Category: Vermont
Mad River Glen: Whiteroom
Whiteroom.
Multiple times.
Not just faceshots. Full on, can’t see a thing, Whiteroom.
Simultaneously both euphoric and terrifying when it happens in the trees.
Three feet of fresh fell on top of barely covered ground. The euphoria was tempered by the knowledge (understood and physically felt) that roots, rocks, and deadfall lie deep beneath the surface. Three feet was almost enough to bury it all over again.
Almost.
But it is hard to care about what lies beneath when you can’t even see where you are skiing.
Burke: Deep
Warren’s Run.
Warren’s Run.
Warren’s Run.
Warren’s Run.
Four times in a row. Four times knee to thigh deep untracked down Burke’s widest and most prominent run, rarely ever a good option for untracked powder due to grooming and race training. While the local guys went straight for the trees, I lapped some of the deepest and best untracked powder turns I’ve skied in years in plain sight of the Quad.
I will never understand the urge to rush the trees when a normally groomed trail is just begging for deep and smooth tracks. Isn’t that why we went into the woods in the first place? Because we couldn’t find good snow and untracked powder on the trails? I hollered and screamed at the top of my lungs in plain sight of the lift, yet no one riding that lift seemed to be following me down the most obvious run into the best snow on the mountain.
Good grief.
Three & Done at Smuggs
Three runs and done at Smuggs. That was not due to the conditions or injury, but rather fatigue. Coming off twelve days in a row of work averaging 12 hours per day, I took Saturday off from skiing to recover despite the recent storm and epic reports from the notch. I assumed one day of doing nothing was enough for recovery, but it definitely was not.
I got right to work at Smuggs and delved into a line I suspected existed but had not yet discovered. Discovering new lines is always a treat, especially at areas that you have mostly mapped out. But you never want to be in discovery mode, especially at Smuggs, with anything less than your ‘A’ game. I hacked my way down the line looking rather amateurish. But I felt that the turns were not there so I decided not to force it.
Given my lack of energy, I opted for something a bit more mellow for my next run. I found some boot deep untracked despite skiing two days after the storm. This was a very well known woods area but the line goes against the fall line and requires counter intuitive thinking. Always a late-day-go-to but two days after the storm during a weekend is exceptional. It was only a half dozen untracked turns but far more than I expected.
Conditions in general were wicked firm and fast on the groomers despite the recent storm. The groomers had massive wind buff and felt like skiing an early season WROD. So suffice it to say, I stuck to the trees as is my wont.
Despite my fatigue, I couldn’t resist skiing off the backside of Sterling into the Notch. My line choice was suspect given my condition, but I couldn’t resist dropping into a creek bed that I haven’t skied in a few years. The snow was phenomenal and my turns were acceptable if forced. But by the time I got down to 108, I knew I was spent.
It is never good to spend more time driving round trip than skiing. But it is best to call it a day when your turns get sloppy and your energy is lacking. It was a disappointing end to two exceedingly long and difficult weeks. But the worst of my work is done for the winter and I have two weeks of use it or lose it vacation to burn. The season is just getting started as far as I am concerned.
Jay: New Year’s Day Powder
An overperforming storm combined with New Year’s Day hangovers and holiday crowds heading home to make for an epic first day of the New Year. Despite the forecast only calling for about four inches, the Jay Cloud delivered a solid foot with deeper drifts. While I was going to bed early and setting my alarm for 5:15am, a lot of other skiers were partying late and planning to sleep in. The vacationing holiday crowds were leaving early and who knows where the powder hounds were.
I went right at it with boot deep untracked down Can Am and then onto the Jet where I found more untracked boot deep in the trees for my second and third runs. Top to bottom boot deep untracked on a third run during a holiday weekend is something else. Despite knowing the reasons, I still couldn’t help but wonder how it was possible, how was this happening?