Having only skied Stowe nine times (and almost half of those being pre/post-operation earned turns), I had yet to take the full measure of the Mount Mansfield. Despite that short coming of first hand experience and personal knowledge, I have seen enough of the potential first hand and the online reports second hand to endorse Stowe as the best overall mountain in the East. I can now backup that endorsement through first hand experience following my tenth day there.

Spring sprung early in New England with perfect sugaring weather this weekend. While I hope spring retreats at least one last time (and hopefully more) before spring skiing overtakes winter skiing for the remainder of the season, I can not say that I did not enjoy the heck out of today.

After much back and forth trying to determine where would be the best location today given the weather and snow conditions, I made the last minute decision to ski Stowe after I was already on the road. Mom used to always ask me where I was going when taking my road bike out for a spin. “I’ll find out when I get there” was my usual response. Call it a life philosophy, haphazard circumstance style, a wink to determinism but with a tongue stuck out at the same time.

I got a late start and arrived at the Mansfield Lodge just after 10:00 A.M. I knew today was all about chasing the sunshine and soft conditions, which would not be found at the opening bell. After a warm up run down Lord and North Slope, I was looking towards Chin Clip while riding the Lookout Double. My lift partner confirmed that conditions were much softer on the gondola side.

No doubt about it, Chin Clip was off the hook today with incredible soft bumps! Great lines were found with exception of the final pitch. I have not really skied bumps all season so my legs were tired and I was sucking wind. This was the best Chin Clip skiing I have done in my limited experiences at Stowe, this is one great spring skiing trail. I took two on the Clip and went in for lunch and would return for one more later in the day.

At noon time, I opted for a summit bid. I have hiked to the ridge before but not to the Chin. While hiking up the climbing gully, a snowboarder heading up for his first time inquired if I had done this before. That snowboarder and a few others decided to bail about two thirds up the gully. And I really respected that decision. I commented that  “discretion is the better part of valor… but I have been known to lack the former” as I continued my hike past the snowboarders.

Unlike the snowboarders I passed though, I at least had a good reference point for a first time trip and had put in research time on what the skiable routes were and understood the basic navigation. Once I gained the summit, the landscape and the tracks pointed the rest of the way. Along with, as I had suspected would be the case, quite a few other skiers.

Dropping into Hourglass, I suddenly found myself reflecting on the fact that this was perhaps the most challenging line I have skied in a long time. Perhaps as long as two full years. Launching into a series of jump turns, I was trying to remember the last time that I was in terrain steep enough to require that type of skiing for an extended descent. Perhaps The Lip in Tuckerman Ravine. But The Lip has no crux when it is fully loaded.

While other skiers were side stepping and side slipping the crux, I decided that my pride did not have the better of my abilities and proceeded to jump turn right through the chute spanning barely more than a 178cm ski length wide. I actually skied the crux better than the wider bottom of the chute, as my legs begged for an end to the long string of jump turns. This is terrain I love. I rarely feel pushed by skiing any more. It was exhilarating to have that experience again.

For the rest of the descent, I found my way over to Hellbrook which must be the ultimate prize to score first tracks on. Such terrain offers a clear explanation why a hundred skiers or more might be hiking up before the lifts turn on any given powder day. Hellbrook was a steep irregular chute that reminded me very much of similar, slightly shorter, chutes at Cannon. The narrow descent was unrelenting with excellent steep pitch, winds, turns, interesting terrain features, and plenty of trees. This route from the Chin down to the bottom was unmercifully wonderful.

Once back at the Midway Lodge, I took an extended break before heading back out for two final late day runs down Chin Clip and Centerline/Hayride. By this late day hour, the sun was descending below the ridge making shady portions of the trails somewhat painful. It was quite clear that this was too early in the season for open until close spring bump action.

Suffice to say, my explorations of Mansfield have only just begun. I now know for sure what I have long suspected: no other mountain comes close. Though, every mountain definitely has its place.

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