Skiing Black Mountain
Sunday, March 15th, 2026
Runs: 9
Distance: 7.31 miles
Elevation: 7,444 feet
Max Speed: 33.9 mph
Avg. Speed: 11.3 mph
Moving Time: 51 minutes, 8 seconds
Total Time: 6 hours, 49 minutes, 49 seconds
Back at Black! I will absolutely be staying at Whitney's Inn again, if anything for the sheer convenience (but also, it's SO cute!). We slowly got ready and made it into the lodge around 8:45am. Emma, Gen, and Sarah (and Emma's dog, Lola), were all there and getting ready! I got my Indy Pass for the day and we got Christien fully checked in for his lesson and rentals ($155 for a 3-hour lesson, rentals, and a full mountain lift ticket is a GOOD deal!). Ray landed soon after and we did the same for him, making sure their boots fit well and they had all they needed for the day! We dropped them off at their 9:30am lessons, took a billion photos, and then got on with our ski day!
Conditions
Sunday, March 15
It's a beautiful day on the mountain. Temperatures are expected to reach a high of 38F today, setting up for comfortable conditions and great turns across the hill. Our crew groomed last night, laying down a smooth surface and setting things up nicely for today's skiing and riding.
Join us this afternoon for live music in the Base Lodge with Dan Aldrich from 1-4 PM. It's a great chance to warm up, grab a drink, and enjoy some music between laps. Don't miss our full sit-down dinner menu tonight - the perfect way to wrap up a great day on the mountain.
We recommend carpooling whenever possible, as we expect a good turnout today.
It's a great day to be here.
Runs 1-2
Run 1: Summit Double Chair - Upper Black Beauty - Black Beauty - Juniper
[1.23 mi; 5:35; 1,079 ft; 24.6 mph max; 13.2 mph avg]
Run 2: Summit Double Chair - Upper Maple Slalom - Chute - Jackson Standard
[0.85 mi; 3:03; 1,079 ft; 33.0 mph max; 16.6 mph avg]
Our first run was Gen, Sarah, Emma, and I, and it brought us up the double to gawk at how spectacular Mt. Washington was looking and then down Upper Black Beauty, which started off fine and quickly became death cookie hell - I skied half of it with my tips crossed after hitting one. Black Beauty proper was also... a mistake. The freeze and thaw had it as a rough-surfaced boilerplace, just unpleasant. Juniper, however, was lovely!
Run #2 was MUCH better, bringing us down Upper Maple Slalom to Chute to Jackson Standard, which was a win for the day! Gen sat this one out, needing to run inside for some chores. The trail were hard and fast, but the ones that were groomed overnight were actually in pretty good shape. We saw Ray and Christien at the bottom on the handle tow looking great! I was worried that Ray would get bored if the lesson stayed this beginner, though, becuase he really did a great job on his first day at Waterville and could definitely handle more than that.
Runs 3-4
Run 3: Summit Double Chair - Upper Maple Slalom - Alpine Cabin - East Bowl - Spruce - Black Beauty - Juniper
[0.93 mi; 7:36; 1,047 ft; 28.0 mph max; 7.4 mph avg]
Run 4: Summit Double Chair - Upper Maple Slalom - Alpine Cabin - East Bowl - Juniper
[0.92 mi; 5:31; 1,066 ft; 26.4 mph max; 10.0 mph avg]
Andrew and Linnea (and Gen, again) had officially joined the party for Run #3! They newlyweds were a few chairs ahead of us, so we all met at the top (where they ran into some high school classmates) for some family photos. We skied down Upper Maple Slalom to the Alpine Cabin for the first of MANY pit stops. The six of us each got a drink varying from alcohol to hot chocolate and officially started our day of silliness. We got a few (more) silly photos at the cabin before it got overcrowded, Emma and Linnea bought some face glitter, and we tee'd and hee'd the whole time! After a bit, Sarah and I both had to use the bathroom, so we skied down to finish our run. I planned to scope out the easiest way down for Ray and Christien for when they finished their lessons. Sarah and I did an OKAY job. Spruce was in great shape, but then we accidentally turned back onto Black Beauty and both screamed "NOOOOOO" as our entire bodies vibrated. Thankfully, we were able to quickly cut through to Juniper to save the day. At the bottom, we found Christien at the handle tow, seeming like he was having fun! He said Ray did age out of the beginner lesson, which made me feel relieved!
Sarah and I took care of our chores, I restocked my pocket drink, and we headed right back to the lift. I was putting my skis back on near the lift and I heard "what are you waiting for?" and it was Ray! Sarah CHARGED after him, which resulted in a very funny photo that looked like she was being raptured. I was a little surprised to see him getting on the double, but maybe they were going to tackle the comically steep mid station? Emma, Linnea, and Andrew also all joined us at this point, and Gen was up at the cabin holding down our table.
Gen got photos of us on our way back up and we saw Ray looking Upper Black Beauty in the eyes with his teacher - not gonna lie I was a bit worried for him with those death cookies! The five of us skied back to the cabin for some more silliness until the boys' lessons wrapped up. A little before 12:30pm, Gen and I skied down to get some lunch and the kids! Ray wrapped up first (on the triple, one summit run was more than enough for him). He and Gen got lunch at the cafeteria and carefully brought it up to the cabin. Christien finished up a few minutes later off of the poma lift, so then he and I did the same!
Runs 5-7
Run 5: East Bowl Triple - Alpine Cabin - Sugarbush - Juniper
[1.07 mi; 9:32; 784 ft; 16.9 mph max; 6.7 mph avg]
Run 6: Platter Pull - Ninow
[0.23 mi; 1:31; 174 ft; 15.3 mph max; 9.2 mph avg]
Run 7: East Bowl Triple - Chute - Jackson Standard
[0.55 mi; 1:14; 692 ft; 33.9 mph max; 26.9 mph avg]
He did a great job on his first chair lift ride! I carried the poles and both bits of lunch (he bought lunch, I brought my leftovers from last night). He dismounted without a fall, and we were soon sitting up at the cabin for lunch and drinks! It was a super silly day and I was just having so much fun, and I was really glad Ray and Christien were able to join us for it!
We were revving up to get a magnum of champagne, but I encouraged Christien to get a run or two in beforehand just so he knew what to expect on the way down before throwing booze into his body. This was a good move! We left the cabin and followed Sugarbush, which was mellow but narrow. He did great! At the right turn after the Sugar Shack the trail became a bit more uneven with a few trees to dodge and a slightly steeper grade, which did send him into his first fall, but he recovered miracuously! It's fun watching him and Ray ski down together - Ray learned the way I learned - scared and slow. Christien, on the other hand (and apparently his teacher said this ), has a need for speed! His method was gaining speed (accidentally) and falling beautifully, which honeslty wasn't the worst! We made it onto Juniper and survived the final descent back to the lodge to do a quick pee.
Naturally, I proposed we do a quick run on the poma before heading back up. It was Christien, Ray, Sarah, and I, and Ninow was excellent! Christien looked much more comfortable (and said he felt better on it). It's a shame there isn't a 5% easier way down from the cabin. We tee-hee'd all the way down and got back onto the Triple!
As a group, we set 2:30pm as the time we were going to get our champagne. The four of us got back up at 2:20, and we saw a text from Emma saying she just got on the double. Sarah and I looked at each other with a twinkle in our eyes and decided to do a quick bomber run down Jackson Standard, and it was a JOY. We made it back at 2:31pm, of course apologized for being late, and then it was time for Champagne!
Runs 8-9
Run 8: East Bowl Triple - Alpine Cabin - East Bowl - Spruce - Juniper
[0.73 mi; 7:36; 751 ft; 12.8 mph max; 5.9 mph avg]
Run 9: East Bowl Triple - Alpine Cabin - Sugarbush - Spruce - Juniper
[0.80 mi; 9:39; 768 ft; 16.8 mph max; 6.0 mph avg]
Sarah and I took the Triple up since there was no line and then Emma and I went in to get the bottle. $200 for a magnum of Veuve truly isn't the worst deal, as it would be even more if we were at a restaurant. We took silly photos with the giant bottle, did multiple rounds of cheers, and just had a wonderfully, silly time up with friends. Naturally, after a while I had to pee, so Christien, Ray, Gen, Sarah, and I did a nice run down East Bowl, Spruce, and Juniper. I chose East Bowl, which is a blue, because it's significantly wider than the other trails in the area, which I thought would be better for them to practice traversing and not gaining speed... I was wrong! I did feel bad, but it was in good intention! He also felt bad and encouraged us to keep going, but I was firm about not being the guy who skis off and reminded him that my friends and I are truly happy to ski greens all day - it's the fun part about skiing with friends! Quality of life improved once we were back on Spruce and Juniper, with a few more beautiful falls when the trail gained pitch. We did our chores down low, and got back on the Triple for another stop at the cabin around 3:30pm!
We all yapped and enjoyed each other's company for the last half hour of the day and finally remembered to take a full group noggin photo before skiing down just after lifts stopped at 4:00pm (patrol was giving us the eyes). We talked about meeting at the "BLACK" sign at the base for a group photo afterwards, but it would turn out that Christien and I would take too long, so we got one of just the two of us. The run down was a bit tumultuous, mostly for him - I had a great time! I could tell that he was getting frustrated with falling, which got a little worse when a patroller caught up to us during his sweep while we were trying to get his ski back on on a steeper spot [of the green run] (he was absolutely lovely and kind and equally gave Christien some points and just chit chatted with me). I did my best to offer a mix of support and tips and reassurance, and I might have done a halfway decent job, but all was good once we made it back down.
We took a few photos just the two of us outside, and then made our way inside to meet the rest of the crew for chorus and yapping. We all decided to go to the Red Fox on the way home, which was just delightful! He apologized to me for being ornery (which is a word I had never heard before) and I promised that he was not coming off that way at all. I truly had such a wonderful day with him and my friends, and he wants to ski again! Probably not this season just because of work, timing, and spring, but he said he's definitely interested. A win!
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