Category: February

2010-2011 Season, Cannon Mountain, February, Powder Day

Cannon: Thank you, sir. May I have another?

Powder in the Trees at Cannon

Cannon makes you work. Great skiers routinely get spanked in the trees at Cannon. Unlike almost any other mountains save perhaps Mansfield, you really suffer for the best turns at Cannon. That type of rigor elevated my skiing as I was developing my tree chops and skiing Cannon more than any where else. But I don’t ski Cannon much any more. And it shows whenever I return to my home mountain.

Despite a claimed twenty four hour total of eleven inches, I immediately had trouble finding snow deeper than my boot buckles. I started on Mittersill in hopes that the lift being closed yesterday would have kept traffic to a minimum. The limited fresh felt nice but my favorite slot on the mountain was already well bumped and deeply troughed from yesterday. It was time to go into the woods in earnest and employ noontime plans just after the opening bell.

Epic descents were had and up to eight inches of fresh was slayed. I worked. I sweated. I fell on the hard pack outside the Tram Summit Station and busted the toe piece on one of my bindings. Oops. I made it work. Just like the mountain was making me work.

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2010-2011 Season, February, Middlebury

Middlebury College Snow Bowl

Middlebury College Snow Bowl

My visit to Middlebury College Snow Bowl served two purposes: discovering a new area and avoiding the holiday crowds. Ski on lifts, empty trails, and elbow room in the lodge are luxuries not antithetical to the busiest holiday weekend of the year. Enjoying these luxuries requires thinking outside of the box and a sense of adventure; a lack of fear that smaller might mean less fun despite less hassles and headaches.

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2010-2011 Season, Burke, February

Back to Burke: Finally

Burke Base Area and Willoughby Gap

It has been far too long since my last day at Burke. Last season was truly atrocious for Burke, seasonal snowfall was well below normal. This season, Burke missed many of the early southern storms. But recent trends have favored Burke which is now 100% open for business both on piste and off.

My game was off from the get go. Perhaps it was the extreme cold. Or perhaps it was fatigue from working twelve hour days twelve days straight in nearly non-stop stressful conditions. A lack of conditioning due to not many days on snow this past month did not help either. Whatever the cause, my legs were not moving as they should have been.

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2009-2010 Season, February, Magic Mountain, Powder Day

Powder & Crowds at Magic

The last week of February brought record snow fall to the Catskills of New York while leaving most of New England with moderate snow at best and rain at worst. After consulting the radar and weather reports, Magic seemed like the safest bet with the best combination of snow, lack of rain, and good terrain. I was not alone in coming to this conclusion as Magic Mountain saw record crowds and long lift lines.

I awoke extremely early to ensure I made first chair at 8:00 A.M. New snow was variable throughout the mountain. The base area picked up about two inches of very heavy wet snow. The upper mountain was densely powdery with about 4-6″ on the trails and 6-8″ in the woods. Most of the mountain skied great but the lower mountain got more and more manky as the day progressed. Groomer run outs on the lower mountain were the best option skiing back to the Red Chair.

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2009-2010 Season, February, Magic Mountain, Powder Day

Magic = Epic

More face shots today in one run than all others in my life combined. Multiple trips to the white room. Well over two feet deep at the base and almost three feet deep most places on the mountain with deeper drifts. Snow was rather heavy but the snow never turned over despite the warm temperatures.

Steep runs were required for completely untracked turns. Any pitch less than about twenty to twenty-five degrees resulted in tip dive, snow above the thighs, and a complete stop. Slightly tracked runs were amazing. No competition with untracked freshies every run, all day, open to close. We hit every wood shot including two mandatories, Red Line, Black Magic, and two times down a pillowy and sensational Magician (a.k.a. Master Magician). Suffice to say, today owned. Best day of the season and I think a top ten lifetime day.