MRG: Worth the Wait

Off Map Hole at MRG

Daylight Saving Time powder days provide a special kind of joy. The early riser always gets the untracked. But doubly so when most skiers do not adjust their waking time to accommodate not only snowy roads, but also the time change.

So, it was much to my chagrin that the power was out in the Mad River Valley. Having nothing else to do (and not having my uphill gear), I settled in for the long wait. Many other skiers would not be patient. One by one, they took off their boots, packed their bags, and left.

Off Map Hole at MRG

Half of the crowd left and then, sure enough, the power kicked on at noon. I will gladly wait four hours for lifts to open late if it means half as many skiers are in line.

Given the Double had no one waiting and would be the faster chair to open, I lined up for third chair. The snow was dense and a foot deep, but it fell on top of somewhat bare ground. Steeper would better, but I was mindful of unseen obstacles under the surface.

I started with a cautious opener down Panther and gained more confidence merging into Gazelle. Riders on the chairs above cheered the first tracks of the day. Waterfall skied as good as I have ever skied it. After skiing untracked top to bottom, I hopped on the Single for a longer and steeper run.

Off Map Hole at MRG

I overheard a patroller mention that Paradise was good. That raised my confidence a bit too much. The undulations were significant and so were the hidden obstacles. Halfway down Paradise, I took a trip over the handlebars, and tehn finished the run with Upper and Lower Glade.

I went back up the Single and found some of my favorite in-bound off-map rabbit holes where I scored mostly first and second tracks on my third, fourth, and fifth runs. The super heavy and dense snow was best where it was untracked. Multiple ski cuts really chunked up the snow.

I could not return the next day for the expected foot of blower. But I can rest easy knowing that the late season is saved and I still have more opportunities to use my two remaining Mad Cards. A week ago, I had feared an early end to the season might be imminent.

Off Map Hole at MRG

Jay: Cleaning Up the Leftovers

The “Powder Day” tag may be stretching it a bit. The day before was the true powder day. Today was about cleaning up the leftovers. I found many untracked powder turns, but no untracked lines. It was an off map hunting expedition (and even then, pushing the edges of the skiable zones).

In some ways, the final few inches that fell last night were more a curse than a blessing. A few inches of super light blower covers up obstacles and provides no cushion. I tried Vertigo for my first run and sloughed three inches of dust off three sizeable rocks. Thankfully no base damage, but it could have been worse.

The base under the new snow isn’t pretty, it isn’t for charging hard. Cautious turns in the low angle off map woods for me today, and nothing too steep. Where I found untracked turns, I got the cumulative boot deep bounty. But it never lasted more than a few turns on the periphery of the skiable zones.

The new snow came just in time for the holiday and bailed out a poor February. But the base is still thin and the new snow didn’t bond well nor pack down well. A solid gain, but not enough to salvage a failing season.

Legendary: Jay

Bonnie Chair 50

It was quite an unusual morning at Jay. There was no wind and the sun shined brightly. A warm light fell upon the Bonnie and Chair 50, recently painted black and emblazoned with a skull and cross bones plaque, dedicated to the legendary Michael Pfaff.

Pfaff is a reminder that anyone can make a profound difference in the lives of others. No one told him to put in the extra effort, he just did it. It is something that many of us aspire to, but few of us fully realize. It is something that is unique to legends.

Encouraging a legend to, quite literary, let their flag fly is a testament to the community and culture at Jay. The Bonnie was a special place to start a powder day. And due to the culture at Jay, it will continue to be so.

Tuckerbrook

Tuckerbrook title=

When was the last time I skinned Tuckerbrook? I cannot recall, but my last skin of the trail was well over a dozen years ago. I last skied the trail (in its entirety, at least) almost a dozen years ago. But that was via a car spot. Since the 13 Turns are lift accessible sidecountry, I rarely think about skinning and skiing the entire trail.

The time and conditions were just right today to do so. I did not feel like doing another trip to Jay (which I just did the day before) and I felt like earning turns. I realized lower elevations would have poor conditions and the 13 Turns would likely be sporty. But that was all part of the adventure.

Tuckerbrook

The skin in to the junction was thin, icy, and rocky. Above the junction, snow coverage was solid. Lots of undulations, open drainage, and foliage to avoid until 2500′ when the snow pack was consistent across the trail. The skin track stopped at the Troll Bridge, which featured some navigational challenges.

Breaking trail up the 13 Turns was brutal. I am familiar with its think spruce coverage under the snow. I was mindful of possible spruce traps and evaluating coverage and hazards. The snow depth was not enough to cause alarm, but getting caught in one would be frustrating and annoying.

13 Turns

I finally hit the Taft Race Trail and finished skinning to the summit of Mount Jackson. The ski down to the 13 Turns was a nice and gentle warmup. I was surprised at how good the 13 Turns skied given the challenging skin up! It likely was the first ski descent of the 13 Turns this season.

The Troll Bridge was easier to ski down than to skin up. Skiing down the gentle turns of Tuckerbrook ranged from fantastic up high to survival down low. Well worth the effort!. I managed to “ski” back to my car without hiking. But below the junction, in many places it would have been faster to have hiked than “skied”.