Skiing Waterville Valley

Skiing Waterville Valley

Sunday, April 6th, 2025

Runs: 12

Distance: 15.30 miles

Elevation: 16,988 feet

Max Speed: 30.0 mph

Avg. Speed: 14.6 mph

Moving Time: 1 hour, 2 minutes, 34 seconds

Total Time: 2 hours, 48 minutes, 8 seconds

After yesterday's fun, I wasn't feeling my best, but still excited for another day skiing! The forecast said rain in the early morning and then turning into a lovely spring day. I slept like garbage (might have gotten sick AGAIN ((actual sick not booze sick))) and was up at 7:00am, so I started the slow process of getting up and out and headed to Waterville Valley! I love the locations of both Cannon and Waterville because they're basically half way between Emma's and my apartment, which is delightfully convenient. The drive on VT-15 to US-2 is just a delightful drive, and we can't forget Franconia Notch! It was on-and-off foggy, but the fog had cleared once I made it into Waterville Valley. The parking lot was pretty empty, which was also wonderful to see. Temps were in the mid-30s and it was cloudy. I booted up at the car and had to redeem my Indy at the rental shop, since they had closed their ticket office for the season. The cashier mentioned that I should save the RFID card, as they might start charging for them next year (as of this season, only Waterville Valley and Jay Peak had free RFIDs). After a quick bathroom break, it was time to get skiing!

Alpine Snow Report

UPDATED: 09:34AM, APRIL 06, 2025

Current Weather: 30° F, Mixed Precip

Good morning! While we are currently experiencing some warm wet weather this morning, skies are expected to clear up shortly, with temperatures reaching the mid-40s. Lifts will open today at 9am.

TRAILS AND LIFTS: We anticipate opening the following lifts: Tecumseh Express, Green Peak Triple, High Country T-Bar, and Lower Meadows. Please see lift hours of operation below. We currently have 56 trails open to the public, giving access to 249 acres of skiable terrain.

WEATHER AND CONDITIONS: Temperatures are anticipated to reach a high of 38°F at the summit and 45°F at the base with cloudy skies. Please be aware of unmarked obstacles across the mountain at this stage of the season. Northwest winds are expected to range from 25-40 mph at the summit and 15-25 mph at the base.

Run 1

Run 1: Tecumseh Express - Oblivion - South Street - Stillness - Lower Stillness

[1.67 mi; 6:08; 1,637 ft; 26.9 mph max; 16.4 mph avg]

Instead of skating over the maybe 100 feet to the Green Peak Triple, where I had planned to start my day, I hopped on the line-less Tecumseh Express! My first run was the marked easiest way down, until I went rogue. At the exit ramp from the lift there are caution signs for variable conditions and unmarked hazards basically everywhere - exciting! The upper stretch of Oblivion was a little tough for my first run of the day - half melted with some bumps and deep pockets of slush. I just wasn't ready to ski aggressively, but alas! The headwall was good and the rest was lovely. Instead of going down Valley Run, I continued onto South Street and the Stillness/Lower Stillness parks that had a fun series of jumps (still working on my pops!), ultimately leading me to the Green Peak Triple - mission accomplished!

Runs 2-5

Run 2: Green Peak Triple - Governer's Run - Bourbon Street - Baseway

[0.83 mi; 942 ft; 25.7 mph max; 15.4 mph avg]

Run 3: Green Peak Triple - Ruffled Feathers - Piano Man - Bourbon Street - Baseway

[0.91 mi; 3:24; 1,027 ft; 22.4 mph max; 16.0 mph avg]

Run 4: Green Peak Triple - Clean Shaven - Bourbon Street - Baseway

[0.99 mi; 4:03; 1,037 ft; 25.2 mph max; 14.6 mph avg]

Run 5: Green Peak Triple - Chandler's Way - Valley Run

[1.21 mi; 4:40; 1,001 ft; 27.7 mph max; 15.5 mph avg]

The whole mountain was uncrowded, but the Green Peak side was especially empty. So empty that the lifty had to come out of the bottom shack every time I made it to the lift. Run #2 for the day was down the left side of the map, Governer's Run to Burbon Street and Baseway. The snow was nice and I was starting to get used to the spring snow on my already tired legs. I was feeling brave and went down the upper part of Ruffled Feathers (which was not challenging nor steep) and then followed Piano Man down, which was wide and super fun! Probably my favorite on this side. I was back to skiing like I knew how to ski, which was exciting, too!

The lift was slow, but playing some Pokemon Go helped it feel faster. Plus, the app thought I was walking, which was perfect for catching Pokemon! Feeling even braver than before, Run #4 was down Clean Shaven, which was a little sketchy up top with rocks and massive chunks of ice, but after ~50 feet of that it opens up to a delightful groomer with a nice pitch and fresh cords! One of my favorite runs of the day, for sure. I wrapped my stay on Green Peak with a run down Chandler's Way to Valley Run. Chandler's was flat up top but slowly gained pitch, and Valley Run was wide, fun, and uncrowded! I had only ever been on this run when it was swamped, so it was nice to have it all to myself!

Runs 6-9

Run 6: Tecumseh Express - Sun Run - No Grit - Oblivion - Upper Valley Run - Fun Run - Rock Island

[1.76 mi; 6:41; 1,640 ft; 26.2 mph max; 15.8 mph avg]

Run 7: Tecumseh Express - Sun Run - Ciao - Fun Run - Rock Island

[1.42 mi; 5:24; 1,631 ft; 28.6 mph max; 13.3 mph avg]

Run 8: Tecumseh Express - Sun Run - True Grit - Fun Run - Rock Island

[1.33 mi; 6:02; 1,608 ft; 30.0 mph max; 13.2 mph avg]

Run 9: Tecumseh Express - Upper Bobby's Run - Lower Bobby's Run - Fun Run - Rock Island

[1.33 mi; 6:01; 1,611 ft; 25.4 mph max; 13.3 mph avg]

Valley Run brought me back to the wonderfully comfortable Tecumseh Express, which I comically had to myself for all but one ride. The goal was to explore the steep runs that I've historically been scared of! Run #6 brought me down Sun Run, past some "ungroomed terrain" signs, which I didn't internalize at all and was shocked to run into some bumps! I'm so glad I'd been practicing bumps this season, becuase this did not break me at all. I just said "whee!" From sun run, I went down the physically dirty No Grit, and then did Oblivion to Valley Run. This time, I scooted over to the Fun Run park, which had a few jumps followed by banked turns. These were actually perfect to practice my "pops," but the banked turns were slow and slushy, and there was no way to bail early. I conitnued onto Rock Island, which was thin cover but no problem.

Run #7 followed Sun Run to Ciao, which was my favorite of the steeps - I think because it wasn't just a straight-shot down. Some bumps, some groomed, all fun! I pulled over halfway down to let a stronger skier get ahead of me, but all was good! I did Fun Run again to Rock Island to wrap it up.

Run #8 I was nervous for, but I knew the spring conditions were optimal for steeps. Double-Black True Grit is the steepest run at Waterville Valley, and it felt like it! It seemed partially groomed and the slush kept me feeling safe. I did get the wiggles looking down, but no tears! To celebrate my survival, I had another lap down the Fun Run and Rock Island - my pops were starting to actually happen! That being said, I was getting over the slushy banked turns.

The final run of the steeps was Bobby's Run, which felt less-traveled than the rest. Upper Bobby's Run was in good, slushy conditions. Lower Bobby's Run was ungroomed and steep, but felt less steep than the others. This was also the bumpiest of the three steeps, and my legs were feeling it! I had my last lap on the Fun Run to celebrate afterwards. I was feeling super proud of myself to hitting these trails!

Runs 10-12

Run 10: Tecumseh Express - White Caps - Upper Sel's Choice - Tommy's World Cup Run

[1.19 mi; 5:12; 1,608 ft; 26.0 mph max; 13.8 mph avg]

Run 11: Tecumseh Express - Grimes Way - Periphery - Lower Tippy - Lower Periphery

[1.33 mi; 5:19; 1,604 ft; 27.2 mph max; 15.0 mph avg]

Run 12: Tecumseh Express - Sidewinder - Tippecanoe - Siegel Street - Lower Old Tecumseh - Lower Sel's Choice

[1.34 mi; 5:59; 1,647 ft; 21.4 mph max; 13.4 mph avg]

And now to explore some familiar territoriy while I wrapped up my little solo jaunt! I wanted to ski as many open trails as possible, while specifically hitting trails that I had previously struggled with specifically Periphery because of last season's bumps, and Tippecanoe/And Tyler Too after December's ice sheet). Run #10 brought me down none of those, since the chair ahead of me went down that way. I followed White Caps to Upper Sel's Choice, which in fairness was another challenging run from December, and then Tommy's World Cup Run, which would be super fun to zoom down with fresh cords! The slush was DEFINITELY getting deep, though.

Run #11 brought me down to Periphery, which was groomed and not a problem (according to Strava, I PR'd this run by 10 whole minutes, which is very silly). Lower Tippy and Lower Periphery were in similar conditions, but a bit wider with deeper slush.

My legs were definitely starting to feel it! Run #12 brought me back to Tippecanoe, which I did a MUCH better job with. I mistakenly followed Siegel Street to Lower Old Tecumseh, which had the deepest slush of the day. My legs were borderline cooked at this point, but I still wanted to hit "And Tyler Too." Lower Old Tecumseh led to Lower Sel's Choice, and by the time I hit the runout back to the lift I had caught edges two seperate times and decided to maybe not push it too far, especially since I having a great, injury-free day! I basically pond skimmed down to the ticketing area, and walked back to the car, feeling good and tired!

Back at the car, I took some time to enjoy the weather and do a little tidy-up of the interior, since it had taken some damage from yesterday's festivities. Most notably, a 1/4 full bottle of butterscotch schnapps had spilled (thank GOD for floor liners!). I tidied up, did my 2 hour drive home, and fell right asleep. I can feel myself beginning to mourn the ski season, but thankfully Jay plans to be open until at least the second weekend of May!

Map of Waterville Valley

Skiing Jay Peak

Skiing Jay Peak

Saturday, April 5th, 2025

Runs: 12

Distance: 7.53 miles

Elevation: 7,598 feet

Max Speed: 27.7 mph

Avg. Speed: 9.5 mph

Moving Time: 48 minutes, 32 seconds

Total Time: 3 hours, 21 minutes, 19 seconds

It's time for the anniversary of last year's total solar eclipse at Jay Peak! We joked about making it a tradition to have a "be-a-nuissance" day the first weekend of April, and the plans came to be! I drove up after school on Friday night, and although our crew was going to be a bit smaller, it was going to be fun! Emma and I got dinner at Daily Planet in Burlington before heading back to her place to watch RuPaul's Drag Race. Stevens arrived to Emma's around 10:00pm, and then it was bed time! 

Snow Report

April 5th | 6:16am

**COFFEE REPORT**

TK's latest forecast says that morning turns are your best bet before a wintry mix shoves in by lunchtime. Light winds with highs in the mid-30's. Monday and Tuesday are looking like good chances for snowfall, with the possibility for up to a foot by Wednesday morning.

Check back in a little bit for an official report while we get things rolling, gromming's still out doing their thing and patrol will be out shortly to check trails. The freeze/thaw of surfaces might require a little extra TLC and attention this morning, so sit tight and we'll get you out there as soon as we can.

We got up just before 7:00am, got coffee (well, they did, as I still don't drink coffee), picked up Patroller Sarah, and headed up to the mountain. The patrollers were free skiing to celebrate the holiday, but they had to get their stuff from the patrol room. I went to the rental shop with Stevens, and then we all got set up at the car, shared some Irish Breakfast Shots, and experienced our first eclipse of the day (which meant we put donut holes on skewers and held them up to the sun, which was behind a cloud... it was so fun and silly). 

Runs 1-2

Run 1: Jet Triple - Haynes - Mont l'Entripede

[0.71 mi; 3:20; 1204 ft; 27.4 mph max; 12.7 mph avg]

Run 2: Jet Triple - Montrealer - Cat Walk - Angel's Wiggle - Taxi - Lower Milk Run - Kangaroo Trail

[0.77 mi; 5:24; 1168 ft; 27.7 mph max; 11.8 mph avg]

There was finally a normal amount of people at the mountain (versus the insane crowds we've seen all season) and the only big event was a school's (possibly an international or foreign school based on all the English accents) vacation to learn how to ski. Emma, Patrol Sarah, and I dropped Stevens off at the magic carpet while we got  a couple laps on the Jet (I have to do my daily steeps). Haynes skied okay, a little hard, but okay. I didn't need to go back. Funny enough, this was my Strava PR for Haynes, since I haven't been able to ski it top-to-bottom yet this season!

Run #2 was down Montrealer over to Cat Walk and eventually to Lower Milk Run, which I'd never done in full before. It was fine - a little crusty, a little bumpy, a little dirty, but no problem overall. Once we were back at the Stateside base we found Stevens and Team Snowboard (Snowboard Emma and Elizabeth) chit-chatting, and it was time for the Taxi!

Runs 3-6

Run 3: Taxi Quad - Queen's Highway - Grammy Jay

[0.77 mi; 4:03; 558 ft; 21.0 mph max; 11.4 mph avg]

Run 4: Village Chair - Queen's Highway

[0.45 mi; 2:41; 322 ft; 26.6 mph max; 10.1 mph avg]

Run 5: Tramside Carpet

Run 6: Tramside Carpet

Team Snowboard was parked on Tramside and no desire to head over that way due to wind and the fact that both the Flyer and the Tram were down, so we parted ways soon after coming together for a bit. Emma, Patrol Sarah, Stevens, and I all shared a chair on the Taxi, and Emma whipped out some Naturday's for us to drink from her jacket pocket - how fun! We brought Stevens down Queen's Highway and then to the Grammy Jay. He survived the "headwall!" He did say it was "scary as sh*t," but he killed it. He survived getting off the Village Chair at full speed and then made it over to the Tramside base!

Emma and Patrol Sarah had to run into customer service so Sarah could drop off some papers, so Stevens and I went over to the Tramside Carpet for a couple of runs. He was flirting with linking turns and making parallel turns while I was still trying to figure out how to ski backwards. We went in to use the bathroom afterwards and saw a text saying that the patrollers dropped their skis off for a free sharpening and are getting coffee (**eyeroll**). We eventually met back up and headed back to find the snowboarders!

Runs 7-8

Run 7: Metro Quad - Perry Merril Ave - Shakedown

[0.61 mi; 5:27; 354 ft; 20.2 mph max; 6.7 mph avg]

Run 8: Bonaventure Quad - Northway - Angel's Wiggle - Hell's Crossing - Paradise Meadows

[1.29 mi; 8:24; 1,391 ft; 23.9 mph max; 9.2 mph avg]

We made it back to Stateside via Perry Merry Ave and Shakedown (TikTok told me I need to work on my "pops" when I jump... tbd on that). I did hit a couple of boxes, but did not pop when I finished them... sad. We did a quick pit stop at the car for another breakfast shot and the second eclipse of the day, now featuring team snowboard! We played "Total Eclipse of the Heart" while holding up our donut holes, and afterwards a man came up to us and said "wow thank you for the free entertainment, I have never met meatball worshipers before!" - which was WILD. 

Stevens was feeling good and was ready for a challenge, so we headed over to the Bonnie for his first upper mountain run! We had another Naturdays on the way up. It was WINDY up top - even the recycling bin had been knocked over! Emma coached him down the Northway, and he killed it! He fell once in the middle of the run and came to a stop at the "SLOW" gate, but I do think he would have stopped on his own if he didn't see the gate as a safe hammock that he could run into at a gentle speed. We got him back up and Emma coached him through the two headwalls at Angel's Wiggle before a solid finish down Hell's Cross and Paradise Meadows. Feeling ballsy, I even dipped into the easy, flat part of Hell's Woods like a daredevil! At this point, some frozen precipitation began to fall and it was PAINFUL.

Runs 9-10

Run 9: Bonaventure Quad - Goat Run - Lower River Quai - Perry Merril Ave - Half Moon - Queen's Highway

[1.33 mi; 9:24; 1,503 ft; 26.7 mph max; 9.8 mph avg]

Run 10: Metro Quad - Perry Merril Ave - Chalet Meadows

[0.53 mi; 3:13; 322 ft; 21.3 mph max; 9.8 mph avg]

Stevens was satisfied with his one upper mountain run, but I was itching for one more. Stevens and Emma went off to the Taxi while Patrol Sarah, Team Snowboard, and I hopped back on the Bonnie (apparently in good time, as it went down for the day soon after!). We decided to hit up Goat Run, which... wasn't in GREAT shape. At least the upper stretch. More or less a glacier with some edgeable patches. Thankfully, the S-Turns were in good shape, and I proposed we go down Lower River Quai and hit one of the moons. Lower River Quai was LOVELY and Half Moon was just a treat! I hadn't gone off-trail in these woods before, so that was fun, too! We did a QUICK pee stop at the Tramside lodge and then hopped on the Metro, which had a comically long line due to the school group. We followed Perry Merril to the junction with Chalet Meadows, where we ran into Emma and Stevens! We all followed Chalet Meadows back to the Taxi for a few more runs.

Runs 11-12

Run 11: Taxi Quad - Rusch Park

[0.32 mi; 2:26; 354 ft; 29.8 mph max; 7.9 mph avg]

Run 12: Taxi Quad - Queen's Highway - Doe Woods - Boulevard

[0.46 mi; 4:01; 407 ft; 21.8 mph max; 6.9 mph avg]

My heart wanted to keep the day going, but I was getting HUNGRY, and the painful precipitation was starting to pivot over to rain. We called a "three more skip the last." Run #11 was down the park, which was MUCH more built up than before! I went over a box right at the start, but got scared and slowed down a ton. Got over it fine, but tipped forward at the end (instead of popping!) and dug a ski into the snow and went SPLAT. Elizabeth said she was actually worried about the fall because of how my leg twisted, but I felt completely fine (and am still fine a few days later, so seems like I'm in the clear!). I tried to go over one of the jumps, but it was VERY high and I got scared again. Next time!

Our final run was another delight. We sent Stevens down Boulevard and the rest of us went into Doe Woods, which was surprisingly in fantastic shape. Only issue was that I stayed in too long and got stuck on the wrong side of water pipes, so I had to pop my skis off, step over, and click back in... silly. Afterwards, we caught Stevens and enacted operation: Tramside! 

Since it was raining and we had our hearts set on hot dogs, the patrollers went to the patrol room to change, Stevens dropped off his rentals, we all took a bathroom break, and then we drove from the Stateside lot to the Tramside Lot, which has a little mini-garage under the main lot. We set up camp there for an hour or so, folding table and mini grill and all. This was my first time using this grill, so there was a small learning curve (like letting it burn off all the plastic residue), but the mission was successful! We had one more total eclipse (note for next year: more munchkins) and eventually decided to part ways. Team Snowboard went into the water park while the rest of us started the trek home, stopping for snacks at Maplefields. Emma and I introduced Stevens to GNAR and Hot Dog... the Movie! as any good ski friends would, and it was a delightfully early bed time for all!

I don't usually drink while skiing because it's dangerous as hell and I just don't really care to, but it is still fun to have a ragamuffin day once a year!

Map of Jay Peak