Date(s) Skied: March 18, 2006
Resort or Ski Area: Stowe Mountain Resort
Conditions: PP/FG/Ice. Powder, powder, powder in the trees.
:beer: Weather: Cloudy, snow showers, some gusts of wind as well.
Trip Report: Now that I am back down on Earth, figured I would write my trip report. Sick day.
Stowe is one of those areas that I have heard much about but have never skied. I have longed for the opportunity and it finally came. Thanks to those who gave me advice yesterday. You chose well.
I left my place in White River Jct at 7am and made great time. Got to Montpelier and picked up my copilot, CB for the day. We pulled into Stowe at about 8:30 or so. Great parking spot in Mansfield lodge. Handed the ticket agent my two cards, no questions asked, she handed me a receipt that said $0.00 owed, $148.00 cost covered by the cards! That's right, would have cost me $74 per pop for the day had it not been for my Universal Ski Cards.
Walked into the lodge--very modest. Probably one of the busiest, small, cramped lodges I have ever been in. I was shocked. But the lodge is not why one skis.
We hiked up the hill to the Express Quad and got right on. First spin was down Ridge View to Hayride. Great run. Ice in the windy areas, groomed in middle, soft pow bumps on skier's right. I was hooting. LOOONNNNGGGGG run down. It was nice. Solid 5-7 minute run.
Next run was down Lord's Loop (soft pow bumps) and onto Liftline. Though the run looked icy from the lift, it was a close second for run of the day. Soft, edgeable snow. Best of the season. Some ice and wind, but doable. My bud, CB was cold at times. He also almost took me out on Liftline :lol: Near miss. Awesome trail though.
The third run made me realize that the seven minute ride on the HSQ, which was over 6,000 feet in length and had a vert in excess of 2,000, was enormous. "This is basically Burke or Jay's vert" I said to CB. "On ONE lift!"
Next run was down Nose Dive, another Stowe classic. The opening salvo was icy and a wind tunnel. Lower part was crowded, but soft. We rode it down to the Gondola.
The Gondola was a nice ride. First run was down a busy Perry Merrill onto Cliff Trail and Rimrock. The latter two were real jewels...narrow and well covered. Great runs. We got back on a nice, soft Perry Merrill and cruised to the bottom.
Next run was down Gondolier...what a mess. All ICE. Wind scoured FG on the sides, glare ice in the middle. No wonder why so many were flocking to the other side. Underneath the Gondola it was a sheet of ice as well So we hit the Switchback trail, scoping out Chin Clip which was closed (and nasty from the looks). Switchback, much like its brethren Cliff Trail and Rimrock, were underated narrow runs. They look small on the map, but ski large.
CB is a "woodchuck" I guess you can say...loves the trees, and he was chomping on the bit. So we hit some wormholes on Perry Merrill and then down the Cliff Trail. Looking at a worm hole off of Rimrock and into abyss, we pondered.
"Want to hit it?"
"Sure."
So we dove in. Me on my nice long boards. The upper section of this run, errrr, ski tracks was decent. But it turned out to be an intense 45 minute ride through one of the canyons on the mountain....in between Nose Dive and Perry Merrill. Crossing two stream beds and many narrow, harrowing sections. It was not a glade, rather a couple of guys poking around in the trees. Needless to say, probably the Meathead crew. We finally popped out above Lower Perry Merrill. My skis, and me, were largely unscathed. I kept my composure as well on some of the rougher parts.
Lunch was a well welcome rest. We were both exhausted from the runs and our tour of the woods of Mansfield. We finally got a table and sat down. In a couple minutes, I spotted an older gentleman who was looking for a spot.
"Come on over here. We can move this bag--dunno who owns it--haven't been here--" I said. He smiled and thanked me. We got to talking. I gave him a spot and he graciously told us of the goods.
"Goat is spectacular today. Soft snow, real snow." He said in a whisper. He was probably no younger than sixty, but talking about his trip down Goat. My kind of guy. :beer:
"Isn't it closed?"
"No. Take the lower cut off from Liftline. You won't regret it."
We thanked him and headed back out. I grabbed the short boards and we headed to the quad. It was packed and running slowly.
We hit Lord Loop again, dove onto Upper Liftline after peering down a treacherous and closed Upper National. We found the wormhole and dove onto Goat--it was soft pow bumps. I was in heaven...the powder of an entire season lay before us. We dove into the trees and found ambrosia. Unreal. Great space, great lines. 100x better than before lunch. We spilled onto Middle National, glare ice, and popped into the trees and back to the base.
As we stood in the line for the HSQ, for ten minutes, we began to notice lift mechanics scratching their heads. We were the last in line before the lift stopped. For good. "It's closed" the liftie said with a bright red face. There was a mutiny. We hightailed to the Mountain Triple and hit Christy Glades. Nice. Hit another shot and dumped onto Standard and ran it to Gulch and the base.
Next run was a 20 min fun spin down Lower Toll Road from the triple, hitting untracked pow in the glades and wormholes. Flew all the way down to the Toll House Double (practically in Waterbury!). Nice run and nice fresh grooming. This run made me realize how huge the place was
We took Lower Standard all the way to the HSQ--still closed. So we took the Lookout Double and did a closer on Goat and the trees. Incredible. A season's worth of snow, bumps, and fun in a closing run. We picked the woods all the way down to Lower Nose Dive. The second and third tree sections were not as good as above, but the best so far this season. Now I know why we saw no great skiers on the trails...in fact, I was stunned as to how poor overall the quality of skiers here were. LOTS of plowing :blink:
At this point, it was after three and we were shot. Headed in, got a pin for the hat, and headed home.
I will be back next season. The best expert stuff I have seen--I wish there was more cover. National, Upper Liftline, Upper Goat, etc were intense Made other places look like warm-ups. Best trees I have seen since 2003! Deep cover everywhere. Will become an annual thing for me to hit this place. I was stunned as to the age of the infrastructure and the status of the HSQ. It appeared that the chair derailed at the base terminal. Kind of disappointing for a world class resort. Liftlines were long, but not that bad. The 2000+ vert runs made it worth it.
One last note...a thank you to the anonymous gentleman who gave us the advice on Goat. We saw some real jerks at the place and there were moments (watching people skillfully cut lines), but his kindness in steering us really made a great impression and wiped out the negatives. Nice guy. Class act. Glad we could help each other out.
Resort or Ski Area: Stowe Mountain Resort
Conditions: PP/FG/Ice. Powder, powder, powder in the trees.
:beer: Weather: Cloudy, snow showers, some gusts of wind as well. Trip Report: Now that I am back down on Earth, figured I would write my trip report. Sick day.
Stowe is one of those areas that I have heard much about but have never skied. I have longed for the opportunity and it finally came. Thanks to those who gave me advice yesterday. You chose well.
I left my place in White River Jct at 7am and made great time. Got to Montpelier and picked up my copilot, CB for the day. We pulled into Stowe at about 8:30 or so. Great parking spot in Mansfield lodge. Handed the ticket agent my two cards, no questions asked, she handed me a receipt that said $0.00 owed, $148.00 cost covered by the cards!
That's right, would have cost me $74 per pop for the day had it not been for my Universal Ski Cards. Walked into the lodge--very modest. Probably one of the busiest, small, cramped lodges I have ever been in. I was shocked.
But the lodge is not why one skis. We hiked up the hill to the Express Quad and got right on. First spin was down Ridge View to Hayride. Great run. Ice in the windy areas, groomed in middle, soft pow bumps on skier's right. I was hooting. LOOONNNNGGGGG run down. It was nice. Solid 5-7 minute run.
Next run was down Lord's Loop (soft pow bumps) and onto Liftline. Though the run looked icy from the lift, it was a close second for run of the day. Soft, edgeable snow. Best of the season. Some ice and wind, but doable. My bud, CB was cold at times. He also almost took me out on Liftline :lol: Near miss. Awesome trail though.
The third run made me realize that the seven minute ride on the HSQ, which was over 6,000 feet in length and had a vert in excess of 2,000, was enormous. "This is basically Burke or Jay's vert" I said to CB. "On ONE lift!"
Next run was down Nose Dive, another Stowe classic. The opening salvo was icy and a wind tunnel. Lower part was crowded, but soft. We rode it down to the Gondola.
The Gondola was a nice ride. First run was down a busy Perry Merrill onto Cliff Trail and Rimrock. The latter two were real jewels...narrow and well covered. Great runs. We got back on a nice, soft Perry Merrill and cruised to the bottom.
Next run was down Gondolier...what a mess. All ICE. Wind scoured FG on the sides, glare ice in the middle. No wonder why so many were flocking to the other side. Underneath the Gondola it was a sheet of ice as well
So we hit the Switchback trail, scoping out Chin Clip which was closed (and nasty from the looks). Switchback, much like its brethren Cliff Trail and Rimrock, were underated narrow runs. They look small on the map, but ski large. CB is a "woodchuck" I guess you can say...loves the trees, and he was chomping on the bit. So we hit some wormholes on Perry Merrill and then down the Cliff Trail. Looking at a worm hole off of Rimrock and into abyss, we pondered.
"Want to hit it?"
"Sure."
So we dove in. Me on my nice long boards. The upper section of this run, errrr, ski tracks was decent. But it turned out to be an intense 45 minute ride through one of the canyons on the mountain....in between Nose Dive and Perry Merrill. Crossing two stream beds and many narrow, harrowing sections. It was not a glade, rather a couple of guys poking around in the trees. Needless to say, probably the Meathead crew. We finally popped out above Lower Perry Merrill. My skis, and me, were largely unscathed. I kept my composure as well on some of the rougher parts.
Lunch was a well welcome rest. We were both exhausted from the runs and our tour of the woods of Mansfield. We finally got a table and sat down. In a couple minutes, I spotted an older gentleman who was looking for a spot.
"Come on over here. We can move this bag--dunno who owns it--haven't been here--" I said. He smiled and thanked me. We got to talking. I gave him a spot and he graciously told us of the goods.
"Goat is spectacular today. Soft snow, real snow." He said in a whisper. He was probably no younger than sixty, but talking about his trip down Goat. My kind of guy. :beer:
"Isn't it closed?"
"No. Take the lower cut off from Liftline. You won't regret it."
We thanked him and headed back out. I grabbed the short boards and we headed to the quad. It was packed and running slowly.
We hit Lord Loop again, dove onto Upper Liftline after peering down a treacherous and closed Upper National. We found the wormhole and dove onto Goat--it was soft pow bumps. I was in heaven...the powder of an entire season lay before us. We dove into the trees and found ambrosia. Unreal. Great space, great lines. 100x better than before lunch. We spilled onto Middle National, glare ice, and popped into the trees and back to the base.
As we stood in the line for the HSQ, for ten minutes, we began to notice lift mechanics scratching their heads. We were the last in line before the lift stopped. For good. "It's closed" the liftie said with a bright red face. There was a mutiny. We hightailed to the Mountain Triple and hit Christy Glades. Nice. Hit another shot and dumped onto Standard and ran it to Gulch and the base.
Next run was a 20 min fun spin down Lower Toll Road from the triple, hitting untracked pow in the glades and wormholes. Flew all the way down to the Toll House Double (practically in Waterbury!). Nice run and nice fresh grooming. This run made me realize how huge the place was
We took Lower Standard all the way to the HSQ--still closed. So we took the Lookout Double and did a closer on Goat and the trees. Incredible. A season's worth of snow, bumps, and fun in a closing run. We picked the woods all the way down to Lower Nose Dive. The second and third tree sections were not as good as above, but the best so far this season. Now I know why we saw no great skiers on the trails...in fact, I was stunned as to how poor overall the quality of skiers here were. LOTS of plowing :blink:
At this point, it was after three and we were shot. Headed in, got a pin for the hat, and headed home.
I will be back next season. The best expert stuff I have seen--I wish there was more cover. National, Upper Liftline, Upper Goat, etc were intense
Made other places look like warm-ups. Best trees I have seen since 2003! Deep cover everywhere. Will become an annual thing for me to hit this place. I was stunned as to the age of the infrastructure and the status of the HSQ. It appeared that the chair derailed at the base terminal. Kind of disappointing for a world class resort. Liftlines were long, but not that bad. The 2000+ vert runs made it worth it. One last note...a thank you to the anonymous gentleman who gave us the advice on Goat. We saw some real jerks at the place and there were moments (watching people skillfully cut lines), but his kindness in steering us really made a great impression and wiped out the negatives. Nice guy. Class act. Glad we could help each other out.
