The sickest December I can remember continues. I pointed my vehicle towards Burke Mountain in Vermont figuring that they would have the second best snow in New England this weekend with exception of the Northern Green Mountains. I was not disappointed with the snow nor my decision.
All trails were open except Big Dipper (due to snow making) and Warren’s Way (due to racing). Cover was incredible for December during Burke’s second weekend of operation. The woods were skied very well and the natural snow trails were great. Awesome snow quality all over the mountain. I just wish I was in mid-season form! My sucking of wind and burning thighs indicated that my endurance was not on par with the snow quality!
After my arrival at 9:30 A.M., I warmed up on some cruisers which all had excellent groomed snow. Willoughby earned best snow for a groomed trail honors featuring awesome packed powder turns. After warming up, I hit Wilderness to Lew’s Leap which both had awesome snow! Light and powdery snow over a solid base. Awesome small bump action and a quality steep section o Lew’s Leap. Doug’s Drop had not yet formed quality bumps but did offer quality snow. Lower Doug’s also featured natural snow and some nice and fluffy small bumps.
Fox’s Folly under the Willoughby Quad was up next and kicked my butt. Snow was variable between powdah, tracked fresh, and occasional scraped. Two guys I know from an online forum hollered at me from the Willoughby Quad while I was skiing Fox’s Folly. Small world! We hooked up for some epic trips into the woods. Sasqwatch was first up and is a wooded play ground! It is a hall of mirrors with a variety of different lines to choose. After Sasqwatch ended, we found Dixieland which was a non-stop of killer tree and bump run.
After lunch at the Mid-Burke Lodge, we visited the other side of the mountain for back to back runs down Jungle/Birches which were both incredible! Cover was perfect with some light fluff to boot! Nicely spaced trees for my newbie tree skiing lack of skills. Twice my skiing companions called out for me “hello Mr. tree!”
Back to the other east side for Cave Man which featured excellent snow and some geological treats. Cave Man was the only natural snow trail to feature incomplete cover but still an awesome trail! Next we skied Throbulator which had the least tracked snow on the mountain and occasional pockets of fresh.
For our last run we spotted an unmarked tree stash just before Doug’s Drop which was tight and unforgiving despite the good cover. Then back to Lew’s Leap for my run of the day. Finally, I hit my stride and got the legs going just in time for the last run which turned out to be my run of the day!
Only thing that stunk about today was my lack of conditioning. I was sucking wind and not properly conditioned so I was not truly able to fully enjoy the excellent conditions! I longed to be able to ski today in mid-season form. The best thing about today was making two more converts to the awesome skiing at Burke! My skiing companions made their first turns there today and were both very impressed!