Today was Day One of my plan to escape the holiday crowds. In that regard, it was an unmitigated success. <BR> <BR>This morning, Middlebury was darned near deserted. The afternoon was only slightly busier. <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3405.jpg" ALT="Gotta love these holiday weekend crowds!"> <BR> <BR>Everything was open, and all trails were groomed to ballroom dance floor perfection, save for about 10 mogul turns on half of Bailey Falls Lift Line and the same on half of Youngman's. Snow in the woods was adequate but horribly stiff...not a truly pleasant experience trying to turn with lead boots. <BR> <BR>Weather was remarkably comfortable -- especially compared to what tomorrow will bring. Skies were a mix of sun and cloud that spit occasional snowflakes throughout the day. <BR> <BR>Hooked up with friend David for repeated lap upon lap on both the Worth Mt. Double and the Bailey Falls Triple. <BR> <BR>Took one run on the Sheehan Double just to check it out, and the low-angle trees that they've cleared as glades between Kelton and Hadley are perfect to get kids introduced to the woods. <BR> <BR>I have only two beefs: one that they have no control over, and one that they do. The first is topography: the mountain has annoying flats on just about every run. Just when things get good on runs like Allen you hit a huge flat in the middle. Worth Mountain is very convoluted, and there's not much that can be done about this. <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3406.jpg" ALT="Convoluted topography, as seen from halfway up the Worth Mt. double"> <BR> <BR>The other complaint is with regard to advertised vertical drop. Sure, everyone does it, but it's still annoying. Convinced that it didn't feel anything like the billed 1050 verts, I checked a topo map this evening -- it's 820 verts on the Worth Mountain side, and 900 verts on the "East Slope" side, even though it sure didn't feel like that, either. <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3407.jpg" ALT="Beautiful views eastward through Middlebury Gap"> <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3408.jpg" ALT="a nearly-empty base area"> <BR> <BR>Tomorrow is Day Two of "the plan": Bear Creek, a private ski area midway between Okemo and Killington.
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