"Aaaabbbfou Ghaaaaaaa. Urrrg." <BR> <BR>That's probably close to what I said as I was taking my boots off at then end of the day Saturday. I don't really remember, but I think it was about all I was capable of. <BR> <BR>It was an okay week. The dreaded thaw never made it north of Bangor. Total snow for the week was something like 10"-14", on top of the 10"-12" of sugar that was already there. <BR> <BR>Thanks to a (#@($*% driving a camper, I didn't get to the mountain until almost 8:45. As it turns out, it didn't matter... <BR> <BR>First run of the day -- Binder (had been groomed, but it was very soft because it gets almost no traffic.) to West Mountain. Got first (and second and third) tracks on the ungroomed skiers right of West Mountain. I don't understand why that trail gets ignored, but I'm not about to complain. Knee deep++. Not bad. Only boot deep on the right side. That wasn't bad either. It makes for a nice warm-up. <BR> <BR>After that I sampled the woods I first tried two weeks ago. Bad idea. The snow is now "too deep" for that angle of run. 20 minutes later I broke out of the woods and back onto a trail. Thank God for free heels... <BR> <BR>The rest of the day was spent exploring parts of Sugarloaf I had never skied before. Places that the trail system guides you away from. Places where the snow piles up deep. Boot deep was the minimum depth for the day, and knee deep was the general rule. <BR> <BR>I only had one run the entire day that didn't have at least boot deep. That was on the "legendary snowfields." The backside had maybe 4" of heavily cut-up and mogulled windpack with lots of granite poking through. I also ended up hugging a tree and tearing my coat somewhere up there. Grumble, mutter. <BR> <BR>There's another storm coming tonight which could bring a foot. There is also a monster projected for the end of the week. <BR> <BR>The reports from my VT brethren suggest conditions are even deeper over there. Smugglers Notch has had over 40" of snow in the last week. If you're anywhere on the east coast this weekend, head north. It doesn't get any better. Go now. <BR> <BR>Let me repeat that. <BR> <BR>It doesn't get any better. Go now.