Mad River Glen was an easy decision for the holiday weekend since Mad Cards are not subject to holiday blackouts. Ironically, I decided on my destination due to the holiday but I neglected to think through the ramifications of a holiday weekend at Mad River Glen. Not setting an alarm and arriving an hour after opening bell further added insult to the injury.

The base area was bedlam. Little kids were scurrying everywhere and the lodge was overpacked. The ticket line almost seemed longer than the line for the Single. I shrugged and went with it, I had no energy to be dissatisfied and it wouldn’t have helped the situation. Thankfully, the Single line was never intolerable and, of course, the trees are always empty.

After nine days so far this season, I had yet to have a major tree and bump day. Yet I wasted no time going into the woods and finding some of Mad River Glen’s tightest lines. Constantly winding and branching, these narrow fingers are amongst my favorite lines within the ski area’s boundaries. The packed powder was excellent. The occasional shot of untracked powder I found at mid-mountain elevation skied worse than the packed powder due to the rising temperatures.

My turns were lacking in energy and precision but they felt great nonetheless. I arrived at the mountain feeling worn out and run down from two hellish months at work and things are still getting worse yet. But the blood pumping leg work was just what I needed.

During my third run through those trees, I jumped a small drop and landed nicely. But the warming temperatures at lower elevation resulted in unexpectedly grabby snow. The grabby snow combined with my lack of conditioning resulted in an off balance turn causing a tweak in my knee. I’ve never quite felt an internal knee stretch like that and hope to never have that feeling ever again.

Thankfully, no harm was done and I was able to keep skiing. But I opted to end my day after that run rather than risk further aggravation to my knee. Perhaps I was being excessively cautious as I felt no lingering soreness. But I was very satisfied with my three runs and felt it wasn’t worth risking a season ending injury due to further stressing an already tweaked knee.