riverc0il":13yqnelx said:
That would actually be Mansfield that gets tracked out in two hours on an earned turn powder day. I have always had plenty of elbow room at Jay before the lifts turned. Surprisingly so, actually.
The last time I headed up Jay Peak for early/pre season earned turns was a bit over two years ago (
November 17th, 2007) and I’d agree that there was plenty of elbow room. It turns out that I did see a few other skiers that day, but that’s because the Jet Triple was actually running, and some people were using it for easier tram side access. I was actually thankful for a few tracks in the deep snow to make the skinning easier, but the place was pretty much deserted (and yes it was a Saturday). Turns were very good for early season:
Based on my measurements, I’d say that storm had delivered 20-24 inches of snow in the mid mountain elevations. At the 2,500’ elevation I measured 20 inches:
I bring those shots up because this storm has got the potential to do a similar sort of thing. Based on
Scott’s latest analyses from today, it looks like the main thing keeping this event from hitting the three foot mark for accumulation would be that the temperatures in the 5,000 to 10,000 foot elevation range don’t seem like they’re going to be optimal for dendritic growth. Thus, we may not get our typical Champlain Powder™ upslope fluff for that part of the storm. Regardless of the fluff factor though, the moisture is going to be there, and it sounds like a lot of it will be deposited as snow. If the ground were already frozen, I think some of the resorts would be knocking on the door to opening some terrain simply on the natural snow. Based on what I’ve seen at Bolton Valley with all their terrain at the main base area being 2,000’+ in elevation, it wouldn’t be too difficult to get some terrain open with a couple inches of liquid equivalent set down. But, the ground generally isn’t frozen in the local mountains right now, so who knows what this storm will do.
Scott certainly isn’t willing to make any calls in that area yet. But, if the two storms next week were to go the right way in terms of snowfall, and/or there aren’t any dramatic spikes of warmth, it would be a real shot in the arm for the local resorts. Currently the Burlington NWS point forecast for Mansfield’s higher elevations has nothing above freezing for the next week, along with periods of snow, so there’s certainly potential.
Also, with regard to earning turns on Mansfield, my experience indicates that it is certainly busier than Jay Peak, but there’s no way people are tracking the mountain out in two hours – most people can’t even do two laps on Mansfield in that amount of time if they are earning turns. It’s not even getting tracked out in 24 hours. The reality of a weekend powder day on Mansfield without the lifts is that the popular routes like Nosedive, Perry Merrill, and Gondolier will probably get tracked up, but the alternative routes will still have plenty of fresh snow the following day. It’s only when the powder sits there for several days that the mountain has a chance to get tracked up solely by those earning turns. I’d argue that Scott (Powderfreak), who is certainly an expert on what transpires on Mt. Mansfield throughout the season, would agree based on some comments he made today on SkiVT-L:
“With that said, I'll probably be in the parking lot around 8am Saturday. I'd aim earlier but it’s not like there won't be enough fresh to go around with the resort closed. I've got all day Saturday and all day Sunday wide open so I'm in no hurry and plan on milking it; there is plenty of terrain up there for everyone. If anyone is looking for a more relaxed approach to the day, let me know (i.e. taking photos, video, just enjoying the fresh snow, etc). And yes, there are friends on a powder day when you are hiking/skinning and have no where else you need to be.”
Earning turns at Stowe, one certainly isn’t going to find the solitude that they might find at other resorts, but if Stowe gets a primo dump and you like their terrain options in these situations, I wouldn’t be deterred by fears of tracked up snow if you know your way around. There’s just too much terrain. In fact, based on personal experience, I’m not likely to choose Jay Peak over Stowe in these types of events unless Jay cashed in with notably more snow than Stowe. Jay’s got issues on the tram side with flat terrain at the bottom, and windswept terrain at the top, so the sweet stuff is really in the middle over there. Stateside may be better for these types of setups, so I’d be interested in hearing opinions about that. In any event, Stowe is closer (for me) and has a much better setup with regard to continuous pitch and protection from the wind. Jay’s always on my list of course, since they get great snow and have some nice terrain, but it just takes a bit more to get me there because of some of the mountain’s deficiencies.
-J
