Author: Steve

2005-2006 Season, April, Cannon Mountain

Last Day of the Season at Cannon Mountain

Echo Lake from Gary's

Anyone that firmly believes a bad day of skiing is better than a good day at the office does not get out on days like this. There definitely are days on which I would much rather be working than skiing, this day was one of them. The only day of the season i can recall thinking “I should have stayed home.” [I repeated this same thought nearly a week later at Loon, NH due to similar but slightly worse conditions].

The original plan for the weekend was skiing Mad River Glen on Saturday followed by either Tuckerman Ravine or Gulf of Slides on Sunday. After the down pour at Mad River Glen yesterday, I was still optimistic that the Ravine might be an option for Sunday until Saturday night when I checked the summit temperature of Mount Washington which was reading 17 degrees!!! And that was not even the coldest part of the night. With the winds howling, temperature falling, and potential new snow overnight, it just was not going to happen. If the Sherburne had still been open top to bottom and in good condition, I might have considered it as the Sherbie is always worth a day trip by itself. But not when you can not skin and ski top to bottom.

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2005-2006 Season, April, Mad River Glen

Last Day of the Season for Mad River Glen

Pat on Creamery

The morning dawned with bright sun shine, blue skies, and very comfortable temperatures. Weather forecasts were calling for a ninety percent chance of rain showers during the afternoon, but the morning was shaping up to be every skier’s wet snow dream. I boarded the Single Chair at 9:15 A.M. with a big grin on my face that continued throughout the day. It was no April Fool’s joke that today would be Mad River Glen’s last day of operation for the season and I planned on going out with a bang.

I began with a groomer run down Upper Antelope which held out well despite the recent high temperatures. Only one major bare patch existed near the top of the run with about five feet of snow on either side. The snow was wet and frozen gran with lots occasional thin spots with an occasional spot featuring Mashed Potatoes. Ice flows were amazingly edgable!

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2005-2006 Season, Mad River Glen, March

Painful Set Back at Mad River Glen

Sunday at Mad River Glen was the culmination of a week’s vacation celebrating my return to fully functional condition following a three month recovery period due to a broken elbow and two weeks of taking it easy as I eased myself back into the world of skiing. With much soreness and fatigue, I got myself to Mad River Glen to use my second of three prepaid Mad Cards believing that it would be the last day of operation for the venerable Single Chair.

While getting dressed in the Base Box, I managed to slam my elbow into a hard wood table not once, but twice. The result was a locked up elbow that could not fully bend due to swelling. After massaging the swelling away from the painful nerve and joint motion area, I finally felt well enough to take a run.

Up the Single Chair I went, greeted with a warm air and overcast sky. I opted for Fall Line for the first run since it skied so well earlier in the week. However, the weather had since changed leaving a crusty mess that made for poor conditions on Fall Line. Halfway down the trail, I came across an icy thin cover section on which I lost edge pressure and took a nasty fall during which I banged my elbow. Once again my elbow locked up and provided my nervous system with a wide array of painful sensations. I deemed my Sunday at Mad River Glen over upon my return to the Base Box at which point the swelling would not go down and I could not obtain normal elbow motion.

After a few days of rest, the pain and swelling went away and I was ready to return to Mad River Glen the following Saturday to close out the Ski Area on its final day of operation.

2005-2006 Season, Jay Peak, March

Jay Peak, VT

Friday presented the excellent opportunity to do some great skiing with some great people. NHpowderhound, Sledhaulingmedic, and I converged on Jay Peak on Friday for an exciting afternoon of skiing. We essentially witnessed the official start to the Spring Skiing season as the snow consistency was mainly wet consolidated snow. Temperatures are not yet warm enough for the upcoming slush fest, but loose powder was no where to be found as the thermometer was definitely way above the freezing mark.

After introductions at the Stateside lodge, we boarded the Bonaventure Quad and took a warm up run down to the Jet Triple. We probably could have used another warm up run to get the legs pumping, but adventure awaited and we would not be deterred by slowly moving limbs. We entered the trees and ate up some delicious open lines with very nice but soft snow. With legs burning and hearts pumping, we fired off a quick groomer run down The Jet before hitting Kitzbeuhel and woods en route to the lodge to strip off some layers.

Back on the Bonaventure Quad, we skied Goat down to Buck Woods which skied delightfully though was thin in places. A quick trip up the Flyer (with low winds!) yielded impressive and delightful soft snow and ample coverage in Beaver Pond Glade. Another trip up the Freezer had us heading back to the lodge for a quick refuel and clothing adjustment via a few hairy woods trails.

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2005-2006 Season, Mad River Glen, March

Mad River Glen Says “It Ain’t Over”

It Ain't Over

After closing up shop last week due to a horrible melting period and rain storm followed by a rapid freeze, Mad River Glen fired up the Single again earlier this week to the delight of skiers everywhere. At least those skiers that still think it is ski season. The foot of fresh that Mad River Glen received last week was wonderful for the Upper sections of the mountain but only succeeded in covering up potential obstacles down low. After a lot of wind blown snow and grooming, Mad River Glen was able to open up again despite thin cover conditions dominating the lower mountain.

Having taken the previous day off to rest and recuperate for four days in a row of skiing, I opted to burn my first of three Mad Cards today with hopes of returning on Saturday and Sunday to use the remaining two. My vacation this week has been wildly successful scoring some exciting skiing and great conditions and today was no different.

I began my morning by heading up the Single and descending down the groomed roller coaster that is Catamount. Peering up at Cat Bowl, I noticed some enticing bump lines so I boarded the Single at the mid-station and skated over to Cat Bowl. Coverage was mostly good with some occasional thin spots and loose snow on skier’s left. While maintaining my line down skier’s left, I thought that the bumps would be perfect once things warmed up a little. But I would not have the opportunity to return later to find out.

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