After staying up way too late, the dog woke me up way too early. Springing forward isn’t an issue when you are planning a late start for spring conditions. But the weather looked like it wasn’t going to cooperate with partially cloudy skies and summit temps struggling to get to the forties. I bailed on a planned trip to Mansfield assuming the ridge would not soften. Instead, I got a late start and went to Burke.

It turns out that I could have putzed around at home a little while longer as conditions were still fast and firm in the late morning. During my first ride up the Mid-Burke Express, I shivered a little bit and debated returning to the lodge to replace my wind shirt with a full on jacket. I decided to tough it out and things did finally warm up after a few runs but temperatures never prompted full on spring conditions.

I took advantage of the fast and firm morning conditions and ripped some groomers, a rare treat that I should partake in more often. I ripped Willoughby top to bottom twice and then hit Big Dipper and Bear Den, both times sampling the not quite ready natural snow. I couldn’t help but crack a smile and giggle a little bit as my edge hooked up just right while blasting a high speed turn down Big Dipper.

But that wasn’t what I came for. Aside from a groomers only day earlier this season, I had yet to ski Burke since the new Mid-Burke Express was installed and some new trails and glades were put on the map. Most notably Rerun, a former off map cut of the same name that was completely destroyed to create the new liftline. After lunch, I found temperatures warming and snow softening, so I wasted no time in sampling the revised trail alignments.

I kicked things off with a warm up down Fox’s Folly where I found delightful thin cover and challenging lines. I finished off that run by heading into a new glade called Hibernator that needs a few more trees cut down before it can assume its blue square designation.

I blasted down the new Liftline trail under the Mid-Burke Express where I found some dangerous intersections with Deer Run. During my first run down, I inadvertently blasted past both intersections at full speed without slowing and only became aware of the nasty intersections when reviewing the situation when riding the chair back up.

When I first heard about the Mid-Burke Express, I was disappointed with its unfortunate location which destroyed a much beloved glade. Despite its prime location near the center of the mountain, it was rarely skied (compared to other glades) due to its off map location and nasty entrance. It featured good snow, deep powder, and a nice cliff.

After ripping two panting laps down the new Rerun, I was forced to change my tune. While losing any glade is unfortunate, the new liftline trail is an excellent addition to Burke and ups the ante compared to the more mellow Fox’s Folly. Rerun is an excellent combo of great pitch, width, and rock drops and now features a low to the ground audience. Bring it and go big, there are so many options to air it out. TSW Air Force represented with some strong airs during my first run. I called for a, ehm, rerun and didn’t quite have the legs for the same quality airs but gave it my best any ways.

I found the new Power Line trail to be quite excellent. It has long been skied despite the ropes before being added to the map. But I never ducked for some odd reason. There is an Upper and Lower section and the middle part of the line is roped off despite being its most mellow section, which is rather odd.

Much as I am an advocate for dropping ropes and letting skiers decide what should be skied or not, Lower Power Line should have been roped. I was loving the thin coverage and massive boulder drops. But even my love for challenge was tested and on two occasions; I was forced to back off the aggressive hucks and play it safe. Slip slide marks abound on this run, many skiers were clearly out of their league. And while I was not, I had no desire for another run down that line in those conditions. But it certainly made an impression: untracked on a big powder day with ample base would be astounding if you have the balls to go big.

Over on the west side of the mountain, I decided to drop into The Jungle which I haven’t skied in years. Much like Lower Power Line, I found that The Jungle clearly should have been roped despite my penchant for decrying such conservative judgments. Unlike Lower Power Line, there was no pussy path to slip slide down. The Jungle drops you immediately into a narrow and steep tree chute. Finding snow to turn on was challenging and dirt turning was a needed tactic. Eventually, I came to a barely covered roll over where I found boot tracks from less skilled skiers and boarders deciding to down climb rather than attempt the tight turns down what little snow remained. Soon thereafter, the woods opened up, the pitch relented, and some awesome birch skiing ensued.

I soon found myself at the top of the new glade called Wayne’s World. Much like the new Hibernator, this is a blue square glade in name only. While I normally favor a “less is more” approach to glade cutting, there is a point of diminishing returns on withholding loppers. If a sampling is less than one inch diameter, it really should go. Not only do these saplings make skiing extraordinarily difficult and findings good lines challenging, but they are dangerous. They are hard to see and easy to miss. And while skiing into one wouldn’t hurt, the unexpected collision could cause a harmful crash. The blue square designation has to go unless this trail is seriously opened up. And even then, it is rather steep for a learning glade.

When I first skied Burke eleven years ago, I knew I had found someplace special. It was old school. Not so much any more. Burke now sports two high speed quads, significant snow making upgrades, widened trails, expanded glades, and a heck of a lot more skiers. The feel of the area is completely different but the skiing itself has only gotten better. Much as I enjoy a good fixed grip chairlift, the new Mid-Burke Express is a game changer for Burke and sometimes not being old school can be a good thing. How the mountain will cope with a significant increase in volume remains to be seen. Is it possible that both summit quads will need to run in tandem once Mid-Burke Lodge is razed and replaced by typical resort fixtures?

We’ll see if I don’t change my tune once the new lodges and the resort amenities are built out…