Mad Riven Glen has gone from famine to feast with this past week’s storms. That series of storms culminated in 20″ during the weekend, which included some rain followed by a hard freeze. This created an exceptional base on which the fluff piled on top of. And just like that, Mad River went from closed to 100% open.
The week before Christmas is always uncrowded. Even when Christmas falls immediately after a weekend. Even when a foot and a half of snow falls in the past forty-eight hours. Call it the Christmas shopping effect: sleeper powder days when uninspired skiers and riders are busy prowling the malls instead of prowling for powder.
A surprise foot of fresh fell at the northern end of the Green Mountain Spine on Thursday. Friday was the powder day and I cleaned up the leftovers on Saturday. I had not skied in two weeks due to a toe injury that was still on the mend. But the powder was calling so I took a Snow Way prescription: take three vitamin I’s, wrap the toe, and pow me in the morning.
What is a Jay Day? It is one of those days when everything goes right. When you change your plans after assessing the situation and score some great turns. It doesn’t have to be the deepest day. It doesn’t have to be a foot of blower. It is one of those days at Jay that you don’t easily forget.
I left home this morning looking for more than a ski day. I was looking for perspective and I wasn’t expecting to find it. Halfway through a stay-cation intended to refresh and rejuvenate, I was feeling deep ennui. Something wasn’t right, my mind was out of sorts. Given that the previous two ski days didn’t help, I assumed this trip to Jay was just going through the motions. What else would I do all day?
One unifying aspect shared by attendees of the Northeast Ski Bloggers Summit is passion. That passion is not only something that brings us together but also something we feed off. We inspire each other to further those passions. One of the things I am most passionate about is Cannon. I love the mountain.
I didn’t want my fellow bloggers just to ski Cannon, I wanted them to see if from my eyes. Not to adopt my perspective but to understand something very personal about me and my passion. Maybe they would not find Cannon to be a special place, but they would at least understand what makes Cannon special to me.