Category: April

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

Jay: Early April is the New Early February

Yet again, this seems so familiar. The main-event uncrowded powder day at Mad River Glen the day before followed by over exuberant crowds and a slightly disappointing overnight snow total at Jay Peak. My ascent up route 242 was halted for 20-minutes while emergency vehicles tended to a spin out.

That is an usual thing to happen on Route 242 half-an-hour before opening. Part of the reason I arrive early is first tracks, but the other part is avoiding vehicle issues on Route 242. But the fun wasn’t over yet. When I got to the Stateside entrance, a truck going in the opposite direction spun out twenty feet in front of me.

Unlike the last storm, Jay Peak did not receive super massive crowds. But crowds were still way more than what the overnight snow totals justified. This was the day after the storm, not THE day. But today was still good and there was still a half foot plus of of super dense untracked.

It would all be mank by the afternoon, so I skied hard for the first few hours. While in the Orchard, myself and a few Quebecois’ers found the most sublime untracked snow on the mountain. Creamy and surfy, but only for about 100 feet. It was just the right aspect at just the right elevation. One of the other skiers bellowed “OH LA LA!”.

Indeed.

2023-2024 Season, April, Earned Turns, Mad River Glen, Powder Day

MRG: Boom! Where Is Everyone?

Rabbit Holes at MRG

This feels familiar. Just like two weeks ago, a massive multi-day storm dumped a ton of snow on Vermont. Mad River was the place to be again, but not many people showed up. When I arrived, the power was out (reminiscent of the big storm last month). I came prepared for wind hold, but touring skis are also good for power outages.

I skinned up a dreamly landscape with variable surfaces. The wind was absolutely ripping at the very top of Upper Antelope. But, things were eerily quiet below the 20th hole traverse. After warming up in the Stark’s Nest, I dropped into Fall Line seeking shelter from the wind.

I considered skinning back up, but I was concerned that power could be restored and the lift could start running at any minute. So I opted for some big wide open turns on the mellow intermediate pitches of the mid-mountain, ending my run with perhaps the best run down Waterfall that I have ever had.

Paradise

Sure enough, when I arrived at the Basebox, the word was that powder would be restored within a half hour. I gear changed and got ready for the lift-serviced part of the day.

Feeling more comfortable with conditions, I wasted no time in dropping into Paradise and enjoying the super dense and heavy new snow. Some thin coverage still lurked underneath. But I did not see too much need for caution.

I started working over some of my favorite rabbit holes. The Single never had more than a five-minute wait), so I was finding untracked lines throughout the entire day. The race was still on, though. The race was not against other skiers, but rather the clock, as the temperature was turning and a misty mank could arrive at any moment.

I was spent long before that moment happened. I wish I could have gone to closing bell, but the morning ascent and heavy snow put bullets in my legs sooner than usual. Hard to believe how few people showed up for such an amazing day.

2022-2023 Season, April, Jay Peak

Jay: Not Like Last Year

The Bonnie

Last year, Jay went deep into the spring, extending closing weekend to mid-May. That is not going to happen this year.

Amazingly, Jay was running almost all of its lifts except the carpets, Village Double, and the Freezer (the Tram was scheduled but on wind hold). That was certainly above and beyond, as I would not expect more than the Jet and the Bonnie at this point (and I would have been fine with only the Jet). Some other Vermont resorts *cough* Sugarbush *cough* close lifts as fast as possible, long before the snow has completely melted (or, just shut down completely despite ample coverage *cough* Stowe *cough*). But Jay does things differently.

From the Bonnie, the Goat was just hanging on and Northway to the usual runouts had ample coverage (but was not skiing very well). Over on the Jet, Haynes was edge to edge but not skiing very well and the Jet was edge to edge with alternating piles of soft between frozen groomer tracks. Thankfully, there was an irregular bump line under half of the lift line. Montrealer provided access to Northway and the run out trails. Turns could still be linked in Kitz Woods, but connections were sometimes challenging.

The snow was melting fast. I assume it will be Jet only next weekend. I am not sure if the machines will be able to push around enough snow for Jay to make it to May (unless they extend the weekend and stay open for Monday May 1, and then call it a season). It has been a strange season, but Jay still hangs tough to the bitter end while others call it quits. They have certainly earned my business for next season.

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, April, Mad River Glen

MRG: Sunnyside

Slalom Hill

A few late season storms really saved the late season at Mad River. Oftentimes, Mad River is closed or barely hanging on by the first week of April. This year, during the second week of April, the mountain was still fully covered and almost completely open (save for steeper and shadowed trails suffering from icy snow surfaces).

The sun was out and the Sunnyside was the place to be. The snow was soft and the bumps were sublime, especially on Slalom Hill, Quacky, and Canyon. I took a run off the Single to see how things skied and the upper mountain trails were quite firm. Even Cat Bowl left a little to be desired, despite its more southern exposure.

Given I haven’t skied much this season and haven’t had a full day of bump skiing in over a year, my legs called it quits long before the lifts stopped running. Amazingly, Mad River Glen would get one more full week of skiing through the following weekend. It is a testament to just how important the two late season storms were to snow pack and preservation.