Hunter on Thursday - Mt. Snow on Friday. Real treat for me to ski midweek.
After the devastating rain, and decent snowfall - 5-8" last weds. - we decided to hit mountains with solid snowmaking. Proved to be a good strategy.
Hunter on a Thursday is about 10x better than Hunter on a weekend. They had a lot open, the lift lines were 5 deep max - usually ski on, and the skiing was pretty decent.
Racer's Edge was down right soft and fun, as was the trail parallel to it - forget the names there. Side note: naming so many trails after highways and roads is such a drag IMO - I don't go the fucking mountains to be reminded of asphalt and traffic.
Hunter West was a disaster - annapurna was a luge track of death and Claires was just slightly better.
Couple of trails had the guns blasting, and between that, the 8" of fresh Weds. and a decent base, those turns were soft.
Layout of the front of the mountain is a drag - too many intersections and the vibe of that place is just so funny...MTv real world goes skiing....but on a Thursday, it was fun, and perfect spot on the map for our trip.
Friday, Mt. Snow.....again, great snow making base, and re-surfacing made for some nice cruisers, so that was great. Much more crowded, but still, now terrible. Found a couple of trails totally natural, including PDF which is a short fairly steep pitch, but they must have just dropped the rope - had legit thigh deep drifts over a base of bumps for some real nice, deep untracked bump turns. Run of the trip. Shame it's so short.
There were a bunch of other trails that were roped off that looked just like PDF - I am guessing they are saving them for the weekend? Can't imagine why they weren't open.
We actually found a decent glade over by the terrain park of all places! So that was fun. And the natural trail Ledge top to bottom was a blast. Soft natural snow, thin in spots, but edge-able and ice free, with an obstacle course feel to it! Super fun.
I haven't been to Mt. Snow in about 25 years, and honestly, short of this particular circumstance - location and need for snow making power - I don't need to go back. Trails are all kind of the same on the front. And they seem to really love to groom. I can't argue in this case - was the right call - but I get the feeling it's the call they make all the time. Vibe of the place was a little off for us and I am sure weekends are a zoo. But these are minor complaints.
I think it was the best we could do given our range and the weather, and I'm super satisfied and happy they have the snow making muscle, and thank them for that for sure.
Stayed in possible the craziest, smallest hotel room in my life. The Old Red Mill Inn in Wilmington VT - feels like the hotel in the Shining, with a defunct restaurant and only half the lights on! Room was like a large closet with two twin beds within 8" of each other. Terrible! but clean. And cheap.
Owner is super nice though, and it was walk to town.
Cute town. Had some good beer and food. Jeezabels for diner, Cask and Kiln for a drink.
All in all a great trip.
After the devastating rain, and decent snowfall - 5-8" last weds. - we decided to hit mountains with solid snowmaking. Proved to be a good strategy.
Hunter on a Thursday is about 10x better than Hunter on a weekend. They had a lot open, the lift lines were 5 deep max - usually ski on, and the skiing was pretty decent.
Racer's Edge was down right soft and fun, as was the trail parallel to it - forget the names there. Side note: naming so many trails after highways and roads is such a drag IMO - I don't go the fucking mountains to be reminded of asphalt and traffic.
Hunter West was a disaster - annapurna was a luge track of death and Claires was just slightly better.
Couple of trails had the guns blasting, and between that, the 8" of fresh Weds. and a decent base, those turns were soft.
Layout of the front of the mountain is a drag - too many intersections and the vibe of that place is just so funny...MTv real world goes skiing....but on a Thursday, it was fun, and perfect spot on the map for our trip.
Friday, Mt. Snow.....again, great snow making base, and re-surfacing made for some nice cruisers, so that was great. Much more crowded, but still, now terrible. Found a couple of trails totally natural, including PDF which is a short fairly steep pitch, but they must have just dropped the rope - had legit thigh deep drifts over a base of bumps for some real nice, deep untracked bump turns. Run of the trip. Shame it's so short.
There were a bunch of other trails that were roped off that looked just like PDF - I am guessing they are saving them for the weekend? Can't imagine why they weren't open.
We actually found a decent glade over by the terrain park of all places! So that was fun. And the natural trail Ledge top to bottom was a blast. Soft natural snow, thin in spots, but edge-able and ice free, with an obstacle course feel to it! Super fun.
I haven't been to Mt. Snow in about 25 years, and honestly, short of this particular circumstance - location and need for snow making power - I don't need to go back. Trails are all kind of the same on the front. And they seem to really love to groom. I can't argue in this case - was the right call - but I get the feeling it's the call they make all the time. Vibe of the place was a little off for us and I am sure weekends are a zoo. But these are minor complaints.
I think it was the best we could do given our range and the weather, and I'm super satisfied and happy they have the snow making muscle, and thank them for that for sure.
Stayed in possible the craziest, smallest hotel room in my life. The Old Red Mill Inn in Wilmington VT - feels like the hotel in the Shining, with a defunct restaurant and only half the lights on! Room was like a large closet with two twin beds within 8" of each other. Terrible! but clean. And cheap.
Owner is super nice though, and it was walk to town.
Cute town. Had some good beer and food. Jeezabels for diner, Cask and Kiln for a drink.
All in all a great trip.
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