Lotsa windhold this morning. Hopefully the winds lay down a bit tomorrow.

Greg wrote:

Lotsa windhold this morning. Hopefully the winds lay down a bit tomorrow.

According to this http://www.erh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=BTV&llon=-73.289583&rlon=-72.594583&tlat=44.400417&blat=43.705417&smap=1&mp=1&map.x=125&map.y=95 they will.

This is probably a stupid question, but I'll ask anyway because I'm hoping that the answer will be different that I think it is. Does the direction of the wind matter in regards to to lift holds? I see that there were lots of lift wind-holds today with a south wind blowing. The forecast for Saturday is for strongs winds from the northwest. Does this make any difference to declaring wind-holds? I assume no, but I can hope.

ScoobySnack wrote:

This is probably a stupid question, but I'll ask anyway because I'm hoping that the answer will be different that I think it is. Does the direction of the wind matter in regards to to lift holds? I see that there were lots of lift wind-holds today with a south wind blowing. The forecast for Saturday is for strongs winds from the northwest. Does this make any difference to declaring wind-holds? I assume no, but I can hope.

YES! It definitely makes a difference. When the wind is blowing across the chairs, a windhold is more imminent. There is significantly more danger with chairs blowing side-to-side (hitting lift towers and other chairs, detachable grips releasing on sheave trains, etc.) If the wind is blowing up or down the liftline, a windhold is less likely, but still possible at high wind speeds.

So, yes... direction makes a difference. But if the wind is strong enough, it will shut the lifts down no matter where it's coming from.

That in mind, with today's south wind it was blowing down and across the chairs on GMX, Summit, and NRX. If I have my directions right, a wind from the northwest would blow across and slightly down GMX, Summit, and NRX from the opposite side. Doesn't look good for Saturday .

ScoobySnack wrote:

This is probably a stupid question, but I'll ask anyway because I'm hoping that the answer will be different that I think it is. Does the direction of the wind matter in regards to to lift holds? I see that there were lots of lift wind-holds today with a south wind blowing. The forecast for Saturday is for strongs winds from the northwest. Does this make any difference to declaring wind-holds? I assume no, but I can hope.

Definitely NOT a stupid question. In my experience, it does matter. For example, Super Bravo tends to get hit by the prevailing NW winds - that section above the rocks on Lower Birdland is always a treat, right? On real windy days, it's often down. Not today, as it's mostly protected by the ridge tot he South. Conversely, Castlerock is almost always open on windy days from the NW b/c it's protected behind the ridge and the summit terminal is in a bit of a col, tucked behind trees. Not sure what happens to CR when winds howl from the south.

FYI, currently snowing here in CT.

Tin Woodsman wrote:

FYI, currently snowing here in CT.

Yeah, isn't great. Makes me so happy

Random - along the CT/NY border

There are times when Bravo is hit with wind that doesn't affect Valley house chair (which also sits lower in the tree line) and if Heaven's Gate is open, all you need to do is the reverse traverse. Several years ago we had a "big dump" of snow (if you remember what that is), Bravo was closed, they opened Vally House and very few people were savvy enough to know that Heaven's Gate was open or how to get there. I got 4 untracked runs before they opened Bravo.

BushMogulMaster gave the right answer. The type of lift can also make a difference. It takes less wind to place a lift with light chairs like the Village on wind hold.

Thanks for the info, all. Fingers crossed for this weekend.

win wrote:

The type of lift can also make a difference.

True. Fixed vs. Detach can also make a difference. Fixed grips can generally withstand more wind than detachables, due to the fact that there is really no risk of the grip releasing.

Tower height is also an issue. The higher the lift towers, the more susceptible to winds. This is why we ought to have a few surface lifts

Regarding surface lifts: I never thought I would say this being a snowboarder, but I agree that a few rope tow's or pomas could open some new terrain and could keep the mountain going when most other mountains in Vermont would be on wind hold. Also, if you've ever been on a mountain when there is a threat of lightning, all the lifts shut down even if the weather is clear with no wind. They simply can't run chairs if there is a slight chance of lightning. Its not very common in winter but its pretty dramatic when all the lifts on a mountain unload and then stop.
I don't know the details of the laws in Vermont but my guess is that pomas use poles so that they would have to shut down with a lightning threat but a rope tow would not (maybe). I know that installing a new lift and opening new terrain is always very difficult due to environmental and legal concerns but I wonder if Sugarbush could open some new terrain with a rope tow on some of the land that they own outright at North? I'm pretty sure we're out of luck as far as expansion goes at south since most of the land is forest service land. Also the logistics of getting skiers from the base to a surface lift on new terrain might make it only marginally useful if everything is on wind hold.

Skins are packed for sure, great way to ski a windhold hill and great exercise as well, keeps you toasty on those cold Jan VT days..............