#5 — Mad River Glen: Game On — December 30, 2011

Long before the season started to suck but long after the season should have properly started, Mad River Glen opened for the first day of the season. First tracks looked more like noon tracks. This was due to the prior days’ skin track looking like a Single Chair line on a powder day. But there was ample powder to snuff out in seriously ill advised locales.

#4 — Summer or Spring at Stowe? — March 19, 2012

Sometimes a great spring skiing day is way better than a great powder day. And it is always better than an average powder day. Unfortunately, this season had very little of either great or average powder days so it is a no brainer to include my best spring skiing day in my top five. Despite the ridge already having melted out, the spring skiing was stellar. Top to bottom bumps on Chin Clip absolutely killed it.

#3 — Dartmouth: TheSnowWay at the Skiway — March 11, 2012

I was brought to Dartmouth by The List. But I’ll be going back to Dartmouth because it is awesome. Actually, my desire to ski Dartmouth extended well past my creation of The List in 2010. This day made my top three even though at less than six inches, it didn’t qualify for TSW Powder Day status. Think about that.

#2 — MRG: Boot to Knee Deep is Boot to Knee Deep — February 26, 2012

This day wouldn’t have happened for me without Harvey. Despite forecasts for some powder, I wanted to save my legs for five days of skiing in a row. Throwing in with Harvey for his first trip to Mad River meant seven days of skiing in a row with three back to back powder days. I went for it and the forecasted few inches became my first (and only) boot to knee deep day of the season. If Harvey hadn’t reached out, I would have missed out. I was stoked to show Harv around the Glen, especially on such a great powder day.

#1 — Eyes Wide Open: Cannon — October 30, 2011

This day meant so much to me. This report was as close as I came to poetry all season. A lot is said and written about skiing and the meaning people attach to it. But for me, it is so ingrained that I don’t really reflect on it from that (often melodramatic) perspective. It is just what I do. But this day felt transformative and I reconnected with an aching passion in a meaningful way. Often times during great solo powder days, I rue my lack of companions and fellowship. But not this day. This day was all mine.

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Thirty days may seem like a lot to many skiers. But I haven’t skied so few days since 2003-2004 (fifteen). But that doesn’t tell the whole story as 2004 was my final year in Massachusetts.

I was divisively split between the city and the mountains. My love of skiing was tempered by a developing stint as a club DJ in Boston and skiing was just one of my passions rather than my main focus. Fifteen days was a good season at that point. And now, double that is a bad one.

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Why six instead of five? Because five isn’t good enough to convey all of the great days! I am including multi-day trips as one day bringing the list total to nine out of thirty nine. But who’s counting? These are the six trips from this past season that gave me the most smiles and excitement.

Continue reading →

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The 2010-2011 northeast season was a good season, most notable for its consistency. But consistency does not a great season make–as evidenced by my lack luster 39 days (one third less than hoped for). While there was no mid-winter thaw, there was also not many epic powder days. And a difficult work year kept me behind my desk for some of the better ones.

Many of my favorite seasons are noted for extreme inconsistency but also very big storms (often followed by rain/thaw/freeze events). Consistency of small storms did allow for 41% powder days this season. But I would gladly take a lower percentage for twice as many big days.

Despite a mid-October foot of fresh at Killington, the season got a late start with little snow and cold until December. But what a December it was with half of my top six days of the season, including a thirty incher at Cannon. A warm November made snow making difficult for ski areas. And the weekend spring corn harvest was hampered by frequent rain and cold in late March and April. But January and February were amongst the most consistently cold and snowy in recent memory.

Whereas I might not remember 2010-2011 for its epic powder, I will remember it fondly for the new explorations and the people I shared those days with. Seven areas were crossed off The List this season including much anticipated trips to The Balsams and the Adirondacks. And what reader of thesnowway.com doesn’t remember the Okemo Shit Show (the most heavily commented Trip Report on TSW)?

Despite a few bumps and bruises, I stayed off the disabled list and got back to Tuckerman in July. I had many things I wanted to accomplish this season, some were done and some were not. But I’ll remember the season for having accomplished what might be the most important of those goals:

Perhaps instead of specific goals detailing places I want to ski and things I want to do, I should rather set a general goal of discovery, rediscovery, and adventure. That this season might be remembered not for the epic conditions but rather for the epic adventures and new explorations. And for the people I shared those adventures with instead of skiing solo so often. A season in which I never wake up and think that I might go skiing if not for the less than perfect conditions. But rather, that less than perfect conditions open up possibilities of exploration that I might not have otherwise considered.

Top six days of the season coming later this weekend.

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