You think you got snow?

[3rdgen.maple]

Yep thats my sugarhouse somewhere in those pictures. Weather idiots say 3 more feet on the way.
2575

2577
2589
2590

[Randy Brutkoski]

When all of this snow melts this july, I think we are going to have to flee to the mountains due to major flooding.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I hate it for you but understand as we had it last year and glad we don't this year, at least not to that extent.

[3rdgen.maple]

Thing is Brandon we are at our normal annual snowfall. Somewhere around 240 inches but we just have not had any thaws so it just keeps piling up. We normally get some big storms and then a melt and repeat not this year. Its not a question "is it suppose to snow today" but rather " is it not going to snow today" Think I will have snow until next winter.

[3rdgen.maple]

When all of this snow melts this july, I think we are going to have to flee to the mountains due to major flooding.

Had to do that before as well. Firemen running from door to door : get out the dam is going to break" I just hope we have a slow melt, the salmon river is in my backyard. Lucky though Im on high ground.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

We got 150+ inches in 2.5 months last year and a lot of heavy snow and sugaring season was a nightmare and the weather was worst for sugaring I have ever seen. Hopefully at least the weather will cooperate for you.

[3rdgen.maple]

Its funny how it is so different from one place to the next. Our best years where when we had alot of snow come tapping time. And last year we had a good warm spell in January and had little snow come tapping. I thinking its not the snow that makes or breaks the season it just back to the old daily highs and nightime lows but with snow it must keep the trees a little cooler early on. All we had last year where highs. Sugaring in this amount of snow isnt really a problem for me, done it so many times its just second nature and its all about prepping before hand. As long as I keep up on the woods trails and roof cleaned off Im good.

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

When all of this snow melts this july, I think we are going to have to flee to the mountains due to major flooding.

you are on high ground Randy, it my @** thats 500 yrds from Poultney river I'll have to run across the street to the mountain, maybe its a good thing the gov made me get flood insurance.

Are you going to do a test fire or just wait for sap? I'm very interested in seeing your rig run.

[red maples]

240 inches geez man!!! here we have had close to 70 inches total season but about 60" it all came in a 4 week period with very little melting!!! so we have about a 3-4 foot snow pack now since we got rain last weekend and it all froze there is a nice crusty layer on top. almost Impossible to walk through. If you don't have snow shoes you aint gettin' around where it aint shoveled!!!

I have shoveled the roof on the house and sugarhouse 2 times. luckily we have a pretty quiet 7 day or so stretch coming up. although quite chilly these last few days.

[3rdgen.maple]

Add about aother 24 inches to that from overnight Red. I will take a couple more pictures and edit my first post and put them in there sometime today. I would take a picture of my new tubing and mainline I worked so hard on setting up but they are now under snow.

[red maples]

I feel sorry for you man!!! I have to shovel some of mine off this year too. not much but still to have to shovel off some main line crazy!!! And I will have to bend over to tap some trees too.

[danno]

3rd gen - that's what you get for living 15 miles straight downwind and up elevation from Lake Ontario ;) Although I heard the lakeshore got it bad this time as well.

Remember 2008? 380" at my camp, just minutes from you. Now that was a snow year! Bright blue skies down here this morning, but we just closed our Oswego office.

[3rdgen.maple]

I was just talking about 2008 last night. The snowbanks here where so high it covered the tops of the road signs. When my truck was parked in the driveway the snow in the yard was over the top of it. I took alot of pictures of it but unfortunetly I never backed up my computer and lost all of them. Time to go plow its coming down pretty hard still.

[nace]

haven't seen anything like that since i was stationed at ellsworth afb south dakota. we got 8" down here in scottsville ky in the last 3 days and thats a lot for us. nace

[Paddymountain]

When I was a child ,we lived about 2 mile south of Lake Ontario, west of Rochester, I still remember how much it snowed and blowed up there,(early sixties). Much better here in central Pa. It may snow but the most we ever got during a winter was 96 inches in 1996. We haven't got a storm over maybe 5 inches this year ,but we didn't get any thaw time either.

[Randy Brutkoski]

I dont know if i will have time to put water through it first or not. Some how it will have to happen. Alot of plumbing for next week. Got to make sure there are no leaks or guisers. I will let you know when the test boil will happen. It could happen with sap. Have 750 taps in right now and probably 1500 by the end of the weekend.

[Rossell's Sugar Camp]

Last year in sw pa we tapped my cousins front 600 taps in 3 feet of snow. We bent over tapping and the taps were still really high once the snow thawed luckily we only have 6 inches here now. Had near a foot 2 weeks ago. He probably has 2 feet in the mountains now.

[3rdgen.maple]

Okay ladies and gents go back to original post and look at updated pictures. First 2 were taken wednesday night, second 2 are from this morning before the storm was over. Path to the sugarhouse and access to the door is all taken care of. Its a good thing I just keep on top of it all winter or I would have given up and gave all my stuff away and moved.

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

I dont know if i will have time to put water through it first or not. Some how it will have to happen. Alot of plumbing for next week. Got to make sure there are no leaks or guisers. I will let you know when the test boil will happen. It could happen with sap. Have 750 taps in right now and probably 1500 by the end of the weekend.

I heard it gonna be high 30's this weekend, then cold again and then mid 40's some time next week.

[Rossell's Sugar Camp]

If i had that much snow here I dont know how i would tap my trees. You will be pulling them on a step ladder in the spring.

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

my bro-inlaw told me once he remembers when he was a young kid he would help his grandfather take a step ladder out into the woods to take down the buckets. It would have been around mid to late 60's.

[maple flats]

3rdgen.maple, when I was in the furnace business I had a customer just north of the intersection of county routes 15 & 17, I think it was a Redfield address. Almost every year we had to do a service call there from mid winter on the snow was far over over work van. He used a tractor mounted snow blower with a spout about 6-7" high. Early in the season he blew snow as far to the side as he could but as the winter grew old he had to change because the snow got too deep and he blew it straight up so the wind could carry it to one side or the other. Backing into his yard was like going into a deep canyon, but he always had the driveway in real good shape. I'm going to guess a typical depth beside the driveway from the snow blower's work was likely 8' maybe even 9' in most places. He just took it in stride. Also, we did an annual service of a unit slightly south of there on Little John Road, off CR 17 in late June one year. The woods still had about 2' of snow all except around each tree trunk where the sun had hit the trunks and melted the snow away from the trunks about a 1'-1.5'. 3rdgen., I realize I'm not telling you anything you don't know, but I might be informing others what it is like in your section of Paradise. I do think in general the farther east I went every winter up CR 15 the deeper the snow got. I'm glad I never had to go another 20 miles east from Redfield or there might have still been snow in August from the previous winter. Up there we almost always ran into a little more snow pack than in Altmar, but Altmar was never easy either. Far too much snow for sure.
Then try High Market, I think they average more snow year in and year out than any place else in the state.

[DaveB]

Those pictures look almost like my place and I'm in CT. We had 80" in a little over a month and have about 3' in my yard but closer to 4' out in the woods. The last time I looked at some of my tubing it was partially buried. Last year was too warm, this year the snow is too deep!

At least snow I can deal with...hopefully it will make for a nice long season. Going out for some tapping this weekend in one of my bushes and will slowly work on the others. I have one where the road is off a main road with banks 8-10' high. I have no idea how I'm getting in there!

Dave

[3rdgen.maple]

Dave I know the house your talking about in redfield. I also do some bird hunting on Little John. I can almost guarantee what ever I have here they have double. I snowmobile up to High Market and the TugHill area. I remember the first year I bought sleds. Around here we put them away in early March cause the temps were getting above ideal. It wasnt until about the 3rd year one of my buddies Said in April lets trailer our sleds up to Highmarket and go riding. We all thought they he was nuts but went up anyways. Snow was still over the tops of the road signs that year. Danno Has a camp up there as well. Used to be a decent size maple operation up in Redfield but its long gone now. Remember visiting it as a kid. I can also relate to the snowbanks over the top of the van. That is what my driveway looks like right now and has many times in years past. It is kind of strange you can drive 1 mile in any direction and there is less snow than at my house. I guess I sit in a little snow sweetspot. Time to go plow its storming again.

[danno]

I sit right on the NW corner of the reservoir between Orwell and Redfield. Nearest plowed road from camp is about as a half mile away - we snowmobile in all winter. I think there has been only one winter in the last five where we could drive into camp before the 3rd week of April and we still don't get what Boyelston and High Market get. But, I bet Altmar has gotten more this year than High Market. 3rd gen - you've really been right in the crosshairs this year.

[3rdgen.maple]

Is your camp on the road to the boat launch then? I havent been up there yet this winter to see what they have for snow. We are getting pounded right now again. So much for working in the woods today. Guess I will sit in and watch speed channel.

[Rhino]

3rdgen, That is unreal the amount of snow you guys got! I give you guys alot of credit to make syrup in those kinds of conditions. Next time during syrup season when the equipment fails or some other problems come up and i want to complain about it, i will just think of those pictures of all that snow! YIKES!

[ctjim]

3rd gen thanks for sharing the pics . i know your area pretty good as my wifes family is from up that way. i think i still have some pics from about 4 yrs ago when you got hit w/ the 20ft in 1 week. we came up and took a ride around and they were using big dozers and excavators to move the snow, and a few of those blowers that look like they could eat a car. it was def a sight for me as we don't ever see snow like that here in ct. although this yr we have been hit hard. where exactly are you located? maybe i will try and take a tour sometime as i'm sure you're still sugaring after my season has passed. good luck this season

[3rdgen.maple]

Im right on 13 just after coming through pineville heading towards altmar.