Whatta surprise! Snowmaking last night fired up three hours earlier than Tuesday night...so much for the accuracy of the remote sensors... All that snowmaking was blowing snow on trails we want to re-open, or open for the first time this season, so I felt like I was s*!^#ing in tall cotton!
I was grinding around with my window open...I did all the ramps that swing shift didn't get to, buried some more trouble spots on the bunny hills, and finally started making my long passes about the time my shirtsleeve thermometer told me that it was warming up...damn inversion was creeping up the slopes to make more mischief...
I hailed Jeweler on the 2-way: "Is it getting warmer?" I queried. "It is" Jeweler replied. Jeweler said they were shutting down...best to not make rain...I made a pass to the top of the mountain...for snowmobile pilots from Vehicle Maintenance who needed to retrieve a downed snowmobile in the AM.
I made another long pass from the Work Orders...and ran out of fuel. WTF?
I fueled up Wednesday morning after my shift, and nobody else ran the cat before I got in it at the beginning of my shift. No Idiot Lights, No alarms, No Go...No restart either. I hailed Jeweler on the 2-way again...no answer. I phoned him and asked "Are you still here? "Nope, I'm on the road" I pleaded my case...Jeweler said he'd come get me after he dropped off on of his crew. He was all of two miles from My Mountain, and would be less than three miles away when he dropped of his guy. He said he'd give me a ring when he was close.
The symptoms were those of a fuel delivery failure. I grabbed my flashlight and started looking for a broken wire or disconnected wiring harness. I haven't learned where the fuel shutoff relay or solenoid live on the BR350s...it's never been an issue like it was with the BR275s. I didn't find anything. My phone rang...
Jeweler was almost back to the shop and asked what I wanted to be rescued in. I asked him to bring a snowcat. Ten minutes later Jeweler phoned again: "I fired up the older Bison, and it made horrible noises...like rod knock noises...listen...I couldn't hear anything over the phone. I said: "Why don't you bring Driller's cat...it's only been parked for an hour and a half"..."OK" Jeweler replied.
Driller's CenterX Bison picked me up a half hour later..."You jump in the other seat and give me a driving lesson on our way down the hill" I suggested to Jeweler. I haven't run a CenterX yet...Jeweler gave me the lowdown, and the machine was leaving corduroy like butter...or buttah, I should say.
Nice machine in many ways, but all the important stuff is behind the operator...that would be the 2-way, the window latches, and the iPod dock. I finished the shift, fueled up, filed my report and talked to the mechanics about my tractor...all before punching out at 0830.
Looking forward to getting back in my own BR350 tonight, though.
Showing posts with label Jeweler. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jeweler. Show all posts
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Heat Wave
OK, this is getting ridiculous...I raised a sweat Wednesday, and I was standing still! In a short sleeve T-shirt and long nylon "running pants". I was standing next to the fuel pump at the Sparks COSTCO filling up the car. I could feel the weight of the Temperature Inversion, and you could see the compressed wood smoke/smog layer laying fetid across the Truckee Meadows.
Smog is probably the wrong word if I'm going to be precise...it's probably been a decade or more since I've seen genuine smog in America. Smog implies emissions of pollutants from manufacturing, transportation, and power generation. I recalled real smog Tuesday morning when I watched SpeedTV's replay of April's Chinese Grand Prix, and I was reminded of the horrific scenes from the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.
The long outdoor shots from Beijing were frightening...during the bicycle road races, I feared for the health of the competitors! This year I saw similar smoggy views from the Grands Prix in South Korea and the new India Grand Prix near New Delhi.
Reno's wood smoke layer paled however to the fantastic vista of clouds hugging onto the peaks of the Carson Range, under towering stacks of lenticular clouds looking like impossibly huge science fiction pagodas. I would not have been surprised to see spacecraft whizzing to and fro like a scene from a STAR WARS Sequel! Backlit by the high clouds it was an awesome tableau..I kicked myself for leaving my camera at the DaveCave.
I rolled back up the Truckee River canyon, and caught a glimpse of the old Lincoln Highway on the north side of today's Interstate 80 near Floriston. As I climbed the hill to the Martis Valley, there were flurries evident over the Sierra Crest. Sadly they were falling over Tinker's Knob, midway between Sugar Bowl and Squaw Valley USA...not that they would produce measurable amounts of snow anyway...again it was a missed photo-op...and of course, it missed all the ski areas.
Back at the DaveCave, I stowed the groceries and worked for an hour on the pickup's distributor project before I washed up and laid on the bed for a minute...I woke up at 9PM and pondered dinner...home made pizza? NY Steak on the BBQ? I woke up again at 1:39AM
I was itchin' to write today's blog. I quickly scanned my social sites. Jeweler Facebook-ed that tonight was his first night back in his tractor. I toured the webcams and remote sensors...no joy...another night of tall temps in Snowmaking City. The Tahoe Basin has been flirting with record high afternoon temps for three days. and it's forecast to continue for a couple more days. Three days remain of December, it looks like Reno will record it's driest December since 1883!
I'd be lying if I said all this waiting on Mother Nature wasn't taking it's toll on my psyche...for solace, I looked at the sober Tahoe Weather Discussion Blog...I was comforted...check it out, good news may be on the horizon. He's a one-stop-shop worthy of a bookmark.
Smog is probably the wrong word if I'm going to be precise...it's probably been a decade or more since I've seen genuine smog in America. Smog implies emissions of pollutants from manufacturing, transportation, and power generation. I recalled real smog Tuesday morning when I watched SpeedTV's replay of April's Chinese Grand Prix, and I was reminded of the horrific scenes from the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.
The long outdoor shots from Beijing were frightening...during the bicycle road races, I feared for the health of the competitors! This year I saw similar smoggy views from the Grands Prix in South Korea and the new India Grand Prix near New Delhi.
Reno's wood smoke layer paled however to the fantastic vista of clouds hugging onto the peaks of the Carson Range, under towering stacks of lenticular clouds looking like impossibly huge science fiction pagodas. I would not have been surprised to see spacecraft whizzing to and fro like a scene from a STAR WARS Sequel! Backlit by the high clouds it was an awesome tableau..I kicked myself for leaving my camera at the DaveCave.
I rolled back up the Truckee River canyon, and caught a glimpse of the old Lincoln Highway on the north side of today's Interstate 80 near Floriston. As I climbed the hill to the Martis Valley, there were flurries evident over the Sierra Crest. Sadly they were falling over Tinker's Knob, midway between Sugar Bowl and Squaw Valley USA...not that they would produce measurable amounts of snow anyway...again it was a missed photo-op...and of course, it missed all the ski areas.
Back at the DaveCave, I stowed the groceries and worked for an hour on the pickup's distributor project before I washed up and laid on the bed for a minute...I woke up at 9PM and pondered dinner...home made pizza? NY Steak on the BBQ? I woke up again at 1:39AM
I was itchin' to write today's blog. I quickly scanned my social sites. Jeweler Facebook-ed that tonight was his first night back in his tractor. I toured the webcams and remote sensors...no joy...another night of tall temps in Snowmaking City. The Tahoe Basin has been flirting with record high afternoon temps for three days. and it's forecast to continue for a couple more days. Three days remain of December, it looks like Reno will record it's driest December since 1883!
I'd be lying if I said all this waiting on Mother Nature wasn't taking it's toll on my psyche...for solace, I looked at the sober Tahoe Weather Discussion Blog...I was comforted...check it out, good news may be on the horizon. He's a one-stop-shop worthy of a bookmark.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Do No Harm
First, do no harm... It's a long way from Hippocrates' Classical Athens to Captain James Tiberius Kirk's 23rd Century United Federation of Planets and The Prime Directive. Whether the founding of Western Democracy, or one of it's most fully realized Science Fiction futures, the Principal endures. As it should.
The quality of early season ski trails isn't a life and death issue the way medicine or a balky warp drive can be, but those trails are My Universe, and they do seem perilously frail, given the forecast outlook and skier interest.
This season's quiescent start to the water year is unlike any season I've experienced in my 30 years on My Mountain. KCRA3's Chief Meteorologist, Mark Finan cited the record books for his 11 O'clock News Tuesday night. Mark said in the past 100 years, 19 winters started in similar fashion. Of those 19, three finally finished above normal precipitation-wise.
From my memory, I would cite the 1990/1991 Season as most like this one. Californians will remember that winter for it's "March Miracle". The season ended with about normal precip after a slow start. I have a feeling that it was the 90/91 winter that was responsible for finally bringing snowmaking to Northern California.
So here we are tonight...My Mountain is running half of it's chairs, and one fourth of it's trails...all on 100% Man-Made Snow. The AFD's say clear weather for the foreseeable future. One side effect of the entrenched blocking high off the Pacific Coast are the Temperature Inversions plaguing the Tahoe Sierra snowmaking crews. Which brings us to last night.
I pulled into the shop parking lot at the usual hour. The compressor farm was running and there was a breeze coming from the East. I donned my slicker for the walk to the shop. This was an improvement over Sunday's shift...No wind Sunday=Inversion Layer=No Snowmaking Temps.
Snowmaking was marginal at midnight. Warmish for snowmaking, the fans and guns weren't pumping much water, hence not a lot of snow was being made. As the night continued, the breeze died down, and temps slowly rose from bottom to top (classic inversion profile) until my 2-Way crackled. Jeweler wanted my advice.
We met 10 minutes later. Jeweler was looking a little tortured, his shift was turning from bad to worse. He wanted an ally to help him justify the Shutdown Call. He made his case, and ran through his laundry list of increasing negatives. I stopped him before the bitter end. "Don't make rain" I told him. "Right" replied Jeweler. We discussed the options, and I reminded him of the Prime Directive, and said we can't afford to make a mistake we that can't recover from on that shift... making rain would be that worst case mistake. Crestfallen but slightly vindicated, Jeweler transmitted the decision to his crew and rumbled into the night.
Two and a half hours after the snowmakers went home, the east winds began to freshen and the temps plummeted into the teens. As I tiptoed about the trails, I ran through the inventory of my shifts since I started back on Friday night.
Thanks to the coordinated attack of our snowmakers and groomers, I'd watched the conditions improve every night until last night. Skier Visits are holding steady at around 1000/day. 1000 happy sliders is a lot of sharp edges scraping away our precious piste. Throw in some stiff east winds and that snowpack can shrink daily. At least we held our ground last night...we didn't improve from the previous night, but we forestalled any degradation.
So that in a nutshell is our mission for the rest of the year. Hold the line...improve wherever possible...don't make any unfixable errors, and those 1000 will tell their friends about the amazing conditions at My Mountain, and 1000 scrapers daily will come and enjoy our wares.
Looking as I always do at the remote sensors, there will be great temps tonight. The winds are up, hopefully they'll stay low enough to ward off the inversion and allow us to capitalize on what the Reno AFD says will be a couple of cold dry days.
We should do fine as long as the well doesn't run dry...but that's a story for another night
The quality of early season ski trails isn't a life and death issue the way medicine or a balky warp drive can be, but those trails are My Universe, and they do seem perilously frail, given the forecast outlook and skier interest.
This season's quiescent start to the water year is unlike any season I've experienced in my 30 years on My Mountain. KCRA3's Chief Meteorologist, Mark Finan cited the record books for his 11 O'clock News Tuesday night. Mark said in the past 100 years, 19 winters started in similar fashion. Of those 19, three finally finished above normal precipitation-wise.
From my memory, I would cite the 1990/1991 Season as most like this one. Californians will remember that winter for it's "March Miracle". The season ended with about normal precip after a slow start. I have a feeling that it was the 90/91 winter that was responsible for finally bringing snowmaking to Northern California.
So here we are tonight...My Mountain is running half of it's chairs, and one fourth of it's trails...all on 100% Man-Made Snow. The AFD's say clear weather for the foreseeable future. One side effect of the entrenched blocking high off the Pacific Coast are the Temperature Inversions plaguing the Tahoe Sierra snowmaking crews. Which brings us to last night.
I pulled into the shop parking lot at the usual hour. The compressor farm was running and there was a breeze coming from the East. I donned my slicker for the walk to the shop. This was an improvement over Sunday's shift...No wind Sunday=Inversion Layer=No Snowmaking Temps.
Snowmaking was marginal at midnight. Warmish for snowmaking, the fans and guns weren't pumping much water, hence not a lot of snow was being made. As the night continued, the breeze died down, and temps slowly rose from bottom to top (classic inversion profile) until my 2-Way crackled. Jeweler wanted my advice.
We met 10 minutes later. Jeweler was looking a little tortured, his shift was turning from bad to worse. He wanted an ally to help him justify the Shutdown Call. He made his case, and ran through his laundry list of increasing negatives. I stopped him before the bitter end. "Don't make rain" I told him. "Right" replied Jeweler. We discussed the options, and I reminded him of the Prime Directive, and said we can't afford to make a mistake we that can't recover from on that shift... making rain would be that worst case mistake. Crestfallen but slightly vindicated, Jeweler transmitted the decision to his crew and rumbled into the night.
Two and a half hours after the snowmakers went home, the east winds began to freshen and the temps plummeted into the teens. As I tiptoed about the trails, I ran through the inventory of my shifts since I started back on Friday night.
Thanks to the coordinated attack of our snowmakers and groomers, I'd watched the conditions improve every night until last night. Skier Visits are holding steady at around 1000/day. 1000 happy sliders is a lot of sharp edges scraping away our precious piste. Throw in some stiff east winds and that snowpack can shrink daily. At least we held our ground last night...we didn't improve from the previous night, but we forestalled any degradation.
So that in a nutshell is our mission for the rest of the year. Hold the line...improve wherever possible...don't make any unfixable errors, and those 1000 will tell their friends about the amazing conditions at My Mountain, and 1000 scrapers daily will come and enjoy our wares.
Looking as I always do at the remote sensors, there will be great temps tonight. The winds are up, hopefully they'll stay low enough to ward off the inversion and allow us to capitalize on what the Reno AFD says will be a couple of cold dry days.
We should do fine as long as the well doesn't run dry...but that's a story for another night
Sunday, May 29, 2011
I'll Keep It Short Today
I'm hearing from all across the West today...I'm not the only one who's grousing about this damn lingering Winter...
A Facebook friend from Bozeman Montana said:"Feels like an early fall"
From a teacher friend in Grass Valley up in California's Mother Lode:
"It is 62 degrees in our house, it is raining cold outside, and I have asked Steve to build a fire...I feel so sorry for all the souls who left Friday morning to claim their camping spot up in the high country ...."
Jeweler was first out of the gate with: "Would like to know where the sun is shining??"Jeweler went on to say: "Actual snow at my house. Not very pleased"
Here at the Ancestral Digs, a light rain (or more correctly in BayAreaSpeak) a heavy drizzle set in around 5PM. My mother saw the silver lining..."it's good for everyone's gardens"...me I'm hoping the soil will warm soon...warm enough for zucchini, tomatoes, melons, corn and peppers...um...Summer Vegetables!
Chain controls went up over Donner Summit somewhere around 5:20PM. The webcams were showing accumulated snow by then, too.
I spent most of the morning editing all the AMGEN coverage I captured on my DVRs and burning them to DVD so I'll have room for this weekend's motorsports overload...Monaco Grand Prix for the Formula One crowd, and the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500. The forecast for Indy is good, and the weather's perfect in Monte Carlo too.
The bicycle racers were talking about the Tahoe snow until the last day of the race...AMGEN Organizers have already announced the Start City for next year's AMGEN...Santa Rosa (where it snows, what...once every 40 years?!)
Uggghh...I just looked at the webcams (7:39PM)...snow is sticking down in Truckee now, 4-5 inches at Pass Level, and the 3PM Reno AFD says the cold front is stalled on a Susanville/Gerlach line so the snow will pile up until Sunday morning.
Chain controls were down to Nyack for a while, but are back up at Kingvale, and East down to Hirschdale. The webcams over the Summit show some spun-out cars east of Soda Springs, and gridlock Eastbound at Kingvale...could be that the road's closed due to spin-outs and accidents, but the news hasn't been posted online yet.
It's gonna be humid and 90°F Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and the rich, famous, and beautiful will need SPF30 in Monte Carlo.
Sister K caught a cold and won't be coming to town, so I'm going to forgo the homemade ice cream until another weekend...
A Facebook friend from Bozeman Montana said:"Feels like an early fall"
From a teacher friend in Grass Valley up in California's Mother Lode:
"It is 62 degrees in our house, it is raining cold outside, and I have asked Steve to build a fire...I feel so sorry for all the souls who left Friday morning to claim their camping spot up in the high country ...."
Jeweler was first out of the gate with: "Would like to know where the sun is shining??"Jeweler went on to say: "Actual snow at my house. Not very pleased"
Here at the Ancestral Digs, a light rain (or more correctly in BayAreaSpeak) a heavy drizzle set in around 5PM. My mother saw the silver lining..."it's good for everyone's gardens"...me I'm hoping the soil will warm soon...warm enough for zucchini, tomatoes, melons, corn and peppers...um...Summer Vegetables!
Chain controls went up over Donner Summit somewhere around 5:20PM. The webcams were showing accumulated snow by then, too.
I spent most of the morning editing all the AMGEN coverage I captured on my DVRs and burning them to DVD so I'll have room for this weekend's motorsports overload...Monaco Grand Prix for the Formula One crowd, and the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500. The forecast for Indy is good, and the weather's perfect in Monte Carlo too.
The bicycle racers were talking about the Tahoe snow until the last day of the race...AMGEN Organizers have already announced the Start City for next year's AMGEN...Santa Rosa (where it snows, what...once every 40 years?!)
Uggghh...I just looked at the webcams (7:39PM)...snow is sticking down in Truckee now, 4-5 inches at Pass Level, and the 3PM Reno AFD says the cold front is stalled on a Susanville/Gerlach line so the snow will pile up until Sunday morning.
Chain controls were down to Nyack for a while, but are back up at Kingvale, and East down to Hirschdale. The webcams over the Summit show some spun-out cars east of Soda Springs, and gridlock Eastbound at Kingvale...could be that the road's closed due to spin-outs and accidents, but the news hasn't been posted online yet.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
It's a Wrap! Almost...
This is it. Tonight is my last shift of the 2010/2011 Season.
I've been seeing a theme develop over these past few weeks. My nights have been turning out much better than expected. I don't care to examine my expectations tonight...besides, why would I look a gift horse in the mouth?
It's been an amazing season. Plenty of snow, no personnel issues, the fleet hung together fine too. I can count the bad nights on less than ten fingers. I really endured one truly awful night (see "Well Done").
This morning over pizza, the Boss allowed that my Ol' Faithful BR350 might not be trade bait next season after all. She had 8875 hours on the Hobbs Meter when I put her to bed this AM. She's been practically trouble-free all season, and she's still running like a Thoroughbred at the Derby. Word is we'll be getting another Bison next season
Friday night's penultimate shift started badly...I woke up and looked at the clock 11:41PM! I'm supposed to be at work in nine minutes...I phoned Jeweler, confessed my sin, and said: "I'll be there in an hour". "No worries" Jeweler replied. 55 minutes later I punched in and trundled up the hill to check out Ol' Faithful and warm her up.
As forecast, the East Wind blew all day Friday, and as I predicted, the piste had dried nicely. Climbing was better than good. The list manageable. Not exactly Hero Snow, but sparse crowds left no serious bumps, and the corduroy was laying out nicely.
I didn't take a lunch...no power nap needed...I don't remember turning the alarm off...oh well...I got my big projects done in time to hit the mountain top before sunrise. The Boss who came in about 2:30 was on his game, and Jeweler was doing fine too, though he sounded worried over the 2-way. I put him at ease as the sun rose and we wrapped it up in plenty of time with extras.
The Boss disappeared about the time we hit the fuel dock only to reappear at the shop with fresh outta the oven pizza pies! Happily we all chowed down on pizza and sodas (we were still on the clock, so no beer or ale) and reflected on our season...nothing but good times.
So I savored my drive home and fell asleep before noon. I woke up in time to join the Giants game in the 7th inning. After some Torture they beat the DC Nationals. MotoGP form Portugal, NHRA Drag Racing from Houston, IndyCar from Brazil, and the Tour of Romandie bicycle race Sunday will be a fitting Kick-Off to the Month of May.
May is a Big Deal in my world. May is for Mount Everest Expeditions, The Indianapolis 500, the AMGEN Tour of California bike race (which comes right through Truckee on Stage 2!), Formula One returns to Europe, and fishing season turns on!
Next week I start putting out plants in the Ancestral Diggins, and BajaBabe comes to visit...gonna be an epic few weeks!
I've been seeing a theme develop over these past few weeks. My nights have been turning out much better than expected. I don't care to examine my expectations tonight...besides, why would I look a gift horse in the mouth?
It's been an amazing season. Plenty of snow, no personnel issues, the fleet hung together fine too. I can count the bad nights on less than ten fingers. I really endured one truly awful night (see "Well Done").
This morning over pizza, the Boss allowed that my Ol' Faithful BR350 might not be trade bait next season after all. She had 8875 hours on the Hobbs Meter when I put her to bed this AM. She's been practically trouble-free all season, and she's still running like a Thoroughbred at the Derby. Word is we'll be getting another Bison next season
Friday night's penultimate shift started badly...I woke up and looked at the clock 11:41PM! I'm supposed to be at work in nine minutes...I phoned Jeweler, confessed my sin, and said: "I'll be there in an hour". "No worries" Jeweler replied. 55 minutes later I punched in and trundled up the hill to check out Ol' Faithful and warm her up.
As forecast, the East Wind blew all day Friday, and as I predicted, the piste had dried nicely. Climbing was better than good. The list manageable. Not exactly Hero Snow, but sparse crowds left no serious bumps, and the corduroy was laying out nicely.
I didn't take a lunch...no power nap needed...I don't remember turning the alarm off...oh well...I got my big projects done in time to hit the mountain top before sunrise. The Boss who came in about 2:30 was on his game, and Jeweler was doing fine too, though he sounded worried over the 2-way. I put him at ease as the sun rose and we wrapped it up in plenty of time with extras.
The Boss disappeared about the time we hit the fuel dock only to reappear at the shop with fresh outta the oven pizza pies! Happily we all chowed down on pizza and sodas (we were still on the clock, so no beer or ale) and reflected on our season...nothing but good times.
So I savored my drive home and fell asleep before noon. I woke up in time to join the Giants game in the 7th inning. After some Torture they beat the DC Nationals. MotoGP form Portugal, NHRA Drag Racing from Houston, IndyCar from Brazil, and the Tour of Romandie bicycle race Sunday will be a fitting Kick-Off to the Month of May.
May is a Big Deal in my world. May is for Mount Everest Expeditions, The Indianapolis 500, the AMGEN Tour of California bike race (which comes right through Truckee on Stage 2!), Formula One returns to Europe, and fishing season turns on!
Next week I start putting out plants in the Ancestral Diggins, and BajaBabe comes to visit...gonna be an epic few weeks!
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Keepin' On Keepin' On
What a nice surprise last night.
Owing to my BodyClock disdaining ways over my long weekend, I didn't get my sleep...that is I only tallied a nap, not serious shuteye. When my alarm roused me, I gazed out at a little snow on my deck.
After my shower and shave, I made my lunch and a Thermos™ of French Roast, synced my iPod, got dressed and headed out the door. I locked the hubs on the Parts Runner, and I was off. The webcams showed a little accumulation.
Near the summit of my drive to work, I threw it into 4WD. Frozen sleet glazed the road, an it was really slick. At the parking lot there still wasn't much more than an icy glaze on the pavement. With most of the parking lot lighting off, I gingerly walked up the shop road.
Swing shift had good news, while not actual Hero Snow, it was close enough. The list was light and the climbing was improving hourly. Jeweler and I set off into the night.
It was slow going at first. So, slow and steady it was. At 0300 I finished my first project, and headed in to the shop for a top-off of fuel. It was as close as I'd get, and if things stayed low and slow, I'd have a long trip to the pump right during our busiest hour.
As I neared the shop. I saw some new footprints in the fresh snow...or paw prints. The bears are awake from their hibernation. These tracks were bigger than my hand prints (I wear XL gloves) This bear was really out for a stroll, his tracks were seemingly everywhere I went once I left the pump. I wanted to take some photos, but I didn't. Two reasons:
One. I was worried about the time...the grooming was turning out good, but it was slower going than I was comfortable with.
Two. With a fixed flash on my Point&Shoot digicam, I figured the prints in the snow would turn out totally washed out anyway.
Note:
While writing about the bear track photos, I came up with a plan to make the pix without flash, using only my BR350's lights. I'd probably need a tripod too...oh yeah, and another perfect storm of an inch or less of new snow, a sauntering bear, some spare time, and the luck to find it all again...
Around 0400 I saw my first stars, and the mercury plummeted 20°F in about an hour. The Boss called on the 2-way, he was in the house and warming up. I told him where we were at, and where he could help the most.
At 0500, my sleep deprivation demanded a power nap. I finished the trail I was working on and parked it on the side of the Start Bump atop the Race Course. I set the iPod's timer for 30 minutes, keyed the mic an announced: "I'm goin' 10-7 for lunch, I'm on the start bump".
I awoke refreshed 30 second before the alarm sounded. There was a little bit of color in the eastern sky. I rolled away, and the snow had noticeably improved, still not hero status, but closer and faster.
The sun rose revealing streams of blowing snow Himalayan-style off the ridge tops. With renewed purpose, we kicked it down the home stretch, tossing in a couple of extras.
Back at the fuel dock, I called us clear a little after 0800. Yet another silk purse from the sow's ear. Smiles all around.
The morning's beauty was amazing, I took a drive along Donner Lake, and there were several mackinaw fishermen on the water...it looked cold...the East Wind was up, but not "Victory At Sea" size. The east wind is forecast to end, but I think it will help further dry the piste while it lasts. Could be Hero Snow tonight, or as close as it gets at the end of April!
Good times!
Owing to my BodyClock disdaining ways over my long weekend, I didn't get my sleep...that is I only tallied a nap, not serious shuteye. When my alarm roused me, I gazed out at a little snow on my deck.
After my shower and shave, I made my lunch and a Thermos™ of French Roast, synced my iPod, got dressed and headed out the door. I locked the hubs on the Parts Runner, and I was off. The webcams showed a little accumulation.
Near the summit of my drive to work, I threw it into 4WD. Frozen sleet glazed the road, an it was really slick. At the parking lot there still wasn't much more than an icy glaze on the pavement. With most of the parking lot lighting off, I gingerly walked up the shop road.
Swing shift had good news, while not actual Hero Snow, it was close enough. The list was light and the climbing was improving hourly. Jeweler and I set off into the night.
It was slow going at first. So, slow and steady it was. At 0300 I finished my first project, and headed in to the shop for a top-off of fuel. It was as close as I'd get, and if things stayed low and slow, I'd have a long trip to the pump right during our busiest hour.
As I neared the shop. I saw some new footprints in the fresh snow...or paw prints. The bears are awake from their hibernation. These tracks were bigger than my hand prints (I wear XL gloves) This bear was really out for a stroll, his tracks were seemingly everywhere I went once I left the pump. I wanted to take some photos, but I didn't. Two reasons:
One. I was worried about the time...the grooming was turning out good, but it was slower going than I was comfortable with.
Two. With a fixed flash on my Point&Shoot digicam, I figured the prints in the snow would turn out totally washed out anyway.
Note:
While writing about the bear track photos, I came up with a plan to make the pix without flash, using only my BR350's lights. I'd probably need a tripod too...oh yeah, and another perfect storm of an inch or less of new snow, a sauntering bear, some spare time, and the luck to find it all again...
Around 0400 I saw my first stars, and the mercury plummeted 20°F in about an hour. The Boss called on the 2-way, he was in the house and warming up. I told him where we were at, and where he could help the most.
At 0500, my sleep deprivation demanded a power nap. I finished the trail I was working on and parked it on the side of the Start Bump atop the Race Course. I set the iPod's timer for 30 minutes, keyed the mic an announced: "I'm goin' 10-7 for lunch, I'm on the start bump".
I awoke refreshed 30 second before the alarm sounded. There was a little bit of color in the eastern sky. I rolled away, and the snow had noticeably improved, still not hero status, but closer and faster.
The sun rose revealing streams of blowing snow Himalayan-style off the ridge tops. With renewed purpose, we kicked it down the home stretch, tossing in a couple of extras.
Back at the fuel dock, I called us clear a little after 0800. Yet another silk purse from the sow's ear. Smiles all around.
The morning's beauty was amazing, I took a drive along Donner Lake, and there were several mackinaw fishermen on the water...it looked cold...the East Wind was up, but not "Victory At Sea" size. The east wind is forecast to end, but I think it will help further dry the piste while it lasts. Could be Hero Snow tonight, or as close as it gets at the end of April!
Good times!
Saturday, April 23, 2011
That's What I'm Talking About!
Call it Groomer's Intuition, I'm glad I waited 'till morning! Last night was awesome!
The remote sensors and webcams mislead me, so I was expecting the worst. When I parked the parts runner, BahiaBoy was practically skipping down the shop road yelling "SuperHero Snow!" "Two inches of premium Tiller Food on top!"
Everything was running, the grooming was fast, and the seeing was good. A half an hour in, I was streaking uphill, full stick, keying the mic saying: "This is fun!" It went that way all night. We all doubled our output compared to Thursday night.
We totally kicked it and had everything wrapped up a little after 0800. Everyone was elated...old hands just expect the worst at the bitter end of the season. It was Jeweler and ParkGuy's last shift this week, I've got one more this week and the final three starting Thursday.
The weatherman says (and I'm paraphrasing now) a 50% chance of SuperHero Snow tonight too.
Hot Damn!
The remote sensors and webcams mislead me, so I was expecting the worst. When I parked the parts runner, BahiaBoy was practically skipping down the shop road yelling "SuperHero Snow!" "Two inches of premium Tiller Food on top!"
Everything was running, the grooming was fast, and the seeing was good. A half an hour in, I was streaking uphill, full stick, keying the mic saying: "This is fun!" It went that way all night. We all doubled our output compared to Thursday night.
We totally kicked it and had everything wrapped up a little after 0800. Everyone was elated...old hands just expect the worst at the bitter end of the season. It was Jeweler and ParkGuy's last shift this week, I've got one more this week and the final three starting Thursday.
The weatherman says (and I'm paraphrasing now) a 50% chance of SuperHero Snow tonight too.
Hot Damn!
Friday, April 22, 2011
Bait and Switch
Another night that looked bad on paper (read online) turned out better than OK by the time all was said and done.
It's starting to remind me of an LP record skipping...yet another night wherein I go to work already hunkered down as if the Sword of Damocles is freshly honed and zeroing in on my fat, juicy neck!
I woke up to my 10PM alarm and was alarmed to hear the rain blasting my front door like the Big Bad Monsoon was trying to go all Three Little Pigs on my ass. None the less, I got ready for work and headed up the hill at my usual appointed hour.
Sheets of rain and too warm temps greeted me as I dashed up to the driveway. It was warm and wet...big time...I started the Parts Runner, and thought I should run back downstairs and grab my book...I'd probably have time to read it while we wait for the snow level to drop!
Out on the roads, I thought: Not a night fit for man nor beast. Roads were running like rivers and it was way dark. I didn't lock the hubs on the parts runner...after all, the webcams and remote sensors confirmed the high freezing levels.
Well, the webcams and remote sensors weren't 100% correct...I ran into snow on the highway about a half mile from the summit. Pellet-style snow was beating on the windows and sticking to the pavement like so much mini hail. It was slick as can be. I made the last half mile drift-style...very little traction...lots of steering input...a smug smile came upon my face as I crested the summit.
The Groomer's Ready Room was a grim place save for All Star Winch Pilot who was punching out for the last time this season...Vacation Time Baby! It turns out the piste was even worse...somewhere between mashed potatoes and potato soup. Jeweler and I began the slow slog...
Jeweler went high looking for relief, the theory being up top the snow should be colder and drier...not so much it turned out. I went to the bottom of the mountain opting to pound the flats until the snow level fell to the forecast Lake Level. I took a look at the mid-mountain snow stake...less than two inches at 12:45AM, I had to call the Ski Patrol leader at 0400 with the snow total so he could make the Go/No Go Avalanche Control call.
I hunted far and wide for things to do that didn't involve any steeps, so I groomed all our pedestrian paths that were really a mess...all torn up by naked snowcats...I wouldn't want to walk on them. Naked in this context means without tillers...If the forecast delivered, they'd be sweet by morning. Even though the graupel continued to fall, the mercury was taking it's own sweet time to follow suit. Jeweler's CenterX Bison is equipped with an external thermometer which clung maddeningly to 39°F. "C'mon forecast" I rooted!
Around 0300 I drove into our WiFi Cloud and checked my Twitter feed...chain controls were finally up....seems the temps were beginning to go our way...at 0350 my BR350 made a loud BANG! and lost some RPMs and power. The engine temp shot up. I stopped and shut down the tiller...the temp dropped like a stone. I limped the 200 yards to the mid-mountain stake. As I reached for my phone it started ringing. I discussed the night's totals with the Patrol Leader...the stake still showed the same under two inches it had three and a half hours earlier. Even with the robust winds, the call was No Go. I hung up and keyed the mic: "Jeweler, can you come pick me up? I've got a downed cat over here" "On my way" Jeweler came back.
Conditions continued to improve, though the Bison I climbed into had stereo issues that even my iPod and FM transmitter couldn't overcome. My cat's trouble turned out to be a Turbo Boost Hose that came adrift. My cat was back at the shop before we finished the morning re-rolls.
Back at the fuel dock there was a good 4-5 inches on the ground. The final hour or so was weirdly satisfying. Usually re-rolls are just a grind, but this morning, in light of the awful conditions overnight, the last hour was at least a little uplifting. We were all quite chipper once we were out of our cats for the day.
All's well that ends well...there's always tonight...on paper it's looking good!
It's starting to remind me of an LP record skipping...yet another night wherein I go to work already hunkered down as if the Sword of Damocles is freshly honed and zeroing in on my fat, juicy neck!
I woke up to my 10PM alarm and was alarmed to hear the rain blasting my front door like the Big Bad Monsoon was trying to go all Three Little Pigs on my ass. None the less, I got ready for work and headed up the hill at my usual appointed hour.
Sheets of rain and too warm temps greeted me as I dashed up to the driveway. It was warm and wet...big time...I started the Parts Runner, and thought I should run back downstairs and grab my book...I'd probably have time to read it while we wait for the snow level to drop!
Out on the roads, I thought: Not a night fit for man nor beast. Roads were running like rivers and it was way dark. I didn't lock the hubs on the parts runner...after all, the webcams and remote sensors confirmed the high freezing levels.
Well, the webcams and remote sensors weren't 100% correct...I ran into snow on the highway about a half mile from the summit. Pellet-style snow was beating on the windows and sticking to the pavement like so much mini hail. It was slick as can be. I made the last half mile drift-style...very little traction...lots of steering input...a smug smile came upon my face as I crested the summit.
The Groomer's Ready Room was a grim place save for All Star Winch Pilot who was punching out for the last time this season...Vacation Time Baby! It turns out the piste was even worse...somewhere between mashed potatoes and potato soup. Jeweler and I began the slow slog...
Jeweler went high looking for relief, the theory being up top the snow should be colder and drier...not so much it turned out. I went to the bottom of the mountain opting to pound the flats until the snow level fell to the forecast Lake Level. I took a look at the mid-mountain snow stake...less than two inches at 12:45AM, I had to call the Ski Patrol leader at 0400 with the snow total so he could make the Go/No Go Avalanche Control call.
I hunted far and wide for things to do that didn't involve any steeps, so I groomed all our pedestrian paths that were really a mess...all torn up by naked snowcats...I wouldn't want to walk on them. Naked in this context means without tillers...If the forecast delivered, they'd be sweet by morning. Even though the graupel continued to fall, the mercury was taking it's own sweet time to follow suit. Jeweler's CenterX Bison is equipped with an external thermometer which clung maddeningly to 39°F. "C'mon forecast" I rooted!
Around 0300 I drove into our WiFi Cloud and checked my Twitter feed...chain controls were finally up....seems the temps were beginning to go our way...at 0350 my BR350 made a loud BANG! and lost some RPMs and power. The engine temp shot up. I stopped and shut down the tiller...the temp dropped like a stone. I limped the 200 yards to the mid-mountain stake. As I reached for my phone it started ringing. I discussed the night's totals with the Patrol Leader...the stake still showed the same under two inches it had three and a half hours earlier. Even with the robust winds, the call was No Go. I hung up and keyed the mic: "Jeweler, can you come pick me up? I've got a downed cat over here" "On my way" Jeweler came back.
Conditions continued to improve, though the Bison I climbed into had stereo issues that even my iPod and FM transmitter couldn't overcome. My cat's trouble turned out to be a Turbo Boost Hose that came adrift. My cat was back at the shop before we finished the morning re-rolls.
Back at the fuel dock there was a good 4-5 inches on the ground. The final hour or so was weirdly satisfying. Usually re-rolls are just a grind, but this morning, in light of the awful conditions overnight, the last hour was at least a little uplifting. We were all quite chipper once we were out of our cats for the day.
All's well that ends well...there's always tonight...on paper it's looking good!
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Embarrassed By My Riches
We enjoyed another phenomenal shift last night.
It began with a beautiful view of the crescent moon setting over the mountains to the West. A thin coat of new snow greeted me on the way out of the DaveCave, and the ambient temp was noticeably colder than it's been in weeks.
I got to work about 15 minutes early, and all the swing shift guys were already in the Groomer's Ready Room, signed out, and ready to go home...they were a jovial bunch. Hero Snow will do that!
The Graveyard Crew would be looking for something to do before sunrise...cool...
Into the night we went. I was going for the same trails I opened Thursday night. Now I'd be able to climb these runs, and they'd be perfect when I finished.
As I surmised, we were looking for something to do a little after 0500. At 0530 the Boss called and I asked him if he'd winch a run in the demo Beast Winchcat when he got in. "Sure, I'll give you a shout on the 2-way when I get there"
I radioed Jeweler, and asked him to meet me. We tag-teamed a plow project that I've been trying to do for three weeks. With the big winch on deck, I finally had the place to put a ton of snow, and another cat to make the pushing much easier.
Jeweler dug and pushed blade-full after blade-full of snow 50 yards, and piled it up in front of me. I pushed it down into the run the Boss would groom when he got in. All in all, Jeweler and I moved around 120 cubic yards of snow in a little over a half an hour.
We got a good start on the project. Jeweler took the big wind drift down five feet. Now our guests don't have to climb up and over this thing (or skirt around it) It's still uphill from the bottom of the ramp to the trails to the West, but now it's a gradual rise, not a Himalayan Expedition.
I expect that barring breakdowns, we'll have another go at it tonight.
It began with a beautiful view of the crescent moon setting over the mountains to the West. A thin coat of new snow greeted me on the way out of the DaveCave, and the ambient temp was noticeably colder than it's been in weeks.
I got to work about 15 minutes early, and all the swing shift guys were already in the Groomer's Ready Room, signed out, and ready to go home...they were a jovial bunch. Hero Snow will do that!
The Graveyard Crew would be looking for something to do before sunrise...cool...
Into the night we went. I was going for the same trails I opened Thursday night. Now I'd be able to climb these runs, and they'd be perfect when I finished.
As I surmised, we were looking for something to do a little after 0500. At 0530 the Boss called and I asked him if he'd winch a run in the demo Beast Winchcat when he got in. "Sure, I'll give you a shout on the 2-way when I get there"
I radioed Jeweler, and asked him to meet me. We tag-teamed a plow project that I've been trying to do for three weeks. With the big winch on deck, I finally had the place to put a ton of snow, and another cat to make the pushing much easier.
Jeweler dug and pushed blade-full after blade-full of snow 50 yards, and piled it up in front of me. I pushed it down into the run the Boss would groom when he got in. All in all, Jeweler and I moved around 120 cubic yards of snow in a little over a half an hour.
We got a good start on the project. Jeweler took the big wind drift down five feet. Now our guests don't have to climb up and over this thing (or skirt around it) It's still uphill from the bottom of the ramp to the trails to the West, but now it's a gradual rise, not a Himalayan Expedition.
 |
| Prinoth Beast Winch |
Friday, April 8, 2011
Churning
Last night was more welcome than home made ice cream right from the churn!
Snow started falling in the evening across the Tahoe Sierra. I parked in three inches of new fallen snow when I got to work. Swing shift were happy as clams! What's not to like? Freezing temps, new snow, and for the first time in weeks...no digging projects!
My tractor was running like new. We've been trying to track down a glitch in the drive for two weeks now. Not always the easiest chore...yesterday it came to me, or rather I remembered the fix from a season or two ago. The shop replaced the potentiometer in the left FNR lever and problem solved!
BR350's, like all modern grooming machines are electronic over hydrostatic systems. The FNR sticks control the track drives. My Ol' Faithful has more than 8700 hours on the clock, but it never has suffered a total loss of hydrostatic fluid, so the pumps and motors are still in like-new condition. The glitch we've been chasing looks like impending pump or motor failure that every groomer who's spent much time in BR275's or earlier snowcats is all too familiar with.
When Bombardier designed the BR350, not only did they up the ante horsepower-wise, they also used a lot more hardline and a lot less high pressure hose in the drive system. The bottom line is a whole lot fewer total fluid loss events and consequently a whole lot longer drive system life. All it takes is one or two of these fluid loss events to fry a pump and/or motor...their tolerances are that tight. Then it's $8000+ to rebuild a pump or motor, and a bunch of down time while repairs are made.
The FNR pot is a cheap component, and a quick fix. They are a wear item, and eventually they grow a flat spot...this is what I remembered and the shop fixed.
I warmed up the ol' girl and set off into the snowstorm. It was blowing like stink, and the conditions finally were in our favor...we would have time to start grooming some secondary trails that have seen little love during the siege of snowfall followed by a long week of balmy temps.
I rumbled over to the study plot to look at the 24 hour snow stake...it was laying on it's side. I started grooming my way up the mountain...seeing wasn't the greatest, but nobody was complaining! The winds were picking up. I called Jeweler on the 2-way. I wanted to know how the winds were up top. "50-60MPH steady from the Southwest" came Jeweler's reply.
With the 24 hour stick out of commission, I called the Snow Removal Crew to get an idea of how much snow had fallen since morning. They said two or three inches, max. It had been snowing and blowing for almost four straight hours, but it didn't seem to be stacking up. Oh, the wind was playing havoc with our freshly made corduroy, but it was getting blown away, not buried.
At 0400, I called the Ski Patrol Boss like I do every Storm Night. We discussed the snowfall and wind, and he makes the Go/No-Go Call for Avalanche Control. Despite the dearth of snowfall, the winds were the determining factor. A/C is a Go.
We refueled the fleet by 0500 and we packed up and made the push to the tops for the lift mechanics. By the tine I hit the Big Blind Meadow, twilight was dawning making navigating a snap. Lots of drifting up top, but no genuine accumulation. Thankfully no digging was required to open the lifts...just a quick till of the maze areas.
My crew re-rolled everything basic and headed up to help the Park Guy down the stretch. Patches of blue sky were breaking through the clouds, and sunglasses were deployed. Back at the Groomer's Ready Room, the guys were ebullient...the mood was joyous for a change.
Better than home made ice cream fresh from the churn!
Snow started falling in the evening across the Tahoe Sierra. I parked in three inches of new fallen snow when I got to work. Swing shift were happy as clams! What's not to like? Freezing temps, new snow, and for the first time in weeks...no digging projects!
My tractor was running like new. We've been trying to track down a glitch in the drive for two weeks now. Not always the easiest chore...yesterday it came to me, or rather I remembered the fix from a season or two ago. The shop replaced the potentiometer in the left FNR lever and problem solved!
BR350's, like all modern grooming machines are electronic over hydrostatic systems. The FNR sticks control the track drives. My Ol' Faithful has more than 8700 hours on the clock, but it never has suffered a total loss of hydrostatic fluid, so the pumps and motors are still in like-new condition. The glitch we've been chasing looks like impending pump or motor failure that every groomer who's spent much time in BR275's or earlier snowcats is all too familiar with.
When Bombardier designed the BR350, not only did they up the ante horsepower-wise, they also used a lot more hardline and a lot less high pressure hose in the drive system. The bottom line is a whole lot fewer total fluid loss events and consequently a whole lot longer drive system life. All it takes is one or two of these fluid loss events to fry a pump and/or motor...their tolerances are that tight. Then it's $8000+ to rebuild a pump or motor, and a bunch of down time while repairs are made.
The FNR pot is a cheap component, and a quick fix. They are a wear item, and eventually they grow a flat spot...this is what I remembered and the shop fixed.
I warmed up the ol' girl and set off into the snowstorm. It was blowing like stink, and the conditions finally were in our favor...we would have time to start grooming some secondary trails that have seen little love during the siege of snowfall followed by a long week of balmy temps.
I rumbled over to the study plot to look at the 24 hour snow stake...it was laying on it's side. I started grooming my way up the mountain...seeing wasn't the greatest, but nobody was complaining! The winds were picking up. I called Jeweler on the 2-way. I wanted to know how the winds were up top. "50-60MPH steady from the Southwest" came Jeweler's reply.
With the 24 hour stick out of commission, I called the Snow Removal Crew to get an idea of how much snow had fallen since morning. They said two or three inches, max. It had been snowing and blowing for almost four straight hours, but it didn't seem to be stacking up. Oh, the wind was playing havoc with our freshly made corduroy, but it was getting blown away, not buried.
At 0400, I called the Ski Patrol Boss like I do every Storm Night. We discussed the snowfall and wind, and he makes the Go/No-Go Call for Avalanche Control. Despite the dearth of snowfall, the winds were the determining factor. A/C is a Go.
We refueled the fleet by 0500 and we packed up and made the push to the tops for the lift mechanics. By the tine I hit the Big Blind Meadow, twilight was dawning making navigating a snap. Lots of drifting up top, but no genuine accumulation. Thankfully no digging was required to open the lifts...just a quick till of the maze areas.
My crew re-rolled everything basic and headed up to help the Park Guy down the stretch. Patches of blue sky were breaking through the clouds, and sunglasses were deployed. Back at the Groomer's Ready Room, the guys were ebullient...the mood was joyous for a change.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Typical
I got my sleep in this afternoon and woke up in the third inning of the Giants/Dodgers game. I dunno what's gotten into me because I went straight away to multitasking. I'm probably looking for salvation from the heat and the burgeoning onset of Spring Fever...Man, it's tough to sack out when you really want to sit in the sun and watch the woodpeckers feed.
So, I checked the remote data...a degree or two lower than yesterday isn't enough to hang a hat on...still mid-60's, and last night things never got much below 40°F.
Last night the crew earned it. From the beginning of the shift, it was just awful. I was double passing everything...to get barely passable results. You couldn't blade little enough to help things either.
After a couple of hours of this, my phone rang. Jeweler was beside himself..."what am I doing wrong" he asked. "Nothing " I replied, I went on to tell him I was double passing everything at a snail's pace, getting barely satisfactory results. Jeweler was relieved...we soldiered on. The night droned on.
Something happened to the piste right around sunrise...like a light switch turning on, the snow got a little more cooperative...no real increase in speed, but the piste was laying out better.
I just looked at the high-rez temp plot, and that light switch moment aligns perfectly with the rise in temp from roughly 39°F-40°F, where it had hovered since 9PM. The temp shot almost straight up, and made a 15°F gain in a little over an hour!
Tonight is shaping up about like last night...a degree or two colder for the afternoon high, which was still in the 60's. It's too early to tell if the low has plateaued yet...just a degree or so warmer might make a difference...c'mon light switch!
The forecast promises a cool-down after Saturday's warm afternoon highs...15-25 degrees cooler, and with luck, an inch of snow. The valley highs will be down 10 degrees Saturday, so maybe our afternoon highs won't be quite so extreme...fingers crossed...
So, I checked the remote data...a degree or two lower than yesterday isn't enough to hang a hat on...still mid-60's, and last night things never got much below 40°F.
Last night the crew earned it. From the beginning of the shift, it was just awful. I was double passing everything...to get barely passable results. You couldn't blade little enough to help things either.
After a couple of hours of this, my phone rang. Jeweler was beside himself..."what am I doing wrong" he asked. "Nothing " I replied, I went on to tell him I was double passing everything at a snail's pace, getting barely satisfactory results. Jeweler was relieved...we soldiered on. The night droned on.
Something happened to the piste right around sunrise...like a light switch turning on, the snow got a little more cooperative...no real increase in speed, but the piste was laying out better.
I just looked at the high-rez temp plot, and that light switch moment aligns perfectly with the rise in temp from roughly 39°F-40°F, where it had hovered since 9PM. The temp shot almost straight up, and made a 15°F gain in a little over an hour!
Tonight is shaping up about like last night...a degree or two colder for the afternoon high, which was still in the 60's. It's too early to tell if the low has plateaued yet...just a degree or so warmer might make a difference...c'mon light switch!
The forecast promises a cool-down after Saturday's warm afternoon highs...15-25 degrees cooler, and with luck, an inch of snow. The valley highs will be down 10 degrees Saturday, so maybe our afternoon highs won't be quite so extreme...fingers crossed...
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Sidelined
Well, it's officially serious in the High Sierra.
Last night I woke up in time to see a Tweet saying the Interstate was closed.
No problemo, I'll just talk my way on like I always do...
You know what they say about "The best laid plans of mice and men"...
I hit my driveway 40 minutes early...I fired up the Honda Snowblower, and blew the driveway and the berm while warming up the Parts Runner.
I loaded up and rolled down the hill and into the breach...I didn't try to "talk my way on" at Donnergate, opting instead to roll up to the Donner Lake Interchange, where the more realistic CalTrans guys hold sway.
Cool! No CalTrans truck at the DLI Onramp! I'm in there!
As I made the turn up the onramp and entered the Fwy, there was the CalTrans truck with his beacon blazing...I pulled up and rolled down my window. The usually compliant CalTrans Guy only had bad news...he's love to let me on, but avalanche debris was across all three lanes, and there was no estimate of when the lanes might be cleared.
Disappointed, I turned towards home...I thought WTF, and drove into town to do my grocery shopping...sans shopping list...
At 0300, I tried again...back at DLI, the same CalTrans Guy was a little more forthcoming...the Eastbound side was worse...snowcats are having a hard time getting through!
I surrendered...and turned onto I80East...curiously, there were snowcat tracks heading west in the eastbound slow lane!
Back at the DaveCave, I jacked into the WorldWideWeb and beagan a tour of the relevant webcams and websites...TV wasn't yet in Local Mode, and I called Jeweler who was on My Mountain...Jeweler had a good handle on things. I reminded him of the priorities...don't worry about the grooming I told him, keep those roads to the mountaintops open! Graveyard Wrench couldn't get to work either, but the Graveyard Park Guy had stayed on the mountain, so there were plenty of horses on the track.
I even fired up the Police Scanner. I listened in vain for some CalTrans radio traffic...the avalanche scene was around the corner, and FM radio is line of sight...nothing to hear here...move along...
When the local news started at 0430, the story was all weather all the time. They even teased the I-80 won't reopen until midnight "story"...Westbound finally opened a little after noon...we'll try again tonight!
Last night I woke up in time to see a Tweet saying the Interstate was closed.
No problemo, I'll just talk my way on like I always do...
You know what they say about "The best laid plans of mice and men"...
I hit my driveway 40 minutes early...I fired up the Honda Snowblower, and blew the driveway and the berm while warming up the Parts Runner.
I loaded up and rolled down the hill and into the breach...I didn't try to "talk my way on" at Donnergate, opting instead to roll up to the Donner Lake Interchange, where the more realistic CalTrans guys hold sway.
Cool! No CalTrans truck at the DLI Onramp! I'm in there!
As I made the turn up the onramp and entered the Fwy, there was the CalTrans truck with his beacon blazing...I pulled up and rolled down my window. The usually compliant CalTrans Guy only had bad news...he's love to let me on, but avalanche debris was across all three lanes, and there was no estimate of when the lanes might be cleared.
Disappointed, I turned towards home...I thought WTF, and drove into town to do my grocery shopping...sans shopping list...
At 0300, I tried again...back at DLI, the same CalTrans Guy was a little more forthcoming...the Eastbound side was worse...snowcats are having a hard time getting through!
I surrendered...and turned onto I80East...curiously, there were snowcat tracks heading west in the eastbound slow lane!
Back at the DaveCave, I jacked into the WorldWideWeb and beagan a tour of the relevant webcams and websites...TV wasn't yet in Local Mode, and I called Jeweler who was on My Mountain...Jeweler had a good handle on things. I reminded him of the priorities...don't worry about the grooming I told him, keep those roads to the mountaintops open! Graveyard Wrench couldn't get to work either, but the Graveyard Park Guy had stayed on the mountain, so there were plenty of horses on the track.
I even fired up the Police Scanner. I listened in vain for some CalTrans radio traffic...the avalanche scene was around the corner, and FM radio is line of sight...nothing to hear here...move along...
When the local news started at 0430, the story was all weather all the time. They even teased the I-80 won't reopen until midnight "story"...Westbound finally opened a little after noon...we'll try again tonight!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Encore
Another blast of Winter pummeled my mountain overnight.
It all started innocently enough, I overslept...my first 11+ hour shift in over a month took it's toll...throw in the extra work of snow removal at the DaveCave, and I guess I needed every wink I could eke out.
Looking out the window as I turned on the shower, I noted one new inch on the front deck. Up in the driveway, there were two inches...not enough to deploy the snowblower, so off to work I went.
I parked in two inches of fresh snow, and trundled up the shop road. Everyone was there, and the fleet was whole as well. Plenty of digging to do, and the forecast promised another pounding.
We began with some trail breaking. Job One on these heavy storm nights is to keep passable routes open to the tops of every peak. Snowmobile access is critical to opening the lifts. Our lift mechanics inspect and fire up the lifts just before 0600. The first people to ride the lifts every storm day are our ski patrollers who do the Avalanche Control.
Visibility was pretty good. The much ballyhooed "Super Moon" was lighting up our world to fine effect. We spent a couple of hours packing out the mountaintop routes before we began grooming the basics. It was really snowing hard.
We endured the usual issues...lousy 2-way performance, lagging defrosters, and windshield wiper woes. We employed the usual work-arounds and soldiered on. We had the situation well in hand...
Around 0400, it was time to hit the mountaintop routes again. We packed-up and began heading up. Before we were even hitting the first steep, Eskimo radioed that his cat was running hot and he had a "burning smell". We relayed his dilemma to the Graveyard Wrench, and Jeweler escorted him to the base area where Eskimo could find his way to the shop despite his weak defroster.
I continued up. Halfway up this route is a huge, steepening meadow devoid of landmarks. In round numbers, it's a square, a quarter of a mile on a side. When the seeing is good, crossing the meadow is a piece of cake. When the seeing is lousy, I rely on my experience. The only real landmarks define the outsides of the square. Making things even more interesting is there are only two or three passes that are climbable when the going gets deep, and you must land precisely on these spots at the correct angle to climb to the beginning of the traverse cat track that leads to the top.
I couldn't see shit. It was a total whiteout. The winds weren't that bad, it was just snowing so hard that the far flung landmarks were totally obscured. The 2-way crackled as my phone rang. The Boss was on the phone. He was on his way, but had to stop to change a flat tire. "How's things going Dave?" "Well, it was going great, but now we're getting spanked" I told him..."See you when you get here".
The radio was Eskimo saying: "I'm headed back out, we couldn't find any problem" "10-4" I replied, telling him where to meet Jeweler. Five minutes later Eskimo was back on the air...he was limping back to the shop with his overheating cat. "Fire up one of the winchcats, Eskimo"...We were down to just the two of us...Mother Nature was kicking it up another notch or two...
After a long fifteen minutes of helplessly talking on the phone and radio in total darkness to let my night vision come in, I finally hit the sweet spot, and made the climb to the top. The snow was really piling up fast now.
The Boss made it out on the hill just before 0600, and the digging began in earnest. Operations made the call to abandon opening two of three mountaintop lifts and we got two lifts open at 9AM, a third at 9:10, and the last one, the one with Big Blind Meadow at 9:25
Eskimo called it a day, Jeweler, the Park Guy, and the Boss pounded trails and roads on the closed peaks, and I did the digging back at the shop. I made my online report minutes before the Noon Deadline. I punched out and walked down to the parking lot...there was more than two feet in the lot! The parts runner and Jeweler's ride and Park Guy's Subaru were all buried...nobody else had made it into the lot.
I called Jeweler on the phone. I asked him to bring his cat down the shop road to dig us out. Jeweler had us dug out in three minutes. I pulled the parts runner onto Jeweler's pass and cleared the snow off the rig. The Interstate was close due to an avalanche on the westbound side, according to Rumor Control. It was Friday night for me, and I was going to spend it in the DaveCave, come Hell or high water!
The Highway was empty, but the going was good. I made it home without drama. A Pastrami/Cream Cheese Omelet was breakfast, and I turned in after 2PM.
I woke up at 0130, fully rested...encore indeed...
It was a good week, the avalanche closed HWY89 near Alpine Meadows for a time, no cars trapped, we did "Strong Work" all week, and I'm feeling fulfilled this morning. Relaxed and satisfied...no better way to begin Springtime!
It all started innocently enough, I overslept...my first 11+ hour shift in over a month took it's toll...throw in the extra work of snow removal at the DaveCave, and I guess I needed every wink I could eke out.
Looking out the window as I turned on the shower, I noted one new inch on the front deck. Up in the driveway, there were two inches...not enough to deploy the snowblower, so off to work I went.
I parked in two inches of fresh snow, and trundled up the shop road. Everyone was there, and the fleet was whole as well. Plenty of digging to do, and the forecast promised another pounding.
We began with some trail breaking. Job One on these heavy storm nights is to keep passable routes open to the tops of every peak. Snowmobile access is critical to opening the lifts. Our lift mechanics inspect and fire up the lifts just before 0600. The first people to ride the lifts every storm day are our ski patrollers who do the Avalanche Control.
Visibility was pretty good. The much ballyhooed "Super Moon" was lighting up our world to fine effect. We spent a couple of hours packing out the mountaintop routes before we began grooming the basics. It was really snowing hard.
We endured the usual issues...lousy 2-way performance, lagging defrosters, and windshield wiper woes. We employed the usual work-arounds and soldiered on. We had the situation well in hand...
Around 0400, it was time to hit the mountaintop routes again. We packed-up and began heading up. Before we were even hitting the first steep, Eskimo radioed that his cat was running hot and he had a "burning smell". We relayed his dilemma to the Graveyard Wrench, and Jeweler escorted him to the base area where Eskimo could find his way to the shop despite his weak defroster.
I continued up. Halfway up this route is a huge, steepening meadow devoid of landmarks. In round numbers, it's a square, a quarter of a mile on a side. When the seeing is good, crossing the meadow is a piece of cake. When the seeing is lousy, I rely on my experience. The only real landmarks define the outsides of the square. Making things even more interesting is there are only two or three passes that are climbable when the going gets deep, and you must land precisely on these spots at the correct angle to climb to the beginning of the traverse cat track that leads to the top.
I couldn't see shit. It was a total whiteout. The winds weren't that bad, it was just snowing so hard that the far flung landmarks were totally obscured. The 2-way crackled as my phone rang. The Boss was on the phone. He was on his way, but had to stop to change a flat tire. "How's things going Dave?" "Well, it was going great, but now we're getting spanked" I told him..."See you when you get here".
The radio was Eskimo saying: "I'm headed back out, we couldn't find any problem" "10-4" I replied, telling him where to meet Jeweler. Five minutes later Eskimo was back on the air...he was limping back to the shop with his overheating cat. "Fire up one of the winchcats, Eskimo"...We were down to just the two of us...Mother Nature was kicking it up another notch or two...
After a long fifteen minutes of helplessly talking on the phone and radio in total darkness to let my night vision come in, I finally hit the sweet spot, and made the climb to the top. The snow was really piling up fast now.
The Boss made it out on the hill just before 0600, and the digging began in earnest. Operations made the call to abandon opening two of three mountaintop lifts and we got two lifts open at 9AM, a third at 9:10, and the last one, the one with Big Blind Meadow at 9:25
Eskimo called it a day, Jeweler, the Park Guy, and the Boss pounded trails and roads on the closed peaks, and I did the digging back at the shop. I made my online report minutes before the Noon Deadline. I punched out and walked down to the parking lot...there was more than two feet in the lot! The parts runner and Jeweler's ride and Park Guy's Subaru were all buried...nobody else had made it into the lot.
I called Jeweler on the phone. I asked him to bring his cat down the shop road to dig us out. Jeweler had us dug out in three minutes. I pulled the parts runner onto Jeweler's pass and cleared the snow off the rig. The Interstate was close due to an avalanche on the westbound side, according to Rumor Control. It was Friday night for me, and I was going to spend it in the DaveCave, come Hell or high water!
The Highway was empty, but the going was good. I made it home without drama. A Pastrami/Cream Cheese Omelet was breakfast, and I turned in after 2PM.
I woke up at 0130, fully rested...encore indeed...
It was a good week, the avalanche closed HWY89 near Alpine Meadows for a time, no cars trapped, we did "Strong Work" all week, and I'm feeling fulfilled this morning. Relaxed and satisfied...no better way to begin Springtime!
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Saga In Search of a Soundtrack
Let's not do that again! Whatta night last night.
When we walked up the shop road at midnight, there was a yellow Bison parked with it's blade in the vehicle shop and Driller, the lead swing shift park builder was elbow-deep into a broken hydraulic hose replacement.
Up on the hill, our newest CenterX Bison was down with ECM trouble as well.
Not an auspicious beginning...fortunately the Work Orders were light on grooming and beefy on the digging side of things.
When it all shook out, we would be OK...a cat for everyone, the Graveyard Wrench would roll in before 0300, and we'd get to catch up on some overdue digging before Friday's forecast pummeling. Happily I roared off to do battle with our ever burgeoning snow pack.
My usual go-to podcast of "The Don Geronimo Show" has been on vacation this week, and I didn't fancy talk radio politics, so I cued up Steely Dan's "Everything Must Go" album.
My mission was to dig out our moving carpet beginner lift. These are delicate, slightly inclined "moving sidewalks" like you'd see in most airports, but without the escalator-style moving handrails. Ours is about 200 feet long with a rise of maybe 15 feet. It stands on an earth berm about eight feet tall, atop leveling jacks that are another three feet high.
Five or six weeks ago, I was pushing snow across the bunny hill to hide the carpet's underpinnings and bury the top of the berm...last night I needed to remove the new snowpack. The carpet was now in a trench 5-6 feet deep!
As I began to backblade the pack away from the carpet, my 2-way crackled...It was the first guy out after me. "Dave, do you want some help on the bunny hill?" "No thanks", I replied. "Why don't you start with your usual program, 1st two secondaries only tonight". "OK" He came back as he roared by.
I turned Steely Dan back up, and went about exposing the moving sidewalk. I cleared the north side down to just under, and made a few passes to windrow away the spoils from the carpet. When the album ended, I started it from the beginning again.
About a third of the way up the other side, the 2-way crackled again: "Dave, my tiller's broken, I can't lift it, and the stinger mount welds are broken" "Pack up your stuff, and I'll come and get ya" I radioed back. We were barely an hour and a half into our shift.
I roared up the hill and surveyed the broken Bison. I ferried the operator back to the shop, and asked him to stay...he could help the graveyard wrench get the crippled cat off the hill, and help fix it...The 2-way came to life...one of the winch pilots just blew a hose, and couldn't lift his tiller, but wasn't stuck. He was right at his pick, and could drive it back to the shop.
I radioed Driller, and asked if he had another hose fix in him tonight. "Sure" said Driller.
I dropped the operator off at the shop, thanked him for his perseverance, and he and Driller got ready for the disabled winch. I went back to my moving sidewalk project, and switched my tunes to Jane's Addiction...time to power forward!
Digger called again...they were out of the hydraulic fittings he needed to make the new hose for the winch...I was starting to feel that Bunker Mentality coming on...
At 0300, there was no sign of Graveyard Wrench...that's when someone on the radio said: "Yesterday was his birthday" Digger chimed in: "Jesus, St Patrick's Day birthday?" Digger continued: "I'm in the shop, and this week's schedule has him off tonight" "We'll try to get the Shop Cat started if we can find the blade for it...it's got the forklift mounted up front now..."
Just about the time I finished my second Jane's Addiction album, and cleaning up the bunny hill, Driller called and said they were ready to jumpstart the shop cat.
I rumbled in, parked next to the shop cat and waited while the boys hooked everything up. I unplugged my iPod, turned off the 2-way, and shut down the stereo...I didn't want to tempt The Fates! I scrolled through my display and stopped on the volt meter page. My cat usually runs 28V-28.5V. With the jumper cables hooked to the shop cat, the voltage dropped to 27.2V.
I revved it up to the governor, Driller turned the key...nothing...not even a solenoid clicking...
I soldiered on...I topped up my fuel, and headed back to the bunny hill. I knocked out all the grooming that needed back-ups...dug out the top bunny chair terminal and tailored the ramp, dressed up the maze at the bottom of the bunny chair, and feathered the pack to the lodge decks and the ramps that land on the roads and parking lots.
I called Jeweler who was working farther up the mountain and quizzed him: "How's it going for you tonight? We laughed, and he said: "I know I'm behind, but we'll just go forward" I didn't want to pile on, but I entreated Jeweler to: "Take four feet out from in front of the Race Shack, two passes wide". "Don't make a project of it, just take a bladefull every time you go by" "10-4" Jeweler replied.
I moved up the hill and finished the secondary with the broken cat on it. My phone rang...
The Boss was almost laughing when he asked: "How's it going, Dave?" "Driller just called me and related your tale of woes" I said: "We'll be OK, it's a short list...as long as nothing else goes down...knock on wood"
We "got 'er done" and were back at the fuel dock in time for the lifts to turn at 8:45. The crew could finally sigh in relief. Truth is, we kicked it. We did the whole grooming list plus two short extra trails, and we got better than half of the digging done. Strong work for sure.
In the groomer's ready room I thanked the guys again. We agreed that someone should have recorded the 2-way all night...our night unfolded like a novel in search of a sound track.
When we walked up the shop road at midnight, there was a yellow Bison parked with it's blade in the vehicle shop and Driller, the lead swing shift park builder was elbow-deep into a broken hydraulic hose replacement.
Up on the hill, our newest CenterX Bison was down with ECM trouble as well.
Not an auspicious beginning...fortunately the Work Orders were light on grooming and beefy on the digging side of things.
When it all shook out, we would be OK...a cat for everyone, the Graveyard Wrench would roll in before 0300, and we'd get to catch up on some overdue digging before Friday's forecast pummeling. Happily I roared off to do battle with our ever burgeoning snow pack.
My usual go-to podcast of "The Don Geronimo Show" has been on vacation this week, and I didn't fancy talk radio politics, so I cued up Steely Dan's "Everything Must Go" album.
My mission was to dig out our moving carpet beginner lift. These are delicate, slightly inclined "moving sidewalks" like you'd see in most airports, but without the escalator-style moving handrails. Ours is about 200 feet long with a rise of maybe 15 feet. It stands on an earth berm about eight feet tall, atop leveling jacks that are another three feet high.
Five or six weeks ago, I was pushing snow across the bunny hill to hide the carpet's underpinnings and bury the top of the berm...last night I needed to remove the new snowpack. The carpet was now in a trench 5-6 feet deep!
As I began to backblade the pack away from the carpet, my 2-way crackled...It was the first guy out after me. "Dave, do you want some help on the bunny hill?" "No thanks", I replied. "Why don't you start with your usual program, 1st two secondaries only tonight". "OK" He came back as he roared by.
I turned Steely Dan back up, and went about exposing the moving sidewalk. I cleared the north side down to just under, and made a few passes to windrow away the spoils from the carpet. When the album ended, I started it from the beginning again.
About a third of the way up the other side, the 2-way crackled again: "Dave, my tiller's broken, I can't lift it, and the stinger mount welds are broken" "Pack up your stuff, and I'll come and get ya" I radioed back. We were barely an hour and a half into our shift.
I roared up the hill and surveyed the broken Bison. I ferried the operator back to the shop, and asked him to stay...he could help the graveyard wrench get the crippled cat off the hill, and help fix it...The 2-way came to life...one of the winch pilots just blew a hose, and couldn't lift his tiller, but wasn't stuck. He was right at his pick, and could drive it back to the shop.
I radioed Driller, and asked if he had another hose fix in him tonight. "Sure" said Driller.
I dropped the operator off at the shop, thanked him for his perseverance, and he and Driller got ready for the disabled winch. I went back to my moving sidewalk project, and switched my tunes to Jane's Addiction...time to power forward!
Digger called again...they were out of the hydraulic fittings he needed to make the new hose for the winch...I was starting to feel that Bunker Mentality coming on...
At 0300, there was no sign of Graveyard Wrench...that's when someone on the radio said: "Yesterday was his birthday" Digger chimed in: "Jesus, St Patrick's Day birthday?" Digger continued: "I'm in the shop, and this week's schedule has him off tonight" "We'll try to get the Shop Cat started if we can find the blade for it...it's got the forklift mounted up front now..."
Just about the time I finished my second Jane's Addiction album, and cleaning up the bunny hill, Driller called and said they were ready to jumpstart the shop cat.
I rumbled in, parked next to the shop cat and waited while the boys hooked everything up. I unplugged my iPod, turned off the 2-way, and shut down the stereo...I didn't want to tempt The Fates! I scrolled through my display and stopped on the volt meter page. My cat usually runs 28V-28.5V. With the jumper cables hooked to the shop cat, the voltage dropped to 27.2V.
I revved it up to the governor, Driller turned the key...nothing...not even a solenoid clicking...
I soldiered on...I topped up my fuel, and headed back to the bunny hill. I knocked out all the grooming that needed back-ups...dug out the top bunny chair terminal and tailored the ramp, dressed up the maze at the bottom of the bunny chair, and feathered the pack to the lodge decks and the ramps that land on the roads and parking lots.
I called Jeweler who was working farther up the mountain and quizzed him: "How's it going for you tonight? We laughed, and he said: "I know I'm behind, but we'll just go forward" I didn't want to pile on, but I entreated Jeweler to: "Take four feet out from in front of the Race Shack, two passes wide". "Don't make a project of it, just take a bladefull every time you go by" "10-4" Jeweler replied.
I moved up the hill and finished the secondary with the broken cat on it. My phone rang...
The Boss was almost laughing when he asked: "How's it going, Dave?" "Driller just called me and related your tale of woes" I said: "We'll be OK, it's a short list...as long as nothing else goes down...knock on wood"
We "got 'er done" and were back at the fuel dock in time for the lifts to turn at 8:45. The crew could finally sigh in relief. Truth is, we kicked it. We did the whole grooming list plus two short extra trails, and we got better than half of the digging done. Strong work for sure.
In the groomer's ready room I thanked the guys again. We agreed that someone should have recorded the 2-way all night...our night unfolded like a novel in search of a sound track.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Back and Beat
After not making it home for the first time since the DaveCave's inception, I'll just make a quick note before I'm enveloped in sweet sleep's deep embrace...
100MPH winds, and heavy snow did the Devil's Work Friday morning. My crew beat back Mother Nature's Best all night, only to lose one lift after another...first Wind Hold...all the Mountain Top Lifts...then the radio crackled with the closures, one by one...next up (or down if truth be told) the Mid-Level Lifts...wind hold...then closed for the day...Today's lift ticket will be good for another lift ticket any time...
Finally, a 73MPH gust on the Bunny Hill sealed our fate...no damage except to our pride...
Discretion being the better part of valor, I jumped at Jeweler's offer to crash at his abode rather than brave the closed highway in the abysmal daylight white out conditions...
Thanks Jeweler for the Cot n' Hot!
I'll tell the whole story Sunday...call it a bonus...try not to think of it as a Makeup Blog...
Good night!
100MPH winds, and heavy snow did the Devil's Work Friday morning. My crew beat back Mother Nature's Best all night, only to lose one lift after another...first Wind Hold...all the Mountain Top Lifts...then the radio crackled with the closures, one by one...next up (or down if truth be told) the Mid-Level Lifts...wind hold...then closed for the day...Today's lift ticket will be good for another lift ticket any time...
Finally, a 73MPH gust on the Bunny Hill sealed our fate...no damage except to our pride...
Discretion being the better part of valor, I jumped at Jeweler's offer to crash at his abode rather than brave the closed highway in the abysmal daylight white out conditions...
Thanks Jeweler for the Cot n' Hot!
I'll tell the whole story Sunday...call it a bonus...try not to think of it as a Makeup Blog...
Good night!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Fully Rested
I woke up last night at 11PM...a full hour late. I fell asleep around 11AM, and woke briefly around 5PM...I don't know if the alarm woke me and I turned it off and went back to sleep, or if I forgot to set it before passing out so early. I fell asleep before writing my daily CorduroyPlanet...hence the late post today.
You see, Tuesday I only got two hours of sleep before my "Monday" night, and boy that was one painful shift, even with 30 minutes of shuteye for lunch!
So, up an hour late, I skipped my shower and shave, my dinner, and was only one minute late...in fact the crew roared away from the shop about 10 minutes earlier than normal!
The grooming is still good...firm pack with all the sugar you can till up! So. armed with plenty of radio podcasts I roared off into the night. I tidied up two ramps right off the bat, and then set about making lots of corduroy.
The crew was way low maintenance, and toiled away in a most workmanlike manner.
The waning moon caught my attention when it rose just before 0530. I'd been meaning to catch a few photos, so I had my digicam in my bag.
Jeweler got a new iPhone and he's been taking a bunch of snaps with it, and they show up on Facebook most days, so I was feeling like the First Runner-Up in a backwater talent show who knows where...
I like the way the dash lights reflected in the windshield evoke a comet's tail...and I do regret the white socks! You can see what looks like the moon reflected by the back window too...actually that's a button on the Gunfighter Grip...looks like the moon...a little...
I haven't started carrying a tripod yet...but I'll make a point to during the next Full Moon...Movies by Moonlight? Hell yes!
All this gadget play is fun, but I'd rather be fighting a huge storm period...good news ahead, the weatherdudes are starting to say showers Sunday!
Fingers still crossed!
You see, Tuesday I only got two hours of sleep before my "Monday" night, and boy that was one painful shift, even with 30 minutes of shuteye for lunch!
So, up an hour late, I skipped my shower and shave, my dinner, and was only one minute late...in fact the crew roared away from the shop about 10 minutes earlier than normal!
The grooming is still good...firm pack with all the sugar you can till up! So. armed with plenty of radio podcasts I roared off into the night. I tidied up two ramps right off the bat, and then set about making lots of corduroy.
The crew was way low maintenance, and toiled away in a most workmanlike manner.
The waning moon caught my attention when it rose just before 0530. I'd been meaning to catch a few photos, so I had my digicam in my bag.
Jeweler got a new iPhone and he's been taking a bunch of snaps with it, and they show up on Facebook most days, so I was feeling like the First Runner-Up in a backwater talent show who knows where...
I like the way the dash lights reflected in the windshield evoke a comet's tail...and I do regret the white socks! You can see what looks like the moon reflected by the back window too...actually that's a button on the Gunfighter Grip...looks like the moon...a little...
I haven't started carrying a tripod yet...but I'll make a point to during the next Full Moon...Movies by Moonlight? Hell yes!
All this gadget play is fun, but I'd rather be fighting a huge storm period...good news ahead, the weatherdudes are starting to say showers Sunday!
Fingers still crossed!
Friday, December 10, 2010
Oh, What a Web We Weave...
When we try to fool Mother Nature... Wednesday night...the repercussions of screwing with my sleep cycle are still playing their hand...
I got home Wednesday morning around 11AM...took out the recycling and the garbage...I didn't see noon, and awoke at 5:45PM. Then I couldn't get back to sleep to catch the last three hours...
But wait, it gets even more cruel...the weatherdudes were having fits with the latest pulse of winter weather, and I drove up to work in a drizzle...not good...
So, I get out of my pickup and throw my Grundens over my shoulders just as a gust of wind turns me into an old overweight version of Marilyn Monroe over the subway grate in "The Seven Year Itch" My slicker went straight up, my watch cap blew off, and flew who knows where!
A fierce 30+MPH wind followed me up the 100 yard long shop road, totally soaking the back of my jeans. I couldn't hurry up the shop road, it was encrusted with a miasma of frozen tire tracks, liberally lubricated with spilt oils under a small lake of runoff...perfect slip and fall terrain...
Things didn't improve once I'd made it safely into the Groomer's Ready Room...Swing shift were there...all long faces and deflated egos...rain on a ski hill does that to the best of us...
It was a less than enjoyable on the hill...snowpack saturated...grinding around inside a cloud...blustery winds finding a way to blow the drizzle through my barely open window. I avoided most temptations to put my blade into the goo...we were making very long passes to minimize turn ruts that become "dragon holes" and lots of trouble to fill and forget.
The rain had edited our list a bit...time was on our side...unless the snow level lowered a thousand feet or so...before long, Highway Hypnosis began to set in...my eyelids began getting heavy...
Jeweler and I were working on our lists, each on our own hill. Around 0330, I surrendered. I keyed the mic on my 2-way and called Jeweler: "Jeweler, can you give me a call-back in 30 minutes?" Jeweler replied: "Sure, I'm on my last pass over here, so I'll be coming your way, where are you going to be, so my lights won't wake you?" I set him up, and pointed my cat up a steep spot, reclined my throne as far as it would go, turned down the iPod and closed my eyes.
Jeweler called back in what seemed like an instant...the power nap worked though...my eyes stayed open...we were way ahead of the clock now, so I took one pass all the way to the top of my mountain to see if it was rain all the way to the top...alas it wasn't snowing up top...
Jeweler and I finished up around the same time 0615...usually we're running flat-out 'till 0830-0900...
I called Jeweler: "Let's take some passes to the top of the Western Peak and have a look-see."
We packed-up and began to climb the western peak...there was a little new snow on swing shift's corduroy...not fluff mind you...more like primer on something in need of a paint job. We surprised a big sage grouse sitting on the snowpack at the top...first one I've seen on the snow...we rerolled the easiest way down and headed back to the lower mountain to groom the last trail of the day.
Damn if my eyelids didn't fail me again! I took a break...15min...OK now, we finished up the mountain and hit the outlying road crossings, parking lot ramps and cross country trails. We were back at the Ready Room by 0815 to file our Checkout Sheets and the Grooming Report.
Back in the parking lot, my watch cap was laying in a puddle 20 feet from my pickup...under a Jeep...
Note:
The first thing I teach my new rookies in Grooming 101 is: Part of the job is getting plenty of sleep...without enough sleep, you're disarming yourself of your most important tools...your Short Term Memory...and your eyesight!
I advise the troops that I want them to pull over and get a nap when they're having "eye trouble" better to take 15 minutes than to run into something with a $350K snowcat! We fit the power naps into our 30 min lunch and two 15 min breaks. A good day's sleep makes for a good night's work.
I practiced what I preached Thursday. Bedtime had it's way with me during the Noon News. I awoke at 4:30PM, checked the front porch for precip and went back to bed until 9PM...I'm saved!
I got home Wednesday morning around 11AM...took out the recycling and the garbage...I didn't see noon, and awoke at 5:45PM. Then I couldn't get back to sleep to catch the last three hours...
But wait, it gets even more cruel...the weatherdudes were having fits with the latest pulse of winter weather, and I drove up to work in a drizzle...not good...
So, I get out of my pickup and throw my Grundens over my shoulders just as a gust of wind turns me into an old overweight version of Marilyn Monroe over the subway grate in "The Seven Year Itch" My slicker went straight up, my watch cap blew off, and flew who knows where!
A fierce 30+MPH wind followed me up the 100 yard long shop road, totally soaking the back of my jeans. I couldn't hurry up the shop road, it was encrusted with a miasma of frozen tire tracks, liberally lubricated with spilt oils under a small lake of runoff...perfect slip and fall terrain...
Things didn't improve once I'd made it safely into the Groomer's Ready Room...Swing shift were there...all long faces and deflated egos...rain on a ski hill does that to the best of us...
It was a less than enjoyable on the hill...snowpack saturated...grinding around inside a cloud...blustery winds finding a way to blow the drizzle through my barely open window. I avoided most temptations to put my blade into the goo...we were making very long passes to minimize turn ruts that become "dragon holes" and lots of trouble to fill and forget.
The rain had edited our list a bit...time was on our side...unless the snow level lowered a thousand feet or so...before long, Highway Hypnosis began to set in...my eyelids began getting heavy...
Jeweler and I were working on our lists, each on our own hill. Around 0330, I surrendered. I keyed the mic on my 2-way and called Jeweler: "Jeweler, can you give me a call-back in 30 minutes?" Jeweler replied: "Sure, I'm on my last pass over here, so I'll be coming your way, where are you going to be, so my lights won't wake you?" I set him up, and pointed my cat up a steep spot, reclined my throne as far as it would go, turned down the iPod and closed my eyes.
Jeweler called back in what seemed like an instant...the power nap worked though...my eyes stayed open...we were way ahead of the clock now, so I took one pass all the way to the top of my mountain to see if it was rain all the way to the top...alas it wasn't snowing up top...
Jeweler and I finished up around the same time 0615...usually we're running flat-out 'till 0830-0900...
I called Jeweler: "Let's take some passes to the top of the Western Peak and have a look-see."
We packed-up and began to climb the western peak...there was a little new snow on swing shift's corduroy...not fluff mind you...more like primer on something in need of a paint job. We surprised a big sage grouse sitting on the snowpack at the top...first one I've seen on the snow...we rerolled the easiest way down and headed back to the lower mountain to groom the last trail of the day.
Damn if my eyelids didn't fail me again! I took a break...15min...OK now, we finished up the mountain and hit the outlying road crossings, parking lot ramps and cross country trails. We were back at the Ready Room by 0815 to file our Checkout Sheets and the Grooming Report.
Back in the parking lot, my watch cap was laying in a puddle 20 feet from my pickup...under a Jeep...
Note:
The first thing I teach my new rookies in Grooming 101 is: Part of the job is getting plenty of sleep...without enough sleep, you're disarming yourself of your most important tools...your Short Term Memory...and your eyesight!
I advise the troops that I want them to pull over and get a nap when they're having "eye trouble" better to take 15 minutes than to run into something with a $350K snowcat! We fit the power naps into our 30 min lunch and two 15 min breaks. A good day's sleep makes for a good night's work.
I practiced what I preached Thursday. Bedtime had it's way with me during the Noon News. I awoke at 4:30PM, checked the front porch for precip and went back to bed until 9PM...I'm saved!
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Grooming 101.8
Damn, I sure mismanaged my first 2-day weekend! Consequently, I paid dearly Wednesday morning. I stayed up all night Monday, my first night off. I succumbed to nature Tuesday and slept five hours, when I should have been up and at 'em.
Aside from great Night Vision, the groomer's most important tool is his Short Term Memory. STM only works well in fully rested brains. Get too little sleep, and the first thing to go is the Short Term Memory.
Tuesday I screwed-up my carefully cultivated sleep cycle...and fortunately Jeweler caught my missed last pass right down the middle of the Easiest Way Down off my mountain's tallest peak.
Efficient groomers save a "last pass" for their way off each mountain...I always say: "If you're grooming corduroy, you're not grooming...save that sliver for your traveling pass, and put new corduroy everywhere you can".
On the hill, "Proper Prior Planning" on the fly, combined with a well rested STM, equals good production. It's elementary...like Bedtime.
Aside from great Night Vision, the groomer's most important tool is his Short Term Memory. STM only works well in fully rested brains. Get too little sleep, and the first thing to go is the Short Term Memory.
Tuesday I screwed-up my carefully cultivated sleep cycle...and fortunately Jeweler caught my missed last pass right down the middle of the Easiest Way Down off my mountain's tallest peak.
Efficient groomers save a "last pass" for their way off each mountain...I always say: "If you're grooming corduroy, you're not grooming...save that sliver for your traveling pass, and put new corduroy everywhere you can".
On the hill, "Proper Prior Planning" on the fly, combined with a well rested STM, equals good production. It's elementary...like Bedtime.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Ski Season Ends
...in California...and I'm wondering what is going one with our weather?
Here it is mid-July. I'm enjoying the Tour de France, and Motor Racing from around the Globe. Then I watched the local news from Sacramento and saw a groomer grooming some passes at Boreal, atop Donner Summit.
Boreal ran their Castle Peak Quad Chairlift on Saturday and Sunday July 11th and 12th! The talking head on the KCRA3 Newscast said Boreal sold 250 tickets Saturday! I didn't hear a peep about their Sunday results.
Mammoth Mountain was open daily until July 5th, and Kirkwood got into the Independence Day Holiday spirit when they re-opened for July 2-4!
Our cool, lingering Spring, along with the coolish Summer so far, have allowed these resorts to hang on or re-open thanks to the bountiful snowfall of our El Niño-enhanced Winter.
Weather Records were set across Southern California Friday, some going back 84 years! Records for low temperatures...that is record low High Temps.
The Eastern Pacific is rapidly cooling, and has been rapidly cooling since late February. The double whammy of the PDO turning Negative (to the cold side of the cycle), and the end of the moderate El Niño and the development of a new La Niña.
It's been nice and cool here in the Inland Valley for the past two days, and the local weathermen say we'll warm up for the weekend.
I didn't give this weather much thought until Monday night when I watched the Tour de France Rest Day Wrap-Up Show.
This year's tour has been dramatic to say the least. The peloton has been nervous all week, and the Big Story is the unusually high number of crashes and injuries. Behind the Big Story of the race is the heat.
It's really been hot in Europe this Summer. Heat is murder on a three week bicycle race. Add the natural nerves of the opening week of the tour and the Devil's Arithmetic equals crashes. The thunderstorms in the mountains of the Tour have really turned up the Crash-O-Meter as well.
I haven't seen an accounting anywhere in the Cycling Press, but I'd wager that every rider still in this year's Tour has already been on the pavement at least once...with two weeks still to race. Lance Armstrong was on the ground three times again Sunday...all the Contenders have been down, and several have been knocked out of the race. After Tuesday's Stage 9, it was revealed thet the Race Leader was racing with a fractured elbow sustained in Sunday's stage...Aussie World Road Race Champion, Cadel Evans lost the Leader's Yellow Jersey after finishing 8:09 behind the Stage 9 Winner.
I traded away two injured American Contenders when setting up my TdF Fantasy Race Teams, and today two more of Team CorduroyPlanet's riders were forced to abandon by injuries.
Monday, as I daydreamed between commentaries by the Race Analysts, I got to thinking about the heat over Europe and the cooler than usual Spring and Summer we're having out West...La Niña usually goes hand in hand with increased Atlantic hurricane activity.
I checked out the Atlantic Tropical Weather Discussion at the National Hurricane Center's Website, and knocked around the Tropical Weather Observations and Outlooks. I looked at the Weekly ENSO Evolution, Status, and Prediction Presentation , and La Niña is here now. Aside from a cool anomaly in the Eastern Atlantic, there's plenty of oceanic heat in the Atlantic/Carribean Region to supercharge Hurricane Season.
My stereophonic compadre, Jeweler has been doing plenty of High Sierra trout fishing...and posting his success to his Facebook Page. I've been seeing lots of thunderstorms in Jeweler's reports, so I checked out Reno's AFD and there were even Fire Weather considerations therein.
Here again, our wetter, cooler year is helping keep a lid on any real Fire Danger. The NWS Forecasters are just "going by the book", and the book says: "issue Red Flag Warnings when temps are above X degreesF, and winds are forecast to be above Y MPH" Lightning and winds are up, but Fuel Moisture is still way down.
All week the Sierra Sun has been posting the "Lightning Strike Count" for the Truckee Region. There have been no lightning-caused fires that have been named...all were controlled.
I was making conversation over the Monthly Church Luncheon today when I heard myself say: "I think we're gonna have a long, cool Summer"! I may have a problem here...I wonder is there a 12 Step program for weather prognosticators?
Here it is mid-July. I'm enjoying the Tour de France, and Motor Racing from around the Globe. Then I watched the local news from Sacramento and saw a groomer grooming some passes at Boreal, atop Donner Summit.
Boreal ran their Castle Peak Quad Chairlift on Saturday and Sunday July 11th and 12th! The talking head on the KCRA3 Newscast said Boreal sold 250 tickets Saturday! I didn't hear a peep about their Sunday results.
Mammoth Mountain was open daily until July 5th, and Kirkwood got into the Independence Day Holiday spirit when they re-opened for July 2-4!
Our cool, lingering Spring, along with the coolish Summer so far, have allowed these resorts to hang on or re-open thanks to the bountiful snowfall of our El Niño-enhanced Winter.
Weather Records were set across Southern California Friday, some going back 84 years! Records for low temperatures...that is record low High Temps.
The Eastern Pacific is rapidly cooling, and has been rapidly cooling since late February. The double whammy of the PDO turning Negative (to the cold side of the cycle), and the end of the moderate El Niño and the development of a new La Niña.
It's been nice and cool here in the Inland Valley for the past two days, and the local weathermen say we'll warm up for the weekend.
I didn't give this weather much thought until Monday night when I watched the Tour de France Rest Day Wrap-Up Show.
This year's tour has been dramatic to say the least. The peloton has been nervous all week, and the Big Story is the unusually high number of crashes and injuries. Behind the Big Story of the race is the heat.
It's really been hot in Europe this Summer. Heat is murder on a three week bicycle race. Add the natural nerves of the opening week of the tour and the Devil's Arithmetic equals crashes. The thunderstorms in the mountains of the Tour have really turned up the Crash-O-Meter as well.
I haven't seen an accounting anywhere in the Cycling Press, but I'd wager that every rider still in this year's Tour has already been on the pavement at least once...with two weeks still to race. Lance Armstrong was on the ground three times again Sunday...all the Contenders have been down, and several have been knocked out of the race. After Tuesday's Stage 9, it was revealed thet the Race Leader was racing with a fractured elbow sustained in Sunday's stage...Aussie World Road Race Champion, Cadel Evans lost the Leader's Yellow Jersey after finishing 8:09 behind the Stage 9 Winner.
I traded away two injured American Contenders when setting up my TdF Fantasy Race Teams, and today two more of Team CorduroyPlanet's riders were forced to abandon by injuries.
Monday, as I daydreamed between commentaries by the Race Analysts, I got to thinking about the heat over Europe and the cooler than usual Spring and Summer we're having out West...La Niña usually goes hand in hand with increased Atlantic hurricane activity.
I checked out the Atlantic Tropical Weather Discussion at the National Hurricane Center's Website, and knocked around the Tropical Weather Observations and Outlooks. I looked at the Weekly ENSO Evolution, Status, and Prediction Presentation , and La Niña is here now. Aside from a cool anomaly in the Eastern Atlantic, there's plenty of oceanic heat in the Atlantic/Carribean Region to supercharge Hurricane Season.
My stereophonic compadre, Jeweler has been doing plenty of High Sierra trout fishing...and posting his success to his Facebook Page. I've been seeing lots of thunderstorms in Jeweler's reports, so I checked out Reno's AFD and there were even Fire Weather considerations therein.
Here again, our wetter, cooler year is helping keep a lid on any real Fire Danger. The NWS Forecasters are just "going by the book", and the book says: "issue Red Flag Warnings when temps are above X degreesF, and winds are forecast to be above Y MPH" Lightning and winds are up, but Fuel Moisture is still way down.
All week the Sierra Sun has been posting the "Lightning Strike Count" for the Truckee Region. There have been no lightning-caused fires that have been named...all were controlled.
I was making conversation over the Monthly Church Luncheon today when I heard myself say: "I think we're gonna have a long, cool Summer"! I may have a problem here...I wonder is there a 12 Step program for weather prognosticators?
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Summertime Kicks Off...Finally!
We've had a pretty nice day, here in the Inland Valley. Warmer, mostly sunny, and drying. My day was consumed by errands and some garden shopping. I overheard other customers asking about fungicides for their rose woes at Home Depot and the Fancy Nursery a couple of towns over. Misery loves company...
Dad's Red Rosebush really liked this week's deluge. Even though I took half it's leaves off to treat it's Rose Black Spot Fungus, it seems all "perked up" today.
While I was in the rose garden, I gave the Yellow Rosebushes another bath with my homemade Garlic Water Fungicide. I'm depending on Mother Nature to act like it's Springtime now, and dry out the roses, warm the soil, and wake up the King Salmon out in the Pacific.
Reports from the Coast say the Krill have returned to our waters in abundant numbers, and the Salmon are gorging on them. I imagine the migrating Grey Whales and Blue Whales are finding it to their liking as well. I read in the San Francisco Chronicle that anchovies are present in San Francisco Bay too. The Local Saltwater Fishing should break wide open in the next few weeks...just about the time I'm finished with the springtime planting of the Diggins!
My emergence into Real Spring continued... I went to my favorite grocery store for some pork chops and rhubarb after a frustrating hour enduring Home Depot. I quickly navigated the produce bins, but the people were three deep in front of the Pork Sector of the Meat Counter. (The Meat Counter is at least 50ft long in this Market, and there's at least six Butchers behind the cases!) I slipped past the crowds, and scanned the Seafood Side... What's this? Fresh, Wild King Salmon Fillets? Duh! Score!
Dinner was the Salmon on the BBQ, rice and steamed Asparagus, with a glass of Trader Joe's finest $4.99 Chardonnay.
My baseball team even woke up this week! Maybe they're catching the Spring Thing too. What a gorgeous evening at San Francisco's AT&T Park. On sunny Summer evenings, when the Sun gets low in the Western sky, it reflects off the windows of all the homes on the East Bay Hills, and this sight is impossible for the Broadcast Director to resist including in the Game's telecast. It looks sunning in HD...I never get tired of it!
Anyway, the SF Giants won against the Arizona Diamondbacks tonight, sparked by a one hit shutout hurled by Giant's pitcher Matt Cain. Giants infielder Pablo Sandoval, "The Panda" came out of his Month of May Slump in the Batter's Box and drove in three runs. The last RBI came on his Solo Homerun on the first pitch of the 8th Inning.
Even though it was a Night Game, it seemed like a Sunny Summer Day Game.
After the Ball Game, I discovered that COMCAST carries the Universal Sports Network. This is an NBC Sports outlet that aired plenty of Olympics from the Beijing Games, and they were showing today's Stage of the Giro de Italia! It was a diabolical Mountain Stage to boot! Lots of suffering on the crazy steep climbs, insanely fast descents on rain-slicked mountain roads, and the Maglia Rosa (the Pink Jersey worn by the Leader) even changed hands on the ridiculously steep Mortirolo climb! (I must remember to do some trades for my Fantasy Bike Racing Team!)
In short, everything in My World is coming up daisies! Even the Local WeatherDudes are dropping Rain and Cold from their vocabularies! Spring is bustin' out all over My World!
Hang in there Jeweler, and all my friends in the High Sierra...your Spring is coming this weekend! Hallelujah!
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