The MogulSkiing.net held Bumpapalooza East 2010 at Sugarbush this Saturday. Rave reviews of epic spring bumps on Friday yielded way to an overnight freeze and a generally cold and windy Saturday. Temperatures at the base were above freezing but the same could not be said for the temperatures at the Glen House. Winds had all summit lifts at Sugarbush off line though the GMX and Northridge were not effected.

The bumps started out hard, firm, and unforgiving. The groomers were much the same. After our first run, I began questioning the decision to drive five hours round trip for a bump day when temperatures were unlikely to soften the snow very much. But every run seemed to get better.

We cycled Lookin Good and Witch Way in the morning. Lookin Good never skied very well but Witch Way was significantly better every run as traffic loosened up the firm snow. At noontime, we stopped for lunch at the Glen House in hopes of things softening up after an hour break. Unfortunately, this was not to be the case as winds increased at lower elevations and temperatures remained stable at just barely above freezing at mid-mountain elevation.

After our lunch break, we began hammering Cliffs which was a little tricky on the first pitch but occasionally yielded very good lines on the lower two thirds of the trail. My preference was for the slightly lower angle bumps on Witch Way. During one excellent run down Witch Way, I could not suppress a huge toothy grin as I finally found my rhythm and a great line that I hammered quite well.

Today was my first open to close bump day of the season. I skied more bumps today in one day than all other bump runs this season combined. And I reflected on the fact that bumps are really good for developing leg muscles and balance.

While I view non-spring moguls as “played out” and suggesting that other parts of the mountain will yield better snow, I also understand the value of hammering moguls to develop and retain skills. I used to be crazy about moguls before I became crazy about trees and powder. And my continually deteriorating skills can attest to the fact that I was a better skier for having put in my days on less than ideal bumps. Suffice to say, any pain I am feeling in my legs following the bump fest is a good kind of pain.

But while I made lemonade out of lemons and enjoyed a fun day with a crew of great guys, this is not what mid-March skiing is all about. March is supposed to yield at least a few really good storm and be a generally stormy month. And if it is not going to snow, then bring on the corn snow, damn it! Suffice to say that I am majorly disappointed in this repeat of last year (worse than repeat, at least the first week of March last year featured a storm). Unless something big happens over the course of the next four weeks, this season will go down in TheSnowWay.com’s records as the second worst winter in its record keeping to date.