Pico, VT 1/25/00

<I>(Note from the Administrator: This report was originally posted on 1/26/00. Due to our move to new servers, the date and time attributed to this post is incorrect.)</I> <BR> <BR>We got to Pico early this morning, under grey skies, not expecting to see any snow until this afternoon. Our first run from the lower quad (the upper was not running today) revealed a trail surface on Expressway showing quite a bit of ice and lots of rutted and skied-off terrain. However, by 10 a.m., the wind kicked up, and a heavy snow squall hit the area. We skied for a couple of hours in a stinging, wind-blown blizzard which seemed to be laying down 1-1.5 inches of new snow per hour. At times, the ceiling dropped to near-zero visibility, and the snow continued to fall through lunch hour. By the time we finished up, there was at least 3 new inches on the lower mountain trails. We were kinda hoping the roads were sufficiently impassable to justify an overnight in Rutland but, alas, the bulk of the snowfall seemed to be hitting the mountains, with a lot less apparent in the valley. There were a lot more people at Pico this morning. In addition to the regulars and staff, there was a large group of women from New Jersey on a week-long ski club trip in the area. They picked Pico today based on predictions of heavy snowfall (to avoid driving any long distance to some of the other areas on their itinerary). Neat group of ladies of all ages - pretty good skiers, and lots of hootin 'n' hollerin on the slopes.