2/12/15, "Skiing: Heavy snowfall makes East the best this winter," Bergen Record, NJ.com, by Iseult Devlin
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| Stowe Mountain |
"Have you checked out the latest snow condition report at your favorite resort lately? Most are reporting deep powder snow and have been for at least two weeks. Not the usual icy or hard pack stuff the East is famous for — just epic light, fluffy powder conditions, sometimes under sunny skies.
Three weeks of storms and non-stop snow in the East is producing record amounts in New England and even New Jersey’s only Nordic center has benefited from the storms.
"We are 100 percent open and have received 28 inches of snow in the last two weeks," said Hans Karlsen, who has operated the High Point Cross-Country Center for the last 20 years. It’s located at the northern tip of New Jersey in High Point State Park with New Jersey highest point at 1,803 feet, offering one of the snowiest spots in the area with panoramic views of the tri-state area.
Altogether, there are 28 kilometers of trails, with 17 groomed for classical and skating. Snowshoeing is also available and this season, the area is also offering fat biking on some of the snowshoe trails.
About 60 percent of the terrain is flat and the 25 percent expert is more technical, climbing from 1,300 to 1,600 feet in elevation with some rolling hills and steeper sections.
Meanwhile up north, most Vermont areas have received almost 60 inches in last two weeks.
Normally, the average snowfall amount for Vermont resorts is just over 200 inches for the entire season, according to Ski Vermont.
"The way things are trending the East could top out as being one of the top snow spots in North America," said Jeff Wise, Stowe’s marketing and communications director. With February and March being the snowiest months traditionally, the total for the season could pass decade-old records, added Wise.
The official "snow stake" located high up on Stowe’s Mt. Mansfield, Vermont’s highest mountain with an elevation of 4,393 feet, measured 76 inches of natural snow as of Feb. 10 and has had 198 so far this season.
Vermont’s snowiest area, Jay Peak, has already had 233 inches to date with only a handful of resorts out west coming close to that amount including Jackson Hole, Wyo. with 278 inches and Alta, Utah with 205. The latest storm dropped up to two feet at southern New England areas including Bromley, Jiminy Peak, Magic, Mount Snow, Okemo and Stratton with more in the forecast this week.
Mad River Glen, which has virtually no snowmaking but has had 48 inches in the last week, reported on its snow conditions blog: "The snowpack on the mountain is deep, in the woods you can’t find bottom and there are still many fresh lines left out there."
New Jersey’s Mountain Creek has had almost a foot in the last week and Camelback got 13 inches. In the Catskills, Plattekill has received 102 inches season-to-date and is staying open every day for President’s Week. Normally the mountain is only open for the weekend. For the latest conditions everywhere, check out snocountry.com, which updates snowfall daily.
To celebrate the snow, Stowe Mountain Lodge has Snow Day deals with ski-and-stay starting at $167 per person (including lift ticket) to encourage skiers to get out there, skip work and enjoy the powder.
Temperatures are staying cold so snow is staying light and fluffy, setting up for the best President’s holiday weekend with peak snow conditions and super deals....
The East is on track to one of its snowiest winters ever if things continue so save the plane fare and get some fresh tracks soon before they run out."
Image caption: "Stowe’s Mt. Mansfield in Vermont has received over 200 inches of natural snow so far this season" Stowe Mountain Resort
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Among comments to above article:
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"Dave Park · Top Commenter · Ashaway, Rhode Island
Word
around the ski lodge has ski area owners all going to oil heat and
buying big SUV's to keep this global warming catastrophe going.
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Jeffery Topps · Top Commenter · The Ohio State University
Can't
be true. One year ago, the NY Times, the paper of record, ran a lengthy
piece proclaiming the end of snow and the ski industry in the very
Northeast this article is talking about. They wouldn't lie, would they?
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