Date(s) Skied: 2/19/2012
Resort or Ski Area: Mad River Glen
Conditions: Packed Powder / some Hard Packed
Trip Report: My first time at Mad River - only regret I have is that I never went sooner! Overall, a completely awesome day today at Mad River Glen. Went with a buddy of mine who I haven't skied with in probably seven or eight years and bonus, got to make turns all day with Snowmonster himself.
Started off on the day at 9:30 after a 4 hr drive up (ugh!). Went right up the single with Dean, and we went skier's right the entire way down. What a first run - Upper Antelope --> Catamount --> Lower Antelope. By the time I got to the bottom of lower antelope and had to do that short hike back to the Rockefellers, I was sweating through every piece of clothing I had and my calves were already on fire. I went into the lodge to drop off my fleece and met Snowmonster for the first time.
We went back out and rode the single again - this time had some great lines in Fall Line / Creamery / Upper Glades. It was really a blast. I LOVE all the bumps and the opportunities for short (3, 4') drops all over the place. So much fun. A few icy / rock spots, but the majority was in great shape.
We then rode the double a few times, and spent a lot of time in non-gladed woods next to various trails. Snowmonster might recall but I think they were Chipmunk / Lark / etc. I have a lot of video of that, some funny stuff and a lot of just flopping over when some random branch caught my boot somewhere. But a blast and every so often when you could grab 2, 3 turns of powder back to back - all worthwhile.
Grabbed a Single Chair Ale and a burger for lunch in between, then the double a few more times.
Last run of the day was Paradise, which I had been itching to ski since I saw that video Greg posted sometime ago here. It wasn't that good (no fresh powder .. wahhh) but it was still very nice and fun, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Overall the snow was excellent, lines weren't too bad - probably 20 min at the most on the single right before lunch time - definitely better than I was expecting. We spent a ton of time in the woods and got to make a few fresh powder turns as well which was very nice.
Also wanted to say, my first time at MRG, while the "uphill capacity and speed" can seem tedious, it all is paid back when you ski down in relative isolation. It's so nice skiing and only seeing a couple other people around you. While there may be waits at the lift line there was not even a remote hint of a crowd anywhere on the slopes. A+
Paradise - best run of the day for me, the last section that pops out on Fox was absolutely amazing
I *think* this was also Paradise
Some woods .... forget where this was exactly. Perhaps Snowmonster will remember - that's him in the pic
Might have been between Quacky and Gazelle? WE had lost Dean at this point when he went skier's left into some other area and I was actually wondering for a bit if he would turn up below. It was very dense in here, a couple turns and then planning out the next move was necessary.
Looking down Chute from the top of the single
Paradise, towards the top, our last run of the day. Snowmonster making the turn
Alternated between sunny and cloudy all day, but overall very nice - mid 30's. Snowmonster on the left, Dean on the right
My buddy Dean as we are waiting on the line for the Single chair
End of the day
Here are my AlpineReplay stats for the day -- http://www.alpinereplay.com/stats/u?uId=5547&vId=56261
I have to say I think it missed the last run. I think we did 7 runs for the day, three on the single chair and four on the double - the last run down Paradise didn't take. I'm not sure if my battery died or what. My phone was still on when I pulled it out of my pocket but it was down to 15% or so so it's possible it just killed the GPS to save battery.
Here is the Youtube vid!
Resort or Ski Area: Mad River Glen
Conditions: Packed Powder / some Hard Packed
Trip Report: My first time at Mad River - only regret I have is that I never went sooner! Overall, a completely awesome day today at Mad River Glen. Went with a buddy of mine who I haven't skied with in probably seven or eight years and bonus, got to make turns all day with Snowmonster himself.
Started off on the day at 9:30 after a 4 hr drive up (ugh!). Went right up the single with Dean, and we went skier's right the entire way down. What a first run - Upper Antelope --> Catamount --> Lower Antelope. By the time I got to the bottom of lower antelope and had to do that short hike back to the Rockefellers, I was sweating through every piece of clothing I had and my calves were already on fire. I went into the lodge to drop off my fleece and met Snowmonster for the first time.
We went back out and rode the single again - this time had some great lines in Fall Line / Creamery / Upper Glades. It was really a blast. I LOVE all the bumps and the opportunities for short (3, 4') drops all over the place. So much fun. A few icy / rock spots, but the majority was in great shape.
We then rode the double a few times, and spent a lot of time in non-gladed woods next to various trails. Snowmonster might recall but I think they were Chipmunk / Lark / etc. I have a lot of video of that, some funny stuff and a lot of just flopping over when some random branch caught my boot somewhere. But a blast and every so often when you could grab 2, 3 turns of powder back to back - all worthwhile.
Grabbed a Single Chair Ale and a burger for lunch in between, then the double a few more times.
Last run of the day was Paradise, which I had been itching to ski since I saw that video Greg posted sometime ago here. It wasn't that good (no fresh powder .. wahhh) but it was still very nice and fun, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Overall the snow was excellent, lines weren't too bad - probably 20 min at the most on the single right before lunch time - definitely better than I was expecting. We spent a ton of time in the woods and got to make a few fresh powder turns as well which was very nice.
Also wanted to say, my first time at MRG, while the "uphill capacity and speed" can seem tedious, it all is paid back when you ski down in relative isolation. It's so nice skiing and only seeing a couple other people around you. While there may be waits at the lift line there was not even a remote hint of a crowd anywhere on the slopes. A+
Paradise - best run of the day for me, the last section that pops out on Fox was absolutely amazing
I *think* this was also Paradise
Some woods .... forget where this was exactly. Perhaps Snowmonster will remember - that's him in the pic
Might have been between Quacky and Gazelle? WE had lost Dean at this point when he went skier's left into some other area and I was actually wondering for a bit if he would turn up below. It was very dense in here, a couple turns and then planning out the next move was necessary.
Looking down Chute from the top of the single
Paradise, towards the top, our last run of the day. Snowmonster making the turn
Alternated between sunny and cloudy all day, but overall very nice - mid 30's. Snowmonster on the left, Dean on the right
My buddy Dean as we are waiting on the line for the Single chair
End of the day
Here are my AlpineReplay stats for the day -- http://www.alpinereplay.com/stats/u?uId=5547&vId=56261
I have to say I think it missed the last run. I think we did 7 runs for the day, three on the single chair and four on the double - the last run down Paradise didn't take. I'm not sure if my battery died or what. My phone was still on when I pulled it out of my pocket but it was down to 15% or so so it's possible it just killed the GPS to save battery.
Here is the Youtube vid!
