We had an early morning wake up and we were ready for a rough drive to Jay, but thankfully it was mostly okay! There was supposed to be a decent amount of precipitation in Northern Vermont, but thankfully most of the way it was dry or just full of flurries! The roads got a little slippery near the middle of the drive, but nothing too bad at all! I even made the left turn onto VT-118 without a SINGLE fishtail. There was a guy in the snowbank at the turn into Stateside Base, and I did fishtail a little there, but that's a win for me! The Bullwheel was delightfully empty as Gen and I took our time getting ready. Only bummer was that the ticket office opened at 8:00am, as did the lifts. I told Gen to get her Indy at 8:00am and I'd get first Taxi to Tramside to see how bad the line for the Tram was, and we'd go from there!
Snow Report
SATURDAY MARCH 14 AT 7:16 AM
A Fresh Mid-March Coat
Weekend lift hours today: Lower mountain lifts from 8am to 4:00pm. Upper mountain lifts from 8:30am to 4:00pm.
Snow showers rolled through the mountain while we were tucked away, leaving 2-3 inches of new snow across the hill, and it's still snowing lightly this morning. Those snow showers should linger on and off through the day, thanks to a pretty steep lapse rate in the atmosphere. It's much colder up in the clouds than it is down here, which keeps the air unstable enough to keep the flakes falling.
Temperatures in the clouds are well below zero, while down at ground level, even higher elevations should make their way into the 20s today. That setup will keep the snow light and keep a few additional refreshes moving through.
Wind will be the variable to watch. It's fairly manageable to start the day but is expected to pick up out of the northwest later this afternoon, which could have an impact on lift operations later on.
Looking ahead, tomorrow should be a quieter one, with mostly sunny skies and calmer conditions setting up across the mountain.
Early next week, however, the weather department may start getting creative again. We could see a little more snow late Sunday, but the pattern then shifts towards increasing wind and the potential for rain as we move into the early part of the next week.
But that's a problem for later. Swing by the Sumo Citrus tent at Alice's Patio on Tramside today for fun giveaways and the sweetest, easiest-to-peel citurs around.
For now, we've got fresh snow, mid-March temperatures in the 20s, and a snowy weekend underway.
Runs 1-3
Run 1: Taxi Quad - Queen's Highway
[0.73 mi; 4:37; 561 ft; 25.8 mph max; 9.5 mph avg]
Run 2: Tram - Northway - Goat Run - Queen's Highway - Grammy Jay
[2.31 mi; 9:24; 2,116 ft; 31.0 mph max; 14.7 mph avg]
Run 3: Village Chair - Queen's Highway
[0.51 mi; 2:14; 318 ft; 24.6 mph max; 13.6 mph avg]
The day started as planned - Gen went down to the ticket counter at 8:00am and I hopped right onto the Taxi for truly a WONDERFUL run down Queen's Highway with a fresh inch of snow. It was delightfully uncrowded this morning, so there were only a few tracks ahead of me. To my absolute delight, there was hardly a line for the Tram at 8:10am! A true sign of spring! I got in line and told Gen to get her booty on over. She landed around 8:22am, and the line had filled in by then. I did feel a little bad that she got to cut the line, but others were saving places for much larger groups so it was fine. This was her first Tram ride!
Up top, it was WINDY. We let most of the people go before we did, and we made sure to get a photo with the new sign up at the top! It was coated in a thin layer of rime ice, which was in stark contrast to the bare rock on the ridge that has now been exposed. We got our skis on and went on down! I know people hate on it because "why would you wait for the Tram for the Northway, but it's a damn lovely trail! We followed Northway around the summit, past Sis Boom Bah, a trail I still need to ski (and it looked BAD - ice capped moguls with dirt in between) and down past the Flyer. We saw Emma and Patrol Sarah digging out a sign at the unload, but we needed/wanted to keep our speed up, so we sent them good vibes as we zoomed by. The goal was to get down to the Village Chair, so we continued onto Goat Run, which was WONDERFUL. I forget how good a good Goat Run is. The inch of fresh snow skied magnificently. We hit the shenanigans junction, continued onto Queen's Highway, and then BLASTED (at a reasonable speed, nothing was skiing overly fast... yet) down the Grammy Jay, FLYING (coasting) past condo owners starting their day. According to Google Earth, the Village Chair is the lowest point of the resort, acting as the true tippy bottom (Metro/Flyer are at 572m, Village Chair at 560m, Bonnie at 623m, and the Jet at 614m). This was just a wonderful way to start the day! Afterwards, we got on the Village Chair and followed Queen's Highway back to Tramside.
Runs 4-6
Run 4: Green Mountain Flyer - Northway - Wedelmaster - Ullr's Dream - Kokomo
[2.04 mi; 7:50; 1,703 ft; 29.1 mph max; 15.6 mph avg]
Run 5: Green Mountain Flyer - Northway - JFK - Ullr's Dream - Kokomo
[1.69 mi; 5:42; 1,663 ft; 29.8 mph max; 17.7 mph avg]
Run 6: Green Mountain Flyer - Ullr's Dream
[1.83 mi; 8:48; 1,716 ft; 34.5 mph max; 12.5 mph avg]
Our next batch of runs were inspired by Gen's need to revist the Ullr's Dream headwall and my need to fill in the series of groomers off of the Flyer for my map. Run #4 was up the Flyer (no line!) to Wedelmaster (for me), and down Ullr's for Kokomo. Wedelmaster is such a lovely trail and so much easier than Ullrs' headwall! Gen had to take care of some business... in the bathroom... after this so I got a solo lap in down JFK, which had some patches of blue ice. JFK is also a really fun trail, and I always end up gaining way too much speed on it. Rumor has it that it used to be natural snow only and left ungroomed, and I wish they kept it that way! It would be such a fun, slightly narrow bump run. I continued down through Kokomo again.
Gen and I wrapped up our side quests at literally the same time, hopped in the single's line since crowds started to pick up (we never waited more than maybe two minutes), and met at the top for her capstone, revisiting Ullr's! She felt really good about how she skied the headwall. At the end she said "I didn't have to stop!" It was fun to see her so happy and proud of herself! For Strava and Strava only, we followed Ullr's all the way down, bypassing our beloved Kokomo.
Runs 7-10
Run 7: Green Mountain Flyer - Alligator Alley - Goat Run - Green Mountain Boys - Lower River Quai - Perry Merril Ave - Queen's Highway
[1.55 mi; 6:58; 1,742 ft; 31.8 mph max; 13.4 mph avg]
Run 8: Green Mountain Flyer - Northway - Goat Run - Upper Exposition - Goat Run - Lower River Quai - Deer Run - Ullr's Dream
[1.63 mi; 7:4; 1,719 ft; 27.9 mph max; 12.6 mph avg]
Run 9: Green Mountain Flyer - Northway - Sweetheart
[1.50 mi; 7:06; 1,578 ft; 23.1 mph max; 12.6 mph avg]
Run 10: Jet Triple - Montrealer - Purgatory - Hell's Crossing - Paradise Meadows
[1.25 mi; 9:15; 1,240 ft; 33.4 mph max; 8.1 mph avg]
Goat Run was starting to get a little dicey, so Run #7 brought us down Alligator Alley to bypass the main cacophony of Goat. I was hoping to hit some of the trails in the Expo-Lower Quai area with these next few runs. We skied/scraped down Green Mountain Boys, where patrol was giving a beginner a quick lesson because she got herself in over her head, and we followed the cut-across to Lower River Quai. I asked Gen how adventerous she was feeling, and we decided we'd shoot for Quarter Moon! We skied down the Perry Merril access trail from Lower Quai, only to find that it was ungroomed and closed, boo! We circled back on Perry Merril and Queen's Highway to get back to the Flyer.
Run #8 was back up the Flyer, which was now really embodying it's nickname as the Freezer - the winds were HOWLING above Alligator Alley and it was COLD. The run we did was great! We followed Northway to Goat again, per Gen's request. Goat was getting bumpy but still in decent shape, and it was only a little icy near the turns. I opted for upper Upper Exposition, which was a good move, and then we followed it to Lower River Quai, which was occupied by a FreeRide lesson, which was terrifying. I hoped to hit The Flash from here, but it would have been just a little too uphill, so instead we hit the cut-through all the way to Deer Run, which was an absolute dream (per usual). After this run, we went inside to use the bathroom and Gen enjoyed a piece of Sumo Citrus from a giant orange tent/dome that the company had set up.
After our brief siesta, we got back on the Flyer and followed it all the way across the mountain to the Jet via Northway and Sweetheart. The new cut was icy as usual, and Sweetheart was a dream, as usual. Gen was ready for a more substantial break after this run, so we followed Montrealer to Purgatory to Hell's Crossing and then to Paradise Meadows. I grabbed some of my lodge pizza for a quick lunch while Gen got in line for rice balls. I knew that was going to take a while, and she wanted a longer break, so I spent the next few runs off by myself.
Note from Gen: she ran into the patrollers! Emma also wanted a rice ball at this time. They had their sit at 10am at Sky Haus and then a training at 1pm, so we decided we'd meet up at 2pm to share at least one run together.
Runs 11-14
Run 11: Bonaventure Quad - Northway - Hell's Crossing - Sweetheart
[1.44 mi; 4:37; 1,463 ft; 28.8 mph max; 18.7 mph avg]
Run 12: Jet Triple - The Jet
[0.72 mi; 2:55; 1,237 ft; 31.0 mph max; 14.9 mph avg]
Run 13: Jet Triple - Montrealer - Catwalk - Angel's Wiggle - Taxi - Lower Can Am - Boulevard
[1.43 mi; 5:23; 1,181 ft; 29.0 mph max; 16.0 mph avg]
Run 14: Bonaventure Quad - Northway - Taxi - Queen's Highway - Chalet Meadows
[1.56 mi; 5:51; 1,411 ft; 30.0 mph max; 16.1 mph avg]
My four solo runs were all just for funsies and to see how some other trails were holding up. It was starting to snow again, which was hopefully going to make things a little less icy. The groomers were BUSY, even while the mountain was less-so, beacuse all of the natural trails and glades were closed. Run #11 was up the Bonnie and down Northway to Hell's Crossing and Sweetheart. Hard and fast, but not bad! Run #12 was up and down The Jet, which was in surprisingly decent shape (and an occasional random GIANT bump). Run #13 was down Montrealer to Angel's Wiggle to Taxi, which I followed all the way to Lower Can Am, past a couple that was doing a photo shoot at the good tree, to Boulevard. Gen wasn't yet ready for me, so I got back on the Bonnie and followed Northway to Taxi to Queen's Highway to Chalet Meadows. The runs were basically all a little scrapey, but the biggest hurdle was simply the humans!
Runs 15-17
Run 15: Taxi Quad - Queen's Highway - Raccoon Run
[0.68 mi; 2:28; 574 ft; 27.7 mph max; 16.6 mph avg]
Run 16: Village Chair - Chalet Meadows
[0.21 mi; 1:06; 141 ft; 17.2 mph max; 11.2 mph avg]
Run 17: Bonaventure Quad - Northway - Angel's Wiggle - Hell's Crossing - Sweetheart
[1.47 mi; 5:54; 1,417 ft; 33.1 mph max; 14.9 mph avg]
I scooped Gen back up and she brought me a Coor's from my bag and an N/A beer for herself. We hopped on the Taxi and skied down Queen's Highway and Raccoon Run specifically to share a chair beer on the Village Chair, which was just lovely! Emma and Sarah were about ready afterwards, so we took Chalet Meadows back to the Stateside - it was SNOWING now!
We joined Emma and Sarah for Run #17. We rode up the Bonnie, getting absolutely pelted with snow, and while on the Bonnie they got the call that patrol should try to be waiting up high becuase injuries were starting to happen more and more frequently as the day went on - yikes! We did get a nice run in together, though. We went down Northway to Angel's Wiggle to Hell's and then Sweetheart. Northway was in it's classic afternoon shape of "what is happening," but fun if you're ready for variable conditions and people-dodging. With the falling snow, it was actually skiing better and better! Hell's to Sweetheart was just delightful, as it always is, and once at the Jet, Emma and Sarah skipped the line becuase they're on patrol while Gen and I hopped on the single's line (but got to sit together anyway, yay!).
Runs 18-19
Run 18: Jet Triple - Montrealer - Catwalk - Angel's Wiggle - Taxi - Queen's Highway
[1.75 mi; 8:22; 1,388 ft; 27.4 mph max; 12.5 mph avg]
Run 19: Tramside Carpet
This started a series of silly runs for us. Run #18 brought us up the Jet and we followed Montrealer - Catwalk - Angel's Wiggle - Taxi, all the way to Queen's Highway to Tramside for a potty break. Naturally, the Tramside Carpet caught my eye, so we got a quick run there for old times sake (our first lift, ever!) before heaidng in.
Runs 20-23
Run 20: Metro Quad - Perry Merril Ave - Full Moon - Queen's Highway
[0.68 mi; 9:05; 535 ft; 20.4 mph max; 4.5 mph avg]
Run 21: Metro Quad - Perry Merril Ave - Queen's Highway
[0.59 mi; 2:59; 344 ft; 22.8 mph max; 11.8 mph avg]
Run 22: Stateside Carpet
Run 23: Taxi Quad - Boulevard
[0.44 mi; 2:15; 381 ft; 22.8 mph max; 11.8 mph avg]
Once we were back out, the Flyer was simply not moving and it was significantly windier out, so we decided to avoid that and hop on the Metro with a new goal of hitting every lift. We made the right call, because the Flyer was stopped for at least five minutes. We were planning to go to Stateside, but I saw that Full Moon was open and groomed, so Gen and I went on in! She did a great job with it, even trusting herself to get a little bit of speed on the "drop" and slowing down right afterwards. Only issue we had was trailing behind a duo that was going SLOW slow, but we both got to pass them. She later said this was her favorite run of the day!
Run #21 was back on task - Perry Merril to Queen's Highway. We hit the Stateside Carpet afterwards, and Run #23 was Gen's last one, so we went down Boulevard, which was an absolutely dream with the fresh ~2" of snow (plus it seems no one is ever on the Boulevard, which helps too!).
Runs 24-25
Run 24: Bonaventure Quad - Goat Run - Green Mountain Boys - Racer - Harmony Lane
[1.29 mi; 5:00; 1,640 ft; 26.6 mph max; 15.5 mph avg]
Run 25: Metro Quad - Perry Merril Ave - Chalet Meadows
[0.56 mi; 2:37; 341 ft; 25.9 mph max; 12.7 mph avg]
Gen went inside afterwards and I decided I'd ski until lifts close. I got back on the Bonnie with the goal of actually getting The Flash this time. I skied Goat, which was back to being super fun, onto Green Mountain Boys, but then I saw the cut-through through Exposition was closed, and I STILL couldn't get to The Flash. Instead, I had to follow Racer down (which is a nice trail, don't get me wrong) onto Harmony Lane, which was the best reward for trying to get my trails done. The fresh snow was an absolute dream to ski through and I giggled the whole way back!
My final run of the day was up the Metro and down Perry Merril and Chalet Meadows - I missed last chairs on the Taxi and Bonnie by what had to be no more than 12 seconds. Oh well! Gen and I did our chores and I left soon after to drive over to Black Mountain in Jackson! Christien got us a room at Whitney's Inn, so I was eager to get over there! Gen had a short apres with Emma and Sarah, and they'd be driving to Jackson later and staying at the Swiss Chalets with Andrew and Linnea (seperately).
My drive was dicey! There were FIVE cars stuck on 242 towards Jay, VT. I-91 was a little spicy near a high point. I had a shopping nightmare in Littleton, NH, and then got stuch behind a car going 35 in a 50 for about 20 minutes on US-302. When I finally passed them right before Crawford Notch, the road became Antarctica! I couldn't see anything for parts of the drive through the notch. I was sure glad to escape to Bartlett and eventually Jackson, BUT WAIT! NH-16 was closed at Story Land! Someone crashed into a telephone pole. We had to wiggle our way through the bowels of Story Land and the aquarium, eventually making my way into Jackson.
The room was ADORABLE! We went to the Shovel Handle Inn for dinner, which was simply adorable. The fun wasn't over, though! The live music wrapped up, we ordered another cocktail, and... the power goes out! We sat there giggling for about 30 minutes, but then we heard someone go "it's expected to be back 10:45pm" - it wasn't even 9:00pm yet. I got a little stressed, but we eventually went to the folks working there and were like "hey we want to leave is there a way we can pay? we're staying here and skiing here tomorrow so we're not going anywhere" and she said both "check in with the front desk tomorrow!" and "it's on the house!" sooo... free dinner I guess?
We spent the rest of the night in the dark, falling asleep around 11:00pm. The lights came on with a BLAST around midnight, which woke us both up. Thankfully, we quickly fell back asleep so we were ready for a big day of skiing tomorrow!
