Return to Winter

[Treeskier]

After our little corn fest.

http://www.clubxtaski.com/090320_21_web/photos/007_1.jpg
http://www.clubxtaski.com/090320_21_web/photos/015.jpg
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Winter returned!

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Look Mom One Track! at 1:00 PM!
http://www.clubxtaski.com/090320_21_web/photos/054.jpg

With Freshies to be had!
http://www.clubxtaski.com/090320_21_web/photos/057.jpg

Doing my snow dance!

[HowieT2]

how much accumulation was there actually? The Mtn reported a total of 5". I skied 'till about 11:30 on sunday and there wasn't more than 2-3" when I stopped.
I guess it's all academic at this point given the forecast for later in the week.

[atkinson]

http://forums.alpinezone.com/gallery/data/515/vol55img_00022.JPG
Sunday morning training with Coach Bethany. 2, 3, 5"?

The turns were great and still are. I can't believe the coverage all over the mountain.

We got out for an adventure yesterday afternoon that will long live in my memory ... perfectly supportable super-easy-turning styro-fresh, long stretches of buttery smooth gravity-induced euphoria with good friends, capped with the freshest sweetest Fancy golden elixir this side of Paradise. Our local syrup producers are amazing.

Remember ... the proper method of tasting is to observe the warm colors and shadows in the light, then gently swirl the glass, noting the way it flows evenly down the sides, lift it to your nose and mouth, enjoying the complex aroma and flavor notes. What ever you do, don't just gulp it down and get annoyed that your cup is already empty.

Come savor the season.

John

[Hawk]

Such a tease you are. :wink:

[Strat]

We got out for an adventure yesterday afternoon that will long live in my memory ... perfectly supportable super-easy-turning styro-fresh, long stretches of buttery smooth gravity-induced euphoria with good friends, capped with the freshest sweetest Fancy golden elixir this side of Paradise. Our local syrup producers are amazing.

And the best part is, you get paid for this stuff! Hard to imagine a more correct interpretation of living the good life...

[atkinson]

Despite the fact that I conducted two staff reviews and a training session during this adventure, it was more like pay than work.

John

[castlerock]

........ it was more like pay than work.
John

Freud couldn't have spelled it better

[ahm]

Good thing I forgot my goggles on Sunday. I went to Lost and Found and they promptly handed me a set. Guess what they were John Atkinson's rosy specials! I skied a solid(some pun intended here) 28,000 verts all over the mountain. Snow was nice and fluffy, I think Utah dry (especially early in the morning). The skis just floated over the terrain, especially on the new Dynastar Quad XL (biggggger than the 2XL, 180 mm under foot :wink: ). The new snow that fell throughout the morning just continued to pile up and the wonderfully nice surface that all remember from Saturday seemed to just make the skiing so nice. You know the type of surface, buttery smooth, no sound at all :wink: The stuff hero days are made of. I was having such a great day, Epstiens was glorious, Mall even better, and then the upper mountain and all the great lines on Spills, Rip and over towards the rock. Funny how there were so few tracks any where I went that was not groomed. Finally, I had to take a break at Allyns.

Somehow in between the tables and the water fountain I lost my JA goggles and that rosy lens :( But luckily, I realized my own goggles (Smith Prodigy's) were sitting on the table at Allyns. What a difference my goggles made. All of a sudden it was really hard and icy under the 5" of snow. The bumps were just like January but even more frozen. The woods were grippable, but sounded just like the Ice Coast does in January (and a good part of Feb and March this season). Ripcord made some of the best noise and during the snowiest part, no one was skiing it. Could it have been that is was a bit hard underneath (in the Prodigy's that was the case, but in the JA goggle, nice and smooth). So it just goes to show there is perception and reality. The reality of Sunday was that the snow was as wet as could be in the morning and provided no glide. Most poled across the flats. Twist, Stiens, Mall, Epy and twist woods were all rock hard with brutal ice flows. Upper mountain was fun, but rock hard as well. Ripcord was a riot with some nice drifts but the boiler plate reminded me of the Columbia Ice Fields. Spills was very skiable and even in the strong squalls you would have heard the skier long before you ever saw them. So, in the "keepin it real world" let's call it what it was. It was January in March, complete with ice, some drift in, and the wonderful sounds of ski edges on the Ice Coast. I'll stick with my Prodigy's!

[gone.skiing]

Shot through those rosy goggles...

http://searcher.smugmug.com/photos/496911958_fPs6D-L.jpg

[vonski]

The snow after 2:00 when it seemed like everyone had already left Ellen actually set up pretty nice. The stickiness got to be less and the wind helped to pack it in some. I found the woods to be rather turnable in the late afternoon. Looking forward to some good Corn this weekend!!

[atkinson]

The rosy goggles do not mean my perception is any worse or better than anybody else's. After all, perception is 9/10ths of reality in anybody's world. You literally get to choose how you view every day, especially on the mountain.

Today really sucked.

http://forums.alpinezone.com/gallery/data/515/vol55img_00036.JPG
Castlerock is all melted out.

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The views kept getting in the way.

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The groomers are too smooth.

http://forums.alpinezone.com/gallery/data/515/vol55img_00043.JPG
And there's still dry powder in the woods. When are we going to get some good corn already?

John

p.s. The only thing I said about Sunday was that "the turns were great." Take that for what you will. I found the snow fun to ski, despite some underlayers in places. My early turns on Downspout and Snowball were freshly fun and well-mixed with the early groomer work. Later skiing proved fun too. However, it was the turns on Tuesday that were the ones I was raving about. So nice. Today was a mix of perfect corn, glop, pow, styro, crust and extra crispy, and the turns were still great.

Keeping it real world.

[Last Tracks]

An eskimo has 1,000 words for snow and ice but a Vermont skier has 10,000.

i skied yesterday and i also found a little powder, more corn, and lots of scratchy stuff and it was fun

there is still 82" at the stake on Mt. Mansfield which is only a foot or so less than the high for the year.

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/fwd/productviewnation.php?pil=BTVHYDBTV&version=0&max=61

[John Walden]

What's the skinny for the weekend? I need to get in some more skiing before I close up for the season.

[noski]

Saturday will be the better day of the two.

[win]

Our forecast is calling for some really nice spring skiing on Friday and Saturday with temperatures at the base in the high forties. Sunday may see some periods of rain and drizzle, but that is three days out, so who knows?

[Lostone]

Yeah... John, you're not looking all that well. :?

Maybe you should take tomorrow off and try to get a healthy start on the weekend? :wink:

[John Walden]

Thanks, guys. I can always count on your reply.