MOTHER NATURE TRIED TO STOP ME FROM SKIING TODAY
Today was yet another complicated weather day for skiing here in the East. There’s been a lot of those lately, unfortunately. However, despite everything going on, I still managed to ski and ended up having a decent time at Smugglers’ Notch this afternoon.
Mount Mansfield seen from Upper Rumrunner.
Looking up Pipeline.
To set the scene, last week the week started off really warm, and then there was a big freeze on Thursday. There was some snow over the weekend, and that brought conditions back to being good. Then, yesterday, temperatures turned warm again, but only for a short time. Last night, the cold came back, along with rain, snow and a lot of wind. In fact, it was extremely windy all last night and basically all of today.
As a result of the warm temperatures yesterday, and then the rain, freeze, and the the wind, operations were impacted at numerous ski resorts. Some didn’t spin lifts at all, such as Whiteface, which is my home mountain. I typically ski at Whiteface after work, which was the plan today, but with them closed I could either not ski or pivot. I wanted to ski, so I decided to pivot.
Riding the double up Sterling Mountain.
Lower Rumrunner.
For various reasons, including other ski areas having big wind and conditions issues themselves, some smaller ski areas being closed, and not having passes/tickets to other ski areas that may have worked, my best options were Smugglers’ Notch or Sugarbush. In the end, as mentioned, I settled on Smugglers’ Notch, mainly because it’s closer to me. I’ve said it a few times, but if you didn’t know, I have a Smugglers’ Notch Bash Badge. It’s essentially a frequent skier card that makes full day tickets $30 all season and $20 for a half day, so that means today cost me $20. It’s a pretty good deal.
Outside of the beginner area, they were only spinning one of their main lifts, and that was the double up Sterling Mountain. The terrain off Sterling Mountain is pretty fun, but most of it was closed today as a result of conditions, and some of it was probably closed due to coverage too. There was basically only two or three ways down the mountain, so it really felt like an early season day.
Treasure Run.
Thomke’s Express.
An untouched Smugglers’ Alley. It was closed.
Some East Coast ice in the wild.
Thanks to yesterday’s warm temperatures, and the big freeze last night, the snow was fast and firm. It did snow a little last night, and that helped with conditions. While there were certainly some ice patches out there, I was able to hold an edge most of the time. The resort wasn’t busy at all, but with limited trails to ski, it did feel a little crowded at times.
Black Snake.
Slick part of Black Snake.
My favorite run today, as a whole, was Upper Rumrunner to Black Snake, and then Practice Slope. For whatever reason, the snow here was actually pretty good. It was more like packed powder, though the very end of Black Snake was pretty icy.
Today was day 95, by the way.
Never Quit Skiing,
Lincoln