Waking up to a fresh inch of snow and flurries lingering through the morning! Winter just won’t let go! We had around 5″ of snow Friday night that is still evident around the lodge and on the trails. We are now at 99″ of snow fall on the season!
The edges of the lake that were open water froze over during the weekend and we are not gaining ground on the ice moving off Little Sugarbush. As recent as 2009, we have had Spring storms and ice outs the end of April so this isn’t entirely unusually. Just seems later this year since we had snow in Ocotber and than staying on the ground from mid November until mid April. A few signs of spring with wild onions and other wild plants emerging from the forest floor but spring is having a hard time moving forward! The waterfowl and other migratory birds have moved in providing sounds of spring.
A typical Spring week with warm May like temps to start followed by cold February like temps the end of the week and 4″ of snow Friday night! With last nights snow, the total for the season is at 98″!! This does not include the 6″ we had in October.
This week we had a tracking conference and the weather was perfect for them…dry! The group was training for tracking footsteps through the woods. The snow is gone from the woods after one last ski on Suicide Hill Tuesday morning on the last remaining bit. It froze hard enough Thursday morning to provide a small window for mountain biking on the trails. However, we are at least 2 weeks away from the mountain bike trails being open, provided mostly dry weather. The ice on the lake is always a good indicator and Little Sugarbush is still locked in with just a couple feet of open water from the edges. There has been a lot of waterfowl on the move but no signs or sounds of any loons.The woods are alive with the sounds and a few sights of Spring. Lot of wood ducks enjoying the excess water in the woods.
April 16th: Top of Suicide Hill fully covered from last nights snowfall of 4-5"April 16th: Yet another April ski!
Riding on the mountain bike course Thursday morning. Made possible by mid 20's freezing down the trail. The trails are not dry enough for riding yet. High water in Bullhead bay. Record levels.
Maplelag creek running steady from the Spring melt.
Warm weather the past few days pretty much wiping out the snow on the trails. Just enough snow, however, on Suicide Hill for one more desperation ski! The trails are slowly starting to dry up but still holding water in low areas. Around 1.25″ of rain recorded in the gauge from Sunday’s rain. We are at least 2 weeks away from the mountain bike trails being ready for riding. The ice on the lake is always a good indicator and Little Sugarbush is still locked in with just a couple feet of open water from the edges. There has been a lot of waterfowl on the move but no signs or sounds of any loons.The woods are alive with the sounds and a few sights of Spring. Lot of wood ducks enjoying the excess water in the woods.
Maplelag creek running steady from the Spring melt.
Big time rain on Sunday wiped out a lot of the remaining snow. Around 1.25″ of rain recorded in the gauge! A beautiful morning on Monday with sun shining and woods alive with Spring! A check of the trails found mostly ice covered sections with some areas clear. The rain did take out 3-4″ of frost but we are at least 2-3 weeks away from the mountain bike trails being ready for riding. The ice on the lake is always a good indicator and Little Sugarbush is still locked in with just a couple feet of open water from the edges. There has been a lot of waterfowl on the move but no signs or sounds of any loons.
Despite the warm weather this week, the woods and some of the trails still holding on to some snow and enough to get out for a ski on Saturday. With rain today and continued warm temps, the snow should go fast. Some of the mountain bike trails are free of snow but we need 2-3 weeks of drying before we can open the trails otherwise riding too early will damage the trail. The weather this past week has been good for the sap to run from the maple trees but is coming to an end. We no longer collect sap but many of the locals in the area collect sap to boil down for syrup. It takes 40 gallons of sap to make a gallon of syrup!! The lake is still thick with ice and we will be lucky to have ice out by the end of this month. Last year the ice was off on April 2nd! It is great to see the signs of spring. The waterfowl is on the move looking for open water (no sounds of loons yet) and the long days and intense sunshine on the clear days is heartening.
Total snowfall this past season was 94″. We are closed for the season. Thanks to everyone who came to Maplelag this season making it another great year. The trails will open for mountain biking once the snow is gone and we have a few weeks of drying.
