Stowe 2/27

[powderfreak]

Mansfield was just how it should be. Sun, snow, warm temps but not necessarily above freezing, still some north facing powder, good friends, and overall varying snow conditions from aspect to aspect to keep it honest. The characters seen were Jim, Scott, EO, Wes, Justin, and Allen. Something came up yesterday that I couldn't miss on Wednesday morning so I couldn't stay at the Stone Hut tonight...though I do have to be back at the mountain for something at 1pm tomorrow so more skiing will ensue. Jim and Scott have left Wes alone for the night, too, as they wanted to touch base with society after 5 days of skiing and no outside contact; the mountain has been their life and they've covered a ton of ground. We found Justin's ski. Sitting in the sun outside the Stone Hut, just relaxing and studying the view, could never get old. Groomers were really, really sweet (and its hard for me to bring myself to say that). Nosedive was like a train-wreck from a mountain ops preparation standpoint (now a cat pushed chunks of ice, bowling ball size chunks, into the headwall to go along with the ice skating. Hayride was also very slick, but it always is so that's not a surprise. Traversed out under Balls Falls from Bypass and found a few meadows of untouched dry powder. The chalky tree lines and ending chutes of the trees off the top of PM feel so good to ski. Mansfield could use another dump, just to freshen things up. We talked about how the weather and skiing has been like Colorado's in that the weather is awesome, some stuff is spring-like and other stuff is still 19 degree pow, apres-ski in the sun high up on the mtn, some areas are wind-blown, tons of possibilities, and a general this-is-awesome feeling going around...but that might be just from the fact that we're seeing the sun in general after 3-4 months of darkness, ice, rain, ypparc conditions.

Here are some images...if Mansfield gets over 12" and then the sun comes out...we are nearing, if not in, the best-of-times category.

http://tinyurl.com/2xt3qc
http://tinyurl.com/2umvtm
http://tinyurl.com/3apxv3
http://tinyurl.com/22l8y6
http://tinyurl.com/ytzl7s
http://tinyurl.com/2978ew

Gotta look closely, but there's a ski track through this shaded powder chute.
http://tinyurl.com/2sqvpo
And more.
http://tinyurl.com/33wsdp
And more.
http://tinyurl.com/25ky66
Powder turning into corn field.
http://tinyurl.com/yu3ty8
North facing soft conditions.
http://tinyurl.com/2zpojg

The Hut.
http://tinyurl.com/3y4nkl

Random skiers/riders.
http://tinyurl.com/2k89t4
http://tinyurl.com/2ku6yd
http://tinyurl.com/3asm9w

Jim and Scott on their way home.
http://tinyurl.com/27m6dm
http://tinyurl.com/2apag9
http://tinyurl.com/yr9ssb

Till the next day...
http://tinyurl.com/2lygwx

-Scott

[JimG.]

I'll be in the Mad River Valley for 5 days starting this weekend. Driving up on Friday.

Your pics are making me drool.

Stowe is only a 45 minute drive from there. Even though I have a bunch of vouchers for MRG, it sounds like I should take a drive up to Stowe.

My only concern is the weekend crowd issue. I can hit Stowe on Sat or Sun, or wait until my last day on Wednesday next week.

Scott, will every powderhound in the east be at Stowe on Sat, especially if it snows? I know it's a dumb question, but humor me. Is Sun a bit less crowded than Sat? Maybe Sun would be the best day for me.

[kcyanks1]

Originally Posted by JimG.

Scott, will every powderhound in the east be at Stowe on Sat, especially if it snows? I know it's a dumb question, but humor me. Is Sun a bit less crowded than Sat? Maybe Sun would be the best day for me.

Scott will know far more than me, but I went last Sunday (my second day ever at Stowe, so I'm going based on 1-day), and it was not crowded. The Gondola had almost no line. The Forerunner Quad had a little wait in the morning but that seemed to shorten up in the afternoon. The Lookout Double was ski on my only time on it. Lines were not an issue at all.

[BeanoNYC]

Awsome pics! We should get together and put in an AZ group for the Stone Hut next year. How long did you have the place for?

[JimG.]

Originally Posted by kcyanks1

Scott will know far more than me, but I went last Sunday (my second day ever at Stowe, so I'm going based on 1-day), and it was not crowded. The Gondola had almost no line. The Forerunner Quad had a little wait in the morning but that seemed to shorten up in the afternoon. The Lookout Double was ski on my only time on it. Lines were not an issue at all.

Thanks...yeah, I'm thinking Sunday might be a better bet for me, especially since my drive up on Friday night might be a white knuckler with the snow. Not that I'm complaining because I'm not!

You might have benefitted from the fact that this past Sunday was the end of the holiday week and folks packed up and left early. I hope Scott chimes in with some feedback.

[powderfreak]

Originally Posted by JimG.

Thanks...yeah, I'm thinking Sunday might be a better bet for me, especially since my drive up on Friday night might be a white knuckler with the snow. Not that I'm complaining because I'm not!

You might have benefitted from the fact that this past Sunday was the end of the holiday week and folks packed up and left early. I hope Scott chimes in with some feedback.

This past weekend wasn't bad at all. The previous weekend, the one after the big storm, Stowe was filled to capacity. There are only so many cars they can park and only so many people they can put on the mtn...I believe that Saturday of Presidents weekend was a record or near record day as far as skier visits are concerned.

I'm sure if it snows, Saturday will be crowded but depending on how many people can actually make it to the mtn and exactly what the weather does, it might not be that bad. Sunday's always less crowded but if the weather is nice and folks start getting the word that the skiing is good, anyone within a 2-hr drive could show up.

If its over a foot of snow (I'm calling for 7-14"), then I'd say just go for Saturday. The storm hitting on Friday will stop a lot of folks from traveling up from the big cities on Friday afternoon...but they might get there by Saturday afternoon and stay all day Sunday. That would be my bet.

-Scott

[JimG.]

Originally Posted by powderfreak

If its over a foot of snow (I'm calling for 7-14"), then I'd say just go for Saturday. The storm hitting on Friday will stop a lot of folks from traveling up from the big cities on Friday afternoon...but they might get there by Saturday afternoon and stay all day Sunday. That would be my bet.

-Scott

Snow won't stop me, but I agree with your assessment...I'll aim for Saturday.

Thanks for the feedback and the forecast.