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Mt Ellen - March 1 2015

bdfreetuna

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Crowds were not bad at all, usually waited in line for a couple minutes and there was no trouble seating in the lodge.

In the morning the snow was like a very very dense packed powder. The groomers were fast and carveable. Moguls were quite nice, a little slick in the troughs sometimes.

After lunch the North Ridge was shut down due to mechanical problems. This made it tricky to complete all the targets for the day, as the alternative of skiing to the bottom and then riding 2 lifts up to the summit to get to that terrain isn't really an option that begs repeating too many times.

Woods were very tracked out, and Semi Tough woods on Inverness were like a preview of spring conditions. Spring like, including exposed rocks and stumps. Sugarbush apparently doesn't have squat for a base under the new softer snow. I'm not sure how long their woods are going to hold up. Not that there isn't enough snow most everywhere-- but the number of obstacles is already getting up there, depending which woods to what extent.

It was kind of an off-day for me in terms of skiing skills and confidence. Vastly different conditions from Bolton the week before.

Probably my last visit to Mt Ellen for a while. I do admire the mountain and the terrain is good but it's a long drive for options I usually enjoy more.

Some woods off the green trail that connects to Inverness.
IDK.jpg

Bravo Woods
BravoWoods.jpg

Spring like conditions in Semi Tough woods
SemiTough.jpg

Tumbler Woods, mostly skiable
TumblerWood.jpg

Some woods that connect Tumbler Woods to Lower FIS
WoodsToFIS.jpg
 

WWF-VT

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Semi Tough Woods is very open, at lower elevation, gets a lot of sun exposure as well as traffic so it will not last as long as other woods options.
 

Savemeasammy

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I skied Sugarbush on Friday and Stowe on Saturday. I found the bumps at Sugarbush to be very firm. The bumps at Stowe were a bit softer, but the snow was much better - particularly on Spruce. The only woods I went into at Sugarbush was Lew's Line. The steeper sections were definitely showing some wear.


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benski

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I skied Sugarbush on Friday and Stowe on Saturday. I found the bumps at Sugarbush to be very firm. The bumps at Stowe were a bit softer, but the snow was much better - particularly on Spruce. The only woods I went into at Sugarbush was Lew's Line. The steeper sections were definitely showing some wear.


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The steep section of Lews line always gets scraped off.


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bdfreetuna

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I think the Killington / Pico area and Bolton / Smuggs / Stowe area have been a bit more blessed with snow.

I'm curious how South VT is doing since I haven't skied there in a bit. Seems like they had a good base early on and got lucky with the coastal storm action.
 

bdfreetuna

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Semi Tough Woods is very open, at lower elevation, gets a lot of sun exposure as well as traffic so it will not last as long as other woods options.

I'm glad I got to ski it in spring like conditions. Spring woods skiing is my favorite. I just want the snow to hang in there for a while!
 

xwhaler

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The steep section of Lews line always gets scraped off.


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I dropped in Lews Line this AM and upon first turn hit some ice and faceplanted! Bumps were pretty hard in there and not seeing some of them with the fresh snow on top made it tricky.
 

Savemeasammy

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I dropped in Lews Line this AM and upon first turn hit some ice and faceplanted! Bumps were pretty hard in there and not seeing some of them with the fresh snow on top made it tricky.

Bummer! On Friday, the ice was plainly visible, as were a few rocks! It was easy enough to avoid if you could see it. As long as your wife didn't get any pics or video it's all good.


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