catsup948
New member
Done for the season. Quick recap
36 Days (Most since 09-10)
20 Days NH, 12 VT, 3 ME, 1 Canada
"Home" Mtns this season: Cannon 5x, Pats Peak 4x
Cost/visit: $19.77/day (just ski ticket cost---I don't dare calculate gas/beer/food/lodging into the equation!)
Days by Month: 3 November, 7 December, 7 January, 8 February, 8 March, 3 April (pretty even split bookended by the shoulder months)
Got my son on skis at 21 mos....we had a fun season together getting him used to being on snow and getting geared up! Next season we will take even bigger strides!
Longest lift served season ever for me (started a week earlier and ended a week later than I normally do)
Started 11/15, Ended 4/20
Went at least once every wknd since the season began....a couple times I had to really push to make the drive somewhere to keep the streak going!
20 unique mtns which I think is also a record for me
2 new to me mtns (Owls Head, Middlebury) Hit both under less than ideal conditions/available terrain but saw enough to want to go back someday.
Re-discovered mtns after a long hiatus (Bretton Woods: Had been 20 yrs since I was last there. Didn't have much open but I can see the appeal as a nice family spot/intermediate heaven. Will be back early season next yr.)
Cranmore: There on their $9 founders day special....nearly the entire mtn was open and we had a good time. Had been about 10 yrs since I was there.
Memorable Days:
11/23 Okemo: Amazing spring day in November with Catsup948. Okemo had a ton of terrain open for that time of yr and we had a blast. Tom's Loft post ski was a treat too!
1/27 Pats Peak: SaveMeASammy and I ripped up Pats on a great powder day where we had the mtn to ourselves. Mass Driving Ban thank you! Super Secret Off Map glades at Pats?! Oh yes!
1/28 Ragged: Ravine on the day after a powder day...100% open...lots of fun!
2/6 Black Mtn of ME: Catsup948 and I went back to Black on a mini powder day and again sampled the tremendous glades they have up there and great community vibe and $15 tickets. Great start to the AZ Summit.
2/7-8 Sugarloaf AZ Summit: Always a great time...skiing was hardpack all wknd but we had fun in Brackett and of course the Widowmaker!
2/15 Crotched: DHS and SaveMeASammy and I had what I would call my best day of the season...and top 5 in the last 5 yrs or so. Very deep on trail and even deeper in the woods all untracked. DHS gave us the grand tour. West Ledges, T Bar Line, etc. Crotched packed a tremendous punch that day and gave me a real appreciation of what is possible there on a great snow day. A day I will think about all summer for sure!
3/7 Cannon: Awesome day with DHS. My 1st time to Mittersill/off map woods. We hit Tramline in great conditions.
3/15 Bolton Valley: Catsup948, MadMadWorld, and I skied BV on a sneaky 6" powder day. Great trees on and off map.
Other than the run out BV can deliver some really fun lines and is well worth a visit.
3/16 MRG: Catsup948, SaveMeASammy, and crew hit up MRG on a very special day. Hardpack on trails but glorious in the trees. 1st run down Paradise in my life and the reputation is well deserved.
Trees skiers left of Paradise no joke and humbling as I'm on my ass in certain sections just hoping I don't seriously injure myself.
As Catsup948 put it, "MRG on a good day is like a drug and I'm a junkie...I just need more and more"
4/12 Cannon: Great AZ crew (DHS, PuckIt, Cannonball, JDMRoma, dlague, fcksummer) for my final Cannon day. Warming into the 50's, bluebird, soft bumps, zoomer bar...just tremendous.
Season Long Memories: Meeting/getting to know better the many great AZ'ers on the forum. Makes skiing in groups much more fun when we push each other and we learn about new areas on the mtn we may not venture in solo.
I love the passion everyone has for their "home mtn" and the local knowledge that is so key.
Great write-up Chris!