Chances are you aren’t riding, so I’ve got quite a bit of reading (and listening) for you! Read all the way through…
I was certainly disappointed to see our mini-bounty of white gold from early December go poof in the night. But our previous 6-12 inches of powdery snow cover wasn’t going to stand a chance against temperatures rising into the 40s Monday night into Tuesday in the central Adirondacks.
We’ll take another hit on Saturday with a rain event. But can you really call it an especially big hit, if there isn’t much to take away? 😉 Guess not…
So, I’ll to take a look into next week and play it forward until Christmas:
Possible snow event
GEFS Ensembles are showing decent possibility of a snow event Monday night into Tuesday next week, but also showing considerable variability within it’s own members:
Therefore, I’m not fully confident on this possible event. But I can say if Monday night into Tuesday doesn’t click for us, we could be waiting for a while!
After the event, we should remain at least seasonally cold through Friday, December 20th:
There is some disagreement as to whether that cold hangs through the weekend of December 21-22, so I won’t pry too much into that now.
The probable best case scenario for us would be to get enough of a dump Monday night into Tuesday next week to put places like Moose River Plains and Perkins Clearing into play and have that hold on through the weekend. If that ends up being the case, I’d recommend that you hit it!
Approaching Christmas
EPS Ensembles are showing the eventual collapse of next week’s cold pattern getting set in motion around December 21st:
This is NOT a pattern you want to see if you’re looking for cold, snowy weather here, especially with the Polar Vortex (PV) parked north of the Arctic Circle.
A vigorous trough crashing into the western United States would send a surge of mild Pacific air across the lower-48 in the days leading up to Christmas.
We seem to have a Christmas meltdown more often than not, so why buck tradition, eh? 😉
Beyond Christmas? I’ll save that for another day. Two weeks is a deep enough ball to throw in the weather game.
Rail to trail (Remsen to Lake Placid Travel Corridor UMP)
I attended the Remsen to Lake Placid Travel Corridor UMP public hearing in Tupper Lake and was pleased to hear strong comments from NYSSA, local snowmobile clubs and Tupper Lake residents who want the State to remove the rails from Lake Placid all the way down to Big Moose Station – and establish a multi-use recreational trail that can be used all year long. Needless to say, this would make snowmobiling much safer through the corridor and enhance tourism across the board.
Final Public Hearing will be Thursday, December 19, 6pm at the Utica State Office Building, 1st Floor Room A/B, 207 Genesee Street, Utica.
Written comments are also welcome and will be accepted, by mail or e-mail, by the contact below until January 8, 2020:
John Schmid, Natural Resources Planner
NYS DEC
626 Broadway, 5th floor
Albany, NY 12233-4254
Email: AdirondackPark@dec.ny.gov
More details on the plan can be found at: https://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/62816.html
While there is a great deal of good news in this proposal, there is also much wrong with it, including the preference that the rail stays in place from Big Moose Station to Tupper Lake. You can be sure that the railroad supporters will be at the Utica meeting in force. So please attend if you can.
Points you can make in your written or spoken comments:
- The Remsen to Lake Placid Travel Corridor serves as the most important snowmobile trail in the Adirondack Park linking many other trails in the park with each other.
- Support for the removal of rail from Lake Placid to Tupper Lake.
- Acknowledge that DEC has prepared a comprehensive Plan for the Lake Placid to Tupper Lake section which is well thought out and provides for a diversity of recreational interest.
- All parking areas should support economic activity in hamlets and villages they should be within or close to villages and hamlets.
- Oppose keeping the rail from Big Moose Station to Tupper Lake
- Point out that the State is losing the opportunity to create a world class rail trail.
- $31 million is too much to pay for improving passenger service for an unknown number of participants
- DOT should undertake a market study before the $31 million is spent on rail service
- Plan does not provide a comprehensive assessment of existing conditions on the rail between Big Moose Station and Tupper Lake.
If you have ridden the rail on a snowmobile, do put your personal experience into your letter. “On many occasions I have ridden the rail from X to Y. But there are many more occasions I could not make that ride because of the lack of snow and the rails showing through the snow.”
Do report if you have ever damaged your sled on the rail or have been injured because of the rail.
Trail Talk Podcast
I’m pumped to become the first guest of honor on the Trail Talk Podcast hosted by Rich Lupia at UpstateSnow.com
We talked for HOURS and it only seemed like 30 minutes had gone by. A lot of it was just two friends talking about snowmobiling and life.
Here are the segments:
Part 1 – About how I got into snowmobiling and what eventually led me to start ilsnow.com
Part 2 – I talk about snowmobiling issues in the Adirondacks, including safety on the trails and lawsuits over snowmobile use on recently acquired State land.
Part 3 – More stories of snowmobiling and life in general.
Part 4 – Extra stuff with two good snowmobiling buddies having a conversation. Stuff that was supposed to be off the record. 😉
It was a lot of fun to do and I may become a repeat guest.
For the ilsnow nation,
Darrin
This report is brought to you by Steet Ponte Auto Group. Many of the vehicles here in Indian Lake are bought from the Steet Ponte. Co-owner Joe Steet is a huge fan and booster of ilsnow.com. If you’re looking for a new truck, give Steet Ponte a good look.
