Stowe March 29

Day 83.

So the snowpack is deep. 9 feet deep to be exact.
http://tinyurl.com/2g49xw

I can honestly say I haven't been up on top with this much snow on the ground. Here's a comparison from last March: On the side of the Toll Road there's this hut (maybe a very old toll booth?) and its got a standard 7-8 foot doorway that you can walk into in the summer.
Sorry the image is big but it should resize itself...all you can see is the upper corner of the 7.5 foot high doorway (from last March).
http://tinyurl.com/yvq3zg
On Saturday, when Dave and I were skinning up the Toll Road we found this structure completely buried. On the right of the Toll Road you can see the tracks leading over to where the structure is located. That little pyramid of snow is really the only thing left that even hints that a structure exists under there. Its completely gone and an even 9 foot spread of glacier is now occupying upper Mansfield.
http://tinyurl.com/2yqyan

Dave skinning on the ridge...you can walk onto the roof of this maintenance building.
http://tinyurl.com/2xdtsn

We were in and out of dark clouds so the lighting was very poor at times but I had to take shots of these upper woods. This is usually impenetrable forest but right now you can skin across the top of the forest. Its turned into a meadow and with wind-loading up here, I'd wager the snow depth could be significantly deeper than 9 feet at times.
http://tinyurl.com/2y2vm5
http://tinyurl.com/26dvya

We are getting to know the wildlife up here...our buddy the Ridge Porcupine is still kickin' it up here in a pretty harsh environment. It was cold up here with a 0F at the top of the quad and a stiff wind; hopefully the little guy stays warm in his various holes. He is the guardian of Spruce Chute and the 100-Inch Chute.
http://tinyurl.com/ywygxd
We ate lunch with him back in the middle of March, too.
http://tinyurl.com/yvzwfu

On the lee-side, the powder was light and had blown-in to knee deep on top of a variable base under-foot. It was obvious that the sun had mangled the snow into a breakable crust before the 4-5" of fluffy powder fell.
http://tinyurl.com/2hl4jx
The terrain is pretty sweet for a 10-15 minute skin from the top of the Quad.
http://tinyurl.com/yvrlb4
http://tinyurl.com/2xbq9f
http://tinyurl.com/2e9bl6
http://tinyurl.com/278opt

We spent the rest of the day exploring the low angle hardwoods off Chin Clip...taking all the "sucker" lines to acre upon acre of sweet Vermont hardwoods with a 6 foot snowpack. Jimmy and Scotty explored this area with us in December (a sweet birch glade that ends in a buried marsh) and guys, we need to go back there for 1,500 vertical feet of perfectly spaced hardwoods.
http://tinyurl.com/29t4qp
The creekbeds can still be a problem at the bottom but now that there's 1-2 feet back in them, you can usually find a way across. Just watch out for the 6 foot walls on either side of the beds. This is at 1,600ft right behind the snowmaking office...makes me think we'll be skiing these woods till the end.
http://tinyurl.com/23yuj8
http://tinyurl.com/26uj6x

Like Ranger Renson said, its really only mid-season up in Vermont because we've got a lot of skiing left to do!

-Scott

those creek beds can be fun especialy when you slam into the other side. i did a nice one a few weeks ago where the nose of board stuck in the otherside like an arrow in a target.

hardline said:

those creek beds can be fun especially when you slam into the other side. i did a nice one a few weeks ago where the nose of board stuck in the otherside like an arrow in a target.

Click to expand...

Kinda like in the comics when the character goes "splat" flat on the wall.

Thanks for all the excellent photos. I haven't been up in about a month, so it's nice to see it's holding up well.

You guys should really be going up from the Gondola and skiing Peak to Creek. Skin up to the top of the adams apple. Even a month ago I skied off the roof of the Taft lodge. It must be completely covered by now.

I had a ball skiing stream beds last Saturday. The snow pack really has hit that magical 100 inches where everything just opens up. Epic spring, hopefully it stays a while, at least on the Mtn.