Mark Renson
New member
Mid-Winter conditions. The App Gap snowgun was <BR>turned on. Off-piste or on-piste - it didn't <BR>matter 'cuz it was all good. Do indeed go skiing <BR>in Vermont, ASAP. <BR> <BR> At a little after 3:30AM on Saturday morning, I hit the road. The prior evening, I <BR>had to go bowling in Dorchester with some folks <BR>from work. This was culcha shawck for those <BR>originally from the United States as they were <BR>exposed to what is called bowling in that country <BR>east of Wstah' ..... it's wee-idd. <BR> <BR> At our morning patrol meeting, it was <BR>announced by Bart - the Flight Commander for the <BR>day - that Lars our PD's kid won the Vertical <BR>Challenge and the Triple Crown. Anyway, this <BR>meant that I was assigned to take down some 'boo <BR>and rope on Upper Glade .....grumble, grumble, <BR>grumble as I could see that there was much good <BR>snow to be had. Upper Glade had great snow, but <BR>I couldn't enjoy it as I had an armload of <BR>equipment to carry. After completing that task, I <BR>headed up to the Starks Nest where I got another <BR>assignment ..... grumble, Grumble, GRUMBLE :-< <BR>Oh well, nobody forced me to be a patroller, ya' <BR>know. Finally, after I completed that chore, I was able to sample some sweet skiing in the woods <BR>down the gut of the mountain. <BR> <BR> Much good skiing was to be had!! A few snow squalls showed up to freshen things up and make a festive atmosphere. On the white board at <BR>the top of The Double, I wrote "Spring" with a <BR>red slash through it. I did a line I hadn't <BR>been down all year and found huge bumps which <BR>petered out into a nice powder field of <BR>untracked. In-bounds was great, too. The bump <BR>line on the right side of upper Upper Panther was <BR>especially nice. The bad news was that the <BR>Birdland lift was shut down for the year but the <BR>good news was that meant that there was nice snow <BR>to cruise on and solitude as a side trip down the <BR>mountain. Sweep was very nice down Gazelle, sans <BR>a nasty patch on the headwall. <BR> That night, our Hartford Ski Club held <BR>its annual Mountain Appreciation Party for all of <BR>the Mad River Glen employees. The party was <BR>amusing with its own little "inside" things like <BR>most Vermont social events are. <BR> <BR> That night, I did not sleep well due to a <BR>snorer who could not figure out where his room <BR>assignment was. Ski houses, bunkhouses or just <BR>sleeping in ski country does have it's perils. <BR> <BR> On Sunday morning, I was disappointed to <BR>see that temps had warmed a bit, snow at the base <BR>area had softened and hardly any new snow was to <BR>be found, except for a coating. <BR> <BR> For trail check, I was assigned Quacky <BR>III and Snail. That thin coating skied nicely. <BR> The sun tried to poke through ..... but <BR>as the day wore on, the App Gap snowgun increased <BR>in intensity !!! Winds gusted - not enough to <BR>shut down the lifts, but enough to deposit snow in the right places. The day became magic !!! <BR>With the exception of a few turns in the woods, <BR>almost all of my time was spent on-piste. With <BR>the woods getting so much attention, on-piste <BR>conditions can actually be better in some areas. <BR> <BR>Ferret-Upper Glade-Liftline below Tower 10 ledges <BR>was especially fun. Note, that this seems to be <BR>a favorite of those who are just starting to <BR>experience expert level skiing - I show it to <BR>these types and they love it. I took a run <BR>down upper Paradise, eschewing the frozen <BR>waterfall and slipping in between an ice floe, <BR>trees and a ledge instead to a line that always <BR>pays off with great snow. I scooted over to <BR>Creamery and gave some powder advice to some <BR>folks and found great snow. Birdland was a <BR>cruising paradise with fresh snow constitently <BR>being blown in !! <BR> <BR> For the last 2 hours, I tried to cram as <BR>much skiing as I could. I paused at the top of Door #2 with Rocky Bleier - that's the MRG one, <BR>not the Pittsburgh Steeler - and was amazed at <BR>the size of the huge bump at the crux; almost the <BR>size of Rocky. "Naw, in-bounds is skiing so <BR>well; you can have that" I said as we scooted off. <BR> <BR> With almost a half hour of nobody making <BR>turns and the wind driven falling snow refreshing <BR>everything, Sweep was HEAVEN. Loon was wonderful. I was sad to see the day end as I <BR>coulda' skied for seemingly an eternity. <BR> <BR>Mark <BR> <BR>P.S. : I-89 was brutal from Purmort NH - home of <BR>a truck stop that always has 2 yummy hot dogs <BR>with my name on them that are packed with enough <BR>sodium nitrates to poison a large rat - almost to <BR>Warner. Very icy with numerous wrecks.