The amazing thing about backcountry gear is it allows a skier or rider to over rule ski area management about how long the season will be. The operation of lifts no longer dictate when I can or can not ski. So when it snows at elevation in Vermont during October and half a foot of White Gold coats the mountain tops, I can head up and get some. My last day on skis was 113 days ago during early July in Tuckerman Ravine. My latest season to date has been followed up by my earliest season to date and my shortest off season.
Reports of potential snow in higher elevations of Vermont began filtering through the NWS reports and subsequently many Northeastern Ski Forums. The weather forecasters totally missed the call on this crazy snow storm. Slowly the reports came trickling in Sunday Morning. An inch in the Mad River Valley soon became half a foot. Claims of a foot of fresh were posted from Killington. A report of 3-6″ on the lower slopes of Bolton Valley caught my eye and had my car wheels rolling within the hour.
Early in September, I made a call in a most joking manner that October 23rd would be the first big snow storm for my area. With humorous bravado, I went one step further and claimed that I would be skiing on the 23rd as well. I am still amazed that my off the wall guess was accurate.
Driving down the Exit 10 exit ramp of I-89, I was quickly panic stricken as I noticed no snow had fallen in the area. My fears soon passed as I began my slow ascent of the Bolton Valley Access Road, likely the steepest ski area access rode in New England. A trace became cover which became an inch which became 2-3″ by the time I reached the Upper Bolton Valley Base Lodge. I quickly geared up and started skinning.
First thing to be noticed was the amount of construction on going in the Base Area vicinity. A new Fixed Grip Quad is being installed to give Bolton Valley top-to-bottom skiing with one lift. Construction seems behind schedule as only the Loading Station has been erected with the towers still resting in the parking lot. Bolton has two months to get this thing up and running. In the mean time, summit access can still be had the old fashion way.
Skinning under the lower mountain double was interesting. Construction vehicles have significantly tracked up the ground which made for muddy going. Waterbars further impeded progress and made for some frustrating moments. Within a few minutes, I found my way to the unload station of the lower mountain double and took a quick breather while evaluating my options. I opted to continue up the main mountain via Shermans Pass where I happened upon a fellow Backcountry Skier heading up on Tele gear with his dog. We partnered up for the remainder of the tour.
We slowly made our way up the winding and gradual trial to the summit. The Ski Patrol shack was open so we made ourselves at home by switching jackets, grabbing a quick bite to eat, and taking a load off. After a quick tour of the summit area, we switched to downhill mode and made our first turns of the 2005-2006 season. Or, at least our best attempt at turns that is!
Our futile turning efforts met with fierce resistance in the form of thick and wet snow. Let alone our atrophied skiing muscles whose technical prowess went AWOL since the end of last season. The mental commands were agonizingly ignored by long forgotten muscle memory and survival skiing quickly took over. First turns are usually bad, but never this bad! At this point, I noticed my new G-Ride Alpine Touring Boots, who were receiving their first tour of duty, had substantially changed the ramp angle throwing me into the back seat. I quickly became acutely aware that my toes felt way higher than they should have felt, making staying centered a constant balance.
We decided the flatter trails would hold more snow and make for better turns since we were scraping bottom on the steeper shots. Five to Six inches of snow near the summit gave way to lesser amounts down low. We descended the same trails we used to ascend the mountain, switching between picking up speed in the skin track and slowing down in the heavy cement like untracked.
By the time we reached the lower mountain, the air felt noticeably warmer and the snow looked noticeably less. While we were skinning up, the lower slopes were melting fast leaving us with few options for the run out. We made the best of things and slopped through some mud before finding our way back to the lot.
During the descent, I kept reminding myself that it is about the Tour, not the Turn. Today was about the fun experience, not the minimal snow or sub-par conditions. The smile on my face was only increased by the ridiculousness of the snow cover. At the end of the tour, I smiled all the more knowing I was one of only a handful of New Englanders choosing to embrace a rare chance at October skiing. This is The Snow Way. And when the snow falls, there is no other for this skier.
