Date(s) Skied: December 17, 2006
Resort or Ski Area: Pico Mountain
Conditions: SC/MG
Trip Report: The last time I skied Pico, I was not of legal age and was single. Pico also had Sugarbush as a sister resort. The year was 2001.
Pico has always been a place that has caught my attention. I recall first driving by it with my parents in the early 1990's. I also read about it in magazines and books. The first time I skied it, in December 2000 or January 2001, I was impressed. No liftlines. Great old school trails such as the Summit Glades, Sunset '71, and Upper KA. Nice lodge. Great snow. And a big mountain feel. Pico was one of the big reasons why we decided to go with ASC for this season. Pico was our ticket to Saturday skiing if we needed to.
So though things for me have changed, I am of legal age and now engaged. On Friday, I was thinking of doing Pico, but after hearing that the Summit was not open, I opted to go to Killington and skied the same trails I had skied for the last three weeks. I learned, however, that Pico was good on Friday and only had a handful of skiers and riders. In relating this to Ms. Trailboss, I convinced her to take some turns this morning. The warm temps meant soft snow and bumps at Killington on our last few visits, and Ms. Trailboss was not quite strong enough at this point in the season to handle these conditions (her third day of the season was today). Plus, she was not too keen for another crowded ski day. Pico seemed to be a good solution. A few hours on some decent trails, no crowds, and some fun.
We got on the road at about 7:45am and got to Pico at 8:30am to find an almost empty parking lot and green lower slopes. 49er had some snowmaking on it and the summit area had frost and snow from the night before. We could see the trails that were open on the bottom: Fool's Gold, Lower Pike, Ace of Clubs, and Bonanza Slope and literally NO skiers or riders
"Busy day, huh?" I asked the parking attendant.
"Oh yeah." He said with a smile.
"I like these days!" I said.
We strolled up to the lodge and were met with smiles and welcomes from the ambassadors. Just as I remember the place. The landing area in front of the lodge was all grass with some snow up by the lifts. I placed the skis on the rack and came into the lodge. Having our choice of seating and no bags or crowds was a nice change. Ms. TB's eyes lit up when she saw the big fireplace and the cozy lodge.
"Now this is my kind of place." She said.
We booted up and headed out. She was even though there were only a few runs going. Just like my last visits, we skied right onto the Golden Express. The slopes were barren and no guns were set up yet, but the summit area had some activity with snowmobiles, snowmakers getting guns ready, etc. So they are looking to get the top going first before expanding down below.
First run was down Fool's Gold, which was still had groomed freshness at 9:00am. Firm on top, soft underneath. This trail hooked into Lower Pike. Cover was good...some thin spots at the top and but nothing bad. Nice cover and no crowds. We skied this run non-stop for a couple more before Ms. TB went to stretch out her feet and get some water.
I decided to scope out the Knome's Knoll Triple and Ace of Clubs. This area is always cool....some gnarly trails and a cool lift. The run was entertaining to say the least....and the one thin spot, on the last pitch, did a good job keeping people from venturing up the triple. This trail is a cute, narrow delight ala Burke style. It was groomed and soft. The thin spot was easy to negotiate, but they will need some more snow soon.
I talked Ms. TB into trying it out and she liked it. We did three runs on it....skiing off and on the chair. It was nothing much, but heck, sure beat getting run over by gapers at Killington.
From here, we hit the quad and did four or five more runs. The snow got softer and the crowds picked up a little bit. Two minute wait though is nothing. :wink: Despite these factors, the snow did not bump up. The clouds held on too....helping to prevent snowloss.
After a few runs, Ms. TB asked if she could take my Atomic PrimeX's for a spin, so I adjusted the bindings and she took a couple spins, making some nice short turns in the soft snow. I took a break and checked out the lodge.
The lounge is definitely old school and awesome. Reminiscent of Pat's Peak. Vintage to say the least! They even had a game room/arcade with a kick-ass view of the mountain. Yes, the restrooms are better and cleaner....can still smell the paint...but the nice deck on the front has been razed. A much shorter one is now in place. :blink:
I met Ms. TB and we did a couple more runs. Each one off of the lower HSQ was a respectable 1,200 vert. Nothing to sneeze at.
She headed in while I made two finaly runs....one on the HSQ and one on the triple. Called it a day and had lunch.
Great to be back. Can't wait to get back to the trails on the top and to get into the "Outpost" Area.
Oh yeah...hopefully Matt, the ASC rep that we spoke with in the lodge who was doing the marketing survey work is checking out this report and the site. I welcomed him to it. We let him know that we were definitely going to be back. Ms. TB admired the trails on the summit and loved the room on the trails.
:beer:
Resort or Ski Area: Pico Mountain
Conditions: SC/MG
Trip Report: The last time I skied Pico, I was not of legal age and was single. Pico also had Sugarbush as a sister resort. The year was 2001.
Pico has always been a place that has caught my attention. I recall first driving by it with my parents in the early 1990's. I also read about it in magazines and books. The first time I skied it, in December 2000 or January 2001, I was impressed. No liftlines. Great old school trails such as the Summit Glades, Sunset '71, and Upper KA. Nice lodge. Great snow. And a big mountain feel. Pico was one of the big reasons why we decided to go with ASC for this season. Pico was our ticket to Saturday skiing if we needed to.
So though things for me have changed, I am of legal age and now engaged. On Friday, I was thinking of doing Pico, but after hearing that the Summit was not open, I opted to go to Killington and skied the same trails I had skied for the last three weeks. I learned, however, that Pico was good on Friday and only had a handful of skiers and riders. In relating this to Ms. Trailboss, I convinced her to take some turns this morning. The warm temps meant soft snow and bumps at Killington on our last few visits, and Ms. Trailboss was not quite strong enough at this point in the season to handle these conditions (her third day of the season was today). Plus, she was not too keen for another crowded ski day. Pico seemed to be a good solution. A few hours on some decent trails, no crowds, and some fun.
We got on the road at about 7:45am and got to Pico at 8:30am to find an almost empty parking lot and green lower slopes. 49er had some snowmaking on it and the summit area had frost and snow from the night before. We could see the trails that were open on the bottom: Fool's Gold, Lower Pike, Ace of Clubs, and Bonanza Slope and literally NO skiers or riders
"Busy day, huh?" I asked the parking attendant.
"Oh yeah." He said with a smile.
"I like these days!" I said.
We strolled up to the lodge and were met with smiles and welcomes from the ambassadors. Just as I remember the place. The landing area in front of the lodge was all grass with some snow up by the lifts. I placed the skis on the rack and came into the lodge. Having our choice of seating and no bags or crowds was a nice change. Ms. TB's eyes lit up when she saw the big fireplace and the cozy lodge.
"Now this is my kind of place." She said.
We booted up and headed out. She was
even though there were only a few runs going. Just like my last visits, we skied right onto the Golden Express. The slopes were barren and no guns were set up yet, but the summit area had some activity with snowmobiles, snowmakers getting guns ready, etc. So they are looking to get the top going first before expanding down below. First run was down Fool's Gold, which was still had groomed freshness at 9:00am. Firm on top, soft underneath. This trail hooked into Lower Pike. Cover was good...some thin spots at the top and but nothing bad. Nice cover and no crowds. We skied this run non-stop for a couple more before Ms. TB went to stretch out her feet and get some water.
I decided to scope out the Knome's Knoll Triple and Ace of Clubs. This area is always cool....some gnarly trails and a cool lift. The run was entertaining to say the least....and the one thin spot, on the last pitch, did a good job keeping people from venturing up the triple. This trail is a cute, narrow delight ala Burke style. It was groomed and soft. The thin spot was easy to negotiate, but they will need some more snow soon.
I talked Ms. TB into trying it out and she liked it. We did three runs on it....skiing off and on the chair.
It was nothing much, but heck, sure beat getting run over by gapers at Killington. From here, we hit the quad and did four or five more runs. The snow got softer and the crowds picked up a little bit. Two minute wait though is nothing. :wink: Despite these factors, the snow did not bump up. The clouds held on too....helping to prevent snowloss.
After a few runs, Ms. TB asked if she could take my Atomic PrimeX's for a spin, so I adjusted the bindings and she took a couple spins, making some nice short turns in the soft snow. I took a break and checked out the lodge.
The lounge is definitely old school and awesome. Reminiscent of Pat's Peak. Vintage to say the least! They even had a game room/arcade with a kick-ass view of the mountain. Yes, the restrooms are better and cleaner....can still smell the paint...but the nice deck on the front has been razed. A much shorter one is now in place. :blink:
I met Ms. TB and we did a couple more runs. Each one off of the lower HSQ was a respectable 1,200 vert. Nothing to sneeze at.
She headed in while I made two finaly runs....one on the HSQ and one on the triple. Called it a day and had lunch.
Great to be back. Can't wait to get back to the trails on the top and to get into the "Outpost" Area.
Oh yeah...hopefully Matt, the ASC rep that we spoke with in the lodge who was doing the marketing survey work is checking out this report and the site. I welcomed him to it. We let him know that we were definitely going to be back. Ms. TB admired the trails on the summit and loved the room on the trails.
:beer:
