Pico, VT 12/28/99

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<I>(Note from the Administrator: This report was originally posted on 12/29/99. Due to our move to new servers, the date and time attributed to this post is incorrect.)</I> <BR> <BR>K-k-k-k-kold!!! On days like today, I always wish I had a copy of Jack London's "To Build a Fire" with all that old backwoods wisdom about how you estimate the temperature by observing different physical signs. The bank thermometer on Route 7 said 6 degrees at 9 a.m. We figured minus 5 at base level on the hill, worse on the summit. But, at least, the sun was out most of the day, and there was barely a breeze, so it probably didn't feel as cold as it was. Looked like a much bigger crowd on the hill today than two days ago, and we were often stuck in a lift line at the lower quad. (Most of the skiers stayed on the lower mountain in the morning, so either it was nasty cold on top or the conditions weren't that good on 49er - maybe both.) The Triple Slope was open today, but it sounded scrapey and didn't look too inviting. Ace of Clubs was in good shape, and guns ran all day on upper Expressway and the Panhandler cut-off. The morning traffic was a little too concentrated for the open terrain on the lower mountain, but after lunch it seemed that more skiers were braving the trip to the summit. Also noticed that the lower quad seemed to be shutting down frequently throughout the day. Never any long outages, but it seemed that <BR>we'd be in a delay pattern about every other run.