Mark Renson
New member
Friday evening, I escaped St. Patrick's Week in the Boston area (I can only take so much, geez) and stopped at the Hyde Away to refuel. I ran into Spencer, corrupting folks from Fayston to Boston to St John's NF :shock: . I didn't check in 'til 2:30AM .....
So, I got a late start. It turns out Mountain Appreciation Day was cancelled
and many other activities are being curtailed due to the closing of the mountain . As I farted around the Base Area, Sharon from the Office was nice enough to implore me to be careful on the mountain. Dave from Lincoln, who I have lopped many a pesky Striped Maple with, gave me some 2nd hand beta from Brennan stating that the trails off of The Single were a mess :shock: . OK, with the Zen of Caution in the back of my mind, I ascended Stark Mountain to see what I can see, to see what I could ski.
I had much solitude on the mountain and I could see why as I headed up Porcupine - powder drifts but nasty ice floes :shock: . Over to lower Panther just to see what I could see and up Broadway/Fox to the top of The Double Patrol Shack - home! I whimsically filled out a Patrol Report, putting myself in charge 8) . I then proceeded to make very deliberate turns down the top of Gazelle and traversed into Quacky. Whaddya' know, the untracked snow was enough to keep me from hitting bottom and the untracked bumps on Quacky were sweet. Another ascent and Brennan showed up and we took our own runs. Quacky III, Fox and Vixen proved to be the tickets to untracked and no ice floes. I descended via Bunny and the top part was very good. Some hairy ice around Glade and then I ran into the part of Bunny I dreaded. From Bunny/Beaver Cache down to the elbow, I made tight quick turns on the skier's far left, grabbing some nice powder and avoiding the hidden ice skating rinks in the middle. After the elbow, I had to sideslip down some edgeable crust on the right before making my way to the Basebox.
Over a beer in the Basebox, Brennan showed up and he revealed that Quacky was better than some off-piste he sampled.
I caught up on some badly needed sleep and Sunday morning, it was snowing on 'n off between breaks of sun. A light 1-4" had fallen. I contemplated heading up to Jay Peak. Then I asked myself if it was worth it to skin 'n grin on The Double .....
.
.
.
....you betcha' it was
.
SERIOUS NOTE: I was able to avoid mishaps due to my intimate knowledge of the mountain and where the hairball ice floes were and were hidden by the think layer of light powder. I skied what was probably the only truly skiable places on the mountain. Unless you know EXACTLY where to go, I suggest ya' avoid Stark Mountain for a while - it's hairball out there.
So, I got a late start. It turns out Mountain Appreciation Day was cancelled
and many other activities are being curtailed due to the closing of the mountain . As I farted around the Base Area, Sharon from the Office was nice enough to implore me to be careful on the mountain. Dave from Lincoln, who I have lopped many a pesky Striped Maple with, gave me some 2nd hand beta from Brennan stating that the trails off of The Single were a mess :shock: . OK, with the Zen of Caution in the back of my mind, I ascended Stark Mountain to see what I can see, to see what I could ski.I had much solitude on the mountain and I could see why as I headed up Porcupine - powder drifts but nasty ice floes :shock: . Over to lower Panther just to see what I could see and up Broadway/Fox to the top of The Double Patrol Shack - home! I whimsically filled out a Patrol Report, putting myself in charge 8) . I then proceeded to make very deliberate turns down the top of Gazelle and traversed into Quacky. Whaddya' know, the untracked snow was enough to keep me from hitting bottom and the untracked bumps on Quacky were sweet. Another ascent and Brennan showed up and we took our own runs. Quacky III, Fox and Vixen proved to be the tickets to untracked and no ice floes. I descended via Bunny and the top part was very good. Some hairy ice around Glade and then I ran into the part of Bunny I dreaded. From Bunny/Beaver Cache down to the elbow, I made tight quick turns on the skier's far left, grabbing some nice powder and avoiding the hidden ice skating rinks in the middle. After the elbow, I had to sideslip down some edgeable crust on the right before making my way to the Basebox.
Over a beer in the Basebox, Brennan showed up and he revealed that Quacky was better than some off-piste he sampled.
I caught up on some badly needed sleep and Sunday morning, it was snowing on 'n off between breaks of sun. A light 1-4" had fallen. I contemplated heading up to Jay Peak. Then I asked myself if it was worth it to skin 'n grin on The Double .....
.
.
.
....you betcha' it was
.SERIOUS NOTE: I was able to avoid mishaps due to my intimate knowledge of the mountain and where the hairball ice floes were and were hidden by the think layer of light powder. I skied what was probably the only truly skiable places on the mountain. Unless you know EXACTLY where to go, I suggest ya' avoid Stark Mountain for a while - it's hairball out there.