(ET) Snow management - blower vs. blade

[Darryl McMahon <darryl econogics com>]

We've had some snow this year.  A couple of winters ago I chose to use 
the blade instead of the blower on my E-12, and I was pretty satisfied. 
 A bit of a learning curve, but this year I figured I was ready.  Heavy 
duty lift strap, trained on right level of blade lift from experience, 
and moving in smooth increments to accommodate uneven terrain (and 
trying to keep it that way).

This year, I set aside about 150 square metres of lawn for snow storage. 
 I pushed the first snowfall as far back on this area as possible. 
Next snowfall pushed up to on onto that fall.  Third snowfall, repeat. 
And so on.  Now that area is covered about 1.5 metres (5 feet high), and 
the facing angle is too steep to climb.  Snow bank is starting to 
encroach out onto the roadway, and it is unlikely our city will come to 
clear it away (based on past experience).  The calendar says we have 
some winter season left before we should expect the spring thaw 
(typically starts late March).  I expect we might see some more snow 
before that <understatement>.

Weather forecast indicates a warm spell for this weekend (close to 
freezing mark - nice change from the -25 and lower temps in past couple 
of weeks, as low as -40 if you believe in windchill).  Unfortunately, 
due to other projects that got stranded in the garage due to early 
arrival of snow in early November, not enough space to work on ET inside.

I think it may be time to put the blower back on, and chew on the edge 
of the snowbank and blow the stuff up onto  or over the existing pile 
and 5-foot high fence.

Any other thoughts?  Anybody got a technique for blading to higher than 
5-foot high piles for next year?

By the way, our tiny, corded 'electric shovel' does a phenomenal job on 
dry snow that has not been compacted.  Super on the entrance walk way 
where the ET can't get.  But it can't deal with heavy, wet snow, or snow 
that has been strongly compacted by previous plowing or blowing, or ice 
chunks.  I have been using this machine to move the snow out of the 
tight spaces onto the driveway or roadway, then using the ET to push it 
to 'storage'.

--
Darryl McMahon
Project Manager,
Common Assessment and Referral for Enhanced Support Services (CARESS)