otisshirley
New member
Date(s) Skied: March 24, 2014
Resort or Ski Area: Berkshire East
Conditions: Packed frozen granular
Trip Report:
Today was a great example of why a cold day in March can be a wonderful thing. The skies were clear and blue most of the day and the temperature stayed in the 20s. The cold weather and the fact that it was a Monday late in March meant that the mountain was virtually empty: there were about 15 cars when I pulled in at 10:15, and on most runs I didn't see a single other skier. This is Competition, from the top, around 1 pm:
The natural snow trails (Jug, Liftline, etc.) were all closed, but all of the trails that they usually groom were open. I was expecting hard pack, but almost everything was packed "powder" (meaning frozen granular). It was dry, hard, and fast, but it didn't get scraped off. There were a couple of icy patches on skier's right on Competition (none that I saw on Flying Cloud), but in general what little ice there was was easy to avoid. (If you wanted it, you could go off to the ungroomed edges of the wider trails, like Exhibition, or skier's right on Flying Cloud, under the lift). Conditions were pretty uniform all over the mountain, with no bare patches (again, except on the edges). I only glanced in the trees, which looked thin and crusty.
I talked to an employee who said they didn't know how late they would stay open this year. I would say it depends entirely on demand, which will run out before the snow does.
Resort or Ski Area: Berkshire East
Conditions: Packed frozen granular
Trip Report:
Today was a great example of why a cold day in March can be a wonderful thing. The skies were clear and blue most of the day and the temperature stayed in the 20s. The cold weather and the fact that it was a Monday late in March meant that the mountain was virtually empty: there were about 15 cars when I pulled in at 10:15, and on most runs I didn't see a single other skier. This is Competition, from the top, around 1 pm:
The natural snow trails (Jug, Liftline, etc.) were all closed, but all of the trails that they usually groom were open. I was expecting hard pack, but almost everything was packed "powder" (meaning frozen granular). It was dry, hard, and fast, but it didn't get scraped off. There were a couple of icy patches on skier's right on Competition (none that I saw on Flying Cloud), but in general what little ice there was was easy to avoid. (If you wanted it, you could go off to the ungroomed edges of the wider trails, like Exhibition, or skier's right on Flying Cloud, under the lift). Conditions were pretty uniform all over the mountain, with no bare patches (again, except on the edges). I only glanced in the trees, which looked thin and crusty.
I talked to an employee who said they didn't know how late they would stay open this year. I would say it depends entirely on demand, which will run out before the snow does.