wtcobb
New member
Date(s) Skied: 2/23 & 2/24
Resort or Ski Area: Pico (2/23) and Magic (2/24)
Conditions: Powder/Packed Powder
Trip Report:
With friends heading all over the place and none of much interest to me this weekend, I made a solo trip to Pico and Magic. I had never been to Pico and hadn't been to Magic in about 6-7 years, so I was looking forward to this trip. I left Waltham at 6am on Saturday and made it up to Pico by 9am, out on the slopes by 9:20. Temps were already mild and, though the summit looked cloudy, visibility was much better than I expected it to be given the weather rolling in. It started snowing around 11am, much to my surprise as I wasn't expecting snow until later in the evening. The snow stayed consistent throughout the day to keep conditions great all day.
A race event was scheduled for the triple in the morning, so I headed to Golden Express and quickly up to the summit. Hit Summit Glades for the first full run down - a few slight patches in areas, but man was it fun. Nice drops and lots of great bumps to enjoy.
Nice soft bumps on Summit Glade.
Throughout the day some of the bumps got scraped off, but for the most part they stayed on the softer side. Summit Glades East & West stayed in great shape all day - the last run of the day felt like the first. The trees in between the marked glades and over to Sunset Woods had a surprising amount of powder left from earlier in the week if you were willing to do a bit of exploring.
Lapped the summit a lot before lunch, enjoying the Glades along with Upper Ka and Upper Pike. In the afternoon I tried out Upper Giant Killer and found the one really barren area on the mountain. Giant ice chunks made the moguls a disaster to get through with rocks and sticks waiting in the trenches. Not a fun trip down. Poma Woods was a nice reward at the end. In the afternoon B Slope was still closed to the race, but I ventured up the triple to take on A Slope. A bit of a forest of sticks growing through the snow, but manageable and definitely a fun steep trail. Called it a day just after 3pm, finishing where I started with Summit Glades - definitely the ROTD for me.
After a Switchback and some complimentary chips and spinach dip at the pub (burned chips for you means free for me!) I took off on the hour trip down the 100 to Magic. Saturday night was Magic's Winterfest with a pretty rocking party - torch parade down the mountain, fireworks, silent (and impromptu live) auction, band playing all night. Partied down with some Magic regulars - a really crowd there that night.
Torch parade at Magic
After some more Switchbacks and a Shotski with some new friends for good measure, I retired to Chateau du Impreza for the night.
Sunday morning I woke with the plows and groomers but stayed in my sleeping bag til about 7:30. Quick breakfast and gear up, coffee in the lodge, and hit first trail at 8:45. The fresh snow treated the mountain kindly - gorgeous soft bumps and nice powder on the steeps, great coating for the groomers. Talisman was a great fast morning run, Up Your Sleeve and Vertigo had great bumps (hit them untouched), and Wizard was a nice burner. I was the first of the day to duck into the woods off Talisman into The Hallows. The woods on either side of Talisman got a bit hairy in places as the new snow only masked the little to no coverage there prior, but the lower half of Wardrobe was incredible once it leveled off a bit. Witch and Goniff Glades could have used much more coverage too - Twilight Zone wasn't even open and I could certainly see why.
In the afternoon the Black Chair was spinning and Broomstick opened up - what a fun narrow chute that was before dumping out on the rolling bumps of Magician. After previously finding the lower part of Green Line I was determined to find the top of the line and settled my last run there. Ducked the woods off Trick and made my way to the old lift line. A precarious way down from the top, but a good challenge.
Mid-way down Green Line.
The lower part of Green Line was in much better shape and made for a great last run. My legs were spent by 2:15 after two days going hard. ROTD for me was bouncing along the bumps on Up Your Sleeve into Vertigo. So much fun. Queue up Long Trail and I'm hitting the road home.
The pictures are all a little grayed out from the cloud cover, but more to come.
Resort or Ski Area: Pico (2/23) and Magic (2/24)
Conditions: Powder/Packed Powder
Trip Report:
With friends heading all over the place and none of much interest to me this weekend, I made a solo trip to Pico and Magic. I had never been to Pico and hadn't been to Magic in about 6-7 years, so I was looking forward to this trip. I left Waltham at 6am on Saturday and made it up to Pico by 9am, out on the slopes by 9:20. Temps were already mild and, though the summit looked cloudy, visibility was much better than I expected it to be given the weather rolling in. It started snowing around 11am, much to my surprise as I wasn't expecting snow until later in the evening. The snow stayed consistent throughout the day to keep conditions great all day.
A race event was scheduled for the triple in the morning, so I headed to Golden Express and quickly up to the summit. Hit Summit Glades for the first full run down - a few slight patches in areas, but man was it fun. Nice drops and lots of great bumps to enjoy.
Nice soft bumps on Summit Glade.
Throughout the day some of the bumps got scraped off, but for the most part they stayed on the softer side. Summit Glades East & West stayed in great shape all day - the last run of the day felt like the first. The trees in between the marked glades and over to Sunset Woods had a surprising amount of powder left from earlier in the week if you were willing to do a bit of exploring.
Lapped the summit a lot before lunch, enjoying the Glades along with Upper Ka and Upper Pike. In the afternoon I tried out Upper Giant Killer and found the one really barren area on the mountain. Giant ice chunks made the moguls a disaster to get through with rocks and sticks waiting in the trenches. Not a fun trip down. Poma Woods was a nice reward at the end. In the afternoon B Slope was still closed to the race, but I ventured up the triple to take on A Slope. A bit of a forest of sticks growing through the snow, but manageable and definitely a fun steep trail. Called it a day just after 3pm, finishing where I started with Summit Glades - definitely the ROTD for me.
After a Switchback and some complimentary chips and spinach dip at the pub (burned chips for you means free for me!) I took off on the hour trip down the 100 to Magic. Saturday night was Magic's Winterfest with a pretty rocking party - torch parade down the mountain, fireworks, silent (and impromptu live) auction, band playing all night. Partied down with some Magic regulars - a really crowd there that night.
Torch parade at Magic
After some more Switchbacks and a Shotski with some new friends for good measure, I retired to Chateau du Impreza for the night.
Sunday morning I woke with the plows and groomers but stayed in my sleeping bag til about 7:30. Quick breakfast and gear up, coffee in the lodge, and hit first trail at 8:45. The fresh snow treated the mountain kindly - gorgeous soft bumps and nice powder on the steeps, great coating for the groomers. Talisman was a great fast morning run, Up Your Sleeve and Vertigo had great bumps (hit them untouched), and Wizard was a nice burner. I was the first of the day to duck into the woods off Talisman into The Hallows. The woods on either side of Talisman got a bit hairy in places as the new snow only masked the little to no coverage there prior, but the lower half of Wardrobe was incredible once it leveled off a bit. Witch and Goniff Glades could have used much more coverage too - Twilight Zone wasn't even open and I could certainly see why.
In the afternoon the Black Chair was spinning and Broomstick opened up - what a fun narrow chute that was before dumping out on the rolling bumps of Magician. After previously finding the lower part of Green Line I was determined to find the top of the line and settled my last run there. Ducked the woods off Trick and made my way to the old lift line. A precarious way down from the top, but a good challenge.
Mid-way down Green Line.
The lower part of Green Line was in much better shape and made for a great last run. My legs were spent by 2:15 after two days going hard. ROTD for me was bouncing along the bumps on Up Your Sleeve into Vertigo. So much fun. Queue up Long Trail and I'm hitting the road home.
The pictures are all a little grayed out from the cloud cover, but more to come.
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