Category: March

2012-2013 Season, Burke, March

Burke: Out With the Old School

Willoughby Gap from Willoughby

After staying up way too late, the dog woke me up way too early. Springing forward isn’t an issue when you are planning a late start for spring conditions. But the weather looked like it wasn’t going to cooperate with partially cloudy skies and summit temps struggling to get to the forties. I bailed on a planned trip to Mansfield assuming the ridge would not soften. Instead, I got a late start and went to Burke.

It turns out that I could have putzed around at home a little while longer as conditions were still fast and firm in the late morning. During my first ride up the Mid-Burke Express, I shivered a little bit and debated returning to the lodge to replace my wind shirt with a full on jacket. I decided to tough it out and things did finally warm up after a few runs but temperatures never prompted full on spring conditions.

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...is AWESOME!!, 2012-2013 Season, March, Whaleback

Whaleback is AWESOME!!

Whaleback's Face

My only previous visit to Whaleback was eleven years ago, the first season Whaleback was closed. I stopped there en route to my first visit to Jay Peak (oh, how my skiing habits have changed since that visit!). I was a young and inexperienced explorer to New England skiing, but I already knew that I wanted to see all that New England had to offer.

Whaleback caught my eye during that drive up Interstate I-89, so I stopped to quickly explore the base of what was then a lost area. I immediately saw the potential for what I experienced today. I just wish I hadn’t waited so long to get back there. And I couldn’t have picked a finer area or a finer day to finish the last New England area on The List. And unlike many other areas that have been crossed off The List, Whaleback will definitely not be a one and done area.

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2012-2013 Season, March, Suicide Six

Suicide Six: A Resort Amenity

The Face at Suicide Six

At only 650 feet of vertical on paper (I get a hair under 600′ looking at a topo), Suicide Six was the smallest area on The List. It was added arbitrarily as it falls significantly short of my 1150′ minimum. Middlebury College Snow Bowl, Dartmouth Skiway, and Whaleback also fall short of my arbitrary minimum number. However, unlike those other diminutive areas, Suicide Six skis even shorter than its already inflated vertical suggests and can’t quite make up for its lack of stature. It is no wonder that the area thrives as a resort amenity rather than on its own merits.

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2012-2013 Season, March, Smugglers Notch

Smuggs: The Honeymoon Still Isn’t Over

Smuggs Trees

Every time I ski Smuggs, I wonder if it will be the day that the honeymoon will end. Eventually, I am going to have a bad day at Smuggs. One of these days, the warm and fuzzy emotional reaction I get isn’t going to happen. But after half a dozen days at Smuggs, that day has not yet come. And It may be a while yet before it happens. If it ever happens.

Most of New England was forced to rely on human-groomin’ to alleviate a freeze event which followed mixed precip and/or wet snow. Smuggs was lined up for a few inches daily resulting in exceptional powder and packed powder conditions. Untracked was less than my half foot standard for powder day status but a few inches was all it took to ensure exceptional turns.

My slight disappointment with the low new snow totals was significantly offset by the exceptional quality of what little powder Smuggs did get. Everything was skiing exceptionally well despite occasional base depth issues in tight and steep quarters. There were still places in which a hockey stop in a tight chute would strip snow down to a grassy, rooty, or rocky base. But for the most part, snow conditions were primo.

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2011-2012 Season, March, Stowe

Summer or Spring at Stowe?

Spruce Peak Development

As you can see, there are some pretty ugly developments happening at Stowe lately. You might also notice that the snow coverage isn’t that good either.

The development at Spruce Peak continues on its absurd scale. The new Spruce “Camp” Base Lodge feels more like a sterilized hotel lobby than a ski lodge. The faux wood benches and chairs are uncomfortable and lack practicality. Clearly this was a lodge designed by AIG big wigs without any input from skiers and riders. This seems weird to say but even the bathrooms took me out of the skiing mentality and put me into a city ambiance.

Adding financial insult to aesthetic injury, I had to pony up $5.00 for my “Evolution” card even though I already prepaid for a voucher. Unlike most other excessive ski resorts, Mount Mansfield’s terrain is worth dealing with the pomp. I made like an egg and crossed over to the Gondola. Due to the sun, I planned to take full advantage of the shade of the enclosed cabins.

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