Stowe, VT 3/3/00

[Jeff]

<I>(Note from the Administrator: This report was originally posted on 3/3/00. Due to our move to new servers, the date and time attributed to this post is incorrect.)</I> <BR> <BR>So much for the 6-8" of powder I was expecting when I hopped out of bed at 6 AM this morning! When I arrived at Stowe this morning at 7:50 AM, it was windy as hell and there was a lot of windblown powder here and there. It was kind of cold, and the 25 MPH winds only made it worse. I made a few runs, and report below. After they shut down Forerunner Quad due to winds, and I learned that the gondola and Big Spruce weren't running either, I made a few trips up the triple and came home to work. Is that weak or what? <BR> <BR>Warm-up run down Lord was weak. There were big powder drifts acting literally like speedbumps, blown across fairly granular ice, spaced about a meter between. Pockets of powder here and there, but not cruising material as there were so many bare icy spots peeking out. <BR> <BR>Moguls were filled in with powder so they are hard to see. But boy are they there, bare right on top and then smoothed over with a little powder all the way around. National/lower Lift Line looked pretty deadly for a boarder. <BR> <BR> <BR>Difficult to predict your edge hold for more than 1-2 feet, because of blown powder across granular ice on most other runs. <BR> <BR>The forerunner quad closed just after my third time up it. I am psyched to say Nosedive, which is beginning to grow on me, was in great shape. Wind-blown nasty don't-know-if-it's-ice, don't-know-if-it's-powder bumpies going down the chute to Nosedive. Sweet, deep powder down the first part, up until it intersected with Midway. Mabye 6-8 inches, fairly uniform. I should have skipped over on Midway, as the bottom section of Nosedive was more off-and-on powder on top of granular ice. Not that it matters, since they shut down forerunner quad anyway. <BR> <BR>I hear the trees were great. I imagine they were, and only wish my skills were up to par (it's my first season). In particular, I met Josh who spent some time in Santa Cruz, CA (where I grew up) going up the Quad for the last time. He stated that lookout glades were sweet, with only "a few surprises here and there." <BR> <BR>Should you go to Stowe today? I don't know, I would call and see which lifts are open and if it's still windy as hell up top. I was drooling to see the west side of the mountain but Gondolier was not operating when I was there. There is powder to be found, amid icy patches on the main runs, but it's not the spectacular powder day I was hoping for. Fortuantely it's March, so it's just a matter of time.

 

[Wesley]

<I>(Note from the Administrator: This report was originally posted on 3/5/00. Due to our move to new servers, the date and time attributed to this post is incorrect.)</I> <BR> <BR>You should have been there in the afternoon. Mr Rogers and I arrived around 12. Quad and Godi were running; the quad, quickly, the gondi at half speed. Enough for us to squeeze in half a dozen runs. <BR> <BR>We found lots of powder in the woods. And on-trail, too, especially on the gondi side. Chin Clip and Switchback were lovely. <BR> <BR>And in a spot I can only call "Stephanie's Chute," I skied knee deep. And deeper, in the chute just to the left of that. I was dumbfounded -- there was no explanation for that much snow. <BR> <BR>I just checked my archive of reports for the year. I'm counting at least a dozen days where I skied some large number of turns in untracked powder. <BR> <BR>Life is good.