Northeastern U.S. Weather & Conditions

ChrisC said:
It seems their acquisition of Cranmore and later Bromley has gone OK.



The two ski areas are relatively close to one another. Shouldn't they always looked at the two ski areas collectively? But this was before the advent of Mega Passes, and I don't recall too many (if any) multi-area passes.

It's practically the same acquisition of Sugarbush buying Glen Ellen, later Sugarbush North, and now "Mount Ellen." Similarly, both areas are only about 10 minutes apart.

Anyway, I was always surprised that Brodie (a decent-sized mountain with a 1,200 ft vertical drop) would just get shut down. Things must have been really bad and sketchy.
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I think the explanation from Marz copied below is what happened to Brodie. I've also linked a longer history of Brodie Mountain that explains the purchase of Brodie by Jiminy Peak. Obviously, in retrospect, it probably didn't make sense (I don't know if the Fairbanks got their purchase price back when they subsequently sold Brodie Mountain to a real estate development firm?). I never skied Brodie when it was open but my thought is why would you ski Brodie when you could ski Jiminy, with better snowmaking and a better infrastructure. I understand Brodie had the reputation of a "blue collar" ski area and that probably worked for many years but it just was too expensive for Jiminy to invest the monies needed to bring Brodie up to speed. One of the owner's (the Kelly family) sons did build a 9-hole golf course at the base of Brodie on land that they retained after the sale to Jiminy. That golf course has now been shut down and will be re-purposed as a "glamping" site. See story linked below.

I served on the board of a non-profit for several years with Brian Fairbanks, the father who owned Jiminy (and later Cranmore) with his son, Tyler. He's a very nice guy and a smart businessman and a good ski area operator. Sort of an old school throwback to the earlier days of the ski industry when individuals owned and ran their ski areas. See, e.g., Alex Cushing at Squaw or Frank Snyder at Stratton or Paul McCollister at Jackson Hole. For the most part, those days are gone with corporate ownership and financing.

"My sense from reading about Brodie is that it was very popular with locals and day trippers who didn't need slopeside lodging. Jiminy Peak built lodging and became a destination for families from NYC who wanted to make the drive up for multiple weekends. In the end, it was lack of investment in snowmaking and upgrading lifts that hurt Brodie by the 1990s. While more than one family member was actively involved in management, the Kelly family made the decision to sell. At the same time, the Fairbank family installed quad chairlifts in 1992 and 1998. Then a detachable 6-pack in 2000. That was unheard of in New England at that time."


www.berkshireeagle.com

Glamping resort wins approvals from two Lanesborough boards, project moves forward

These green lights are not all that is needed for the seasonal resort, but they were crucial for developer Under Canvas to move forward with plans.
www.berkshireeagle.com www.berkshireeagle.com
 
We know that there was at least one NCP this season in NVT, but still, a good showing so far.

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Tomorrow I will have a month end roundup of season to date totals. Remember to multiply that Jay number by 90%, but it's still probably #1. Revelstoke may be reporting more, but Revy's snow plot is at 6,429 feet within a ski area range of 1,680 - 7,300. Revelstoke has had a ton of rain below 4,000 feet, including much of this past week's storms.
 
jamesdeluxe said:
a good showing so far.
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My brother lives near Pittsburgh with Seven Springs as his local hill. Even they are reporting 99" so far with 29" in the past 7 days. Very Good conditions reported by my brother last Sun/Mon.

Although I find it kinda funny that James is in Colo while reporting on eastern conditions.
 
Tony Crocker said:
Tomorrow I will have a month end roundup of season to date totals.
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End of January top snowfalls season-to-date:
Jay 278
Revelstoke 263
Mt. Baker 235 (OpenSnow, but reported from the resort)
Kicking Horse 221
Smuggler's Notch 218
Stowe 218
Whitewater 205
Whistler 201
Stevens Pass 187
Sunshine 186
Castle Mt. 183
Lake Louise 182
Fernie 181

Targhee is next at 169. Top Sierra is Kirkwood 146. Top Utah is Alta 129. Top Colorado is Winter Park 104. Needless to say, all numbers above exclude October.

Alyeska website reports like Jackson, top of lift service since Oct. 1. That number is 275, and with several lower mountain rain incidents, I believe strongly that mid-mountain is well under 200.
 
Tony Crocker said:
Top Colorado is Winter Park 104.
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Interestingly I just heard yesterday that WP is skiing pretty poorly (from skiers there during this past week). Winter Park side is fairly limited to repetitive trails, Mary Jane side is now open but super rocky etc.. and not worth the damage, with Panorama and Eagle Wind still entirely closed up top, etc... Not a season anyone will ever want to remember in Colo.
 
Tony Crocker said:
End of January top snowfalls season-to-date:
Jay 278
Revelstoke 263
Mt. Baker 235 (OpenSnow, but reported from the resort)
Kicking Horse 221
Smuggler's Notch 218
Stowe 218
Whitewater 205
Whistler 201
Stevens Pass 187
Sunshine 186
Castle Mt. 183
Lake Louise 182
Fernie 181

Targhee is next at 169. Top Sierra is Kirkwood 146. Top Utah is Alta 129. Top Colorado is Winter Park 104. Needless to say, all numbers above exclude October.

Alyeska website reports like Jackson, top of lift service since Oct. 1. That number is 275, and with several lower mountain rain incidents, I believe strongly that mid-mountain is well under 200.
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Such an unusual season with the east leading in snow at many resorts as well as surface conditions. Very atypically west has been far more rain affected than usual.
 
I know I'm :beating-a-dead-horse: here, but 1976-77 is the ultimate answer to Harvey's question. Eastern totals:
Mt. Washington 496 inches
Killington 346 (record high)
Mansfield Stake 279 but JSpin explained that big dumps there were substantially underreported

The highest western total was Targhee at 372. Mt. Baker has no data but Mt. Rainier Paradise is very similar and had 294.

Given the Killington number, I think it's safe to say Jay had more than Targhee in 1976-77. Mt. Washington comfortably exceeded Mt. Fidelity's 419.

Other overall bad western seasons?

In 1980-81 and 1991-92 the East and West were both bad.

In 2014-15 the Northeast was 98%. Jay and Smuggs had 294 but Alta had 324. And if we count the 328 on Mt. Washington, we have to count Mt. Fidelity's (Canada near Rogers Pass) 417.

There is no other season where the highest eastern number is within 100 inches of the highest western number.

As for this year I do not expect Jay to hold on to its narrow lead over some of the places in western Canada. It's a close call IMHO vs. Mt. Baker.
 
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Tony Crocker said:
1976-77 is the ultimate answer to Harvey's question. Eastern totals:
Mt. Washington 496 inches
Killington 346 (record high)
Mansfield Stake 279 but JSpin explained that big dumps there were substantially underreported
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I was thinking analogous for temperature.

We haven't had that much snow. Not much in the way of synoptic. At least in NY, it's largely been lake effect.
 
As far as East vs. West weather is concerned:
The West has much more precipitation volatility. The East has much more temperature volatility.

Do any of you easterners recall a winter where it has been bone dry for as long as a month? I doubt it. The bad years are the warm ones where it rains a lot.

That said, the West had had some temperature issues too this season, slowing down snowmaking progress at lower elevations.
 
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