Suggested sound clip: Oceanlab- Satellite

Just returned from a nice 2-and-a-half day ski trip up to the Poconos in PA, and a heckuva drive. I pretty much have to do the 3,5 hour drive in order to get any good snow for skiing, so it was back to Camelback for two days of nice skiing.

Driving to and from the Poconos was like crossing 3 climate zones . On Weds, while the DC area got rain, we saw some glazing on tree branches as early as the PA border on US-15. The ice turned very thick north of Harrisburg on I-81, creating a surreal winter wonderland sort of feel to everything, with 1" thick ice everywhere and bent trees about to snap.





And since the hotel parking wasn't even slightly cleared, I had a fair amount of fun on the ice rink.

Mother Nature worked out in my favour for the first time in, forever, and presented a mild snowstorm for the ski day today, Saturday. Temperatures were well below freezing in the mountains, and this was the first time I ever got to ski during a snowstorm.



The snow piled up real fast on the slopes, making it a brilliant ski experience, although the lines were a bit long today since it was a weekend. (Stupid New Joisey and NY people j/k).





The pictures above was taken in the morning, but between 12pm and 3:30pm, about 3" of snow piled up on top of the X3. I never thought I'd ever need the snow brush, but turns out I was wrong!

By the afternoon, the state roads, I-80 and I-81 north of the Blue Mountain were in snowy condition, thanks to PennDOT and their usual lack of effective snow clearing. I had to do a lot of alternating and adjusting of various climate controls while driving to avoid ice buildup, but the X3 controls are easy to use and well-laid for operation. To show that SOME Virginia folks know how to drive in the snow , I was overtaking everyone in the unplowed left lane, maintaining a speed of 70-90 km/h. The X3 is a bit sketchy in the lane changes, but careful driving and familiarity with the car took care of any problems. xDrive was definitely working overtime, although DSC never came into play during the whole trip. For those who care, I did not reset the av. consumption, but it remained at 10,2 l/100km due to the hill climbs and cold temperatures.

Sadly, like I mentioned earlier, I did cross 3 climate zones on the way back as well. What started out as -8,5°C and heavy snow changed to freezing drizzle in Harrisburg to plain ol' rain. By the time I was back in MD, it was nasty nasty rain and +3°C. The last of the snow was gone by the time I got onto the Baltimore beltway (tried a new route, bad choice) and thus, no "snow souvenir" left on the car at home. As much as I dislike cold weather, I missed the snow because it is a non-occurrence in my area. Sad to see it go.

PA is an interesting state. Hate the roads, which the X3 crashes over (*BANG*). Hate the passive aggressive road signs. I do like the wilderness though. At least to visit. Which is weird because my school is in the wilderness, but I don't find the same character. Oh well.