I went up to Stratton today to see how things have been shaping up snow-wise. I found a mixed bag. But before jumping in, let me say that the folks at Stratton made great use of the recent cold. Given they’ve had too much warmth and too little snow, the results are impressive.
The good news? There are a lot more trails open than a few weeks ago, and more opening each day. The Sun Bowl should open this coming weekend, which will open more trails and help spread skiers and riders out.
The less than good news? Terrain is limited, so people get bunched up, clogging parts of some trails. Beginner terrain is also pretty limited. Unfortunately, this means that people who shouldn’t be on intermediate and expert terrain, are. Hopefully more upper mountain novice terrain will open soon, and alleviate this bothersome problem.
Trails that had snowmaking top-to-bottom overnight, were in great shape. Those that didn’t had short stretches of “crunchy ice cubes” where no snowmaking occurred, but they weren’t too horrible. I woke up pretty fast when I hit that patch my first run down Polar Bear! Areas that saw some sunshine softened up a bit by late morning, while those in the shade stayed firm and fast.
Favorite trail of the day? Spruce. Great coverage, fewest people. Second best? Drifter. Also great coverage, but a few more people.
All-in-all, not too bad. Seems that we are looking at weather this Sunday that contains the nasty “r-word,” which I refuse to even type. The cold returns Monday, but it will be a definite set back. What’s needed is a snowstorm. A real dyed-in-the-wool New England snowstorm. Maybe two. Or more.
Next week I go exploring, with skis, in Vermont. Three days, three mountains. Not sure which three. Check back late Wednesday next week for an update on those mountains.
AlanD