Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Hunter Feb 11

Hello Hunter Fans,
Just another day here in paradise. Great sun, exceptional grooming (kudos to Skip and the groomers) but cold and windy. Temps from an early 0 to 16 now for the high. Very light crowds, no lift lines at all and lots of groomed corduroy powder. Best run of the day: Claire's with Wayout a close 2nd. Every front side trail was groomed too except Racer's and that was still okay. It really felt like a private country club today as many runs had hardly anyone else on them. The polar ice caps may be melting but I think they are reforming here in the Catskills - ha! This is by far the longest & coldest stretch of weather in the 9+ years I have been living here - we can't even break 20°. The cold will continue with snow coming in Wed pm and Thurs but I haven't seen any accurate accumulation predictions yet. It all depends on the track of the storm. Tomorrow looks like another great sunny day.
Ski ya,
Jon
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Monday, February 10, 2014

Hunter Feb 10

Hi All,
The weekend hoards are gone.  With 2" of snow overnight there were freshies most of the am due to a very light crowd. Everything on the front side was groomed except LowerK & UpperCross. Cliff / Racer's was a very nice run. Rt 80 was very nice but windy. Claire's was flat but slick and 44 was all fozen wind blown bumps. It was quite cold today with temps still in the teens and a steady wind 15 -20 mph out of the west. The sun was in and out and there were some flurries recently. Overall great conditions but slick underneath the thin layer of powder. Tomorrow looks to be a nice day but cold and there is a storm watch for Wed pm into Thurs.
The Local Motion race today was in the Highlands with the party at Cosmic Charlies.
Be advised Van Winkles will suspend happy hr and wing night Feb 14 - 23 for the holiday week.
Ski ya,
Jon
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Thursday, February 6, 2014

Hunter Feb 6

Greetings from the snowy north country.
We had a total of between 10 - 12" yesterday in a blinding snow storm - powder powder everywhere!
The sun was out strong today with early temps at 10 but now 23 and no wind. The surface conditions were groomed but still a bit bumpy dry powder on most trails. Claire's, Racer's and 44 were not touched and looked / sounded very scratchy between moguls. The entire front side and Wayout were in great shape although Minya was a bit bumpy / not groomed. There were more people than usual for a Thursday but a good snowfall brings them out. The crowd was well spread out over the mountain.  "F" was running but not busy at all and the lines at both the Flyer and Z were very minimal. It really was a beautiful and pleasant day to be on the slopes. Tomorrow is looking to be a repeat of today but with even better grooming. The rest of the week will stay cold and the snow storm previously predicted for Sunday now looks like a bust.
The new Bakery/Cafe has added home made soups to its menu along with daily specials - excellent!!
Be safe on the roads and slopes,
Jon
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Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Hunter Feb 4 Powder Alert

Hi All,
What a beautiful weather day to ski with bright sun, no wind, temps from 2 overnight to 28 now. Surface conditions were only consistent on the groomed trails: HBK, Ike, Gunhill, Eside Dr, Huega/Dropoff, Belt and Rt 80 otherwise there was dust on crust and you needed sharp edges. We had 2" of wind driven nuisance snow yesterday that cut visibility way down and just barely covered the hardpack. High clouds are moving in now in anticipation of a storm that is forecast to begin around 3am and dump 10 - 15" in our area per the below map. There is another potential major storm brewing for Sunday but forecasts are still sketchy. Don't be surprised if the Gov's of NY & NJ declare states of emergency.
 
 
 
Albany WNYT: High pressure will keep us dry today and through the evening hours tonight.  Sunshine will give way to increasing high clouds by late afternoon and highs will be in the lower 30's.
A storm developing over the western Gulf of Mexico will slide up through the Deep South and into the Ohio Valley by this evening.  On this track, light snow will begin after midnight tonight. The storm will reach to about Pittsburgh before transferring its energy to a new low south of Long Island.  This will keep snow going, heavily at times into the day tomorrow.  Snow will wind down tomorrow evening with most locations picking up 7-12 inches.  Highs tomorrow will be near 30.
Dry and colder weather with highs in the mid 20's for both Thursday and Friday.
Click here for video, radar, maps and more weather info
 
Powder hounds get ready!
Jon
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Thursday, January 30, 2014

Hunter Jan 30

Hello Hunter Fans,
OMG - two in a row - another home run day here in paradise.
No wind, brilliant sun, exceptional grooming and temps from an overnight low of 0 to 25 now. No crowds, no lines, no guns and no lift problems. #44 opened around noon time and was quickly attacked by the powder hounds - huge whales & swales of soft powder along the fence line but a few nasty ripples right at the bottom. The entire mountain was in A-1 condition. There wasn't a bad run anywhere today.
Looks like some clouds and light snow with warmer temps Friday and through the weekend:  http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Hunter&state=NY&site=ALY&lat=42.2112&lon=-74.2157#.Uuqjbvv4Jp0
Weekend movies - full schedule now posted:  http://www.catskillmtn.org/retail/movie-theater/index.html
Check out the photo I took of a sunset over Hunter earlier this week.
Ski ya soon,
Jon
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Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Hunter Jan 29

Hi All,
Today was a triple **10** OMG such great dry powder conditions - best winter skiing of the year! Okay so it was a little cold (-5 last night) but + 7 by the time it opened and 17 now with no wind, strong sun - not a cloud in the sky - and grooming perfection! There were no crowds / no line at any lift. The firefighters who have been here for 2 days raced on Madison but the numbers were way down except at the bar - ha! There were guns on Racer's making dry powder for each run and every trail on the front side had hero snow. The west also was well groomed and a pleasure to ski. There is very heavy snow making on #44 Westway and that may open either Thurs or Fri - wow! There were volcanos of snow on skier's right of Lower Cross waiting to be groomed out but lots of sweet powder on the left side. Thurs & Fri (maybe light snow) look to be a repeat of today but warmer - play hookey and come enjoy it - you won't regret it.
I stopped by the old "Fireside" soon to be named "Hunter Mountain Brewery" with 12 craft beers and a good variety of American comfort food (not just BBQ as previously planned) with specials and occasional live music. They are hoping for a mid March opening - can't wait! The liquor store in the Village of Hunter will be moving into the space adjacent to the new Brewery with a larger selection and more reasonable prices so I am told.
Ski & ride hard but safely,
Jon
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Friday, January 24, 2014

Hunter Jan 24

Hello Hunter fans,
WOW!! - that's the bottom line on conditions - some of the best dry powder made in years and tons of it. There was no wind, the sun was strong but it was frigid. The early temp was -4 but now we have a heat wave at +11. The guns were still blasting on many slopes including LowerK27 (closed until Saturday) and UpperCross which today was incredible as was most of the mountain. Claire's which had been great the past 2 days was firm today with big mounds and not sure if it will get groomed tonight but Rt 80 (WhiteCloud/Wayout) was incredible. My only beef is that they are not (yet) blowing on Annapurna.  We are expecting 2 - 4" of new snow starting tomorrow afternoon according to the local radio news.
Come on up and enjoy some real cold weather powder skiing and riding! The base is deep and should insure some sweet spring conditions well into April.
Have a great weekend!
Jon
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