Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with snow

Best audio/communication solution for snowsports helmet?

Señor Pantalones — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 10:45:09 -0800

Best ski/snowboard helmet w/audio (mic preferred) integration? Current system of wearing iphone mic'ed buds (attached to a pocketed iphone) under a Bern helmet is nonoptimal. Too many moving parts, fumbling around to find things, etc.

Options:
1. bluetooth audio helmet (giro omen, burton red)
2. wired audio helmet (boeri vortex, poc receptor bug, burton red etc.)
3. DIY (find a good helmet, attach dedicated iphone mic'ed buds to it)

Any reviews/recommendations/experiences? Price is not as significant as ease of use and functionality of the setup. I'd like to be listening to music all day and have the ability to answer calls.

I don't always want to listen to music in the snow, but sometimes I do, and I need an ideal system for it.

How do I adjust from sunny LA to freezing cold Virginia?

invisible ink — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:30:15 -0800

Have you ever moved from a warm, mild climate like Los Angeles, to one that experiences four seasons - and did you do so in the dead of winter? What was it like? What do you wish you had known beforehand? In other words, what am I, a native Angeleno currently taking for granted? A compelling job offer has me seriously considering moving from Los Angeles to Arlington, VA. I will most likely be relocating mid-January 2010. Unfortunately, I have never lived in a four-season climate, much less moved myself and all of my belongings to one.

I found this thread, but am hoping more LA transplants can respond.

Long, diverse, rambling responses are most welcome - I really want to know the kind of impact a rapid shift in climate can make in peoples' lives. Thanks in advance:-)

what can a toddler play with in the snow?

raztaj — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:32:10 -0800

Toys for the snow, besides sleds and snowball makers? Do you have any suggestions for toys that a kid could use to play in the snow, besides sleds or snowball scoops?

I'm trying to think of something to get my 3-year old nephew, now that he lives in a cold and snowy climate with his parents. They all get cabin fever in the winter, and he's a little too young to enjoy making snowmen and forts, but there's much fun to be had with the crazy white stuff that falls from the sky when it's cold out.

Are there any seasonal outdoor toys (for the yard) that would be fun for a preschool aged kid?

Seeing Yellowstone from a ditch? Do I need AWD?

ydant — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:53:58 -0800

Driving from Salt Lake City to Yellowstone to Bryce Canyon during Christmas week. Everything's planned, except for the car... Am I screwed? Rental car options, and do I need AWD and/or chains? Last year I went to NV/UT/AZ this time of the year and I absolutely loved it. We flew into Vegas, rented a 350Z with sticky tires and had a blast. Our routing was set to "wherever", and our schedule was open.

We ended up in a snow storm that caught us off guard. Somehow I never really connected "winter" and "350Z" like I should have. This slowed us down a lot but we did fine on roads of varying levels of plowed and were never stopped by the snow. For example, Zion at 11pm during a heavy snow was exciting and thick with snow and icy spots but I managed.

This year I want a better set of tires at the least, so I won't be repeating my mistake. Ideally, I'd get AWD, but there's absolutely nothing for a reasonable amount of money. It's literally 1/3rd the price to get a mid-size car over an SUV at this point.

So, am I going to NEED snow tires, AWD, or chains to get where I want to go? Specifically from Salt Lake City up to West Yellowstone? Can I (barring a storm) make it up I-15 and 20 with the all seasons on a FWD car, or are chains/AWD required anywhere along the way?

I think going down to Bryce will be ok regardless, as I've done that in sub-ideal conditions and managed.

Ideally someone knows where I can rent a Subaru in Salt Lake City during Christmas week, but Google's telling me to be more reasonable.

Thanks!

Help me find a non-wool, non-scratchy winter hat for skiing

charmedimsure — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 19:14:27 -0800

Can you help me find the perfect non-wool, in-no-way-scratchy winter hat for moderateish activity (male recipient)? Hello!

I am looking for suggestions for a winter hat for the boyfriend, who is a special redheaded snowflake and thus has ridiculously sensitive skin. This would be used for x-country skiing/running in quite cold temperatures (0F-20F) and activities like snowshoeing in more moderate temperatures (15F-40F).

These are the type of temperature/activity combinations that normal people, including myself, would just use a nice Smartwool beanie for. I have failed miserably at this project so far for oh-my-god-really?-THAT-itches?-HOW? reasons so far.

Assume that I do not sew/knit/craft, and that no one I know well enough to ask for a favor does either.

Relevant desired qualities:

-non-cotton or other soggy material, since said activities can get fairly sweaty/snowy

-includes no wool, not even Smartwool/the finest merino wool from tiny fleecy perfect soft newborn lambs lovingly fed organic grain by hand, not even if lined with another material

-includes no materials that could even remotely be categorized as "scratchy"

-stretchy material, or hat available in larger sizes, so it doesn't feel claustrophobic or cling to the head too much

-very basic pattern or solid colors in some manly variation, nothing too crazy or bright or pink

-easy and hopefully non-exorbitant shipping to the US, specifically Alaska

-bonus points for ear coverage of some kind, but not totally necessary since he can always supplement with ear bags

Thanks for any suggestions!

Records of First Snowfall

furious — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 19:32:31 -0800

Where can I find records of the date of the first snowfall in an area? I'm looking for Hanover, NH, but a tool to find first snow fall dates and records for any area is what I'd really like to find.

I like the one with the skulls and the neon splatterpaint...

fshgrl — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 22:33:19 -0800

Does anyone have experience with those new-fangled reverse camber snowboards? Time for a new board and I not only have to ponder directionality and sidecut but boads now come in different cambers. REI's display graphic made me think I might like a board-of-a-different-camber but they did not have a single employee in the snowboarding department who boards so I am hoping the hivemind can help me out.

I am what they call an "all mountain" rider (Mature Division). I go up to the top and then ride in a more or less straightforward but not overly aggressive fashion all the way down. I ride a lot of off-piste and backcountry but I like to cruise the groomers too. I do not do the halfpipe, I haven't been in a park in years and I rarely even hit a baby kicker anymore.

My last board was supposedly an "all mountain", it's a twin-tip directional, narrow, deeply sidecut Saloman that is stiff and fast on the groomers and carves well but it makes switching edges into an exercise in loopy turns (my biggest complaint), does not hold an edge on the ice and, for it's length, it sinks like a rock in powder. The sales literature implied that a reverse cambered board of similar size (with less sidecut) would vastly improve the edge-to-edge responsiveness and float while still giving me the nice stable cruising feel and carving ability when desired.

fwiw: I prefer a board that has good edge to edge responsiveness but is not too turn happy: i.e. I like the ability to go fairly straight. And it must be able to handle chopped up powder and the deeply irregular and uneven "groomed" runs where I ride. The board I have now is very stable, I could run over any number of skiers and not even notice (I kid, I kid.... but it handles our oft-crappy conditions with aplomb).

To summarize: reverse cambered boards: Am I going to spend all day falling down once I venture off the groomers? Do they really improve edge-to-edge responsiveness that much for a given width? Do they turn into a bobsled on the ice? Will I even notice the difference?

Keep me feets dry and warm!

handabear — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 07:05:11 -0800

I've read this, and this but I'm looking for something more casual and maybe a low top shoe that I can wear to/from and at work or school. My work dress code is casual but I don't think that walking around in colorful wellies would be appropriate. My go to shoe has always been the Adidas Samba or Dansko professional clog, but I don't think that either can make it through the fall and winter in New England. I saw some waterproof sneakers at LL Bean that were acceptable, but they are discontinued and didn't have my size in stock.

I want:

waterproof
stylish
suitable for everyday wear - indoors for hours on my feet
≤$125
can fit insoles
insulated (not essential)
flat heel

I don't want:

giant man boots
clunky/chunky/some other variation of this word
dress shoes
hiking boots
trail shoes

Does my ideal shoe exist? Suggestions?

How do I eject the Snow Leopard install DVD on a Mac Mini?

keijo — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 06:42:54 -0800

How do I eject the Snow Leopard install DVD on a Mac Mini? I tried to install Snow Leopard on an older Mac Mini but foolishly did not realise that it required 1GB of memory. The install program informs me of this and then gives options to either "Restore From Backup" or "Restart". There is no time machine backup and if I restart it boots again (and again) from the install disc.

I have tried rebooting with holding down the eject button on the keyboard or the left mouse button to no avail. Thanks for any help in getting the big cat out.

Good Winter Clothes for Toddlers

puritycontrol — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 08:15:10 -0800

Please recommend good winter clothing for 1-year-olds, especially super warm coats. We're talking months and months of ice and snow here. It's our first midwest winter and we'd love recommendations on coats and clothes to get our 1-year-old boys (well, they turn 1 in a couple of weeks). Online or stores in the Aurora, IL area. Thanks in advance!

upgraded to snow leopard, or should that be slow leopard?

nunoidia — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 23:19:18 -0800

Help! I upgraded to snow leopard and now my internet is painfully slow. A quick google search shows i'm not the only one, but the only fix I can find (to do with the firewall) doesn't help me as I don't have firewall on. There seems to be no difference between Safari and Firefox. I'm seriously considering using time machine to get back to Leopard days. As an example, pre snow leopard, a speed test measured at 1.83mb/s download, 0.16mb/s upload and 41ms latency, speed test just now says 0.46mb/s, 0.24mb/s upload and 51ms latency. Therefore it looks like my upload speed has improved by my download has taken a dial up style kicking. As I don't upload anything very often, I don't care about any improvement in this area. Can anyone assist? I'm running a January 2009 macbook if that helps.

I know the fifth anniversary gift is wood, but...

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 07:54:41 -0800

Is there a known Best Winter Hat for Cyclists? For our fifth anniversary, I want to buy my husband an awesome hat to wear while he commutes to work on his bike. We live in the snowiest neighborhood in Cleveland, so it needs to have the following characteristics:

-Somewhat waterproof
-Super warm (he's pretty much bald)
-Extraordinarily attractive
-Not too flashy (he's a pretty conservative dresser.)
- it would be for under-helmet use

Let's assume money is no object, even though it is.

Sorry, I can't come into work today, it's drizzling and my car is stuck...

firei — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 10:48:51 -0800

Possibly going to move and work as a caretaker of a small farm-sanctuary in upstate NY. The problem? It's on a windy, steep dirt road and my car is less than good. Help! I'm considering taking a caretaker's position in upstate NY (and by upstate, I mean near Beekman, between Poughkeepsie and Pawling). Everything sounds great - a house, utilities, stipend, and I'll be able to get another job for additional income. I'm supposed to go interview next weekend.

However, I took a drive up to the area earlier this week with a friend. All was going well until we got about a mile or half a mile away - when the road suddenly turned to dirt and began to climb. The dirt seemed pretty well packed, but we haven't had rain in a few days and there were lots of rocks scattered on the road.

I drive a 1992 Volvo 240 (that has been in several accidents and isn't super reliable anyway). I believe that it will be able to make it up the road in decent weather, but things like rain and snow on a windy, hilly dirt road frighten me. (Do they even plow dirt roads?)

I want to take this position, but not if I will be stranded up on the hill when it's raining or snowing. Plus, it's a good four or five miles to the closest store or main-ish road.

I will need to drive for:
-errands
-social outings
-a job! (unless i can find a reliable "work at home" job, but I'm not counting on it - though suggestions are always welcome!)

I've thought about getting an ATV, but I don't think you can drive them on the road. I've also considered trying to park down before the road changes to dirt and walking/biking up, but that would not be so appetizing in driving rain or snow. Would new tires help? A different car? A motorcycle?

$700 is my limit, but obviously spending less in preferable.

Any and all suggestions are welcome!

Does electronic stability control help out in winter driving conditions?

puritycontrol — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 07:57:13 -0800

Will I need electronic stability control for winter driving? Please help this California native and recent Texas resident decide on a car to buy before my first "real" winter in northern Illinois begins. Having been lucky enough to spend my life so far in the warmer areas of the country that don't believe in seasons, we've just moved to the DeKalb area and I'm faced with the daunting prospect of driving in snowy and icy conditions. I've been told that roads are generally quick to be plowed/iced when the snow falls, so I'm wondering if stability and/or traction control are realistically going to add that much benefit during winter if I stick to paved, well-traveled roads and highways (and drive carefully). Sites I've seen on the internet say that both are must-haves, but I'm more interested in your real world experiences with winter driving.

In case you're curious, we're looking to replace our '95 Accord V-6 with a pre-owned 2005-2007 Accord (I've gone this route because of brand loyalty, gas mileage, and budgetary reasons). From what I've gathered, only the trims with a V-6 from these years come equipped with stability control (and NOT traction control). 2008+ Accords come with stability and traction standard on all trims, although they are a bit outside of our budget range. I've also played with the idea of getting a newer CR-V, but again, it's skirting the limits of our budget. The car will be used primarily to get me to and from work; we have an Odyssey to haul the family around in. Other car suggestions are welcome.

Where to snowboard and sightsee at Christmas?

inflatablekiwi — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:05:30 -0800

Great places worldwide for a two week snowboarding and sightseeing holiday around Christmas time? I've just had leave approved for two weeks over Christmas (week before and after) and am looking for inspiration for great places to go with my wife on a snowboarding and sightseeing trip.

Requirements:
1. Snow :-) Not easy to guarantee I know, especially around Christmas.
2. Ability to rent boats and boards easily (we have everything else).
3. At least half-decent ski area infrastructure - we're okay boarders (intermediate I guess), but need decent lifts....we're not quite back country heli-jumpers just yet.....
4. We've already done a few US locations over past winters (Tahoe, Colorado, Utah, Idaho) and love them, but looking to go somewhere different this year.
5. We'd probably only board 4-5 days, leaving 6-7 days for doing other things - so being near interesting villages, beautiful mountain ranges, other attractions, etc is a plus. We're cool with driving/training/busing around

Aside from that - we're totally open to ideas! Know a great hidden ski area in Slovakia, Japan, China, Finland, Alaska, Iceland, or anywhere else that may be blanketed with the white fluffy stuff at Christmas? Let me know!

New England Car Needed

billtron — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 06:07:51 -0800

I'm moving to the Upper Valley of New Hampshire in a month and need to buy a car for the first time. Help me choose the right one. We've narrowed it down basically to two general options: something resembling a 2 year old Subaru Outback and something resembling a new Prius. Our choice will depend on the availability of options, incentives at the time of purchase, and the necessity of getting an all-wheel drive vehicle for the harsh winters versus the fuel efficiency of getting a hybrid for our monthly trips to NYC. What, o great metahivemind, do you suggest we do?

Another Question about moving to London. Likely more to follow.

ElmerFishpaw — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 16:53:24 -0800

I'm moving to the UK. I love snowboarding. What are my options? Switzerland is right there! Or is it? Relatively cheap airfare and stellar mountains will be calling me. Can I take off from London and shred the Alps in a weekend? If so, where exactly? If not, could I make it in a 3-day weekend? Have you done this?

Living in Oakland, I am accustomed to leaving for Tahoe at 5pm friday and boarding all day sat and sun and returning late sunday night. Can I recrate this weekend in the UK? (Im not interested in indoor mountains of any kind) Thank you!

Skiing in December in Japan?

girlgeeknz — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 22:14:22 -0800

Is mid December too early for good skiing at Niseko, Japan? We're thinking about organising a skiing trip to Japan during the Northern Hemisphere winter, and Niseko has been recommended for good skiing and popular with Aussies and Kiwis. However, due to some scheduling problems between the group, we may have difficulty going in January as we'd hoped. I wondered if mid December was too early for good skiing?

Appreciate any opinions from any snow snobs in the hive. I'd hate to book December and then find out that actually the early season snow is awful.

Thanks!

Why is TV snow in black and white?

abc123xyzinfinity — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 21:57:12 -0800

Why is TV snow in black and white? As best I can tell, the "snow" you see on your TV is random signals, from a dead channel or a blank VHS tape or whatever. My question is, if your have a color TV, why does the snow always appear in black and white? Why wouldn't you see a colorful display of random noise?

Where to hike in March near Fresno for Snow and Fish

farmersckn — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 02:05:18 -0800

Where should we (Me +1) backpack next weekend (Mar 28/29) near Fresno, CA that has SNOW, WATER and FISH? My and my buddy want to stay at least one night - I suppose we could camp the night on Friday at the trail head if we need the extra time.
He wants to fish.
I want to build a snow shelter.
We want to be home Sunday night so we can work Monday.

We are both in excellent shape. He has backpacked several times and this will be my first experience.

He has gear enough for the both of us including snow shoes.

We have talked a bit about hiking somewhere in the Dinky lakes wilderness (island lake?) but I thought I would tap the hivemind to see if we are biting off too much or if there might be a better place to go for what we are looking for.

Thanks in advance!

Novice Snowboard Costs, Zero To Sixty?

scrump — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 12:34:30 -0800

How much should I budget to both equip myself and my wife for snowboarding and get us enough instruction so that we enjoy it? I mean, we own nothing with the possible exception of some gloves we could use, and we want to get ourselves outfitted and capable of boarding happily all day at places like Heavenly or Whistler. What will this cost, or, barring that, what do we need to budget for?

Ghosts + Snow = Great horror movie

giggleknickers — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:04:52 -0800

Any horror movies that feature a lot of outdoor snow scenes? I just walked home in the snow at night and it looked darn creepy. It has made me crave a horror movie with lots of snow. Please recommend a good one!

Snow in Flagstaff in April?

selfnoise — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 16:57:40 -0800

We're thinking of visiting Flagstaff, Arizona in April... what is the danger of snow? My wife and I were thinking of traveling to the Flagstaff area to see canyons and pueblos. I have time blocked off for the week of April 20th. After doing some more research, it seems like it will be fairly cold there still due to the altitude. We'll be coming from Maine and seeing snow would be somewhat disheartening. Is there likely to be a lot of snow on the ground still, and will there be growing green things at that point, or are things still pretty dead?

If the latter, any suggestions for a warmer, more spring-y destination with a similar canyon/pueblo profile? Or will I have to resign myself to seeing such things another time?

Where's the snow?

pandemic — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 21:24:15 -0800

Help me find some snowy mountains in North Georgia/Southern Tennessee I live in middle Georgia but I'm going to be a little farther north this weekend (more specifically I'll be here) and I'm looking for a mountain--any hikeable montain, really--that has some snow on it for me and a friend of mine to climb.

What are my best resources for finding out what mountains in my area (let's say anywhere within an hour of here) have snow?

Are there any park services I can call? The hike in question is going to be today (Sat.) so if they're closed then I'm outta luck with that option.

What do you call those slush traps?

onshi — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 07:47:16 -0800

What is the proper nomenclature for the contraptions installed inside building entrance vestibules, consisting of a grille-covered pit to catch and drain away snow, slush, and rainwater? If pressed to name them, I'd probably go with "slush trap" or "slush pit", but I'm sure there must be a specific term from a discipline like civil engineering or architecture.