Zand
Well-known member
Date(s) Skied: Friday 3/9/12
Resort or Ski Area: Burke, VT
Conditions: FRGR, HDPK, ~4" new on natural trails, 20s
Trip Report:
Got up there at 2:30 expecting to take a couple crappy runs and leave, as I expected everything to be solid ice. Someone in the parking lot said Powderhorn and East Bowl were actually in good shape, which was good to hear so I headed up. Started off on Dipper to Powderhorn. Dipper sucked... frozen ruts into the base and frozen granular on top. Had a big ol' bare spot 3/4th of the way down with lots of small shrubs and stuff showing. Hooked onto Powderhorn which was skied off down to the ice underneath whatever new snow was there.
Figured I'd give East Bowl a go since it was reportedly in good shape. Turns out it was! Boot deep powder all over the place. Obviously there was the occasional ice patch, but lots of fun compared to the groomers. Runout was fast so poling wasn't as bad as usual.
Next up was a trip down Doug's, which was also surprisingly in decent shape. Again, typical unavoidable ice patches the day after a rainstorm, but the old bumps covered in powder were so much fun. The sheet ice that covered the trail before melted, so even that wasn't as bad. Next door, Re-Run is unskiable BTW, saddening how much snow they lost yesterday. Pulled onto Mountain Marsh which was decent as well. Unskied on skiers right on the last pitch, but watch out for the lower mountain freshies as there's some breakable crust under there that keeps you on your toes.
Hit Sasqwatch next, which was in nice shape for the top 4/5th but the boneyard where it dumps into Wilderness was terrible. Wilderness' pitch was actually not as icy as usual... all melted away yesterday. Hit the middle sections of Powerline which were pretty fun. Crossed Dipper to the paralleling woods by Little Dipper which were slick under the powder. Also had breakable crust. Little Dipper pitch had some untouched powder after the rocky start, but again that breakable crust will snag you if you try to dig in too hard.
Last run was Doug's again, this time finishing on Mcharg's. Looked untouched from the lift and there was some shin deep powder to scoop up in spots, but with the breakable crust underneath it wasn't the most enjoyable run.
If you're going up tomorrow it'll be tough going with the freeze tonight, but hopefully another night of grooming will get the blues back in shape. Otherwise, the natural stuff is better than you think. Sunday will be nice when it warms up, and I'll be at Jay then.
Resort or Ski Area: Burke, VT
Conditions: FRGR, HDPK, ~4" new on natural trails, 20s
Trip Report:
Got up there at 2:30 expecting to take a couple crappy runs and leave, as I expected everything to be solid ice. Someone in the parking lot said Powderhorn and East Bowl were actually in good shape, which was good to hear so I headed up. Started off on Dipper to Powderhorn. Dipper sucked... frozen ruts into the base and frozen granular on top. Had a big ol' bare spot 3/4th of the way down with lots of small shrubs and stuff showing. Hooked onto Powderhorn which was skied off down to the ice underneath whatever new snow was there.
Figured I'd give East Bowl a go since it was reportedly in good shape. Turns out it was! Boot deep powder all over the place. Obviously there was the occasional ice patch, but lots of fun compared to the groomers. Runout was fast so poling wasn't as bad as usual.
Next up was a trip down Doug's, which was also surprisingly in decent shape. Again, typical unavoidable ice patches the day after a rainstorm, but the old bumps covered in powder were so much fun. The sheet ice that covered the trail before melted, so even that wasn't as bad. Next door, Re-Run is unskiable BTW, saddening how much snow they lost yesterday. Pulled onto Mountain Marsh which was decent as well. Unskied on skiers right on the last pitch, but watch out for the lower mountain freshies as there's some breakable crust under there that keeps you on your toes.
Hit Sasqwatch next, which was in nice shape for the top 4/5th but the boneyard where it dumps into Wilderness was terrible. Wilderness' pitch was actually not as icy as usual... all melted away yesterday. Hit the middle sections of Powerline which were pretty fun. Crossed Dipper to the paralleling woods by Little Dipper which were slick under the powder. Also had breakable crust. Little Dipper pitch had some untouched powder after the rocky start, but again that breakable crust will snag you if you try to dig in too hard.
Last run was Doug's again, this time finishing on Mcharg's. Looked untouched from the lift and there was some shin deep powder to scoop up in spots, but with the breakable crust underneath it wasn't the most enjoyable run.
If you're going up tomorrow it'll be tough going with the freeze tonight, but hopefully another night of grooming will get the blues back in shape. Otherwise, the natural stuff is better than you think. Sunday will be nice when it warms up, and I'll be at Jay then.
