Mad River Glen, VT: 03/31/07

riverc0il

New member
Ski it while you can. It is hard to believe that just two weeks ago to the day I was skiing any line on the mountain I wanted with a foot of fresh for the taking. Everything on the mountain was open just two weeks ago, and I mean everything as in pick your line through the trees. Today? Not so much. Generally, I do not set myself up for disappointment this late in the season, but after such an epic March, I had expected slightly better coverage considering all the recent snow. But warmer temperatures and rain took their toll this past week and a half leaving not much snow, especially on the lower mountain.

Very cold last night which made for a late start today. My morning routine consisted of taking a lap, then relaxing in front of the Basebox for twenty minutes. Bumps in the sun on the upper mountain such as Quacky and Cat Bowl were ready by 10a-11a, but nothing really corned up well until noon time. Many trails required some side stepping or grass skiing depending on the pitch. I did a few killer grass skiing sections with style.

Generally stuck to the Sunnyside Double all day as my few runs off the SIngle were not so hot. Even when Cat Bowl corned up, there were no good options after completing Cat Bowl as Canyon only had snow in the shade and required side stepping and survival turns. Quacky was really nice and Panther skied well too. Slalom Hill had some fun soft bumps. and the "Brave World of Birdland" was an interesting adventure :D Waterfall held in there with a grass patch skiing entrance and of course Bunny was skiing surprisingly well from below Canyon to the SIngle.

If you are planning on Mad River tomorrow, I would suggest a late start. It should corn up earlier than today since tomorrow will be warmer and tonight shouldn't be as cold, but no need to start skiing before 10a the earliest. Stick with sunny and exposed slopes until noon time at the earliest and be prepared for a sidestep over grass on some slopes (though most open runs do not require heroics).

Today was my third day at Mad River this year which means I got my monies worth on my Mad Card. However, I have a work day ticket that may likely go to waste unless I ski on Saturday. Undecided how I will play next weekend depending on if the storm happens or not. It would be really nice to get another foot of fresh, but if that happens, I may be forced to ski Jay with a much bigger base to properly enjoy it. Back next Sunday at the least for the Shareholder meeting. Today was day 39 which ties my most days in a season set back in 04-05 with at least two more months of turns to go, maybe three if we get lucky, though recent reports from T4T forums do not make me optimistic about the late season.
 
i had a feeling this was gonna happen... our plan was three days there this week-coming up. tues wed , thurs...
in your opinion, is it worth the three hour ride for us from lincoln??????? or should we stay at loon and ski a top to bottom bump run on lower flume.. u know what we r looking for? let me know if you are inclined
 
If you are looking for bumps, sure as heck will find tons of them at MRG, can't go wrong with that decision even with the thin cover. Chute is still in excellent shape and with exception of 5 feet of side steeping, Cat Bowl is sweet. Panther and Slalom Hill should be good for a while more but do have tough entrances with some side steps. Quacky is mint. There were other bumps around besides the one's I mentioned and if Fall Line and Paradise soften up, those still have plenty of cover and could open back up again with enough sun. It is adventurous bumps skiing, but like they say... ski it if you can ;) Bush looked like it had good cover, not sure what the bump situation is over there if you were planning on "skiing the valley." Your call on whether it is worth the drive, we all have different tolerances.
 
Here are some Photos from today if a Visual Presentation would help you with your decision for the coming week. I would be remiss if I did not mention several other trails were open that I did not sample including Glade, Lower Antelope, Rockefellars, and Gazelle (which was nice under the double after exiting Panther). Porcupine and Chipmunk were listed as open but I never got there either, so lest my report create any worry, there still is plenty of open terrain at Mad River.

Speaking of terrain at Mad River, one of the most refreshing moments of my morning was sitting on the porch of the Basebox, Burger and PowerAid in hand, looking up the liftlines for the Sunnyside and what I could see of the Single. The refreshing aspect is aside from the liftlines, you really can not see hardly any of the mountain's trails even from the lodge. So unlike almost every other ski area around. Mad River has a ton of terrain, but due to the nature of the trails, they do not present themselves for viewing from the base area like most mountains. I really appreciate that.
 
joegm":46i3xcyg said:
i had a feeling this was gonna happen... our plan was three days there this week-coming up. tues wed , thurs...
in your opinion, is it worth the three hour ride for us from lincoln??????? or should we stay at loon and ski a top to bottom bump run on lower flume.. u know what we r looking for? let me know if you are inclined

MRG will be closed until Saturday. I was planning on Friday, but now it looks like Sugarbush. Praying the elevation snows materialize. Thanks for the report and pics, Steve.
 
riverc0il":1x05adv8 said:
Bush looked like it had good cover, not sure what the bump situation is over there if you were planning on "skiing the valley." Your call on whether it is worth the drive, we all have different tolerances.

Joe, not sure what happening at Bush this year, but FIS was great and bumped up last Spring until the last weekend of April.



Andyzee":1x05adv8 said:
Never been to MRG, been meaning to go. Well, guess there's always next year.

If you want to ride the original single, you HAVE to make it this weekend. :wink:

riverc0il":1x05adv8 said:
Back next Sunday at the least for the Shareholder meeting.

The Coop annual meeting is on Saturday. MRG Coop Shareholders ski for free on that day so you might want to switch your plans around. :wink:
 
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