Category: March

2004-2005 Season, AlpineZone Meet Up, Burke, March

AlpineZone.com Meet Up at Burke, VT

Steve at Burke

I have been long overdue on hitting up Burke this year. A combination of being drawn to Cannon and noticing the Northeast Kingdom did not receive a lot of snow this year kept me away. Meeting up with fellow skiers for an AlpineZone.com Meet Up was the perfect excuse to sample the charm and character of Burke Mountain.

Burke was amazing today and with excellent views and superb conditions. Visibility was great with Sugarbush, Mansfield, and Jay Peak all visible. Weather started cold but warmed up good by noon time. We began the morning skiing impeccable groomers including top to bottom on the Dippers and Willoughby. Burke’s perfect groomed conditions would rival even Sunday River’s legendary grooming. Seriously folks, Burke is THE BEST ski area in New England if you like cruisers with character at any speed. I am one to normally head for the trees and the bumps. But even I was lapping up the perfect groomed laying down railroad tracks in the morning.

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2004-2005 Season, Cannon Mountain, March, Powder Day

Tramline Opened & Powder in the Trees

Tramline

March roared in like a lion on the first of the month dumping over a foot of fresh in ski country. By Wednesday morning, 20 inches of light fluffy powder had fallen on Cannon Mountain in New Hampshire’s Franconia Notch. When I arrived at Cannon on Thursday morning, I was greeted with reports of epic powder over the previous two days. Many folks claimed it was one of their best days of skiing ever. One even quipped it was “better than skiing out west.”

Unfortunately, my long weekend through vacation time did not perfectly coincide with the epic powder dump. As a result, I arrived to a mountain that already was pillaged of much untracked powder…. but not completely. Knowing some select and secret lines in combination with the Tramline opening for the first time this year combined for one of the more satisfying ski days I have had this year despite the conditions being somewhat less than epic.

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2003-2004 Season, March, Wildcat

Wildcat Mountain, NH

Wildcat Trees

Reported in for turns at Wildcat promptly at 9:00 A.M. With an evening rain storm the night before after several warm days in a row, I wondered just how much snow would actually remain. Approaching Wildcat on Route 16 in Pinkham Notch, things looked rather grim. I hesitantly bought my $52.00 lift ticket believing that I would be lucky to get my monies worth. Fifty-two dollars worth of turns later, I departed Wildcat with a smile on my face.

Every time I ski Wildcat, without fail, the first time up the Wildcat Express is always an amazing trip. “Wow!” that thing flies. Hands down the fastest High Speed Quad in New England and after more than a dozen ski days riding it I can still be surprised by that initial rush of speed.

The weather was consistent throughout the day with a cloud ceiling around 3500 vertical feet. Above that elevation, visibility was limited to about fifty feet (about the length of one chair in front of you on the Quad) or less in thick foggy conditions. I got one good look into Tuckerman Ravine and saw a huge cravass from a recent wet slide. Clouds also parted for a head shot of the summit of Big George, spectacular.

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2003-2004 Season, Cannon Mountain, March

Cannon Mountain, NH

What a difference two days makes. Having experienced an epic powder day just two days prior, I had expected Cannon to ski very good this weekend. However, the wind took a severe toll on Cannon today, blowing clear off the mountain most of the snow that fell earlier this week and almost all of what cannon claimed to have received in the past 24 hours.

The groomers did a fine job packing down as much of the snow as possible before the winds swept it all away. But despite the groomers efforts, trails such as Big Link and Profile sported huge scraped (dare I even use the overused and often inaccurate term icy!) sections by noon time that were particularly ugly. Upper Ravine was scratchy by noon. Even some beginner terrain was sporting scraped up sections by noon time! The wind was howling and it was damn cold up there today. Trace amounts of powder were still around but rather hard to find.

Visited the saddle three times and I found untracked lines in two locations where I had hoped they might be. But by noon time, it was slim pickings and things were getting pretty thin almost everywhere. A lot of people were hiking for turns but the snow could not stand up to the traffic for long. Without more snow, I do not know if I will be back to this year. Today was my shortest day out of 2004. I packed it in around 1:30 due to my tired legs, the brutal wind, and conditions rapidly deteriorating. The 2003-2004 ski season is winding down and we could use just one more storm!

2003-2004 Season, Cannon Mountain, March, Powder Day

Cannon Mountain, NH

Mittersill Powder

Weather forecasts were predicting a storm on Tuesday and Wednesday. Hoping for a powder day, I asked my boss for Thursday off. Cannon delivered with almost a foot of light powder and an epic day of adventure. Quite possibly my best day on skis to date.

While driving up I-93, I was dismayed by the apparent lack of snow. The further north I drove, the less snow was on the road side. By the time I arrived in the White Mountains, no more than a few inches covered the ground. Amazingly, all that changed once I drove into Franconia Notch. Fresh snow covered everything–this was going to be an epic day. I giddily gathered up my gear and practically ran towards the Peabody Base Lodge.

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