I've been hearing a lot about the record snows in the SE Appalachians but haven't seen any pics posted yet! Maybe I haven't looked hard enough but I was thinking it'd be a shame to let this historic winter pass without a record of it here on SP! Give us pics!!!!

Well I took a picture on the top of Sharp Top on Sunday. Snowfall probably isn't breaking records there but it's very unusual.

I'm hoping to get down to the Smokies sometime in the next couple of weeks where there is apparently 35 inches on Mt. LeConte.

My original plan was to go backpacking in one of the high areas this week. But last minute plans to go to Los Angeles (my writing career) monkey-wrenched that. Wish I could have hit the peaks this week. They've had nothing but snow almost constantly since December. Snowpack on the higher ranges is closing in on four feet!

This past Sunday, I got some pics of the Camp Alice area below Mount Mitchell at around 5800 feet, probably an average of 25 to 30 inches there... I will try to post later. The Mount LeConte caretaker is correct, "With deep snow at the higher elevations hiking is difficult...". By the way, 55 inches officially on the ground at Mount Mitchell this morning and more still falling today!

StarMan wrote:By the way, 55 inches officially on the ground at Mount Mitchell this morning and more still falling today!

That'd be a new NC record wouldn't it?! By the way, very cool link Randor there are some really nice shots on that blog. Snow covering the cables at Alum Bluff? Amazing!

Climbing Mount LeConte at this time of the year looks like a full-on mountaineering expedition. If the cables are buried there would be some very hairy spots on that trail.

The only "official" site I could find concerning the NC snow depth record was here...

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ussc/USSCAppController?action=extremes&state=31

Looks like it is current up until 2006, although it looks like snow depth records might not be available since 1980...weird... I hear what you're saying, though, about observation sites. As with most mountainous states, sites are generally located at valley locations which (especially in NC's case) tend to see less snow. No doubt any number of the southern high peaks subjected to NW flow snowfall (i.e. the Roans, Blacks, Smokies, or even Balsams) could be candidates for possible record snow depths. Sorry to ramble...I'm kind of a weather/climate junkie so this stuff is fascinating to me...

I don't know about records, but the totals continue to grow amazingly today in this extended NW flow event. I just saw a report on the local news that Beech Mountain got 12 more inches today. If you want to keep up with some of the depths and daily totals go here:
http://www.weather.gov/climate/index.php?wfo=gsp click in "Regional Summary" then either "NC Mountains..." or "Great Smokey Mountains" then "GO". These usually update every day before 10:00 eastern.

dwhike wrote:

StarMan wrote:By the way, 55 inches officially on the ground at Mount Mitchell this morning and more still falling today!

That'd be a new NC record wouldn't it?! By the way, very cool link Randor there are some really nice shots on that blog. Snow covering the cables at Alum Bluff? Amazing!

Here's some of my pics (though not so great) from 2-14 of my unsuccessful attempt for Mt. Mitchell: http://www.summitpost.org/album/597895/ ... -2010.html

But here's some BETTER pictures from a group I passed on my way down that was coming up (they had snowshoes - I didn't )... I got lucky and found their pictures using google. They reached the summit! It shows better the depths above 6000 ft. http://www.flickr.com/photos/wncphotos/ ... 440072752/

StarMan wrote:I don't know about records, but the totals continue to grow amazingly today in this extended NW flow event. I just saw a report on the local news that Beech Mountain got 12 more inches today. If you want to keep up with some of the depths and daily totals go here:
http://www.weather.gov/climate/index.php?wfo=gsp click in "Regional Summary" then either "NC Mountains..." or "Great Smokey Mountains" then "GO". These usually update every day before 10:00 eastern.

Thanks, I was trying to dig around on that site earlier and never managed to find that. I find it kinda messed up that there's likely more snow on the ground at my old home half way up Beech Mountain than my current place in the snowbelt of Northern Michigan (only received HALF our usual amount to date)!!!

Nice photos! I wish I was going to be able to make it up there before March, but that's the next time I have enough free time.

Yes, a strange snow year for the country. I don't have the statistics, but I think that Mount Mitchell is even exceeding Mount Washington so far this winter in totals (certainly depth!) as I have read their totals are below normal as well. If so then that would BE VERY rare!

dwhike wrote:

StarMan wrote:I don't know about records, but the totals continue to grow amazingly today in this extended NW flow event. I just saw a report on the local news that Beech Mountain got 12 more inches today. If you want to keep up with some of the depths and daily totals go here:
http://www.weather.gov/climate/index.php?wfo=gsp click in "Regional Summary" then either "NC Mountains..." or "Great Smokey Mountains" then "GO". These usually update every day before 10:00 eastern.

Thanks, I was trying to dig around on that site earlier and never managed to find that. I find it kinda messed up that there's likely more snow on the ground at my old home half way up Beech Mountain than my current place in the snowbelt of Northern Michigan (only received HALF our usual amount to date)!!!

I called up Grayson Highlands State Park and the lady told me that the park road is in bad shape, 4WD only and they haven't had many visitors so the trail isn't broken in. Apparently they've got drifts up to 10 ft high in the higher areas.