Category: 2022-2023 Season

2022-2023 Season, April, Jay Peak

Jay: Not Like Last Year

The Bonnie

Last year, Jay went deep into the spring, extending closing weekend to mid-May. That is not going to happen this year.

Amazingly, Jay was running almost all of its lifts except the carpets, Village Double, and the Freezer (the Tram was scheduled but on wind hold). That was certainly above and beyond, as I would not expect more than the Jet and the Bonnie at this point (and I would have been fine with only the Jet). Some other Vermont resorts *cough* Sugarbush *cough* close lifts as fast as possible, long before the snow has completely melted (or, just shut down completely despite ample coverage *cough* Stowe *cough*). But Jay does things differently.

From the Bonnie, the Goat was just hanging on and Northway to the usual runouts had ample coverage (but was not skiing very well). Over on the Jet, Haynes was edge to edge but not skiing very well and the Jet was edge to edge with alternating piles of soft between frozen groomer tracks. Thankfully, there was an irregular bump line under half of the lift line. Montrealer provided access to Northway and the run out trails. Turns could still be linked in Kitz Woods, but connections were sometimes challenging.

The snow was melting fast. I assume it will be Jet only next weekend. I am not sure if the machines will be able to push around enough snow for Jay to make it to May (unless they extend the weekend and stay open for Monday May 1, and then call it a season). It has been a strange season, but Jay still hangs tough to the bitter end while others call it quits. They have certainly earned my business for next season.

2022-2023 Season, April, Earned Turns, Hillman's Highway, Mount Washington

Hillman’s Highway

Hillman's Highway Area Gullies

Hard to believe it has been ten years since my last time skiing Hillman’s.

I haven’t skied half of Tuckerman Ravine’s routes, but I’ve skied enough to know that I enjoy skiing and climbing Hillman’s the most. Hillman’s is far from the ravine circus and offers drama free climbing. There is a chill vibe. The gully has the easiest pitch in the ravine area, but also the longest run. And there is no need to down hike if the Little Headwall isn’t in, either.

Hillman's Highway

With 80 degree temperatures forecasted Friday and Saturday, I rearranged my work schedule to get to Mount Washington on Thursday. The Tuckerman Ravine Trail was skinable bottom to top, and the Sherburne ski trail was skiable top to bottom. Neither of those conditions would be present by the weekend, with as much as one-third of the Sherburne trail closed after the big melt down.

Tuckerman and Summit from Hillman's Highway

I had a “summit to car” adventure in mind. The better climbing route would have been Right Gully to the East Snowfields. But with the Little Headwall out, Hillman’s would be the only summit to car option from Pinkham. That assumed there was a skiable connection from the bottom of the summit cone to Hillman’s, via the lawn above the ravine’s lip. I suspected such a connection may not exist, so I opted to ascend the better ski route rather the better summit route.

Summit from Top of Hillman's Highway

Which was ultimately the best decision. After climbing out of the gully, I started skinning up to the Davis Path looking for a connection to the summit cone. But despite Hillman’s being quite full, the plateau around the summit was quite melted already despite the early time of the season. I wasn’t going to hike in ski boots across the rocky summit trails, so I turned around and headed back to Hillman’s.

It is just as well that I bailed on the summit option as Hillman’s was already quite cooked by the time I started descending. It would only get softer and mushier as the afternoon progressed. Turns were quite nice but a major workout given the soft snow.

By the time I reached the Sherburne, the snow was extremely wet and sticky. I pointed my skis straight down the Sherburne and often needed to poll to keep momentum. The final few turns were quite barren, but still retained enough snow that I did not need to down hike or side slip.

Wildcat from the Davis Path

2022-2023 Season, April, Mad River Glen

MRG: Sunnyside

Slalom Hill

A few late season storms really saved the late season at Mad River. Oftentimes, Mad River is closed or barely hanging on by the first week of April. This year, during the second week of April, the mountain was still fully covered and almost completely open (save for steeper and shadowed trails suffering from icy snow surfaces).

The sun was out and the Sunnyside was the place to be. The snow was soft and the bumps were sublime, especially on Slalom Hill, Quacky, and Canyon. I took a run off the Single to see how things skied and the upper mountain trails were quite firm. Even Cat Bowl left a little to be desired, despite its more southern exposure.

Given I haven’t skied much this season and haven’t had a full day of bump skiing in over a year, my legs called it quits long before the lifts stopped running. Amazingly, Mad River Glen would get one more full week of skiing through the following weekend. It is a testament to just how important the two late season storms were to snow pack and preservation.

2022-2023 Season, Magic Mountain, March, Powder Day

Three Hours, Three Runs, Three Feet: Magic

Magic scored a late season jackpot. After an extremely lackluster season, two key storms saved the end of the season, the second of which was the big one. One foot is pedestrian. Two feet doesn’t happen every season, but happens more often than most skiers realize. But a three footer? That only happens every once in a while.

Most areas were open the day before, but Magic is closed mid-week which allowed the full storm total to accumulate. So, while many other Vermont resorts received almost as much snow, Magic was the only place to open for the full bounty untracked. However, that is information that most powder hounds and Magic loyalists figured out. Which made for a Red Chair lift line that rivals the busiest Single Chair lift lines at Mad River Glen.

I arrived almost an hour before the Red Chair opened. But, despite my early arrival, the lift queue was continually being built, allowing late comers to get an earlier chair despite not having waited 50 minutes. It was quite disappointing and frustrating, but the staff was doing the best they could (many employees couldn’t even leave home due to lack of plowing).

I finally made it to the summit, but I was considerably behind the untracked rush. Many folks floundered in the deep snow, unfamiliar with how to ski the deep dense stuff. I blew past them, knowing I had to get back to the lift ASAP and make better trail selections. After a pair of 40 minute lift waits, I found myself skier’s left of Goniff, sampling the steep off map woods. It was quite nice, but the area needs a brushing.

I needed to hit the head and I didn’t think I could wait another hour for a full cycle. This was a prudent move as the lift was down when I returned to the queue. The slow backup generator was kicked on and it probably took over an hour to get the last skier off the lift. I only got three runs in three hours, but at least I didn’t piss myself on the lift.

Turns out a power line went down and, given the nature of the storm, the power company was going to take a while before they could fit it. I elected to leave at noon, which was a sound decision as the lift never got power back later that day.

Magic seems cursed. Even when everything goes right, everything goes wrong. Had the “new” chair been operational by now, many more runs could have been had by all. Magic cannot control a local power outage resulting from a massive storm. But it is just the mountain’s luck. It was nice to be back at Magic. But it was the most disappointing three foot powder day that I have ever had.

2022-2023 Season, March, Saddleback

Saddleback

It has been over a dozen years since my last visit to Saddleback, which is a dozen years too many. Given it was closed for almost half that time, I have some sort of excuse. But Saddleback reopened two years ago, and I finally got my ass back up to Rangeley to punch an Indy Pass ticket at Saddleback.

I was amazed at how much the new high speed quad changed the mountain, and equally impressed at how little it changed the mountain. Saddleback was certainly exponentially busier than my last visit. But there was still ample space to spread skiers out and minimal lines at all lifts. Cars were parked a mile down the access road, but I never waited more than ten minutes for the Kennebago Quad.

Speaking of the Kennebago, I spent most of my day up there picking off most trails and glades. No other ski area in the northeast has a terrain pod with quite as much quality ungroomed expert terrain. That includes two of my favorite on map glades, Dark Wizard and Upper Nightmare. Both are tight and have interesting entrances and lines.

Hopefully, it won’t be another dozen years before I get back to Saddleback. But the place is a haul from just about everywhere, and that drive from locations due west involves roads that can only be described as weather war-torn. The mountain is bustling and, with the new ownership and new high speed lift, should be viable for the foreseeable future.