Bolton Valley, VT 3/30/2008

[J.Spin]

Pictures and video are also available through the link at the end of the report.

In terms of new snowfall at the end of March, we’d had a small to medium-sized system come through on Friday the 28th to touch our area with 4 to 6 inches of new snow from the valleys to the mountains. Even though we hadn’t received a ton of snow, I’d gotten good mileage out of it with an outing on Friday morning, another on Saturday morning with Ty, and then some turns up at my cousin Steve’s sugarbush in Barton on Saturday afternoon. Throughout that time, the weather had remained in winter mode with many locations even in the valleys not getting out of the 20s F, but by Sunday it looked like we were going to make a quick switch to spring.

Sunday did start out cold however, with a morning low temperature of 8.6 F recorded at our house in Waterbury (495’). With such a cold start, we decided to let things warm up and hit the mountain in the afternoon, so E went to work in the morning to get some things done. The sky was absolutely clear and blue, and we knew that with Bolton’s western exposure, the afternoon sun would likely make it the best part of the day. By about 2:00 P.M. when we were heading out to ski, the temperature had reached 38 F at the house (495’) and up in the Bolton Valley Village (2,150’) it was a few degrees colder in the mid 30s F. We probably would have gone to the Timberline area for turns, but the website indicated that they had stopped running the lift for the season. It was a bit of a shame, because they still had wall to wall coverage on all the trails, even down to the Timberline base area elevation (~1,550’). It was good news for those wanting to earn turns at Timberline though, since the only competition for powder was other backcountry skiers. As we passed by Timberline on our way up to the main base, we could see that the trails still held various areas of untracked snow.

Up in the village people were already well into spring mode, with lots of folks out on the back decks of the lodge, and more visitors expanding out onto the area below. We kicked off our afternoon with a ride up the Snowflake lift and a run through the Sprig O’ Pine area. I managed Dylan with his leash, and with the softer spring snow on the trails combined with the way he was handling it, I suspected we’d let him make some turns off the leash before the afternoon was over. We chose the Mid Mountain chair for our next run, with Ty and E taking a run down the steeper slopes of Beech Seal while I took Dylan around on Bear Run and below the Kid’s Terrain Park. It took a bit of vocalization to all meet up back on the lower part of Beech Seal since we weren’t using the radios, but we all managed to finish the run together. We rode the Mid Mountain lift again, and this time E and Ty checked out what the Forest terrain had to offer. Dylan and I did our same route from the previous run, but Dylan had been doing so well that I let him ski the entire middle part of the run off the leash by himself. That was a great step in his skiing progression, and it certainly marked some of the longest and steepest terrain that he’d skied on his own. Unfortunately I didn’t manage to get any video there, but we did capture a couple clips of him down near the bottom of Beech Seal. With Dylan off the leash and without poles, he was a bit slow to move around in the flatter areas around the lift loading stations. Ty offered to help pull him around as we were heading toward the lodge for lunch, which was really fun to see and made for a fun photo-op.

[video]http://www.vimeo.com/1963999[/video]

By the time we stopped for lunch at around 3:30 P.M or so, the outdoor revelry was starting to decrease with the end of the day. At 3:55 P.M. I mentioned to Ty that we should get on the Vista Quad for one more long run before the lift closed, but he really wanted to get back on the Mid Mountain chair so we did that. I’d tried to tell him about the strategy of catching a long run because the day was almost over, and that from the Vista we could catch everything that the Mid Mountain chair offered, but he’d held firm. We took a run through the Forest, which held some neat terrain and snow conditions. The main line through the trees was like a big half pipe with everyone sculpting the softer snow from their turns. I checked on the consistency of the snow in the tighter lines off to the sides, and was amazed to find that what wasn’t directly in the sun was still powder. Apparently temperatures out of the sun just weren’t warm enough to transform the snow, even on the lower half of the mountain. In areas that had seen sun, the snow was a pleasant mixture of soft packed powder and a few areas of corn, but apparently the combination of sun and temperature wasn’t enough to turn really transform everything. E and Dylan had come around to meet Ty and me at the top of the Kid’s terrain park, and we all skied that together to finish off the descent.

By the end of that run it was after 4:00 P.M., but we were surprised to find that the mountain was extending the Snowflake Lift’s operation until 4:30 P.M., so we decided to catch another run and hit part of the smaller terrain park under the lift. The afternoon sun was still shining brightly and it was hard to pull ourselves away from the trails, but the lift was eventually going to close and we needed to get the boys home. My Suunto altimeter had recorded 5 runs for 1,549’ of descent that afternoon, although once again I don’t seem to have the data from my Avocet altimeter for comparison.

Pictures and video from the day are also available at:

http://www.JandEproductions.com/2008/30MAR08.html

J.Spin

 

[Tony Crocker]

Nice video of Dylan. In the first part he was moving at a pretty good clip and wondered how he would slow down since he didn't appear to be wedging. It looked like the terrain eventually flattened out. Second part you could see a slight wedge and a bit of turning.

I figure Ty would be comfortable with poles at this point. Is he doing any pole planting with his turns?

 

[Harvey]

Jspin - I was looking through Bolton's website...looks like a very extensive and nice nordic trail system. I had no idea. I couldn't find an estimate of how much is there, but it looks like a lot, with lots of vertical.

Do you more often use telegear or AT out there? Your avatar looks like tele to me.

 

[J.Spin]

I figure Ty would be comfortable with poles at this point. Is he doing any pole planting with his turns?

He is doing some, but not too much yet unless I remind him of it. The topic of Ty's poles came up in a thread on SkiVT-L with regard to the March 29th image below. Ty is definitely making strides in his body positioning, but I'd like him to get his arms and poles forward with greater consistency. Ty and I actually talked about it this week when we were watching some ski videos of him from last season, and I pointed out where his weight was clearly too far back. He could tell from the video, and he's actually somewhat concious of the fact that his arms and weight lapse when he's not really thinking about them. He told me that he just sort of forgets about them, so he just needs to get those aspects more engrained. At the end of March of last season he'd only been using poles consistently for a month or two, so I think it's going to take some time. Ty's feet are big enough now to fit into Telemark boots, so we got him a pair and he'll be able to do some Telemark skiing this season. If he has fun with it and wants to work on it that should give him an additional method to refine his ski balance.

-J

 

[Tony Crocker]

Most skiers have trouble when they start trying to pole plant, with the tendency to plant too far back. Adam got it right almost immediately when I first suggested he try it on Memorial Day 1991 at age 6 1/2. This of course implies that I should have mentioned it earlier. Also he was skiing spring bumps on the face of 3 at Mammoth, and bumps provide immediate feedback if your timing is off (joegm would approve).

Teles by age 6? First time I've heard of that. I'm skeptical, but JSpin has consistently raised the bar in terms of kids' instruction.

 

[Harvey]

Teles by age 6? First time I've heard of that. I'm skeptical, but JSpin has consistently raised the bar in terms of kids' instruction.

I'm told Chinese is hard to learn, but they've got 2 year olds doing it.

I think learning to use telemark gear at age 6 is probably no harder than learning at 40. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Ty is better than I am now by age 10.

 

[J.Spin]

Jspin - I was looking through Bolton's website...looks like a very extensive and nice nordic trail system. I had no idea. I couldn't find an estimate of how much is there, but it looks like a lot…

Bolton definitely has a huge Nordic network. Most of the sites with information about the network, including Bolton’s own website, indicate 100 km or so. I think the total number of additional accessible kilometers may be tough to get a handle on because beyond their main assortment of trails there are additional backcountry trails like the Woodward Trail, routes that connect to other networks such as the Bolton-Trapp trail to Stowe, snowmobile trails, logging roads, Bolton’s alpine trails, as well as the Catamount and Long Trails that both run through Bolton’s network. They have a really nice topographic trail map of their Nordic network and the surrounding area, which shows the whole village, the alpine network, and even the chair lifts so you can easily see which ones help you access the various backcountry trails. I carry a copy of the Nordic map with me in my pack along with the usual alpine trail map because it’s so useful. I’ve inserted a copy of the map below for a general view, but you can open a full size one by clicking here for a really nice level of detail. I’ve got Bolton’s Alpine/Nordic Combo Pass, which gives you unlimited use of both trail networks for a small additional fee over the usual alpine pass. You’re really supposed to have a combo pass if you’re going to use both trail networks, although I’m sure many alpine skiers find their way over onto the Nordic network without them because the resort has a new sign posted to indicate that you need to have a Nordic pass to be on the network.

…with lots of vertical.

There is a lot of vertical there; it’s probably the most vertical Nordic network I’ve ever encountered. If you climb all the way up from the Winooski Valley using sections 21 and 22 of the Catamount Trail, you’re looking at an elevation gain of over 3,000 feet. Even sticking to just the main trails of the network you can still climb over 2,000 feet, and even that is a lot for a Nordic area. I can remember back when I was kid of just 10 years old or so, even before I’d put on alpine skis for the first time, hitting Bolton’s Nordic network with my friend Sean on our cross country skis and just going up and up and up for what felt like forever. We always liked to do that at any Nordic area, but at Bolton it was brought to another level. I know of at least one time when we climbed way up, connected to the alpine network, and descended there. I’m amazed that we were even able to descend the pitch of the alpine trails on edgeless skis, but I’d never even used metal edges yet back then and I was probably much more comfortable without them at that point than I would be now. I’ve got to say that modern Telemark gear with its relative light weight and stability is a really sweet option for those that want to mix it up on both of Bolton’s networks.

Do you more often use telegear or AT out there? Your avatar looks like tele to me.

So far I’ve used my alpine gear with alpine trekkers for most days, but I expect I’ll be upping the percentage of time that I’m on my Telemark gear now that I’ve logged more hours this past season and enhanced my comfort level on my Tele skis. In my Avatar image I’m actually on my fat skis with alpine bindings, it’s an image from our Bone Mountain outing where we all used alpine trekkers. Many people don’t like the alpine trekker/alpine binding setup because it can be somewhat heavy compared to other backcountry options, but it’s a no brainer if you have a great pair of skis that you want to use for the backcountry and they have alpine bindings on them. Instead of laying down a grand or two for an AT setup, you can spend $75 for a pair of used trekkers, get yourself a pair of skins (or use ones you already have) and bingo you’re skinning in the backcountry. I may get some AT gear at some point in the future, but I’m in no rush to do so having both my trekkers and my Telemark gear. I’ve enjoyed waiting and watching the evolution of all the AT stuff from the sidelines as the companies work all the wrinkles out of it. According to the rules for Bolton’s Nordic network, you’re supposed to have free-heel equipment when you’re on it (which could be Nordic skis, Telemark skis, alpine touring gear, alpine trekkers, perhaps even splitboards, etc.), although I have seen skiers with regular alpine skis, and even snowboarders accessing it from the upper elevations. I’m not sure if the resort wants to simply reduce traffic from the alpine skiers and boarders on the Nordic trails, but I’m sure they want to eliminate the post-holing that alpine skiers and snowboarders do if they simply hike in their boots and carry their skis or boards. The post holes can really ruin the trail for everyone else and they actually can become dangerous in some instances.

-J

 

[Admin]

There's absolutely no reason to spend a grand or two on AT gear with swaps, sales, discounts, etc. I've been on AT gear for some years now, starting with Fritschis on the skivt-l flagship ski, Volkl Explosiv, before transitioning to Silvretta Pures on both my Movement Goliaths and G3 Reverends. After getting into the game with Garmont Adrenalins I'm on Garmont Endorphins as of last season.

A 7 year-old resort feature here extensively includes Bolton's backcountry story from Jim Bauman's perspective:

http://www.firsttracksonline.com/index. ... le&sid=179

 

[J.Spin]

Teles by age 6? First time I've heard of that. I'm skeptical, but JSpin has consistently raised the bar in terms of kids' instruction.

Actually, young kids learning to Telemark ski isn’t all that uncommon now. Lots of ski areas have Telemark lessons, clinics, camps etc. for children, and it’s amazing how many resorts come up as hits under this topic if you do a Google search. I’m not sure at what age the various ski areas start their Telemark programs, but Mad River Glen starts their Telemark-specific lessons at age six, so there are probably others in this range. Jim Clapp from SkiVT-L started his son Justin on Telemark skis at age 5, and I haven’t skied with Justin personally, but as of age 8 earlier this year it sounded like he was ripping it up pretty well on the Teles. Over the past couple of seasons while I’ve been surfing the net learning about the kid’s Telemark gear options, I’ve found that there are a lot of parents out there starting younger kids on Telemark gear.

It sounded like Jim had a bit of a tough time piecing together used Telemark gear for his son, and I think that has probably been one of the biggest hurdles in terms of getting kids on Telemark gear in the past unless you wanted to rig something up with Nordic or touring gear. Now there’s enough kid-specific, modern Telemark gear out there to make it easier. You’re still not likely to find much used Telemark equipment for kids at swaps, but I’ve certainly seen it available online. The easiest ways to get some modern kid’s Tele gear still seem to be buying it new or leasing it. When we were at one of the local skis swaps a couple of weeks back, I spoke with a guy from the Nordic Barn in Stowe, and they run season leases on kid’s Telemark gear just like many shops do with alpine gear. He didn’t find it all that unusual that we were getting Telemark gear for Ty, and he was very helpful in pointing out that at this age you typically don’t even need to worry about a full blown cable binding because the kids are so light. He said a three-pin binding in the front would be enough. Unless one gets a really good deal on some equipment, he also said that leasing was definitely the way to go with kid’s Telemark stuff because the Telemark boots are substantially more expensive than what you can find in alpine boots. Fortunately I’ve been watching the web for the past couple of seasons and found a half price sale on some Garmont G-Rex boots in Ty’s size. I’d been keeping my eye on a couple of Garmont’s other models of kid’s Telemark boots in the past, but those seem to have been replaced by the G-Rex.

We’ll see how Ty takes to the Telemark gear and technique, but he’s been asking about it for a season or two so it was nice that he was finally big enough to get into some modern boots this season. One of the potential benefits of getting Ty on Teles is that he’ll be able to skin if he wants to instead of having to hike in his skis boots the way he had to for all our outings at the end of last season. There are only so many options for kids his age to get skinning, since his bindings are too small for alpine trekkers and I’m not sure how small they go in AT bindings. I guess the other options would again be some sort of Nordic or touring stuff on alpine skis. In any event, having the gear will let Ty (and hopefully Dylan) try out Telemark skiing when he wants to, and even if he decides that he doesn’t like it he can ski them as another set of alpines with free heels like many people seem to do anyway. I figure he’s in his fifth season on skis now, and even if he’s not a rock solid expert on his alpines yet, he’s certainly got enough on-mountain experience to explore other techniques. He actually asks about snowboarding too (probably even more than Telemark), but I’d certainly like to go the route of enhancing his mobility around the mountain, not limiting it at this point.

-J

 

[Tony Crocker]

Insightful comments about teles, just goes to show how the local culture can be such a strong influence. I would assume that strength/stamina of the deep knee bends would be an issue with young kids, but maybe it's offset by light weight and low center of gravity.

The greater balance required on one edge has led to conventional wisdom that snowboarding also should be delayed to older age kids. But in SoCal, where many kids are playing around with skateboards from age 4, it may not be such a problem for a coordinated 5 or 6 year old with that background to snowboard. Adam first snowboarded at 9 (which was very young way back then) but did not try teles until 17.

Given his background and coordination, Ty seems likely to do OK on either tele or snowboard this coming season. It will be interesting to see what his preference is as he gets older.