Mad River Glen, VT: 04/07/07

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Much to my utter happiness, only The SIngle ran on Friday. Pretty rare is the day when there is no line for The Single for first chair but things are backing up pretty far on the Sunnyside. Much of the Sunnyside can be reached from The Single via Broadway to Easy Way, but all the steeper stuff off the ridge was virgin untracked with the total three day accumulation, just begging for some tracks.

Oh
My
Goodness
:shock:

Boot to knee deep untracked on Panther for my first run, only patrol had tracks in front of mine for the section next to Gazelle. Then into the woods which were surprisingly untracked well below Easy Way, stuff that I had expected would have gotten nailed on Friday. Fine by me! Next up was Partridge, and it seemed obvious that the trees were going to be the berries, so four more off the double into the trees. Holy Crap!!! It was blue bird skis with trees caked in white. Skiing under a canopy of brilliant white and on top of two feet of light powder was simply amazing, very special. Definitely was my best day ever at Mad River.

My legs were killing me after the big powder day on Friday at Jay. I knew today would not be a repeat open to close performance. So I headed up The Single for some trees I wanted to hit.

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OH YEA! Found some amazing lines completely untracked with superb snow. Somebody pinch me?!? I repeated this after lunch time for my last run around 1:30pm and still found crazy go nuts knee deep untracked.

While this weekend will not offer up the best skiing of the season or the deepest individual days, it may just be the best overall weekend of the entire season. The powder is light and deep, there are no crowds, the temperature is cold enough for powder but not too cold, wind is not bad, untracked three days in a row (snow already pounding the spine according to the Radar loop!!!), etc. I could go on. The best three day weekend of the season is happening now and most people are too busy cleaning the house, mowing the lawn, or playing golf to notice. Sucks to be you if you are a skier and are not making it out this weekend.

Tomorrow is the last day the current SIngle will spin. For only $29, MRG is in mid-winter conditions and skiing wonderfully. If you don't have plans, I highly recommend it. If you love the MRG experience and The Single, you may want to consider donating a few (tax deductable) bucks to help the cause:
http://www.madriverglen.com/single/

Pictures really do not do the morning justice at all. I really need to get my white balance figured out. I Auto Balanced two of the pictures to mixed results, many of the others just don't have that popping off the screen white. It was unreal being in some of those tight tree lines with nothing but white surrounding me in every direction. Most of the pictures don't feature untracked since I was waaaay too busy to stop for pictures when the snow was really good.

Photo Gallery

The Admin phenomenon is setting in... people are no longer responding to your TRs because they're sick of you scoring so many great days.

jamesdeluxe":3irf8czr said:

The Admin phenomenon is setting in... people are no longer responding to your TRs because they're sick of you scoring so many great days.

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I can live with that burden. :wink:

Sucks to be you if you are a skier and are not making it out this weekend.

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To be young, single (not married) and with out young children.. Your days will come my friend :lol:
I spent my saturday at a softball practice freezing my ass off

Jason , Ever so true as with 3 kids myself have about a gazillion other activities to attend to but we are fortunate enough to be close by to our small powder hill ( Alta ) which I have written about in the past as a outlet to take the edge off. Naturally would prefer to be down in northern Vermont but being 3 hours away just not realistic to make it for every storm. Made it down to VT for 2 extended trips this year so can?t complain Hey, when I was Steve?s age used to sleep in car at the base parking lot in order to make first tracks and once practically totaled the car in 84 racing to make first tracks on a powder day. Don't think the idea of camping out in the car at the base of the hill would go over to well these days ,although my son would probably go for it. :lol:

Why will today be the last day for MRG if it's still that good? I would assume that MRG is the type of area that would be completely flexible about opening with respect to conditions.

So I'm not the only one who has noticed the happy results of Riverc0il's flexible schedule? It will be interesting to see 10 years from now if he maintains that flexibility and/or relocates, like admin, somewhere that flexibility is less critical. I'm nearly as impressed by the decision making as the flexibility. Given choices of where to go, Riverc0il has been nailing it nearly every time this year.

In case you haven't already noticed I might have well as lived in the East (or anywhere else) this season, as I have only skied 4 days out of 35 in California (with just 2 more coming) vs. a long term average of 13 days. So I will admit that my usual advantage in weekend skiing, so evident in 2004-05 and 2005-06, is not there this season. Most of my destination trips have been great, but where you live doesn't matter as much for those.

Tony Crocker":3uu4iwvq said:

Why will today be the last day for MRG if it's still that good? I would assume that MRG is the type of area that would be completely flexible about opening with respect to conditions.

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Because refurbishment of the Single Chair begins tomorrow and the Coop is on a very tight schedule and can not delay the plans by even one week. It certainly isn't for lack of snow, today and yesterday were my two best days at Mad River and every thing is skiing great.

Tony Crocker":1wgqcg38 said:

So I'm not the only one who has noticed the happy results of Riverc0il's flexible schedule?

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Interestingly enough, I have taken less vacation days this season than some seasons when I lived down in MA. I think I am only up to 6 or 7 vacation days this winter. Many of my best days this winter were weekends, though the mid-week days definitely top the list mostly due to less competition. I did the same thing in MA for a few years... when a storm is coming in, ask for a day or two off from the boss man. If you bank vacation days for mid-week flexibility you score the best of what's around. Granted, this is much harder for the family folks, but skiers without family should easily be able to be flexible regardless of location as my MA reports could attest. The only difference then Vs. now is I am skiing mountains with more powder and more snow (Jay, MRG, etc.) whereas before I skied closer to home areas such as Cannon, before I realized just how good Jay could be (I only skied Jay once before moving to VT and that was before I was skiing powder).

To you guys rocking out the family lifestyle, my "sucks to be you" comment probably was off base, so apologies on that as you guys were doing the responsible thing. It was just amazing to see the best three day period of the entire season have so few skiers at the mountain.

Absolutely no slight to riverc0il, as I'm as jealous as anyone, but no wife, no kids, not at a point in his career where work keeps him from getting out, and living in the fertile crescent of northern VT, the only decision he has to make is: "Do I go to Burke, Jay, MRG, Sugarbush, Stowe, Smuggs, Sutton, or one of the others slightly further away?"

I just wish I had been into skiing when I was killing the bankrupt jetset lifestyle in my 20s.

While not married, I do live with my girl friend of three years and we are planning on purchasing a house (in the current general area) this Summer. No plans for marriage (mutual but not for lack of life long commitment) and definitely no plans for kids. Though as far as skiing is concerned, I have come to view Mad River Glen as one of the most kid and family friendly ski areas around.

I am certainly not oblivious to the many key aspects to my ability to score lots of great skiing. It was a consciously determined plan, though not just for the skiing, to make the move to my current location. But I still got out and did this when I lived in MA. Kids are the major serious obstacle that can't be planned around once things happen. Jobs can be changed, locations can be moved, and wife be damned, go skiing! The kids always seem to change the picture, which can also tie people down to work and location (and, in some cases, spouse... hate to say it but true).

We can all look back and say "I wish I had been more into skiing" at what ever point in our lives. Even I look on at powderfreak's reports from Stowe with envy as he is developing as a skier due to some of the best terrain in New England and paying pennies for Stowe compared to the normal price. But I have no regrets on my College experience despite knowing I could have had something just as special but in many different ways had I been obsessive about skiing back then like I am now.

It is easy to come away with no regrets on any aspect of life when you realize it was all conscious decision and to regret the past is really to regret the present. As always, there is more to life than just skiing, and many of our decisions reflect that. I certainly could have requested or waited for an opening in Utah, Colorado, or Washington if skiing was the only thing that mattered in my life. As impressive as Admin's reports are (and I have been reading most of them!), I have no desire for a western relocation at this point. There is always someone killing it just a little more than we are, but sometimes there are sacrifices we are not willing to make.

Sorry to drone on and on regarding this subject. It seems like many aspects of this discourse keep popping up on the FTO forum so might as well put it all out there.

No need to explain your choices, as they seem to be speaking well for themselves. :lol:

I see a big difference between this year's reports and the ones from when Riverc0il lived in MA. Eastern skiing looks a whole lot more enticing reading about these knee deep days in Vermont than about billygoating the obstacles at Cannon.

I gotta ask if the girlfriend skis. Just my 2 cents worth, but that can be a bigger issue than the kids. Patrick and I both have/had young children who have shared our enthusiasm and made pretty good ski partners from age 7 onwards. And it's completely obvious than JSpin and Ty will be a similar team before too long.

From a powder perspective, I think this has been well above average in the East this year. The weekend timing has been good too, as River noted. This is a phenomenon I've seen in California too. Sometimes the storms hit the ideal Thursday/Friday timeframe consistently, and sometimes not.

Riverc0il's 17 powder day count is also impressive. An average of 9K of powder for those days (reasonable, there were some grunt work days much less, but others like Friday at Jay had to be way more) puts the season in the ballpark with mine or admin's.

It's none of my business what the non-skiing factors are, but I still think Riverc0il would likely enjoy life in the Pacific Northwest.

The girl friend does not ski but plans to learn next year. Something to look forward to on the non-powder days Again, I gotta stress that when living in MA, I was just starting to develop my appreciation for powder. It really wasn't until 03-04 or so that it really clicked and 04-05 was an impressive powder season given I didn't get to the northern greens. My recent trip reports are more impressive because I figured out that the northern greens are where its at. It is part of my progression and development both as a skier and my knowledge of the area (and my obsession). It is really apples and oranges as before '04, I just wasn't on this page with this frame of mind.

I think yesterday puts me at 19 powder days and thought did cross my mind that I might have similar powder vertical to some of you westerns this year

Something to look forward to on the non-powder days

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Maybe she'll be the one to get you to consider moving west. :wink:

I figured out that the northern greens are where its at.

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Yes. Not only is there a natural base for off-trail skiing, the individual storms are more likely to be in the 1+ foot range for quality powder skiing and minimal bottoming out.

There are western analogies to this. On March 31 I was skiing 6 inches of dust on crust at Crested Butte, and most of the best terrain was closed for inadequate cover. Meanwhile at Vail they were ripping up 22 inches of fresh in over 3,000 acres of bowls. Pete Siebert knew what he was doing when he situated his ski area.

The 1-2 foot storms often produce the best powder. The super storms, like Valentine's Day in the East this year or New Year's a year ago at Mammoth, attract more crowds with their publicity, and are often so violent that lifts are closed and/or the snow is wind-affected. After mid-February Vermont got several of the ideal-for-powder 1-2 foot storms.

Tony Crocker":13lsw9w3 said:

Maybe she'll be the one to get you to consider moving west. :wink:

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Quite the opposite, actually. You are starting to sound like the religious door knockers in your conversion attempts

My comment was based upon observation of "fair weather skiers," like admin's wife or my ex-wife. They want comfortable weather and packed powder conditions, a combination that is in short supply in the East. I also recall Patrick's comment from early March at MRG that I would not have enjoyed that powder weekend because it was too cold. I can't agree or dispute since my track record at those temperatures is mixed.

If your GF is a Vermont native who laughs at the cold, more power to you. But admin's wife is from Quebec and she likes warm.

Tony Crocker":3c4zgt3a said:

If your GF is a Vermont native who laughs at the cold, more power to you. But admin's wife is from Quebec and she likes warm.

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We moved up together from MA, so we are both from MA. She took quite well to the cold considering she is only just now getting into winter outdoor activities. She says I am contagious But she could never move that far away from friends and family and like me she loves New England. As mentioned, there is more to life than skiing, and I am right with her on that account.

jasoncapecod":2b22id0q said:

Sucks to be you if you are a skier and are not making it out this weekend.

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To be young, single (not married) and with out young children..

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I must have a good agreement at home. :wink:

edit: I'm just catching up to these interesting topics, I'll probably have my 2 cents to add. Ahhh, to be away from a computer and skiing 3 days in a row. 8)

Patrick":2wqbz416 said:

I must have a good agreement at home. :wink:

edit: I'm just catching up to these interesting topics, I'll probably have my 2 cents to add. Ahhh, to be away from a computer and skiing 3 days in a row. 8)

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Me too...my family joins me but lets me fly solo when conditions are at their best. Although my 2 oldest sons did ski with me this past Fri and Sat and they just ripped Wildcat up. Their first real experience skiing alot of glades and trees. I think it was the first time I did not hold back or slow up at all to accomodate them. I just skied. And they kept up.

But they did quit about an hour before I did because they were exhausted. Nice to know I can still ski them into the ground.