Mt. Snow/Okemo, VT 11/13-14/99

telenaut · Apr 17, 2000

(Note from the Administrator: This report was originally posted on 11/14/99. Due to our move to new servers, the date and time attributed to this post is incorrect.) Opened the season (theirs and mine) at Mt. Snow Saturday. Long blue square, skier's far left on Main Mtn (Choke?) was open top to bottom, Fallen Timbers on North Face and River Run crossover from Main to North were open. Snow conditions were surprisingly excellent. Snow was a bit heavy but plenty loose stuff to make turns in. By afternoon there were nice moguls on Fallen Timbers. Totally uncrowded. Zero lift lines all day. Very rare trail congestion of any kind and never bad. All in all, much better than expected. And looking at some of the glades from the chair made me want to come back in a few months. Lifties were uniformly friendly. Okemo on Sunday was totally different. Start with $35 tix after telling me on the phone (on Friday) that weekend tix would be $25. I hate that. Then they said the reason for the rise was the huge amount they had open. I got hopeful. But counting trails I'd want to ski, there was a lot less than at Snow. Defiance was fun, sort of, but short. And snow conditions were *much* poorer than the day before at Snow. Groomed totally flat with almost now loose snow on top and a fair amount of bare spots. Mt. Snow had been better on all 3 counts. Also crowds. Lift lines never more than 1 minute but the trails were continually jammed at all points where beginners would slow down or where boarders would sit in a herd. And trails. Okemo's were boring boulvards. Mt. Snow had nice dips. Upper Choke (if that's what it's called), although only a blue, was especially nice in the dip department. Also enjoyed the view from Mt. Snow's north side of (somebody tell me what) River. Neither of these are places I've skied more than once or twice before, but Snow now is a place I'd like to go back to. Okemo is not. Of course, judging this early in the season is probably unfair. Green plaid? Missed the Malczyk's at Okemo. Missed Michael Bernstein there too (we were supposed to meet). What happened Michael? And missed Dana at Snow. Weather? Foggy most of the day at Snow. Rain started at noon at Okemo. It actually improved the snow, softening it up, but by 1:30 I was soaked and a bit bored, even *with* the improving trail conditions. Called it quits. Legs? Got in a full full full day Saturday. It felt soooo good to get back on skis. Kind of like, "hey--I remember how to do this. This is cool." Saturday afternoon as the moguls began to form, I started bouncing down the trail and suddenly remembered how much *less* effort it can be to turn on bumps than on bumpless. Man, 6 months is too long to go without skiing! Tonight my thighs are screaming. I need to use my arms to get up from sitting down. The bathroom is full of stinky damp ski clothes. My wife is pissed that I spent Saturday at Snow instead of K where she thought I was going (she thinks in an emergency she could just call either one up and have them find me on the slope). Life is good.

Mt. Snow/Okemo, VT 11/13-14/99

telenaut

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