But before I do, check the snow report page for all the trail openings, base depths, etc. Conditions are as good as it gets across the board. We’re back to reporting a single digit base number. There’s so much snow we’re talking minimums only right now. Case in point: When you’re talking a MINIMUM of 6.5 FEET of base at App for example, why even worry about the max base depth? App’s is at 9.1 FEET!
This is the first time in a while that I’ve seen Packed Powder leave some Primary Surface conditions. "Groomed" is the word of today. I like hitting me some corduroy.
With that in mind I had to love Snowshoe’s Laura Parquette’s post this AM. She writes, "With over 18” of natural snowfall on Wednesday and Thursday tapering off to clear skies and trace amounts Thursday and Friday nights, the mountain has set up perfectly for our MLK weekend guests. Perfect, fast corduroy should be easy to find this morning, as our grooming team worked through the night, grooming everything on the mountain except for Choker."
Snowshoe Mountain has everything open with the lone exception of Sawmill Glades, which makes for 59 trails with 58 of them groomed.
If you want to fight the crowds, you’ll love the snow. There’s lots of it and there will be until sometime in July with the depths we’re seeing right now. (Yes, I’m exaggerating. There will be some snow on those hills into May however!)
I couldn’t help but chuckle when I checked in at Sapphire Valley for their snow report this morning. They’re reporting, "Brand new REAL snow! POWDER,BABY!!!"
REAL SNOW!
Beech is promoting the fact that they’ve seen 8.6 FEET of snow in the past 45 days. That’s amazing to say the least. Conditions are so good that they have announced that they will only be making selective snowmaking and not during sessions for the week ahead. You can ditto that at a lot of the region’s ski areas.
With 65,000,000 people on each slope of the Southeast and Mid Atlantic today (yes I’m exaggerating) I won’t be among those who are fighting the traffic or the lift lines to make a few turns this weekend. Of course I’m glad there ARE truckloads of people on the snow today. In the same way that an angel gets its wings every time a bell rings, the ski areas get a new piece of snowmaking equipment for every 250 skiers that hit the slopes. (No I’m not exaggerating. Not by much anyway.) So any snowloving person out there reading this instead of being on the snow this weekend is appreciative of those who are braving the huge crowds, because those revenues insure that our favorite resorts are paying the bills and banking some capital improvement funds.
The kids are in school today and unless we get some inclement weather they will be on Monday as well. So I don’t know how many of you will be reading this stuff today. (Hey if YOU’RE READING THIS…drop me an email. It would be fun/cool/whatever to see how many of you just say "Yep I’m reading it…". This should be interesting. Send me an email just to let me know you’re out there and I’m not alone! [email protected]
Come to think of it I’ll check the stats tomorrow as well. I’ve always wondered on one of these crazy, busy weekends if there’s anyone "out there". Talk to me. Hello? Thump, thump, thumb, Anyone? Is this mic working? Mom? Carolyn? Anyone?
Just in case there is and since I’m thinking there are fewer than the usual 35,000 +/- of you "with me" today, I’m going to post up some content in response to those of you who have emailed me about Global Warming (or the lack of it) lately.
I’m not a global warming believer but I have to admit that it’s always kind of funning how just about everytime we get a big snow we hear from the "global warming take THAT crowd".
GLOBAL CLIMATE DISRUPTION??? Oh brother…
We’ve had some amazingly cold temps and tons of snow across the Southeast and Mid Atlantic since December 3rd or so and I cannot tell you how many emails that I have personally received asking me or telling me what a crock "Global Warming" or "Climate Change" is. Some of you are VERY, VERY technical…way over my pointed head…and others are just as simple minded as I probably am when sharing comments like, "Hey, Mike, whaddya think ’bout global warming now?"
"NOW" is always when it’s 3° below a witches butt and icicles have grown to epic proportions.
<(See these from the front of my home. Those are about five feet long and they’re on both ends of the house!)
I’ve shared my vast knowledge with several of these emailers and related that our expert federal government (specifically the White Hosers) – (Yes I purposely left out the "u") now want us to change how we address our climate’s growing pains for a third time in several years.
What WAS "Global Warming" became "Climate Change" a couple of years ago, but evidently that wasn’t or isn’t good enough so now we’re to refer to it as "Global Climate Disruption". I’ve shared this factoid with many people and they ALL think I’m kidding.
No I’m not kidding. It’s been "Global Climate Disruption" since last September. Where were you guys?
There are already polls out as to what’s next. I’ve heard or read some cool ones. How about these? (Email me yours at [email protected] )
1. Planet Death Watch
2. Climate Rabunctiousness
3. Terrestrial Thermoclime Transmogrification Apolcalyse (This one gets my vote, although I like Planet Death Watch.
4. Climate Derangement Syndrome
5. The Globeacaust
6. White Man’s Wind (I hope I’m not understanding this one correctly!)
7. Climageddon
8. Climate Gone Wild
9. Climate Jihad
10. Climate Interruptus
Honestly though, back in September, the White House asked us nicely to start using the term "Global Climate Disruption" in place of "Climate Change" because the latter term "oversimplifies the problem and makes it sound less dangerous than it really is."
THINGS ARE MELTING AND THE PLANETS GETTING WARMER, OR COLDER, OR ABOUT THE SAME
Let me say that I’m personally not sold on who’s actually the scientist that is smarter than a fifth grader. I wouldn’t want to bet my house on whether things are getting hotter, colder or what. However unlike many lunatics on both sides of the issue, I simply don’t think we can REALLY DO ANYTHING about it and I think we’re pretty arrogant to think we can. I’m all for going around and cleaning up a stream, a river or the roadsides of Hwy 105 for that matter…but I don’t think ANY of the bogus taxes and resolutions or restrictions that some grunged out, tree-hugging, hippie freak who wreaks from not bathing will make one bit of difference in the life of Planet Earth. I am reasonably certain that our Maker will flip THAT switch well before we could cook the planet.
However, what I find crazy is the lack of reasoning or common sense that surrounds those who fight for us to treat the Planet Earth better. Instead of telling me to get rid of my Chevy truck and opt for some two seat, battery driven vehicle that I couldn’t transport a bag a trash to the dump in – WHY NOT rid ourselves of the real heat and co2 makers?
I think I’ve read somewhere that my truck puts out something like six tons of carbon dioxide every year. That’s a lot, but I can’t see it, so I don’t know if maybe somebody’s pulling my leg about that.
Another source claims that a Boeing 747 produces about 2204 lbs in 2062 miles for every person on board. Huh? Wouldn’t it put out the same amount with one person on board? Is that a nice way to say that a Boeing bombs out 220,400 lbs of crap on every mid-range flight?
The same source informed me that MAN produces 3-6% of all CO2. What? Are they talking about right after a visit to Taco Bell or are they talking about man actually emitting CO2 or that we’re responsible for it? Aren’t we responsible for flying the planes?
It’s Saturday so I have some time to sit, meditate (no not really) and thus I came up with the fact that since we’re talking "Global Warming" – um I mean "Global Climate Disruption" if a flame trail of a jet reaches 800 to 2000 degrees Fahrenheit, how much heat is produced every year by the 17,999,975 commercial flights that cruise the skies of our planet? (No that’s not an exaggeration.)
I know that doesn’t equate to CO2 output, but that’s a lot of Global Climate Disruption! I’ve never seen the gas trail of my Chevy Truck for two miles behind me. I mean 18 MILLION Flights pushing 2000° surely screws with the planet don’t you think?
I say shut down those bad boys if you want to make a difference?
Flying a non-stop, round trip from Boston to Wichita creates about 1,400 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, but the total impact is actually twice that, due to other gases, the contrails, and the altitude at which the carbon dioxide is emitted. Multiply that big number by 18 million flights annually. Wowsers!
We could cool this puppy down in a heartbeat if we cut out all that flying.
Mr. Gore? Thump, thump, thump. Anyone out there?
MOVE INTO A TENT…or become a real ski bum and move into your car…
According to another source – HEATING OUR HOUSES produces about four tons of carbon dioxide per year on a national average, in addition to eight tons for electricity use. That stacks up pretty well against flying to Punxsutawney, Pa for the gopher herding festival.
Another source says that Plasma TVs are a big culprit. Sorry, I am not getting rid of my 10,000" Plasma television! (Yes I am exaggerating. It’s actually 472".)
HEY, WHAT ABOUT GOD? ISN’T HE TO BLAME TOO?
I was watching the Weather Channel the other day and one of them was sharing the fact that we see 40,000,000 lightning strikes in the United States every single year. I think Lee Trevino is hit by 30,000,000 of them annually. Those puppies exceed 54,000° Fahrenheit, which is six times hotter than the surface of the sun. (No, that is not an exaggeration.)
So something six times hotter than the sun (which we haven’t seen a whole lot of lately) hits the planet JUST IN THE UNITED STATES 40,000,000 times. That’s a lot of heat. Anyone feeling the heat radiating off of those? Me neither.
IT IS ALL A BUNCH OF HOOEY!
Look since the 1970s through the 90s and up to now politcians led by Al Gore and his lunatic possy have scared the living daylights out of people telling them we were headed for another ice age. Skiers digged it. Everyone else freaked out. A decade later into the 80s, we were told not to worry about that anymore because greenhouse gasses would soon kill us all, not to mention turn the slopes into puddles of water. Glaciers would melt and we would all drown. Those that survived would slowly roast from the inside out.
This got a lot of press around the ski industry.
Nobody can argue that there isn’t climate change. The climate’s been changing since the beginning of time.
Do I believe that the globe is warming? Maybe. However we insignificant humans are not the culprit. *&^% happens.
I mean WE’VE had an ice age. We’ve also had a couple of very hot spells during the Middle Ages (so I’m told). So nobody can deny that the climate has changed.
But there’s absolutely no link between man-made carbon, which contributes less than 2% of total carbon emissions and climate change or Global Climate Disruption or whatever the heck comes next.
About a year ago NOAA and some other sources actually posted some news about the fact that it has come to light that the whole dang thing – sea temps, everything was based on purposely faked data so that scientists could gain and keep their research grants. Oh, they didn’t use the word "fake" (I inserted that) but they DID say that some guys got a hold of some incorrect data which somehow every other scientist got hold of and all of the resulting prognostications were all out of whack. (Look it up people.)
That news never saw the light of the network television cameras. Obama and all of the politicians who benefit from keeping the hoax going ignored that data/news and simply came up with a new name.
Maybe if all of the politicians would keep their blowhard mouths shut the Planet might cool on down some as well.
People who put their faith in the sciences would do well to remember that back in the warm Middle Ages they were going to excommunicate Galileo because the entire scientific community said the Earth was flat and he was out there talking about how nice and round it was.
If you think about it (and I KNOW I read this somewhere so it isn’t original) it is bizarre that the very same people who can’t tell us what the weather will be next Wednesday can prognosticate with AMAZING precision what the global temps are going to be in 2111! It is ALL a crock!
Oh well, I’m done for the day and I think I’ve gotten all I can rant about out of my system while nobody’s looking.
If you ARE reading this…let me know. Just for the fun of it. Email me at: [email protected]