Patrick
Active member
This is a late report.
I made it out last Sunday on the last day of Lift-serviced skiing in the East. The weekend options were Sugarbush, Killington or Wildcat. Mont St-Sauveur was also open and although that it was slightly more than 2 hours from Ottawa, it wasn't an option at all, especially with it's 1.5 trails.
Killington had 9 runs for $41 + 3 hours from Montreal
Sugarbush maybe 3 runs for $25 for the weekend. 2.5 hr from MTL
Wildcat up to 22 runs for $29 on over 2100ft vert at 3.5 hr from MTL.
The choice was a no-brainer. Earlier in the week I decided to contact Wake (new on FTO and regular on zoneski). The last time that I skied with him was last year in a snowstorm at Snowbird (yes, Utah). We said that it would be fun to team up together one day this season, I guess when my regular long trip partner wasn't available and that I saw on ZS that Wake was thinking of skiing at MSS on Sunday...I just though about sending him a PM. Geez, the internet is great sometimes.
After much thinking, Wake finally choose Wildcat over MSS. I was sure that he wasn't going to regret it.
Weather was chilly in the morning, I actually had to wear winter gear (tuque, google, ski jacket) to start off the day. The trees at the top of mountain were covered with frost. For our first run were headed toward Upper Wildcat, however we had to turn off on Upper Catapult because UW was still closed. Skiing at mid-mountain we had a few options - Middle Catapult or M Wildcat. Lowerdown, you could ski Lower Catapult, Bobcat and Cheetah. We did a good survey of the possible open terrain with this run, on the next one we left on the other side of the Quad. Can't exactly remember what we did next, Polecat or Lynx (top to bottom). There was a sign at the top, "Might required some walking". Both runs were great, we had Lynx all to ourselves. There was some walking required on Lower Polecat, a small 10-15 feet after over 2100 vertical feet of skiing. The other option was Stray Cat, here the walking might have been 50 feet. The walking became longer during the day and this part of the trails was dissapearing fast. Nevertheless, we skied these runs again. Once we were back to the other side of the mountain, Wildcat was opened top-to-almost-bottom. The run had bumps, however the best part was the final pitch right before Middle Wc. Beautiful bumps, Wake was happy (He likes bumps like Joe). 8)
There were a few expert runs open, however Upper Wildcat was the highlight run. The other black runs were Middle Catapult (a few bumps) and the steep part of Lift Line. This run was a narrow, steep and bumped ribbon of snow with thin cover between the bumps. I'll remember my crash there for a while. :shock: :roll: A tiny patch of bumps was also to be found near Lynx Connection I believe.
The snowpack at the Upper Mountain was amazing, it didn't feel like the last day of the season, the air was also cool. Once past mid-mountain who could feel the difference in temperature, at the base of the mountain snow depth was thin on the way to the lift (or no existent for the end of the runs (Lower Polecat and Stray Cat) of the left side of the lift).
After lunch he made some wardrobe changes. Walking back to the lift, Bendude (FTO and ZS) comes by and greets us, he was also down from Montreal with his girlfriend, we did a few runs with him. After that on the bumps pitch on Wildcat, Wake ran into Max (used to write more often on FTO and ZS also).
Skied until the last lift and finish our run at 4:15pm. What a beautiful May Day this was...8)
After our day of skiing, I showed Pinkham Notch Visitor Center to Wake, he had never been. I guess the visit and the view of Mount Washington really makes it tempting. I saw on ZS that he was heading to Tuckerman Ravine yesterday for the first time.
I took a few pics and so did Wake. Once I get Wake's pics, I'll post them here.
In the meanwhile, here is Wake's report on ZS:
http://forums.zoneski.com/index.php?showtopic=7777&st=0
Suunto numbers:
runs: 11
time: 5:39
Descent: 7029m/23061ft
Here is a list of open trails...
Upper Mountain:
Upper Polecat - open
Upper Lynx - open
Upper Catapult - open
Top Cat - open
Lift Lion - partially open
Upper Wildcat - open
Middle Mountain:
Middle Polecat - open
Tomcat - open
Catnap - open
Cat Track - open
Middle Wildcat - open
Middle Lynx - open
Middle Catapult - open
Lower Mountain:
Stray Cat - open
Lower Polecat - open
Easy Way - open
Bobcat - open
Cheetah - open
Alley Cat - open
Lower Cat Track - open
Lower Lynx - open
Lower Catapult - open
Wildcat Trail map
http://www.skiwildcat.com/06images/trailmap.jpg
I made it out last Sunday on the last day of Lift-serviced skiing in the East. The weekend options were Sugarbush, Killington or Wildcat. Mont St-Sauveur was also open and although that it was slightly more than 2 hours from Ottawa, it wasn't an option at all, especially with it's 1.5 trails.
Killington had 9 runs for $41 + 3 hours from Montreal
Sugarbush maybe 3 runs for $25 for the weekend. 2.5 hr from MTL
Wildcat up to 22 runs for $29 on over 2100ft vert at 3.5 hr from MTL.
The choice was a no-brainer. Earlier in the week I decided to contact Wake (new on FTO and regular on zoneski). The last time that I skied with him was last year in a snowstorm at Snowbird (yes, Utah). We said that it would be fun to team up together one day this season, I guess when my regular long trip partner wasn't available and that I saw on ZS that Wake was thinking of skiing at MSS on Sunday...I just though about sending him a PM. Geez, the internet is great sometimes.
After much thinking, Wake finally choose Wildcat over MSS. I was sure that he wasn't going to regret it.
Weather was chilly in the morning, I actually had to wear winter gear (tuque, google, ski jacket) to start off the day. The trees at the top of mountain were covered with frost. For our first run were headed toward Upper Wildcat, however we had to turn off on Upper Catapult because UW was still closed. Skiing at mid-mountain we had a few options - Middle Catapult or M Wildcat. Lowerdown, you could ski Lower Catapult, Bobcat and Cheetah. We did a good survey of the possible open terrain with this run, on the next one we left on the other side of the Quad. Can't exactly remember what we did next, Polecat or Lynx (top to bottom). There was a sign at the top, "Might required some walking". Both runs were great, we had Lynx all to ourselves. There was some walking required on Lower Polecat, a small 10-15 feet after over 2100 vertical feet of skiing. The other option was Stray Cat, here the walking might have been 50 feet. The walking became longer during the day and this part of the trails was dissapearing fast. Nevertheless, we skied these runs again. Once we were back to the other side of the mountain, Wildcat was opened top-to-almost-bottom. The run had bumps, however the best part was the final pitch right before Middle Wc. Beautiful bumps, Wake was happy (He likes bumps like Joe). 8)
There were a few expert runs open, however Upper Wildcat was the highlight run. The other black runs were Middle Catapult (a few bumps) and the steep part of Lift Line. This run was a narrow, steep and bumped ribbon of snow with thin cover between the bumps. I'll remember my crash there for a while. :shock: :roll: A tiny patch of bumps was also to be found near Lynx Connection I believe.
The snowpack at the Upper Mountain was amazing, it didn't feel like the last day of the season, the air was also cool. Once past mid-mountain who could feel the difference in temperature, at the base of the mountain snow depth was thin on the way to the lift (or no existent for the end of the runs (Lower Polecat and Stray Cat) of the left side of the lift).
After lunch he made some wardrobe changes. Walking back to the lift, Bendude (FTO and ZS) comes by and greets us, he was also down from Montreal with his girlfriend, we did a few runs with him. After that on the bumps pitch on Wildcat, Wake ran into Max (used to write more often on FTO and ZS also).
Skied until the last lift and finish our run at 4:15pm. What a beautiful May Day this was...8)
After our day of skiing, I showed Pinkham Notch Visitor Center to Wake, he had never been. I guess the visit and the view of Mount Washington really makes it tempting. I saw on ZS that he was heading to Tuckerman Ravine yesterday for the first time.
I took a few pics and so did Wake. Once I get Wake's pics, I'll post them here.
In the meanwhile, here is Wake's report on ZS:
http://forums.zoneski.com/index.php?showtopic=7777&st=0
Suunto numbers:
runs: 11
time: 5:39
Descent: 7029m/23061ft
Here is a list of open trails...
Upper Mountain:
Upper Polecat - open
Upper Lynx - open
Upper Catapult - open
Top Cat - open
Lift Lion - partially open
Upper Wildcat - open
Middle Mountain:
Middle Polecat - open
Tomcat - open
Catnap - open
Cat Track - open
Middle Wildcat - open
Middle Lynx - open
Middle Catapult - open
Lower Mountain:
Stray Cat - open
Lower Polecat - open
Easy Way - open
Bobcat - open
Cheetah - open
Alley Cat - open
Lower Cat Track - open
Lower Lynx - open
Lower Catapult - open
Wildcat Trail map
http://www.skiwildcat.com/06images/trailmap.jpg
