Winter snow

The ravine below our small house in the mountains was covered with snow in the Christmas storm.  The most recent snow covered the ravine, too, but is now melting with warmer temperatures. 

Snow-covered ravine

My gardening companion just sent me this photo (finally) downloaded from 'his' camera, a small digital camera that we're now taking traveling, instead of my Nikon D100, an older digital workhorse.

A snowy pond

Meadow pond surrounded by snow in the SC Botanical Garden

A winter morning walk brought me by the Meadow Pond, which was lovely in the early light.  Campus is closed again today because of heavy snow and icy roads, but with AWD, the short trip to the Garden was uneventful.  The two killdeer flying around the meadow were a treat to see -- a sign of winter.  I saw flocks of killdeer last year at this time, but the meadows weren't covered with snow!

Snow day

We've seen more snow this winter than we've seen for many years...and it's only January.

Snow

In the mountains for winter break, we were surprised with snow this morning. A matter of 2 degrees lower made the difference between the predicted rain and light fluffy snow. We had about 3 inches, lovely to walk through on a Sunday morning.  (Not so nice if we'd needed to get to work, though).

The prediction is for more snow overnight, with temperatures dropping into the teens (F°), so Monday will possibly be icy as well as snowy.

But the snow was fun for us.  It had been a long time since we'd seen this much snow.

On our street

Snow in the mountains

A frosty forest

Colorado ski resorts - record early season snow!

Winter Park Resort day 2 - Nov 18, 2010

The 2010 / 2011 ski season has started off with a bang as several big storms dump feet of snow in the Rocky Mountains.

Many major resorts are now open with unheard of amounts of snow and opening more lifts and runs than we can remember.

In the last 7 days Breckenridge had 40 inches, Vail 31, Winter Park 24, Aspen 13 and Steamboat 33 inches in the last 72 hours!

Breckenridge opened last week and now has 7 lifts and 34 runs open, a base of 44 inches and a season total of 98 inches so far that's over 8 feet!

Vail opened today Nov 19 with 11 lifts and 80 runs, a base of 23 inches and 79 inches for the season.

Winter Park opened on Wednesday, has 8 lifts open, 17 runs with a base of 37 inches and 55 for the season. Winter Park mountain has been open top to bottom since opening day and Mary Jane is due to open tomorrow Sat Nov 20.

Winter's here it's time to ski!

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Bradley's Bash Winter Park Resort Nov 28, 2010





Zephyr Chairlift Winter Park Nov 18, 2010

Looking at Mary Jane runs Winter Park Nov 18, 2010

Retta's Run Winter Park Resort Colorado Nov 18, 2010

Winter Park Sunrise Nov 2010

Major snow hits Colorado, USA for 2010 / 2011 ski season

Winter Park snowstorm OCt 26, 2010

A major snowstorm has hit Colorado this week and it's still snowing like crazy in the mountains. Take a look at our snowy pictures on facebook and become a facebook fan http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chalets-USA/75370316500

Loveland and Arapahoe Basin ski resorts in Colorado, USA are now open for business and with many of the major resorts set to open in about 3 weeks, skiers & boarders are getting excited for the coming ski season.

To book your USA skiing holiday /vacation visit http://www.chalets-usa.co.uk/

First snow of the Winter 2010/2011 ski season

First snow of the year on the Peaks Winter Park Colorado USA

Winter's coming!

Breckenridge powder days!

Breckenridge 34 inches new snow in last 7 days

+ 30% off self-catered accommodation

= time to book your trip!

 http://www.chalets-usa.co.uk/breckenridge-self-catered-accommodation-colorado.htm

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US Tel 303 482 1961

info@chalets-usa.co.uk

Vail, Colorado, USA - 27 inches of new snow!

• 27 inches new snow in Vail this week
• 16 inches last 3 days
• 20% off accommodation in Lionshead & Vail Village
• Click here for Vail accommodation

Time to book your next skiing holiday in Vail!

US Tel 303 482 1961
UK Tel 01223 655642

info@chalets-usa.co.uk

http://www.chalets-usa.co.uk/

Morning snow

It seems as snowy as we've ever seen it here, with thick fluffy snow piled up.

The snow draped over branches, leaves, and stems.

The snow at the Garden was also pretty.

Snow

This evening the 'drumbeat' of the forecast materialized, and we've had several inches of fluffy, damp snow and it's still coming. This is most unusual for us -- we normally have nice winter days alternating with cold rainy days in February in the Upstate of South Carolina. But this year, with El Nino and altered wind patterns, has been entirely different.

This evening's snow is wet, heavy, and slushy and will freeze overnight to a harder consistency, making the roads slippery, and keeping us folks unused to snow and ice inside and not venturing forth. The quietness has already descended.

I'll need to go out briefly to post a cancellation notice for a program Saturday morning -- I've called all the registered participants, but there might be some northerly sort of person who might appear. But I guess I've lived in the Southern U.S. for long enough to share the aversion to snowy and icy travel. I'm only a mile away from campus, but I wouldn't want to drive much more than that!

A raccoon and snow flurries

Up in the mountains for a NAI interpretation workshop, the unrealized (so far) threat of snow and ice has seemed like a warning drumbeat.

Four to five inches of snow! freezing rain! howling winds! and blizzard warnings! have been part of the forecast the last few days. The predictions were dire enough to have my gardening companion (insist in his companionly way) that I go up early to get ahead of the weather (which was quite nice enough, as it turned out). And I'm delaying going 'down the hill' -- the Blue Ridge Escarpment - until the morning, when the sun is supposedly to be shining.

Thankfully, only the winds have materialized with a dusting of snow this evening so far, although it's plenty cold with the wind chill down in the teens. The predicted blizzard seems to have gone north to inundate the mid-Atlantic states.

In the South and the mid-Atlantic states of the U.S., we're not used to snow and ice at all, and this year's El Nino weather pattern seems to be bringing us plenty.

Venturing forth briefly this evening, I saw a raccoon bounding briskly (looking like a cat) up the hill into the front of the apartment next to our small house in the mountains. My brain looked at the image and thought 'cat' -- but then sorted out that the stripes on the tail were distinctive and that the ears and nose were not cat-like at all.

Waiting for snow

In spite of my optimistic thoughts about planting peas in a couple of weeks, we're expecting snow and sleet overnight - a prospect that brings many folks rushing around getting supplies. I don't normally worry about it too much (we always have lots of provisions in the fridge and pantry), although maybe I need to have more water, batteries and candles.

But I am inspired to think about being on Phu Quoc Island at winter break, in the far southern tip of Vietnam, which, for now, is a wonderful place to hang out on the beach, developed just enough to be idyllic.

This is the beach in front of Mai House, an excellent place on Long Beach.

We spent several relaxing days here.

It's snowing in Colorado, USA!

Powder day in Colorado! Monday December 14, 2009

• Winter Park 7.5 inches
• Vail 8 inches
• Steamboat 7 inches
• Breckenridge 5 inches

Early snow in Colorado

First snow of the 2009/10 ski season on the ski runs in Colorado today - Winter's Coming - time to book your next USA skiiing holiday! Visit http://www.chalets-usa.co.uk/ for catered chalets, self-catered accommodation, hotels and more in Vail, Breckenridge, Winter Park, Beaver Creek & Steamboat Springs.