UKH

It is clear that the moment childhood dies is the moment one views snow primarily as an inconvenience.

Got some big, heavy, sleety flakes here in Mid Devon. Not settling though.

What've you got?

Awful persistent heavy rain in Banbury shire. I was in North Wales yesterday pedalling up Bwlch Y Groes where it remained remarkably dry all day!

well I'm into my 60s & looking forward to having some snow, or rather more snow, as its snowing very gently at the moment but not (yet) settling. But I'm retired & living in a small ski resort in the Alps, don't have to travel anywhere and the cupboards are well stocked.

Nothing down low, but the hills are looking pleasingly white.

We had an family afternoon walk up Beinn Ghlas on Sunday, there was enough snow for a few snowball fights and a little bit of bumsliding. I'm now very excited for winter!

I hope I never see snow as an inconvenience! I love it. I am happy to get out with a shovel and clear paths and roads so that people can still get about, and I love to play with spikey things and slidey things! 

As I live near Skog, I have the same. Lovely sunny day today, frosty and icey first thing, thawing now, but all the hills nearby are white. Off to play in it tomorrow

That reminds me, must get winter tyres sorted for the van, don't have any for this one. Thanks for the prompting!

I've just popped into Grenoble and bought a snow blower. It gets delivered later today.

Just driven back home, 1100m up in the Vercors and it's pelting it down with snow - expecting potentially 20-30cm before the night is out so looking forward to using it later, assuming the shop can get it here!

I'm also sat at my kitchen table looking across the valley as the ski pistes getting coated and looking forward to when I can start using my season pass. Sorry for the smug post

When I was working it was a nightmare, living out in the hills I couldn't get to work which meant a lost days pay (or having to work the time during the week). Did many a very, very risky car journey when I should have stayed at home.

Nowadays I quite like it, if it is dry snow and cold with it. Wednesday evening it snowed hard, looked out the window and "where the hell did that come from" moment. Turned to rain during the night and now a filthy soggy mess everywhere.

Little bit in the Forrrrrrest of Dean this morning, the main problem is floods everywhere.

None here on the edge of Exmoor. Just endless rain. But had a big hailstorm on Monday evening that turned the whole place white for half an hour.

forecast for 10-20 here in the Champsaur but so far just light flurries which are not settling yet (we live at circa 1300m). But glad I got the tyres changed last week and looking forward to using my season passes (downhill & XC) - the upper slopes are already white.

Rain, rain and more rain here in South Wales. I've just driven through floods to get to and from a funeral in Barry. Fortunately they weren't too deep.

Yeah the storm's coming in from NW of the Alps as I understand it so we're bearing the brunt. Need to pick the wife up from the airport tonight and expecting carnage on the motorway - thankfully I got my winter tyres last week too. It's actually turned to rain for a bit now though.

I used to live down near Dévoluy so know your area a bit - lovely part of the Alps. I read that Font d'Urle are opening their XC pistes this weekend so I'm guessing others might be following soon.

Well that was an eventful airport run.

Left the house at 11pm as wife's flight after being delayed because of closure at Lyon airport, was finally in the air. Snowing heavily at 1100m but all downhill. Got down to Grenoble and just heavy rain - motorway gantry signs saying motorway closed so took A roads which suddenly got very, very snowy. Cars getting stuck everywhere. Finally got onto the motorway after 3 hours of roads covered in snow and broken trees and abandoned Clios. Normally to the airport is just over an hour.

Lyon airport was full of stranded arrivals. No trains running any more and no hotels available within a 50km radius.

Came back on the motorway as it was tentatively opened but mostly at 50kph following snowploughs. On one hilly bit I passed a bus crashed into the central reservation. Just before that point, watched a car, then a recovery vehicle with a car on the back both go sliding off the road. I've never been so glad to have a 4x4 with brand new winter tyres.

10 minutes from home we saw a car in a ditch and decided to check. It was 4am and a woman in there had been stuck with no power for two hours and nobody had passed. Gave her a lift home but it was an extra 40 mins out of our way. Finally got home about the time I'm usually getting up.

Anyway, got up this morning, sky had cleared and the view is unbelievably beautiful. My new snow blower cleared the drive like a dream, and the cherry on the cake is that my local ski station is opening this weekend (we've probably had 40cm or so) so I'm off to go and wax the board and skis. So, swings and roundabouts.

Sounds a bit of an epic. We had a bit more than forecast - maybe 25-30cm & its a clear, sunny day with fantastic views.

I walked up our road a little early morning & saw that it hadn't been snowploughed beyond the first bend (its a piste when the station is open from there on) so after another coffee I set off on an old pair of  skis through the woods to join the road where it hadn't been ploughed. But while I was having a coffee, skinning through the woods, etc someone had ploughed the road so no easy skinning up the snowed in road. So a slow descent through the trees back home. But I managed a few turns

I love the snow. Fortunately, I'm able to work from home, so I don't <need> to venture out on the roads, although my car is now sitting on 4 brand new winter tyres and I'm looking forward to looking smug with them I've also got a set of snow chains for it and it'll probably be better than my wife's 4x4 on summer tyres, even if it's in snow mode.

If it does snow, the school will probably shut as the teachers can't get there, but I'll just shift my working hours around to cope.

Currently, however, it is a miserable cold drizzle.

Well done, +100 good samaritan points.  Was she sufficiently prepared?

I suspect your childhood might nor have involved being snowed in for three weeks and having to walk two miles to the shops for essentials such as food. I suppose for the first couple of days it was fun but beyond that it becomes more than an inconvenience in the same way that being flooded is.

Nothing could prepare the poor woman for the shock of hearing a Yorkshire accent.

Yeah it probably wasn't what she was expecting. It wasn't really cold, probably only just below º0C but she seemed a bit shocked. Turned out she'd called the Gendarmes who told her to stay put and wait for a passing snowplough. While we were there a snowplough drove past without even slowing down.

Reading the papers we were lucky not to be one of the 90,000-odd homes left without power. At least one man lost his life hit by a falling tree branch weighed down with snow, while trying to move a fallen one under it. 

Riding up and down the steep and icy side roads of Sheffield on my winter studded tyres was fun a couple of winters ago, I skidded my back wheel and marvelled that it worked a couple of times, and got off and struggled not to slide on the ice after cycling up hill. Winter is cool. 

no it’s when the nursery in Devon cannot ship your tropical plants to you in Sheffield because of said snow and possible frost damage. Roll on the warm wet front so at least I can get them to me!! Then all hell can break loose for all I care

I used to have this bastard of a foreman named Bernard from Buxton. An utter twonk he was. The only respite that we thought we had was when it snowed. The A53 Leek to Buxton Rd was very prone to snow back in the 90’s, but every time that snow fell the twonk made it through. One winter, he pushed his snow luck too far. The fecker made it into work for 6 am as the snow was falling. Seeing it get deeper on the streets he made an early dart but got stuck at Solomon’s Hollow)). He returned to our bosses house in the lowlands hoping for a bed and allegedly was told to ‘try again first’.

The fecker made it over Solomon’s Hollow and as far as the Winking Man before becoming stuck and spending a freezing night In his car.

Karma? God loves a trier? I love snow me