Conditions 4/15/13

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS:  While it has felt like Spring for parts of some days this past week, overall it's been cold enough that there was relatively little melting in the backcountry or in sheltered wooded areas.  Still 4-6 inches of snow in wooded areas around Lake Placid, but open areas are mostly bare.   All cross-country centers are closed for the season, but Van Hoevenberg still has good cover on most trails, especially the Porter Mountain Loops and it is being skied. This week spring really does arrive with temperatures 50-60 each day and nighttime lows only in the 30s.  Additionally, showers predicted for Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday (high could be 70) will end most skiing by the end of the week.  Snow will remain for several more weeks at least on the higher summits, so snowshoes will continue to be needed for higher elevation travel into May.  

       JACKRABBIT TRAIL CONDITIONS:

•      Base Depth - 0-10 inches

              Surface Conditions - spring surfaces           
              Km Open - 5

        Remarks -  Whiteface Inn Lane to the top of the pass still skiable, but that's about it for the Jackrabbit Trail this season.   

BACKCOUNTRY CONDITIONS:
              Snow Depth at Lake Colden: 22" 
              Snow Depth at 4,000 feet: 4 feet 
              Surface Conditions:  spring surfaces 
              Remarks:   Little melting this past week, so still good cover and definitely still winter conditions once one is past Marcy Dam.  Hiking trail from ADK Loj now definitely not skiable, but truck trail remains mostly skiable with just a few bare spots on the south-facing hills. Calamity Brook approach remains skiable, but no recent reports on whether there is still a good crossing of the Opalescent River in Flowed Lands.  

     *  Skis and snowshoes still required in the High Peaks Wilderness Area and needed elsewhere.   

• •      *  Meadow Lane has been blocked off for the winter, adding 3/4 mile to approach of Marcy Dam.
  •      *  Lake ice on Colden and Avalanche Lake remains but is not likely safe, nor is any other lake's ice safe. .
  •      *  Other popular tours including Hays Brook, Fish Pond, Newcomb Lake, and Moose Pond (at least 6" in Newcomb), still have cover, but will not likely last through the weekend and into the coming week.   
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