Snow Shoveling Strategy: Let's discuss while carb loading

I'm leaning towards waiting till it's all over.  Thinking any snow removed during the blizzard will be rapidly backfilled by the blowing / drifting snow. 

Also holding out hope that all the snow that lands on my property will be miraculously blown onto my neighbor's property.  ;-)

Hey! I thought she was a nice lady, mbaldwin.

bikefixed said:

Hey! I thought she was a nice lady, mbaldwin.

She's wonderful.  i'm not so nice.    

...and i STILL can't thank you enough for digging me out of the ice, bikedfixed!!!

I may have to go out later this afternoon... but I usually prefer waiting until it's all over.  With a good wind a lot of your progress is wiped out

I like doing multiple passes - though given the winds that might well not work today!

First plows came through here on both sides of the street at 7:15 am

peteglider said:

I like doing multiple passes - though given the winds that might well not work today!

First plows came through here on both sides of the street at 7:15 am

I can see it making sense to shovel out the plowed berms in front of the driveway a couple times today.

Is there any indication of how the snowfall will be? It seems like pretty light powdery stuff now. If it stays like that I am in the "shovel once" camp.

However if it starts to be wetter and heavier I may need to go out once earlier to save my back later.

Anyone who plans to be shoveling, please be careful. Especially if the snow is wet and heavy, this is much more exercise and strain on the body than most people like to think. I lost a friend several years ago when he tried to shovel after that big Christmas storm... he was overweight and out of shape, and he had a massive heart attack and died. 

PACE YOURSELVES. Be smart. Stay safe.

I just went out and did a pass. seems like it's at least a foot.  Not the wettest snow but given the volume it seemed heavy to me. I ended up having to divide most passes and lift only half at a time. I won't be waiting for another foot to go out again, I can tell you that.

It's definitely that deep in some drifts.  I shoveled a little patch in our back yard for our dog to do his business. It was maybe 8 inches in the yard.

Sigh. It looks like it might be a 2-shoveler today.

With all this wind, isn't it a waste to shovel since it will all just blow back in?  (Assuming no need to get out today.)

If you're contemplating to wait until it ends, I would suggest you revise that strategy.  I just came in and have a pretty big snowblower and a strong 24 year old, but it was a chore to get done.  Not too heavy, but where drifts were almost a foot in some cases.

Be careful

totally agree-- i am of the mind to do several passes through the day  - just did my first pass and the snow was higher than my large snow blower input 

vermontgolfer said:

If you're contemplating to wait until it ends, I would suggest you revise that strategy.  I just came in and have a pretty big snowblower and a strong 24 year old, but it was a chore to get done.  Not too heavy, but where drifts were almost a foot in some cases.

Be careful

I get that, but won't it just blow back in anyway and be just as bad tomorrow as if you had never cleared anything?  (I DO think that it makes some sense to do something with the piles from the snowplow at the end of the driveway, but questioning whether other clearing will be a total waste of time.)

my husbands been out there for at least an hour. We have no sidewalk but our front walkway is about 10 inches deep, easily. Our cars were all the way in the back of the driveway (oops) but he got two of them to the front with a combo of shoveling and driving. 

I better get started on a nice omelette!

It's just me and my shovel so I am waiting until the storm ends before trying to clear anything.  

Possible exception:  Doing hourly checks to make sure I can get the front door open and not be literally snowed in.

vermontgolfer said:

If you're contemplating to wait until it ends, I would suggest you revise that strategy.  I just came in and have a pretty big snowblower and a strong 24 year old, but it was a chore to get done.  Not too heavy, but where drifts were almost a foot in some cases.

Be careful

I almost always wait until it's over... but was out at 8:30 this morning with the snowblower and will be headed back out again around 3 or so.

I believe some of it will 'blow back in', but given the total amounts I think it's important to clear in stages.  And I hate it!  But what can you do?

I just went out quickly to check on something... the wind is currently parallel to my street.  The sidewalk clearing I did was effective (clearly worthwhile), but the path and driveway (perpendicular to the wind) is really filling in fast.

Given the wind and the timing of the storm, we will play board games today and get the children to do as much as they are capable of tomorrow (making them into decent shovel users is a work in progress).

Right now, the snow at our house seems to be one small-dog deep, based on the potty patch I shovelled.  Said 23 lb dog went outside, peered over the edge of her grass patch, and nearly dragged me back into the house.  I guess she has decided that she would rather burst than spend any more time outside.

Current thinking in our house is just to wait. And considering I am not the shoveller, I'm leaving that up to him...I've seen a few neighbors out but not hearing any snowblowers 

report on wind effect on snow depth - 

I went out to retrieve a runaway garbage can.  In one spot, I could see our patio brick pavers. In another spot, I took a step and the snow was above my knee. FWIW.

But the plow guys who service my neighbors across the street have already been by to illegally shove snow up onto my property, into my shrubs. Grrrr.

TarheelsInNj said:

Current thinking in our house is just to wait. And considering I am not the shoveller, I'm leaving that up to him...I've seen a few neighbors out but not hearing any snowblowers 

I'm waiting until it's done. 

Given the forecast now is 24-30" my strategy is to shovel early and shovel often. I don't relish dealing with 2 1/2ft of semi-frozen snow tomw morning.

joan_crystal said:

It's just me and my shovel so I am waiting until the storm ends before trying to clear anything.  

Possible exception:  Doing hourly checks to make sure I can get the front door open and not be literally snowed in.

Pm'd you Joan

Just came in after 2 hours. Feel better that I've moved some volume. Wind seemed to be my friend, not much blowback in face. Probably plan for after dinner for next go round. Final cleanup in AM. I like to keep pace with the plows and do my apron in increments. Found it easier with my big blower to take half bites. Took a little longer but seemed more efficent. I also like to keep the storm drain clear so melt has someplace to go. Don't forget the hydrants    Also don't forget your neighbors.

I shoveled out a square on my patio for my elderly dog to pee in at 10AM.  I just looked back there and there is no evidence that the area was ever touched.  I am waiting till the end to hit the sidewalks.

Had trouble opening the front door so cleared enough to be able to leave the house. Checking again in a few hours to see if more front entrance clearing is needed.  The rest will wait until the storm is over.   Plan to shovel in layers since there is far to much accumulation to do in a single swipe.

MOD:  Thank you.  I saw your PM and replied.

This is the kind of workout I needed: an hour of shoveling at 11 am, an hour & half at 2 pm, 2 hrs at 5 pm, and 2 & half hrs tomw morning. Who needs a gym?

My husband and I are just going to take shifts tackling it tomorrow. We'll take turns playing with the kids in the snow and shoveling. Not even gonna deal with the snow and wind today, let alone the random twigs coming down from our trees (hopefully that's all that will come off our trees).