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A December to remember keeps on cranking out the powder days. Several small storms kept Jay full of powder this past week with yet another six inches falling heading into the weekend. My expectations of a small amount of additional snow were blown away by half a foot on the open trails and much more in the trees. Today was a phenomenal day at Jay.

Normally, I never ski Can Am. But after boarding one of the first chairs on the Bonaventure Quad and seeing a steep powder field begging for tracks, I could not help myself. The lack of wind kept the normally blown off slopes full of powder. I followed that up with a completely untracked run down Vertigo. Since the Tram and Freezer were not running when Jay opened, I headed Tramside on my next run for Northwest Passage to the Expo Glade area and returned for Upper River Quai to more Expo Glade area powder. Trees offered boot to knee deep untracked. When the Flyer and Tram started turning, I went back to Stateside and hit a whole bunch of stuff as the party was up Tramside.

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Wincing in pain, I awoke without an alarm this morning after yesterday’s strenuous powder day at Burke. Everything hurt from my lower back to just behind my knee. Plans were already hatched to combine lift serviced and earned turns at Cannon to maximize powder potential almost a full week after the last storm hit New England. Original plans included the possibility of a full skin of Tuckerbrook but due to my tense and sore muscles I dialed plans back a bit.

Arriving at the Peabody Lodge, Cannon’s excellent staff were working the parking lots to alert potential customers that power was currently out but may be back online later. “No worries” I told a lot attendant. Pointing to my bindings I mentioned that “I have my own power.” Lifts were still running on backup power to get the remaining customers off the chairs before the bull wheels stopped turning. Since the power just went down, I decided to not wait for what could be a few minutes or a few hours.

Not long after I began skinning, I heard the tell tale hum of power being delivered to the lifts. No worries as I was off the grid regardless and heading for whiter pastures. I was baffled by the amount of traffic inflicted upon the mountain in the past few days and felt like a royal Johnny Come Lately as I picked up a well packed down skin track. There was plenty of fresh powder to still be found but I would not enjoy the pleasure of laying down first tracks today.

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Thankfully for powder hounds, Burke Mountain stuck to their scheduled first day of operation. Even though two feet of snow was added to Burke’s slopes this past week and skiers have been coming down with that rare illness known as powderitis, Burke held true to their first day. Massive powder reports from the more well known mountains and Burke’s perception as being off the beaten path and not a major mountain combined to make for an amazing powder day without much competition. Powder hounds killed it in Burke’s glades all day while most skiers were bumping elbows in long lines to fight over a few left over well hidden scraps at ski resorts along the spine of the Green Mountains.

Today was simply sensational. Boot deep untracked was found on every single run right through closing time with the first few runs featuring untracked snow almost top to bottom before the main trails and glades started getting chewed up. By noon time, the main routes and trails had a fairly choppy and bumpy packed snow but the glades and trees skied extremely well all day.

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Fringe benefits of working in academia include University shut downs on powder days. With a foot of snow walloping much of New Hampshire, I ventured up to Jay Peak for a mid-week powder day. Thankfully, the new Michelin X-Ice snow tires had been mounted on Friday or else my day would have been substantially different and less powdery due to an unplowed six inches of dense compacted powder at go time. Three hours later, I was clicking in at the Stateside Lodge and skiing towards the Jet at Jay thirty minutes past first chair.

My unexpected tardiness combined with an abundance of College kids (due to the new Triple Major pass) and the lack of uphill capacity (Bonaventure and the Freezer were not spinning) resulted in quickly readjusted plans and expectations. Much to my dismay, almost all of Stateside was completely tracked out by 9:45 A.M. when I plopped my butt onto the Jet Triple Chair. I immediately went for the trees but found lots of tracks.

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Considering what we were skiing on last year at this time, I really have no right to be anything but thankful and grateful for the tremendous early season bounty of natural snow blanketing Jay. But familiarity, perspective, and relativity often combine to suggest strange things, such as half the mountain being open and three powder days within two weeks of opening day is not enough to satisfy.

Yes, when I arrived at Jay I was disappointed to see “only” a few inches in the parking lot. That disappointment escalated as I made my first run finding the wind had removed most of the powder from Derick, Haynes, and U.N. as I madly cut across the trails on Stateside’s southern flank searching for the goods. As per usual, high winds at Jay indicates the powder will be found in the woods. But I “only” found a few inches in the first few open glades I skied. Perhaps the expectations were a little too high today considering it is “only” December 1st!

The trails at Jay quickly melted away from my mind as I searched for powder in the woods. I was eventually rewarded later in the afternoon with six inches of fluff which I repeated three times before calling it a day. The crowds showed up en masse around ten and proceeded to lay to waste the few precious inches of good snow in the open glades. With lines at The Jet backed up out of the corrals and the groomed trails featuring a despicable mix of hard pack, frozen groomer tracks, rock, and ice, it was definitely a day for trails untouched by the groomers. Lower trails near the Bonaventure Quad were stupendous natural snow romps. However, the trip down Montrealer to Northway to Taxi made those trails almost unworthy of the effort required to reach them.

With a storm rolling in Sunday evening through Tuesday of this coming week, Jay is seriously setup for one of its best December’s ever. Half the mountain is already open and two dozen trails on the other side of the map have enough snow to open once the Green Mountain Freezer fires up next week. For those able to take a vacation day on Tuesday and Wednesday, epic things are awaiting. The rest of us will have to settle for sloppy seconds next weekend. But I am okay with that because it is “only” December.

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Following the Thanksgiving Day rain event, Jay Peak posted a typical read-between-the-lines styled snow report that suggested skiing conditions would be variable and icy despite the change over that provided four inches of snow. The following day Jay reported in with another four inches of fresh and pictures of white stuff flying through the air. My interest was piqued and my optimism was initialized but I retained realistic sensibilities that skiing this weekend would be in a word, interesting.

My optimism was instantly dashed, much to my chagrin, as I approach the ski racks of Jay Peak’s stateside lodge. The snow was crunchy, without much depth, and of questionable base layers. Dust on crust it was going to be!

With my back still sore from last week’s two day powder romp, I was in no condition for a full out assault on the powder stashes I knew Jay had to offer for those willing to exert themselves. Things off the Jet Triple looked pretty bleak for first chair. Interestingly enough, the groomer tracks on The Jet looked most appetizing of all since I have yet to have a great top to bottom railroad tracks groomer run this season. Or, the natural snow under the chairlift just looked that bad. Perhaps a little of both. Most other skiers and riders on The Jet had the same idea so I pounced on The Jet like it was chock full o’ powder before the hordes turned The Jet into steep frozen cat tracks which happened by around ten that morning.

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Best November Ever. Period.

Sunday continued where we left off on Saturday which was about boot deep in the trees. With only The Jet Triple turning again, the Stateside area was completely tracked out on both the open and closed trails. Conga lines formed to head for whiter pastures. The boot pack and skin track lines heading up Northway looked like a Highway to Heaven. It was no secret where the untracked powder was on the mountain but there was plenty to go around considering the length of time a round trip took.

Much to my chagrin, even Can Am and Upper River Quai had been significantly tracked out by my first run. However, I noticed that Vertigo had not a track. Obviously, the steep drop into the glade needed another foot or two to avoid bottoming out on the rocks and stumps that were hidden beneath the tempting white. Good thing for me that most people care about their ski bases!

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It was not supposed to happen like this. Jay was supposed to open next week. If we were lucky, Jay would have had The Jet and Haynes covered with man made snow and groomed to less than desirable so called perfection. Instead, Jay got two feet of snow during the week before Thanksgiving and decided to open a week early. Thanks Jay!

The surreal feeling experienced while skiing through the trees during mid-November in what looks like and feels like mid-January conditions is not something I could ever get used to. Though I would certainly love to have enough such experiences that mid-November days become just as routine as the bi-weekly six inch refreshes that Jay usually receives during the winter.

Last week I ascended Jay Peak to the summit via earned turns on approximately 2-8″ of consolidated base depth. What remained of that initial shot of natural snow after the rains preceding this most recent storm is any ones guess. At the time of this writing, Jay has either under reported snow totals or have yet to find the magical “Jay Inch” measuring location. Sinking my pole more than halfway into the snow, many places in the trees were easily two or more feet deep. But the trees always receive blow in so that is not an accurate measurement. A more accurate measurement would be the minimum boot deep untracked found on the trails as the area opened for the first time this season.

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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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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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Met up with Patrick for some July desperation turns on this fine Canada Day, eh? This is my third season in a row skiing the Ravine as late as I think can safely be done without excessive stupidity (only moderate stupidity was required today). Despite there being more snow at the patch than the previous two years, the overall safety level was much less which resulted in Patrick and I only skiing half of the snow patch.

We made a late start leaving Pinkham around 9 A.M. and made steady time. We incurred the normal barrage of questions and comments but not as many as experienced in prior years. The doubters were incorrect as always displaying amazing ignorance, on occasion even claiming superior knowledge of the Ravine in that they knew no snow was left. Halfway up the TRT, the sun was shinning and I dared remark that “What was up with that 30% chance of rain?” Fortunately we made it to HoJo’s and cover before it started coming down heavy. The two other skiers that passed us did not fair as well having already pressed on to the ravine.

After the rain showers passed, we made our way up to the Bowl. En route, Patrick got a little sarcastic and told a passerby that there was snow in a cave up there. A short while later, we caught up to the same hikers and they asked “is there really a cave up there you guys are going to ski through?”

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After a rather long hiatus with only occasional lift assisted skinning, the One Run for the Price of None Tour 06-07 fires back up again with a vengeance… and man are my arms tired. My legs too. All of the powder and packed powder skiing this season has my physical condition less toned than usual at this time of year despite passing my season total of 39 days. Speaking of lifts turning, I can honestly say I am glad Cannon always shuts down the first week in April because boy oh boy was it nice having the mountain almost entirely to myself. This was the best day of skiing I have had….. in the past seven days.

Originally, the plan was some local BC but downed trees had me concerned. Opting on a summit from the M side, I was blown away by both the coverage and blow down. This is better coverage than I have seen during many years in January, wow! Also impressive was the wind and weather damage done to the summit tower. Many pieces of wood were torn clear off the tower making the summit tower access slightly dangerous but safe enough. Views everywhere were amazing. I spread my arms, felt the breeze, and smiled a big toothy grin. This was a truly beautiful Spring day and there was no where else I would rather be. Something about this mountain, I don’t quite know what it is, continues to leave me in various states of awe.

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The rabble invaded Stowe today for the Can Food Drive and I was more than happy to do my part for a $25 ticket. Regardless of conditions (generally), I don’t pass up opportunities to ski Stowe at a discount.

Conditions were interesting and variable. It puked snow all day which was a glorious sight to behold halfway through the month of April. But don’t let your guard down because everything looks soft and fluffy! Ascending the Mountain Road, the rain snow line pretty was the Toll Road Area. Just down the Mountain Road everything was wet and rainy. Snow near the base area was very wet and there was a hard setup from the day before with warming temperatures causing consolidated snow to firm up. The lower 200-300 vertical feet of the mountain was choppy and unfriendly. Upper elevation sported a dense powder with untracked lines were hard to find though available off the beaten path.

After finally getting to disappoint myself by sampling Goat which had been roped on my previous visits, I wasted no time ducking into the woods. Trees in the Upper Mountain Forerunner area were mighty fine and impressive with that thick, dense powder. Mighty fine steep and tight lines in the trees, thank you very much! But I quickly decided that the royal soaking on the Forerunner was not worth the upper mountain trees and spent most of the day on the Gondi.

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Met up with Nhski and from_the_NEK for a mid-week assault on Jay Peak as yet another major April snow storm slammed into New England with more on the way. I am quickly getting used to this and hope I will not suffer too much withdrawal when Spring finally returns with a vengeance to wash all this wonderful whiteness away.

Jay Peak’s web page is reporting 10 inches within 24 hours and 20 inches within 48 hours which does not match up to what we skied today. It was excellent but it was not 20 inches even in the untracked that was not skied the previous day. I would estimate closer to between sixteen and eighteen for the two day storm total. Not shabby for April regardless of how you measure it.

But that total was over the course of two days, so on lines that had been tracked the previous day, we only found about ten inches untracked in the morning. Despite light crowds, I felt that the untracked went quick as any one out there knew where to find the goods. I would not expect much untracked for Saturday but the snow is really good. Warm weather was getting the best of snow near the bottom of the mountain with some exceptionally wet and heavy snow down low. Things were still powdery on the upper sections of the mountain, but even after a foot and a half, Spring and April are letting their presence be known.

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