The month of April is usually busy for me, and 4/14 was about the only day I'll have free of family/friend obligations. I went into the month thinking that if 4/14 was going to be really good, I might jump on it. But it would have to be really good.
Suffice to say, 3 feet (ish) in 7 days at Stowe certainly qualified. Figuring that Stowe would receive wrap around or instability snows after the organized storm on Thursday, I opted to stay with my buddy up at Stowe on Friday nite, eschewing the more convenient (from my perspective in the Upper Valley) lure of Killington, which ain't having a bad Spring either (I believe K-Mart is reporting their greatest snow totals from Mar 1 onward, in their history).
It did indeed keep snowing at Stowe; they reported 4" - 7" on sat morning, and that was right on. Just as importantly, the Gondi was re-opened, meaning the upper sections of that side of Mansfield would have gone untouched for 5 days (the lower halves of Perry Merrill and Gondolier can be accessed from the Rimrock cutover).
The early morning runs were kind of surreal; either deep, dense powder on the ungroomed stuff (i.e National, off the quad side), or about 3-4" new on top of groomed terrain, like Sunrise, and that stuff was a blast; you could float on top of the dense, new pow, as if you were skiing or riding on a big, white, down comforter. The Greatest April Ever continues!
Similar pleasures were available on the Gondi side once it opened at 8:30. Gondolier offered the same Tempurpedic mattress-type skiing with new snow on top of groomed snow (positively delightful), while the woods off Chinclip were waaaaay deep with snow. I followed both snowboarders and telemarkers to try to ensure that i didn't go out too far, and end up on the Bench amd possibly have to kill valuable time walking back to the resort. Everyone had a "can you believe this" look on their face, accompanyed by a slop-eating grin and/or a hoop & hooler.
Sure, the stuff was dense, and you almost didn't want to get in too deep because the pow wanted to grab you if did (great day for a snowboard or similar fat planks to stay on top), but you can't complain abot pow in mid-Aprril. You can't do it. You just take the ball & run with it, for as long as your legs or your schedule will allow.
About 11 I headed back over to the Quad for some other glade runs, including Nosedive, Tres Amigos and Christy's (did I mention how snow there is on the hill?). After that I needed a quick lunch break. The Summit House was definitely unprepared for the lunch rush, but honestly, who would have thought that the weekend after Easter would be a powder weekend? As an employee taking some Gondi runs told me, "The Chileans have gone home". There just aren't enough employees around, relative to the amazing snow totals and heightened interest. That's one of the reasons that Spruce was not open, despite ample snow.
I took it a little easier after lunch, hitting several cruisers, which at this point were a decent workout with all the big piles of new, dense snow. I even took some runs off the triple to get at the fresh snow on lower elevation trails like lower Standard, Tyro, and Gulch.
The only slight disappointment was that the planned 2 PM service / moment of silence / gathering at the Mountain Chapel (part of the "Step It Up" movement to protest inaction on climate change) appeared to be scrapped. I was at the chapel at 2 PM, but I was the only one. :?
I meekly wrote "step it up" in a few places near the chapel. Since I know it's been snowing all morning on the hill, my writing is now resting comfortably under some new snow. Fine by me :lol:
That may be it for me for the year (I'm booked next wknd), but then again, Stowe will apparently be staying open until at least 4/29, so I can't say that for sure! But if yesterday was it for me, I'd have to say it was probably the most memorable April ski day I've ever had.
Suffice to say, 3 feet (ish) in 7 days at Stowe certainly qualified. Figuring that Stowe would receive wrap around or instability snows after the organized storm on Thursday, I opted to stay with my buddy up at Stowe on Friday nite, eschewing the more convenient (from my perspective in the Upper Valley) lure of Killington, which ain't having a bad Spring either (I believe K-Mart is reporting their greatest snow totals from Mar 1 onward, in their history).
It did indeed keep snowing at Stowe; they reported 4" - 7" on sat morning, and that was right on. Just as importantly, the Gondi was re-opened, meaning the upper sections of that side of Mansfield would have gone untouched for 5 days (the lower halves of Perry Merrill and Gondolier can be accessed from the Rimrock cutover).
The early morning runs were kind of surreal; either deep, dense powder on the ungroomed stuff (i.e National, off the quad side), or about 3-4" new on top of groomed terrain, like Sunrise, and that stuff was a blast; you could float on top of the dense, new pow, as if you were skiing or riding on a big, white, down comforter. The Greatest April Ever continues!
Similar pleasures were available on the Gondi side once it opened at 8:30. Gondolier offered the same Tempurpedic mattress-type skiing with new snow on top of groomed snow (positively delightful), while the woods off Chinclip were waaaaay deep with snow. I followed both snowboarders and telemarkers to try to ensure that i didn't go out too far, and end up on the Bench amd possibly have to kill valuable time walking back to the resort. Everyone had a "can you believe this" look on their face, accompanyed by a slop-eating grin and/or a hoop & hooler.
Sure, the stuff was dense, and you almost didn't want to get in too deep because the pow wanted to grab you if did (great day for a snowboard or similar fat planks to stay on top), but you can't complain abot pow in mid-Aprril. You can't do it. You just take the ball & run with it, for as long as your legs or your schedule will allow.
About 11 I headed back over to the Quad for some other glade runs, including Nosedive, Tres Amigos and Christy's (did I mention how snow there is on the hill?). After that I needed a quick lunch break. The Summit House was definitely unprepared for the lunch rush, but honestly, who would have thought that the weekend after Easter would be a powder weekend? As an employee taking some Gondi runs told me, "The Chileans have gone home". There just aren't enough employees around, relative to the amazing snow totals and heightened interest. That's one of the reasons that Spruce was not open, despite ample snow.
I took it a little easier after lunch, hitting several cruisers, which at this point were a decent workout with all the big piles of new, dense snow. I even took some runs off the triple to get at the fresh snow on lower elevation trails like lower Standard, Tyro, and Gulch.
The only slight disappointment was that the planned 2 PM service / moment of silence / gathering at the Mountain Chapel (part of the "Step It Up" movement to protest inaction on climate change) appeared to be scrapped. I was at the chapel at 2 PM, but I was the only one. :?
I meekly wrote "step it up" in a few places near the chapel. Since I know it's been snowing all morning on the hill, my writing is now resting comfortably under some new snow. Fine by me :lol:
That may be it for me for the year (I'm booked next wknd), but then again, Stowe will apparently be staying open until at least 4/29, so I can't say that for sure! But if yesterday was it for me, I'd have to say it was probably the most memorable April ski day I've ever had.
