Stowe 2014-03-21

admafw

New member
Last day of a 6 day trip - seems like I'd saved the best for last. (planned - Ski & Ride with the Point day - 1/2 price lift ticket.) Driving up I95 from Magic the day before I could see Mt. Mansfield shrouded in snow in the distance. Stayed on the road close to the mountain (Northern Lights Lodge - excellent value/super friendly) - snow started there around 4 pm and got heavier overnight. Still snowing steady in the morning - report from the hill said 7-12" and I'll vouch for that!

Got to the hill late (8:30) and parked up by the gondola lodge as the main lot looked 2/3rds full. Turns out the gondola was on wind hold. Skated over to the main (Liftline) quad - first run was down a pretty crudded up Nosedive. Near the bottom I noticed a lineup starting at the gondola base - took a chance and decided to join the line. Sometimes the ski gods smile as in <5 minutes they allowed the line to start loading. Every car packed - even more so as they were forcing all the boards & super fat skis into the cabins due to wind gust worries. Lots of planning talk on the way up - the proper routes to link untracked honey holes. Since I was on mid-fats and skiing alone I was looking for untracked on-piste. 1st run - Gondolier - untracked up top - groomed up the middle but lots of fresh on either side. Really light & powdery snow. (3-5 " @Magic the day before had been wet & heavy.) Got fresh! Yee Hah!

gondolier20140321 (Large).jpg


2nd run down Chin Clip - tracked with some fresh lines in places - enough snow blown in that some of the big moguls turned out to be 2 small ones with drifts in between. Mid run vow to work harder on cardio for next season...

Chin Clip(Large).JPG


Amazing day - snow and wind filling in lines on the lower angled runs. The groomed steep stuff bumped up with soft bumps & crud over the existing base. Had planned to leave by 2pm to haul back home - worked out as the braced up knee started to stiffen each time up. Possibly the best conditions I've ever skied at Stowe with more snow called for in the next week - looks like it'll be a long spring season in North/Central Vermont!
 
I was taking advantage of "Ski & Ride with the Point" day - so it was $5 for the button/coupon book (I'd already used one of he coupons for 1/2 off at Sugarbush in January), $44 for lifts and $5 for the RFID "evolution" card. Thus, actual cost at the hill (with coupon) was $49.
 
jamesdeluxe":ol12kx0o said:
Looks great. I'm afraid to ask -- how much are lift tickets?
Single day adult, non-discounted, full-freight walk up rate: $98, but anyone who actually pays that is crazed.
http://www.stowe.com/ski-ride/lift/

For a comparative data point, the walk-up rate at Vail is $139, but again, there's no reason to actually pay that amount.
 
It's a promotion I've taken advantage of the last few years. It's even better if you combine it by getting signed up for the Ski NY mailing list (http://www.iskiny.com/) The last few years I've taken advantage of their "NY State Ski days" (usually the 3rd Thursday in Dec and he 2nd Thursday in Jan.) From my direction (Toronto) it means that I can ski Whiteface for $12 on a Thursday, then keep going into Vermont and ski whatever mountain is on for "Ski & Ride" at half price. For the last 2 years the 2nd Friday in January mountain has been Sugarbush. I'm hoping to luck out one of these days and catch Hickory NY open on the Saturday following. (Vermont weather observation - for both 2013 & 2014 the following Saturday has turned out to have a thaw/rain event -I have my fingers crossed for 2015...)
 
jamesdeluxe":3vywqbhb said:
That's a ton of driving. It's 5+ hours just from Toronto to Whiteface, right?

More like 6 hours by the time you cross the border and tank up, but then again it's relative...

In order to ski the tallest "mountain" in Ontario it's going to take me nearly 3 hrs driving for 700' vertical and no comparison regarding terrain. (Not to mention not having to put up with sharing lifts with a bunch of a$$hole condo-owning/Audi driving Toronto yuppies skiing poorly on $1400 platinum topped Volants while wearing $800 Descente jackets and chatting incessantly with their brokers/lawyers/EA's on their phones.)

Heading to Whiteface, once I cross the border, I'm immediately saving 25% on gas costs. My $1.26/litre @ home = $4.79/gal - yesterday on the native reserve east of Massena I paid $3.66/gal., even less in Vermont. (On the drive home I always make the pump guy bounce the car to make sure the tank is completely full.) For double the drive I get more than 4 times the vertical. I've got it pretty well timed - leaving home at 2 am gets me to the border @ Cornwall for 6 am and to the hill for 8. I typically spend the night in Plattsbugh (way cheaper than LP) and then by taking the ferry from Cumberland Head early the next morning, any resort in central Vermont is less than 2 hours away. No matter how bad the snow conditions in northern NY/VT, I guarantee you they will be worse in Ontario. I like steeps and bumps - there's just nothing in Ontario to compare to Upper Skyward, Castlerock, Outer Limits, Ovation, MRG, Starr, etc

On top of the lift ticket deals and better skiing the people are friendly, the beer is cheap (except for hostage pricing at WF) and the food portions are often ridiculously large. For me it's worth the extra effort...
 
Remember your posts from last year as had planned to use the Stowe deal with the radio station promotion but had so much powder locally decided to stay put . Another deal is Smugglers Notch where they have Canadian Specials on lift tickets. Jay peak offers discounts if you show up with any other areas seasons pass . Showed up with my Alta , Quebec pass :-D .
 
Admin":2wc26s71 said:
Nice to see the increasingly rare eastern post.

Thanks - I only post from the bigger mountains I get to. (So if you can use you clout as Admin to have resorts across North America sponsor junkets for me I'd me more than happy to post about it!)
 
admafw":1rfh8u55 said:
Admin":1rfh8u55 said:
Nice to see the increasingly rare eastern post.

Thanks - I only post from the bigger mountains I get to. (So if you can use you clout as Admin to have resorts across North America sponsor junkets for me I'd me more than happy to post about it!)

:lol:
 
Impeccable logic by admafw on choice of ski hills. It might even apply more to those ~3 hours closer to Whiteface/Vermont. :stir:
 
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