2010-2011 Season, Burke, February, Powder Day

Burke!

Tight Trees at Burke

Today defined the awesomeness that is Burke Mountain. Burke can easily be overlooked in the shadow of its more well known neighbors to the southeast and northwest. Despite knowing how great Burke skis, even I often overlook Burke and go searching else where for deeper pow. Its a major mistake to overlook Burke. It’s a special mountain and I owe it to myself to get back here more often.

Juxtaposed against yesterday at Cannon, today was a relaxing coast. Which isn’t to say my pulse was not elevated. But rather that the thrills at Burke require substantially less masochism. Due to extensive muscle fatigue and soreness, I went to Burke intending to keep the pulse down and the excitement level low. Paths into the trees are littered with such best intentions.

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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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