Western Skiing in New England

[ski diva]

Doesn't happen too often, but we got us some powder here in Vermont!

It hasn't stopped snowing since Friday; I think we'll end up with about 2 feet, total. And even though I rarely ski on Sunday, I had to go out. Conditions were oh so sweet -- light, fluffy snow up to mid calf and nice soft bumps instead of the granite-hard ice bombs we usually get. No crowds, either, since the bad road conditions kept a lot of people away. I am one tired but happy Diva!

Anyone else get a chance to enjoy this?

 

[veggielasagna]

Yes! I went to Gore Mt. yesterday morning, absolutely amazing. The piles of snow and soft bumps that formed were so much fun. On one of my favorite trails (Showcase) I just kept cruising down skiers right in the ungroomed snow bouncing up and down...my PE's just loved to snap from mound to mound.

Definitely the nicest snow I have yet to ski in. I had so much fun : ). It was so odd later in the day when stuff at the top started to get "skied off," it wasn't the usual icy scraping underneath, it was actually soft! Crazy day.

Would have liked to go again today, but alas other things must be done.

-veggielasagna

 

[abc]

Sadly, not.

That's one of the drawback of living far enough away from the real snow. Much of the Catskills resort still only have relatively thin cover and limited terrain openning. And not knowing how the storm will pan out, I toss back and forth with going or not going, not quite willing to drive for more than 2 hours only to ski the usual mash potato on ice. And the Sunday storm forecast, while great for skiing, are not condusive for the drive home (I'm quite willing to brave the storm driving TO ski, but can't muscle up the motivation to drive HOME on stormy night).

But the reports from all around was this is one of those rare case of light fluffy powder from New England all the way down to the Catskills.

Oh well. :(

 

[Jilly]

I wanted to go, but all my stuff is up at Tremblant!! Well if I was pushed I could come up with enough stuff. I wish I could play hooky tomorrow and ski, but with the whole week coming up, I think I'd better be there!!

I'm jealous of ANYONE who skied this weekend!!

 

[ski now work later]

I skied today in a snowstorm and took my girls out for their first day of the season. It started out as "hero snow", untracked powder, about 2" or so, over lightly groomed runs, and it still stayed very soft when it was cut up though I did hit icy bottoms now and then. Overall a lovely day, cold though, so I'm glad we bundled up. There were very few people out, probably because of the roads and pre-holiday chores/events so we had the lifts and runs to ourselves. I've almost finished drying out our things, except that after drying my daughter's boots, I hung her snowboard right above them and they dripped into the boots which are now redrying.



The "R" word is in the forecast for later this week which is extremely frustrating as we plan to take all 5 (!) of our kids skiing and riding on Friday and Saturday, and 4 of them on the following Monday and Tuesday. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the weather patterns shift and it keeps coming down as snow. It's so beautiful here in New England. I have at least 2' of snow on my property.

 

[Jilly]

SNWL- why does that always happen, water drips into something that is dry or almost. As you enter our condo we have to the right, hooks to hang your coats and a tray for boots. Every time we have visitors the first they do is also leave their skis there. Well it's always MY boots that are under their dripping skis! This year I'm moving my boots to the other side of the doorway and too bad if you trip over them! Enough, I want dry footwear!

Glad you had a great day too. I stayed home but all the presents are wrapped and most of the food organized!

 

[ski now work later]

I stayed home but all the presents are wrapped and most of the food organized!

That's good news. It's hard to enjoy the holiday when everything is done right before, so I'm glad you got things where they are. I shopped at 5 grocery stores on Friday and Saturday and spent an ASTONISHING amount of money on food and house supplies preparing for our brood of 7 for Christmas week into New Year's. Our 2nd fridge and freezer are totally filled, but that will leave us free to enjoy each other and ski/ride as much as possible Christmas week. As long as the "R" word stays away.



I must say, toward the end of the day I was struggling with the deep piles of snow. I have a long way to go before I can see confidently in chop. On the other hand, if I think of where I was a year ago when I first tried skiing in that stuff, I can see that I've come a long way. So I think I'll end this post with that thought.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

It's (FINALLY) piling up nicely here in the Maine mountains.
We're at somewhere between 8-10" since this started around noon, only halfway through. Since we missed the band that hit southern New England, it was finally OUR turn :D So glad to hear that conditions are excellent elsewhere! I caught some leftover freshies on Thursday, but the weekend was dry (and BITTER COLD - 12 below at the summit first ride up today ). Roads are a mess here right now. Saw several run-offs already, and that was early aft.

 

[Kimmyt]

The Boy and I decided to get us some of that snow, so on Friday night we decided to drive up North. Due to our schedules we couldn't stay more than one day, so we decided the farthest south that the storm looked like it was hitting was the Catskills, so we decided to go to Belleayre. I have never skiied there or anywhere in the Catskills so this was all just guesswork.

We left at 3:30 am and got there in time for first lift. Well, scratch that, we got there in time for when first lift was supposed to be, but we think they must have opened earlier than that because there were alot of tracks. Either that or there were alot of people hiking.

It wasn't too crowded, but there definitely were some crowds, and it got worse as the day went on. Estimate about 6" of light fluffy snow, and there were some runs that were open that had some older untracked snow on them.

It got skiied out fairly quickly, before noon, but the snow was so soft it didn't matter. And coverage wasn't the best, lots of grass showing through, but not too much in the way of roots or things that messed with my skis, so I didn't hesitate in skiing over it. There also was alot more closed than I thought would be from their website. Lots of poaching going on too, I don't know who was doing it though...

At the top in the steeper sections it did get a bit skiied off with some nice sheet ice under it, but the bumps were so soft it was pretty easy to make your turns on top of the soft stuff.

All in all, good day. Wished we had been able to head farther north because it looks like they got more in South-Central VT but it was much better than anything we have in PA right now! And I felt great all day, only once in a while felt like I was sinking into the backseat, and we even got to enjoy some really nice trees and leave some tracks of our own!

 

[Ski Fanatic Mom]

Hey Ski Now Work Later,
Did you ski at my other home mountain today (Berkshire East)? I can't wait to get there....
The last time I was there was on closing day, sitting at the bottom of the hill with crutches, watching people skiing on pristine conditions. It was very emotionally painful!
Maybe I will see you there during Christmas vacation. I'll be the one with the H U G E smile on my face!

 

[Sierra]

I was at Killington on Saturday, and I am still recovering from the longest, most beautiful ski day ever.... First tracks on big fluff... ohhhh I am in loooove

The conditions were fantastic: during the first morning warm up runs, I was up to my knee in fluffy, powdery stuff I had never seen before. Surprisingly, the place was half empty; I guess the storm did keep a lot of folks at home.

I skied with a wonderful ski instructor who gave me a few pointers to enjoy the powder and then took me all over the place. To my surprise, I like the choppy stuff much more than the groomed terrain.

I wish I had been able to go today again, but in addition to some home responsibilities, I need some time to recover... and to reflect about my (poor) technique... I don't think I have any quads left

It is dumping big time here: 10-12 inches since this morning, and is will keep coming down for another half day...so I am crossing my fingers that the conditions will stay the same until tuesday, my next ski day!

 

[JaneB]

Champagne powder at Okemo

Very happy to report I spent the last two days in well over a foot of powder both days. Small crowds, continuous show; expecting maybe another foot tonight. May have to call in sick tomorrow...

JaneB:

 

[Swamp Dog]

skied Friday at Sugarbush and Saturday at Bretton Woods. Powder and more Powder! Awesome on both days.

I was too freakin' sore to go back out today. Not being used to actually skiing powder, I took way too many falls.

 

[ski now work later]

Hey Ski Now Work Later, Did you ski at my other home mountain today (Berkshire East)? I can't wait to get there.... Maybe I will see you there during Christmas vacation. I'll be the one with the H U G E smile on my face!

I looked for you there today. It was EMPTY! Roads were fine, snowier in the afternoon. A lot of trails were closed from trees that fell in the ice storm, but the snow was great and my kids had their first day out which went very, very well. I plan to ski & ride with my husband and all 5 of our kids a bunch of days between Christmas and New Year's, and so I hope to see you there!



We have a ton of snow here in Western Mass., it's a beautiful sight~

 

[michpc]

Only got out to Wachusett Saturday, but the conditions were fantastic there as well! The only ice in sight were periodic patches on the steeper runs, and the Cloud 9s and Drives that I demoed handles it awesome! Had so much fun in the messy, ungroomed powder, and I can't wait to get back out tomorrow!

 

[LilaBear]

Sounds wonderful all you East Coast Divas. Very glad to hear you got some powder to ski.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

18" total from this last storm that started around noon yesterday in western Maine.
Total since last Wednesday: 26"
One issue today: wind
(typical post-storm weather)
After today?
Absolutely stellar holiday conditions!

ETA: 28-32" at the base at Sugarloaf as of 6:30 a.m. from last night's storm!

 

[jwcomputergirl]

Even the Poconos!

It was sooo sweet! As an added bonus, there were only about 20 general public at Shawnee. I had many runs where I was the only person on the run. What a wonderful early Christmas gift.

 

[sbskier]

I skiied Saturday and Sunday at Sugarbush. I don't think it is necessary to say that the conditions were fantastic, but I will anyway.

 

[Swamp Dog]

I skiied Saturday and Sunday at Sugarbush. I don't think it is necessary to say that the conditions were fantastic, but I will anyway.

I was there on Friday and it was fabulous! and I'm sure it only got better!

I'll be back on 1/10 or 1/11 when I bring Matt back to school. Maybe we can get together then. I'll let you know when I have my dates set for sure.