Original plan was to ski at Killington both days. Sleet and ice event on 2/28 took care of that idea. Arrived at K on Tuesday at about 9am to bluebird skies and cold weather...and a healthy dose of ice crust everywhere. Everything worth skiing there was closed, groomers only. But I did notice about a 1/2 inch of snow on top of the crust. So I figgered I would point the car north to the MRV and hope the ice was less severe up there.
Good move! Instead of a 1/2 inch of ice crust, there were 5-6 inches of snow with a thin and easily breakable crust on top. Barely noticeable. So, I decided to head to Mt. Ellen where I frankly hardly ever ski. For a $58 Mt. Ellen only pass I was happy to hit the snow at 11:00am.
Wow was it great! I never knew Mt. Ellen was such a bump mecca! I'm talking run after run of chalky soft bumps with 5-6" of blower pow and the occasional thin ice crust. There was some base ice showing but nothing to worry about. By about 1pm the sun had worked it's magic and the snow was just phenomenal. Bravo and Exterminator were exceptional, as was Black Diamond and that whole pod of bump runs over on the Green Mountain Express lift area. I skiied until 4pm and was happily wiped out.
Woke up Wednesday to cloudy skies and snow. Decided to go right back to Mt. Ellen. It was still fairly warm, around 30 or so. But the lack of sun had an effect on the snow which froze up a bit. All the bumps were still awesome, but the gladed areas were definitely sketchy. I was starting to despair I had blown my chance in the trees when the snow started to pick up. Most glades were untracked and pretty crusty, but on top of the North Ridge lift I noticed that the glades around Bravo and Exterminator had been well skiied. As I was deciding to go for it, a local saw me and just said "those glades are awesome, go for it". So I did. Over and over again. Seems that those glades had softened up real nice on Tuesday and had been heavily skiied. No crust. And now it was snowing, hard.
Every run down those glades got better and better. I went into such a frenzy I forgot to stop for lunch. Before I knew it it was 3:20 and now it was snowing very hard and the wind had picked up. I thought that ski patrol would appreciate it if I cleared out of the woods by 3:30, so I went down to the Green Mountain Express and went up to ski Tumbler which had been one of my favorite runs. I was rewarded with smooth rhythmic bumps covered in 3-4" of powder. As I approached the bottom, the wind really picked up, at times so strong that I could not go downhill against it. When I reached the lodge, I decided it was quitting time.
Great trip! I now have a whole new appreciation for Sugarbush. I used to always go right to Lincoln Peak, but my eyes have been opened. Glen Ellen had amazing snow, terrific terrain and little skier traffic, and for $58 a day it's a bargain. I am plotting a return trip sometime in the next 2 weeks.
Good move! Instead of a 1/2 inch of ice crust, there were 5-6 inches of snow with a thin and easily breakable crust on top. Barely noticeable. So, I decided to head to Mt. Ellen where I frankly hardly ever ski. For a $58 Mt. Ellen only pass I was happy to hit the snow at 11:00am.
Wow was it great! I never knew Mt. Ellen was such a bump mecca! I'm talking run after run of chalky soft bumps with 5-6" of blower pow and the occasional thin ice crust. There was some base ice showing but nothing to worry about. By about 1pm the sun had worked it's magic and the snow was just phenomenal. Bravo and Exterminator were exceptional, as was Black Diamond and that whole pod of bump runs over on the Green Mountain Express lift area. I skiied until 4pm and was happily wiped out.
Woke up Wednesday to cloudy skies and snow. Decided to go right back to Mt. Ellen. It was still fairly warm, around 30 or so. But the lack of sun had an effect on the snow which froze up a bit. All the bumps were still awesome, but the gladed areas were definitely sketchy. I was starting to despair I had blown my chance in the trees when the snow started to pick up. Most glades were untracked and pretty crusty, but on top of the North Ridge lift I noticed that the glades around Bravo and Exterminator had been well skiied. As I was deciding to go for it, a local saw me and just said "those glades are awesome, go for it". So I did. Over and over again. Seems that those glades had softened up real nice on Tuesday and had been heavily skiied. No crust. And now it was snowing, hard.
Every run down those glades got better and better. I went into such a frenzy I forgot to stop for lunch. Before I knew it it was 3:20 and now it was snowing very hard and the wind had picked up. I thought that ski patrol would appreciate it if I cleared out of the woods by 3:30, so I went down to the Green Mountain Express and went up to ski Tumbler which had been one of my favorite runs. I was rewarded with smooth rhythmic bumps covered in 3-4" of powder. As I approached the bottom, the wind really picked up, at times so strong that I could not go downhill against it. When I reached the lodge, I decided it was quitting time.
Great trip! I now have a whole new appreciation for Sugarbush. I used to always go right to Lincoln Peak, but my eyes have been opened. Glen Ellen had amazing snow, terrific terrain and little skier traffic, and for $58 a day it's a bargain. I am plotting a return trip sometime in the next 2 weeks.
