Snowstar Ski Resort Blog

The Lost Winter

2012-01-27T08:47:00.003-06:00

Early Prediction...........by almost as sources..........winter to be cold and snowy!
WRONG, on all accounts.!!!!!
Is there hope...........?.............not much.
Source #1:
With regard to this particular winter - or non winter - the problems remain immense and model depictions of how the pattern is going to evolve over the next 10 days has been really bad. The various models keep forecasting a winter pattern to evolve down the road. Yet, when that time arrives and we compare the actual to the forecast we see huge discrepancies.
If you are hoping for a significant pattern change .........it is not going to happen!
There will still be some winter weather off and on. But winter as we know it is not going to happen.
Source #2:
The AO and NAO have been mostly positive all winter long. Thus, we have seen a seemingly unblocked zonal flow. When the AO and NAO go negative, surface pressures rise in the Polar regions and cold air is more likely to shift south. When they are positive, surface pressures are lower at the higher latitudes and the cold arctic air is more likely to stay put, which has been the predominant pattern this winter. The AO and NAO have ventured into the negative but indications are that this is only temporary and will drift back to neutral.
BOTTOM LINE...........We have made snow at every possible opportunity and are in great shape to provide good skiing/boarding/tubing well into early March despite Mother Nature's stubbornness.

Cold Air... When?

2011-12-05T10:41:00.002-06:00

It is now Dec 5th and the God's of Winter continue to ignore us. Weekend brought heavy rain and 50 degree temps.............
It was foretasted to turn to snow on Sunday and get down to 20 by Monday morning. No snow and the low Monday morning was 29 not 20.........
We need 70 hours of temps in the low 20's or colder to get coverage. Looking at the forecasts, it is not going to happen this week and we are going to have to push back our opening date from Dec 10th to a later date.
Why have all those snowy cold forecasts disappeared? Mainly, the reason a lot of meteorologists have turned sour on winter is because of their trust in the European Weekly Models. The last 2 winters, the European models have been very good in latching onto patterns.
These Weekly forecasts show no cold air of any kind coming our way. Do we have any hope of getting some snow made soon?????????
There is a one out there that we desperately need to materialize. NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory(ESRL) and what they call the "reforecast" model. This model shows cold air coming, unlike the Euro's. The Euro breaks down the ridge over the west by Dec 10th and shuts off the cold air to the central U.S. The ESRL model shows a different and a much preferred solution. It predicts a much stronger ridge along the west coast with a strong flow of cold air flowing our way. Please let it be so!

Winter Update

2011-11-25T14:58:00.002-06:00

WELL!.............the second guessing has begun.
I am hearing numerous reports that some meteorologists(from both the private commercial sector and the energy sector) are beginning to downplay their winter forecasts. Some are even hinting at a collapse of winter as predicted just a couple weeks ago!
Perhaps part of the problem is that we have just come off 2 significant winters in a row and the anticipation, excitement, and build up for a 3rd such winter has led to over-zealous expectations.
It now looks like the best we may see is seasonal conditions and that may not happen until mid December. Nothing like the winter forecasters being wrong before Winter officially begins.

Accuweather just issued a statement that they need to revise their winter forecast!
Let the back-pedaling begin. They originally predicted the Midwest to see lots of cold and lots of snow. La Nina has proven to be weaker than expected. A strong La Nina often overrides other patterns and will provide more definitive results. A weaker La Nina is more likely to be influenced by other factors, yielding a wide variety of potential outcomes.
One of the key players recently has been the lack of a Greenland Block. Without this block, the dip in the storm track is in the Western U.S. Bingo, that is what November has seen. So, will the NAO go negative sometime soon and create a block???? If you visited my previous posting you may recall my comment about Accuweather's initial forecast............."Sounds too good to be true!!!!!!!!!"..........
I am still holding out for a good winter even if it may be a little late in arriving. The last 2 winters really got cranking as soon as Dec hit. There still have been a lot of winters that got off to a slow start but provided lots of winter in late December into January and February.

Upcoming Winter 11/12

2011-11-17T15:32:00.009-06:00

Has anyone missed me.....?.......I know, I need to step up and show some diligence and post once in a while..........
So what is coming our way this winter? Always an exciting time of year as we anticipate the first hint of winter weather.
I can never wait to see the various forecasts, but experience has shown me that the early forecasts simply have little substance. But it is still fun to take a look at them, compare them and ultimately grade them out to see how accurate they really were.
Last year's results???????? Somewhat shaky to say the least. Consensus was that February was going to be cold and snowy............not so much in reality! We got that wonderful dump of powder on Feb 1st and 2nd. Little did we know that end of winter was upon us. Guess that groundhog was smarter than we thought.
Here ya go............forecasts as of today November 17th, 2011.
#1-AccuWeather
Says the Midwest will be dealt the worst of winter this year.
In terms both snow and cold.
Bitterly cold blasts of arctic air are expected to invade the Midwest through January, with above normal snowfall. This buildup of snow cover across the Midwest could act as a catalyst to extend winter beyond February.
why?..La Nina
La Nina's often produce a volatile weather pattern for the Midwest due to the influence they have on the jet stream. The way the Jet Stream is expected to be positioned during this Winter's event will tend to drive storms though the Midwest.
Sounds too good to be true!!!!!!!!!

#2 Old Farmer's Almanac
Winter Temps will be above normal with below normal precip. Coldest in Mid-Late Dec, Mid Jan, Mid Feb..........Snowiest periods Mid Dec, Late Feb
Certainly not an acceptable forecast!!!

#3. Farmers' Almanac
Average Temps with above normal Precip.......this is the odd one(could work if that precip is snow and not rain or ice).

#4. NOAA
Near Normal Precip and slightly below normal temps (boring but acceptable)

#5. WXRISK
Dec - Colder than normal temps with above normal precip
Jan….Below normal temps with normal precip
Feb….Colder than normal temps with above normal precip
Outstanding Forecast ....and by the way, he is often right!!!!

#6. Snowday
Winter Temps
I am expecting the northern tier of the United States to experience the harshest cold this winter compared to average. Below average temperatures will exist over a portion of the western United States moving southeast through the eastern U.S.
However, if the AO is not as negative as expected this winter, and I am getting a bit worried about the AO not becoming as negative,temperatures would be overall warmer over the southeastern United States as well as a chunk of the eastern United States.
Winter Snowfall....Average to slightly above average.
Ice Storm Risk...Due to the expected track of the storm systems this year, and the NAO for not being as negative as we head into the winter time as well as the AO being more neutral these storms will have a harder time to go as far south as last winter did, thus warm air will mix with the cold air creating the potential for significant ice storms across much of central and eastern Kansas through all of Missouri, northern Arkansas as well as all of Illinois This winter will be the winter of the Ice Storm over a good deal of the eastern/central United States.
QC Summary....much like last winter, will see lots of variability this winter. I am expecting some harsh winter weather conditions with brutal cold air.Clipper like systems will be most prevalent and will even be more south then last winter landing with some quick hitting snow cold and wind from Nebraska and Iowa on north.
Every so often there will be the potential for some panhandle low pressure systems, these will be the power house storm systems that will deliver with it high impact winter conditions. I am expecting a heightened risk for high ice storms much of Kansas, Missouri and southeastern Nebraska through eastern Iowa, much more
of a ice risk this winter then last winter as the NAO/AO wont be quite as negative this winter allowing these storms to go further north, but only enough to clash the warm air with the cold air to create ice storm conditions. Overall temperatures will seesaw through the winter with extreme bouts of arctic air and warmer air, the entire winter will not be bone chilling nor will the entire winter be warm weather.
Lots of potential, but he throws in a few zingers that mak me uneasy!!!

LRC
Winter Temperature Forecast
A cold winter is most likely from the Mississippi River Valley northeast
Winter Precipitation Forecast. We are forecasting an active weather pattern across North America this winter with strong and wet storm systems, most frequently over the Great Lakes states. Very strong Pacific storm systems will blast into the western states at times deepening into the long-term long wave troughs. We will learn a lot more about how storm systems will track, intensify, weaken, and strengthen in the next few weeks. We are expecting more rain than in recent winters. The past two winters have had mostly dry and fluffy snowstorms with very little of the precipitation coming in other forms. This year we expect rain, freezing rain, and sleet to cut into what could be higher totals.
Gary throws in some big red flags on all of the winter bliss!!!!!!!! and he has a strong track record!

Stay Tuned For Updates...........
and Happy Thanksgiving

Extreme Super Moon

2011-03-11T09:21:00.002-06:00

I started this post yesterday and got interrupted and decided to finish it later. Later caused me to really wonder about what I was looking at.
In the middle of March the moon will make its closest approach to the earth in 18 years. The definition of an extreme Super Moon is when the moon is fill or new as well as at its closest proximity to the earth. Thus we will experience such a phenomenon in the middle of this month.
Some say that such an event will bring strong earthquakes and storms. Such predictions certainly seem debatable. There were super moons in 1955, 1974, 1992 and 2005. All of these years had their share of extreme weather and natural disasters, but were they coincidental or not? I tend to be a non-believer of super moon hype, but in view of the catastrophic event in Japan in the last 24 hours, one tends to wonder. When I was sharing my doubt with my staff, I was reminded of the 9.0 earthquake that hit Indonesia very near the time of the last super moon which ocurred on Jan 10th, 2005.
Does the prediction of the upcoming super moon spell disaster, or is it just another attempt to arouse society's passion for a good doom and gloom story. I have difficult accepting validity of such havoc predictions. I must confess however, that I know so little and I certainly am glad I do not live in Japan. My heart goes out to that part of the world. What a helpless position they have found.

Just as they predicted.........NOT!

2011-02-17T09:12:00.002-06:00

Well, my fears have to come to fruition. So many winter forecasts called for the end of February to be cold and snowy. We are now in that time slot and we are looking highs in the mid 60's today(Feb17). We have seen a huge alteration in the jet stream pattern. We still have plenty of snow and winter certainly cannot have left us yet. Perhaps the groundhog knows more than he is given credit for!
The upcoming few weeks are perennially a battle between two seasons. Flips in the jet stream pattern can allow ever-changing cold shots and warm surges. When the two air masses clash, storms can result. If you are on the colder side of those storms, snow can easily pile up.
Keep your fingers crossed for us to be on that cold side!!!!!!! One thing you can always count on is this.............Mother Nature is in Charge!!!!!!!!!!!
Get your snow on!!!

Statism

2011-02-06T16:35:00.002-06:00

As each day awakens, we see government exercising its desire to control us just a little bit more......... tugging one more freedom away from us. At this very moment, in committee of the Illinois General Assembly is proposed legislation called "Ski Slope Safety Act". In essence, "The Ski Slope Safety Act provides that every ski area operator shall ensure that all skiers and snowboarders are not permitted to enter the recreation area without protective helmets".
Our industry actively promotes the use of helmets. In 2002, the National Ski Areas Association launched the "Lids on Kids" interactive website (www.lidsonkids.org) in an effort to educate kids and parents about helmet use on the slopes. As a result of this and other education efforts by resorts, ski helmet use is now at 87% for kids age 9 and under; 75% for kids age 10-14; and 61% for kids ages 15-17. These figures are impressive, especially when compared to other mandated helmet sports.
Not only does this bill remove one more of our freedoms of choice, but it places the resorts in charge of enforcement.
You may ask what statism is and what does that have to do with wearing a helmet. One definition of statism is as follows...........
Under statism, government is no longer a policeman, but a gang of thugs with the legal power to initiate force in any manner they please against a legally disarmed citizen. This seems to be a rather harsh stance as I always thought it meant government wanting to make all of our decisions for us and removing freedoms one by one to meet it owns agenda.
Not only does this act require helmets on the slopes, but requires helmets upon entering the area as well as such activities as walking through the rental shop. Sounds like someone has a personal vendetta on the burner. Slips and falls at home are more common than incidents on the slopes..........so, do not be surprised if some day you may be requuired to wear a helmet the next time you step into the shower or tub............
TTYL

Humans Were Never Meant To Hibernate....right?

2011-02-04T12:03:00.002-06:00

Humans were never meant to hibernate, has always been my mantra. However, most of us were forced to hibernate for a day this past week when Blizzard 2011 set in. In retrospect, I guess that really was not the case either. Inability to get vehicles moving pushed many of us to get out there and do some serious shoveling. There was lots of it, but it was dry powder, easy to shovel and all in all a good cardio workout.

Evidently my mantra is not embraced by all. We have had numerous groups of skiers, boarders and tubers cancel their outings for today and tomorrow. Reason given......... too cold! Today the temps are in the 20's and tomorrow we will see 30. Too cold????? Hmmmmmmmmm I guess some were meant to hibernate. Remember, hibernation is not a healthy alternative.........get out and embrace the remnants of the big snow........

Al Gore Probably Blames Winter Weather on Global Warming

2011-02-03T17:19:00.002-06:00

Check out the following.......I would love to get Joe and Al together.........
This winter is on track to become the coldest for the nation as a whole since the late 70s. According to AccuWeather.com Chief Long Range Forecaster Joe Bastardi, three or four out of the next five winters could be just as cold, if not colder.
He is worried that next winter, for example, will be colder than this one.
While there are many different factors that are playing into Bastardi's forecast, one of the primary drivers is La Niña and the trends that have been observed in winters that follow the onset of a La Niña.
According to Bastardi, studies over the past 100 years or so show that after the first winter following the onset of a La Niña, the next several winters thereafter tend to be colder than normal in the U.S.
He says the first winter during a La Niña tends to be warm. The next winter that follows is usually less warm, and the winter after that is usually cold.
"There's a natural tendency for that to happen because of the large-scale factors," Bastardi commented. "What's interesting about what we're seeing here is that [the current La Niña] is starting so cold."
He adds, "If the past predicts the future, then the first year La Niña is warmer than the combination of the following two."
He said that with the exception of the winters of 1916-1917 and 1917-1918, the first year of every moderate or stronger La Niña available for study has featured a warmer-than-normal winter from the Plains eastward. This winter, it has been colder than normal.
Taking a look at one of the exceptions, the La Niña winter of 1916-1917, colder-than-normal conditions were observed across the northern part of the Plains and East (not the South). Bastardi said that never before have colder-than-normal conditions been observed across the South during a first-year La Niña winter, as has been the case this winter.
If this winter, which has been colder than normal across the eastern two-thirds of the country, is historically supposed to be the warmest of the next three winters for the U.S., according to Bastardi, we have some frigid times ahead.
Bastardi thinks that not only will the next few winters be colder than normal for much of the U.S., but that the long-term climate will turn colder over the next 20 to 30 years.
"What's interesting about what we're seeing here is that [the current La Niña] is starting so cold," said Bastardi, "and it's coinciding with bigger things that are pushing the overall weather patterns and climate in the Northern Hemisphere and, in fact, globally over the next 20 to 30 years that we have not really dealt with, nor can we really quantify."
"That ties into a lot of this arguing over climate change," he added.
Bastardi has pointed out that the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), which is a pattern of Pacific climate variability that shifts phases usually about every 20 to 30 years, has shifted into a "cold" or "negative" phase.
Over the past 30 years or so, according to Bastardi, the PDO has been "warm" or "positive."
This change to a cold PDO over the next 20 to 30 years, he says, will cause La Niñas to be stronger and longer than El Niños. Bastardi adds that when El Niños do kick in, if they try to come on strong like they did last year, they will get "beaten back" pretty quickly.
"When you have a cold PDO and lots of La Niñas, when El Niños do come on, you generally tend to have cold, snowy weather patterns across the U.S.," Bastardi said. "That's what we saw in the 1960s and 1970s."

Ice is not as thin as predicted.

2011-01-27T13:40:00.002-06:00

I have avoided touching base with you on a few observations for a valid reason. My most dependable weather source talked about us being constantly under a warm ridge this winter. He talked about the end of Dec and the first half of Jan bringing us moderating temps. He talked about the last half Jan and first half of Feb being much above normal in temps. He advised me that snow-making hours would be scarce for most of January. Soooooooooooo, I am totally excited that none of that has come to fruition!
Do not get me wrong we have had a couple of rain events, including that nasty one on MLK Day. That event was especially frustrating as 4 inches of fresh powder that fell early that morning was ruined by several hours of rain. But generally speaking we have had snow on the ground most of the winter, have been able to make snow almost whenever we wanted and have had incredible packed powder conditions for a majority of the season. We literally have anywhere between 3 to 8 feet of snow on our trails and conditions are wonderful. We always hit this lull in traffic after MLK Day and many folks have missed a great opportunity to experience great conditions and virtually no lift lines. Super Bowl Sunday's have a tradition of low numbers, but they all paled in comparison to last Sunday's Bears vs Packers game. Frustrating on my end to see low numbers of tickets sold when conditions were so nice. Even more frustrating to see the Bears get run over.
In regards to Super Bowl Sunday..........great chance to ski and avoid the crowds(almost guaranteed!)............we even will give you a $15 lift ticket for the day if you donate to the local food pantry.
Whoa! I have rambled and gotten away from my reason for delaying this posting. The weather has been so kind to us (totally not what we were bracing for). I was almost gun-shy to put anything out there in fear of breaking our streak of weather luck. If they were wrong about so much of these past 4 weeks...........are they going to be wrong about a cold and snow February???
Let us hope they get that one right!
One final note...........check out a blog by Lori Kobelan........ http://www.mastersinteaching.com/top-49-ski-resort-blogs/

LAST FORECAST SOURCE COMES FORWARD

2010-12-07T13:40:00.002-06:00

When I last abruptly left you, I was on my way to dig up a water main that had blown out......Actually we quickly found the break, got it dug up and Josh Johnson did a great job of quickly welding on a patch and we were up and making snow by the time cold weather returned.
I have been waiting for my last forecast contact to get back to me and he has finally done so. He is not always prompt, but he has proven to be uncannily accurate in the past. He claims he is more accurate than most, due to the fact that he does not rush to get a forecast out in a hurry. He says there is always pressure to get the forecast out early. The problem of the early forecast is 2-fold. First, some variables are simply unknown until December approaches. Secondly, some known variables can change as winter approaches. For example, when making winter forecasts, it is critical to look at the developing snow cover across the northern hemisphere.
His past history of accuracy scares me, as he does not predict good things for us lovers of snow.
Here are some highlights of his comments about the winter of 2010-11.
1-La Nina.......As of now, it now appears to have peaked and declining earlier than predicted. This was the fastest transition ever from a strong event to a moderate event. Research indicates that a rapid transition and development of a ENSO event often leads to a rapid decline as well. So what???? Well, a fast break-down could lead to a fairly cold and snow February............ That IS Good!
2-PDO(Pacific Decadal Oscillation)....considered one of the most important climate discoveries in the last 20 years. It is way too technical for me to explain, so if you are interested chack out this link.......... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_decadal_oscillation
Bottom line on the PDO is that it is currently strongly negative and this means there is likely to be deep persistent troughs over much of the western 1/3 of the continental US. Not good for us as that puts us under the warm ridge.
3-Enhanced Pacific Jet.......This is a double edged sword. A Strong Pacific jet is often resistant to bending and buckling and thus would temper any huge ridges from developing over us and aid in avoiding those huge warm spells...........On the flip side, a strong jet also hinders cold spells from settling in over us and as a snowmaker, I often look forward to those cold snaps.........
4-Snowcover across Canada is critical for us to see any type of winter weather. Right now we have recently seen a rapid increase in snow cover across the northern hemisphere............ I like that.
To summarize his forecast, he predicted a cold and snowy start to winter. He nailed that. The second half of Dec and 1st half of Jan will be much more moderate. OK, but let's not get carried away here. End of Jan and early Feb expect MUCH ABOVE Normal Temps.........now that is getting carried away!!!!!!!!! Winter should close snowy and cold..............that is more like it.

A New Forecast Source

2010-11-24T09:22:00.002-06:00

UPDATE.........the following post has just been interrupted.......we are getting ready to make snow for the first time and we just experienced a water main break!!!!!!!!!!!! See ya later.........

I have had the pleasure of interacting with a new resource in the weather arena. His name is Gary Lezak from the Kansas City area. Gary noticed back in the 1980s that "storm systems seemed to have similar characteristics unique to that year. Quite simply a storm in February looked very similar to one that had occurred earlier in that season, say in December". As the years went by Gary started paying closer attention to the weather patterns and he came up with the LRC.
The LRC (Lezak's Recurring Cycle) simply stated is as follow:
* A unique weather pattern sets up every autumn between October 1st and November 10th
* "Long term" longwave troughs and ridges become established over the northern hemisphere
* The pattern cycles and repeats over and over again until it slowly weakens and falls apart during the mid summer months

As simple as it sounds, to Gary's credit he has had stunning results in his forecast accuracy.........Given that, what is he saying about this winter..........

First and foremost, our weather pattern this winter will be very different from last year. At this point he feels the cycle length will be about 45 days this season with 3 dominant features that will drive our weather this winter.
The first and likely strongest feature, is a ‘long term’ long-wave trough stretching from Hudson Bay through the Ohio Valley. When this part of the pattern occurs, it will favor fast moving ‘clipper’ systems that will race by bringing us light precipitation and shots of frigid arctic air.
However, at times we will be close to the trough boundary and the pattern will have energy coming into it from the Pacific NW which will flatten out the Jet(a strong Pacific Jet will be another strong influence). When this happens, the trough will be over the west and we will be in the ridge bringing very warm weather to the area. Whether we are north of the flow or underneath of it will dictate winter vs. warmth. Or.........as is always the case when we are near a boundary, ice storms become a distinct possibility.
The last part of the forecast seemed quite complex and difficult for me to understand. Basically, energy will drop into the Southwest. At times it will get cut-off. At other times the energy will get picked up in the flow and move our way. This creates the potential for major snows.
What about La Nina? Gary feels that La Nina will in fact be an influence, but the LRC is a stronger force. La Nina years typically are somewhat drier.
In summary we will probably see normal precip and temps overall, but it will be a mixed bag of precip and temps will probably see some pretty crazy swings. Normal overall, but very little normal about any given day.

And Another Comes Out Forecast

2010-11-23T10:00:00.001-06:00

Back in late August, we talked about a forecast coming out from a Midwest Meteorologist(Craig McPeck). Hew threw out phrases that included "a whole new definition of extreme" and "coming changes could be quite bizarre." His final winter forecast is out, so let's see how extreme and bizarre we are really talking about.

Precipitation-bulk of precipitation will set up further north than last winter. Last year a strong sub tropical jet was main component of the Jet Stream. This year the southern influence will be much weaker so precip will be much further north with a very strong Pacific Jet dominating. Not a good sign as a strong Pacific Jet often keeps cold air bottled up and prevents it from coming down our way.

Temps-Expect brutal cold across the extreme northern plains. He calls for us to be in a sandwich. That means we can expect wide swings in temps all of which will be short-lived. This would also be a by-product of the Strong Pacific Jet.

Snowfall-Again expect heavy snows across the northern tier of states. We kinda fall on the southern edge of such activity.

Ice-He has us targeted for significant ice storm threats. Expect shallow air masses of cold and warm air to mix creating the potential for deadly ice storms. His personal advise to me was to buy a generator as it is not a matter of if, but rather a matter of how often. That is definitely not good.

Storm Tracks-Again the focus will be on a strong Pacific Jet that will hammer the Pacific Northwest. Some of these storms will migrate south and east into the Texas Panhandle before tracking northeast through the central plains. That leaves us with 3 scenarios. 1- the storms tracks to our south and we get significant amounts of the good stuff.........SNOW! 2-It tracks near us and we see that ice storm scenario. 3-It tracks to our north and we get the warm rains............We are on the edge and will probably see all of the above at one time or another........A second storm track may be from Alberta Clippers that head our way. They typically are very fast moving, bring cold and dry snows that are not noted for heavy accumulations. But they do bring true powder snows when they come.

Turkey day is on the near horizon. So let's talk some turkey trivia in closing. Did you know...............Because the wild turkey is quick to defend itself and fight against all predators, Ben Franklin wanted it as the symbol of the United States. Comparing it to the eagle, he called the turkey "a more respectable bird, a true original native of America."...................you already knew that didn't you..............
Will get you another forecast from an interesting source tomorrow, I hope..........

One more forecast steps forward......

2010-11-19T12:20:00.002-06:00

I promise I will be more diligent on blogging. Right now all of our(or at least my) concerns are focused on what winter weather lies ahead.

Today we are looking at the Old Farmer's Almanac(OFA) forecast. They always make it clear that this forecast is derived form a secret formula developed by Robert Thomas back in 1792. The old boy might have been ahead his time by a couple of centuries as his beliefs were centered on sunspot activity. He must have been a Galileo fan. The OFA does quickly admit that they have refined the Thomas formula with modern technology so that it now includes 3 strands of thought.

The crux still centers around solar activity. However, a second discipline has been included and that is climatology. Climatology being defined as the study of prevailing weather patterns and conditions over time. And finally it encompasses meteorology, which is the study of the atmosphere.

What about weather lore that one often associates with the OFA? They say that they believe in the such things but do not employ them to create their forecast. Let's take a look at one of them......."Wind in the East, good for neither man nor beast"..........In the mid-latitude regions the prevailing wind blows from the west. When the wind is out of the east, a low-pressure system accompanied by some type of storm usually follows. The belief behind the proverb dates back to ancient Rome where they would not conduct official business when the wind blew from the east. Reason???............ leaders felt that it made people too irritable.

I have digressed and need to get back to their forecast. So here ya go.........
Winter will be slightly colder than normal, on average, with below normal precipitation and near-to-below normal snowfall. Coldest periods will be in mid-January and Mid February, with other cold periods in mid-to late December and early February. The snowiest periods will be the last 2 weeks of Jan, and early and late Feb, and mid-March.
December-Warm and rain early, then mild thru the 21st. Right before Christmas some snow and cold, with warm and rain after that with some cold weather to close out the year.
January-mild to start turning to seasonable before some bitter cold moves in for mid to late January.
February-A real roller coaster with a little bit of everything. Expect the month to close out cold and snowy.........
So there ya go. I have 3 more very interesting contacts that are getting me info as i post this. If I can understand them, I will share them with you early next week..........

Winter 2010-2011???????

2010-08-24T09:44:00.002-05:00

What's it gonna be? Huge question and as a snow lover we always try to see the positives. It is way too early to put much validity in any forecasts. That being said, we are starting to get some sneak previews of some of the forecasts.
What seems to be a common thread is that we have seen a transition from a fairly strong El Nino to what has the makings of a significant La Nina event.
So what does that mean? Nothing for certain as there are always many other factors that play into the mix besides the Southern Oscillation. Last year was a fine example of that as El Nino favors drier and milder winters.....we got cool and snowy!
Craig McPeck is a Midwest Meteorologist and his take on the flip from El Nino to La Nina is this........"This winter will be a whole new definition to the word extreme. Last winter was extreme over the Mid Atlantic States and from portions of the Central Plains through the Southern Plains and Southeast. A major El Nino occurred but with the most rapid flip from a strong El Nino to a La Nina in recent memory, one has to note that the coming changes could be quite bizarre." Interesting tease there ......isn't it????
Farmers' Almanac says Cold and Snowy. Gotta love that forecast!
Old Farmer's Almanac............still waiting on that one.
Weather Bureau............says normal temps and slightly above normal precip.
So there ya go..........round one is complete............stay tuned for updates and they are released.

Why So Hot

2010-07-14T07:47:00.002-05:00

All my crew is complaining about the heat. Why is it so hot? Maybe it just seems hot because the last 2 summers have been relatively cool. Actually we have not even touched 90 degrees yet this July...........albeit that will probably change today.

What is the catalyst is for such extremely hot temperatures? One reason I've heard is the location of the Earth in relation to the Sun. After all this is summer, and we are probably closest to the Sun, right?

Wrong. It’s actually quite the opposite. On Tuesday, July 6, 2010, the Earth was at aphelion, its farthest point from the Sun for this year.

Conversely, back on January 2, we were physically closest to the Sun, at perihelion. The difference between the closest and farthest points is equal to 3,105,866 miles, which sounds like a lot, but amounts to an overall change of just over 3%.

In fact, this relatively small difference in the Earth’s distance from the Sun has very little effect on what astronomers refer to as our “insolation,” (the amount of sunlight we receive per unit of surface area).

The reason for the temperature difference lies in the tilt of the axis of the Earth itself, not the proximity of the Sun. In the summer, the Northern Hemisphere is tipped toward the Sun so that its light falls more directly and is more concentrated on each unit of the surface. This, along with the fact that the Sun shines for a longer time each day, makes summer a warmer season than winter.

Saturday, July 3rd, also marked the beginning of the “Dog Days of Summer,” which also closely coincided with the start of the searing heat for the Eastern U.S. Perhaps this has something to do with the recent siege of hot weather?

Everyone talks about “dog days” but few know what the expression means. Some say that it signifies hot sultry days “not fit for a dog.” Others say it’s the weather in which dogs go mad. But the dog days are defined as the period from July 3 through August 11 when the Dog Star, Sirius, rises about the same time as the sun.

As a result, some people felt that the combination of the brightest luminary of the day (the Sun) and the brightest star of night (Sirius) was responsible for the extreme heat that is experienced during the middle of summer.

Sirius, being so near to the Sun in our current sky, is invisible now, but beginning around August 11, just before sunrise, it might again be glimpsed rising just above the southeast horizon.

In ancient Egypt, the new year began in August with the return of Sirius. Its annual reappearance was a warning to people who lived along the Nile River. The star always returned just before the river rose, and so announced the coming of floodwater. People then opened the gates of canals that irrigated their fields.

We know today, of course, that Sirius has nothing to do with hot temperatures or floods, but after all of these years the term “Dog Days” just stuck!

Sooooooooooo..... yea it is hot, but it is summer and that is what it should be.......hot..

Despite the heat, us snow lovers are already wondering what this winter will bring. Indications are that El Nino is fast fading and some form of La Nina or Neutral winter will take its place. The closest duplication of the current pattern was last seen prior to the winter of 92-93. That winter gave us an unprecedented 86 days of skiing. That sounds pretty good to me!

Enjoy the summer!

Warm thoughts and cold reality

2010-02-16T11:00:00.002-06:00

Had a chance to spend Valentine's Day afternoon skiing with my wife, Cathy. What a great way to spend an afternoon. It certainly does not get any better than that. An afternoon on the slopes with the one you love followed up with a cozy evening in front of the fireplace.

That certainly warmed my heart. On the other end of the spectrum is some cold reality. I just read that Lake Erie is now frozen over. This has not occurred since the winter of 1995-96. This translates into a 241 mile stretch of ice. Lake Erie, with an average depth of 62 feet is the most shallow of the Great Lakes, which is why it is the only one that completely freezes over.

Since lake-effect snow depends on warmer lake temperatures compared to the air, the ice cover will deter large amounts of snowfall to the downwind side of the lake. I am sure Al Gore predicted such an event.

Top 10

2010-02-03T14:31:00.002-06:00

I am starting to hear a few grumblings about people wishing winter was over. Yes it is true that these naysayers do not embrace the fun and camaraderie that can be had in winter. And yes, even I know a few people like that. So here are some reasons not to wish winter away. Let's call it my top 10 list. Oh, by the way, all indications are that wonderful winter weather is with for the foreseeable future. Yea, baby!
#10....No crowds at the beach.
#9......Your Whitey's Ice Cream will not melt before ya get home.
#8........No need to weed the garden.
#7........Winter feel good food like Chili, Hot Chocolate, and Homemade Bread.
#6......Wood Fire in the Fireplace......there truly is something magical about watching a fire.
#5....That romantic feeling of watching a snowfall.
#4......The sight and sound of snow guns helping mother nature lay down some fresh powder.
#3......The crunch of freshly fallen dry snow as you walk out to get the paper.
#2........Snow in general. There is just a unique mystique about the pretty white stuff that blankets the landscape. Enjoy it----make a snowman, have a snowball fight, go tubing, take a picture of it, join your friends on the slopes.
#1....Winter Recreation.....Get off the couch cuz winter is the only time you can go skiing, boarding, tubing............make a memory for a lifetime with friends and family on the slopes.

It's Snowtime

2009-12-03T19:36:00.002-06:00

Snowmaking Starts Tonight!
It's another late start. Global Warming has always been the scapegoat for late starts. But in all reality weather always has and always will be cyclical. For some time, I have denied the existence of global warming. The more I research Al Gore's "Inconvenient Truth", the more I have come to realize that it is truly Gore's political agenda for personal gain. He has positioned himself to make millions via the impending Cap Trade hammer. He has promoted his fallacy and it is all about money.
Not only were Gore's facts exaggerated, we now come to see that a conspiracy was in his corner to make the results of global warming research fit his agenda. .............Climate-Gate.
Evidence shows they have falsified data and hidden information in an effort to suppress debate in order to exaggerate the threat of man-made global warming. All in the interest of political gain. Politics rather than scientific fact was the driving force that has put global warming on the forefront.
Interesting that the story is more than a week old and main-stream media, including the broadcast networks have basically ignored it. What is more important to them .....?......Tiger Woods, of course.

Updated Update

2009-11-30T09:18:00.002-06:00

Just when they ruin my Thanksgiving with a warm December forecast, they do an about face and tease me with the chance of a slightly different twist on what to expect in the next couple of weeks!

Here is the latest...........

There is still debate on whether it is going to be colder than normal or just seasonally could in December. Either scenario is completely different than the forecasts that came out just three days earlier. This is GREAT NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!
Several forecasters commented that in Oct they expected the HEART of the cold air would be centered over the Western Great Lakes, the Upper Mississippi Valley and the Plains...........that thought has returned. Their explanation for the warm Dec forecast was the surge in intensity of El Nino leads to just that 9 out of 10 times. But, apparently this is going to be that 1 time in 10! Oh yeah!

What changed to make such a stunning turnaround? Seems that we are about to see a jet stream change. The powerful Pacific Jet is about to be replaced by a split jet which will set the stage for the Arctic Jet and the Subtropical Jet to become prominent. This being said, we have a great opportunity to see some cold air early and some snow later as the Arctic Jet provides the cold air and the SubTropic Jet provides the moisture............

LET THIS SCENARIO PLAY OUT AND IT WILL BE A GREAT START TO THE SEASON!!!!

Update as Promised

2009-11-25T14:03:00.006-06:00

Oh my how things have changed since I last blogged. Those early forecasts of a bitter cold and snowy winter seem to have been based on some faulty assumptions. The key assumption was that El Nino, showing no signs of strengthening all fall would continue in that manner. Unfortunately, in late Oct and Early Nov it literally exploded!

The impact of the rapid rise of the El Nino into the upper fringe of the Moderate Category over the past few weeks clearly affects the winter forecast. Typical of such a transition is the development of a very powerful Pacific Jet Flow. This has been evident over the last 2 weeks. This will particularly impact the 1st half of winter when we are now expected to see a warm and wet pattern well into January. Does anyone remember the winter of 06/07?????? A very similar scenario!

El Nino's huge pool of warm water does appear to be migrating eastward toward the Peru coast. As this massive bubble of warmth propagates eastward, waters should cool off significantly behind it. If this can persist, then El Nino's strength should be short lived.

That being said, the 2nd half of winter could very likely see cold and snow settling in and persisting until early March. Does anyone remember the winter of 06/07?????? A very similar scenario!

If you look at past data, you can find 4 winters where we had El Nino events which rapidly strengthened in late Oct and early Nov only to weaken during late Dec and early Jan. Those winters were 1965-66, 2002-03, 2004-05, and 2006-07. In all four of these events we saw a mild or very mild Dec followed by a significant shift in the overall pattern at some point during the 2nd half of winter. The best known and most recent case was the El Nino Event of 2006-07. This featured a very warm Dec over the entire nation east of the Rockies followed by a rapid breakdown of the El Nino during the holidays.... and then a massive pattern shift to a significant cold and snowy pattern east of the Mississippi....from Jan 15 thru Mar 15. That 60 day period was one of the coldest 60 day periods ever seen in the continental US in the last 100 years.

In the short term, we are hearing a lot of talk about a cold outbreak in the near horizon. But I really do not see it being extreme or long-lived. In order for that to happen you have to have a core of cold air on this side of the world. Right now you see the main Polar Vortex is still situated way over in China and Siberia. There is no hint in any models that the vortex is going to leave and shift over into the Western Hemisphere any time soon. Without the vortex setting up in the Western Hemisphere, there is no way to keep the cold pattern in place. Without having a Polar Vortex in place, there is no resistance when the pattern begins to weaken and the Pacific Jet will once again reassert itself.

Snowmaking capabilities will be relied upon heavily once again!!!!!!!!!

What Will Mom Nature Send Us????

2009-10-23T14:24:00.004-05:00

Well it is that time of year to start wondering what winter has in store for us. Once again the forecasts are all over the board. As time has gone on however, they have started to get closer together. In particular, the National Weather Service has backed off somewhat on its initial forecast of a much warmer winter than normal. They are now saying a warmer than normal winter, but we have at least moved closer to the cut-off line between normal and above normal. They have also moved us from the drier than normal range to the normal precipitation range now(as of Oct 15th). So here ya go...............you pick!
1- National Weather Service.....above normal temps and equal chances of near normal precip
2- Farmers' Almanac....Bitterly Cold and Dry
3- Old Farmer's Almanac....Cold and Snowy
4- AccuWeather official forecast(Joe Bastardi)....Not as Cold nor Snowy(similar to NWS)
5- AccuWeather's unofficial(Henry Margusity)....Cold and Snowy
6- Snowday....Brutal Cold and Snowy
Most of the variances center around what El Nino is doing. The cold forecasts believe El Nino will not strengthen and will remain moderately weak. The warmer forecasts hinge upon the belief that El Nino will strengthen.
I personally am not riding the wave of a major El Nino, however I must admit that just recently it has finally strengthened somewhat(well after its strengthening was predicted).

I will update you in a couple of weeks...........
ed

Global Warming at It's Finest

2009-01-16T08:36:00.003-06:00

Got to the area about 6am this morning and the temp was sitting at -33 degrees. Yesterday's high here at Snowstar peaked at -12. Today holds far more promise as the forecast is for lower teens. Doesn't sound very warm, but it will be about 25 degrees warmer than yesterday.
Where did this all come from? The most recent entrance can be traced to Alaska where they have even experienced an unusual cold spell. Their(Anchorage) cold invasion really began just before the new year when temps fell well below zero on the 29th of Dec and stayed there non-stop through the 7th of Jan.
Generally speaking, when you see that kind of cold in Alaska, 2 things are usually true. First of all, it is rarely very cold in Alaska AND downstream in the Midwest at the same time. Secondly, when the cold air does move our way, it often means a dramatic flip in Alaska. Flip, it did. Eislson Airforce Base near Fairbanks went from -55 to the mid 50's a couple days later. A temp swing of 110 degrees in a matter of 72 hours.
If you think about that, it currently is much warmer in Alaska than it is in northern Florida. That does happen from time to time with a high amplitude pattern like this. But that is just crazy!
This kind of pattern will not last as a monster storm is coming across the Aleutians which will put Alaska back in the freezer and we see easing of the brutal cold this weekend.
Bundle up and when the temps approach 30 on Saturday, we ourselves will witness a 60 degree temps swing............
eed

Back at it following a short recess.

2008-12-01T15:25:00.004-06:00

Snowmaking is back on the front burner. We will begin making snow later this afternnon(Dec 1) and hope to have everything skiable and/or boardable by Saturday Dec 13th which remains our targeted open day for the season.
I have spent a little more time researching winter forecasts. Obviously, we always boo the bad forecasts and applaud the good ones. Given that, I stand by my request that you ignore the forecasts from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center. One of the things that I have taken from my reading is this..............All weather forecasting involves a percentage of guessing. A forecast for the next 24-48 hours might be 90% science and 10% guesswork, and by the time you are trying to forecast for days 7, 8, 9 and 10, the percentages might be more like 50% science and 50% guesswork. By the time you get into seasonal forecasting, there is little proven science and methodology behind those forecasts- at least methods that truly work. Most seasonal forecasts are really just creative writing using meteorological terms!
When it comes to this winter's outlook. I have now seen some underlying common opinions that seem to be the basis from those good forecasts for those of us who love winter weather. First and foremost: 1) The absence of an El Nino. Sea Surface Temps in the Equatorial Pacific look to remain in what is called "ENSO Neutral" through the winter months, which means neither an El Nino or La Nina look to occur. This means that other factors are going to be much more in play and have a much bigger impact than what we have seen over the past few winters.
Some of the most often mentioned factor include the following:
1:Quasi-Biennial Oscillation(QBO)-is an oscillation of the equatorial zonal wind between easterlies and westerlies. The QBO for most of the Summer and Autumn has been strongly "positive".... or blowing from the West to East but data shows it has started to weaken slowly. Generally a Westerly or Positive QBO will aid the Pacific Jet... which means that the build up of Cold air over Western Canada is constantly under "attack" by milder Pacific air. Research shows that as the QBO begins to weaken and drop in value towards zero... the pattern becomes distinctly more favorable for blocking patterns to develop a colder and more stormy pattern east of the Rockies. This is critical because if the +QBO does not drift toward neutral, then winter truly could be mild east of the Rockies.
2:North Atlantic Oscillation(NAO)-the large-scale see-saw in atmospheric mass between the sub-tropical high and the polar low in th north Atlantic. It has a huge impact on the Polar jet stream. When the NAO is in the negative phase, the Polar jet is forced south into our region resulting in a colder and stormier pattern. When the NAO is positive, the cold air stays trapped up in Canada. With a neutral ENSO, we should see intervals of that wonderful -NAO!
So what does all this mean------------?

a neutral ENSO...........good news!
Pacific Jet which has been very strong this fall should weaken steadily.......good news!
there should be several major if not severe Arctic Outbreaks. Something we have not seen for several years..............good news for snowmaking, not so good for the less-than-hearty if it is brutally cold
Winter snows may be below the norm.............ok news if ya keep the rain away
Winter 08-09 as a whole will average out to be very close to normal. Expect intervals of intense cold.........prolonged intervals of below normal temps...as well as intervals of above normal temps and a couple weeks of serious warmth..............not the best news!
December should be the coldest of the 3 months.........the cold pattern breaks down in January and the potential exists for a least a couple weeks of warm weather........should allow us a great start..........lets hang on and enjoy that January thaw............please keep the rain away
February seems to be the month of huge variances in forecasts.....lets run with those that look for a cold and Snowy February................if we run with the winner it will be awesome!

It Has Begun

2008-11-18T05:15:00.002-06:00

At 2:15 am on the morning of Nov 18th, we officially started making snow for the season. Seems like an early start? Not really, but not a bad time to get started. Historically, we average about 26 hours of snowmaking in November. Nov of 2000 started on Nov 14th and we logged 114 hours of snomaking. Nov of '01 and '06 marked the only Novembers that we saw no snomaking opportunities. So for the first night of this season we will have about 6 hours under our belt.

What will the rest of winter bring?............nobody really seems to know. Let's look at some of the forecasts that are out there. Let's start with the National Weather Service. In my mind, they never really make much of a forecast. Publishing a forecast in terms of probabilities is not really a forecast. If no set of conditions could make a forecast wrong, then it is not much of a forecast.
Let's look at what they are saying at the moment. The winter outlook says we have a 40% chance of above normal temps, a 33% chance of normal temps, and a 27% chance of below normal temps. That is how I came to the conclusion that they really do not know what this winter will bring.

Old Farmer's Almanac says we will see a colder and drier winter than is the norm. Specifically they predict a Cold December, a Warm January, and a near normal February in terms of temps. Snowiest periods are to be in early Dec, early Jan, and early February. It is always nice to the source of a forecast's rationale, but you ain't gonna get much from them as they derive their forecast from a secret formula!.............mmmmm......I see!

New Farmer's Almanac calls for a "numbing" winter with below average temps and above average snowfall. We are to expect a frigid, wild, snowy winter. Not sure what they base their prediction on...........perhaps someone out there can enlighten me.

So, there ya go. 3 drastically different takes on what this winter will bring. From what I understand(and that is little).........The current state of ENSO(El Nino/Southern Oscillation) is neutral. This neutral state is know as a "La Nada" as it has been recently named in jest. ENSO neutral years are characterized by much higher uncertainty. A weak signal from the Equatorial Pacific often means that the other signals such as the Pacific-North American Oscillation(PNA), the Arctic Oscillation(AO), and the North Atlantic Oscillation(NAO) have a greater influence on the weather. Problem is.........these signals are almost impossible to forecast long-range events.

So stay tuned and let's seen who knows what as this winter unfolds............

Mother Nature Giveth and Taketh

2008-11-13T08:39:00.002-06:00

Mother Nature always seems to remind us of who is control ultimately. Generally speaking, in the winter of '07-'08 she allowed all of us that enjoy winter sports to feel pretty darn good.

Perhaps Mom detected us feeling a little cocky about all the fun we had last winter and decided it was time to put us in our place. In early June we were deluged with over 5 inches of rain in a 2 hour period. July brought the entire QC area a hammering from what is termed a "Derecho". A derecho by definition is a long lived straight-line windstorm associated with band of rapidly moving thunderstorms. The word was coined by Dr. Gustavus Hinrichs, a physics professor at the U of Iowa, in a paper published in the American Meteorological Journal back in 1888. By definition winds in a derecho must meet the National Weather Service criterion for severe wind gusts (greater than 57 mph) at most points along the derecho path. I doubt that anyone in the QC would question that criteria as we experienced sustained winds in excess of 95 mph. September had to get in on the act also as we received almost 10 inches of rain over a 3 day period.

Bottom line for us at the ski area was extensive damage to our snowmaking pond, dike, and dam that served as our source of snowmaking water in the winter. Nothing that a $40,000 project couldn't repair. Unfortunately, we were lucky compared to some of the anguish that other residents had to deal with in the aftermath of the derecho.

What does this winter have in store????????? Stay tuned. I have been looking at a bunch of long range forecasts and I will share my thoughts in a few days................

St Pat's Weekend Skiing

2008-03-12T10:43:00.002-05:00

It is St Patrick's Day Weekend and we are still skiing with a 32"-60" Base of snow yet. Should be a great weekend of Spring Skiing.
On the way in this morning I caught some chatter on talk radio about St Patrick's Day. The question was as follows..........."Was there really a St Patrick and did he really drive snakes out of Ireland?"
A definite on St Pat, but probably not on the snakes. Evidently, at age of 16(around A.D. 400), Patrick was kidnapped from his home on the west coast of England and carried off to Ireland. After 6 years he escaped. Upon returning home, he received his calling in a dream that he should preach the Gospel. He then spent the next 15 or so years in a monastery, preparing for his missionary work. Although some Christians lived in Ireland at the time, it was Patrick who spread Christianity throughout Ireland and brought an organized church into existance. We wear a shamrock on his day because he used its 3 leaves to explain the Trinity. There was no confirmation of him chasing snakes or drinking green beer..........Have a great Weekend...........ed

Global Warming Blamed Again

2008-02-14T08:41:00.002-06:00

I still have trouble swallowing all of Al Gore's assumptions and statistics. It seems like everyone wants to jump on the Global Warming Bandwagon. Anything to glorfiy a story and believe we as humans understand Mother Nature. The latest was an article in The Standard(Hong Kong).
I will let you enjoy for yourself some of the details
Excerpts are below:
Global warming blamed for unusual cold spell!
Nishika Patel

Thursday, February 14, 2008

As Hong Kong shivers through its second-longest cold spell since 1885, scientists point to global warming to explain the abnormal cold weather phenomenon worldwide.
Unusually cold weather is gripping a number of countries, including China and Canada.

"We are seeing extremely unusual weather across the world," said polar researcher Rebecca Lee Lok-sze. "This is due to human activities and our style of living. Carbon dioxide emissions are heavy, which is changing the weather rapidly. We could see colder winters and hotter summers in the future in Hong Kong."

Skiers vs Boarders

2008-01-15T12:07:00.000-06:00

We all thought that the age-old fued between boarders and skiers had been put to rest. Oh, but to the contrary it still has its moments. Burton Snowboard has a campaign entitled "Poacher Freedom" which offers $5,000 to the person who submits the best video documentation of their poaching experience at each of the four resorts in North America that do not allow snowboarding.
Surely this will only result in provoking a confrontation somewhere this winter. I am not certain, but I would be willing to bet that Burton's design on this gimmick is to do exactly that..........provoke confrontation which they hope will lead to change. By the way, is it just coincidence that Taos Ski Valley revealed its surprise in mid December, announcing that it will allow snowboarding starting March 19, 2008?
Who are the remaining holdouts?????????? Mad River Glen in Vermount, Deer Valley and Alta in Utah.

Reaction to RCR

2008-01-09T16:36:00.000-06:00

Last Fall I blogged you about Resorts of the Canadian Rockies(RCR) stunning the freeride community when it banned jumps from terrain parks at all of its resorts. Their objective was to maximize safety for its guests. Reaction from the freestyle community have included the following............
"stunningly misguided," "laughingstock," 'bunch of old skiers" (not meant in a nice way)!
Riders have accused RCR of simply not wanting to spend the $ on such snow-heavy features. RCR denied such, but by bolstering its rail gardens, they cemented suspicions that the motivation was fincncial as rails are inexpensive in comparison to jumps.
Irregardless of who is correct, many freestylers have sworn to avoid RCR resorts.
Will the RCR policy take off and see others jump on board???????? Not likely in my mind. I have yet to see such actions anywhere else. Whistler even jumped on this and went the other direction. They have reinforced their comittment to keep their jumps. Freestylers love to get air and I do not believe they will be denied.
Later, ed

Special Olympics.......

2008-01-06T12:34:00.000-06:00

Special Olympics.........what a great event.........what a run of bad luck. Thursday morning we were sitting at 10 degrees below zero......
Three days later we are under the gun with 60 degrees at noon and temps to continue the rise throughout the afternoon. It is so strange, but something we have become accustomed to is looking out at 2 to 4 foot of snow throuhgout the entire area while people are cruising the slopes in shorts and short sleeves. Keep in mind that the calendar says early January.
Anyway, this will mark 4 years in a row that Special Olymics has been zapped with crazy warm weather..........irregardless of what day they pick.
They deserve a break!
ed

Glen Plake IS Downhome!

2007-12-29T10:12:00.001-06:00

What a thrill we were blessed with on Friday night, Dec 21st. It was an ugly dreary, foggy, dizzly day. It ended on a huge highlight as Glen and Kimberly Plake dropped in to ski and entertain the locals in what truly was a once in a lifetime experience. Below is an excerpt from the Plake's Downhome tour blog.

Glen Plake - On The Road

3:22am Wednesday Dec 19 - leaving town heading east - I wanna make it to
Wyoming before the storm that has arrived in Tahoe gets there and leaves
us stranded against a hwy closed gate on I-80.

2 weeks ago I felt the compression begin, not anticipation of the trip
but the compression of time before it (big snows in the midwest and east
coast fueled the fire).

The “DownHome Tour” is on the road. *I met a skier in Chamonix 20 years
ago from North Carolina - I had no idea there was skiing there and when
I returned to the states I went to Beach Mountain NC to ski the place.
Soon after Kimberly and I were married and we decided that for our
honeymoon a ski trip across America - skiing the local hills and meeting
the people who ski ‘em. The “DownHome Tour” was born!

9:30am Thursday Dec 20, Laramie, WY gonna ski Snowy Range ski area. I’ve
seen the sign on I-80 many times - anybody thats crossed 80 has one of
those I wanna stop there someday = is today! Light snow is falling and
we spend the day skiing with some Thursday morning skiers a few patrol
and some college students from Laramie along with about 30 others
enjoying our favorite past-time. Great hill a thousand feet of vertical
and greatly placed chairs - in the trees protected us from the WY wind.
We plan on skiing Iowa/Illinois tomorrow. It’s 16 hrs away.

Friday Dec 21, 2007 7pm Snowstar, Illinois
The drive has taken longer than we thought due to fog/holiday traffic -
the thought of skiing in the heartland doesn’t make sense - but sure
enough 20 miles south of the I-80 truckstop (“The Largest in the world”)
is Snowstar. There’s only 2 hrs of skiing left, “Do we ski or not?” We
quickly go to ski mode and end up with a stop on the tour I will never
forget. I’ll ski 30-40 areas on this trip, but some will always shine
brighter for some reason - like my stop at Timber Ridge, Illinois on our
first trip. The 200 vertical ft of Snowstar was beautiful - quickly
hooking up with a crew of locals ( who had been skiing there since 8am).
Snowstar’s natural features kept us busy. Rails/slopes and a natural
pipe/bowl - gives Snowstar skiers plenty of things to be creative with.
*While prepping the truck (between skiing the face last week) Dad and me
installed a tv in the ski room -( back of motorhome) - so I could show
films while signing posters - It was midnite when we left. Snowstar open
- you’ll be hard to beat. Thanks.

Kimberly and I enjoy the heritage/culture of the heartland, crossing the Mississippi there’s just something significant about it, and seeing established towns is a welcome sight compared to the pop up stucco/shopping mall villas of the west coast. Happy Holidays from the Plakes….on the road!

Dan Fogelberg

2007-12-27T15:16:00.000-06:00

We lost a good one earlier this month. Dan Fogelberg was one of our better songwriters from the 70's and 80's(if I recall correctly). I related to him from several angles. I truly enjoyed his music. He also hailed from Illinois. In Peoria, specifically, a town that in the words of Charles Kurault, is in the middle of the state, in the middle of the country, in the middle of the world.

Perhaps you remember his song "The Leader of the Band" which was a touching tribute to his father. And, if you are a weather "nut" you may remember one of his other songs...."Same Old Lang Syne." Being a big fan of snowy weather I vividly remember the last line of that song.....it is one of the saddest lines in any song ever written............"And as I turned to make my way back home, the snow turned to rain"

Oh my.....if you love snow, that kind of says it all, does it not??????????

Resorts of the Canadian Rockies make a move!

2007-11-26T08:51:00.000-06:00

Read a very interesting press release about 10 days ago. Resorts of the Canadian Rockies(aka RCR) are undertaking an initiative to eliminate all man-made snow jumps in their terrain parks ..........effective immediately. Intriguing move in view of the high demand for such features in the market place. Interesting how we have gone full circle and then some. Back in the mid 80's when I first came on the scene, the Pelletier boys blazed a trail for free-style skiing that included all kinds of big air jumping. Oh what fun it was. We then had the hammer drop from insurance providers and we soon found ourselves in an environment where skiers were not allowed to leave the snow surface. Get some air and you were considered a bad boy. Notice I said skiers as at that time boarders were few and far between at that time. We have since seen the board growth sky rocket and along with that the rails, boxes and all the crazy features they like to grind and get air from. The X-games became a driving force.
Where do I stand on elimination of snow jumps? I believe we have made tremendous efforts to improve safety on the terrain features and that such features enhance the experience for our guests. I believe kids are going to find a way to jump and that educating users is the most effective way to reduce injuries in the use of terrain features. I would rather educate our guests than take away the excitement. Equipped with the right info, users of freestyle terrain can do a great deal to improve the safety of their experience. The bottom line is that the user is in control. By empahasizing this through education campaigns, together we can make terrain features a more enjoyable and exciting experience for our guests.
Safety initiatives place particular emphasis on knowing where to land, knowing the intended use of the terrain chosen and knowing the user's actions are key no matter how a feature is designed.
NSAA highlights the latest educational message by focusing on "Make a Plan" before using any terrain feature. Know that your speed, approach and take off will directly affect your maneuver and landing.
We cannot remove the inherent risk associated with skiing and boarding, but we can significantly reduce the risk through education.........
ed

Turkey Night Snowmaking is a Turkey

2007-11-23T06:48:00.000-06:00

All summer long, most of my staff has faced the unemployment blues....... no work or working only a couple days here and there. So, along comes Thanksgiving.......a great time to relax with your family. What do I ask of them..... none other than to be in here Thanksgiving night to make snow. Gotta do it...........all forecasts called for clearing by midnight with temps dropping into the teens.......
Then we deal with reality.......Temp at midnight is still 28 and still cloudy. Temp at 3am is 27 and still cloudy. Temp at 4am back up to 28 and of course cloud cover still with us. Temp at 5am is still 26 with clouds appearing to break. By now it is too late to be productive the 8 hour window of opportunity has now shrunk to a mere 2 hours. By 5:30am, the sky clears and temps drop to 23 and by 6:30am to 19.
Temps bottom out at 17 by 7am and quickly start to rise ad the sun takes over.
Not a great start to the snowmaking season, but ya gotta keep trying!
ed

Forecasts

2007-11-20T08:12:00.000-06:00

Yesterday...........I responded to PK in regards to the winter weather forecast. I look at the forecasts constantly.............not sure why, however!
For the past 5 days we have anxiously been following forecasts(7-10 day variety). All the hub-bub was about significant snow storm to hit us on Turkey Day. That was to be followed by an extended period of very cold temps.
AccuWeather showed significant snow for our region and at one point indicated low temps in the low to mid teens for more than a week following the snow. That sounds like a skier/boarder's dream forecast ..........does it not!
Let's see how that shakes out.........this morning's forecast showed temps about 10 to 15 degrees warmer than predicted a mere 5 days ago.
In view of that, I am not sure how accurate 30 to 90 day forecast really is!
stay tuned...............ed

Notes to PK

2007-11-19T12:02:00.000-06:00

A big thank you to PK, an anonymous blogger. PK asked a few questions and it reminded me that I have not blogged for a while.

We hope to have a shot at snowmaking in the very near future. One thing to remember......early season snowmaking is often somewhat less that optimal because of warm ground temps and warm surface water temps.......
Below are excerpts from the Old Farmer's Almanac

Winter will be about two degrees above normal, on average, with slightly below-normal precipitation. The coldest temperatures will occur in early December, early and mid- to late January, and mid-February. Snowfall will be near normal in Iowa and below normal elsewhere, with the heaviest snowfalls in mid-December, early to mid-January, and late February.

November 2007
Avg. Temperature: 45° (3° above avg.)
Precipitation: 2" (0.5" below avg.)
Nov. 1-9: Sunny, cool, then warm
Nov. 10-13: Rain and snow, chilly
Nov. 14-19: Sunny, mild
Nov. 20-27: Showers, then sunny, warm
Nov. 28-30: Rain, then snow showers, cold

December 2007
Avg. Temperature: 29° (1° below avg.)
Precipitation: 1" (0.5" below avg.)
Dec. 1-7: Snow showers, then sunny, very cold
Dec. 8-13: Sunny, mild
Dec. 14-17: Rain, then sunny, cold
Dec. 18-21: Snow, then sunny, cold
Dec. 22-28: Rain, then sunny, seasonable
Dec. 29-31: Freezing rain

New Swap Date

2007-10-23T10:12:00.000-05:00

WINTER FEELS GOOD in so many ways. It’s good for the heart, the head and the soul. But before you head for the hills, check out Ski Snowstar's Ski Swap. We have a new date for the swap. It has been moved to the first SATURDAY of November. The swap will be held on Nov 3rd from 9am-3pm. The swap is sponsored by Ski Snowstar's Patrol. They are a great bunch of folks and will assist any of you looking for deals on equipment.
The move to an earlier date enables us to increase our equipment offering tremendously. With the disappearance of many local shops, we have added a ski shop from St Louis that will definitely put some "WOW" in the day!
Jason Erfling from the Alpine Shop had this to say about the event...........
"Ed,We’re ready to go.Here’s some highlighted product we’ll have at your swap in enough supply to satisfy nearly everyone.Salomon Performa Ski Boots Men’s and Women’s. MSRP $275, Ski Snowstar Price $120 (114 pairs total)Smith Goggles MSRP $20, Ski Snowstar Price $10, Limit 5 pairs per customer (500 pairs total)Nitro Snowboard boots men’s, assorted adult sizes MSRP $280, Ski Snowstar Price $100 (about 40 pairs)Many assorted skis and boots up to 70% off. Snowboards as low as $100Limited number of Head Mojo 65 Jr skis w/bindings MSRP $225 Ski Snowstar Price $100 (15 pairs)Limited supply of Lange Jr Ski boots sizes 12-6.5 MSRP $220 Ski Snowstar Price $95Rope Tow glove protectors Adult $7, Jr $6"

In the Welcome Center we will have huge sales on gift shop items, Season Passes, and gift cards...........So put it on your Calendar and support the loacl patrol.....
ps...............Mr T will also be grilling some goodies on his new grill...........
ed

Another Farewell

2007-10-08T07:33:00.000-05:00

Earlier I discussed the sadness of seeing Kunkels having to close their doors. The farewells continue. This summer has seen 2 well established ski areas in our part of the country call it quits. Both have struggled in recent years, but we all thought the troubles were only temporary.
The auction at Little Switzerland Ski Area just outside of the Milwaukee marked a sad day for the Midwest ski industry. I am sure it was not a fun day for the Herte family as they saw an end to more than 50 years of operation.
Fun Valley over in Montezuma, Iowa also closed its doors. The Bryant family will be missed by all of us that have had the pleasure of getting to know them. We wish the Bryant family all the best as they focus their attention elsewhere. I for one will miss having Kelly Bryant as a sounding board for ideas..............
ed

Roads to Winter Fun

2007-09-25T13:16:00.000-05:00

Well I have done it again..............let way too much time pass between blogs............
Anyway, we have just completed a rather unusual project. In a first of its kind joint venture, Snowstar has teamed with Andalusia township to fund the refurbishing and seal-coating of all local access roads to Snowstar. What traditionally has been a bumpy ride in to Snowstar is now nothing more than an unpleasant memory.
This to me seems like such a minor item, but so many people have already commented on how nice it is to have access to the area that actually resembles a real road. Guess it is money well-spent afterall.
I will talk at ya soon.........ed

We Will Miss You

2007-07-18T07:55:00.000-05:00

It has been quite some time since I have posted............my bad!
Anyway, we are still here and anxiously gearing up for the upcoming season........we are do for a real winter don't ya think?
I was informed of some very sad news yesterday. It was in regards to the closing of Kunkels Sports Center. I have known Craig, Todd, Jan and their family for many years and it truly was one of those businesses that treated you like family. You became a friend more than a customer. All of you will be missed.
It reflects a trend that has seen family operations quietly disappearing and going by the wayside. The availability of cheap ski equipment on the internet I am sure played a role. What we forget is that...........yes we can save a buck, but who will mount our bindings?..........who will fine tune those skis after grinding on those rails?
Your service and your smiles will be missed. Best wishes from all of us at Snowstar as you move forward..............
ed

We Shall Return

2007-03-23T08:33:00.000-05:00

Even though it was a very tough season for us, please reassure all your friends that we will be with you next season. We are already making plans and getting things into place to provide as much snow as possible, as soon as we can and for as long as we can. We are not going to let a few tough weather seasons get the better of us. We shall return and be as strong as ever.
Some may ask how that is possible. Simply put, it is because of all the great people that work here. All of them seem to make it a personal challenge to help Snowstar move forward in spite of what obstacles that Mother Nature has thrown us over the past few winters. I want to thank all of them for being a part of the Snowstar Family.
A perfect example is Steve and Sandi Mueller....... and they know what I am referring to!
Thanks to all who have worked here and thanks to all who supported the area!!!!
See ya next season!
ps........FYI, our Ski Swap/Open House has been moved up to Saturday Nov 3rd this year. This move will enable us to take advantage of a much larger Ski Shop offering and will make for a much expanded offering of equipment for sale at great savings. So mark your calendar now!

Illinois does not want us!

2007-03-08T07:48:00.000-06:00

Governor blagojevich........why do you not care about businesses located in the state of Illinois? You have created new business fees, you have increased existing business fees and now you want more. Why can you not have a fiscally responsible budget and control your spending? Perhaps it simply because you feel better about yourself by spending and spending. To do so, you constantly turn to in-state business firms to support your habit. If you were to create a healthier environment for firms, instead of driving them into submission, perhaps more revenues would be created simply by having a stronger economy in the state driven by firms that can survive and thus create more jobs. Simple Economics is something that you choose to ignore or take the time to understand.
What is next?......blagojevich now has proposed the largest tax increase ever proposed in history. His proposal to tax all sales of goods and services in the state will be devastating to Illinois employers and will burden consumers with higher costs.
The Governor is tying his catastrophic tax increase to an extravagant expansion of government-funded health care. Not only will his health care plan hurt the private health care marketplace, but the Goods and Services Tax will decimate the economy, likely reulting in more uninsured individuals.
The Goods and Services Tax, referred to as a Gross Receipts Tax(GRT) is simply a form of income tax that taxes all revenues, not actual business profits. The GRT taxes business income even when they do not have profit. The state will take its share right off the top. Even businesses in the red or breaking even will pay a hefty state tax making it harder to keep jobs.
Because the GRT applies to each busniness that helps produce and distribute a product, the tax compounds, or "pyramids" on the end product. Because every stage of production and distribution is taxed, higher prices are embedded in the products. This process could very easily reult in a 10 to 15 cent increase in a gallon of gasoline. Expanding taxation of services and the pyramid impact makes a GRT especially regressive for Illinois consumers.
Illinois has simply turned itself into a big business that creates its own rules. And I thought we were living in the free world...........Welcome to blagojevichville!!!!!!

Put a Fork In It

2007-03-02T11:31:00.000-06:00

Get out and enjoy winter while you can.......
We spent all night deep ripping all the slopes, got some fresh snow last night, and double groomed everything this morning..........skiing will be very good this weekend with a 26"-52" base.
What lies ahead....?...we plan on being open the weekend of the 10th and 11th.........but beware as I am seeing an abrupt end to winter starting the middle of next week. One very reliable weather guru told me that I could put a fork in the Winter of '06/'07 as the goose is cooked after this weekend.
Let's hope he is wrong.............
ed

Good Luck Devon!

2007-02-28T08:21:00.000-06:00

Best wishes to Devon Spreen as he packs his bag of tricks and heads to Killington to compete in the Sports Illustrated For Kids Next Snow Search this Weekend. I know he will make us proud! Weekend forecast for Killington is for snow showers and highs in the upper 30's.
Devon will probably be glad to leave the QC area and leave behind the devastation form last weeks ice storm..........many of us are still anxiously awaiting the restoration of power to our homes..........let it snow......
ed

Galesburg Mom

2007-02-16T10:42:00.000-06:00

Thanks for the input....First of all, please understand that I did not call anyone a wimp. If you read closesly, the comment came from a Boy Scout leader and I commented that it was an unfair generalization. Perhaps I should not have shared that story, but it is often a topic of conversation, when people do not understand that dressing apporpriately is all that need be done.

Secondly, I laugh at the geographically challenged comment. The comment actually came from a Sherrard student who was very disappointed that his ski trip was cancelled. He fully knew that Sherrard was in Illinois......he was simply implying that they could join the list that previously only referred to Iowa schools. He is a sharp, good-natured kid and I am sure he will get a kick out of your comment.

Finally, I enjoyed getting comments from a fellow business owner. I am sure you fully understand that running a small business gets tougher and tougher. So much of our costs now are driven by liability concerns, insurance costs, and the ever-growing burden of new state fees and increased costs of existing fees. Hope you are doing well and if you are I am sure your success is well-desreved and hard-earned.......

Hang in there and thanks for sharing winter fun with you family.........

Best wishes......ed

Oh How Fun It Is

2007-02-15T08:14:00.000-06:00

What a wonderful run of weather. All the snow we have been getting has been true powder. Tuesday's storm which came with easterly winds dumped 6 inches of fresh powder in this neck of the woods. Why was the wind direction of significance?
Here is why..........with the way the terrain is situated at the area, an east wind blows the snow across the top and dumps it at the breakover of the headwalls.....
When you have dry snow and an east wind you end up with singificant powder on the hills. We literally skied in thigh deep powder on the upper portion of several of the trails on Tuesday. A true Midwestern experience that is rare and oh so much fun!
What lies ahead............check this out............more fun for sure!
__________________
An Alberta Clipper will advance from the Canadian Rockies on Thursday into the northern Plains of the U.S., then the East at the end of this week. It will bring a fresh covering of snow. Like most Clippers, this storm will be quick, with most areas receiving less than six inches of snow. As the storm moves toward the coastline, snowfall will diminish.
Enjoy it while we can..........!
ed

Are ya tough enough??????? Guess Not

2007-02-08T14:46:00.000-06:00

I certainly know how to stick my foot in my mouth. Cold weather has played havoc with groups scheduling and then at the last minute cancelling. Understandable. On the other hand, numerous other individuals and groups have come out and had a great time and not a one of them complained about the cold weather........... It is winter...... simply dress in a responsbile manner and enjoy the incredible snow conditions. Conditions that you only experience when it is cold.
Sorry for the digression............Back to my foot. Earlier this week I had a discussion with a Boy Scout Leader. He hinted to me that our youth has become weak and wimpy and that it is the parents that have led them to that situation. I told him that I felt that was an unfair generalization. He pointed to the group board that indicated what groups were coming on various days. He was looking at Friday the 9th of February and said I bet over half of those people do not show up! I told him they were not ones to bow down to the elements and that they would show....... I even threw in another mistake when I said "After all, those schools are all from Iowa and those folks are a tough bunch(St. Pauls' in Davenprot, WACO in SE Iowa, and Rivermont in The Iowa Quad Cities)"
Low and behold I was Flat Out Wrong!!!! On all accounts! Each school called and cancelled giving the excuse that the School Superintendant had excessive pressure from parents not to go and expose their children to the harsh elements based upon Friday's forecast.
What was Friday's forecast, you ask?
Feb 9 Tomorrow
Sunshine and clouds mixed. Cold. High near 20F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
Pretty viscious forecast is it not?????????
ed

Winter is Back and So Are We

2007-01-16T15:22:00.000-06:00

The arrival of winter was somewhat unimpressive, but truly welcome none-the-less. They teased us with a threat of 6-14 inches of snow at first call.....what a treat to say the least..........
As storm got closer.......they downgraded it to 4-8 inches of snow.......we could live with that!
What did we actually get ......?....lots of freezing rain and about an inch of sleet. oh well, at least it quit raining.
Temps?????? kind of the same story. They teased us with cold snowmaking temps all weekend.......Never happened.... The forecasted upper teens in reality were the upper 20's 3 nights in a row........What a long tedious weekend.
We survived and got an unexpected dusting of snow on MLK day and superb snowmaking temps overnight........We are back........
I predict winter will stay with us until mid-March.....We'll see.....
ed

Who's The Grumpy One

2007-01-11T08:58:00.000-06:00

OK.........I am sick and tired of being called grumpy........
Never mind that we are in day 34 of the heat wave!!!!!!!
If the truth be known, Momma Nature is the Grumpy one! How else can you explain that we have been deprived of the Winter Wonderland that we so truly cherish here in the Quad Cities!
If I seem Grumpy.......... it is Mother Nature's Fault!
ed

So weather talk Is boring, Huh?????

2007-01-04T07:13:00.000-06:00

You have heard people comment that life is so boring that they have talk about the weather. Interesting comment in view of the fact that weather has such an impact on all of us. Simply ask 200 of my employees who are out of work, many of which have had to hit the unemployment office to make ends meet.
We are now approaching 30 staright days of weather that resembles anything but winter. In that time frame, the overnight lows and daytime highs have been consistently about 17 degrees above normal........ not sure what normal is anymore! Take that same scenario and apply those conditions to a mid-summer time frame. That would translate into a 30 day period where the overnight lows anveraged 85 degrees and the daytime highs averaged 102 degrees. I am not talking about a couple 100 degree days here.........I am talking about a 30 day period of 100+ degree temps. That would be something to talk about.
ed

Leave Me Alone....I'm Grumpy

2006-12-29T13:20:00.000-06:00

I have been keeping busy, but not with the activities that I should be doing. I spend way too much tome looking at weather models and data. I look at it continuosly, thinking it might change if I look at it one more time. It does look like a hint of a weather change is in the future.........unfortunately it may not take place until the end of the first week of January.
The happening things include the following........1) El Nino waters continue to cool.....2)A shift or breakdown of the Bering Sea Vortex which has resulted in warm Pacific air overtaking the country and keeping the cold air locked up in Canada........3) A shift in the Polar Vortex which has been stuck on The Asian side for the last 7 weeks.
All of this info does not show severe or extreme cold, but certainly seasonal cold........and that is all I ask for.......
ed

Temporary Setback

2006-12-27T08:21:00.000-06:00

Well, it certainly is a BLUE Christmas Holiday Season for those of us who enjoy winter. That wonderful shot of winter that we received the first week of December is nothing more than a fleeting memory. Since that time we seen a 19 day stretch of warm weather. In that span the overnight lows have averaged 33 degrees...... that is warmer than the normal highs that you would expect this time of year. The calendar still says there is more than 2 monthes of winter ahead of us. Maybe it is because I was raised as a Cub fan, but you accept the current failures and look forward to what lies ahead.......so do not give up on winter......it is coming.
ed

I Missed It

2006-12-20T12:57:00.001-06:00

I certainly did not see this coming. Or maybe I did not want to see it coming. Here we sit one day before winter's arrival and the weather is certainly anything but. The Pattern that we saw over the last month is not going to repeat itself. A repeat would have given us a snowstorm followed by about 10 days of cold weather. It truly would have been a winter delight.
Instead we are entering a rain event that will not see cold air surging into our area after the storm exits. The mild El Nino wins another one and it is going to be a rough couple weeks for ski areas in my part of the wolrd.
For those of us who enjoy winter, there is one thread of hope to grab onto. There has been talk of El Nino weakening and a couple of days ago we saw the first temperature drop in the El Nono waters. Even if it was a small drop, it was still the first since early September. A weaking El Nino(if in fact the trend continues) often leads to a return of winter in our region. Let's hang onto that for now.
ed

I Missed It

2006-12-20T12:57:00.000-06:00

Seth

2006-12-01T06:52:00.000-06:00

We have just received beautiful 6" dump fo new snow........all powder......... Unfortunately there is now base under it as 2 days ago it was 70 degrees. We did start making snow last night and will continue to do so as cold weather is befriending us!
As wonderful as this all is, we still have a somber air around the area as we have lost a dear frined. Fourteen year old Seth Aswege was lost yesterday in a tragic car accident on his way to school in a heavy rainstorm. Seth and his family have been a fixture at the area for years and will be sadly missed. His family is creating a memorial fund that will be used to create some sort of terrain feature/observation deck in his memory. The slopes is where Seth loved to spend his winters and his presence will be preserved in this manner. Numerous fundraisers and rail jam memorabilia are in the planning. Our thoughts are with his family.

Weather changes????

2006-11-25T12:11:00.000-06:00

Enjoy this warm weather while you can.......... Looks like a change is coming. It appears a major arctic air mass will continue to build in southwest Canada. A true arctic front will drive into the northern Rockies early this week. Word is that a possible major upper Plains low will develope and the northern plains could be in for a true blizzard if that does happen. This cold will then sweep across our area later this week. As the cold front stalls and arctic air settles in over us later in the week some forecasters are talking about a 2nd piece of energy moving along the front which will provide 1st snows for some.....
What does all of this mean?????? We can now get serious about snowmaking starting Wednesday night hopefully......
Ed

Toes Stepped on?

2006-10-27T09:43:00.000-05:00

I had a couple of agitated phone calls from my last blog. I did not intend to imply any wrong doing, but wanted to simply ask for an open mind from some of our educators. One took offense that I was indicating someone was selfish in regards to keeping kids form the joy of skiing/boarding. Selfish in what way???? Was I saying that your coaching record took precidence over letting kids have freedom to choose activities that interest them........ activities by the way that are healthy recreation activities that can be enjoyed for a lifetime? If some feathers were ruffled..... so be it and maybe the need ruffled.
Anyway, too many people still associate skiing and broken legs as partners. That is thinking that goes way back to the 70's. Modern technology has taking skiing out of the dark ages. New bindings are incredible steps forward in the safety arena. Shaped skis now make it easier to ski safely. And speaking of skiing safely..... those who have taken a couple lessons quickly fall inot the statistical category where injuries are rare. More accidents per thousand happen in your own home.
Enjoy the weeknd.........ed

Coaches care .........for whom??????

2006-10-26T07:38:00.000-05:00

Interesting thing was brought to my attention. Some of the local school athletic coaches(Jr high as well as Sr high) require that their student athletes sign an agreement stating that they agree not to ski or snowboard. Our education process supposedly is focused on providing a well rounded education that allows the kids to experience as much as life has to offer. The athletic programs in our schools are geared for competition in an activity that most will never again engage in after graduating. Skiing and snowboarding is a healthy activity that can be shared for a lifetime with family and friends and some of our schools want them to avoid it. The same cannot be said for all of the high school(Jr High also) athletic competitions. Sure we can go watch our kids compete as a spectator, but we do not really share the activity with them?
Fear of injury?????? Statistically skiing is less dangerous that a weekend volley ball game or a bike ride........ and certainly statictics prove that there are more chances of injury in high school competitions. So who is really the coach concerned about........his coaching record or the kids getting the most out of life?????
Do not get me wrong, most coaches out there do agreat job with our youth and they are greatly under-appreciated.
Later........ed

TIME.....SLOW DOWN

2006-10-18T08:25:00.000-05:00

Where has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday that I was complaining that I could not believe summer had passed and now all of a sudden November is zooming in at us. We pledged to ourselves that we would have all projects completed by Nov 1 so we could comfortably cruise into the snowmaking season with nothing to attend to but polishing details.
We are not too far from our target as we just completed a remodel of the upper lodge to give it a warmer feel. In retrospect, we really need to question how well we manage our time. Sometime it feels as if time is managing us. In today's world, it seems like we plan more, but accomplish less. We have all learned to rush, but not to wait. We have more computers to hold more information, but we seem to communicate less. Perhaps we need to spend more time with our loved ones and enjoy what we have. I heard a comment once from George Carlin that seems so relevant........Life is not measured by how many breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.......
Later......ed

Fall is Upon us

2006-09-21T10:33:00.000-05:00

Just looking at the calendar I see that Saturday is the official start of Autumn. We certainly have had a taste of the seasonal switch with some fall-like weather this week. I see the trees are starting get that awesome color across the valley. We are scrambling to tie up some loose ends. Scott and Mike got the new driveway lights installed yesterday. They did a great job and have provided a very nice look as you come in our new entry.
All this reminds me of how much so many contribute to keeping the area driving forward. Scott had a cookout over the weekend and I got to see some of our key people for the first time in a few monthes. Getting to see the people like Ken and John brought me to the realization they will soon be back at the area providing their skills with snowmaking and grooming. I can't wait!
Hope all of you have a great weekend. Get out and enjoy the foliage as Mother Nature is kicking it into high gear. It only lasts a couple weeks but it sure is a sight to behold when the colors hit their peak.
ed

Winter Forecast

2006-09-14T06:49:00.000-05:00

Here ya go..................get pumped ! The Old Farmer's Almanac is smiling on those who love winter and staying active.
Winter will be much colder and snowier than normal, with temperatures a couple of degrees below normal, on average. The coldest periods will be occurring in early and mid-to-late December, early and mid-January, and early February. Significant snowfalls will be in mid-November; early, mid-, and late December; mid-January; and mid-February..........Check this out at http://www.almanac.com/weatherforecast/us/10
Gotta love it!
ed

Still Here.........cont.

2006-09-05T06:52:00.000-05:00

Well..........not sure how that happened, but while I was creating the last blog, it published while I was right in the middle of writing...........I am sure I must have hit something that sent it.
Anyway, what I was about to say.......the seminars were very educational and one thing you learn is that nothing stays the same!!!!!!!
In regards to our search for water..............2 solutions have surfaced. #1-we spent some bucks and dug in a new expanded upper pond system that should provide all the water our snowmakers could ever wish for. Also note that when you next arrive, there is a new entry as the old road entry is now under water. #2-it has been raining constantly since we last spoke, thus putting an end to the drought we have seen for the past 18 monthes.
I will talk at ya soon.........
ed

Still Here

2006-09-05T06:47:00.000-05:00

Negligent I have been in regards to keeping you posted on what is happening. Last month I spent a week at Crystal Mountain at the MSAA(Midwest Ski Areas Association) summer seminar/conference. Once again learned a few things. Things are alwa

Disappeared?

2006-06-13T07:24:00.000-05:00

No I have not disappeared, but I certainly have been negligent on blogging you. Hope all of you are enjoying the summer. When I last blogged, I was exploring ideas to find more water. That has not been solved yet but we have narrowed down some good options and will have a decision soon.
In regards to that, we certainly have not seen the intense drought conditions of last summer, but some concerns still exist. Regionally we have received some good rains over the past month, but locally we have missed much of the precipitation. The last 2 systems that have gone through have left us with some light showers, but we certainly have not seen any of the soaking rains that were predicted. As a result we have received about a half inch of rain over the past 30 days. This scenario is very similar to last summer's pattern, so the search for more water may prove to be very much needed.
On last note..........We have just launched our new website and would love to get some input on likes and dislikes of the new site. Your input would be greatly appreciated.
ed

Search for water

2006-05-03T08:51:00.000-05:00

As you recall, last summer and fall put us in an extreme drought situation. It appears we are in a wetter pattern at the present and perhaps the drought talk is over. Just as a reminder, last spring was wet until May hit. Just in case last summer repeats itself, we are reviewing several options to get us more water for snowmaking next year. Do not want to find ourselves in last year's predicament where we had to back off on snowmaking a couple nights in early December because of slow water recovery. We have a couple of very feasible options and will have a plan in motion soon. Oh, by the way, a year ago today the temp was 26 degrees at the ski area when we came in to work.
More later,
ed

What do we do all summer?

2006-04-11T09:54:00.000-05:00

I have not blogged for a while, so I just wanted to let ya know I am still here. The famous ski industry question that we always get............."So you have nothing to do, what do you do all summer?"
Believe it or not we keep busy all summer long getting ready for the next ski season. First of all, we have about 4 monthes of routine maintenance on snowguns, pumps, lift and snowcats. Just something that has to be done. In addition to that, we are working to expand the snowmaking system in an effort to win the battle with Mother Nature. We are also looking at re-building one of our operator stations at the top of lift #2. One of the fun projects, will be a remodel of the upper lodge to give it a warmer, cozy feel! We also will spend a couple weeks re-doing our entry road and parking lot to eliminate the mud and pot holes. I will be spending a large amount of time on marketing, upgrading the website, and our e-commerce offering in additon to many simple but expanded season pass offerings.
We have a lot of money and sweat invested in our passion for winter fun and if anyone ever wonders if we will be here next season............ABSOLUTELY!
ed

Let's Move On

2006-03-30T15:27:00.000-06:00

Finally, some warm weather. This follows 3 weeks of weather that was colder than January. Enough torture already. Bring on spring and let us start getting ready for the next ski season. Op and Mike already have about half the snowguns serviced and tweaked to get us more snow next winter. I enjoy summer, but our thoughts are on what can we do to win the battle with mother nature next winter. We will get her this time!
ed

Mother Nature

2006-03-21T14:53:00.000-06:00

Oh, Mother Nature.........How dare you! Now that we are approaching the end of March, you decide to dump 4 inches of snow on us. It would have been one of the best snowfalls of the season and a great day of skiing ..........if it had on come 2 monthes earlier. Instead, it is nothing more than a reminder of how cruel you can truly be.
ed

Was that a dream?

2006-03-16T15:06:00.000-06:00

Went to bed last night with the exciting news that winter weather was on our doorstep. Weather bureau called for 1 to 2 inches overnight with snow continuing today with periods of heavy snow in the afternoon and the possibility of thundersnow which is notorious for dumping huge quantities of snow in a very short period of time. They even mentioned 3 to 5 inches of additional snow in the afternoon.
I tossed and turned throughout the night scheming on what it would take to get one more weekend out of the season. Got up several times to see if the snow had started. Nothing yet by 3am, but there was still time for that wonderful nasty weather to overtake us.
It was nothing more than a dream I guess as we got a sprinkle of rain in the morning and a glimpse of the sun in the late morning as the temp climbed into the upper 40's. Not exactly what I expected based upon the forecast. Should have know better, the forecast predicting the doom of a snowstorm was once again blown out of proportion. Next time it will happen......
right????? I keep believing next time will always be better..........guess I have been a Cub fan far too long!
ed

Beware of that Forecast

2006-03-05T11:49:00.000-06:00

You just never know. I went to bed last night fully expecting to come in to work this morning seeing a gloomy, rainy day. I was fully prepared to call staff off and tell them to stay home and shortly thereafter lock the gate for the day. Oh contrar'.........It did not rain all night despite the forecast of a 90% chance of rain......... Somewhere around 3am we had a huge burst of snow that dumped in excess of 3 inches in a very short time and we were instantly blessed with a winter wonderland. Even at 6am, the forecast was for an all day rain event. The light snow continued and diminished to flurries by noon and all was very well for those of us who enjoy winter. This was only the second time since the middle of Dec that I could actually look out my back door and see that beautiful snowcover. All is well for one more day.
ed

Snowmaking Buddies

2006-03-02T06:40:00.000-06:00

We have a policy here at Snowstar. As long as temps permit, we will make fresh snow for you up until the very end of the season. It does not matter that we have a 3 to 4 foot base everywhere. We will continue to make snow up until that last day of skiing. Some have suggested that we are wasting our $.................
But I have 2 thoughts on that.......1) I want you to have the best skiing experience possible even if it is the dog days of March and 2) we love to make snow.
Anyway, back to my subject. I have heard the snowmakers talk about the critters they see everynight. They have deer on the ridge acroos the creek, turkeys along the creek bottoms, fox that roam the bluff above Pluto's Plunge, and the squirrel that, like clockwork, comes out of the Oak tree on the top Of Big Dipper at 6am every morning to scoure the ravine below.
I came in at 3am the other morning to run a few guns as it had gotten slightly colder than expected. I got to see all the comrads that the night crew had talked about. I also had one additional snowmaking buddy that morning. As I went down North Star to turn on some guns, I saw something hopping around out in the middle of the trail........it was a Robin. A sign of spring perhaps. I am just hoping he had no clue that we are planning on a couple more weeks of snowmaking and skiing.

Paula

2006-02-26T10:51:00.000-06:00

Paula.............it is time to get those skis out!!!!!!!!!
ed

Champagne Snow

2006-02-19T10:01:00.000-06:00

It is not often you get snowmakers to stick around and ski after a 12 hour shift of snowmaking. But that is what is going on this morning........ tuly some powder skiing out there this morning.
ed

What Have We Become?

2006-02-17T10:20:00.000-06:00

In our eyes, we as Americans think of ourselves as a hearty bunch. Not only do we view ourselves as self-supportive, but many of us feel we are caretakers for the rest of the world. Is that an objective or subjective opinion????????
Cathy, my wife is taking a world cultures class and has shared some interesting thoughts with me. Many other cultures see us as lazy, self-consumed, extravagant and irresponsible. It is even to the point where they despise us and laugh at us. Interesting, in view of how we feel about ourselves isn't it?
In view of some events that I encountered in the last 24 hours I have to question how objective our views truly are when we evaluate ourselves.
Event #1-We had a DARE after school program scheduled for last night. I made a decision to hold the event despite the questionable weather that the media was forecasting. I based the decision on my evaluation of the local weather that was actually ocurring and the input I got from customers coming in as to how the roads were. I was chastised and called names because I was putting in danger the lives of young kids who had to go out on the dangerous roads. Over 100 families made the trek out and everyone we questioned said the roads were generally fine.
The media had people scared to go out of their homes. And where is the responsibility of parents to perhaps use a little caution and be responsbile for their own actions instead of blaming someone else for what is happening in their lives.
Event#2-Local school cancels a ski trip for today because the media was calling the weather bitter and dangerouly cold. Our legal environment reinforces that nobody needs to be responsible for their own actions...... you can always blame someone else! Several other groups did show, had a great time, nobody got frostbite and at 11am the temp was 14 degrees and the windchill was 5 degrees. Hardly a temperature that would scare someone from the heartland that is made of the tough American fiber that we all are born with. When it is cold, you put on proper clothing and enjoy.........after all it is winter.
We have let the media drive our lives..........do not go outside.......stay in where it is warm and sit in front of that TV.........that will keep you active and healthy!!!!!!!!
We let the legal environment drive our lives........no need to be responsible for your own action......you can always blame and sue someone!!!!!!!!

What Up???????

2006-02-14T20:13:00.000-06:00

Just when ya thought that January was done....... all of a sudden February thows us a 64 degree day from out of nowwhere!
Oh well, we still have a 24-52 inch base throughtout the entire area. Glad we made snow 8 of the last 9 nights and skiing is still great.
On top of that we have snwo and snowmaking weather coming soon!!!!!!!!

Sanowmaker's Diary

2006-02-10T07:15:00.000-06:00

8:30 pm-Snowmakers meeting, current temp is 24, humidty 54%
8:45- Fire up Pump #1 and warm up tower fan guns
9:00- Fire up tower fan guns & Deploy marginal temp sled fan guns
9:15-Start the 15 minute interval checking of guns running and temp check
9:30-Fire up 2nd pump and 8 deployed sled fan guns.......temp is now 23, humidty 56%
10:00-Temp 22, humidity 58%....1 of the sled guns has poor nucleation and must be brought in
2 other guns have water leaks and must also be brought in for work.
10:30- Nucleators cleaned and gun back out and working, 2 leaking guns looked at: one fixed
the other will have to wait for day crew
10:45-1 leaking repaired gun back on line
11:45-temp 19, humidity 64%......time to start up sticks(6) and 320's(4)
12:30 am- temp 16, humidity 72%.......time to deploy balance of cold weather sled guns and
start up 3rd pump
1:00- decide to leave 2 guns off line as flow and pressure is optimal
1:30- temp 15, humidity 74%......all going well, snowcat is fired up to start pushing snow
3:00- temp 14, humidity 76%.....all looks goods, pushing with cat is going well
4:00- temp 13, humidity 77%........winds are starting to mis-behave, they are calm, light and
variable causing some concern about guns icing themselves up
4:30- Winds have shifted from northwest to southwest.......several guns must be moved
immediately, must pull snowcat off so all can help moving guns
5:15- all problems guns moved, 2 had icing problems and had to be brought in to shop.
6:00- Wind shift has caused rise in temps and humidity, must start tearing guns down sooner
than normal.......
6:15- Groomers are on the hill, day shift is in and tear down process is under way
7:00- all is turned over to day crew, temp 19, humidity 74%..... time for a cold one

Time Crunch

2006-02-08T21:14:00.000-06:00

Wow.........I have not bolgged for a while. Now that we have gotten some snowmaking weather, it seems like I have time for nothing else. Do not get me wrong, Putting in some 15 hour days is not a problem when it comes to getting a chance to make some snow. I am not complaining.
Despite today being the 49th straight day with above normal temps, at least the last few days has at least been closer to normal.........whatever that really means. We started making snow last weekend and have been running every night since. Tonight looks like the best night in terms of temps as temps tonight are to fall into the lower teens, which actually is very normal for early February.
We have laid down about 2 to 3 feet of fresh snow throughout the entire area and everything looks great. We have a fun-filled weekend planned with our Snowbound Beach Party. Saturday night we have a great cajun band playing...... We're Late and Smell Like Beer is their name and they are a blast..........They play 7-11pm in the lower lodge on Saturday. I have seen them many times and they are always a fun time. Blog ya later.
ed

Sucks to Be a Snowmaker

2006-02-02T11:53:00.000-06:00

The economic plight that an unusually warm January impacts many people that are connected with Winter Outdoor Recreation. None are more affected than those who make snow for a living. A typical January reaps a snowmaker about 200 hours of wages. This year they have earned a measly 42 hours of pay. As Op and Scott told me........it sucks to be a snowmaker.
Yes it does.....
ed

Worms and Snow

2006-01-31T18:19:00.000-06:00

Worms crawling(I believe that is how they get around) across your driveway? To my blogger friend that experienced that, I would agree that cannot be a January reality!!!! Someone tricked you and I into believing it is January. I was leaving the area the other night and I had insects hitting my windshield on the drive home...... That, like worms on the driveway does not fit with January. As we exit January, we experience day #40 of consecutive days of much above normal temps. Good riddance to January and let us hope February is kinder to us snow-lovers.

In terms of making snow, we tried last night........ We came in about 3 am when the temps dropped to 27 degrees........ Had about a 4 hour window that snowmaking looked possible as the coldest part of the day is right before sunrise typically. I never happened. It stayed at 27 until 5am and then started to rise as the light breeze took on a southerly tilt and clouds moved in. Temp had risen to 30 by 7am and the attempt at snowmaking harvested very little for our effort. Another strike against us last night was high humidity(about94%). The colder the air the better the snowmaking. The drier the air the better the snowmaking.
We typically like to start making snow when the Wet Bulb temp reaches 24 degrees. When temps get down below 20, then we can really start producing volumes of snow. At any given temp, a lower humidity reading only adds to our ability to increase production. If I had a choice, I would love to have a 15 degree night with humidity under 60%. Now that is some great snowmaking. If you would like check out www.wkiwnowstar.com and click on the snowmaking page for an article I wrote this summer........
ed

That's A New One

2006-01-28T07:40:00.000-06:00

Just when you think you have seen it all, you are quickly reminded to the contrary. Last night a lady was waiting in the parking lot to pick up her son. While waiting she heard some noise at the back of her van, saw a couple kids heading to the tube hill. Thinking no more of it, her son arrived and she proceeded to leave only to find that the 2 youths had wrapped the parking lot rope over her spare tire. Oops, the spare tire was ripped off and anger set in. After an angry confrontation, Ski Patrol did a wonderful job of negotiating. Order was restored, responsibility was established, calm discussion led to taking care of compensation and all were satisfied. Not the way you like to have Ski Patrol spending their time, but sometimes ya just got to do what is needed.
ed
ps.............is it really January

You Can Learn at School

2006-01-27T07:16:00.000-06:00

What a fun week it has been. We got a chance to make snow and we got a chance to teach a whole bunch of wonderful kids how to ski this week. Many local schools incorporate learning to ski into their school curiculum. Bill Collett has been a big advocate of giving the kids an opportunity to experience winter fun. He has been bringing kids from Bettendorf out for years and even drives the bus. Bill believes it provides kids with a chance to learn a fun, fit activity that can be shared with friends and family for a lifetime. If ya think about it, how true that is. I have been going to see my kid participate in sports for years. I do not play soccer with him, nor can I step out onto the football field with him. But we sure have fun skiing together.
We also got a chance to host a great bunch of kids from Keokuk and Muscatine this past week.
Today we get have fun with the kids from the WACO school district.
School can teach your kids something that is fun and keeps them fits. Share it with them, you will not regret it.

Heat Goes On-Chapter 34

2006-01-24T11:24:00.000-06:00

Unreal..........Today is day 34 of consecutive days with above normal temps........actually much above normal temps! Over this time frame, daytime temps have averaged about 13 degrees above normal. Think about that. If it was the middle of July and we had 34 straight days like this .......that would be 34 straight days with temps in the low 100's for an average!!!!
Let us quickly look at the over night lows if this pattern ocurred in July........ Overnight lows have averaged about 20 dgrees above normal.........Put this is July terms and that would mean over this time frame temps at night would average in the upper 80's!
Can you imagine what the media would be saying if we went through 34 straingt days of daytime highs consistently in the low 100's and the overnight lows were in the upper 80's.
Unfortunately, the trend is expected to continue..........Where is winter????????

Blanket of Clouds

2006-01-21T15:32:00.000-06:00

So that is what they mean by a blanket of clouds. Clouds do act as a blanket and keep things warm underneath. That was no more evident than last night. Snowmakers were on call and waiting for temps to drop..............It never happened until about 5:45 am this morning. The clouds hung around all night and so did the warm temps. When the clouds broke at 5:30, the temps began to fall. In that hour of clear skies between 5:30 and 6:30 the temp went from 29 to 21 degrees. As a result, we got an hour of snowmaking instead of 10 hours of snowmaking.
The culprit was those darn clouds. It was even more evident just north of here where temps dropped as much as 25 degrees in a 3 hour period after the clouds lifted. When you are here all night making snow, the clouds often times are not a friend at all.
ed

Talk of Snow Does It All

2006-01-20T06:50:00.000-06:00

This is it..........This is our very first chance at a significant snowfall. We have picked up a couple inches here and there in mid December, but this is the very fisrt talk of a snowstorm of the season. It is amazing how the talk of a snowstorm......even though we are talking only 3 to 4 inches........the mere talk of snowfall makes the phones here at the area literally ring off the hook. We have had excellent snow coverage at the area, but it is the snow in your back yard that gets the masses excited about skiing/boarding. Do not get me wrong I am as excited as anyone about snow falling.......but the reality of it is that the skiing was just as good yesterday as it will be tomorrow after the snow. Unfortunately the market is driven by snow in your backyard, but with modern snowmaking technology......skiing is available and very good whether you have snow in your backyard or not. I have to admit that fresh snowfall does add to the ambiance of that "feel good about winter" feeling and the added beauty of a snowcovered countryside....................let it snow.
ed

Snow Lovers Can Still Winter

2006-01-19T06:18:00.000-06:00

What is up with this weather? Today, we will experience the 27th consecutive day of above normal temps. Not only has it been above normal, but it is much above. During this stretch, the day time highs have averaged 15 degrees above the norm........AND the overnight lows have been even more bizarre, averaging 22 degrees above the norm......!
We did get a great shot at snowmaking Tuesday night. It got down to 21 degrees with low humidity.....Had 31 gun going and laid down some great snow......plenty to get us through these warm days. All the local weather forecasters assured me that we would see several inches of snow Friday and a beautiful weekend.............
Just because you have no snow in your backyard, does not mean that snow enthusiasts are not out enjoying the spring temps on trails covered with snow.
ed

All in the Job

2006-01-17T07:39:00.000-06:00

Snowmaking is everything. Every time we make snow........everything has to work ......all the time. Last chance we had to make snow, one of the disconnects did not seem to work. After about 20 minutes of troubleshooting the gun's plug and connection, we moved on to a different location and all worked well. But we still desperately needed snow at that location of the problem electrical disconnect. No time to deal with it in the middle of the night when more guns needed to be deployed asap to take advantage of the rare few hours of cold temps that we seem to find so hard to be blessed with. Upon further review the next day, we determined that the problem was an underground electrical feed that had gone bad. Fortunately Scott(Mr T) had an extra feed coming from a downhill diconnect that was available. Simple solution, right. After 6 hours of sorting out and identifying several bundles of wire at 3 different boxes, the electrical service was re-routed and we are good to make snow again at that location.
Glad I got someone around that understands the wonders of electricity!

Hoping History Is Behind Us

2006-01-14T09:05:00.000-06:00

Hello to all:
Well, we finally got a few hours of snowmaking to freshen things up.........It is amazing what a simple 6 hour period of 23 degrees can do. That is all we are asking for..
We have just come out of a horrendous stretch of weather. Hoping that is history too. We have been closed for the last 12 days..........Never Happened before. Just give me a few hours of low 20's once in and it will never happen again.........not too much to ask is it??????
Lord Only Knows How Wonderful It Would Be If It Snowed......................
ed

The Heat Goes On

2006-01-12T06:46:00.000-06:00

Well here we go again. They tell me it is going to be in the low50's today. Please go away, I am so tired of hearing the media talk about how wonderful this weather is! Still looking at a cold front on Friday...........
As of right now we plan to start pushing old snow around on Friday and hopefully make some fresh stuff Friday night. If it all falls into place we will be open Saturday morning.
In my 25 years here, I have seen some funky weather...........But this last 2 weeks is something I have never seen before.
A quick thanks to all of you who have blogged me.........Paul, I hope to see you on the tube hill this weekend............Please leave the balmy weather in Bloomington.
Ed

Finally!

2006-01-10T18:15:00.000-06:00

What a relief.......Afer 19 straight days where the temps did not drop below 29 degrees, we finally got a shot. Temps got down around 20 for about 6 hours last night and we hit it hard. It was not the best night of snowmaking as the humidity was high, but at least it was something. Would love something colder and perhaps that will be here Friday night if the forecast is correct.
Keep your fingers crossed.
ed

Blah, Blah, Blah

2006-01-09T12:49:00.000-06:00

I have not posted for a few days.........trying to recover from the weather. We got hit with heavy thunderstorms and all day rain last week. This typically is not too big of a problem. The big problem is that we have not seen a temperature below 29 degrees since Dec. 22nd. Thus, we have not been able to make any snow for 18 consecutive days. Mother Nature is so cruel right now. We desperately need a clold night.................Anybody got any suggestions????
......voodoo?...supertitious ritual? .... anything that I can fall back on...........I will try anything..
ed

Go With A Pro

2006-01-03T09:25:00.000-06:00

In conjunction with PSIA's Go With A Pro program, Ski School Director Blaine Flack just announced Ski Snowstar's 6 week clinic. The program is designed for anyone above the beginner level. We often get stuck at an intermediate level and this is an excellent chance to take that step to becoming an advanced skier. Shaped skis are full of untapped potential and this will make it possible to get the most out of your equipment. Clinics run 6 consecutive Tuesdays at 6:30pm starting Jan 10th.
COST:
-Clinics(6) and Lift Tickets(6)-----only $149
-Clinics(6) only, for those already on another ticket program----$89
-Season Pass Holders------$79
NEAT PROGRAM........give it a try
ed

Fireworks

2005-12-31T07:04:00.000-06:00

As we close out 2005, I want to thank all of you for sharing in the winter fun here at Ski Snowstar. The weather has been dreary and the snow is anxious to see some colder weather, but that has not stopped folks from coming out with friends and family to have fun despite the gloomy skies.
An announcement will be coming soon about our new Go With A Pro program.
Wishing all of you a Happy New Year......
ed

Do Not Let the Blahs Get Ya.....

2005-12-28T15:33:00.000-06:00

Yes it is a dreary day.........my back yard at home has now given way to the first hint of bare spots......Thanks to temperatures of 50 dgrees yesterday. For those who got motivated today they were blessed with plenty of snow and short lift lines. The snow is alittle wet today with the fog, but it will cool off tonight and grooming will provide some very nice conditions tomorrow. Even though it was warm yesterday, the skiing was excellent last night. Hope to see ya soon......
ed

NY Eve

2005-12-26T16:23:00.000-06:00

Hope everyone had a great Christmas. Do not let the blah weather fool you...... we have plenty of snow and the skiing was very good today. We will have everything open throughout the Holidays and will be in good shape until snowmaking weather returns. It is not too early to make plans to ski, board, or tube with us on New Year's Eve. We have special family discounts available, prize give-aways, and great fireworks display planned for the evening.
Later............ed

Happy Holidays

2005-12-23T13:52:00.000-06:00

Just a quick note to wish all of my friends a Happy Holiday. I also want thank all of you wonderful folks who have made food pantry donations. The quantity of food that we have collected is almost overwhelming. Your big hearts restore our faith in mankind. Best wishes to all of you............
ed

Work Sucks!

2005-12-20T13:51:00.000-06:00

At the employee party last year, I gave all my staff a t-shirt at the employee party. It turned out to be hugely popular. It simply says..........."Work Sucks! I'm going skiing!"
How ironic today turned out to be................ over half my staff wanted off early today. Why? Simply put.....work sucked............the snow was awesome and everybody wanted to get out on the slopes. Skiing conditions are incredible and when the snow is that great.....work does suck.
Later, ed

Canine Rescue

2005-12-17T07:57:00.000-06:00

What exactly is the job description for a snowgroomer?? Well one more task has just been added. In the process of groominmg this morning, Scott witnessed 2 dogs fall through the ice on the snowmaking pond. One successfully climbed out while the other floundered. With the aid of Chuck, his lift crew and a rope, the rescue was achieved. I guess you can now say ...."Man is a dog's best friend.
ed

Snow Showers

2005-12-16T07:43:00.000-06:00

Good Morning All.........Arrived at the area a little before 5am and it was snowing like crazy. What a great way to start the day! In addition to that......it was dry powder........awesome. In a couple hours we picked up a couple inches of fluff!!!!!!!! By the time I got snow reports completed, the sun was rising to a beautiful clear sky! Weather Man says we will see periods of sun and snow showers off and on all day........with highs around 27.........Cannot beat that.
Kids get out of school early so it should be a fun day for all of us.
ed

Oh Yea!

2005-12-13T08:17:00.000-06:00

What a great opening weekend..........It was so much fun seeing all of our friends back enjoying winter. The setting was perfect..... nice temps..........fresh snow on a great base...and all trails open including the new box rails.
According to the forecast it looks like winter will be continuing to bless us.
We have a great suprise planned for our Season Pass Holders this weekend. So get on out here and enjoy in the fun.
ed