Whitey
Member
Did a Burlington area trip over school vacation/Presidents. Went to Bolton Valley on Monday 2/16 because I like BV and we figured everywhere would be on wind holds, so might as well stay local.
It was as cold as it was empty. I think BV is a good choice on a day when everyone is heading for the “bigs”. But the temps, winds, & wind hold chairs really cleared the place out. Only Wilderness & Timberline were running to any of the longer runs. Otherwise it was all lower lifts. Did some mid-mtn runs, mostly terrain parks to appease the kids. The winds really did some damage. Icy on almost all named runs, all scoured by wind & then when you found that snow – it was the consistency of Styrofoam. Strange dynamic as it was so cold our skis stuck to the snow and you couldn’t get speed. Had to swipe everyone’s skis with speed wax just to keep going. Did Wilderness lift & the liftline under that & it was much better with some bumps and a little snow. Great views from lift & top.
Kids succumbing to cold & took break. Told them I wanted to continue to explore & that we hadn’t checked out Timberline. No buyers. Went over there solo. Rewarded! Under the lift - Intro to Showtime skied really well (pic). But when I went into Adam’s Solitude, wow – one of the best runs of the year for me. You can see from the pic. Soft bumps thru spaced trees with the sun facing back at you. Only regret was that with family already winding down back at lodge I couldn’t hit more stuff off of Timberline. Maybe 50 people skiing over there.
Overall: COLD! Negative temp #s = kept crowds down. View – spectacular. Very beautiful area with views that go on for miles. Area is definitely old school & dialed down compared to its major neighbors. But it it’s an interesting and challenging area that gets overlooked (as has been said here many times).
It was as cold as it was empty. I think BV is a good choice on a day when everyone is heading for the “bigs”. But the temps, winds, & wind hold chairs really cleared the place out. Only Wilderness & Timberline were running to any of the longer runs. Otherwise it was all lower lifts. Did some mid-mtn runs, mostly terrain parks to appease the kids. The winds really did some damage. Icy on almost all named runs, all scoured by wind & then when you found that snow – it was the consistency of Styrofoam. Strange dynamic as it was so cold our skis stuck to the snow and you couldn’t get speed. Had to swipe everyone’s skis with speed wax just to keep going. Did Wilderness lift & the liftline under that & it was much better with some bumps and a little snow. Great views from lift & top.
Kids succumbing to cold & took break. Told them I wanted to continue to explore & that we hadn’t checked out Timberline. No buyers. Went over there solo. Rewarded! Under the lift - Intro to Showtime skied really well (pic). But when I went into Adam’s Solitude, wow – one of the best runs of the year for me. You can see from the pic. Soft bumps thru spaced trees with the sun facing back at you. Only regret was that with family already winding down back at lodge I couldn’t hit more stuff off of Timberline. Maybe 50 people skiing over there.
Overall: COLD! Negative temp #s = kept crowds down. View – spectacular. Very beautiful area with views that go on for miles. Area is definitely old school & dialed down compared to its major neighbors. But it it’s an interesting and challenging area that gets overlooked (as has been said here many times).
