Welcome

I have decided to write about my adventures with my three children.  The three of them are four season, out door kids aged  8, 6 and 15 months.  .

We live in upstate New York, near the Canadian border and to the east of Lake Ontario.  Our proximity to the lake strongly influences our weather.  Our winters tend to a bit warmer than the Adirondacks or the St Lawrence river valley to our east.  However, the snow coverage is often significantly greater.  The warm waters of the open lake sublimate into mid-western clipper systems or prevailing north westerlies.  The moisture laden systems make landfall, change quickly in elevation across the Tug Hill Plateau and cool.  The result is a large flake snowfall at rates measured by the inches per hour.  The flakes are large and very light.

This lake effect snow sets up in fingers.  It can be dumping in a 1/2 mile finger with brilliant blue sky on either side to the north and south.  This snow engine makes for a long and soft ski season.

In the summer, the lake keeps the temperatures cooler than inland.  It's mitigating effect on our weather creates a rhythm to our outdoor life.

I plan to post sporadically, when I have a free moment of clarity and am not chasing an escaping 15 month old.  My initial focus will be to re-cap the 2010 - 2011 ski season.  Charlie, Eloise and I skied 30+ days at our local ski hill, Dry Hill, mostly in fresh powder.  We also skied Whiteface and Snow Ridge.

I took one adult ski trip this winter to Jackson and am leaving this week for Alta to ski with my brother, Andy, and my best friend from business school, Bill.