MN's Sucky Season

If I see motorcycles on the roads, that's a good sign that the xc
skiing is bad. We've been seeing a lot of motorcycles out during that
past few weeks.

I think there's a real worry among skiers in MN this year _if_ there's
going to be a xc race season. Back in mid-December I said to a friend,
"I wonder how long it will be before we have a winter with only an
occasional 1-2" snowfall." The implied idea was that 1-2" is not enough
to really ski on locally, and that it will not last long enough to
accumulate with the next 1-2" snow. So far this could be that season. I
think we had 1" in December and almost nothing in November.

Early in December, we had a cold snap that allowed the various alpine
ski areas and some xc ski areas to make snow. Without that cold snap, I
think Elm Creek, Trollhaugen and Wirth (our local xc areas) would have
had trouble making snow, and the alpine areas would only be partially
open. Tomorrow looks like the third (if I count correctly) rain event
of the season. I've heard some alpine racers complain that it's hard to
drill gates with the thin snow cover (due to rain).

No snow in the Cities is one thing, but there's no snow in Duluth (that
I've heard of), Hayward, and most of MN. It sounds like Giant's Ridge
has just barely enough snow for rock skiing. If you continue driving,
the Gunflint trail area (5-6 hrs drive) and the UP (4-5 hr drive) have
good skiing. Having northern MN without snow at this time of year is
kind of like having the CO ski resorts closed due to no snow. It's just
odd.

The news media seems on our side since the local ice rinks (for hockey,
broomball, etc) are not being worked until it gets colder, and only the
brave are going out on the lakes for fishing. This is MN, and there are
lots of hocky leagues, broomball and fishing tourney's, and various
festivals based on snow and ice.

The thing is, I don't see a solution to the change in weather patterns.
(Our winters seem to be getting worse each year.) Even snow making may
not solve the problem for long as I said above. If I don't drive my car
at all and unplug from the grid, that will have no effect compared to
the system. People at work think the warm weather "is nice" so there's
no polticial push for the government to do anything. Even with a
political push against the war, there's no real change happening there.

Jay (happy new year) Wenner

don't worry that much.

Here in Washington, we had a very low snow year in 2004-2005. Many resorts
stayed closed. It was an interesting year. Our season's passes were good
for two years since they closed.

However last year was good, and this year is excellent so far with lots of
xc skiing all over the state.

It might just be an anomaly.




"Bjorn A. Payne Diaz" wrote in message
oups.com...
If I see motorcycles on the roads, that's a good sign that the xc
skiing is bad. We've been seeing a lot of motorcycles out during that
past few weeks.

I think there's a real worry among skiers in MN this year _if_ there's
going to be a xc race season. Back in mid-December I said to a friend,
"I wonder how long it will be before we have a winter with only an
occasional 1-2" snowfall." The implied idea was that 1-2" is not enough
to really ski on locally, and that it will not last long enough to
accumulate with the next 1-2" snow. So far this could be that season. I
think we had 1" in December and almost nothing in November.

Early in December, we had a cold snap that allowed the various alpine
ski areas and some xc ski areas to make snow. Without that cold snap, I
think Elm Creek, Trollhaugen and Wirth (our local xc areas) would have
had trouble making snow, and the alpine areas would only be partially
open. Tomorrow looks like the third (if I count correctly) rain event
of the season. I've heard some alpine racers complain that it's hard to
drill gates with the thin snow cover (due to rain).

No snow in the Cities is one thing, but there's no snow in Duluth (that
I've heard of), Hayward, and most of MN. It sounds like Giant's Ridge
has just barely enough snow for rock skiing. If you continue driving,
the Gunflint trail area (5-6 hrs drive) and the UP (4-5 hr drive) have
good skiing. Having northern MN without snow at this time of year is
kind of like having the CO ski resorts closed due to no snow. It's just
odd.

The news media seems on our side since the local ice rinks (for hockey,
broomball, etc) are not being worked until it gets colder, and only the
brave are going out on the lakes for fishing. This is MN, and there are
lots of hocky leagues, broomball and fishing tourney's, and various
festivals based on snow and ice.

The thing is, I don't see a solution to the change in weather patterns.
(Our winters seem to be getting worse each year.) Even snow making may
not solve the problem for long as I said above. If I don't drive my car
at all and unplug from the grid, that will have no effect compared to
the system. People at work think the warm weather "is nice" so there's
no polticial push for the government to do anything. Even with a
political push against the war, there's no real change happening there.

Jay (happy new year) Wenner

In article , Jenny wrote:
It might just be an anomaly.

It seems likely that any time you get a record deviation
from whatever's normal it's anomalous, but I guess a
question is to what extent it's part of a trend. Someone
recently asked why after several years of having pretty much
every dogsled race in the lower 48 cancelled due to lack of
snow we're still scheduling them. Habit? Hope?

Anyway, interesting discussion by a meteorologist:

The unusual warmth this winter probably has four main
causes. Firstly, this is an El Nino year, and it is
common for portions of the Northern Hemisphere to
experience warmer than average conditions during these
events. Add to this the warming due to the observed
global warming trend of 1 degree F over the past
century, and the usual natural variability due to such
phenomena as the North Atlantic Oscillation. Now, let's
talk about sea ice in the Arctic. The Arctic Ice Cap has
shrunk by about 20% since 1979, and at the end of
November this year, the amount of sea ice in the Arctic
was about 2 million square kilometers less than had even
been seen in any previous November. December has also
seen the lowest sea ice coverage for any December on
record. All this exposed water provides a huge source of
heat and moisture in the Arctic that retards the
formation of the usual cold air masses over the adjacent
regions of Canada and Siberia. It's impossible to know
how much of an effect this has without doing some
detailed model studies, but I think the record low sea
ice in the Arctic is probably a significant contributor
to this winter's record warmth.

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/Jef...&tstamp=200612
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

Sending more troops into a war is properly called an "escalation."

It might just be an anomaly.

Rent "An Inconvenient Truth" for a second opinion on this.

Sorry to hear about your bad snow year. That is very frustrating. At
least you're not alone.

As a strange contrast, we have TONS of snow and it's been quite cold
around NM since Thanksgiving. But, last year was our worst year
ever...never before seen dryness and warmth. Now it's an El Nino
pattern and we're getting big Pacific lows across the state, which
means heavy, wet snow.

Two years ago, we had another banner year with tons of Pacific NW-like
snow, very heavy and wet. The snow level was way high, at 7,800 feet,
but above that, it was just incredible amounts of snow (30 to 40 feet
in some places) that didn't completely melt all summer. Then, as I
mentioned, the next year there was hardly a thing.

The variability is what is weird. The swings from drought to wet are
so dramatic. Nothing seems "normal" anymore.

I'm pretty much deciding not to make Birkie plans now.



Bjorn A. Payne Diaz wrote:
If I see motorcycles on the roads, that's a good sign that the xc
skiing is bad. We've been seeing a lot of motorcycles out during that
past few weeks.

I have. And I liked it, and agree with its message. Just bringing up a low
snow year doesn't necessarily mean the end. You could have a record breaker
next year.

I know how frustrtating it is ~ I've been through it!




wrote in message
ups.com...
It might just be an anomaly.

Rent "An Inconvenient Truth" for a second opinion on this.

I have. And I liked it, and agree with its message.

.... and it addresses the "anomaly" argument against global warming
pretty well.

Just bringing up a low
snow year doesn't necessarily mean the end. You could have a record breaker
next year.

Yes, another record breaker in terms of low snow.

Well, It's not THE end, changes take place gradually.

ok, but I wasn't wanting to get into a endless discussion on global warming
(I agree with you), just saying it might be better next year! Hopefully
record breaking high of snow!

Cheers!



wrote in message
ups.com...
I have. And I liked it, and agree with its message.

... and it addresses the "anomaly" argument against global warming
pretty well.

Just bringing up a low
snow year doesn't necessarily mean the end. You could have a record
breaker
next year.

Yes, another record breaker in terms of low snow.

Well, It's not THE end, changes take place gradually.

Bjorn A. Payne Diaz wrote:


the system. People at work think the warm weather "is nice" so there's

I live in Norway and it always amazes me when people complain about the
"bad" weather, and driving on slippery roads, etc. Why don't they move?
I love winter, and that is partly why I live here. Similarly I can't
imagine why anyone would live in Minnesota if they didn't like winter.

Last year we had a miserable early winter with no snow until January,
but then it came big time, and I was able to ski all the way into may.
Maybe your winter will be similar this year. Hope for the best.

Joseph

Well, there are jobs, families, the upheaval and difficulties of
starting in another place, personality needs and in addition with a
move abroad, immigration laws, learning a new language, culture, etc.
Just a few minor considerations.


wrote:


Bjorn A. Payne Diaz wrote:


the system. People at work think the warm weather "is nice" so there's

I live in Norway and it always amazes me when people complain about the
"bad" weather, and driving on slippery roads, etc. Why don't they move?
I love winter, and that is partly why I live here. Similarly I can't
imagine why anyone would live in Minnesota if they didn't like winter.

Last year we had a miserable early winter with no snow until January,
but then it came big time, and I was able to ski all the way into may.
Maybe your winter will be similar this year. Hope for the best.

Joseph