Late season powder days are almost always the best of the year. While I am fond of early season powder days due to reserved trails, options are limited due to non-existent base. Whereas late season powder often falls over a decent base. And for whatever reason, many skiers (even dedicated powder hounds) are AWOL for the best days of the season. Maybe people have other obligations or perhaps thoughts are drifting towards “spring” outdoor recreation (as if skiing wasn’t at its best in the spring!). But for whatever reason, the masses abandon the season by mid-March.

Such was the case on Saturday at Mad River Glen. The summits of the Mad River Valley scored the jackpot with a foot of fluff at the summit. That was followed by 4-6″ Friday night setting up what would be a mid-season perfect storm: a well publicized localized jackpot followed by another half a foot of fresh heading into a weekend. Any other time of the season, Mad River Glen would have 40 minute lines with skinners claiming a hundred tracks before the Single even opened.

Not so today. There was barely a line for the Single at opening bell and I skied onto the Sunnyside Double six times in a row. While the blower snow was hardly ideal for the mountain which suffered greatly from the rain storm earlier this week, it was still fantastic skiing for mid-March. The mountain was fully open and ready for the masses. But the masses never showed up.

On the rare blue bird day following a storm, Slalom Hill and its nearby trees are the prettiest places at Mad River Glen; perhaps even one of the prettiest places in New England. The snow bonds to the trees and the sun light hits the snow just right against the back drop of blue.

The skiing looked just as good as the scenery but the reality was that the powder deceptively hid extensive thin coverage. This was beyond dust on crust, this was dust over thin coverage. And by “thin” I mean almost non-existent in many places. Rocks, roots, and bare grass were easily exposed when turning hard on steeper terrain.

I found the best option was meadow skipping on Mad River’s excellent greens and blues in the Birdland area. Coverage was ample and the powder was untracked. I shunned the Single in favor of skiing onto the Sunnyside Double where I took six runs in a row of untracked powder virtually top to bottom.

After a quick stop for breakfast, I noticed that the Sunnyside was finally developing a line so I went to the Single. The snow under the Single on Chute and Liftline looked sensational. I found that despite the blower nature of the snow, it was just enough to pack down in the troughs and improve coverage once it was well skied. Turns on steeper terrain actually got better as the snow got tracked out and packed down.

Liftline tends to preserve snow very well. Perhaps it is the scrutinizing audience, the challenging cliffy nature of the trail, or the seemingly obvious call from the Single. But for whatever reason, the snow under the Single stays fresher longer than almost any other on map trail. After packed powder bumps without any fresh on Chute, I dropped into loose powder and occasional untracked on Liftline. Skier’s left was sublime; I made some of my best and most enjoyable turns of the day on Liftline.

Unfortunately, I was gravely tired and worn out. I lacked the alertness required for my style of aggressive skiing. My body fought me every turn and occasionally I made careless technical mistakes. After nine runs, my legs were starting to fatigue far sooner than they normally would. I listened to my body and called it an early day despite the fantastic snow. Better to quit while you’re ahead rather than fight your body for more turns… after all, there is more on the way and I’ll certainly be back when conditions are even better.