T-one day until the eclipse! Our day got started with a planned craft and unplanned... The planned craft was spraying bleach around a plate on a black t-shirt to make eclipse shirts (it worked!), and the unplanned craft was my Jell-O shots... more on that on my next post... After our crafts Gen and I drove down to Bolton Valley, which has become one of my favorite ski spots! My lovely CRV made it up the access road like an absolute champion, we got our passes, and were on the snow just after lifts opened at 10am.
Snow Report
7am Update: Happy Sunday Funday and Total Eclipse Weekend at Bolton Valley. Snow continued lightly for much of the day yesterday, keeping things fresh out there with nearly 3 feet of snow over the last three and a half days. A pretty trememdous way to head into this momentous occasion with Mother Nature with the the snow clouds now giving way to sunshine and (hopefully) building right through tomorrow's spectacle in the sky around 3:30... We're so excited about it, we're gonna do some dancing with DJ Fattie B from 1-4pm (outside, weather permitting, but TBD).
Today we plan to pick up with lifts and trails where we left off yesterday with warmer temps, drier skies and that bright yellow thing in the sky coming back out to play... We'll run 4 lifts - Vista, Snowflake, and Mighty Mite from 10am to 5pm and Wilderness 10:30am to 5pm. Tomorrow we plan to run a similar lift mode, but with Timberline in place of Wilderness and will spin Vista until 6pm to help folks spread out their departure a bit as the roads could be crowded just after the moment of truth if all the hype proves true. Today we expect to have about 80% of our terrain and tomorrow closer to 90% with all trails served by open lifts on each day.
Runs 1-5
Run 1: Vista Lift - Sherman's Pass - Bear Run
[1.34 mi, 6:10, 997 ft, 25.2 mph max, 12.8 mph avg]
Run 2: Vista Lift - Sherman's Pass - Bull Run - Mouse Hole - Fanny Hill - Abenaki Trail
[1.20 mi, 3:36, 994 ft, 31.2 mph max, 19.8 mph avg]
Run 3: Vista Lift - Cobrass - Cobrass Run - Bear Run
[1.13 mi, 4:34, 994 ft, 31.5 mph max, 14.6 mph avg]
Run 4: Vista Lift - Sherman's Pass - Bull Run - Mouse Hole - Fanny Hill - Abenaki Trail
[1.14 mi, 3:51, 1007 ft, 27.5 mph max, 17.0 mph avg]
Run 5: Vista Lift - Sherman's Pass - Swing - Work Road - Coyote - Fanny Hill - Abenaki Trail
[1.28 mi, 6:21, 1063 ft, 28.4 mph max, 12.1 mph avg]
Our first five runs were all on the Vista Lift - the one lift (excluding the rope tow) that I've never been on! It is a quad, and the culture of Bolton valley is that no chair goes un-filled, which was fine. It was a shockingly bluebird day with excellent views towards Lake Champlain and the ADK, along with frosty trees up top and full snow cover! We took some photos at the summit area, including a classic "Emma Photo" - stabbing both poles into the snow and looping the phone camera in the straps - which came out blurry. Our first was was going to be the easiest way down via Sherman's Pass, which was truly lovely. A few sharp turns and overall gentle grades mixed with beautiful scenery - just lovely! Only downside was many people, especially children, so Gen and I split for the second run - she did a repeat, and I turned off at Bull Run to hit Mouse Hole, my beloved Fanny Hill, and Abenaki Trail. The snow was fresh and felt great! We even got to watch a toddler not ski away from the lift unloading zone, a woman ran the kid over, causing the adult's ski to pop off. The dad of the child was curious at the child, the woman was crying, and the dad of the child made the child carry the adult-sized ski back to the woman and apologize. Iconic!
Our third run was more challenging - down Cobrass - with steeper sections and choppier snow, but the views and surroundings continued to be beautiful. I could tell that this trail would get bumpy in a few hours, so we did not come back becuase we are #lazy. Run four was a repeat of run two, and we got fancy on the fifth by taking Swing to Work Road to Coyote, which started as more groomed but ended up being frozen and bumpy at the end, but landed back on the lovely Fanny Hill. Only complaint were the children, but they're kind of part of the deal here, and that's okay! We went to the car to shed some layers and use the bathroom, and then we were off to the Wilderness Chair!
11am Update: Gorgeous bluebird day out there with warm temps and soft snow. You may want your sunscreen for this daydream. If the "Upper Lots Full" sign is out at Timberline, park there and the bus will bring you up. We'll have Timberline Lift spinning for Eclipse Monday.
Runs 6-8
Run 6: Wilderness Lift - Peggy Dow's - Old Turnpike - Lower Turnpike
[1.18 mi, 4:35, 1001 ft, 25.3 mph max, 14.6 mph avg]
Run 7: Wilderness Lift - Peggy Dow's - Old Turnpike - Lower Turnpike
[1.21 mi, 4:05, 1001 ft, 27.2 mph max, 17.2 mph avg]
Run 8: Wilderness Lift - Peggy Dow's - Wilderness Liftline - Lower Wilderness - Abenaki Trail - Lower Fanny Hill
[1.20 mi, 5:01, 968 ft, 26.3 mph max, 18.3 mph avg]
Wilderness Lift time! I was excited to head back over here as I simply loved the trails last time. Also, having no line was nice. Also, not having to share the chair with strangers was nice, too. I was a bit clumsy getting on the slingshot of a chair - my ski even got caught on the ground below, but we were soon heading up on the beautiful, rustic, slow chair. Up top we took the uphill route down, which is truly just lovely and fun. A bit flat at first, but followed by a narrow chute and some steeper banked turns (note: I'm writing this after skiing Haynes at Jay, so steep is definitely subjective), and ending with a nice cruise through the groomed woods.
My second lift ride was humbling embarassing. I, again, was a little clumsy getting on the lift, my ski got caught again, but this time it fully popped off and they had to stop the chair for me - first time for everything! The lifty was insanely kind and even popped my ski back on for me (I basically begged for him to put me out of my misery and hand it to me, but he insisted on getting it back on, which was definitely the right move for many reasons). Following the humiliation, we had another great run down the same route.
The third and final lift ride was better... I said flat out to the lifty "this is my redemption," and my foot got caught again. After HOURS of introspection, I think I was sitting down too low to catch the chair, which ran higher than normal, so I was tipping forward... awful. Either way, I yelled in anger, he said "are you okay," I said "yes I'm just being dramatic," and I vowed to never return. To keep myself in check, I took the bumpy Wilderness Liftline down after Peggy Dow's, which kept my tail in between my legs. In an act of solidarity, Gen's calf cramped up after this run, so she took a break.
12:30pm Update: DJ Fattie B is firing up on the tavern deck shortly to keep the vibes flying high. Gorgeous bluebird day out there with warm temps and soft snow. You may want your sunscreen for this daydream. If the "Upper Lots Full" sign is out at Timberline, park there and the bus will bring you up. We'll have Timberline Lift spinning for Eclipse Monday.
Runs 9-10
Run 9: Vista Lift - Sherman's Pass - Swing - Work Road - Coyote - Fanny Hill - Abenaki Trail
[1.17 mi, 3:49, 1004 ft, 28.2 mph max, 18.3 mph avg]
Run 10: Vista Lift - Sherman's Pass - Swing - Work Road - Fanny Hill - Abenaki Trail
[1.18 mi, 4:17, 1024 ft, 28.2 mph max, 16.0 mph avg]
Final two runs were back on the Vista Lift. The first was without Gen and I humbly repeated my stint on Coyote, which was starting to soften up. The lower mountain was transitioning to sticky snow, which also kept things interesting. I found Gen at the bottom and she was ready for our last run, taking Sherman's Pass to Swing to Work Road to Fanny Hill to Abenaki, which was excellent. A great way to wrap up our morning - and as a reward, we bought souvenirs and rice balls!
End of Day Stats: 10 Runs, 12.02 miles, 10,049 feet, 31.5 mph max, 47:20 skiing, 3:37:37 elapsed.
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