POWDER DAY AT COCHRAN’S SKI AREA
Santa came early this year, and he must’ve got the letters I’d been sending him for months, because when I woke up this morning I was greeted to several inches of fresh powdery snow. What a great way to start Christmas Eve! While I did consider going to Jay Peak, which had received six to eight inches of snow in the last 24 hours, I decided to stick to my original plan and head to Cochran’s Ski Area for some Christmas Eve morning turns.
The entrance to the ski area.
Cochran’s is located in Richmond, Vermont, which is around 20 to 30 minutes from Burlington. It’s a small ski area with a T-Bar, and a couple of rope tows. One of the rope tows is shockingly fast. I rode it last January and made a video on it, which you can watch here. It’s a much more entertaining video than it sounds like it would be. I was holding on for dear life!
The ski area seen from the parking lot.
The lodge seen from the parking lot.
Map of the ski area.
With it being Christmas Eve, the mountain was only open from 9 a.m. to noon today. They had the T-Bar spinning, as well as a beginner rope tow. The only trail that was for sure closed was The Race Trail, which had thin cover. The run The Face had whales on it and they were actively making snow on it, so I’m not sure if it was open or not, but there were some tracks going down it.
Riding the T-Bar.
View from the top of the hill, and looking down the run I-89.
I got there around 10, and it was relatively busy. There was a decent line for the T-Bar, but the slopes themselves weren’t too crowded. I don’t know how much snow they received, but it was enough for conditions to be fantastic. Where there’d been a lot of skier traffic, you had packed powder. Elsewhere it was still powder. The snow was light and fluffy and you cruised right through it. Good stuff.
Alison’s Alley.
The Elbow.
I-89.
The best snow was probably on I-89, as there was still quite a lot of powder along the edge on skiers right. If you’re wondering, I-89 is named after the interstate you can see from the ski area. My run of the day was probably Alison’s Alley to The Elbow, and then to Ginny’s Way. It’s a narrower run compared to I-89, and with last night’s snow covering the trees, it was really nice to ski down.
I’m taking tomorrow off from skiing to enjoy Christmas with my wife and dogs. I’ll be back out on the snow on Friday. Merry Christmas and happy holidays!
Never Quit Skiing,
Lincoln