There may be delays in construction...

[Ted Hoppe]

Says the lead contractor building our house in mountains. He has to plow his own driveway (5 miles away) to get out.


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[SaltyD from BC]

I hope the snow melts for you Ted. But I hope it doesn't melt all at once!

[Jim Bow]

I see that a lot of farmers in north and central California are allowing their fields to be flooded in an attempt to restore ground water, and maybe the actual aquifer.

[Ted Hoppe]

I never lived in snow. Only cleared the drive once. made maybe 4 snowmen at the most. 10 snow ball fights. I sure hope this is a once in every 50 years kinda of years.

[Canoeyawl]

I never lived in snow. I sure hope this is a once in every 50 years kinda of years.

My memory of shoveling out cars in the sierra snow (Tahoe) is this is not so far from normal. After 10 feet it my not matter so much.

[SaltyD from BC]

I never lived in snow. Only cleared the drive once. made maybe 4 snowmen at the most. 10 snow ball fights. I sure hope this is a once in every 50 years kinda of years.

I've lived in a couple for real snow belts. If you have much more than a couple car lengths of driveway you will really (really) want some kind of mechanical advantage for snow removal. A snow blower minimum, an atv with a plow works well but you need room to push the snow somewhere where a snow blower can throw it quite a way and not pile it all in one spot.

[Joe (SoCal)]

WOW that's insane
Someone needs to get on that roof and shovel before it crushes the house.

[Canoeyawl]

WOW that's insane
Someone needs to get on that roof and shovel before it crushes the house.

vacation home?

[LeeG]

I forgot Ted, I thought you were getting a place above Reno but it fell through, where are you going?

[LeeG]

I see that a lot of farmers in north and central California are allowing their fields to be flooded in an attempt to restore ground water, and maybe the actual aquifer.

I thought it was because that’s where the water wanted to go. The resevoirs can only hold so much and then it has to go downhill. In the south to Tulare there’s no outlet so it’s a natural sump with evaporation the only way out. Don’t think aquifers will ever be recharged given the amount of the draw Also a lot of land has subsided so much the aquifer that used to be there is compacted and reduced capacity. 150 yrs of groundwater extraction does more than take out water.

[Ted Hoppe]

I forgot Ted, I thought you were getting a place above Reno but it fell through, where are you going?

Last year was really rough. Almost lost my darling wife a couple of times in medical situation in May plus had a series of setbacks with our house sale here as we went with wrong agent. Rather than lose the deposit in Reno/Verdi, the builders encouraged us up to move to a future build. We feel very lucky as the house we were building is not as nice as this one. We are moving out of our Alameda house on the weekend and moving to a 650 sqft Emeryville Condo so we can continue to keep my little business going, keep my wife's career flourishing and be by my mother-in-law who will live 20 floors above us. We are optimistic that we are going to get over asking still and still be able to live in both places for the next year or two.

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The view from the lot.

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close enough to the squeze in @Truckee

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[LeeG]

got it, on the dry side of the mountains. So you must have ridden up 49 and down 89 sometime?

[Ted Hoppe]

got it, on the dry side of the mountains. So you must have ridden up 49 and down 89 sometime?

I love that 89 and well 49 is simply amazing. I really look forward to riding a bicycle around Lake Tahoe too. I need to work up to ride the loop. As a person living by the sea - i am always out of breath first few days up there. Living at 5500 ft and keeping with training - i hope to do that.

I have been offered a wooden El Toro that needs some work. That would be nice to sail in Tahoe, Donner lakes and other places.

[Durnik]

Last year was really rough. Almost lost my darling wife a couple of times in medical situation in May plus had a series of setbacks with our house sale here as we went with wrong agent. Rather than lose the deposit in Reno/Verdi, the builders encouraged us up to move to a future build. We feel very lucky as the house we were building is not as nice as this one. We are moving out of our Alameda house on the weekend and moving to a 650 sqft Emeryville Condo so we can continue to keep my little business going, keep my wife's career flourishing and be by my mother-in-law who will live 20 floors above us. We are optimistic that we are going to get over asking still and still be able to live in both places for the next year or two.



The view from the lot.

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close enough to the squeze in @Truckee

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Looking good, Ted. Fingers crossed for the three of ye!

[LeeG]

I love that 89 and well 49 is simply amazing. I really look forward to riding a bicycle around Lake Tahoe too. I need to work up to ride the loop. As a person living by the sea - i am always out of breath first few days up there. Living at 5500 ft and keeping with training - i hope to do that.

I have been offered a wooden El Toro that needs some work. That would be nice to sail in Tahoe, Donner lakes and other places.

I’ve only ridden it a few times 35-40yrs ago but it left an impression on me. Yesterday evening I did a hilly short bike ride through 40 acres and was so exhausted I fell asleep at 7:30 then woke up at 11. I don’t think what I’m doing is called getting in shape, more like running from the inevitable but I’m closer to my fitness ten years ago.

[Nicholas Carey]

My memory of shoveling out cars in the sierra snow (Tahoe) is this is not so far from normal. After 10 feet it my not matter so much.

I have family in Timmins, Ontario... several hundred miles north of Toronto, in the Artctic watershed. Parking meters downtown are installed flush with the buildings. Each has a 120 VAC outlet (need to be able plug in your block heater). Snow removal is done with front end loaders, which shovel the snow into tractor trailers with dump trailers. They then drive out on the [frozen] lake and dump the snow, where it stays until break-up.

And, you have to use your snow blower on the roof, lest it collapse under the weight of the snow. I suppose one could build a house with a high pitch roof and avoid the problem, but that's not the modern way. Architects (or, at least, accountants) know better.

[bamamick]

I am pleased to announce that daughter #2, her husband and my grandson are moving home from the Colorado mountain town of Nederland in June. They have bought a house about ten miles from us, closer to Mobile Bay, and will finally leave the snow behind after the past five years of mountain living. My son-in-law has become a mountain man. My grandson, a mountain kid, but my daughter just could not take snow from October to May for another year.

That still leaves me daughter #1 out there, but they live in Erie, which is 'down the mountain', between Denver and Boulder. As has been said more times than you could count, all that snow makes for a nice place to visit, and I have the Jeep and the boots and all that stuff to make it doable, I could not see myself living there, though obviously millions of people think I'm wrong about it. And of course, the summers are glorious.

I wish you joy of it, Ted. It looks like a truly gorgeous view. Spectacular.

Mickey Lake

[Garret]

As alluded to - when you live in snowy areas you have or get the equipment needed to deal with snow. The biggest issue is where to put it when you have large quantities.

Even with equipment, snow can be a lot of work as there will always be some places that have to be shoveled.

Having spent a little time in that area, I'd think one of the big issues is how heavy the snow is (heavy as in weight of a given amount, not the snowfall amount). There's a reason skiers call it Sierra Cement.

[hawkeye54]

I have family in Timmins, Ontario... several hundred miles north of Toronto, in the Artctic watershed. Parking meters downtown are installed flush with the buildings. Each has a 120 VAC outlet (need to be able plug in your block heater). Snow removal is done with front end loaders, which shovel the snow into tractor trailers with dump trailers. They then drive out on the [frozen] lake and dump the snow, where it stays until break-up.

And, you have to use your snow blower on the roof, lest it collapse under the weight of the snow. I suppose one could build a house with a high pitch roof and avoid the problem, but that's not the modern way. Architects (or, at least, accountants) know better.

I was interviewing for a job in Rochester , MN back in the early 1990's - the motel I was staying at was just bristling with AC receptacles near each unit - I asked the clerk what they were for, and got the 'short course' on block heaters ; and why everyone at the Kwik-Trip con onvience store had left their cars running unattended ( did I mention it was -20° F ? )

[Ted Hoppe]

Thanks for encouragement as this delicate tropical flower is being relocated. It is more real with each passing hour. Four plastic bins with tools. 2 bins of boat treasures. Vacuum packing clothes, towels and blankets for the pod.

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Where are my friends with a truck? I can order gluten free pizza for the crew.

[Gerarddm]

That is a HELLA lot of snow. Jeesh.

I'm an old New Englander/New Yorker. I do not miss snow, particularly that kind, at all.

[Katherine]

I never lived in snow. Only cleared the drive once. made maybe 4 snowmen at the most. 10 snow ball fights. I sure hope this is a once in every 50 years kinda of years.

I have seen what you call a driveway. It doesn't count.