Energizer Bunny

And it keeps going, and going, and going, and going, and going! This snow will not quit! It snowed all night again. Each morning is like pressing reset, as if myself and the snow removal team didn't clear any snow the previous day. Survival mode is a good way to put it. It is all I can do to keep up with the ceaseless snow fall. The breezeways are clear of snow....except for the second floor. The second floor is barricaded with snow up to the ceiling in places with a path allowing access. There is simply nowhere to blow or shovel the snow to. Every time the roof sloughs off its snow, that falling snow is channelled directly to the 2nd floor, wherever we haven't barricaded to the ceiling.
Such heavy snowfalls have given me great insight into renovations and improvements for the spring. This winter has made evident the major deficiencies at Paradise Ridge. This place could run much more seamlessly, even under major snowfall, with a few timely improvements.
The snow levels in the courtyard are so high that they reach the third floor. A bobcat removed some snow from the courtyard yesterday, providing me better access to the pump room, where the pool and hot tub are controlled. Having a path is much nicer than wading through deep snow to a 12 foot pit as access to the pump room.
Other deficiencies seems to compile as the snow falls. As per usual, the snow comes and so do the damages. Someone ran into the garage door in the upper parkade and wrecked it. While the pump room was buried under multiple feet of snow, the boiler for the hot tub and in slab heating malfunctioned. Thus, requiring the pit to be dug to access the problem and fix it. The hot tub and sauna are open and working. The pool is functioning but is not open as the snow on the deck is piled higher than the railings. People seem disappointed that all of our facilities aren’t working all of the time. If we expect to run such a facility in such an extreme climate, we need to invest in better equipment that can handle such demand.
In the wise words of Ron our snow-cat operator, I didn't create the snow, I'm just trying to get rid of it!
Nevertheless, I'd like to apologise for the state of things around Paradise Ridge. At times I am forced to postpone certain chores in order to contain and maintain access in such snowy conditions. Please remember that this is not a typical winter, and that our snowfall on Mt.Washington has reached world records.
Henry Road remains an adventure, seeing incidents upon its icy surface everyday. Bring chains and a can do attitude :).

And it keeps going, and going, and going, and...

Relentless

For days now the snow has fallen, some clear nights...but not tonight, the blizzard continues. Our road  has seen its fair share of mishaps recently, including a charter bus stuck sideways trying to ascend the icy heights of Henry Road.
Snow removal has been an immense chore as of late. With such heavy dumps of snow, the breezeways quickly fill up, as does the hot tub and pool decks. Don't be surprised if during a very heavy snowfall you find the hot tub, or especially the pool, closed. The in slab heating system that usually keeps our spa decks clear, simply cannot keep up with an immense snowfall. The hot tub, being partially protected from the elements is rarely an issue. However, the pool, being completely exposed can be an issue. If the access door to the pool is locked, that means the pool is closed. Although jumping into an 82 degree pool from a snow drift is invigorating, its not nearly as exciting as a lawsuit from the potential enthusiast who slips on ice and breaks a bone. ;)
During a heavy snowfall, the cover is left off the pool to prevent snow from accumulating while it's in place. The unsavoury side effect of this is that it wastes a lot of energy. Whether the pool is the only culprit or not, we used almost twice the amount of propane this month. Actually, in 21 days we used 3700 more litres of propane than in the previous 30 days! The weather was colder and the snow kept falling and the boilers kept running, and I’m sure the in suite fireplaces kept blazing as well...but we drained that tank in record timing. I'm working on running the pool as economically as possible, but no matter what steps are taken, its a considerable amount of power to heat a pool and deck in a climate like this.
Tonight, the pool is closed and the storm continues.

Christmas Reminiscence

I'm not convinced that things are going to clear up by this afternoon. The storm is raging. High winds are piling up snowdrifts and snuffing out pilot lights. Most of the fireplaces on the south side of the building refuse to light. Strathcona Parkway is shut down, the plows simply cannot keep up with the blowing, drifting snow. Hawk chair is the only chair operating, and apparently of that, only a few runs are open. It's batton down the hatches time, survival mode.

StormsAbrewin'

Apparently there is a tornado raging off the west coast of Vancouver Island and hastening copious amounts of snow to our mountain slopes. Based on weather predictions, the afternoon will be...bluebird. So take your time coming up, but you better come up. The skiing/riding should be epic!
With weather like this the pool cover gets left off. Left on, this much snow accumulates on top of the cover and creates problems. Unfortunately, the turn around for the hot tub and in slab heating boiler has not been great. Its intermittent behaviour, from flawless operation to cantankerous old beast can be quite frustrating. The pool and spa facilities have been shut down. Our in slab melt system cannot keep up with this volume of snow and so creates hazards on the pool and hot tub decks. The increasing amount of snow will, I'm sure, delay the arrival of a professional to fix the problem.