Ullr loves Maine!

[MaineSkiLady]

Great thread title, had to "borrow" it!
Western Maine, anyway - the coast usually is a little strange (in a lot of ways...). But up here in the mountains, it's LOOKING GOOD! We've now had just over 2 feet since Friday, and today's 4+-" were particularly light and fluffy

The snow piles along side my driveway now exceed my 5'6", this is GREAT. As a result, much as I enjoy chatting with y'all, I'm closing up shop tonight - I am SO OUTTA HERE tomorrow---DH and I are gonna hit it and try to avoid the weekend crowds.

We sure have had our ups and downs in New England this season. At least at this latitude, things are definitely looking UP!

 

[MaineSkiLady]

more snow coming NNE

And another storm brewing for Saturday night into Sunday.
Really good ski conditions out here right now.
WOOHOO!

 

[Robyn]

Excellent! Enjoy the fresh snow!

 

[MaineSkiLady]

I did, I did! Got some welcome first tracks at 9:00, didn't get home til almost 5. Achhh, beat to heck/tired right now, really could have used something wider underfoot than 75 - but didn't do too bad. Did my first glade in many, many years - wasn't exactly relaxed about it, but I managed. Glades had all been washed/rained out until just this last week or so and are now virtually 100% open (after being 100% open in early January). Pretty busy day for a Friday - guess lots of people took "sick days" today !

Have a good coaching day at Copper, R!

 

[fatoots]

Where were you?

I spend most weekends at Sunday River. I skied Last Tango yesterday. I had only been in it once last year and near killed myself, but yesterday, I can actually say I had fun.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Wizards Gulch, I think? The one off Rogue Angel. A bit hairy for my speed. Trees and I have some "history," so I tend to be wary and tentative. Last Tango looked really good last Friday! I'm wondering how they held up after the high winds we're enduring :( - more snow due here Tues-Wed - we need it now.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Really coming down in western Maine right now, to the tune of about 1" an hour. About 6" so far. I'm noting that Sugarloaf is largely on wind hold - not unusual there when it storms.

This is a large and dangerous system, mainly because there is a warm coastal system that is "sliding over" the cold air. As a result, the ice/mix line is slowly making its way north, currently is in all parts of VT except far NE and the southern half of NH. It's in the SE corner of Maine, about 50 miles from where I live. All schools and government offices in my region and south to Portland are closed.

There is still a huge portion of this front heading ENE from PA, so much to come. Anyone traveling anywhere in New England today, heads up. Probably not a good idea....

As per NOAA:
EXPECT A TOTAL OF 8 TO 12 INCHES OF SNOW...FOLLOWED BY A QUARTER TO HALF INCH OF ICE. SNOW WILL CHANGE TO SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN THIS AFTERNOON. THE MIXED PRECIPITATION WILL END LATE THIS EVENING.

THE WEIGHT OF SNOW AND MIXED PRECIPITATION ON TREE LIMBS WILL LIKELY CAUSE POWER OUTAGES. TRAVEL CONDITIONS WILL DETERIORATE RAPIDLY. UNNECESSARY TRAVEL SHOULD BE AVOIDED.
--------I'm not sure at this point whether to or

 

[fatoots]

I am so excited and jealous that I can't get there until Saturday. But I over how this helps the base, and there might be some freshies for me on Saturday AM.

Mmmm Maybe I need to demo those Dynastar Legends...

 

[atlantiqueen]

Hey fatoots - do you ever ski mid-week? Send me a PM if you want to get together.

So jealous that you get to ski this weekend ---- darned blackouts!

 

[fatoots]

Hey fatoots - do you ever ski mid-week? Send me a PM if you want to get together.

So jealous that you get to ski this weekend ---- darned blackouts!

Rarely, unfortunately, since we live almost 4 hours away. I will be up for part of school vacation week, the Thurs. 21st through that weekend.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Still coming down, even more heavily than before. DH called this a.m., I could hear him pounding his head on desk: "WHY didn't I take TODAY off???" (Because tomorrow's our anniversary, that's why, dear)
Rain/snow line getting perilously close - within 10 miles now, so a changeover is expected shortly :( However, unless it pours, sleet won't completely destroy what has already fallen.

Looks, based on the rain/snow line, as if Saddleback and Sugarloaf will ultimately be the big winners in the snow dept.

We are getting into emergency mode here: generator is gassed up and ready to go - enough wood in the basement to last through the weekend, another +- cord in the garage, fridge stocked. Generator runs about 4 hours on a quart, we've got 5 gallons ready.

I've already tackled the driveway once this a.m., the rest stays as a "base" for the less wonderful version of precipitation.

Hope everyone else is hanging in there. Huge system, all kinds of ice in the southern Midwest as well. And they're not used to it.

 

[atlantiqueen]

cool - send me a note and we can get together... I will be there beginning Feb 19 or 20

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Maybe I need to demo those Dynastar Legends...

They are only 75 waist. What are your current skis for widths? Less shape is actually way better in freshies, and the wider overall the better. (as we all know from our western contingent :D ) I have decent crud-busters but nothing remotely resembling a modern pow ski---although who knows, this may be the winter to justify the expense??? I saw my first pair of Mantras here last week (Fri) and could not believe the size of those things. They looked like water skis! Well, at least relative to what all the other skis looked like! And man, were they locked up TIGHT! Almost had their own armored guard!

 

[fatoots]

They are only 75 waist. What are your current skis for widths? Less shape is actually way better in freshies, and the wider overall the better. (as we all know from our western contingent :D ) I have decent crud-busters but nothing remotely resembling a modern pow ski---although who knows, this may be the winter to justify the expense??? I saw my first pair of Mantras here last week (Fri) and could not believe the size of those things. They looked like water skis! Well, at least relative to what all the other skis looked like! And man, were they locked up TIGHT! Almost had their own armored guard!

My Burnin' Luvs are a 68, hence my desire to find a wider waist to add to my "quiver". I certainly don't want a true fat or powder ski given that I rarely if ever ski west, but I've been very unhappy with the K2s given all the snow we've gotten. I feel like the only woman who has this experience. That, or my skiing sucks and I need more lessons.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

In this case, yes, a 75 will make a difference. What makes crud (I hesitate to say pow, as it only lasts 20 minutes here unless it's non-stop snowing) even more difficult is the relative width of the shovel and tail compared to the waist. That's why I bail on my rippers in any type of loose snow/crud skiing, opting for wider waist and less "flare" at shovel and tail. Really had a blast on them on Sunday at Sugarloaf, they plowed right through the stuff, bumps and all. I'd say go for the demo, though the Legend will have more a shovel than what I'm using in crud.


Weather update: snow now turning to sleet here. Not good.