So, because I'm bored I'm going to enthrall everyone with the tale. Dateline Thursday, skis waxed, bags packed, and everything looks like a go for an early trip north to ski some pow. The forecast was holding at 6-8 inches across Central VT with possibly more snow north. I'm merely waiting for the wife to return so I can get going. Unfortunately by the time she makes it home its started to rain, freeze, and ice so I begin thinking it might be a good idea to wait out the storm. Finally at around 7 PM I decide its time to go. Roads were surprisingly good and by 8:15 PM I had arrived at Manchester ABC. Conditions in Manchester were slush and mist, I had thought about heading over to Magic for a late night skin lap but Matt had informed me that they had lost everything in the rain event Wednesday.
So I settled in for the evening, made one last check of the weather and plotted. I figured I'd be up early check the conditions, and simply drive north until I hit the snow. Unfortunately I was awakened at 4 AM not by the sounds of plow trucks, but the incessant pitter patter of rain on the roof. Some choice words were uttered and I'm pretty sure I rolled back over and went back to sleep for an hour. But by 5:30 there was no denying that north would be the right call. The only question remained "how far"? I had mentally prepared myself for the thought of driving to Jay Peak, but I figured Sugarbush would probably be a safe bet as well, and it also had the added bonus of requiring a drive past the mighty Killington, meaning I could check out conditions there as well.
The need to check conditions at Killington ceased when I checked my voicemail and got the grim news, it was raining at KBL. So Sugarbush it would be, and confirming my suspicions, Fran called with an update that on site reports from 'bush were 6-8" and mist rather then rain. I pulled into the Stewart's in Rutland where the whole thing began to fall apart. Mini-animal called, and I kid you not I've NEVER heard him as upset as he was over the phone. Our house had lost power, and without power there was no water or heat. To say he wasn't handling it well would be an understatement, and there was no consoling him at all. He was nervous, scared and needed his daddy. Finally my wife got on the phone and I got the full situation report. Power must have gone out late last night, temps in the house were down to 60* and of course she didn't know where the flashlights/emergency gear was. I told her I was coming home, but she would hear nothing of it. There was some discussion of her starting a fire all by herself, and after attempting to talk her through it, and hearing mini's frightened crying and whining in the background. I began to have my doubts as to whether it wouldn't be a better idea to simply just head back home.
Look, my wife is fantastic at MANY different things, but if we're drawing up teams for winter survival school, she's the last one picked. I dunno why but staying calm and acting rational in the face of the chaos just isn't her strong suit but I'm digressing
Anyway, I pointed it south and put the hammer down to get back home. I'm not sure how fast I drove, but the roads were good and I successfully made it home with no incidents. Upon arrival I could barely comprehend the magnitude of the destruction that had occurred in the area. Trees with trunks as large as 4 feet wide were snapped like toothpicks. Branches littered the road and power lines were down nearly everywhere you looked.
The damage to my neighborhood was substantial but through the grace of God my house and yard had for the most part been spared. I walked in the front door and found Mini and mommy curled up in bed keeping warm(so at least they got that right) ;-) Mini seemed relived to see me so I got him up and we headed out to try to find some firewood to keep the house warm. Driving around it became clear that any hopes of a speedy return of power were a complete pipe dream. Making it worse it had begun to snow which made the conditions even more hazardous. Every few moments you heard the sickening snap and crash of tree fall and I decided that perhaps we would be better off returning to VT before things got any worse.
It was a tough sell but within an hour we were on our way back north. After grabbing a bite to eat, we settled in at base camp calling every hour or so to see if our answering machine would pick up. Alas it was not to be so we lit a fire and proceeded to spend the rest of the night enjoying the fact that we actually had lights that worked. By 10 pm we finally got through to the machine, but decided it would probably be best to spend the night and give the crews a chance to get the limbs cleared from the road.
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