Current Conditions at Stokely: 34°F & mostly cloudy
New Snow: 1/2 inch /1.5 cm Snow Base: 10 inches / 25 cm Snow Depth: 30 inches / 75 cm
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The “There Is Always Snow At Stokely” Theme Continues
Purely coincidental, but sipping on a cup of Stokely brew this morning in Stokely,s favorite den, some of the guests were reminiscing on what first brought them to Stokely. George and Jeane Belhobel many years ago had planned a cross country skiing vacation some place in the States and as the date got closer it became apparent that “no snow” was going to spoil their well planned vacation. Someone suggested to them “Why don’t you go to Stokely Creek Lodge? There is always snow at Stokely”. They decided to take that advice and have been coming back every year since then! Bob and Lynn Halliday, two Canucks from Massey just this side of Sudbury, had a similar story.It was “no snow” down there that brought them to Stokely for the first time, and they have also been coming back ever since. This ski season the expression “there is always snow at Stokely” has lived up to its reputation, and no doubt has resulted in bringing new skiers to this wonderful facility - the “destination that will capture your heart.”
Message to All Michigan Skiers - WE HAVE SNOW!
Feb.2, 2012
We understand that skiing conditions are bad to terrible to none existent in some parts of Michigan.Here at Stokely we have been blessed with cooler temperatures and a fair bit more snow. Skiing conditions for the most part have been very good here since mid December and a number of Michigan skiers have been heading north to Stokely to satisfy that “skiers itch”. We still have some vacancies in our reservation book and would love to have you come up and and enjoy the complete Stokely experience - from our superb ski trail system, to Stokely’s famous dining room, to the warm, friendly and inviting ambiance, that makes Stokely the favorite destination of so many!
Trail conditions are presently a 7. Our groomers are out again today with the tillers running to break up the glaze that had developed the other day.
Super Bowl Weekend - Hut to Hut
Feb.1, 2012
There is a limited number of entries for this unique event and we are filling up fast, so now is the time to register. Also a reminder that for Super Bowl Sunday, the Super Bowl can be viewed in the Manager’s quarters. Looking forward to taking in the game with the guests. The details on the Hut to Hut on Saturday are as follows:
Super Bowl Weekend Hut to Hut
Super Bowl Weekend February 3,4, 5, 2012
IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO DO THE HUT TO HUT YOU MUST CALL STOKLEY TO MAKE RESERVATIONS FOR THE EVENT BY THURSDAY FEB 2ND. With two beautiful new huts on the Stokely trails, we have come up with a great way to use them both in one day. On Saturday the day before Super Bowl Sunday ski to the Stokely Lake hut on the Peterson trail. Enjoy a snack and hot chocolate. Your snowshoe will be delivered to the hut while you are skiing. Then snowshoe to the Hakon Lein Hut. The snowshoe portion from Stokely Lk. cabin to the the new Hakon Lein Cabin will explore some of the most spectacular features of King Mountain. The Peregrine Pass trail follows an geological fault which passes thru the center of what once a much larger King Mountain.That fault has created numerous waterfalls, ice cliffs and mountain top views with many of those features along the snowshoe trail or nearby. We will spend aprox. 2 1/2 hrs and allow plenty of time for photos at an easy pace. Be sure to bring a camera.. Bring a ski bag and a small back pack with dry and proper clothing (gloves,boots drysocks,hats ect) for each portion of the trip. Water should be provided at Stokely Lk. Cabin to carry along the way. Skiing back to Stokely Lodge will be lots of down hill. This will be a rewarding day of scenery, exercise, food and friends.Bob Yankus will be sure to join us since this was his idea. Free for over night weekend guests or $35 a person for the day.
Time schedule:
9:00 to 9:30 Prepare to leave and load sled
9:30 to 10:30 Ski to cabin Stokely Lake Hut
10:30 to 11:00 Hot drink and and a snack (provided) then prepare to snowshoe to Hakon Lein Hut
11:00 to 1:30 Snowshoe
1:30 to 2:30 Lunch (provided) and enjoy cabin
2:30 Ski back to lodge
3:30 -4:00 Arrive at lodge A
Linda Charvat Is Vindicated!
Feb.1, 2012
Stokely owner Susan Byker was intrigued by yesterday’s question about “turquoise snow”, so she decided to do a little research and came up with the answer. She came across this article written by Sue Pike.
By Sue Pike
January 27, 2010 2:00 AM
The recent snowstorm yielded some nice big piles of snow along my driveway. These snow banks, more so than previous ones, looked startlingly blue on the inside. Cracks and crevasses in the snow led to cavernous blue depths.
Why was this particular snow bluer than previous snows? Why does snow look blue in the first place?
The easy answer for why snow can look blue has to do with light. The light that comes from the sun is white light; a combination of all the wavelengths of visible light: red, orange, blue, green, and violet. When white light bounces off of snow it makes the snow look white. But once sunlight passes through snow, some wavelengths are absorbed, some aren’t. Snow can look blue because all of the other wavelengths of light are absorbed, and blue is what is left for us to see.
But the colors of snow banks are more subtle, this isn’t a black and white issue, or should I say blue and white? There is a gradation of color in a hole poked in a snow bank; the colors depend upon how deep and clean the hole is. Near the surface the color will be yellowish but as depth increases the color changes from greenish-yellow to blue.
When light strikes a snow bank it passes through snow. Every grain of snow that the light passes through preferentially absorbs some of the red light: the more snow the more red light is absorbed and the bluer the remaining light becomes. So, the deeper one looks into a snow bank, the bluer the light will be, until all light is absorbed, at which point it will be dark.
This phenomenon applies to ice as well and has long been used by Arctic explorers to judge the safety of ice. Thin, fresh ice is white because it has a lot of bubbles that reflect light back out of the ice, allowing little absorption. As the ice gets older and thicker, it melts and freezes, compacting the bubbles so that the light that enters the ice can travel for longer and longer distances without bouncing off bubbles. Just as with snow, the farther the light travels into the ice the more red is absorbed and the bluer the ice gets. Blue ice means thick, safe and strong ice — a good thing to know when crossing a frozen sea.
So, why were last weekend’s snow banks so brilliantly blue? This was a heavy, wet, dense snow with as much as five times the weight of dry snow. Wet snow will, because there is more of it in a given area, absorb a lot more red light than dry snow. Dry snow also scatters more light than wet snow (the air pockets function just like those bubbles in fresh ice), so more light will be reflected, unchanged, back out of the snow instead of being absorbed, making the snow look white.
The optical physics of blue snow apply to water as well — which is why water often looks blue. Interestingly, this is not the reason that the sky is blue. But, that is a physics problem for another day.
Sue Pike of York has worked as a researcher and a teacher in biology, marine biology and environmental science for years. She teaches at York County Community College and St. Thomas Aquinas High School. She may be reached at .
Mysterious Turquoise Shadows
Jan.31, 2012
Well, here is another first. I have never been asked this question before. Linda Charvat asked me the other day why there is this turquoise color in the ski pole plants after a fresh snow at Stokely. Now, I personally have never noticed such a thing and I thought that she was just “funnin” with me. But detecting the sincerity in the question (despite the faces that her friend Gary was making behind her!) I told her that I would throw the question out on the manager’s blog today and see if there is anyone who could explain this mysterious phenomena. If anyone knows the answer to this question please send me an e-mail and then I can inform the world.