Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with snow

Where is a good place to go camping this weekend within a few hours of Denver, CO?

JPigford — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 07:59:45 -0800

Where is a good place to go camping this weekend within a few hours of Denver, CO? A friend and I are looking for some place semi-primitive to go camping this weekend within a couple hours drive of Denver, CO. By "semi-primitive" I mean not a campground with dozens of other people but some place we need to hike in to that has some decent hiking around it.

Diamond Lake is a place we've gone before that we like but the problem we're running in to is that certain elevations still have a ton of snow making them pretty much inaccessible for camping.

Ice Ice Baby.

mrhaydel — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 07:08:05 -0800

Where can I find some good, quality shaved ice in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area? As summer is more or less already here, I've come to the notion that the only summer treat that will satisfy me is shaved ice.

And I'm not talking about that piddly "snow cone" (read: crushed ice) stuff like you'd get outside of a Home Depot for free (if I wanted that I could buy the $30 machine from Walmart). No, I mean shaved ice so smooth it's like fresh fallen snow drenched in delectable syrupy goodness.

I suppose my standards are pretty high, being weaned on Williams Plum St Sno Balls in New Orleans. However, it seems tough to really find a choice shaved ice stand because they typically don't advertise, and are often in places one wouldn't normally look.

So, do any of the Metroplex MeFites have any suggestions as to where I can go to make it through the summer?

Metal Roofs

Raybun — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 17:55:39 -0800

I am thinking of installing a metal roof. I am in central New England. My present shingled roof has a 3½" to 12 pitch and is rated for up to 30 pounds per square foot. This winter The roof had to be shoveled on a regular basis. I am both worried that with heavy repeated snows my home is at risk for structural damage and I suspect that this 30 PSF rating is not a real world figure. I also have a problem with heavy snow blocking the combustion air for my furnace which is built into the furnace stack. Would a dark colored metal roof with such a shallow pitch be self clearing under heavy snow?

First there is a mountain then there is no mountain, then there is

youthenrage — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 20:52:15 -0800

I'm going to japan from march 9 until april 6, and I want to climb Mt Fuji, from the bottom to the top. How much snow should I expect? How cold is it going to be? Do I need to bring boots and 3 layers of technical outdoor clothing or a warm jacket and sneakers? My lonely planet says its doable, but thats pretty much it. If you feel like throwing in some other "Can't Miss in Japan" places to visit, feel free.

Snow Chunk Nomenclature

Tube — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 14:36:49 -0800

What do you call those chunks of snow that accumulate on automobile fenders behind the wheels? I wonder if there are regional or colloquial names for these chunks. I can't remember that aspect of my Montana childhood clearly enough to recall if this phenomenon had a name, slang or otherwise.

Snow management for the ignorant

JMOZ — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 11:17:54 -0800

Is it necessary or worthwhile to remove the snow from my crushed-stone driveway? If so, how? This might be an incredibly obvious question, but please bear with me; until now, I've lived my whole life in warmer climates. This past summer, my wife and I moved to Delaware and bought a house. Our driveway is crushed stone/gravel.

Like the rest of the east coast, we got some snow in the past few days. Fortunately, it wasn't very much, and the gravel seems to provide plenty of traction. Nonetheless, we still have a few questions about snow management.

1. Is it a bad idea to just leave the snow and assume that we will get good traction from the stone? So far, so good: no ice problems. Are we asking for trouble?

2. Is there any sort of unspoken etiquette rule about clearing your driveway? I don't want to annoy our very nice neighbors if there is, but we just have no clue. They've all cleared their driveways already, but they all have asphalt. For what it's worth, we're on the end of the street.

3. Eventually, we're inevitably going to get a bigger snow. Does anyone know a good way to remove snow from a crushed stone driveway? Shoveling doesn't seem to work very well since we end up moving the snow around. Someone suggested a snowblower, but we were afraid that (a) that might be real overkill and (b) we'd end up throwing stones around. My current plan is to shovel off the top layers of snow and leave an inch or two, but I'm certainly open to better ideas.

4. So far, we've been avoiding salt because we don't want it to get everywhere or kill all the plants around our house. At what point should we actually salt the driveway?

5. Should we think about replacing the stone eventually? Are there big advantages or disadvantages of which we might be ignorant?

What about London should I map?

viewofdelft — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 13:23:05 -0800

What about London should I map? I'm in an Advanced GIS class for which I need to produce a final cartographic project. The project must begin in ArcGIS but from there I'm free to use anything else (Illustrator, Flash, Google Earth, etc). In the spirit of John Snow, I'd like to make my upcoming trip to London a force for academic good.

I have a GPS unit, a DSLR camera, a student's budget, and a winning personality. What should I map? I'm open to all suggestions as long as they meet the following criteria:

1) The map should present complex and interesting information. I'm not too worried about this one because questions soliciting suggestions on this site often generate very interesting answers.

2) The project/map should be focused. I'll be in London for only a week and I'd like to make the data collection effort into a sort of overarching theme for my visit. That means I should probably confine my map to one neighborhood or area (I'm staying in Soho, but don't let that restrict you).

3) The data can come from any (accessible) source. I'd like to have a little fun gathering the data, but if your suggestions for a map can just as easily be constructed with data from other sources, I'd be happy to hear them. I live in the United States, so any return trips are out of the question this semester.

Thanks in advance. If I choose to go with one of the suggestions, I'll keep you updated.

Super depressing winter murder movie.

agentofselection — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 22:13:41 -0800

Forgotten movie: Winter, small crashed plane in the woods, bag of money, resulting woes. Spoilers inside. I remember a movie probably 10+ years old. A man and I think his brother find a crashed small plane containing dead men and a bag of money. They take the money. It corrupts them, and one man and his wife end up killing the other, and a few other people. Eventually the FBI come to town looking for the money, which was apparently from a ransom or something. They don't catch the couple, but do disclose that the serial numbers of the bills were recorded, making the cash unspendable. In the end, the couple end up with the blood of friends/relatives on their hands, and a bag of money which they can do nothing with but burn. Anyone remember this?

How to shoot great snowbound photos

Elmore — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 15:19:40 -0800

Photography in snow conditions. Help me not get the blues. I'm going on a skiiing trip in the French Alps in a few days. I'm planning on bringing my Nikon D50, 17-125mm lens, and 10-20mm lens (w/polarizer).

I am comfortable with my equipment, and using manual exposure, but I live in Ireland. The last time snow lasted for more than an hour that I can remember was 1984. I have no experience or confidence with shooting with overcast skys and a white/grey environment. To make things worse, I am limited on battery power and digital storage. Ideally I'd shoot raw, but I'll only have 4GB worth of memory and two fully powered batteries to play with for the 7 days. Any tips to get well exposed shots without having to judge from the screen would be great. Also any tips on using flash in snowy daylight conditions?

Thanks for your help.

China Snowfall Totals

DanSachs — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 12:11:34 -0800

I'm having hard time finding detailed information about the extent of the problems China is currently experiencing with its snowstorms. Can anyone point me to a source where I can get snowfall totals for specific areas? Thanks.

Snow Removal

davidmsc — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 13:35:37 -0800

Can I use my hose (regular water hose) to significantly melt the pile of snow and some ice in my driveway? The temp has been above 32 degrees for over 24 hours - most of the snow in town has turned slushy and/or melted away. But I have a wind-driven pile of snow in my driveweay - over 2 feet in a few spots. I've shoveled a lot of it away, but it's taking forever and gets more difficult as I get deeper. So now I'm looking for a quick way to get rid of it completely before the next winter blast arrives tonight (down to -20 with more snow).

So: can I just turn on my hose and spray the snow away? Or will that be much, much worse and/or ineffective?

Too cold to snow?

C17H19NO3 — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 19:57:37 -0800

I've noticed that when the air temperature drops below a certain point that it won't snow. Is there any truth to this? I have tried searching for an answer and have come up with nothing. Does this really happen? If so, why does this happen? What's the threshold as far as temperature?

They came from outer space!

donmateo — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 16:50:51 -0800

Why is my snow covered yard crawling with caterpillars? This morning while shoveling out from last night's nor'easter here in Western Massachusetts I noticed quite a few caterpillars crawling lethargically over the freshly fallen snow. A quizzing of the internet produced few explanations. This childrens' book from 1895 captures the feeling. And a fellow in Michigan's Upper Peninsula has recently posted pictures and video of the same phenomenon in his neighborhood (scroll down past the satellite dish cleaning tool). Could the recent warm weather have brought them? If so, how did they get on top of the snow, looking like they were dropped there from a little caterpillar spaceship?

What's the mystery ECT/Snow button?

fogster — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 13:45:36 -0800

ToyotaFilter: What does my "ECT / Snow" button actually do? All I can find -- both in the owner's manual and online -- is that it's for use when driving in snow. That much I assumed.

I drive a 2003 Toyota Highlander, and live in New Hampshire, so yes, there's plenty of snow to use it in. Trying it on the semi-snowy roads, I really didn't notice any difference.

What, specifically, does enabling this mode do, and how does it accomplish whatever it does? What should I know about using it? (I've heard it said that you shouldn't use it over 30 MPH, for example, but this is never mentioned anywhere in the manual.)

looking for snow near Los Angeles

Charlie Lesoine — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 12:59:50 -0800

I'm looking for a place near Los Angeles where snow is falling or has recent fell on the ground. I don't want to go skiing I just want to throw a few snowballs. Does anyone know of the closest place to Los Angeles with plenty of snow? I tried to find some at Mt Baldy, but there were just a few sparse patches...that I could see from the car. I'm not looking for slopes just somewhere I can throw snowballs and frolic in the snow.

San Francisco Storms

mto — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 20:39:38 -0800

Should I be scared of these 3 big storms about to slam into San Francisco? The news has been going on and on about these storms. The city is giving away sandbags. They're mentioning hurricane force winds. It's freaking me out. How scared should I be? You can see about where I live in my user profile.

I bought a bunch of food I can make w/ my camping stove and some extra water. Should I be doing anything more to prepare? Is my neighborhood likely to flood? (Bernal Heights)?

Also, and most importantly, how likely are these storms to produce a tornado? I hate tornados, I left the midwest thinking I'd never have to worry about another tornado again.

Help me find the original or a similar equivalent image

Null Pointer and the Exceptions — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 13:36:04 -0800

I'd like to know the source of this Tech Crunch Christmas Greeting image or barring that, a free or CC licensed equivalent. I'd ask them directly but Tech Crunch seems to be a popular place and my voice isn't being heard there.

tubing near Truckee

contraption — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 13:15:49 -0800

Quick: what's the best place to go sledding/tubing near Truckee, CA? I'm in a mini van with family, on the way to buy some cheap sleds. We had planned on going tubing at the Boreal resort, but they are litigation-crazed and only 1 tube is allowed on the run at a tme, resulting in an hour wait between rides. Looking for non-commercial sledding areas or resorts that are actually fun.

How's I-70 in January?

dead_ — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 11:43:07 -0800

Can I make it through Colorado? I'm driving west on I-70 out of Denver in early January, and heading all the way to the coast. Assuming regular weather patterns, will I be safe in my 2 door Honda Prelude? I'm just wondering about snow in the Rockies, how I can expect the interstate to be and if this is a bad idea in a 2 door, front wheel drive vehicle. Also, any advice on Utah and Nevada would be welcome.

Parking during snow in Chicago

ztdavis — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 21:54:56 -0800

How does Chicago's "No Parking if snow is over 2 inches" rule work out in practice? Are the blocks of cars parked on my street (Sheridan at 7600 N) all going to be towed overnight and tomorrow morning? I know other members have been towed, but how cautious should I be?

Winter tires in Denver: required or just recommended?

FlamingBore — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 20:12:10 -0800

Do I really need winter tires in Denver? I lived in Chicago for 30 years and never bought winter tires. Granted, I was young and foolish for many of those years, but still. Now I live in Denver. I have nearly 48k miles on the performance tires of my 2004 Honda Civic so I need to get new tires anyway, but I'm concerned about the winter driving here. In Chicago everything was salted within an inch of it's life the minute the snow started falling. That doesn't seem to happen here. I've yet to see a city plow or salt truck or any of the like.

Tell me about winter tires and whether it's just a good idea or a necessity. Is it likely I'd be able to get through the winter with just a new set of tires? And should I get winter tires - what happens in the spring? I store them until I need them again? Does the garage/shop swap 'em out and hand the lot of them to me?

Other information: I work about seven miles from where I live. I have one road trip planned from Denver to Albuquerque at the end of this month. I need to get back and forth to DIA on average of 4 or more times each month. Thanks!

Skiing in Tahoe for beginners

0xFCAF — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 09:51:40 -0800

Where's the best place for skiing in the Reno/Tahoe area for a bunch of beginners? Is it crazy to go (for a day) during the week of Christmas? My family will be in Reno this year for Christmas. Some of us want to go skiing, others want to come along and do tubing. The skiers are beginners (green / very easy blue) and those who would tube are not a particularly active bunch. Cost is not much of an issue.

So the questions then are
1) What's a good resort to go to that can best fulfill the above criteria?
2) Will the slopes be so crowded as to make this not a good idea? We'd be looking at 23rd-27th as a possible day and are flexible about it, so if there are known days which would be better that'd be good to know.

Need a pair of comfy & warn shoes.

jmd82 — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 07:03:38 -0800

Can you help me find warm and comfortable shoes? No huge snow shoes, please. I'm tired of my feet freezing on Minnesota mornings with my non-insulated shoes. I already have a pair of rock-solid snow shoes, but gawd are they uncomfortable and I only wear them when we have some real snowfall. I prefer leather shoes that look decent, but don't need to be dress shoes. FWIW, I'm generally a fan of Rockports and Timberlands, but their "normal" shoes don't keep my feet warm at all.

I ask here because it's really hard to tell if shoes will keep the frostbite away while trying them on in the store! So, any suggestions on good, comfortable warm shoes that won't fall apart? I tend to spring for shoes that last and I haven't thrown out a pair of non-athletic shoes in 5+ years, so don't worry about price.

Help me choose tires for my car

PercussivePaul — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 18:56:41 -0800

I think I should replace my car's tires. I'm bewildered by the vast amount of tires available and want some help narrowing it down. Also, I'm on a budget. I drive a 1992 Toyota Camry that's been very well-maintained. I think the tires are only maybe 3 years old but I have driven the car across the country and back a couple of times since then so they may be worn. I can't really tell how worn they are by looking at them. The main reason I want to replace them is to have better grip when driving in snow. Snow is uncommon here in Vancouver but I drive to Whistler every few weeks in the winter; the highway there is well-maintained but has a lot of hills and turns which can be treacherous if there's snow on the ground. I carry snow chains in case the weather is severe, but with even a little snow or slush on the ground I found last year that I was wishing for more grip.

Now, that said, I don't drive this car very often. I would rather not buy snow tires, because I encounter snow rarely, and also I would have nowhere to store my current tires. I was thinking of looking for a decent set of all-season tires which I could use year-round.

First of all, is that reasonable?

Second, I would love to buy the safest, best tires in existence but I doubt I can afford them. But if I buy tires that are really cheap, maybe they're also poor quality. How can I judge, other than relying on a salesman? What can I expect to pay?

Third, anyone know a good place in Vancouver where I can get this done?

Help me head for the hills.

punkfloyd — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 17:13:34 -0800

Need help finding traditional mountain/snow lodge-type getaway in the U.S. Think the lodge from The Shining (without all the REDRUM). The wife and I need to get away. We don't ski, but would like to spend a few days in the snow/mountains of Colorado, Utah or Wyoming in November. The destination I have in mind is a lodge with activities/attractions onsite or within walking distance. Emphasis on relaxation, not skiing.