Date: January 15, 2007
2006 Trip Report #: 25!!!
Resort: Burke Mountain
Conditions: 6-9 inches of new Pow on top of MG/Packed Powder
Weather: Heavy snow changing to ice pellets, but not NCP. Temps in the low 20’s.
Trip Report: Powder Day #3 for the season. I had hoped on powder for breakfast, and the news stations were hyping this storm. The roads in the area were snowcovered, which meant for slow going, but I made it up to the mountain at just before 8am. Needless to say, I just missed first chair...but got on the Quad at 8:10am or so. The Lodge WAS PACKED for a big BMA race...kids everywhere. They were :roll: about racing in all this snow, but hey, made for a great powder day for the rest of us.
At 8am, it was snowing very hard...with a couple inches at MidBurke and a bit more on the top. There was NOBODY there for freeskiing at 8am either. First run was down Willoughby to Lower Bear Den and Fox's. The latter was in great shape on Sunday...but the whole run was pure bliss....fresh pow on top of soft MG made for a great combo and the groomers had done a good job mixing in the previous day's snow with the base. No ice to be seen! And the best part...stopping at Darling Point, reveling in the pow and the sound of silence. The snow and clouds do a great job muffling noises and not many passholders were on the slopes for our "Powder Hour" from 8-9.
Next run was down Shoot to Dipper. Both in better shape. The snow was still coming down.
I skied the upper mountain for a few more spins...taking Lower Willoughby to the bottom at around 9:30am for a break and to check out those trails. Good snow down there as well.
Returning to the top, I hit Shoot and Meadows...NOBODY had really gotten into the Meadows and it was nice. Lower Fox's and Bear Den were great all day...the right pitch, snow conditions, and lack of crowds made for some great turns. :beer: I skied pretty much non-stop until 12:30 or so. The snow got deeper and deeper as well. By lunch time, the pow bumps and drifts/crud would occasionally blow up to knee level, but was consistently at about boot high. The feeling of snow riding up the outside of your pants is amazing!
Before lunch, I managed to get my rock skis on to ski Upper Bear Den, which was just opened. It was bony at best....some thin cover and no real base, but fun to try the trail. Be wary of things lurking underneath that thin snow...
I managed to chat with some nice folks as well. On one ride, I rode up with a BMA Coach who was "given" the morning off and was enjoying a PB&J sandwich on the liftride with snow on top! He was enjoying the conditions. I also rode up with the mountain's new Snowsports Center Director, Freddy Torres. We chatted about the mountain, the snow, and his new position. His energy was contagious...and I am sure that it reverberates through the entire program!
"Burke is such a great place--it has exceptional terrain, great snowmaking and grooming, and great customer service," he said while reflecting on relocating here from Bretton Woods and Attitash. He thought that the terrain was similar to the "Old Attitash" and "much more challenging" than Bretton Woods. I asked about the local school programs that they run and told him that I had learned to ski at Burke. He was strapped to a board and was looking forward to hitting Shoot and Upper Fox's. With a handshake, we parted and I headed down Willoughby and Lower Warren's back to the lodge for lunch.
After making a few calls and enjoying a lunch by the stove, I headed back out and down to the lower mountain for some easier runs. It was 1pm and I had been going since 8am...so I was getting worn. At this point, the snow had tapered off to "ice pellets" which stung on one's face, but it did not sleet or rain while I was there.
Lower Mountain was decent...a bit more tracked out, but some pow on the sides of the trails. I took two runs down Dashney...staying to the sides on the first run to get pow. Did a spin down Bunker Hill....which was also good. Good crowd down below and many 's because of the snow.
I took one more run on the Willoughby Quad...taking Upper Willoughby to Bear Den and Fox's. Wow. Still good, but a bit more tracked out. The pow bumps that were forming were great and Bear Den was a sea of white soft moguls.
I left at 2:30pm or so and negotiated the tricky roads home. I also saw that it had been sleeting below St. Jay for most of the day....lucked out I guess!
So a great way to end my little Burke-a-polooza....and worth getting up early for. Pico on Friday and Sunday I think...and Upper KA will be open I hear!!!
2006 Trip Report #: 25!!!
Resort: Burke Mountain
Conditions: 6-9 inches of new Pow on top of MG/Packed Powder
Weather: Heavy snow changing to ice pellets, but not NCP. Temps in the low 20’s.
Trip Report: Powder Day #3 for the season. I had hoped on powder for breakfast, and the news stations were hyping this storm. The roads in the area were snowcovered, which meant for slow going, but I made it up to the mountain at just before 8am. Needless to say, I just missed first chair...but got on the Quad at 8:10am or so. The Lodge WAS PACKED for a big BMA race...kids everywhere. They were :roll: about racing in all this snow, but hey, made for a great powder day for the rest of us.
At 8am, it was snowing very hard...with a couple inches at MidBurke and a bit more on the top. There was NOBODY there for freeskiing at 8am either. First run was down Willoughby to Lower Bear Den and Fox's. The latter was in great shape on Sunday...but the whole run was pure bliss....fresh pow on top of soft MG made for a great combo and the groomers had done a good job mixing in the previous day's snow with the base. No ice to be seen! And the best part...stopping at Darling Point, reveling in the pow and the sound of silence. The snow and clouds do a great job muffling noises and not many passholders were on the slopes for our "Powder Hour" from 8-9.
Next run was down Shoot to Dipper. Both in better shape. The snow was still coming down.
I skied the upper mountain for a few more spins...taking Lower Willoughby to the bottom at around 9:30am for a break and to check out those trails. Good snow down there as well.
Returning to the top, I hit Shoot and Meadows...NOBODY had really gotten into the Meadows and it was nice. Lower Fox's and Bear Den were great all day...the right pitch, snow conditions, and lack of crowds made for some great turns. :beer: I skied pretty much non-stop until 12:30 or so. The snow got deeper and deeper as well. By lunch time, the pow bumps and drifts/crud would occasionally blow up to knee level, but was consistently at about boot high. The feeling of snow riding up the outside of your pants is amazing!
Before lunch, I managed to get my rock skis on to ski Upper Bear Den, which was just opened. It was bony at best....some thin cover and no real base, but fun to try the trail. Be wary of things lurking underneath that thin snow...
I managed to chat with some nice folks as well. On one ride, I rode up with a BMA Coach who was "given" the morning off and was enjoying a PB&J sandwich on the liftride with snow on top! He was enjoying the conditions. I also rode up with the mountain's new Snowsports Center Director, Freddy Torres. We chatted about the mountain, the snow, and his new position. His energy was contagious...and I am sure that it reverberates through the entire program!
"Burke is such a great place--it has exceptional terrain, great snowmaking and grooming, and great customer service," he said while reflecting on relocating here from Bretton Woods and Attitash. He thought that the terrain was similar to the "Old Attitash" and "much more challenging" than Bretton Woods. I asked about the local school programs that they run and told him that I had learned to ski at Burke. He was strapped to a board and was looking forward to hitting Shoot and Upper Fox's. With a handshake, we parted and I headed down Willoughby and Lower Warren's back to the lodge for lunch.
After making a few calls and enjoying a lunch by the stove, I headed back out and down to the lower mountain for some easier runs. It was 1pm and I had been going since 8am...so I was getting worn. At this point, the snow had tapered off to "ice pellets" which stung on one's face, but it did not sleet or rain while I was there.
Lower Mountain was decent...a bit more tracked out, but some pow on the sides of the trails. I took two runs down Dashney...staying to the sides on the first run to get pow. Did a spin down Bunker Hill....which was also good. Good crowd down below and many
's because of the snow. I took one more run on the Willoughby Quad...taking Upper Willoughby to Bear Den and Fox's. Wow. Still good, but a bit more tracked out. The pow bumps that were forming were great and Bear Den was a sea of white soft moguls.
I left at 2:30pm or so and negotiated the tricky roads home. I also saw that it had been sleeting below St. Jay for most of the day....lucked out I guess!
So a great way to end my little Burke-a-polooza....and worth getting up early for. Pico on Friday and Sunday I think...and Upper KA will be open I hear!!!
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