Powder Day? Two days after the storm? Pinch me!
After staying out late last night, I was feeling very tired at the 6 A.M. alarm. Ditched plans to ski either Jay or Mad River Glen (more likely MRG), I opted for a $15 half day at Burke Mountain which averaged about a buck fiddy per run. Sweet deal, especially considering the quality of the runs.
The competition at Jay Peak on a powder day is insane. You get so little chance at scoring top to bottom untracked despite the amazing quantity of terrain and tree shots at Jay. It is baffling how quickly the powder goes gets played out only one day after a storm. But two days after the storm? Even off the map shots are fully tracked out. Enter Burke Mountain two days after a storm at noon time...
Boot deep freshies with occasional other tracks thrown into the mix with knee deep wind blown drifts and deeper pockets were to be had on Burke's lesser known secrets. Most of my runs were off the map woods trails with plenty of untracked lines. Cover left something to be desired but no core shots were taken. A one or two foot dump will put some Back Country stuff within striking distance.
On the map, the open woods (and some of the closed woods it seemed, though I did not duck) were fully played. But powder was still to be had occasionally with untracked shots on the sides of many natural snow trails. Burke advertised that Fox's Folly was opening today to bring their trail count to 100%. Nice try Burke. Opening the last 150 feet of Fox's Folly is cool, but the section of Fox's Folly that parallels The Ledges was roped. And for good reason! Those rocks are not covered and the powder has only limited visibility of the hazards. For the record, Burke does not have 100% of their trails open and Fox's is currently 50% closed (the 50% that is the best part of the run, no less). I appreciate the lower section of Fox's being open though. Burke's Lift Line reminds me of Magic's Red Line in that it is a narrow lift line chute with low chairs and supreme visibility for those who appreciate showing off some nice turns. A nice 8' drop into soft packed powder bumps with an audience always gets me pumped up. I am allowed a little vanity in life!
Natural snow trails were mostly perfect soft packed powder (real packed powder mind you, not "machine groomed packed powder." Doug's Drop is beat up beyond belief and Boarder Line was rather thin. Entrances and Exits to many natural snow trails and glades left something to be desired. Burke's Groomed terrain was perfect as always. Best groomed cruising terrain in New England as far as I am concerned. And I know that is a big statement, but I stand by it. I also stand by my experiences with Burke's customer service which I rate highest of any ski area I have been to.
Dropped the skis off at East Burke Sports on the way home for a tune up along with my warranty replacement Legend 8000s which will be mounted up and ready to go for next weekend. Speaking of great customer service, East Burke Sports won me over, great service from this outfit and I give them my recommendation if you are in the area and need a purchase, rental, or repair.