billski
Active member
Date(s) Skied: Friday Jan 26, 2007
Resort or Ski Area: Mount Snow VT
Conditions: Extremely hardpacked, snowmaking dust atop
Trip Report:
Here's a quick report for those who might be considering MS this weekend.
Mr. Weather Guesser got the temps right - started at -2F Base, -10 summit, but I think it only warmed to +4 at the base.
So the conditions were not as bad as I thought they might be. they were way off base on the winds forecast. Calm all morning, then, there were a few gusts around 1-2pm but that was about it.
It was the temps that brought me in about once an hour.
Backlava was the best investment made all season.
Only about half the trails were opened. I was astonished to see so many closed blues.
It was extremely hard-packed, with some pilings here and there of windblown snowmaking.
It skied off fast. Get there early for the best snow. It will be gone by about 11.
There wasn't much pow on the trail edges, you couldn't be fussy.
The greens were good cruisers for a little bit, but they were scrapped off too.
I think if you stay on green as beginners, you are all set. Beginners progressing to intermediate would have a hard time on blues. solid intermediate skill will be ok on blues.
People seemed to follow me around. I'd find something good, with some pow, like LODGE, get a couple runs in on "untracked windblown", then the third run, I saw all kinds of people on it and it was almost entirelys scraped off.
Frankly, the blues skied like the blacks, largely because they were all groomed out.
I stayed on Grand Summit chair most of the day because it was fast; you could lose all your heat just sitting on the chair. I swear, the "outpost" chair on the northface is the slowest chair in the world. I was frozen stiff when I got to the top.
Pick of day? Well, uh, um Exhibition, top to bottom. Stay to skier's right, under the chair. Ski in the grass. Yes, I said ski in the grass. It's not OOB. It's got nice, soft, floatable powder, with lots of grass portruding. You don' t get hungup on the grass at all.
try it. I must have done the fallline down it 5 or 6 times. that's the only challenge today for me.
Everything else was just damn fast.
South bowl didn't look pretty, but it looked poachable, except that it's a fishbowl, kinda hard to do it discretely. The ski patrol were being a wee too strict, yelled at one fellow who ducked at rope to take a 20' shortcut back to open trail. hmmmm....
They say nastar will be open tommorrow. Promised todya, but it didn't run.
canceled at last minute.
they could use more natural. There were lots of blues they weren't even trying to make snow on. they looked like rockpiles. Other looked poachable,
I'll post pictures later. I only have pics of top and bottom. The air was too damn cold to stop and take my fingers out of my gloves.
MS is the only thing around with snow on it. roads, yards are generally clear, except for dusting maybe.
Stowe/MRG/Bush/BV/Smuggs/Jay got all the goods (I was luck to be there last week).. If you have a choice, go to Northern VT. If not,
stay with the areas that have good snowmaking. I can't imagine what kind of shape magic is in.
as I traveled S. on I91, streams of humanity poured north in their 12mpg mega-truck-limos.
I suspect the areas are going to be mobbed this weekend with the weatherguestimators saying we will have "moderating temps"
It's going to bring out the masses. If you must go Saturday, catch the first few chairs before the posers arrive at 1030.
It will scrape down fast. An inch or two are expected this weekend, that will sooth the wound only a wee bit.
This may be as good as it gets (who knows, my guess is as good as the weatherguesstimators), so if you are hesitating, I woudn't.
Resort or Ski Area: Mount Snow VT
Conditions: Extremely hardpacked, snowmaking dust atop
Trip Report:
Here's a quick report for those who might be considering MS this weekend.
Mr. Weather Guesser got the temps right - started at -2F Base, -10 summit, but I think it only warmed to +4 at the base.
So the conditions were not as bad as I thought they might be. they were way off base on the winds forecast. Calm all morning, then, there were a few gusts around 1-2pm but that was about it.
It was the temps that brought me in about once an hour.
Backlava was the best investment made all season.
Only about half the trails were opened. I was astonished to see so many closed blues.
It was extremely hard-packed, with some pilings here and there of windblown snowmaking.
It skied off fast. Get there early for the best snow. It will be gone by about 11.
There wasn't much pow on the trail edges, you couldn't be fussy.
The greens were good cruisers for a little bit, but they were scrapped off too.
I think if you stay on green as beginners, you are all set. Beginners progressing to intermediate would have a hard time on blues. solid intermediate skill will be ok on blues.
People seemed to follow me around. I'd find something good, with some pow, like LODGE, get a couple runs in on "untracked windblown", then the third run, I saw all kinds of people on it and it was almost entirelys scraped off.
Frankly, the blues skied like the blacks, largely because they were all groomed out.
I stayed on Grand Summit chair most of the day because it was fast; you could lose all your heat just sitting on the chair. I swear, the "outpost" chair on the northface is the slowest chair in the world. I was frozen stiff when I got to the top.
Pick of day? Well, uh, um Exhibition, top to bottom. Stay to skier's right, under the chair. Ski in the grass. Yes, I said ski in the grass. It's not OOB. It's got nice, soft, floatable powder, with lots of grass portruding. You don' t get hungup on the grass at all.
try it. I must have done the fallline down it 5 or 6 times. that's the only challenge today for me.
Everything else was just damn fast.
South bowl didn't look pretty, but it looked poachable, except that it's a fishbowl, kinda hard to do it discretely. The ski patrol were being a wee too strict, yelled at one fellow who ducked at rope to take a 20' shortcut back to open trail. hmmmm....
They say nastar will be open tommorrow. Promised todya, but it didn't run.
canceled at last minute.
they could use more natural. There were lots of blues they weren't even trying to make snow on. they looked like rockpiles. Other looked poachable,
I'll post pictures later. I only have pics of top and bottom. The air was too damn cold to stop and take my fingers out of my gloves.
MS is the only thing around with snow on it. roads, yards are generally clear, except for dusting maybe.
Stowe/MRG/Bush/BV/Smuggs/Jay got all the goods (I was luck to be there last week).. If you have a choice, go to Northern VT. If not,
stay with the areas that have good snowmaking. I can't imagine what kind of shape magic is in.
as I traveled S. on I91, streams of humanity poured north in their 12mpg mega-truck-limos.
I suspect the areas are going to be mobbed this weekend with the weatherguestimators saying we will have "moderating temps"
It's going to bring out the masses. If you must go Saturday, catch the first few chairs before the posers arrive at 1030.
It will scrape down fast. An inch or two are expected this weekend, that will sooth the wound only a wee bit.
This may be as good as it gets (who knows, my guess is as good as the weatherguesstimators), so if you are hesitating, I woudn't.
