Stowe is in Style
It was 8:45 am on Saturday morning. I had just gotten off my first ride up the Quad at Stowe, VT.
Having observed the trail Liftline below during the ride up it was apparent that it was going to be a Very Good Day of skiing.
The white board at the base of the high-speed quad simply read “6-8 inches” overnight.
Skiing not only looked great, but also more importantly it sounded soft. When edges are cutting through powder almost no sound can be heard. It is a great thing to take in first hand.
people were hiking up the chin on Saturday from the top of the gondola
Weather on the mountain: 20ºF and clouds gave way to sunshine around 10:15 am, making visibility exceptional and temperatures comfortable. There were subtle winds, but nothing at all to complain about.
Q: Where did 6-8 inches come from?
A: Stowe and pretty much all of the northern Green Mountains are subject to bursts of localized snow, especially when Lake Champlain is not frozen. I have been fortunate in the past few seasons to hit the right spots at the right times. This though, is also a product of many days on the mountains without such blessings and picking the proper venues. The odds will eventually work out in your favor.
I described it like this to inquiring friends, “I know that I sound like a broken record this season, but the conditions were as good as they get, again!”
At Stowe this past Saturday, conditions were just that indeed.
Everything was fair game. People were ducking the ropes strung across the top sections of the Front 4 (Star, National, Liftline, & Goat) with reckless abandon. There was that much coverage.
Some highlights of the Ski Guru’s day:
Tree Skiing – Dipped into the Nosedive woods (two runs) and the trees to the skiers left of Goat (three runs). There was literally feet of powder covering some of untracked lines. This was obviously a combo of wind blown snow from earlier in the week and the fresh stuff from the night before. It was Outrageous!
pow pow in the trees off the skiers left on Goat
Packed Powder – All over the mountain, most of corduroy was covered with a few inches of fresh snow. Spectacular skiing and riding for all ability levels.
Chairlifts the S.G. likes to use – Rode the 3 primary ones on Mount Mansfield. Always start with the Quad. Once the line picks around mid-morning hit the Gondola for a few runs. Then make you way back over to the Lookout Double, which almost never has a line and the extra few minutes of ride time to the top are always well received after the runs start adding up.
Soft and Quiet – Was pretty much the game all day. The only time I really hit anything nasty underneath the fluff was when I entered the top section of National and traversed all the way to the skier’s right at the headwall of the trail (there was a rope across most of it, but still there was an entry making it an open trail section). Other than that, the menu was all soft snow until the day ended around half past noon.
Stowe Bunnies – There are always good looking, welled dress visitors at Stowe. The difference is at Stowe the majorities of them are also avid and well versed skiers/riders. There are only a handful of other areas in New England, which have comparable people watching.
There is one thing that still needs a check mark on the S.G. ‘to do’ list at Stowe. Get over to Big Spruce. People are raving about the new high-speed lift (installed prior to last season) and the snowmaking up there. I just find it difficult to pull away from the legendary terrain on the main mountain. Maybe next time…
looking at the top of Mount Mansfiled
Skiing on Saturday started early, thus Après Ski started early. By half past noon, myself and two friends, were ready to stop for the day. We pulled into the Matterhorn (a classic ski bar) at 12:42 pm for lunch (read pizza, wings and suds). There were only 5 cars in the parking lot. The sign said they opened for lunch at 12:30, so we went inside. We were the third group of customers and grabbed a prime corner section of the bar. Two things of note occurred; both had to do with the bartenders eavesdropping.
1. My friends and I were discussing what constituted a full day of skiing. All agreed that four hours and a dozen runs is definitely a full day. However, where is the line in the snow? The dude bartender pipes up and drops this on us…
“A full day of skiing is 2 runs and 1 beer with the boots on.”
2. Given our early appearance, I pondered aloud. “I wonder if the same person has ever been this place’s first and last customer of the day?” The woman bartender jumped in.
“It happens more than you might think, and it is never pretty!”
Andy finding a fresh line in the Nosedive woods
That is Stowe, classic. If you have never been up there you certainly owe it to yourself to plan a visit. It is a very fine mountain experience and a truly unique one at that.
Moreover, Stowe gets a lot of snow. It is even better as a surprise (e.g. – the 8 inches that fell Friday night).
Coming up this week, stay tuned for Super Bowl deals and weather updates on this weekends storm.
Think Snow – check out Stowe,
pictures ~ S.G.
the new base area development at Spruce
