thesnowway.com

Today was a sensational afternoon of turn earning at Jay Peak. Days such as today remind me that it often is all about “the tour, not the turns.” While the skiing was less than stellar, it was well worth the effort for the turns. But it was the other aspects of the tour that made the afternoon truly memorable. Having an overcast morning turn nearly bluebird, pushing past early season pains thereby miraculously inducing mid-season stamina, the crisp and cool air with just a hint of head wind, believing I had the summit all to myself only to be surprised to share the experience with a furry four legged creature. It was uplifting for both the emotions and the spirit.

When I arrived, snow guns were blasting up and down The Jet and Haynes. ample base had already been laid down around the Jet Triple Chair and Jay Peak looked nearly in opening day condition. A snow machine worked over the snow on lower Jet. I skinned directly from my car to Derrick Hot Shot which sported a few inches of natural covered by blown over man made from Haynes. Lots of tracks covered Derrick as it seemed to be a popular route of both ascent and descent. Base depths improved to well over half a foot by the mid-point and one foot deep near the top due to blow over. The whales on both Haynes and The Jet were substantial and should make for great wall to wall coverage for opening date which has been pushed up to next weekend!

After dropping down Montrealer, I skinned up Vermonter as the clouds blue over to nearly blue bird conditions. Views from the summit were spectacular. I chowed down as an envious four legged furry creature coveted my meal. The only thing we would share; however, was an amazing view from the summit. A glorious afternoon for a summit.

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Sunday River in Newry, Maine became the first ski area in the Northeast to open for the season this past Thursday November 8th, one day earlier than scheduled. The early November snow making push was rather surprising considering most resorts are eliminating many days of the “shoulder seasons.” However, two new players in the region, including Boyne and Peaks, seriously upped the ante. Sunday River and Sugarloaf of Boyne beat Mount Snow and Attittash to the punch, but just barely. Bretton Woods also opened this weekend servicing limited beginner terrain.

Last weekend saw TheSnowWay.com’s author skinning up Locke at Sunday River for two runs unassisted by lifts. Today marked the author’s third day of the season and first lift serviced day. Although I appreciated the repetitions and vertical assistance, turns last weekend were much more enjoyable due to no crowds and no snow guns. But for only $20.00 after a donation of three canned goods, I certainly was not going to look else where for turns, crowds be damned!

Sunday River essentially offered up three trails for sliding along with a connector linking the Barker Summit to Locke. Both the Barker Summit High Speed Quad and the Locke Mountain Triple were in operation with the Locke Mountain Triple allowing skiers to board at the mid-station. Upper Sunday Punch and T2 were open from the Locke Mountain Summit from which both trails dumped into Cascades to the base which featured a mini terrain park. Snow making was online on Upper Sunday Punch making for an unpleasant skiing experience despite the trail having the best snow conditions.

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When American Ski Company dissolved and sold off its assets, no one could have predicted how many great things the new ownership would do in such a short period of time. Boyne USA Resorts stepped right up to the plate and began transforming its new Maine Resorts, Sunday River and Sugarloaf, from the neglected bastard childs of ASC to the impressive resorts they have the potential to be. Both Sunday River and Sugarloaf fired up snow making during the last week of October and Sunday River managed to open T2 on Halloween via uploading on Chair 4, thumbing its nose at the tight pockets of the former owners.

After this past Tuesday’s effort at Attitash, I was eager for some quality turns to make up for the desperate display of stupidity earlier in the week. With a planned opening date of November 9th and the snow making capability to do it, Sunday River is currently the early season leader to beat. The combination of less hiking and nearly enough snow to ski back to my car made Sunday River the obvious choice for turn earning instead of Killington.

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Already four days behind last season’s epic start, I had resigned myself to no October turns for the first time in three seasons. After a massive snow making push by seven New England ski resorts this past weekend, I was chomping at the bit to boot up and make some turns. Attitash posted some impressive pictures and video of their snow making efforts using their new line up of SMI Polecat Fan Guns. Unfortunately, the man made white gold fell on unfrozen ground which quickly melted out the snow and any chance for top to bottom turns.

On this day before my twenty-ninth birthday, I find myself one year older but no less the wiser when it comes to pursuing skiing adventures and the pursuit of turns the hard way. After jetting out of work an hour early, I pointed my car north and drove up through Franconia Notch and the down through Crawford Notch. Driving past Bretton Woods en route to Attitash, I was dumb founded by the lack of snow. While I figured Bretton Woods used the snow making more for publicity than anything substantial, I held out hope that Attitash would have the real deal. Stepping out of my car and gazing upon Roland’s Run was disheartening but I was not about to let any amount of grass between snow patches get in the way of my first turns of the season!

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