April in New England: In like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb
Out like freaking Bambi is more like it. Woke up this morning and moped around the house knowing that my original plans for either Hillmans or Gulf of Slides were devoid of value with the current weather. I finally decided that I could either putz around the house all day or I could make a go at a final day of lift serviced skiing for the season. Since it would cost me nothing but gas and time at the worst, I figured why not?
Definitely one of the worst days of the season as far as conditions go. Probably worse than most of the Frozen McSludge Groomer Track skiing I did at Jay in December. Upon arriving at Jay, a faint mist opened up to full on light showers. Oh boy! I had anticipated rain but not quite this much. No worries, the conditions will be soft and Spring like and make fighting the rain worth it! Not.
Decided to make a rare start Tram Side figuring I would stay dry on my ascents up the Tram. The Tram was running four times an hour based on my wait for things to get moving. After waiting at the Tram Station for five minutes, still only seven other hardy souls were in the car. Up we went to the summit with only Northway open featuring lots of ice and frozen sludge, hardly good turning conditions. Why Jay even had the Tram open is beyond me. I decided immediately to continue down Northway and avoid Tram Side altogether since the Bonaventure was not open. Northway sucked all the way but was at least somewhat edgable in places. Quickly realizing that the natural snow would fair better, I ducked into the woods off Northway and skied a few trees that were softer but not Spring Corn soft. While coming to a stop, I realized by the sounds of running water that I was on a snow bridge over a massive brook of running water. On to the Jet!
Jet and Haynes were pretty nasty, hard, frozen, etc. Would have been a completely different day with a little bit of sun shine and if the temperature was five degrees warmer. Again, I decided natural trails were the best. A few forays into the woods produced mixed results. The woods were better than the man made and groomed trails but not as good as the bumps on U.N. and especially Kitzbeuhel where I found the snow that made me happiest (or rather, the least annoyed). I actually had two good runs down Kitzbeuhel, so the trip was not for not. But pretty close. Realizing that it would not get warm enough to soften anything up, I packed it in around noon time by trudging over a mud field to the barely ridable T-Bar where the lift Op had to jump to reach the T overhead. Bravo, nicely done. Someone get that man a step stool!
Left my camera in the car since it was raining when I got there, so no pictures. Let me paint the visual as best as possible. No snow at the base areas except where the cats pushed snow to the lifts. Flat lower mountain trails barely holding on and melting fast with occasional grass skiing required. Upper mountain around the Summit cone is essentially completely worthless ice. Tramside trails below Northway were retaining snow nicely above the flats but not worth the Tram effort to ski. Northway drainage was terrible but skiable, lots of breaks and thin spots below taxi, will be completely gone by next week. Jet retains the most snow with every trail off the Jet skiable and essentially fully covered down through the steep section. Lower U.N. and Lower Derick are gone and the connecting trails from the Quad area are one day away from a long walk. Upper Jet trails were surprisingly well filled with good base depth due to snow making and favorable face. Trees still easily skiable on and off the map but coverage is getting thin. Earned turns on the Jet area should be good for several more weeks, perhaps even patch skiing as I have done in previous years for another month.