Category: Reports by Month

2013-2014 Season, Cannon Mountain, January, Middle Hard the Hard Way, Powder Day

Give It All You Got: Cannon

Today may be the best “two days after the powder day” powder day that I’ve ever had. Yesterday, I desperately wanted to ski Cannon. I knew it was going to be bananas despite being a day after the storm. But I was extremely fatigued from skiing Magic on Friday, I simply didn’t have the legs.

I responded to my alarm with ambivalent lethargy. I assumed today would fail to inspire yet still merited the effort. I wanted to ski natural snow again before the impending rain. In six hours, I made seven runs. By my standards, that is a statistic suggestive of an incredible day at Cannon.

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2013-2014 Season, January, Magic Mountain, Powder Day

Boot to Knee Deep & Cold: Magic

Sorcerer

Northern Vermont hasn’t been able to catch a break since before Christmas. Another storm slammed into southern New England and southern Vermont’s Golden Triangle was the big winner for ski areas. Magic picked up a foot and a half which opened everything except the trees.

Due to the cold temperatures, I expected light fluff over a questionable base. However, the powder was supportive though not bottomless. Supportive enough to merit excitement but the powder hid a thin base that occasionally punished said excitement with treachery. It was a sporting kind of powder, encouraging reckless abandon but rewarding cautious exuberance.

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2013-2014 Season, Cannon Mountain, January, Truth in Snow Reporting

Vista Bound: Cannon

Vista Way

Has it really been more than two weeks since I last skied? Bad weather and a horrible week long cold combined to remove two weeks from my season. Both the trails and I recovered earlier this week and this coming weekend looks very nice. I eased back into things at Cannon where expectations started low, got raised way too high, and ultimately the skiing was very satisfactory.

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2013-2014 Season, December, Mad River Glen, Powder Day

Mad River Glen: Opening Day Powder

Paradise at MRG

Yesterday at Jay was nice. Today at Mad River was better. Three days ago, Mad River announced that it would not open this weekend. But the forecast turned in favor of General Stark Mountain and opening day was set. A foot of dense fresh setup perfectly on the limited but existing base. All trails were open on occasionally thin but ample coverage. Bottomless it was not but cheers and shouts of joy rang out across the mountain, nonetheless.

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2013-2014 Season, December, Jay Peak, Powder Day

Cold? Wimps. Jay.

From Kitzbuehel

Somewhere north of the Notch, my car’s temperature display dipped into the double digits. The negative double digits. I started questioning whether the drive to Jay would be worth while. The snow that fell earlier in the week would surely be tracked out, right? Jay’s recent snowfall combined with quite expansive terrain offerings would bring out the crowds, right?

Wrong. On both counts.

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