My Stowe Trip report thread..March 30th-April 5th

GrilledSteezeSandwich · Mar 30, 2008, 3:55 PM

I arrived here in Stowe around 3:20PM after a 7-hour drive. I drove route 22 east to 33 south to I-78 east to 287 north to 87 north 88 miles past Albany..then I took 74 east to 17 east past Mad River Glen to route 100 north. 415 miles from Allentown to Stowe 3/4 highway and 1/4 two lane roads. There is alot of snow up here..I'd say 2+ feet here in town. I spoke with VTMark on my drive up and I'm going to ski with him Saturday. It's in the low 40s and sunny here...T-shirt weather for VT. It looks like 1-2 inches of snow tomorrow in town and more on the mountain..then rain Tuesday followed by snow Tuesday night and then fair weather with scattered snow showers the rest of my trip.

Warp Daddy · Mar 30, 2008, 4:58 PM

Hey have a GREAT time - hope the weather rocks for u .

I'll be interested to hear of your conditions i've got a voucher for a Stowe freebie and may head up toward end of nexyt week if weather cooperates

BeanoNYC · Mar 30, 2008, 7:36 PM

That's good time. I've never approached Northern VT from anywhere North of Albany. I usually take 91 to 89...last time I took the Teconic and hooked up with the Benninton bypass and took 7 into Rutland and worked my way through Bethel back to 89. I hear people speak of "the northway." I'm assuming that's what you did. I'll try it next time.

GrilledSteezeSandwich · Mar 31, 2008, 11:54 AM

Stowe 3/31...

I arrived at the mountain at 8:00AM and purchased my lift ticket for $54. There were about 15 cars in the parking lot and it was 28 degrees under Cloudy skys. I first skied Ridgeview to Sunrise to Standard for a high speed cruiser. Wow was the cord good. I poked around off the trail a little and it was pretty crusty off trail. My second run was Lord to North Slope for more high speed cruising followed by one more Ridgeview to Sunrise to Standard. Due to the 40-something degree temps yesterday and the 20 something degree temps overnight anything ungroomed was pretty crispy. Then at 9:00AM I met up with KingSlug from Alpinezone and his wife. Kingslugs wife skied pretty fast for having a kneebrace.

At this point it began snowing heavily and we headed over to the Gondola for a dry ride up. We skied the top section of Chinclip which was dust on crust..then Switchback to Gondolier. The new snow on the groomed surface of Gondolier was velvety. Then we skied Perry Merrill and I ducked off into some woods off of Switchback which were getting better with the new snow. Then up the gondola again and down Cliff trail to Nosedive to Liftline..Then up the quad.

Kingslug was saying how he didn't like to ski woods so I showed him and his wife the easy Chapel woods off of Toll Road. The snowpack is so good that we were skiing up in the branches. I think Kingslug fell ass over tea kettle in the woods but I was ahead and didn't see it. Then we took the trip and skied Hayride..and Hayride loop down to the quad. At the top of the quad I decided to split up from them and ski some more challenging woods.

I first skied some really fun woods near sunrise where I like to go for safety meetings..

then took those down into the Chapel woods. Then up the Gondola and I skied the Slalom glades off Nosedive then below the Slalom glades to Cliff Trail...then across Nosedive to the lower Goatdive woods. Then back up the quad..I wanted to ski Goat but it was closed from the top so I went in the lower entrance from the top of Liftline. I skied a couple bumps flawlessly..then a snowsnake sent me on my ass...mad Homer Simpson..doh. After 4+ hours of skiing with no break..I was starting to get a little sloppy. I cut left into the Goatdive woods and by this point there was 3+ inches of new snow which was a great cushion above the refrozen crud. Then down midway to lower Liftline and I made the wise decision to quit...It's my first of 6 days in a row and I don't want to burn out on the first day. Today was my first day in 2 months that I got to ski sweet woods. My Rossi Scratch BCs were loving the woods and are surprisingly good making quick turns through the trees.

I left Stowe at 12:15PM and gave a hitch-hiker a ride into town. The snow is in the process of changing to rain..tomorrow is supposed to be in the 50s with rain, fog and wind. I'll be at Sugarbush taking advantage of their $1 April Fools day deal. O.K. time to get a burger from The Shed..

Oh and pictures will be posted when I return from Stowe...most likely when I'm back at work next Monday..

BeanoNYC · Mar 31, 2008, 11:58 AM

Slug's wife rips. I've skied with them at Stowe once.

GrilledSteezeSandwich · Apr 1, 2008, 1:27 PM

Hey All,

I'm back from a fun session at Sugarbush. I left Stowe at around 8:05AM and it was raining and 41 degrees with dense fog. I arrived at Sugarbush South(Lincoln Peak) at 8:50AM and it was 47 degrees with no precipitation and fog on the upper mountain. I booted up and with a print-out of the April Fools day press release from AlpineZone and $1...I secured a lift ticket. I boarded the Sugar Bravo lift at 9:03AM and the liftee said I was the first one..wow..and I felt like a putz this morning sleeping until 7:30AM. Only the Gatehouse and Sugar Bravo lifts were running due to intense upper mountain winds. The Sugar Bravo is over 1500 vertical feet and serves a variety of intermediate and expert terrain. I first skied Downspout which was a little stiff but still carvable. Then I skied The Mall which is a classic New England liftline bump run..all natural snow. In the troughs was hardpack and the bumps were uber soft rotting snow. I good challenge for sure..it was essential to be light with the pole plants because a strong pole plant on the top of a mogul resulted in my pole going 8-12 inches in. After the Mall I skied SpringFling to Snowball which had the best grooming on the mountain with some areas of fresh cord. Years ago when I was in college they used that run for a Jeep King of the Mountain Downhill. It's a good run for it due to a constant moderate pitch and lots of rollers.

I then cut over to the Gatehouse lift and saw Kingslug and his wife by the ski racks. They did not seem to be having a very good time but I saw them later and they seemed to be schredding the gnar just fine. The Gatehouse area didn't seem to get any love from the groomers and after one run on Waterfall under the lift and one run on Sleeper I went back to Sugar Bravo. I skied another run down Spring Fling to Snowball then hit some woods next to Dominoe. Wow the snow was manky in the woods and I needed to take a safety meeting to assess the tricky conditions..then I took lower Jester back to the base. Next up was Steins run which is a fun mogul run. It wasn't as tricky as the mall but still some slow spots and some fast spots. I had to stop twice on the way down and I was sweating like crazy. Then I skied two more runs on Downspout because by this point it was easy to carve hero snow with no people on it. The bumps on Birdland under the Sugar Bravo were calling my name so I took a run down that. Wow it was nice..mashed potatoe bumps but as this point my legs were starting to feel like Jello and I know I skied that run on Adrenaline alone due to it being under the chairlift....where I want to stick my zipperline. At this point is was a little after 12:00PM and I skied 13 runs in 3 hours...I decided on a final fast cruise down Spring Fling to Snowball. Some of the race kids from the Green Mountain Valley School were out and I had fun flying by them and picking them off one by one. I ended up skiied 12 runs off the Sugarbravo chair and 2 runs off the gatehouse chair. So at $1...each run cost be about 7 cents..so I think I got my moneys worth.

I left Sugarbush at 12:20PM and got a meatball and sausage sub from the Paradise store..It was 57 degrees when I left Sugarbush and areas of the mad river valley were as high as 61 degrees. It's now raining here in Stowe and almost 60 degrees..At least one foot of snow has melted so far and heavy thunderstorms are expected later this afternoon...then a front is expected to come through tonight and change over any leftover precipitation to snow. Tomorrow could be a day of windholds as well due to gusts as high as 60mph forecasted.

Today was way better than I expected..I thought I was going to be skiing in a downpour with the possibility of all the lifts on windhold. Tomorrow when it's dry out..I plan on taking alot of pictures..O.K. time for some beer and a nap...

andyzee · Apr 1, 2008, 1:36 PM

Holy crap, good report! No pics?

**Greg** · Apr 1, 2008, 2:30 PM

Temps in the 50's? I could have lapped the Mall all day or at least until the legs quit. No Twist or Moonshine? Thanks for the report.

GrilledSteezeSandwich · Apr 1, 2008, 5:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andyzee

Holy crap, good report! No pics?

When I get back to work on Monday I'll post pictures...on www.paskiandride.com I'm a supporter so I have 20mbs of space for uploads...so I'll first upload over there...Tomorrow should be a good picture day because it will be dry..

GrilledSteezeSandwich · Apr 1, 2008, 5:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg

Temps in the 50's? I could have lapped the Mall all day or at least until the legs quit. No Twist or Moonshine? Thanks for the report.

I skied Twist once as well...It was not typical 50s temperature snow...it was 100 percent mank..no corn at all...

Mar 30, 2008, 3:55 PM	#1 (permalink)
GrilledSteezeSandwich Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 7,726	My Stowe Trip report thread..March 30th-April 5th I arrived here in Stowe around 3:20PM after a 7-hour drive. I drove route 22 east to 33 south to I-78 east to 287 north to 87 north 88 miles past Albany..then I took 74 east to 17 east past Mad River Glen to route 100 north. 415 miles from Allentown to Stowe 3/4 highway and 1/4 two lane roads. There is alot of snow up here..I'd say 2+ feet here in town. I spoke with VTMark on my drive up and I'm going to ski with him Saturday. It's in the low 40s and sunny here...T-shirt weather for VT. It looks like 1-2 inches of snow tomorrow in town and more on the mountain..then rain Tuesday followed by snow Tuesday night and then fair weather with scattered snow showers the rest of my trip.

Mar 30, 2008, 4:58 PM	#2 (permalink)
Warp Daddy Warp and Werekong Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: St Lawrence River (north of "The 'Dacks" ) Posts: 2,343	Hey have a GREAT time - hope the weather rocks for u . I'll be interested to hear of your conditions i've got a voucher for a Stowe freebie and may head up toward end of nexyt week if weather cooperates __________________ Life Ain't No Dress Rehersal

Apr 1, 2008, 1:36 PM	#7 (permalink)
andyzee Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Home Posts: 7,396	Holy crap, good report! No pics? __________________ Hardware is out Stitches are out

Apr 1, 2008, 2:30 PM	#8 (permalink)
Greg Nassahegan, CT: 8/14 Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Thomaston, CT Posts: 20,309	Temps in the 50's? I could have lapped the Mall all day or at least until the legs quit. No Twist or Moonshine? Thanks for the report. __________________ Greg 2007-08, 2006-07, 2005-06, 2004-05 Life's too short for warm up runs.

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Mar 30, 2008, 7:36 PM	#3 (permalink)
BeanoNYC All along still it was the ghetto, nothing but the ghetto taking short steps one foot at a time... Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Rockaway Park, NY Posts: 4,242	That's good time. I've never approached Northern VT from anywhere North of Albany. I usually take 91 to 89...last time I took the Teconic and hooked up with the Benninton bypass and took 7 into Rutland and worked my way through Bethel back to 89. I hear people speak of "the northway." I'm assuming that's what you did. I'll try it next time.

Mar 31, 2008, 11:54 AM	#4 (permalink)
GrilledSteezeSandwich Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 7,726	Stowe 3/31... I arrived at the mountain at 8:00AM and purchased my lift ticket for $54. There were about 15 cars in the parking lot and it was 28 degrees under Cloudy skys. I first skied Ridgeview to Sunrise to Standard for a high speed cruiser. Wow was the cord good. I poked around off the trail a little and it was pretty crusty off trail. My second run was Lord to North Slope for more high speed cruising followed by one more Ridgeview to Sunrise to Standard. Due to the 40-something degree temps yesterday and the 20 something degree temps overnight anything ungroomed was pretty crispy. Then at 9:00AM I met up with KingSlug from Alpinezone and his wife. Kingslugs wife skied pretty fast for having a kneebrace. At this point it began snowing heavily and we headed over to the Gondola for a dry ride up. We skied the top section of Chinclip which was dust on crust..then Switchback to Gondolier. The new snow on the groomed surface of Gondolier was velvety. Then we skied Perry Merrill and I ducked off into some woods off of Switchback which were getting better with the new snow. Then up the gondola again and down Cliff trail to Nosedive to Liftline..Then up the quad. Kingslug was saying how he didn't like to ski woods so I showed him and his wife the easy Chapel woods off of Toll Road. The snowpack is so good that we were skiing up in the branches. I think Kingslug fell ass over tea kettle in the woods but I was ahead and didn't see it. Then we took the trip and skied Hayride..and Hayride loop down to the quad. At the top of the quad I decided to split up from them and ski some more challenging woods. I first skied some really fun woods near sunrise where I like to go for safety meetings.. then took those down into the Chapel woods. Then up the Gondola and I skied the Slalom glades off Nosedive then below the Slalom glades to Cliff Trail...then across Nosedive to the lower Goatdive woods. Then back up the quad..I wanted to ski Goat but it was closed from the top so I went in the lower entrance from the top of Liftline. I skied a couple bumps flawlessly..then a snowsnake sent me on my ass...mad Homer Simpson..doh. After 4+ hours of skiing with no break..I was starting to get a little sloppy. I cut left into the Goatdive woods and by this point there was 3+ inches of new snow which was a great cushion above the refrozen crud. Then down midway to lower Liftline and I made the wise decision to quit...It's my first of 6 days in a row and I don't want to burn out on the first day. Today was my first day in 2 months that I got to ski sweet woods. My Rossi Scratch BCs were loving the woods and are surprisingly good making quick turns through the trees. I left Stowe at 12:15PM and gave a hitch-hiker a ride into town. The snow is in the process of changing to rain..tomorrow is supposed to be in the 50s with rain, fog and wind. I'll be at Sugarbush taking advantage of their $1 April Fools day deal. O.K. time to get a burger from The Shed.. Oh and pictures will be posted when I return from Stowe...most likely when I'm back at work next Monday..

Mar 31, 2008, 11:58 AM	#5 (permalink)
BeanoNYC All along still it was the ghetto, nothing but the ghetto taking short steps one foot at a time... Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Rockaway Park, NY Posts: 4,242	Slug's wife rips. I've skied with them at Stowe once.

Apr 1, 2008, 1:27 PM	#6 (permalink)
GrilledSteezeSandwich Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 7,726	Hey All, I'm back from a fun session at Sugarbush. I left Stowe at around 8:05AM and it was raining and 41 degrees with dense fog. I arrived at Sugarbush South(Lincoln Peak) at 8:50AM and it was 47 degrees with no precipitation and fog on the upper mountain. I booted up and with a print-out of the April Fools day press release from AlpineZone and $1...I secured a lift ticket. I boarded the Sugar Bravo lift at 9:03AM and the liftee said I was the first one..wow..and I felt like a putz this morning sleeping until 7:30AM. Only the Gatehouse and Sugar Bravo lifts were running due to intense upper mountain winds. The Sugar Bravo is over 1500 vertical feet and serves a variety of intermediate and expert terrain. I first skied Downspout which was a little stiff but still carvable. Then I skied The Mall which is a classic New England liftline bump run..all natural snow. In the troughs was hardpack and the bumps were uber soft rotting snow. I good challenge for sure..it was essential to be light with the pole plants because a strong pole plant on the top of a mogul resulted in my pole going 8-12 inches in. After the Mall I skied SpringFling to Snowball which had the best grooming on the mountain with some areas of fresh cord. Years ago when I was in college they used that run for a Jeep King of the Mountain Downhill. It's a good run for it due to a constant moderate pitch and lots of rollers. I then cut over to the Gatehouse lift and saw Kingslug and his wife by the ski racks. They did not seem to be having a very good time but I saw them later and they seemed to be schredding the gnar just fine. The Gatehouse area didn't seem to get any love from the groomers and after one run on Waterfall under the lift and one run on Sleeper I went back to Sugar Bravo. I skied another run down Spring Fling to Snowball then hit some woods next to Dominoe. Wow the snow was manky in the woods and I needed to take a safety meeting to assess the tricky conditions..then I took lower Jester back to the base. Next up was Steins run which is a fun mogul run. It wasn't as tricky as the mall but still some slow spots and some fast spots. I had to stop twice on the way down and I was sweating like crazy. Then I skied two more runs on Downspout because by this point it was easy to carve hero snow with no people on it. The bumps on Birdland under the Sugar Bravo were calling my name so I took a run down that. Wow it was nice..mashed potatoe bumps but as this point my legs were starting to feel like Jello and I know I skied that run on Adrenaline alone due to it being under the chairlift....where I want to stick my zipperline. At this point is was a little after 12:00PM and I skied 13 runs in 3 hours...I decided on a final fast cruise down Spring Fling to Snowball. Some of the race kids from the Green Mountain Valley School were out and I had fun flying by them and picking them off one by one. I ended up skiied 12 runs off the Sugarbravo chair and 2 runs off the gatehouse chair. So at $1...each run cost be about 7 cents..so I think I got my moneys worth. I left Sugarbush at 12:20PM and got a meatball and sausage sub from the Paradise store..It was 57 degrees when I left Sugarbush and areas of the mad river valley were as high as 61 degrees. It's now raining here in Stowe and almost 60 degrees..At least one foot of snow has melted so far and heavy thunderstorms are expected later this afternoon...then a front is expected to come through tonight and change over any leftover precipitation to snow. Tomorrow could be a day of windholds as well due to gusts as high as 60mph forecasted. Today was way better than I expected..I thought I was going to be skiing in a downpour with the possibility of all the lifts on windhold. Tomorrow when it's dry out..I plan on taking alot of pictures..O.K. time for some beer and a nap...