I had planned a vacation for this time slot back in early January and somehow the stars aligned to deliver one of the best ski trips I've ever taken. Usually when you book a ski trip way in advance out west you have a pretty good chance at good snow but in the east it's always a crap shoot and after many failed attempts I definitely cashed in on this one!!
The best part about the whole trip was that the total monetary outlay for lift tickets on perhaps the most epic 4 days of the ski season was a mere $69. The first two days at Stowe were CT Ski Council awareness days and with free vouchers for Smuggs (thanks o3Jeff) and Burke how could I go wrong!
The Wife and I headed out on Wednesday night from CT and drove up to my folks place in Ludlow. The drive up was fine until the pouring rain turned into a driving snow and reduced travel speeds down to 15mph on parts of Route 103. It was snowing so hard it was almost impossible to see the road. Pulling into town, we were greeted with a good 6-8 inches of snow and more to come during the overnight. Ye-haa!
The trip up to Stowe on Thursday morning was a bit slow and tedious none the less we pulled in to the lot at Spruce, booted up and were on the hill by 9:15am. The first few runs warming up the legs were amazing. the snow couple inches that had fallen overnight was light and fluffy and made for some great turns! We did several laps up and down and began are travels into the woods where the snow was off the charts! I'd been waiting for such condition in the woods for a long time and everything was perfect until my Wife tweaked her calf muscle! I was bummed for the wife and for the fact that I was going to potentially miss the rest of a great day on the hill. Either way, got my love off the hill and attended to her needs for the rest of the afternoon.
Perhaps my attentive actions on Thursday were rewarded overnight because when I awoke on Friday it was snowing pretty hard! Only looked like a couple inches on the car but when the I hit the hill it was quite a bit deeper, like a foot of blower deeper! It was likely the most epic day I've ever had on Mansfield. Pretty much spent the day in the woods as you could literally ski any where you wanted! The snow in places was deep, well up over the knees deep in places. Face shots were a common occurrence!
After an epic day at Stowe, I headed over to Smuggs on Saturday to ride with an old friend and long time local. The snow had continued overnight and another couple inches of snow had fallen. After a quick warm up run it was all about the trees! We alternated between the off the map in-bounds tree runs and the magical back bowls! Pretty much went bell to bell and made perhaps my best turns of 2014! Imagine 20-25 linked turns in completely un-tracked powder in an open forest, magical indeed!!
The great part about skiing Smuggs on Saturday was that my injured wife was waiting for me in the parking lot at Spruce Peak @ Stowe! Got the chance to end my day by going up and over the back side of Sterling Mountain, crossing Spruce Pond and descending the trails at Stowe to the parking lot! When I came across the pond the snow was nuking, the wind blowing and I felt a great calmness come over me. I was in the middle of nowhere on top of a mountain and alone in a driving snowstorm, a happy place for sure!!! The turns down to the parking lot were pretty sweet too!
The final day of my juggernaut was at Burke Mtn! The drive over from Stowe on route 15 was a bit hairy as it was still snowing! Met up with some friends and proceeded, despite my worked legs, to rip one run after another on the Mid-Burke express! The snow was epic and finally had a chance to see all that Qburke has to offer!
The Burke ski community is a special one for sure! In the short hours I skied today I met so many wonderful and passionate folks my head began to spin!
The best part about the whole trip was that the total monetary outlay for lift tickets on perhaps the most epic 4 days of the ski season was a mere $69. The first two days at Stowe were CT Ski Council awareness days and with free vouchers for Smuggs (thanks o3Jeff) and Burke how could I go wrong!
The Wife and I headed out on Wednesday night from CT and drove up to my folks place in Ludlow. The drive up was fine until the pouring rain turned into a driving snow and reduced travel speeds down to 15mph on parts of Route 103. It was snowing so hard it was almost impossible to see the road. Pulling into town, we were greeted with a good 6-8 inches of snow and more to come during the overnight. Ye-haa!
The trip up to Stowe on Thursday morning was a bit slow and tedious none the less we pulled in to the lot at Spruce, booted up and were on the hill by 9:15am. The first few runs warming up the legs were amazing. the snow couple inches that had fallen overnight was light and fluffy and made for some great turns! We did several laps up and down and began are travels into the woods where the snow was off the charts! I'd been waiting for such condition in the woods for a long time and everything was perfect until my Wife tweaked her calf muscle! I was bummed for the wife and for the fact that I was going to potentially miss the rest of a great day on the hill. Either way, got my love off the hill and attended to her needs for the rest of the afternoon.
Perhaps my attentive actions on Thursday were rewarded overnight because when I awoke on Friday it was snowing pretty hard! Only looked like a couple inches on the car but when the I hit the hill it was quite a bit deeper, like a foot of blower deeper! It was likely the most epic day I've ever had on Mansfield. Pretty much spent the day in the woods as you could literally ski any where you wanted! The snow in places was deep, well up over the knees deep in places. Face shots were a common occurrence!
After an epic day at Stowe, I headed over to Smuggs on Saturday to ride with an old friend and long time local. The snow had continued overnight and another couple inches of snow had fallen. After a quick warm up run it was all about the trees! We alternated between the off the map in-bounds tree runs and the magical back bowls! Pretty much went bell to bell and made perhaps my best turns of 2014! Imagine 20-25 linked turns in completely un-tracked powder in an open forest, magical indeed!!
The great part about skiing Smuggs on Saturday was that my injured wife was waiting for me in the parking lot at Spruce Peak @ Stowe! Got the chance to end my day by going up and over the back side of Sterling Mountain, crossing Spruce Pond and descending the trails at Stowe to the parking lot! When I came across the pond the snow was nuking, the wind blowing and I felt a great calmness come over me. I was in the middle of nowhere on top of a mountain and alone in a driving snowstorm, a happy place for sure!!! The turns down to the parking lot were pretty sweet too!
The final day of my juggernaut was at Burke Mtn! The drive over from Stowe on route 15 was a bit hairy as it was still snowing! Met up with some friends and proceeded, despite my worked legs, to rip one run after another on the Mid-Burke express! The snow was epic and finally had a chance to see all that Qburke has to offer!
The Burke ski community is a special one for sure! In the short hours I skied today I met so many wonderful and passionate folks my head began to spin!
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