouds. Highs in the low 20s and lows in the upper single digits.
Sunday: Considerable cloudiness. Highs in the low 20s and lows in the low teens.

Hunter Skiing 12/21

Hi All,
Not skiing today - very ugly day here for me anyway - low dense cloud cover 20 and windy. The light is just way too flat for my old eyes. I am sure the surface conditions are excellent as new snow has been made all night on many trails and many of you would no doubt enjoy it. Here's the link to Hunter's holiday activities:

http://view.exacttarget.com/?j=fe5c167570610d797014&m=fefc1170706d04&ls=fdee127873660d7c7512727c&l=fe8e15767162077b72&s=fdf115757d660d7877107877&jb=ffcf14&ju=fe2d16797160007e771072


The weather forecast is below.
Ski on..........
Jon

Detailed Local Forecast
Today: Windy with a few snow showers developing this afternoon. High around 25F. Winds NW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of snow 30%.
Tonight: Some clouds. Low 16F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.
Tomorrow: Partly cloudy early with a few snow flurries later in the day. High 28F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.
Tomorrow night: Flurries and a few snow showers throughout the night. Low 19F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 30%.
Thursday: Snow showers in the morning. Highs in the mid 20s and lows in the mid teens.
Friday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the low 20s and lows in the upper single digits.
Saturday: More clouds than sun. Highs in the low 20s and lows in the upper single digits.

Hunter Skiing, Zip Line & Weather 12/20

Hello all you mountain fans,
Just when you thought it couldn't get any better it does! Temps went form 8 to 28 with lots of sun, no wind, great powder and super grooming! Thanks Bruce & Skip!! Crowds although heavier for a Monday (due to the holidays) were still light with no lift lines at the 6-pack. "F" was also running today. There wasn't a bad trail and I tried them all except LowerK & Claire's which was very bumped up and under heavy snow making but it looked soft - not icy. Apurna is also under heavy guns and may open tomorrow. Rt 80 was very nice and they fixed the cut-thru from White Cloud to Belt to make it safer - thanks guys! Everything on the front was well groomed and powdery including Racer's. The mid-station tower guns were blowing fresh snow for every run and it was creamy all the way down thru Kennedy.

I was privileged to be part of the first public (test) group to try the new top of the mtn Zip Line on Saturday. The tour @ $119.00 officially opened on Sunday. Wow! What a terrific exhilarating experience. Everyone between 110 lbs and 260 lbs should try it! It took a little over 3 hrs of which 2 1/2 were outside zipping and the rest an orientation / safety session.
I felt safer and more secure in a harness on a zip line up to 600 ft off the ground at speeds approaching 50 mph then on a chair lift with no safety bar. There were 5 zips and a suspension bridge all starting from a platform next to the Rip Van Winkle sculpture along the trail past the top of "F" lift and ending on a platform adjacent to the top of "B" lift from where we rode down to the base. Rather than duplicate it in writing I am going to copy you the link to the description, pics and helmet cam video taken by Alan Belsky who was also on the tour - thanks Alan.
http://forums.alpinezone.com/showthread.php?p=582808#post582808

Ski & Zip on! http://hunterskiscene.blogspot.com/

Jon



Detailed Local Forecast
Today: Cloudy. High 24F. Winds NNW at 10 to 20 mph.
Tonight: A few clouds. Low 14F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph.
Tomorrow: Sunshine and clouds mixed. High 26F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph.
Tomorrow night: A few clouds. Low 17F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.
Wednesday: A few snow showers. Highs in the upper 20s and lows in the low 20s.
Thursday: Cloudy with occasional flurries. Highs in the mid 20s and lows in the low teens.
Friday: Times of sun and clouds. Highs in the mid 20s and lows in the low teens.

Hunter Skiing & Weather 12/16

Hello Hunter fans,
Wow - best day of the young season so far with lots of sun, no wind and temps reaching 26 (feels like a heat wave). Powder powder everywhere from major snow making (thanks Bruce!) and good grooming (keep it up Skip!) made for a near perfect day. The top of the mtn looks like a picture postcard with all the trees frosted white and glistening in the sun. H-B-K was great, Cliff was still ungroomed whale humps, Minya & Eside very sweet . Lower K is under the guns as is all of Claire's, Upper Taylors, and the Alternate. Rt 80 (35 + 45) was groomed top to bottom but the left side cut-thru from White Cloud into the belt was hazardous and mgmt was so informed. Gunhill was closed again for ski school, Ike was nice but Racer's was very hard and slick and not worth it. The Terrain Park was closed as groomers were forming the park out of the huge mounds of snow they made there. There is more of a percentage of the mtn open than any other eastern ski area as no one can make snow like Hunter. All trails are well covered from side to side and the base is getting deeper by the day. Tomorrow and the weekend both promise to be great for mid-winter skiing conditions. The lift was running fast and smooth and there were no lines. The tubing park is also under heavy snow making and should be open for the weekend.
Get your pre-Xmas skiing in now! Happy hour at the main lodge bar, Van Winkles or MacGregors awaits you - stay thirsty my friends!
Ski ya, http://hunterskiscene.blogspot.com/
Jon

Detailed Local Forecast
Today: Variably cloudy with light snow flurries possible. High 23F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.
Tonight: Some passing clouds. Low 12F. Winds light and variable.
Tomorrow: Generally sunny despite a few afternoon clouds. High 27F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.
Tomorrow night: A few clouds from time to time. Low 16F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday: Times of sun and clouds. Highs in the upper 20s and lows in the upper teens.
Sunday: Times of sun and clouds. Highs in the low 30s and lows in the mid teens.
Monday: A few snow showers possible, windy. Highs in the low 20s and lows in the mid teens.

Hunter Skiing & Weather 12/15

Hi Boys & Girls,
It was another frigid day at the mountain, in fact colder than yesterday thanks to a stronger wind and no sun. High temp 16 but with wind chills near or below zero. I don't know if it is wishful thinking on my part or coincidence but many of the issues I have addressed recently to mgmt have been quickly rectified. There was alot of snow made last night on Cliff and it produced huge ungroomed powdery mounds that were actually fun to ski though visibility was quite poor today. Also Huega into Bleeker / Ike was under heavy snow making today. Gunhill was closed to the public for ski race training. Fresh ungroomed snow was also made on Minya and Eside was groomed out. There was no signs of any snow making on Lower K yet. Claire's was under guns down to the doughnut but there seemed to be some problem with frozen pipes on the lower half. H-B-K was very good as was Ike. Racer's looked like a danger zone so I didn't venture onto it. Hunter hosts the Mountain Dew Vertical Challenge this weekend. The 6-pack was running fine - there was no "F" today but no need for it either. There were no lift lines even tho a few bus groups showed up.
There is new mgmt at the summit lodge and I will quote you the notice: QUOTE Scottie's Foods, the operators of the Karl Ehmer sausage booth so popular during our summer & fall festivals, has taken over food operations at the Summit Lodge this season! New storefront, new menu, fresh salads, custom sandwiches, wraps, burgers, Italian sausage, soups, chili and much more! Stop in and say hello! UNQUOTE
We are having some lake effect snow showers now which should continue on and off through the evening. Secondary roads are still white & slick.
Ski safely & stay warm, http://hunterskiscene.blogspot.com/
Jon

Detailed Local Forecast
Today: Blustery with snow showers. Cold. High 16F. Winds WNW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of snow 50%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.
Tonight: Scattered flurries and snow showers. Low 11F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 30%.
Tomorrow: Flurries and a few snow showers throughout the day. High 24F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 30%.
Tomorrow night: Partly cloudy. Low 14F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.
Friday: Times of sun and clouds. Highs in the mid 20s and lows in the mid teens.
Saturday: Partly cloudy. Highs in the upper 20s and lows in the mid teens.
Sunday: Times of sun and clouds. Highs in the upper 20s and lows in the mid teens.

Hunter skiing & weather 12/14

Hi All from the frozen tundra!
It was and is bitter cold with a high of 15 and a steady wind but the sun was out and so was I. Hunter once again looks like a white frozen wasteland and blowing snow across Main St. this am looked like a desert sandstorm. In spite of sanders and salters, the secondary roads & parking lots are white, frozen and there is plenty of black ice around. Schools had a two hour delayed opening.
With guns blasting and about 2" of natural snow overnight on top of frozen granular (remember we had almost 3" of rain on Sunday) the skiing was challenging. The mountain has more than recovered what was lost and is working to open more terrain by the weekend during another week that is excellent for snow-making. The mix of natural with machine made snow made it powdery but crusty and once chopped up, soft bumpy conditions on top of frozen hardpack with many ungroomed rollers / whale humps. I skied all open front side trails and they were pretty much consistent although the Cliff got scraped off early. There is a well marked big sink hole just above the entrance to Ike / Gunhill. Eside/Milky were under the guns and a bit tricky. I made the mistake of going down Huega which was like a dark wind tunnel and totally barren of fresh snow - very noisy. With good grooming tonight (there was little done last night but that turrned out to be a good thing) tomorrow should be a primo day if the sun is out but unfortunately that is not in the forecast. The 6-pack had a late start today as chairs had to be de-iced but ran fine thereafter. It is flurrying now as I write this at 3:30 pm.
Stay warm!
Jon

Detailed Local Forecast
Today: Blustery with snow showers. Cold. High 14F. Winds WNW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of snow 60%. 1 to 2 inches of snow expected.
Tonight: Snow showers. Low 9F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 60%. 1 to 2 inches of snow expected.
Tomorrow: Variably cloudy with snow showers. Cold. High 16F. Winds WNW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 60%. 1 to 2 inches of snow expected.
Tomorrow night: Flurries and a few snow showers throughout the night. Low 12F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 30%.
Thursday: Snow showers at times. Highs in the low 20s and lows in the mid teens.
Friday: More sun than clouds. Highs in the upper 20s and lows in the mid teens.
Saturday: Times of sun and clouds. Highs in the upper 20s and lows in the mid teens.

HUNTER SKIING & WEATHER 12/13

Hi All,
First of all let me address your concerns about the lack of a report Thurs & Fri - I didn't ski as I had to take care of some personal issues.
I did ski Saturday morning and it was fantastic with nice dry powder, no wind and plenty of sun. All front side trails with the exception of Lower K were open and in great shape from the snow making all week long - perfect grooming too! Wayout was open on the west but it was dark over there and no need to leave the sun. All lifts except "D" were running. By 10 am the zoo gates had opened and the parking lot was full to the tubing park.
Yesterday we had two long and strong periods of heavy rain with dense fog and temps that got near 50. Today's official Hunter daily snow report had the following blatantly false statement:
QUOTE After some drizzle yesterday, we're resurfacing tonight... we didn't lose any snow, .....UNQUOTE
There were rivers running off the mountain yesterday. Recovery mode will start tonight as temps are already down to 34 and it looks like another excellent snow making weather week ahead per below forecast. The snow base is now well settled and solid and should allow for some great future skiing .
It was and still is raining lightly with some mixed snow this am and the entire top half of the mtn is fogged in. I am sure the surface conditions are excellent but the visibility is poor and not for me today. The 6-pack is running but with very few customers.
Ski ya, http://hunterskiscene.blogspot.com/
Jon

Detailed Local Forecast
Today: Cloudy skies with a few snow showers this afternoon. High 33F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 30%.
Tonight: Variable clouds with snow showers or flurries. Low 14F. Winds WNW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 50%. Snowfall around one inch.
Tomorrow: Blustery with snow showers. Cold. High 16F. Winds WNW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 60%. Snow accumulating 1 to 2 inches.
Tomorrow night: Occasional snow showers. Low 9F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 60%.
Wednesday: Chance of a few snow showers. Highs in the upper teens and lows in the low teens.
Thursday: Partly cloudy. Highs in the low 20s and lows in the low teens.
Friday: Times of sun and clouds. Highs in the mid 20s and lows in the mid teens.