Snow tracker

[wabene]

After raining all day I believe it is over this year. I will miss winter as I welcome back the mud and the bugs. What an epic season on what we call the North Shore of Lake Superior. I live just up the shore from Duluth and just read that we got 117 inches this year. That is almost ten #$@&ing feet!! The Duluth record is 135 inches so this was quite special. Apparently Grand Marais Minnesota, about 2 hours up the shore and close to Canada got 150 inches. My first ski this season was December 12 and the last April 12. So 4 freaking months!!! Last year it was closer to 2 months and we were shut down right at the beginning of March.

I want to thank the snow gods and pray that next season we will do even better!

How was your season this year? I'm sure we would all like to hear about it! I know I will read them all and it might spark an idea for future trips.

[fisheater]

I skied some in December, January and February were solid, skied right through, no breaks that’s good for 42 40’ N in Michigan.
Still recommend Whitegrass in West Virginia, it’s the place and the people. I plan on doing a bit more BC exploring in the UP, unless the snow is good closer!

[wabene]

@fisheater yes I remember reading about Whitegrass after one of your posts, looks like a great place. I also saw you went to Telefest in the UP this year. Da UP is a place I definitely want to explore in any season!

[connyro]

Still going here in the UP. The ski hill closed on Sunday with perfect snow conditions so hike and ski is on. The woods are still loaded up despite the rain and warmth. Corn season is here once it freezes at night again later this week. Over 200 inches total this season so far.

[spopepro]

This was the strangest season for Tahoe in many years. The final results will say that we are close to "average" snowfall for the year... but that does not tell the story. We got around 4ft of snow in October (which pretty much all melted out), 5 *inches* in November, around 18 feet over the course of two weeks at the end of December, and around 3 feet total for the three historically snowiest months of Jan-March.

It was so little that many ski areas are already closed. It is now snowing... we will probably get about 2-3 feet this week and next. We will take every inch due to tamping down the fire danger a little but I hope this doesn't become the trend.


(image from OpenSnow, hopefully it sticks around)

[wabene]

@spopepro "I hope this doesn't become the trend."
I think extreme variability is going to be the only constant going forward. Man those snow totals are astounding. Looks like you get constant melting as well.

@connyro 200 inches? Uf da that's a Midwestern dream. If I wasn't heading south this weekend I would head your way. Looks like I'll get one more hike and ski at Spirit Mountain Friday before I brave the masses in Florida.

[mca80]

@fisheater yes I remember reading about Whitegrass after one of your posts, looks like a great place. I also saw you went to Telefest in the UP this year. Da UP is a place I definitely want to explore in any season!

I am further inland, about an hour drive from the Porkies, so while we get less snow than at the lake we have colder temps. I think there has been continuous snowcover here since mid October (and another 3" last night and still coming down). Don't know the totals but I haven't seen bare ground except during a couple recent warm spells in places where I snowblow. Still over a foot on the ground in the woods, although lots of branches and needles and such now. Gonna go out around the usfs land with some violet on the Finnmarks in a bit here.

[wabene]

Yeah the big lake is quite the heat sink in the winter. That's a nice long season you have there. The diehards in Duluth will head to Michigan every fall to get started early.

[dhdaines]

Still at least 30cm on the ground above 400m altitude here in the lower Laurentians and due to freeze up again this week, so we should have another week or two north of Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts and should be able to ski the Montagne Blanche until early May. I bought a large quantity of klister on clearance and I'm not regretting my purchase!

The season started late, strictly grass and rock skiing on golf courses and bike trails, with lots of ice, from November 27th until December 20th or so, but we were lucky not to have a total reset rain event like the winter before, where there was zero base and it all melted by late March.

[Nitram Tocrut]

Still at least 30cm on the ground above 400m altitude here in the lower Laurentians and due to freeze up again this week, so we should have another week or two north of Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts and should be able to ski the Montagne Blanche until early May. I bought a large quantity of klister on clearance and I'm not regretting my purchase!

The season started late, strictly grass and rock skiing on golf courses and bike trails, with lots of ice, from November 27th until December 20th or so, but we were lucky not to have a total reset rain event like the winter before, where there was zero base and it all melted by late March.

Hi David,

For La Blanche do you have to hike for a while or there is snow from the parking lot?