Hunter Feb 16

Hello Hunter Fans,

Many of you have asked if you were deleted from my list since you have received no daily ski reports. The answer is “no”. I have not been skiing nor will I be this season – it ended before it started for me due to injuries to my left arm from fall yard work. My left elbow (bicep tendon) was surgically repaired in October and my left rotator cuff is due to be repaired hopefully within weeks. Getting old sucks!

I cannot comment on daily trail conditions, grooming etc. based on others’ opinions as they vary greatly. If you want to know I’m afraid you will have to ask your friends who have been on the slopes.

This has been a good snow season but I can’t say the same for the weather. I call it the season of flat light and, to date, you can count the number of full sunny days on one hand. The wind and cold have also been major negative factors.

 

The crowds this season, especially on weekends, have been much larger than the past few years with some days hitting close to 8,000 which number by the way is expected both this & next President’s Day weekends.

 

Regarding other mountain top issues, MTV Productions which was responsible for the reality TV series“Jersey Shore” cut a deal with Hunter/PEAK and began filming here last weekend. They will be here for six weeks and have hired pro snow boarders as their main focus to be filmed in the base lodge, on the slopes and in various local bars, restaurants and other businesses.  They have rented a large local house (no, not mine) as their main base and have wired it with cameras & microphones etc. They are spending a lot of money up here. I have no clue as to when they will finish filming, editing and air the episodes.

 

In restaurant news, the Brewery is open and offers a good pub fare with 20 beers on tap. It should have its own craft beers shortly I am told but I have heard that before.

Scribner’s Lodge –Prospect Restaurant & Bar - is spectacular after a 3 million dollar renovation with great ambiance, amazing views , excellent food, wines & liquor, but it is expensive.

Hammo’s in Hensonville (The ex Horton Smith House) offers excellent pub food plus some Indian dishes together with 10 craft brewed-in-house beers.

 

The weekend forecast:

Friday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 27. Northwest wind 10 to 14 mph.

Friday Night

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 15. Southwest wind 5 to 8 mph.

Saturday

Partly sunny, with a high near 41. Southwest wind 5 to 7 mph.

Saturday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 29.

Sunday

Partly sunny, with a high near 41.

Sunday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 27.

Washington's Birthday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 35.

 

I will be back on skis next season with a vengeance!

Jon

Hunter openinng day news

Hi All,

Here is the Hunter press release:

 

opening daY

Yesterday was an exciting day on the mountain! We happily welcomed 10" of natural snowfall (a few more inches falling this morning!) in addition to 20 brand new snow guns! Our Snowmaking Team made its mark on the mountain early yesterday morning and is still making snow on Hellgate, The Cliff, Kennedy, Fifth Ave, The Battery, Seventh Ave, 42nd Street, Central Park North and Grammercy Park. Our plan is to move onto additional trails as temperatures permit, which look promising through early Wednesday morning.

We're thankful that Mother Nature is doing her job this Thanksgiving week, and we're pleased to announce we plan to open this Friday, November 25th at 9am! We expect to have details regarding available terrain in the coming days - stay tuned by checking our snow report and social media pages, and subscribe to our Daily Snow Report emails.

Happy Thanksgiving and happy trails,

Jon  

 

 

Hunter snow guns are on!

Hi All,

Pleased to advise Hellgate is already covered with that white stuff down through Kennedy. Hunter would like to be open for Thanksgiving if not sooner.

Night time temps will be below freezing for the next week although daytime temps will be in the upper 40’s to low 50’s.

Check out the web cams:  http://www.huntermtn.com/winter/webcams/?__utma=96942214.808046579.1416251727.1416251727.1416251727.1&__utmb=96942214.1.10.1416251727&__utmc=96942214&__utmx=-&__utmz=96942214.1416251727.1.1.utmcsr=(direct)|utmccn=(direct)|utmcmd=(none)&__utmv=-&__utmk=60371237

and the summit weather info:  https://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KNYHUNTE3

Due to recent elbow surgery to repair a torn biceps tendon I will not be able to provide first hand reports before January.

In restaurant news, Scribner’s has opened. Here is an article about it:

http://www.metropolismag.com/October-2016/Modern-Mountain/   and their website: 

http://www.scribnerslodge.com/

 

The Hunter Brewery is also open:  www.HunterMountainBrewery.com

 

Think & pray for snow and rain which we desperately need.

Jon

 

Hunter March 7

Hello Hunter fans,

It was a magnificent morning to be out on the slopes. All trails were groomed to perfection and partial sun with high clouds made for excellent visibility. The temps went from 22 late last night to 40 this am and now 57 base / 44 summit.

The surface conditions were very consistent & fairly firm but softened with each run until late morning when it became a bit mushy and sticky. No significant brown or bare spots. It was very windy on top gusting to 35 mph but it was not real cold. Every open trail was excellent with ego snow. The west side: Claire’s & Wayout were superb. “Z” was running slow due to the wind but the Flyer had no issues.

There was a very light crowd even with the Localmotion and Grand Marnier Bartenders races. Most of the deck was fenced off for the bartenders party including a mechanical bull (see attached photos).

The firemen come in to race tomorrow and Wed – man are they going to sweat in those heavy jackets! The cold beer will be flowing.

 

I am pleased to advise officially that Hunter / Peak Resorts will honor all LIFETIME passes for Hunter only. The new season passes are being offered at bargain prices and cover 7 of Peak’s eastern resorts including Mount Snow but must be purchased by April 30th with only a $99 down payment.

See the links:  http://www.peakpass.com/?_ga=1.12351348.1592558624.1457374337#1  or  http://www.huntermtn.com/

 

The weather for the rest of the week is forecast to be very warm with possible rain due Wed night into Thurs. I do not enjoy skiing mush so I may not be out to write a first hand report for a while.

Party on........

Jon

 

Tonight

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 40. West wind 5 to 7 mph.

Tuesday

Partly sunny, with a high near 57. Southwest wind 3 to 6 mph.

Tuesday Night

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 50. Southwest wind 5 to 7 mph.

Wednesday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 66. West wind 7 to 11 mph.

Wednesday Night

A slight chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 51. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Thursday

A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 62. Chance of precipitation is 50%.

Thursday Night

A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 43. Chance of precipitation is 50%.

Friday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 51.

Hunter March 1

Hello Hunter fans,

Mother nature is still playing tricks on us. After periods of rain yesterday and temps in the 50’s a front came through last night with high winds and cold temps down to 19.

Today started out sunny with no wind but the damage was done. The light went flat around 10 am and the surface was flat frozen corduroy so visibility for my old eyes was tough.

Thankfully the groomers made skiing possible but it was noisy, frozen hard and fast. It was like skiing on a Ruffles Potato Chip – it rattled your bones but it was edgeable. After a while the ridges broke down on the main trails and it turned to sugar on hard pack. All front side trails were groomed but there were ice & brown patches. One could not venture where it was not groomed.The snow base is receding from the edges of the trails.

Apurna and Dropoff look to be done for the season. Claire’s was not groomed and showed quite a bit of brown and bare from what could be seen from the intersection with Wayout. One could not access Wayout from White Cloud as the narrow path there was bare. Temps are now 35 at the base / 25 at the summit and the sun is peeking through but clouds and mixed precipitation are forecast for later today, tonight and more rain/snow tomorrow – really can’t catch a break.

The hoses have not been removed from the guns yet so there could be some recovery effort Thursday night and Friday as very cold temps move in.

None of the rumors you hear about closing early or going with weekends only after mid March are true as no decision has been made yet but stayed tuned.....

This Saturday is Grand Marnier weekend with bands, torchlight parade and fireworks well past dark – big time party!

 

On a more serious note a Go-Fund-Me page has been set up by the ski patrol and family members of Tommy “Wheels” Cannalonga to purchase a new wheel chair accessible vehicle for him. Many of you see Tom wheeling around the base lodge in his wheel chair and skiing the mountain on his uni-ski. Here is the link:    www.gofundme.com/kmqvfp5p  Please try and help out.

 

Be safe out there!

Jon

 

NWS Forecast:

Tonight

A slight chance of rain, snow, and sleet before 9pm, then a chance of rain between 9pm and midnight, then rain and snow after midnight. Low around 33. South wind 11 to 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow and sleet accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Wednesday

Rain and snow showers before 9am, then a chance of snow showers between 9am and 4pm. Temperature falling to around 21 by 5pm. Breezy, with a northwest wind 11 to 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.

Wednesday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 10. Wind chill values as low as -3. Northwest wind 11 to 17 mph.

Thursday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 25. Northwest wind 7 to 11 mph.

Thursday Night

A slight chance of snow after midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 13. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Friday

Partly sunny, with a high near 30.

Friday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 17.

Saturday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 34.

Saturday Night

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 23.

Sunday

Partly sunny, with a high near 39.

Hunter Feb 26

Hello Hunter fans,

I did not ski today (issues with my boiler) , actually not since Monday, but wanted to up-date you on the weather etc.

We had torrential rain (about 3”) with lightening and thunder Wed/Thurs with temps up to 54. The temps dropped dramatically late yesterday from 50 to 34 with evening snow flurries before it all froze last night.

Today is very bright, sunny, very windy with temps now 24 at the base and 15 at the summit with winds from 18 to 54 mph – wind chills below zero.

There are guns on mid-station, Hellgate and maybe Minya but not on the Belt or anywhere else that I can SEE (that doesn’t mean that they are not blowing on the west side).

The daily snow reports from Hunter all this week have been quite fictional to put it mildly. Apurna is closed for the season.

The groomers had to do some snow farming to cover multiple bare and brown spots left by the rain. There were rivers running down the mountain.

I can only guess that there were very variable surface conditions today. If you look at the webcams (  http://www.huntermtn.com/winter/webcams/?__utma=96942214.808046579.1416251727.1416251727.1416251727.1&__utmb=96942214.1.10.1416251727&__utmc=96942214&__utmx=-&__utmz=96942214.1416251727.1.1.utmcsr=%28direct%29|utmccn=%28direct%29|utmcmd=%28none%29&__utmv=-&__utmk=60371237   ) you will not see any people in line or skiing the mid-station area.

Saturday should be sunny, windy and cool but Sunday the temps will approach 50 again with some rain expected Monday & Wednesday next week.

Weekend movies:  http://www.catskillmtn.org/retail/movie-theater/index.html

Unfortunately with March only a few days away, and given the season we have had, it is almost time to dust off the golf clubs.

Make the best of it,

Jon

 

This Afternoon

A slight chance of snow showers before 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 23. Blustery, with a northwest wind 18 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Tonight

Partly cloudy, with a low around 12. Wind chill values as low as zero. Northwest wind 7 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph.

Saturday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 34. Southwest wind 6 to 10 mph.

Saturday Night

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 29. West wind around 11 mph.

Sunday

Partly sunny, with a high near 49. Southwest wind 9 to 11 mph.

Sunday Night

A chance of showers after 2am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 38. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Hunter Feb 22

Hi all you Hunter fans,

It was a bluebird day with a cloudless sky, strong sun, no wind and no crowds. The surface froze overnight as temps dipped below 30 (22 at the summit this am) and early runs were teeth rattling on hard, fast frozen corduroy. However by about 10:30 the sun had worked its magic on all east facing trails and the snow quickly softened. It is 41 now at the base, 31 at the summit and most surfaces I would guess are mushy. The west opened late due to frozen conditions and I never made it over there but all front side trails were groomed and enjoyable. The mountain was really empty even given the fact that there was a Localmotion race today. Tomorrow should be another nice day but it goes downhill from Wed thru Fri with mostly rain again – we cannot catch a break this year!   FYI – Saturday’s crowd topped 6,000 with about 4,000 on Sunday – yes, it was a zoo but great deck parties.

Ma Ma’s Pizza plans to move and open in it’s new location (ex Numero Uno) in April.

Happy Trails,

Jon

 

NWS Forecast for Hunter

 

Tonight

Mostly clear, with a low around 19. Northwest wind 5 to 7 mph becoming calm in the evening.

Tuesday

Partly sunny, with a high near 35. Southeast wind 3 to 8 mph.

Tuesday Night

A chance of snow, mainly after 7pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 27. Southeast wind 7 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Wednesday

Snow and sleet before 10am, then rain and sleet between 10am and 11am, then rain after 11am. High near 39. East wind around 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Wednesday Night

Rain. Low around 38. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible.

Thursday

Rain likely. Cloudy, with a high near 48. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Thursday Night

A chance of rain before 10pm, then a chance of rain and snow between 10pm and midnight, then a chance of snow after midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 26. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Friday

Mostly cloudy, with a high near 29.