I have been long overdue on hitting up Burke this year. A combination of being drawn to Cannon and noticing the Northeast Kingdom did not receive a lot of snow this year kept me away. Meeting up with fellow skiers for an AlpineZone.com Meet Up was the perfect excuse to sample the charm and character of Burke Mountain.
Burke was amazing today and with excellent views and superb conditions. Visibility was great with Sugarbush, Mansfield, and Jay Peak all visible. Weather started cold but warmed up good by noon time. We began the morning skiing impeccable groomers including top to bottom on the Dippers and Willoughby. Burke’s perfect groomed conditions would rival even Sunday River’s legendary grooming. Seriously folks, Burke is THE BEST ski area in New England if you like cruisers with character at any speed. I am one to normally head for the trees and the bumps. But even I was lapping up the perfect groomed laying down railroad tracks in the morning.
East Bowl had recently been leveled so there was not much natural snow to play on Burke’s signature trail. But East Bowl is of course a must when skiing Burke regardless of the conditions due to the some of the best natural rolling terrain around.
But enough details on the groomers as the trees were where it was at. There is still occasional thin cover and a few rocks showing in the woods. But for the most part it was delightful packed powder with occasional untracked if you stuck to the edges or ventured off the beaten path. I nailed a few fresh tracks and they were heaven. We hit up all the marked glades except Y-knot and Little Chief and hit up a few unmarked glades to boot.
Outside of the woods, Wilderness had some nice bumps while Upper Doug’s Drop was a bit scratchy. Lower Doug’s was to die for with perfect packed powder bumps and great lines everywhere. Wow.
Back on the groomers, things got slightly scratched off by late afternoon on the steeper sections. But such occasional and minor trail wear was no where near what you would experience at any of the more popular mountains. The fact that you could still find occasional shots of untouched corduroy that late in the day speaks volumes.
Lift lines were the longest that I have ever experienced at Burke peaking at five minutes! Wow! Most chairs were going up fully loaded with four people per chair. What an amazing site at the normally empty Burke Mountain. I was certainly appreciating the mountain receiving the attention it truly deserves and has earned. The crowd was likely due to the pass holder appreciation day. One local skier was overhead saying the were packing up and heading home due to the “crowd.”
With exception of my day at Mad River Glen in late January, today was my best non-powder day of the season. The conditions and company were fantastic and Burke Mountain delivered big smiles due to its excellent terrain and skiing.
