Jiminy Peak - 2/5/2006

**Greg** · Feb 5, 2006, 8:29 PM

Date(s) Skied: Sunday, February 5, 2006, 10:30 am - 2:45 pm

Resort or Ski Area: Jiminy Peak - Hancock, Massachusetts

Conditions: Spring conditions, frozen ganular. Cloudy, temps in the high 30's, no wind.

Trip Report: Took a run up to Jiminy today with my father-in-law. We arrived a bit later in the morning, but we fingured it didn't matter. It turned out the conditions only improved as the snow dried out. We hit every open run and all were similar - slushy spring conditions early with loose granular as the day wore on. The surface conditions were actually really good today with DEEP carveable snow. Make no mistake about, the mountain is still doing fine and should only improve with the upcoming cold weather. Runs of the day were North Glade and Jericho. Skier's left of Whitetail was also really good. All in all a very satisfying day and a ton better than I expected.

I also had the opportunity to try out the new skis today - Volkl Unlimited AC3s. All I can say is 'wow'. These skis are fun. They don't let you ski conservatively though; you have to remain very aggressive in order to let these skis perform. I felt obligated to ski them hard all day and the harder I pushed them, the more fun they were. I've only skied probably 10 different sets of skis in my entire life so keep that in mind when reading this 'review' but I must say these skis are by far the best I've ever ridden. More 'turny' that the Volkl 724 EXPs that I demoed last season, but like all Volkls they like to be skied fast. Real springy rebound, but depite the somewhat wild ride, they remained extremely secure and I was more confident on them than my old skis (K2 Axis X Pros) which were also very stable. I even felt more confident in taking some hits at various trail merges and caught some pretty decent air. The did well on the bumps on Cutter as well. The somewhat thick conditions today really let these things shine. I'm looking forward to trying them on some hard pack. On the slicker, steeper sections of Whitetail and Jericho, they gripped with ease, but even the icey looking surfaces today would be edgeable with most skis. I'm truly happy with them and with its 74mm waist, I'd argue that the Volkl Unlimited AC3 is the perfect East coast ski. Fat enough for the deeper snow, but a narrow enough waist that they should do well on the hard pack and even in the bumps. At 165 lbs., the 170 cm felt perfect. I certainly wasn't overskiing it. Great ski!

snowmonster · Feb 5, 2006, 9:20 PM

Thanks for the trip report, Greg. Looks like I should have headed to western Mass today. Thanks too for your gear review. Now I'm totally convinced that there's an AC3 in my immediate future!

skijay · Feb 6, 2006, 8:22 PM

Just curious, were there a lot of people there on Sunday? I am asking because Butternut was not crowded on Saturday. The conditions were good and actually better than I expected.

**Greg** · Feb 7, 2006, 6:22 AM

No. Very little crowds. Seems like there were many more kids than usual, but perhaps that was just because they were not diluted among the usual crowd. 2-3 minute wait for the six, tops. The triple and quads were ski-on.

Marc · Feb 7, 2006, 12:00 PM

Good TR/Ski review, Greg.

I'll def. have to demo the AC3 in a 170. The only thing I was concerned with was weight, do you feel that to be limiting at all? Also considering the Legend 8000's. Those might be my AT setup, if I get into that.

Bob R · Feb 7, 2006, 1:55 PM

Probably felt good to just get out. Glad you got to play with the new gear.

**ALLSKIING** · Feb 7, 2006, 2:14 PM

Nice ...Glad you got out and got to try the new sticks!!

Feb 5, 2006, 8:29 PM	#1 (permalink)
Greg Nassahegan, CT: 8/14 Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Thomaston, CT Posts: 20,303	Jiminy Peak - 2/5/2006 Date(s) Skied: Sunday, February 5, 2006, 10:30 am - 2:45 pm Resort or Ski Area: Jiminy Peak - Hancock, Massachusetts Conditions: Spring conditions, frozen ganular. Cloudy, temps in the high 30's, no wind. Trip Report: Took a run up to Jiminy today with my father-in-law. We arrived a bit later in the morning, but we fingured it didn't matter. It turned out the conditions only improved as the snow dried out. We hit every open run and all were similar - slushy spring conditions early with loose granular as the day wore on. The surface conditions were actually really good today with DEEP carveable snow. Make no mistake about, the mountain is still doing fine and should only improve with the upcoming cold weather. Runs of the day were North Glade and Jericho. Skier's left of Whitetail was also really good. All in all a very satisfying day and a ton better than I expected. I also had the opportunity to try out the new skis today - Volkl Unlimited AC3s. All I can say is 'wow'. These skis are fun. They don't let you ski conservatively though; you have to remain very aggressive in order to let these skis perform. I felt obligated to ski them hard all day and the harder I pushed them, the more fun they were. I've only skied probably 10 different sets of skis in my entire life so keep that in mind when reading this 'review' but I must say these skis are by far the best I've ever ridden. More 'turny' that the Volkl 724 EXPs that I demoed last season, but like all Volkls they like to be skied fast. Real springy rebound, but depite the somewhat wild ride, they remained extremely secure and I was more confident on them than my old skis (K2 Axis X Pros) which were also very stable. I even felt more confident in taking some hits at various trail merges and caught some pretty decent air. The did well on the bumps on Cutter as well. The somewhat thick conditions today really let these things shine. I'm looking forward to trying them on some hard pack. On the slicker, steeper sections of Whitetail and Jericho, they gripped with ease, but even the icey looking surfaces today would be edgeable with most skis. I'm truly happy with them and with its 74mm waist, I'd argue that the Volkl Unlimited AC3 is the perfect East coast ski. Fat enough for the deeper snow, but a narrow enough waist that they should do well on the hard pack and even in the bumps. At 165 lbs., the 170 cm felt perfect. I certainly wasn't overskiing it. Great ski! __________________ Greg 2007-08, 2006-07, 2005-06, 2004-05 Life's too short for warm up runs.

Feb 5, 2006, 9:20 PM	#2 (permalink)
snowmonster Stowe - December 31, 2007 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: In my mind, northern New England Posts: 742	Thanks for the trip report, Greg. Looks like I should have headed to western Mass today. Thanks too for your gear review. Now I'm totally convinced that there's an AC3 in my immediate future! __________________ To you from failing hands we throw the torch. Be yours to hold it high.

Feb 7, 2006, 6:22 AM	#4 (permalink)
Greg Nassahegan, CT: 8/14 Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Thomaston, CT Posts: 20,303	No. Very little crowds. Seems like there were many more kids than usual, but perhaps that was just because they were not diluted among the usual crowd. 2-3 minute wait for the six, tops. The triple and quads were ski-on. __________________ Greg 2007-08, 2006-07, 2005-06, 2004-05 Life's too short for warm up runs.

Feb 7, 2006, 12:00 PM	#5 (permalink)
Marc I'm with psycho --> Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Dudley, MA Posts: 5,354	Good TR/Ski review, Greg. I'll def. have to demo the AC3 in a 170. The only thing I was concerned with was weight, do you feel that to be limiting at all? Also considering the Legend 8000's. Those might be my AT setup, if I get into that. __________________ Making sanity obsolete since 1982...

Feb 7, 2006, 1:55 PM	#6 (permalink)
Bob R Sunday River Feb 27 2008 Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Nashua NH, Campton NH, Sunday River Posts: 6,747	Probably felt good to just get out. Glad you got to play with the new gear. __________________ Skiing is my addiction. Need a condo in the southern White mountain region?.

Feb 6, 2006, 8:22 PM	#3 (permalink)
skijay Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: CT Avatar: T-bar @ Mont Shefford Posts: 686	Just curious, were there a lot of people there on Sunday? I am asking because Butternut was not crowded on Saturday. The conditions were good and actually better than I expected.

Feb 7, 2006, 2:14 PM	#7 (permalink)
ALLSKIING The Glen Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Mattituck, NY Posts: 4,320	Nice ...Glad you got out and got to try the new sticks!! __________________ Dave 35 days 07/08 Season

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