billski
Active member
Date(s) Skied: Feb 27 2006
Resort or Ski Area: Mad River Glen, VT
Conditions: 12" powder topside, base=FGR, Boilerplate, rocks, little dirt
Trip Report:
MRG kicked my butt yesterday. Loved it, but never been so tired for this old boy. I've never been there before, but heard plenty about it. If you really want to take advantage of the place, you need to be a strong skier. There's some green stuff, but I even found moguls on some greens.
In a word, the day was COLD. Bluebird day, beautiful. In the negs when I arrived, warmed to about 10 from what I could tell. Winds were whipping pretty good, caused a lot of windblown snow. Bunches of VT local kids, must have the week off. Then again, nobody could call this place crowded.
It looks like the powderhounds had a great day Sunday. At first, I thought all the pow had been scraped off, or blown into the woods, but on careful examination, found lots of moderate-sized moguls all over, in keeping with the tradition of minimal grooming. The issue, if you want to call it that was the base. Downslope surface of the moguls was either a real hardpack FGR or boilerplate. You really had to pick your turns, even with all the powder, since it was all bunched up in places. MRG web site says essentially the same thing (thanks to their honesty).
On the blues, all the pow was along the trail edges. There were sufficient warnings everywhere of what lurks below the powdery surface. I found dirt, grass and rocks in many places.
Certainly their easier trails, the lower right side of the area (looking up) were groomed and in good shape, but almost no one was there.
It was a pretty hard-core group there on Monday. Saw my first duct-tape pants in years. I am beginning to think that local VT-ers find duct-tape as the tool of first choice, for all repairs.
Supringingly, there were not all that many people in the woods. I was alone, and didn't have the nerve to get into the woods (other than a few ducks here and there) until it was too late, 3pm. I just couldn't be sure where it would come out, so i wasn't real comfortable. But to be honest, it looked like the best snow was in the woods.
I took a run of the top of Chute , it was all moguls - it whipped my butt. Man, some of those trails are steep - when I took it on my back, I just slid and slid and slid.
But you know, they are right. It is designed for people that like feeling like they have the place to themselves. You just don't run into many people.
I really like the narrow, winding, trails. But then again, it wasn't really a day for cruising, try as you may. Lots of bumps and scratchy spots. You can't sit back and just cruise at this place.
I stuffed some photos here
http://www.iabsi.com/public/photos/MRG_Feb_27_2006/
I don't have time to make them pretty, work gets in the way.
I loved the basic, no-frills lodge. Nice people. It was like reunion time for many of them. Felt like family, thanks to the co-op . Guess they were pretty busy on Sunday.
Oh yeah, and it is the only place I've been to (since adolescence) where males are allowed to P in the sink! If you've been there you know what I mean.
Resort or Ski Area: Mad River Glen, VT
Conditions: 12" powder topside, base=FGR, Boilerplate, rocks, little dirt
Trip Report:
MRG kicked my butt yesterday. Loved it, but never been so tired for this old boy. I've never been there before, but heard plenty about it. If you really want to take advantage of the place, you need to be a strong skier. There's some green stuff, but I even found moguls on some greens.
In a word, the day was COLD. Bluebird day, beautiful. In the negs when I arrived, warmed to about 10 from what I could tell. Winds were whipping pretty good, caused a lot of windblown snow. Bunches of VT local kids, must have the week off. Then again, nobody could call this place crowded.
It looks like the powderhounds had a great day Sunday. At first, I thought all the pow had been scraped off, or blown into the woods, but on careful examination, found lots of moderate-sized moguls all over, in keeping with the tradition of minimal grooming. The issue, if you want to call it that was the base. Downslope surface of the moguls was either a real hardpack FGR or boilerplate. You really had to pick your turns, even with all the powder, since it was all bunched up in places. MRG web site says essentially the same thing (thanks to their honesty).
On the blues, all the pow was along the trail edges. There were sufficient warnings everywhere of what lurks below the powdery surface. I found dirt, grass and rocks in many places.
Certainly their easier trails, the lower right side of the area (looking up) were groomed and in good shape, but almost no one was there.
It was a pretty hard-core group there on Monday. Saw my first duct-tape pants in years. I am beginning to think that local VT-ers find duct-tape as the tool of first choice, for all repairs.
Supringingly, there were not all that many people in the woods. I was alone, and didn't have the nerve to get into the woods (other than a few ducks here and there) until it was too late, 3pm. I just couldn't be sure where it would come out, so i wasn't real comfortable. But to be honest, it looked like the best snow was in the woods.
I took a run of the top of Chute , it was all moguls - it whipped my butt. Man, some of those trails are steep - when I took it on my back, I just slid and slid and slid.
But you know, they are right. It is designed for people that like feeling like they have the place to themselves. You just don't run into many people.
I really like the narrow, winding, trails. But then again, it wasn't really a day for cruising, try as you may. Lots of bumps and scratchy spots. You can't sit back and just cruise at this place.
I stuffed some photos here
http://www.iabsi.com/public/photos/MRG_Feb_27_2006/
I don't have time to make them pretty, work gets in the way.
I loved the basic, no-frills lodge. Nice people. It was like reunion time for many of them. Felt like family, thanks to the co-op . Guess they were pretty busy on Sunday.
Oh yeah, and it is the only place I've been to (since adolescence) where males are allowed to P in the sink! If you've been there you know what I mean.
