The Big One (Part Two)

As of 2:00 pm we have about 14" out of this snowfall. The storm seems to be only intensifying. I was planning to ski half the day and spend the balance of the afternoon at work, but at this point it is snowing too hard to do either. I was not the 1st vehicle to arrive at the Sykeship base at 8:00. There was a semi parked just to the back of the lot which I assumed was a stranded trucker planning to hunker down for the next two days awaiting the roads to clear. As I was getting my boots on, I looked up and saw the driver decending from the cab skis in hand. It turns out, this was a planned stopover for him. The lift was delayed a bit in opening so John and I chatted as the snow continued to fall. He works for Old Town Canoe delivering their canoes and kayaks all over the country. In the front of his trailer, he keeps a mountain bike and two pairs of skis, just for occasions like today. Just before 9, we were allowed to board. I took four runs at which point the wind began to get to me and the snow increased enough in its intensity to bring the visibility down to nil. The snow was perfect, dry and deep, just like it never is here in New England.
It's interesting to observe the way in which this particular storm is being handled. If you listened to the news reports on VPR today, you would think that the apocalypse was upon us. The state offices closed at noon and we were informed not to go into Rutland unless you planned to spend the night there. I can assure the readers of this post, that I have seen snow like this before. Vermont has not yet called into effect the state of emergency that was issued in New York, Massachusettes, and New Hampshire at noon. As of this post, we still have our wits about us.
The Tua forecast for the remainder of the day....finish midnoon lunchon by 3....nap until 4:30....awake until dinner at 5:30....nap until 8:30 or 9...... a very predictable routine, yet so many variables.....