Peter Salts
New member
Did I say powder?? <BR> <BR>POWDER POWDER POWDER POWDER POWDER POWDER POWDER POWDER POWDER <BR> <BR>Got snowed in monday evening and was able to take complete advantage of my Bandits XXXs earlier today! I felt so guilty of not being at work. NOT! <BR> <BR>At my ski club lodge in Brattleboro we easily had over 2 1/2 feet that easily reminded me of the powder I skied in Utah about 7 years ago. Didn't know how much the mountain had received but was anxious to find out firsthand. <BR> <BR>Mt. Snow claimed 22 inches and they were pretty much on target. However, there was a hard surface underneath that both helped and hindered the skiing. Obviously your skis wouldn't sink below the hard layer but it made for a few hard spills. <BR> <BR>The front of the mountain and Carinthia were open but the North Face was on wind hold. Don't know why the Sunbrook area was closed. My first few runs under the lift next to the Grand Summit were a series of face shots where I skied about 30 feet, fell, skied another 30 feet, and fell again, each time coming up fighting for air as I spewed out snow. It tasted real good and fresh tho! I wanted more and more. This continued for the first hour all over the mountain. I eventually learned how to stand a little back enabling the ski tips to poke out while surfing the top. Part of the problem was the fact that many of Mt. Snow's trails were just not steep enough to keep you going surfing the top surface. They were steep in a few spots but not consistently. If only the North side was open I could remedy this situation. <BR> <BR>Yahoo's were heard all over the mountain as everyone was enjoying the snow. Half the trails were groomed and many of them had the middle 2/3 groomed while the remaining was left as is. This made for some easy powder shots and exits. <BR> <BR>We spent about an hour resting our legs on the Carinthia runs where there were no liftlines and most of the trails were groomed. I'm sure those woods in the Carinthia area will be sweet in the next few days as it looks like they have done a decent job of cleaning the underbrush and such as there was nothing poking out ('cept the trees of course). <BR> <BR>As my friend and I headed towards the restaurant on the summit the ski patrol dropped the ropes on the North Face at 12:05. Screw lunch, time for some real fun. Headed down underneath the chair on the skiers right where there was just one set of tracks before I skied down. Much of the first 50 feet or so of trail was wind scoured but was beautiful after that. There was a light crust to the top of the snow as a result of the wind. It was difficult getting your skis up from underneath but was beautiful once on top. I ate tons of powder but it was all fun. Everyone had these sh!t eating grins, it was just amazing. The North Face trails were just the right amount of steepness and powder. The liftee was so pissed - he wanted to be out enjoying this powder too. <BR> <BR>My next few runs were under the chair to skiers left and then the next trail over. This snow had set up beautifully. The top crust was a little heavier and helped you stay up as long as you had enough speed. I was able to go fast enough to rise to the top but my ski must have been sinking just the right amount because I never really got going too fast. I had three runs like this where where I didn't fall once. I was loving life right then. <BR> <BR>My last run on the North Face was Ripcord. It had started to get a little cut up but was still in great shape. I'd do a few turns and stop, and do a few more turns and stop. Whenever I stopped I was probably moved down the mountain a good 10 feet in a mini slide of loads of snow. Of course I fell here quite a few times and ate way too much powder. Then again, too much is a relative term. Too much, is never enough! <BR> <BR>They had one set of groomer tracks on all trails (only on the flats tho) to help us make it to the lifts without getting bogged down. Around 1:15 the North Face had been overskied by the crowds and was getting too cut up and I made haste back to CT @1:30. <BR> <BR>I would suspect the woods to set up nicely in the next few days. Don't know what they will do with Haystack tho. They only open it during the weekends. Hopefully they will do little grooming. <BR> <BR>If you haven't been out skiing yet you better do so quickly. It can't get much better than this!