Fir Mt. 10-31-08

hermit · Nov 1, 2008

The parking lot at Biscuit brook had about 7" of powder early in the morning.I put on the snowshoes once I got to the Frost Valley property markers,and kept them on most of the day. The snow depth at the leanto was about 9". As I ascended the ridge to Fir the snow depths increased to 15 to 20".This was a wet heavy snow ,and saplings and trees were bent over causing my snowshoes to become ensnared in the branches hidden beneath the snow.The wet snow would also ball up under the snowshoes making them very heavy.Between zig zagging around blowdowns and braking the trail out in heavy snow it took me longer that I thought it would. It was a great way to get ready for winter hiking.It was strange to see some green leaves on top of the snow.I did see some fresh bear tracks along the route. The snow was melting fast so conditions will change rapidly with the warm weather ahead.But the route is broken.It was a great day to be out and get a taste of Winter.http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=123p6i9v.gjrnwmb&x=0&y=26yn1l&localeid=en_US

the_swede · Nov 1, 2008

Nice, Ralph! Sounds like winter has definitely arrived early this year. Do you think the snow will last or will it melt before winter truly arrives?

hermit · Nov 1, 2008

Hi Eric,
Someone told me they could not view the pictures,can you? My gut feeling is most of the snow will be gone down low,and some will remain for sometime up above 3000'

the_swede · Nov 1, 2008

hermit said:
Hi Eric,
Someone told me they could not view the pictures,can you? My gut feeling is most of the snow will be gone down low,and some will remain for sometime up above 3000'

Yeah, I also can't view the pictures. Kodak Gallery is a little bit annoying when it comes to sharing the gallery with everyone. In order to do this, you have to follow these steps:

1. Share the album with yourself, from the "Share Photos" tab, with your own email address in the "To" field.
2. After you receive the share email, copy the URL, or web address, included at the bottom of the email.
3. This web address can be sent to friends or family with a custom email message, or you can use it to add to your personal web site.

Rob S · Nov 1, 2008

Hi Ralph,
Thanks for the report, I was wondering how you made out today. (I can't view the pics either.) How long did this hike take? Don't know about you, but the first, solo, trail-breaking, hike of the season always seems difficult for me.

Hi Eric, Ralph knows better than me, and he is certainly the Catskill expert, but I strongly doubt that the snow will last. Early season storms are usually followed by warmer than average temps. That said, I'd be delighted if I am wrong, ...... maybe a pattern of colder temperatures and more precip will bless us this year!

Rob

hermit · Nov 5, 2008

Hi Rob,
Sunday we flew over the Catskills at 8000 ' and saw lots of snow.But this warmer weather will certainly melt a lot of snow.We even flew over the High Point monument in N.J.I will try to fix the picture problem later when I get home..It took me about 5 or 6hrs. round trip for the hike,lots of heavy wet snow to break through.