My Retirement Year: An Ongoing Skiing TR

[MyNameIsAugustWest]

Day 82: Mt. Sunapee, NH (Epic pass)

Whilst the northern spine of the greens got a fair helping of snow, down south, we got a dusting. Trying to stay close to home for a few days before I let the cat out of the bag about my Maine plans...so I opted for Sunapee today.

The good: lots of trails open with some adventure skiing in spots to get around grass, mud, boulders, etc. Fun stuff.

The not so good: After yesterday's piss storm and an overnight in the low 20s, everything was pretty locked up. It was bluebird

but there was an annoying 10-15mph breeze that was coming straight from Hudson Bay. I dressed for 40 so I mostly froze my butt off.

Always like this view of the region's more popular terrain feature


Savemeasammy texted me and asked about moguls that were skiable. This is what I saw

Suncupped ice bumps with maybe 1.45" of snow between them. I opted to go around.

If this was Magic, they'd stay open for another coupla weeks but since this is now owned by Fail, they're closing tomorrow with more than 20 skiable trails.

[singlecross]

C’mon over! Saddleback will be closing on the 16th… I’ll be there this Tuesday. Looks like the best day for tanning. I’ve got a free place for you to stay in Farmington starting Monday night for a couple nights if you wish.

[MyNameIsAugustWest]

Day 83: Okemo, VT (Epic pass)

With the iffy weather forecast, I decided to stay close to home today. I flipped a coin between Stratton and Okemo and Okemo won.

Weather was better than forecast when I arrived.


Okemo claimed to have pulled a double shift last night to groom and the snow conditions supported that claim. Soft, moveable snow everywhere I skied. I took the opportunity to ski trails that were not open pre-Christmas (last time I skied here) and hit several laps on the South Face and Jackson Gore. While the groomers couldn't create terrain that does not exist at this low intermediate mountain, skiing fast and reacting to unmarked hazards kept it interesting. Overall the coverage was good but every now and then I'd come across a rather large rounded boulder top in the middle of the trails. Fun times.


The weather stayed good all morning with high clouds that filtered the sun but didn't blot it out; visibility was great. Snow started to mank out shortly after noon and I took that as my signal to save my knee for the push to 100.

[MyNameIsAugustWest]

Day 84: Stratton, VT (IKON Pass)

We got a dusting of snow at the base of Magic last night and Stratton was reporting 1.5". Their trail count was way below Okemo's but I didn't want to go back to Okemo because the terrain there is so low angle.

Got to Stratton at the crack of 10 and there were very few cars in the lot...not surprising for a Monday in April. Rode up the slowest gondola in the modern world with 3 other guys and they reported pockets of up to 6" of new snow. I trailed them down Tamarack and found untracked (really about 3") about halfway down the upper part. Skied really sweet.

Coverage at Stratton is more wall-to-wall than Okemo was


Tracks to provide evidence of the new snow...


Bromley (aka the Sun Mountain) closed yesterday. The coverage looks good because of the 2-3" of new snow but I saw it a few days ago and everything was pretty brown with a lot of dirt and grass showing through


By around 1:00 it was getting pretty manky so I headed to Grizzly's and had a beer with my favorite bartender (he used to run F&B at Magic). Looks like we're skiing together tomorrow at Stratton and maybe Sugarbush on Friday.

Good times.

[kokomas]

Day 84: Stratton, VT (IKON Pass)

We got a dusting of snow at the base of Magic last night and Stratton was reporting 1.5". Their trail count was way below Okemo's but I didn't want to go back to Okemo because the terrain there is so low angle.

Got to Stratton at the crack of 10 and there were very few cars in the lot...not surprising for a Monday in April. Rode up the slowest gondola in the modern world with 3 other guys and they reported pockets of up to 6" of new snow. I trailed them down Tamarack and found untracked (really about 3") about halfway down the upper part. Skied really sweet.

Coverage at Stratton is more wall-to-wall than Okemo was


Tracks to provide evidence of the new snow...


Bromley (aka the Sun Mountain) closed yesterday. The coverage looks good because of the 2-3" of new snow but I saw it a few days ago and everything was pretty brown with a lot of dirt and grass showing through


By around 1:00 it was getting pretty manky so I headed to Grizzly's and had a beer with my favorite bartender (he used to run F&B at Magic). Looks like we're skiing together tomorrow at Stratton and maybe Sugarbush on Friday.

Good times.

Keep it going!

Sent from my Pixel 5a using Tapatalk

[petey_]

Hoping you get to 100 but your old lady is more important. Best wishes and thanks for the entertainment on your endeavor.

[savemeasammy]

Savemeasammy texted me and asked about moguls that were skiable. This is what I saw

Suncupped ice bumps with maybe 1.45" of snow between them. I opted to go around.

That looks like some classic New England mogul skiing right there. Sorry I missed it! [emoji23]


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[MyNameIsAugustWest]

Day 85: Stratton, VT (Ikon Pass)

The day started out grey but improved as time went on.


We (bartender at Grizzly's and a good friend from Magic) stashed a backpack of beers at the closed mid-mountain lodge and then skied every trail on the upper mountain that was open. When we finally got to World Cup, we had to go back for seconds...and thirds. Steep pitch, peel-away corn. What's not to like? Standard (trail under the gondi) was also superb and nobody skiing it. Hit some big speeds there.

They need to do some snow farming to stay open past this weekend with the hot piss event happening tomorrow and Thursday. I hope they do because the trails are skiing really nice right now and it's only 22 minutes from mi Casa.

Formulating plans for Loon next week (Tue/Wed) and then Sugarloaf the following week (18/19). Hoping to meet up with some other mags if anybody is around and still skiing. Counting on Ticketchecker for the 'loaf days. Maybe Singlecross as well?

[singlecross]

I should be back in Maine by the 18th… I’m driving back from Upstate NY on the 15th… in a ‘85 Vanagon that I bought. Could take a few days! Thinking about a ski day somewhere in VT/NH on the 16th… Ideas welcome for a Mag meetup. Would love to help get MNIAW closer to 100!

[MyNameIsAugustWest]

I should be back in Maine by the 18th… I’m driving back from Upstate NY on the 15th… in a ‘85 Vanagon that I bought. Could take a few days! Thinking about a ski day somewhere in VT/NH on the 16th… Ideas welcome for a Mag meetup. Would love to help get MNIAW closer to 100!

4/17 is projected closing date for most places still open (except Sugarbush and Killington). Jay is selling tickets through the 24th so I guess that's their target. For the most trails, I'm going to suggest Killington on the 16th. I'll text VT-F, Peruvian, and Fussy D to see if they want to come south to join us. Biggins might also be in and Goniff should be back from Utah (I think he's back today but you never know with him; it's snowing oot dere). Other possibilities: savemeasammy, powbmps, strawjack, and buttahflake (NH mags).

[jhyatt]

This weekend is the final weekend for Cannon. I will not be there but FYI.
Loon should still be pretty good. I think it's splash pond this weekend.
The Thai place in Lincoln recommend.

[ticketchecker]

I’m driving back from Upstate NY on the 15th… in a ‘85 Vanagon that I bought.

What could go wrong?

Loaf is selling tickets through May 1, if we don’t make it those purchased will be refunded.




Sent from the Utility Muffin Research Kitchen

[MyNameIsAugustWest]

Day 86: Okemo, VT (Epic pass)

Went back to Okemo today to keep things interesting. As you can see from the pics, they don't have near as much snow on the ground as Stratton does...




But what they do have, they are making very enjoyable. It didn't go below freezing last night but the groomers continued to till up the glacier of manmade and left 1-1.5" of soft, movable "snow". Laid trenches for about 2 hours as there was nobody there today. Once all the corduroy was slashed up, it started to get manky so I called it.

Cross-posted the potential mini at Killington on 4/16 to the ECRC thread....

[AmmergauerTele]

This thread makes me happy! When I lived in Germany for a few years I got 100+ on skis for my first and only time - still look back on it happily.

[slatham]

Day 85: Stratton, VT (Ikon Pass)

The day started out grey but improved as time went on.


We (bartender at Grizzly's and a good friend from Magic) stashed a backpack of beers at the closed mid-mountain lodge and then skied every trail on the upper mountain that was open. When we finally got to World Cup, we had to go back for seconds...and thirds. Steep pitch, peel-away corn. What's not to like? Standard (trail under the gondi) was also superb and nobody skiing it. Hit some big speeds there.

They need to do some snow farming to stay open past this weekend with the hot piss event happening tomorrow and Thursday. I hope they do because the trails are skiing really nice right now and it's only 22 minutes from mi Casa.

Formulating plans for Loon next week (Tue/Wed) and then Sugarloaf the following week (18/19). Hoping to meet up with some other mags if anybody is around and still skiing. Counting on Ticketchecker for the 'loaf days. Maybe Singlecross as well?

Hoping Stratton can keep it together after the non-frozen today and tomorrow (at least the temps on mountain are not blowtorch). I just might make a rare SoVT cameo and get over there this weekend or early next week. Maybe hit Killington too.

[MyNameIsAugustWest]

This thread makes me happy! When I lived in Germany for a few years I got 100+ on skis for my first and only time - still look back on it happily.

Nice! I lived near Nuernberg and could day trip to the Arlberg and Tirol resorts. Got in close to 50 one year skiing only weekends and US holidays. Wife and kids spent that winter in the states.

Hoping Stratton can keep it together after the non-frozen today and tomorrow (at least the temps on mountain are not blowtorch). I just might make a rare SoVT cameo and get over there this weekend or early next week. Maybe hit Killington too.

Not raining too hard here today and it is cold...wind seems to be out of the north. Don't think this will be a huge setback. I'll PM you my digits and maybe we can ski more than a 1/4 run this time.

[garyfromterrace]

Go mniaw!

[MyNameIsAugustWest]

Day 87: Sugarbush, VT (IKON pass)

My VT neighbor BH and I headed north to get in a day with VT-F at his home hill. It was still drizzly when we left but not outright pouring (like yesterday) so we were optimistic. We were catching up and I totally missed the turn to stay on 100 so we ended up in Bethel and had to make our way over the eastern spine back to Rochester...minor setback.

Sugarbush doesn't open until 10 on weekdays once DST kicks in; we got there at about 9:45 and booted up. Lots of ice on the trees as we headed up the access road but temps were already hitting 40*.


VT-F was on his way but BH and I got a lap in before he arrived. Stein's is Sugarbush's signature run and it delivered soft snow goodness along with VW bug-sized bumps to play on.


We linked up with VT-F

and proceeded to lay trenches in the creamy soft corduroy the grooming team had laid down.

Only downside was the top of Lincoln Peak was an icy mess and the Ski Patrol didn't understand that we were the best skiers on the mountain

We would have gone but they wouldn't let us load that lift...

Tomorrow is Spring Fling at the 'bush and we watched them building the pond skim pool over a beer.


Overall, a fun day and always good to ski with VT-F.

[MyNameIsAugustWest]

Day 88: Stratton, VT (Ikon pass)

After looking at the weather report, today did not look promising. Rain showers all day in Londonderry (VT). Neighbor BH won't be back for a coupla weeks and today was likely his last chance to ski; he's selling his house in NJ and moving to Magic full-time soon so they're moving a lot of stuff around.

It was sprinkling when we got to Stratton and the clouds had obscured the top of the mountain. The gondi was running so at least we had a refuge for the rides up...


As we ascended, the drizzle turned to....SNOW!


When we offloaded the gondi we found about 1.5" of snow. It wasn't blower but it also was not liquid. In DJ's words, titttaaaayyzzz!


Not surprisingly, there was nobody there today. Fools! We did a few laps off the Ursa 6-pack but we were getting pretty wet so we started doing laps on the gondi. Lots of fresh tracks in the accumulating glop. The carved bear seemed bemused at this late season weather event


Proof of accumulating snow...


It wasn't as good as a Targhee pow day but what we got today was unexpectedly good. Way better than the weather report predicted.

[Peruvian]

Tickling the ivories on day 88!

[jhyatt]

Day 87: Sugarbush, VT (IKON pass)


Tomorrow is Spring Fling at the 'bush and we watched them building the pond skim pool over a beer.


Overall, a fun day and always good to ski with VT-F.

Is that the safety boat??

[Djongo Unchained]

Hell yeah man, keep it going! Almost there...anyone can ski a hundo in a fat season. Getting them all in a skinny season is that much more of an accomplishment. You're gonna do it. I have faith.

(FWIW, the village was a screaching teflon surface of hardpack today. Looks better there.)

[MyNameIsAugustWest]

Day 89: Stratton, VT (Ikon pass)

After the snow and marginally freezing temps yesterday, it turned decidedly colder overnight so I decided to wait until 10:00 to head out to Stratton today. I didn't wait long enough...


Linked up with Cabinfever and a bunch of his friends and we headed up just before 10. As you can see from the pic above, there was nobody there today (again). A friend who works at Stratton said that Alterra will actually allocate upgrade money based on the length of their season so Stratton is definitely staying open later than is normal for them.

Top of the mountain was locked up like January but the lower mountain was already softening. The problem is, the lower 1/3 of Stratton is annoyingly flat. So we dug in and skied a bunch of laps.

Forecast called for partly cloudy but nobody told the clouds about that...

Linked up with slatham at around 11 and we proceeded to find bone rattling trails all over Stratton. At around 1:00 my knee said, enough is enough.

Better than not skiing and linking up with friends and being outdoors is always fun.

Going to be at either Stratton or Okemo tomorrow (gametime decision) and then Loon on Tue and Wed if any NH or eastern MA mags want to join up.

[slatham]

Day 89: Stratton, VT (Ikon pass)

After the snow and marginally freezing temps yesterday, it turned decidedly colder overnight so I decided to wait until 10:00 to head out to Stratton today. I didn't wait long enough...


Linked up with Cabinfever and a bunch of his friends and we headed up just before 10. As you can see from the pic above, there was nobody there today (again). A friend who works at Stratton said that Alterra will actually allocate upgrade money based on the length of their season so Stratton is definitely staying open later than is normal for them.

Top of the mountain was locked up like January but the lower mountain was already softening. The problem is, the lower 1/3 of Stratton is annoyingly flat. So we dug in and skied a bunch of laps.

Forecast called for partly cloudy but nobody told the clouds about that...

Linked up with slatham at around 11 and we proceeded to find bone rattling trails all over Stratton. At around 1:00 my knee said, enough is enough.

Better than not skiing and linking up with friends and being outdoors is always fun.

Going to be at either Stratton or Okemo tomorrow (gametime decision) and then Loon on Tue and Wed if any NH or eastern MA mags want to join up.

Great to ski a few runs with you MNIAW, and meet Cabinfever and friends.

Good report. Snow a bit too frozen up high. Stratton got the order of operation wrong. They groomed, then it froze up. I prefer the snow set up, and THEN you groom.

Oh well, skiing is still fun regardless!

[MyNameIsAugustWest]

Day 90: Stratton, VT (Ikon pass)

What a DAY!


And nobody there...this pic was taken just before 10am


Linked up with some non-mag friends from Magic (CM and JF) and we found nothing but creamy goodness and peel-away corn.

Great views today also...High Peaks of the Adirondacks


And lots of trench laying in the perfect spring snow





Had to jet at noon so I could take our pup to the Vet. Off to Loon for tomorrow and Wednesday; probably back to Stratton on Friday and then the Killington mini on Saturday.

Maine (Sugarloaf) next Monday and Tuesday.