Category: March

2023-2024 Season, Earned Turns, Jay Peak, March, Powder Day

Jay: No Lifts, No Problem

Deliverance

I knew the wind would impact lift operations. So, I brought my touring gear and I fully expected to use it. Upon arrival, the wind was howling and it was bitterly cold. The lifts would never run.

Today was a rare resort touring day when I took the full measure of risks and consequences before I started skiing. Moving was required to keep the cold at bay. An injury would likely result in frostbite.

Due to the wind, conditions were variable from hard pack groomers to thigh deep bottomless untracked. It was challenging to figure out where to go, given so much of the mountain was bare ground and thin coverage before the storm. I started up Northway and decided to start with Can Am skier’s right.

Deliverance

Jackpot! Boot to knee deep untracked, and a bit of shelter from the wind. Very nice. I skinned back up via to Northway and headed to the top of the Jet. I opted to ski the Jet where I found thigh deep drifts in between groomed hard pack. It was worth dealing with the intermittent groom as the dense powder was insane when I hit a drift.

It was so nice, I decided to head back up and ski Haynes. It was very similar with a bit less drifting but more consistent powder and fewer groomer breaks. My legs were getting tired and I knew that I only had one more run left. I headed back up Northway to the top of the Bonnie and dropped into Deliverance.

As usual, the trees are the best on wind blown powder days. I rarely ski Deliverance as its narrow upper sections get skied off really quickly most days. But today, I had it all to myself and it was sensational. The last three months have been brutal, no doubt. But knee deep days don’t happen every season. This surely makes up for things, at least a little bit.

Deliverance

2023-2024 Season, Jay Peak, March

Jay

Not much to say about today. The unseasonably warm and wet weather significantly impacted Jay’s snowpack. A few gullies had exposed water gushing down the hill and a few lower mountain waterbars were nearly completely bare. It was a disappointing sight to see.

I tried to ski a few glades that I normally avoid and find interesting lines on the periphery. I probably spent more time in the Canyonland today than I have in all of my over 100 days of skiing Jay combined.

2023-2024 Season, Earned Turns, March, Tenney Mountain

Tenney: New Boot Shakedown

Tenney Summit

After over a dozen years of suffering from sixth toe pain in my Garmont Radiums, I decided it was time to pull the trigger on a new pair of touring boots. At 60% off list price, the previous season closeout was too good of a deal to pass up. No amount of adjustments could relieve my fit issues in the Garmonts.

I bought the Radiums when there were only two “tech-touring-beef-boot” manufacturers. My feet did not fit either Scarpa or Garmont, but the Garmont was less painful. Such was life before tech touring boots took over the industry in recent years.

I took my new K2 Dispatch Pro boots to the local bump for a shakedown. Uphill and downhill comfort was much improved, ski control was significantly better, and I was not crying in pain after a single run.

I skinned up for a second run as the sun was starting to set, which given the unseasonably warm temperatures, meant that the snow was about to become lunar. In some places, it already was.

The boots still need some fine-tuning but I am satisfied with the upgrade at a value price. Tenney was a snozefest like always.

2023-2024 Season, Mad River Glen, March, Powder Day

MRG: Worth the Wait

Off Map Hole at MRG

Daylight Saving Time powder days provide a special kind of joy. The early riser always gets the untracked. But doubly so when most skiers do not adjust their waking time to accommodate not only snowy roads, but also the time change.

So, it was much to my chagrin that the power was out in the Mad River Valley. Having nothing else to do (and not having my uphill gear), I settled in for the long wait. Many other skiers would not be patient. One by one, they took off their boots, packed their bags, and left.

Off Map Hole at MRG

Half of the crowd left and then, sure enough, the power kicked on at noon. I will gladly wait four hours for lifts to open late if it means half as many skiers are in line.

Given the Double had no one waiting and would be the faster chair to open, I lined up for third chair. The snow was dense and a foot deep, but it fell on top of somewhat bare ground. Steeper would better, but I was mindful of unseen obstacles under the surface.

I started with a cautious opener down Panther and gained more confidence merging into Gazelle. Riders on the chairs above cheered the first tracks of the day. Waterfall skied as good as I have ever skied it. After skiing untracked top to bottom, I hopped on the Single for a longer and steeper run.

Off Map Hole at MRG

I overheard a patroller mention that Paradise was good. That raised my confidence a bit too much. The undulations were significant and so were the hidden obstacles. Halfway down Paradise, I took a trip over the handlebars, and tehn finished the run with Upper and Lower Glade.

I went back up the Single and found some of my favorite in-bound off-map rabbit holes where I scored mostly first and second tracks on my third, fourth, and fifth runs. The super heavy and dense snow was best where it was untracked. Multiple ski cuts really chunked up the snow.

I could not return the next day for the expected foot of blower. But I can rest easy knowing that the late season is saved and I still have more opportunities to use my two remaining Mad Cards. A week ago, I had feared an early end to the season might be imminent.

Off Map Hole at MRG

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.