Yardsticks

Kinsman Glade

Measuring things can be tricky, especially given how we relate to the thing that is measured. One might think that more snow is obviously better. Fourteen inches must be better than seven inches, perhaps even twice as good. Or perhaps not. Other measurements are at play as well: temperatures, crowds, snow consistency, lift line waits, duration of untracked, crowd frenzy, etc.

But the biggest measurement is whether you have anyone to share your runs with. This is a binary measurement: solo or not. I’ll always take seven inches of uncrowded bliss with a ski partner over fourteen inches solo among the crowds.

Cannon Trees

Cannon Trees

Cannon Trees

Cannonballer called me out in the tram queue and it was on. We dropped into an untracked Vista Way and found amazing coverage on the often barren skier’s right. The snow was supportive, dense, and surfy. We returned for a second run of more untracked followed by Upper Cannon and then again back to Vista to clean up.

Where was everyone? The “crowds” would not hit until later. But even then, most lifts were ski on throughout the morning.

I couldn’t help but suggest Kinsman Glade. Kinsman is one of my least favorite glades at Cannon due to its lack of maintenance and often horrid conditions. But with so few people at the summit and the snow being so supportive, this was definitely a Kinsman Glade day. Cannonballer obliged and it was killer.

Cannon Trees

After that, despite the late morning hour, I found some astounding untracked trees at Mittersill. Around 11:00am, I dropped into a completely untracked Upper Birches. Off map run followed by off map run, I slowly made my way back to the Tram and wrapped things up so I could get back for my evening shift at work.

Cannon Trees

The Powder Deprived (Part Four)

Birches

Sunday dawned in the negative digits but without the wind of the previous day. I opted to stay close to home and reserve my remaining Jay vouchers for future storms. I assumed Cannon had been sacked just like Jay, so I waited for warmer temperatures and got a late start.

One benefit to having a season pass is the freedom of short visits. It would be wasteful to only ski a few runs on a voucher or a day ticket. But a season pass changes my decision making considerably. This was my first time skiing four days in a row since the 2014 Jackson Hole trip. And I am currently on pace to have the most ski days I’ve had in a single season since 2013-2014.

Birches

Cannon was indeed sacked. Hardly any loose powder was left and no untracked turns. The natural snow was hit hard and did not set up well. Snow conditions and thin coverage made for less than satisfactory turns, especially after I had just experienced 16″ of fresh at Jay with almost all options on the table.

Groomed terrain fared far worse. Snow surfaces were saturated with moisture before the freeze and seven inches was not enough to recover the frozen base layer. The result was frozen hard pack and scrapped conditions on many trails. The groomers had skied better on Friday before the new snow due to softer surfaces.

After four ski days in a row, my stamina faltered resulting in unsatisfactory turns. I could blame the thin coverage and snow setup. But the truth is that I am out of shape and I can no longer ski my body into shape. A year round conditioning program will be needed to keep my body and core up to par for future seasons.

The Powder Deprived (Part Three)

Dude Falcon

The powder deprived masses descended on Jay Peak. Sixteen inches of fresh, pent up demand for powder, the biggest storm of the season (with plenty of advanced publicity), negative temperatures, frigid wind chills, and lift holds: what could possibly go wrong?

The snow was supportive and creamy with just a bit of wind loaded density. The Tram and Freezer were on wind hold, so the powder hounds were all consolidated in the Stateside area. As a result, the Stateside untracked went fast. Sooner than expected, I was cycling the Snail and Bonnie to ski Stateside.

More people than usual were making the Freezer hike from the Bonnie. But what is the point of that when you can just take Wedelmaster? Take it all the way to Beaver Pond if you insist on skiing the most overrated glade in the northeast. But I am dropping into the DP from Wedel for deep untracked after lunch.

Due to the cold, I went inside after every third or fourth run. The Tramside wind holds made for long lines at the Bonnie and the Jet. Normally, I generate enough heat to stay warm in line and on the lift. But the lines were excessive, as was the wind, and I was constantly getting chilled before the next run.

The bitter wind, muscle fatigue, and long Snail to Bonnie cycles all combined to end my day sooner than I would have preferred. It was a great day that had its frustrating moments. It wasn’t epic, but it felt like it should have been. If the weather pattern doesn’t improve, it could end up being the best day of the season.

The Powder Deprived (Part Two)

I awoke to the pitter-patter of rain. Earlier in the week, it seemed like Friday afternoon was going to be “the day”. But the changeover to snow was delayed. Friday was now the calm before the storm. Late in the day, I drove up to Cannon to see if the two inch per hour snowfall would start before the mountain closed.

I arrived just as the rain changed over to snow. The snow was “premature”, so accumulations were minimal. Groomed trails were skiing surprising well despite the rain (or perhaps because of it). But I didn’t come to ski groomers. Unfortunately, the natural snow trails skied even worse than they had on Thursday.

Just before Cannon closed, the sky opened up with two inch per hour snowfall. The drive home was formidable, as expected. The changeover happened even earlier in Northern Vermont where the snowfall would also last longer. For Saturday, I would bypass Cannon and head further north.

The Powder Deprived (Part One)

With only three powder days to my season (and none of them deep lift serviced days), I am a part of the northeast’s powder deprived legion. Natural snow terrain and trees have been slow to open. This weekend’s forecast was a game changer… as long as the mountains were on the right side of the mixed precipitation line.

I opened a four day skiing weekend at Cannon. The wind was honking and surface conditions were quite variable. Three inches of new snow did nothing for the lunar landscape of natural snow terrain. There was no rope for Zoomer Liftline but no one ever made a single track. That tells you something.

I ripped high speed arcs on a few inches of fresh over groomed. I enjoyed myself but I was all set after a few hours. Especially after the wind picked up and constant goggle scraping was required due to freezing fog. Today was fun, but it was not the main event.