Category: Stowe

2006-2007 Season, April, Powder Day, Stowe

22nd Powder Day of the Season at Stowe

The rabble invaded Stowe today for the Can Food Drive and I was more than happy to do my part for a $25 ticket. Regardless of conditions (generally), I don’t pass up opportunities to ski Stowe at a discount.

Conditions were interesting and variable. It puked snow all day which was a glorious sight to behold halfway through the month of April. But don’t let your guard down because everything looks soft and fluffy! Ascending the Mountain Road, the rain snow line pretty was the Toll Road Area. Just down the Mountain Road everything was wet and rainy. Snow near the base area was very wet and there was a hard setup from the day before with warming temperatures causing consolidated snow to firm up. The lower 200-300 vertical feet of the mountain was choppy and unfriendly. Upper elevation sported a dense powder with untracked lines were hard to find though available off the beaten path.

After finally getting to disappoint myself by sampling Goat which had been roped on my previous visits, I wasted no time ducking into the woods. Trees in the Upper Mountain Forerunner area were mighty fine and impressive with that thick, dense powder. Mighty fine steep and tight lines in the trees, thank you very much! But I quickly decided that the royal soaking on the Forerunner was not worth the upper mountain trees and spent most of the day on the Gondi.

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2006-2007 Season, March, Powder Day, Stowe

Stowe, VT

Originally, I took Wednesday through Friday off to utilize a Ski Club deal on cheap skiing at Stowe. Based on the weather forecast, I bailed on pre-purchasing the three day ticket and went for the single ticket on Wednesdayonly. Essentially, including the Ski Club membership and discounted lift ticket, I paid full price but it was a worth while gamble. If this had been excellent conditions, I would have been skiing three days at Stowe for only $39 per day (which would have included the cost of club membership). Things do not go as planned sometimes.

I used this opportunity to demo the Volkl Mantra in a 177cm at the Pinnacle Ski Shop on the Mountain Access Road. Suffice to say, the Volkl Mantra is one helluva ski. But not the ski I was looking for and I am glad I demoed the ski before I pulled the trigger.

I had expected better conditions today considering all the recent snow but I forgot to take into consideration the high wind earlier this week. Many of the groomers were hard pack with occasional wind blown boiler plate. This is where the Volkl Mantra really wowed me. These skis have Volkl’s typical groomer chewer technology and the last time I rode a ski that ate up hard pack like this was the Volkl Six Stars. The Mantra sure was not at the Six Star level, but was able to really rip the groomers with similar style. This performance enhancement was a harbinger of my verdict on the skis as they compromise too much as a one ski quiver with their stiff, beefy, and damp groomer-ripper esque style.

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2006-2007 Season, Earned Turns, November, Stowe

Early October Earned Turns on Mount Mansfield

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“Damn, I wish it was still October.” Not often are these words spoken in New England by skiers. But based on short and long term forecasts, there is a distinct possibility that October will have been a better month to ski New England than November. Which is not to say that the skiing on Mount Mansfield on November fifth was not more than satisfactory and excellent for November. But it sure was no October 2006.

Austin, Marc, and I all arrived at the Gondola lot early Sunday morning for some skiing on Mount Mansfield. Snow Guns were firing hard on Upper Nose Dive and on the other side of the mountain. We opted to ascend via Nose Dive and make plans for the descent once we were higher up. A short hike up Nose Dive was required before we could put skins to the snow and beginning skinning. Snow coverage was still substantial and wall to wall after a short hundred vertical feet of dry land. It is still hard to believe how much snow has stuck around for so long considering the date!

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2006-2007 Season, Earned Turns, October, Stowe

An October to Beat All Octobers: Day Two at Stowe

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An October to beat all Octobers keeps pumping snow into New England. Upslope snowfall has been pilling up at The Stake on Mount Mansfield. With seventeen inches reported as of last night with more snow constantly falling, I made my way up the access road to Mount Mansfield for my second day of skiing this season. If the weather outlook for this weekend holds, I will be skiing into November already having skied four days.

Planning the work schedule around skiing is quickly becoming my MO for scoring powder days and great skiing. Especially in the early season when one or two days means the difference between a few inches of fresh versus grass. With the unseasonably cold temperatures and week long never ending small snow blasts in the mountains, I hardly had to worry about skiing grass! This morning found me in Northfield, Vermont, a small town just a short drive south east from the state Capitol Montpelier. After finishing up work around 1:30 P.M., I made haste to Mount Mansfield. No signs of snow fall were to be seen along the Access Road. The snow began at the ski area and got progressively deeper as the vertical increased.

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2005-2006 Season, April, Earned Turns, Stowe

Post Work Earned Turns at Mansfield

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Without a cloud in sight, the warm sun shone brightly on Vermont’s highest peak as I approached Mount Mansfield. Blue bird skies were the rule with a slight breeze blowing keeping things cool. At the office, everyone looked longingly out the windows all day long. I had enough looking at 3 P.M. and headed over to Mansfield for some turns. The One Run For the Price of None Tour marches on to the beat of a different drummer.

Pulling up to the Gondola Base Lodge, I noticed several skiers sliding down Gondelier. The skiers took Rimrock for their last run and for their adventurous spirit, they earned a walk back to the Forerunner side from the Gondola Lodge. I doubt it was worth the effort for them but hiking would be more than worth the effort for me!

I skinned up Gondelier in its entirety before bending around the Waterfall up Perry Merrill. Gondelier was covered mostly well except the halfway point sporting a big stretch of grass down the center and 5-10 foot patches on either side. Everything else was wall to wall with enough snow depth to last another week at least. One switchback was excessively dug out by a Snow Cat as seen in one of the pictures.

This was my second time hiking up Mansfield under the Gondola and it continued to amaze me that this short and quick hike accesses 2000 vertical feet. The hike goes by very quickly and is probably the easiest 2000 vertical feet that I have ever hiked.

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