Snow Again

[tahoe healey]

First wave was almost 30 inches. Second wave two days later was about 8 to 10 inches. Been here almost 30 years and don't mind the blowing and shoveling (mindless task) but then the tourists come. We have a saying, "why do they call it tourist season if you aren't allowed to shot them?" All the skiers come up, jam the roads, buy all the food, and throw trash every where (a lot of which we don't find until the snow melts). The other 5 days a week are for us.

 

[vette]

Well here it is Friday morning and it snowed again. Not much but enough to shovel the walks. We are getting a fairly steady diet of it right now, which is unusual for us. I snow ski some, use to do it a lot. Was in Ski Patrol for about 10 years. Now I really don’t care to see snow. The two things I love to do the most are driving my collector cars and fishing. Things that I can’t do in the winter. Therefore I don’t like winter.

 

[JPSmit]

Well here it is Friday morning and it snowed again. Not much but enough to shovel the walks. We are getting a fairly steady diet of it right now, which is unusual for us. I snow ski some, use to do it a lot. Was in Ski Patrol for about 10 years. Now I really don’t care to see snow. The two things I love to do the most are driving my collector cars and fishing. Things that I can’t do in the winter. Therefore I don’t like winter.

Nothing but rain here - doesn't even look like freezing rain though no doubt frozen in places. Phew. OTOH I haven't heard of or thought of the ski patrol in years and years - is it even still a thing?

 

[DrEntropy]

Well here it is Friday morning and it snowed again. Not much but enough to shovel the walks. We are getting a fairly steady diet of it right now, which is unusual for us. I snow ski some, use to do it a lot. Was in Ski Patrol for about 10 years. Now I really don’t care to see snow. The two things I love to do the most are driving my collector cars and fishing. Things that I can’t do in the winter. Therefore I don’t like winter.

Winter of 1978 was what ended my snow skiing and shifted the priorities. I too hate winter. Anything below 50°F I now consider life-threat.

This was taken in Sewickley, PA. after one of the '78 "fat rain" events:

 

[Popeye]

This was taken in Sewickley, PA. after one of the '78 "fat rain" events

You know, I appreciate what you are saying about the snow... but I am still massively envious of the driveway! (For those cars, I'd happily shovel the snow!)

 

[vette]

You know, I appreciate what you are saying about the snow... but I am still massively envious of the driveway! (For those cars, I'd happily shovel the snow!)

Hey Doc, that’s a sacrilege to have those cars outside in the snow. ��
Ski Patrol is very active in US.

 

[LarryK]

Never understood the panic. If you live in an area that gets snow, should be used to it by now. PITA to keep driveway clear,but fun to drive in in light traffic. One time the traffic was backed up on the way to work, two stoplights from work, I just drove in the median passing to fellow workers and was drinking coffee by the time they came in. They aske me why I drove in the median, I just said it was just snow and I did not want cold coffee. So, that evening they paid the snow remover to box in my Rover so I had to wait to go home. Joke was on them, the old Classic Range in low climbed the four foot pile and home I went. Fun times.

 

[DrEntropy]

Hey Doc, that’s a sacrilege to have those cars outside in the snow. ��
Ski Patrol is very active in US.

About a year later I'd let the Alfa go for an Elan +2 and some cash, acquired a Lotus Cortina and moved to a house with a detached two-stall garage. Dirt floor, no heat, Mitsy and I installed a rebuilt engine into the +2 in February in that garage.

No more outside parking, at least. Posted this before, it was a bit snug in there:

 

[mikephillips]

I remember the 78 blizzard, the Alpine then parked outside. After it finished I went out to clean it off, had snow that had gotten in around the windows and top seam so had a small drift across the parcel shelf. Big surprise was when I opened the hood. It had blown underneath and up around the engine, all I could see but white was the air filter with the snow so packed in that the bottom of the hood left an impression in the snow.

 

[vette]

You would think it never snowed in Italy. And of coarse it never rains in England.

 

[LarryK]

Doc, mine was a half of a double garage, same dirt floor and no heat, no door. Had electricity.. Rebuilt the engine in the Jag in there. Renter on other side complained a lot as she could not cut thru my side to get in her car and my wife's car was in driveway at the doorway, so the lady had to walk around.

 

[DrEntropy]

Doc, mine was a half of a double garage, same dirt floor and no heat, no door. Had electricity.. Rebuilt the engine in the Jag in there. Renter on other side complained a lot as she could not cut thru my side to get in her car and my wife's car was in driveway at the doorway, so the lady had to walk around.

Funny, that. The crazy things we did when we were younger!

When the photo of the three Lotus cars was taken, I'd left a job in a steel mill as an N.D.T. Inspector and gone back to the dealership where I'd sold Alfa and Lotus cars a few years earlier. Suggested to the service manager he needed another wrench in the shop. "Who, you?" "Yep!" "YOU'RE HIRED!" By that time another partner had bought into the place and brought in Porsche/Audi, dropped Lotus. I got all the Lotus work for the folks who'd bought them previously, some from me. There was a familial atmosphere in the dealership, great work environment.

We could likely have had access to the shop's facilities to do the Elan engine rebuild and install, but it felt like imposition to my mind. We left the area in '81, brought the three Lotus cars with, to Florida.

An amusing addendum: I went through ASE Certification (then NIASE) and went to Lanham, MD., Volkswagen of America, for my Porsche/Audi training and certs. To our mutual amazement, a high school classmate from a decade earlier was my instructor there. A guy named Volk... a good chuckle for us both.

 

[LarryK]

Just the back, knees and wrists hurt now, not back then. If we only knew. Same with these new snow shovels, mine are 30 yrs old. Not as long as they wear down from concrete and files.

 

[DrEntropy]

F.Y.I. Old snow & ice removal tool:

 

[LarryK]

Does not wear out as much down there.

 

[AngliaGT]

You would think it never snowed in Italy. And of coarse it never rains in England.

Then explain to me why every car club in England sells umbrellas.......

 

[pdplot]

Shoveled a short path to my bird feeder. At my age - v-e-r-y slowly and small shovelfulls. Then daughter called. Her 2018 Subaru Crosstrek battery dead. Luckily, the stall next to her was empty and the jumper cables worked after I left them on for about two minutes. She heard its a problem on the Crosstreks.

 

[JPSmit]

Shoveled a short path to my bird feeder. At my age - v-e-r-y slowly and small shovelfulls. Then daughter called. Her 2018 Subaru Crosstrek battery dead. Luckily, the stall next to her was empty and the jumper cables worked after I left them on for about two minutes. She heard its a problem on the Crosstreks.

My daughter got her car towed in today (Beetle) in part because of dead battery - I have heard many reports of this - people who aren't driving enough because of COVID to charge their batteries.

 

[pdplot]

She took it on a 30-minute ride last night to charge the battery. Brought it here this am and I checked with meter. At rest - 13.25 amps; charging 14.44. Looks fine to me. She might have left dome light on or maybe 3 days without driving ran it down?

 

[pdplot]

Latest report - 5 to 7 more inches tomorrow - Super Sunday. City garages opening up again for free storage. We'll be going down there after 7.