Skiing Bousquet Mountain
Sunday, March 3rd, 2025
Runs: 11
Distance: 7.62 miles
Elevation: 8,301 feet
Max Speed: 29.9 mph
Avg. Speed: 15.4 mph
Moving Time: 29 minutes, 56 seconds
Total Time: 2 hours, 9 mintes, 9 seconds
Apparently I will be skiing this weekend! I was nervous about the warm weather paired with a refreeze overnight, so I wasn't committing to any mountain (which ruled out Catamount since you need to make a reservation). I decided I'd wake up and decide on the road - which landed me at Bousquet! In contast to yesterday's 60-degree day, it was now 10 degrees with lots of wind - no clouds in the sky, though! I meandered my way north, landing in the parking lot around 10am, and was DELIGHTED to find that it was basically empty! I was nervous about trail conditions, but excited to explore this mountain! The lodge seems brand new and is small, so after I got my pass I booted up in the car. I walked the maybe 50 feet to the beginning of the snow and skated over to the Yellow Chair - their summit fix-gripped triple.
Runs 1-3
Run 1: Yellow Chair - Easy Rider - Main Street
[0.63 mi; 3:10; 735 ft; 23.4 mph max; 11.9 mph avg]
Run 2: Yellow Chair - Easy Rider - Main Street
[0.64 mi; 2:19; 761 ft; 25.0 mph max; 16.7 mph avg]
Run 3: Yellow Chair - Easy Rider - Drifter
[0.88 mi; 3:26; 751 ft; 23.2 mph max; 15.3 mph avg]
For a Sunday and being mostly open, I was shocked at how few people were around. I never had to share a chair once, and never waited more than one chair ahead of me. I made my way up and opted to follow the main blue run down to get warmed up, and turns out I needed it - it felt as if I had never skied before. Snow was actually in good condition - some hardpack and some loose granular, like sugar. Everything just felt weird. Because of that weird run, I did a repeat for #2, which felt better. At this point my boots had loosened up (they were in the car all weekend unbuckled, which could have been a contributing factor), so I tightened them and got back on the chair. The lifty also complimented my purple pants! The chair went up and over a shocking amount of fallen poles, and this time I followed the long blue-to-green run down - Easy Rider to Drifter. Skiing felt A LOT better this time, and I was talking to myslef/telling myself what to do, which always seems to help, even if it's a little off-putting.
Runs 4-6
Run 4: Yellow Chair - Jewett - Drifter
[0.84 mi; 3:02; 755 ft; 28.2 mph max; 16.6 mph avg]
Run 5: Yellow Chair - Jewett - Beeline
[0.61 mi; 2:53; 758 ft; 26.0 mph max; 12.6 mph avg]
Run 6: Yellow Chair - Jewett - Parker Trail - Russel Slope
[0.66 mi; 2:42; 751 ft; 25.3 mph max; 14.6 mph avg]
Back on the chair, I was admiring the park kids absolutely fearlessly ripping it up down there - they were insanely good and no older than like, 12 years old. Incredible. This was in comical contrast to the rest of the mountain, where I truly and unfortunately believe that I was one of the better skiers on the mountain. A fascinating contrast!
I was feeling better about actually knowing how to ski, so it was time to hit some of their blacks, which were super fun! Run #4 was down Jewett, which had two headwalls and a short flat in between, and then down Drifter again, which was truly a delightful and fun run! Next, I followed Jewett to Beeline, which was just the lift line for their double chair (and weirdly contoured). I saw a poor guy get sledded out by ski patrol before Run #6, which took me down Jewett, Parker Trail, and Russel Slope - I think my favorite run of the day! I caught some G's on Jewett, which was a new experience for me. Parker was tucked into the woods and it was a narrower run that was short but fun. Russel Slope was a solid runout back to the base.
Runs 7-9
Run 7: Yellow Chair - Easy Rider- Nikki's Run - Grand Slalom
[0.62 mi; 2:12; 712 ft; 26.9 mph max; 17.0 mph avg]
Run 8: Yellow Chair - Easy Rider - Nikki's Run - North Slope
[0.60 mi; 2:19; 712 ft; 25.5 mph max; 15.6 mph avg]
Run 9: Yellow Chair - Easy Rider - Grand Slalom
[0.65 mi; 2:27; 896 ft; 28.7 mph max; 16.0 mph avg]
After a quick potty and warmth break, it was time to explore the rest of the trails I hadn't skied yet (minus Roberto's Chute - a steep, narrow double black that was well within my abilities, but I simply did not want to do it). I was back hitting trails off of Easy Rider, which had some deeper loose granular snow at this point. I went to Nikki's Run, which was another steeper narrower run - super fun! From there, I cut over to the lower portion of Grand Slalom. I planned to hit North Slope, but turned too early - oops! I corrected that mistake on Run #8. North Slope was fine - a little flat, but with rolling terrain. My final new run was down Easy Rider and then the full Grand Slalom. Not too steep but plenty fun! There was race training on the side, but thankfully I hit a window where all the kids (some of which were very annoying) were on the lift.
Runs 10-11
Run 10: Yellow Chair - Jewett - Parker Trail - Russel Slope
[0.67 mi; 2:40; 755 ft; 26.6 mph max; 15.0 mph avg]
Run 11: Yellow Chair - Jewett - Drifter
[0.82 mi; 2:46; 741 ft; 29.9 mph max; 17.8 mph avg]
Feeling good and super satisfied, I called three more skip the last. I learned that the Lenox Mountain Fire Tower wasn't too far away, so I'd wrap up here and then go for a hike before heading home. I opted to do a rerun of my favorite route first - Jewett to Parker, and then end with a longer one - Jewett to Drifter. I am so delighted and pleased with my little trip to Bousquet! Only complaint is they were sold out of stickers!
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