Skiing Catamount Mountain
December 29th, 2024
Runs: 5
Distance: 5.04 miles
Elevation: 3,576 feet
Max Speed: 26.6 mph
Avg. Speed: 11.8 mph
Moving Time: 25 minutes, 5 seconds
Total Time: 1 hour, 8 minutes, 24 seconds
Time for my great pilgrimage back to New England! The weather forecast was looking warm with an unclear amount of rain, but I decided to bite the bullet and make a reservation at Catamount - somewhere I had already been. I had a nice drive up and was one of the first 20-ish cars in the parking lot, ready for the 8:30am lift start time.
Mountain Report: Sunday, December 29th. You may have looked at the weather and seen the little rainy cloud image shown for today's weather. We did too, but we're here to tell you, things are actually looking good for today! Despite that daunting rain clouds, the forecast is only showing a short peroid of rain in the morning and then just cloudy skies and warm temps for the rest of the day, all the way through night skiing. With temps staying above freezing last night, there's a good chance of soft snow and great conditions today.
Runs 1-2:
Run 1: Catamount Quad - Cat's Meow - Colonel's Caper - Holiday
[0.65 mi; 3:22; 374 ft; 21.9 mph max; 11.6 mph avg]
Run 2: Catamount Quad - On Stage
[0.45 mi; 3:25; 404 ft; 25.9 mph max; 7.8 mph avg]
I realize that I've been spoiled by Jay Peak, which runs like a well-oiled machine (and is super communicative with condition updates). The Catamount website said five lifts would be spinning at 8:30am, but only the Catamount Quad started right away. There was also race training, so I got started a few minutes after 8:30am once all the racers made their way up the practice slope. My first run was a route I hadn't done before, Cat's Meow - Colonel's Caper - Holiday, which was fine. Cat's Meow was a cat track and the rest of the run was more like spring skiing, which was fun to remember how to ski! I tried to get to the Meadow's Triple, which was supposed to be open, but it was closed to everyone except ski school.
I scooted my way back to the Catamount Quad for a quick run down On Stage. At this point, the high speed quad was not spinning, but the Glades Triple was, so I took that up to near the top.
Runs 3-5:
Run 3: Glade Triple - Ridge Run Ext - Ridge Run - Upper Promenade - Lower Promenade - Homeward Bound
[1.48 mi; 7:03; 945 ft; 24.1 mph max; 12.6 mph avg]
Run 4: Glade Triple - Upper Sidewinder - Lower Sidewinder
[1.01 mi; 4:07; 922 ft; 26.6 mph max; 14.8 mph avg]
Run 5: Glade Triple - Ridge Run Ext - Ridge Run - Upper Promenade - Lower Promenade - Homeward Bound
[1.46 mi; 7:07; 932 ft; 25.0 mph max; 12.3 mph avg]
It was now raining, which wasn't too bad. My first run was the long route, following the Ridge Run Ext to Ridge Run, the Promenades, and finally Homeward Bound. It was a nice gentle run, but the snow felt so different than the hard pack/ice I've skied on so far this season! The big thing I noticed were my edges catching complete randomly. I also noticed that when that would happen, I was sitting back in my boots... classic!
Second run was down Sidewinder, which is a super fun run. I attacked it with more confidence, and then fell right at the end. I think again, a combo of sitting back slightly and slushy snow had my brain confused. I'll blame the rain for some, too!
My fifth and final run was another long lap from Ridge Run to Promenade. I emotionally wanted to get some more, but the mountain was only getting busier and the rain was only getting harder. I headed back to the car, checked the weather again, and saw the rain should be ending in a half hour. I made the wild decision to change and drive to a trailhead and get a hike in - more on that soon!
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