December 17, 2004
Attitash Report & Roemer Storm Update…
Attitash, NH 12/17/04 – I hit them up for a free lift ticket, and so did hundreds of other individuals. Skiing for free (lawfully) is always good, clean fun. Plus it gave me a chance to catch up with some old friends kicking around the area and to also make some new ones. Conditions were good, the man-made surfaces stood up to heavy skier and rider traffic on Friday. Trails did show some signs of abuse late in the afternoon, but they were all still very edgeable, even with my beat down sticks, the metal on them is as round as my poles…the sides of the slopes were chalk full of loose granular snow.
I must mention the approach that Attitash has adhered to in regards to their snowmaking campaign; I think it’s brilliant. The entire mountain is ready to go when they receive a foot of white gold from Mother Nature. They have snow on everything, but not everything is open. All the rocks are covered with lots snow and ice. They are base building…a concept some caught up in terrain races may overlook. Attitash could easily have a bunch more open, in fact they are more than doubling their terrain tomorrow, but they have taken the rode less traveled and choose to provide their visitors with quality instead of quantity, as proven on Friday. When the White Mountains get their dump, which they will, Attitash is your best bet if you value the longevity and base of your skis or board.
Me at Attitash on Friday 12/17/04.
So…here it is, Jim Roemer’s latest on the storm heading our way (I did edit ~ just a little bit). Check www.bestskiweather.com for more…
MODELS DIFFER ON POTENTIAL NOR'EASTER FOR SUNDAY NIGHT/MONDAY
I can't say I am a Celtics fan (what a bum, negative Tommy points) having grown up with Willis Reed and Walt Frazier in the 70's and watching the 4 point play by Larry Johnson against the Pacers, I have to still be a Knicks fan (I thought MSG was only a concert venue nowadays). However, if you want to hear about ski weather, listen tonight at 6:00 p.m. (sorry, I am a bit late on the post, lots of windshield time tonight) on Boston's Talk Sports Radio 1510 AM — Boston.
The next big event is this late weekend-Monday storm. Computer models have been all over the place and I like to see at least one model "trending" in a certain direction. Most of them had been slowly been taking the storm out to sea, well east of Cape Code and only brushing the southeastern New England to far eastern Maine coast with modest snows. Now they are bringing the storm closer to Cap Code, which if it happens, would really wallop southeastern New England to Maine by Monday. Most had weakened the storm considerably from the big blizzard that was forecast a few days ago, but one is emphatic that places like Boston, southern Vermont, the Berkshires and especially the southern White Mountains will get nailed with 50 MPH winds and a foot of snow or more--the most being near the coast of Mass and S. New Hampshire.
Lake effect snows will again play a role along and to the east of Champlain due to the warm waters and cold northerly winds Sunday night or Monday--this is a separate sort of weather event to forecast than an nor'easter.
With a southwesterly fetch of warm air aloft---- -and strong cold air pouring south from Ontario, this should set the stage for some pretty decent--what we call--overrunning type snows just about anywhere later Sunday into Monday. I don't know if the actual nor'easter itself is that critical for snow given, again, the warm lakes from Ontario and Erie to Champlain.
Right now, I think it is going to be a very close call for a major snowstorm from near New York City and more likely to Boston, the southern Green & White Mountains northeastward with lighter snows further west in the cold air over Pa./Catskills and Adirondacks. The northern Greens will be under the influence of lake effect and "could get" some pretty modest snows.
If this model (see map below) is correct, southeastern New England would get a blizzard GO WaWa!!! Wachusett and Sugarbush is looking at 8-12". I hate believing computer models and feel if we get the heavier snow, it would be more from lake effect that the models are not forecasting than anything else. I will be in the middle of the range of what could happen right now with my forecast.
