Burke: 2/10/08 (Powder Day!)

[thetrailboss]

Date(s) Skied: February 10, 2008

Resort or Ski Area: Burke Mountain

Conditions: 4-6 inches of P, Chowder

Weather: Heavy Snow and clouds, temps in the 20's.

2007-2008 Report # : 33

Trip Report: Mission Impossible. The original trailboss had crowed about how great the conditions were, but my schedule pretty much had blocked me from skiing this weekend again...I did have a small window this afternoon and I jumped at it. After taking care of business, I found myself driving up I-91 in a blizzard to get to Burke. I got there at 2pm or so...and ran into MG, my third grade teacher from 1989-1990, the woman who was responsible for launching the Ski Program at my school and who in fact deserves the credit for getting me on the slopes when I was a kid.

"How is the skiing?" She asked.

"I'll tell you in a bit!" I replied.

I was prepared to throw on the boots and head out. I had little time so that meant that I had to ski fast and be efficient.

Got on the HSQ and headed to Mid Burke and then up the quad.

"You are getting here at just the right time!" My chairmates said to me. I laughed.
"No, seriously. We just had about 4-5 inches dumped on the trail as you can see. This morning it was all groomed. Now it is pow...and the trees are unloading their bounty on the trails."

I thanked them and hit East Bowl. My 110cm's were a good choice today...which allowed me to enjoy the pow and chow on the sides. Amazing.



I knew that the Poma would be instrumental in allowing me to get as many runs as possible, and I utilized it to hit many trails. Next spin was down Doug's Drop. As I headed off the Poma, I hit a deep drift of pow and was stopped. Wow. De ja vous folks...the trail is back to primo status. Deep drifts, pow, and some ice here and there, but well worth the spin.



I enjoyed it and dove onto Mountain Marsh to find more great deep snow on the sides. I was stoked...so off into Marshland I went to find EXCELLENT lines on the extreme side. Wow.



Wow. To top off this run I dove into Lower Boarderline and enjoyed the nice bumps.

Back up the Poma...took Ledges down. It was nice, but nothing to write home about...some nice drifted snow, but some ice underneath in places made for dicey going. As I figured, skier's right held the deepest snow and the snow that had been pushed off the rest of the trail. Fox's Folly, on the other hand, had some amazing chowder.



So I screamed down Fox's, hugging the left and then the right side and eating up the chowder before hitting the quad.

By now I had under an hour to go...so I was hoping to get three more runs. I hit a nice worm hole that led me to a new favorite spot of mine:





Wow. The woods are awesome folks. They did not get as much ice as the trails...

I ended up down on Toll Road and found the elusive Scooby Doo, which I had not skied since 2003. Can we say sensational?



This dumped me out onto Mountain Marsh and then down a super nice Boarderline. Deep pow on the side...simply delicious.



By now I had to move...pulled the trigger on the Poma and scored a nice run down Fox's Folly. Deep snow and bumps...and then I cut onto McHarg's Cutoff and then found a nice line in Little Chief. Tiny Chief, or "Pocohontas" as Matt calls it, was simply amazing...soft pow and few tracks:



So it was 3:55 and I was on the Quad. Last run was down Sasquatch to Wilderness....simply amazing.



Then I hit a nice stash near Powderhorn and Toll Road...with pow and bumps before dumping out onto Lew's Leap. I was ripping up the pow on extreme right when I got to the leap on far right...a ledge that required mandatory air or climbing back up. Well I scouted it out...I could make a small leap...perhaps 2-3 feet of air...before landing in pow. I took a breath, closed my eyes, and launched it. Wow. Amazing. I landed it and then danced down the side, eating up 6-12 inches of pow...and hitting the bumps nicely. I was on fire.

I headed down to the bottom...amazing. Well worth the drive. What an afternoon...and a great way to get some exercise!!!

As I headed out, I ran into MG again.

"So to answer your question, the skiing was EXCELLENT today!"

She laughed and then turned to a friend and said, "this is M----, he was one of my third grade skiers."

I smiled, and replied, "do you remember how I could not leave the lower mountain at all my first season?
Well, today I skied Ledges, Doug's Drop, and the trees. It's amazing how far I've come, and to think that it started back in third grade thanks to you and the program!"

She smiled. "I always thought that skiing was a life skill." How right she is.

I thanked her again for the program and headed home. Life goes by fast when you are skiing I guess....

[thetrailboss]

The "Powerline:"



And the "leap of faith" on Lew's:



To see these and many more great pics, click HERE.

[Rushski]

Excellent TR... Great documentation.

Burke is definitely an overlooked gem, especially to us Southerners.

[awf170]

Awesome day. I started skiing around 1:30 and I would have to say my first run wasn't that. But right as I loaded the lift for my second lap it started to dump. By the time I got off the lift there was close to 2 inches of the ground and everything skied very, very well for the rest of the day.

[Greg]

Nice pics, TTB.

Originally Posted by thetrailboss

My 110cm's were a good choice today...which allowed me to enjoy the pow and chow on the sides.

Please don't be offended, but I have to ask this. Why do you like to ski these little skis so much? I have to imagine they are a nightmare in powder. I mean they are only 30 cm longer than my 5 year old daughter's skis. I've seen you ski, TTB and you're a very good skier. You don't need a kid's ski to "allow" you to ski anything. I just think you're short changing yourself with these things...

[Grassi21]

Great pics. I've yet to get a day like that this season....

[from_the_NEK]

I was there for the morning, before it started dumping. It was all still very good before the snow squall/whiteout. Got some great knee deep in Flamin Eddie's and another undisclosed location

[andyzee]

You suck!

[skifastr]

wow! Ive never been to Burke but these pics really make me want to check it out!

[andyzee]

Originally Posted by skifastr

wow! Ive never been to Burke but these pics really make me want to check it out!

Definetly worth checking out.