Wind effect

[NPN]

As takeahike46er was good enough to remind me in another post, the Lookout Mtn expantion offers up a completely different wind exposure from the rest of the mountain. My thinking is that the predominant wind we get will pile up the snow it scours off Skyward, etc. right onto that face, but I'd love to hear from you experts how you think it fares.

 

[takeahike46er]

While this is purely speculative, I don't believe the winds will blow snow from the other faces onto the face that the lookout pod occupies. I do believe that the new runs will be fairly sheltered when compared to the summit quad. This will mean more consistent conditions. How do I support my theory? The trails are being cut to minimize the disturbance of Bicknell's Thrush. The thrush happens to love the forests that are battered by the prevailing winds. By avoiding the thrush the trails are avoiding the areas most exposed to high winds.

 

[NPN]

Ah well, I had to ask.

 

[takeahike46er]

I guess what I'm saying is that I think the snow would end up on the ridgeline to the southwest of the lookout trails (with some spilling onto the westernmost trail). Its just a guess based on where the winds are most common.

 

[ComeBackMudPuddles]

I'd think the wind that whips around the summit and scours "upper" Upper Cloud and "upper" Upper Skyward probably won't make it all the way to the Lookout Mountain face. So, I'd imagine the snow should stick a little better to those slopes top to bottom. I was wondering if maybe there's a chance the Lookout Mt. face is in a snow shadow of the peak and ridgeline? At any rate, it seems like the trails will get more sun than the rest of the upper mountain.

This all being said, I've usually found the Snowfields to have pretty good conditions, due to the wind effect on the upper upper part of Cloudspin.

 

[St. Jerry]

After the wind scrapes off all the snow from Whiteface, most of that snow gets blown over to Vermont. It's one of the reasons Jay Peak gets over 300" per year.