Mad River Glen, VT 1/26/00

<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>When it took me several minutes to dig my car out of the snow this morning, I figured the skiing at Mad River would be pretty good. And yep, I was right! The mountain was blanketed with a good foot to a foot and a half of snow, and it was just the right consistency for some sustained floating action. A few trails were showing some rocks and stumps, but in most places there was simply too much snow to hit bottom. <BR> <BR>Highlights included a run from the upper parking lot down an untracked Practice Slope (that lift didn't open until mid-day), a run down Fall Line late in the day with plenty of boot-deep powder still to be found, and a number of delightful woods runs. A tree tried to eat my ski and boot at one point, and I bashed my thumb after jumping off the little cliff on S-Turn, but it all seemed insignificant in the face of such monumental powder. It's about time winter arrived! <BR> <BR>It was still snowing when we left the mountain. Here in Middlebury it seems to have stopped, but who knows, the mountains could still be getting a few inches. And considering how much is already up there, I wouldn't hesitate to blow off work tomorrow either...