Category: Reports by Event

2023-2024 Season, December, Jay Peak, Powder Day

Legendary: Jay

Bonnie Chair 50

It was quite an unusual morning at Jay. There was no wind and the sun shined brightly. A warm light fell upon the Bonnie and Chair 50, recently painted black and emblazoned with a skull and cross bones plaque, dedicated to the legendary Michael Pfaff.

Pfaff is a reminder that anyone can make a profound difference in the lives of others. No one told him to put in the extra effort, he just did it. It is something that many of us aspire to, but few of us fully realize. It is something that is unique to legends.

Encouraging a legend to, quite literary, let their flag fly is a testament to the community and culture at Jay. The Bonnie was a special place to start a powder day. And due to the culture at Jay, it will continue to be so.

2023-2024 Season, Cannon Mountain, December, Earned Turns, Powder Day

Tuckerbrook

Tuckerbrook title=

When was the last time I skinned Tuckerbrook? I cannot recall, but my last skin of the trail was well over a dozen years ago. I last skied the trail (in its entirety, at least) almost a dozen years ago. But that was via a car spot. Since the 13 Turns are lift accessible sidecountry, I rarely think about skinning and skiing the entire trail.

The time and conditions were just right today to do so. I did not feel like doing another trip to Jay (which I just did the day before) and I felt like earning turns. I realized lower elevations would have poor conditions and the 13 Turns would likely be sporty. But that was all part of the adventure.

Tuckerbrook

The skin in to the junction was thin, icy, and rocky. Above the junction, snow coverage was solid. Lots of undulations, open drainage, and foliage to avoid until 2500′ when the snow pack was consistent across the trail. The skin track stopped at the Troll Bridge, which featured some navigational challenges.

Breaking trail up the 13 Turns was brutal. I am familiar with its think spruce coverage under the snow. I was mindful of possible spruce traps and evaluating coverage and hazards. The snow depth was not enough to cause alarm, but getting caught in one would be frustrating and annoying.

13 Turns

I finally hit the Taft Race Trail and finished skinning to the summit of Mount Jackson. The ski down to the 13 Turns was a nice and gentle warmup. I was surprised at how good the 13 Turns skied given the challenging skin up! It likely was the first ski descent of the 13 Turns this season.

The Troll Bridge was easier to ski down than to skin up. Skiing down the gentle turns of Tuckerbrook ranged from fantastic up high to survival down low. Well worth the effort!. I managed to “ski” back to my car without hiking. But below the junction, in many places it would have been faster to have hiked than “skied”.

2022-2023 Season, April, Earned Turns, Hillman's Highway, Mount Washington

Hillman’s Highway

Hillman's Highway Area Gullies

Hard to believe it has been ten years since my last time skiing Hillman’s.

I haven’t skied half of Tuckerman Ravine’s routes, but I’ve skied enough to know that I enjoy skiing and climbing Hillman’s the most. Hillman’s is far from the ravine circus and offers drama free climbing. There is a chill vibe. The gully has the easiest pitch in the ravine area, but also the longest run. And there is no need to down hike if the Little Headwall isn’t in, either.

Hillman's Highway

With 80 degree temperatures forecasted Friday and Saturday, I rearranged my work schedule to get to Mount Washington on Thursday. The Tuckerman Ravine Trail was skinable bottom to top, and the Sherburne ski trail was skiable top to bottom. Neither of those conditions would be present by the weekend, with as much as one-third of the Sherburne trail closed after the big melt down.

Tuckerman and Summit from Hillman's Highway

I had a “summit to car” adventure in mind. The better climbing route would have been Right Gully to the East Snowfields. But with the Little Headwall out, Hillman’s would be the only summit to car option from Pinkham. That assumed there was a skiable connection from the bottom of the summit cone to Hillman’s, via the lawn above the ravine’s lip. I suspected such a connection may not exist, so I opted to ascend the better ski route rather the better summit route.

Summit from Top of Hillman's Highway

Which was ultimately the best decision. After climbing out of the gully, I started skinning up to the Davis Path looking for a connection to the summit cone. But despite Hillman’s being quite full, the plateau around the summit was quite melted already despite the early time of the season. I wasn’t going to hike in ski boots across the rocky summit trails, so I turned around and headed back to Hillman’s.

It is just as well that I bailed on the summit option as Hillman’s was already quite cooked by the time I started descending. It would only get softer and mushier as the afternoon progressed. Turns were quite nice but a major workout given the soft snow.

By the time I reached the Sherburne, the snow was extremely wet and sticky. I pointed my skis straight down the Sherburne and often needed to poll to keep momentum. The final few turns were quite barren, but still retained enough snow that I did not need to down hike or side slip.

Wildcat from the Davis Path

2022-2023 Season, Magic Mountain, March, Powder Day

Three Hours, Three Runs, Three Feet: Magic

Magic scored a late season jackpot. After an extremely lackluster season, two key storms saved the end of the season, the second of which was the big one. One foot is pedestrian. Two feet doesn’t happen every season, but happens more often than most skiers realize. But a three footer? That only happens every once in a while.

Most areas were open the day before, but Magic is closed mid-week which allowed the full storm total to accumulate. So, while many other Vermont resorts received almost as much snow, Magic was the only place to open for the full bounty untracked. However, that is information that most powder hounds and Magic loyalists figured out. Which made for a Red Chair lift line that rivals the busiest Single Chair lift lines at Mad River Glen.

I arrived almost an hour before the Red Chair opened. But, despite my early arrival, the lift queue was continually being built, allowing late comers to get an earlier chair despite not having waited 50 minutes. It was quite disappointing and frustrating, but the staff was doing the best they could (many employees couldn’t even leave home due to lack of plowing).

I finally made it to the summit, but I was considerably behind the untracked rush. Many folks floundered in the deep snow, unfamiliar with how to ski the deep dense stuff. I blew past them, knowing I had to get back to the lift ASAP and make better trail selections. After a pair of 40 minute lift waits, I found myself skier’s left of Goniff, sampling the steep off map woods. It was quite nice, but the area needs a brushing.

I needed to hit the head and I didn’t think I could wait another hour for a full cycle. This was a prudent move as the lift was down when I returned to the queue. The slow backup generator was kicked on and it probably took over an hour to get the last skier off the lift. I only got three runs in three hours, but at least I didn’t piss myself on the lift.

Turns out a power line went down and, given the nature of the storm, the power company was going to take a while before they could fit it. I elected to leave at noon, which was a sound decision as the lift never got power back later that day.

Magic seems cursed. Even when everything goes right, everything goes wrong. Had the “new” chair been operational by now, many more runs could have been had by all. Magic cannot control a local power outage resulting from a massive storm. But it is just the mountain’s luck. It was nice to be back at Magic. But it was the most disappointing three foot powder day that I have ever had.