Vermont's ski conditions best in years: Rutland Herald

[shizzle]

December 23, 2007

By PEGGY SHINN Correspondent


Had I been blindfolded and beamed up, Star Trek-style, to the mountains on my skis, I would have guessed I had landed at Vail. The snow was so soft and powdery, the sun twinkling through hazy clouds and a fluffy snow shower, that I had to be somewhere in Colorado. Or Utah.

But no, I was at Killington, carving joyfully down Bunny Buster, not a patch of hard pack anywhere. We worked our way around the resort and skied trails I never knew existed: Conclusion? Ridge Run? Most years — particularly this early in the season — these trails don't have enough natural snow to open. Making turns in natural snow was like sipping from a $300 bottle of Dom Perignon. The real snow felt silkier and smoother than its manmade cousin, like those tiny bubbles on your tongue.

Four days after the storm that dumped anywhere from 6 inches to 3 feet across Vermont, Killington is reporting a deeper base (40-52 inches) than Vail, which has a paltry 26 inches at mid-mountain. Pity the folks heading West for the holidays.

Tom Horrocks, communications manager at Killington, says that Killington's Bear Mountain open on Tuesday — more than a week ahead of schedule. Devil's Fiddle, a double-black diamond trail on Bear, is open with only natural snow for the first time in more than 20 years. The resort is currently 95 percent open.

"Four big powder days already and it's only December," Horrocks adds. "It really doesn't get any better. The phones have been ringing off the hook as folks are excited to get out and enjoy all the new snow in time for the holidays."

New England ski areas could offer the best conditions in the country this Christmas. Jay Peak reported over 4 feet of snow from last Sunday's storm alone, with a total of 177 inches falling so far this season (as of press time) and creating a snow pack that's 30 to 60 inches deep, depending on where it's measured around the resort.

Stowe has received 120 inches total for the season with base depths of 20-30 inches of natural snow on trails. Sugarbush has been blessed with 98 natural inches, creating a base depth ranging from 16-42 inches. Even Mount Snow in southern Vermont has a base of 36-54 inches, having received over 22 inches in the past week.

By comparison, Alta in Utah — renowned as a powder pig — has only a 52-inch base. Squaw Valley in California's Tahoe region — where snow usually falls in feet, not inches — is reporting a paltry 65-95-inch cumulative snowfall (from base to summit) since Sept. 20, 2007. Snow pack depths are a skimpy 24-52 inches.

After last Sunday's storm, the Vermont Ski Areas Association reported the highest percentage of terrain open this early in the season in eight years. Last Monday, Vermont ski resorts reported a total of 979 trails open, or 79 percent of available terrain. This is expected to jump much higher this week, as more resorts open trails for the holiday week. Vermont's Nordic centers are also open, reporting 885 miles of trails.

By comparison, on Thursday, Ski Utah was reporting only 569 trails open, or 54 percent of total trails at the state's ski resorts.

During last year's balmy December, Vermont's ski resorts only had 182 trails, or 15 percent of their terrain open. The last time the state came close to the amount open this year was December 2002, when 78 percent was open. The worst year was December 2001, when only eight percent was available.

To many, it feels as if this season is taking off from where it ended — in a series of late-winter/early spring storms that extended from the epic Valentine's Day storm well into last April.

"The strange thing is that when you're on the mountain skiing, it's not like December in any way, it's like mid-February," Whitney Widger, a service coordinator at Smugglers' Notch, said. "There is snow everywhere you look and everywhere you want to ski — on the trails or in the woods."

At Mad River Glen, which due to only two snowguns needs natural snow like humans need oxygen, the skiing is "world class," says marketing director Eric Friedman, who is usually more understated in his comments. "We are 100 percent open, including all of our legendary glades. On the snow report I am calling it Packed Powder Pandemonium, as we are currently skiing on some of the fluffiest packed powder I have ever skied anywhere in the world. I have worked at MRG for over 12 years and this is arguably the best skiing I have ever done here ... If you have been waiting for the opportune time to ski MRG now is it!"

"We couldn't have scripted this storm any better," JJ Toland, communications manager at Sugarbush, said after last Sunday's snowfall. "Getting 15 inches of snow this close to the holidays pretty much guarantees a white and heavily powdered Christmas."

The ski industry isn't the only benefactor of this white Christmas. At Stowe, numbers are up across the board, from lodging, bookings and inquiry fulfillment. Scott Reeves, Stowe's vice president of mountain operations, has a theory: "Ever since I arrived in Stowe last February it's snowed regularly during ski season, we joke that I've been the lucky charm around here. Stowe is 100 percent open with the addition of our new halfpipe and terrain park by Christmas."

"This is shaping up to be the winter we've all been hoping for," Okemo Mountain Resort director of public relations Bonnie MacPherson says. "The only thing better than getting all this snow on the mountain is having it pile up in the backyards of our loyal skiers and riders down-country."

Which means it could be a very busy week throughout Vermont, especially with the dollar weak against both the Canadian dollar and the Euro.

[Powdr]

Uh oh. You just so totally jinxed it. Next thing thing you know, you will get r*in.

TeleProphet of the Wasatch

[Mister Moose]

December 23, 2007

By PEGGY SHINN Correspondent


Had I been blindfolded and beamed up, Star Trek-style, to the mountains on my skis, I would have guessed I had landed at Vail. The snow was so soft and powdery, the sun twinkling through hazy clouds and a fluffy snow shower, that I had to be somewhere in Colorado. Or Utah.

But no, I was at Killington, carving joyfully down Bunny Buster, not a patch of hard pack anywhere. We worked our way around the resort and skied trails I never knew existed: Conclusion? Ridge Run? Most years — particularly this early in the season — these trails don't have enough natural snow to open. Making turns in natural snow was like sipping from a $300 bottle of Dom Perignon. The real snow felt silkier and smoother than its manmade cousin, like those tiny bubbles on your tongue.

Four days after the storm that dumped anywhere from 6 inches to 3 feet across Vermont, Killington is reporting a deeper base (40-52 inches) than Vail, which has a paltry 26 inches at mid-mountain. Pity the folks heading West for the holidays.

New England ski areas could offer the best conditions in the country this Christmas.

If only.....

Today: Periods of showers, mainly after 2pm. High near 40. Very windy, with a south wind 28 to 31 mph increasing to between 45 and 48 mph. Winds could gust as high as 65 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Tonight: Periods of r*in showers before 2am, then a chance of snow showers. Low around 17. Very windy, with a south wind 45 to 50 mph becoming west 25 to 30 mph. Winds could gust as high as 70 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.

Monday: A chance of snow showers. Cloudy, with a high near 23. Breezy, with a southwest wind between 23 and 25 mph, with gusts as high as 38 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Groan. Powder is over for Powdr. It had better not r*in on New Years too.

[Grandmontes]

Making turns in natural snow was like sipping from a $300 bottle of Dom Perignon.


Looks like Nybergs plan is going peachy. Maybe he should have some Dom Perignon on tap. Better yet, why not hand out Waterford and have waiters tilt your glass on lift lines.

What does a $300 bottle of Dom Perignon taste like by the way?

[Geoff]

What does a $300 bottle of Dom Perignon taste like by the way?

It tastes no different than the $109.99 Dom Perignon you can get from the New Hampshire State Liquor Store. If you want to spend money on champagne, Roederer Cristal is a significantly better wine.

[ski the trees]

thanks for posting - good article, great conditions, and the base sets up for a ridiculous spring too. next few days/weeks could be rough but that really was some fluff out there.

[johnny the jibber]

r*in is good in the long run. just not right now when its gonna be busy up here and people are pissed that K cant make weather...

[Dr. NO]

thanks for posting - good article, great conditions, and the base sets up for a ridiculous spring too. next few days/weeks could be rough but that really was some fluff out there.

good Spring? where have you been? Spring starts March 20th, Killington is scheduled to close April 13th. 24 days of "spring" skiing?

[Mister Moose]

good Spring? where have you been? Spring starts March 20th, Killington is scheduled to close April 13th. 24 days of "spring" skiing?

That's on the calendar... last year spring just got started on April 20th.

[Grandmontes]

What does a $300 bottle of Dom Perignon taste like by the way?

It tastes no different than the $109.99 Dom Perignon you can get from the New Hampshire State Liquor Store. If you want to spend money on champagne, Roederer Cristal is a significantly better wine.

Better yet. With that $300 bucks you coud have gotten off peak fare to Geneva. For the price of a K ticket of $79 you could have gotten a bus and 1 way ticket up the Aguille , skied the Col De Plan and picked up the same bottle of Dom Perignon.

So, Miss Moffet is saying that she'd prefer to buy that $300 Dom Perignon and lift ticket all to take a piss in some rank KBL stall.

[altabird]

People rethinking trips out West to ski in the NE??? NE can get 5 feet of snow and all it takes a 1/4 inch of lovely r*in to totally ruin it. I would be cancelling my trip to NE for a chance at UT this holiday week (check Alta's forcast). When talking about skiing and riding in the NE, one must be extremely modest - news articles should never compare eastern to western conditions nor should they boast about "current" conditions - because as we all know, you blink and they change to crap!! Well I better add this year to Dec Christmas - New Years week of 2003 and 2005 (oooh, looks like a pattern).

Silly newspaper...............

[whiteout]

People rethinking trips out West to ski in the NE??? NE can get 5 feet of snow and all it takes a 1/4 inch of lovely r*in to totally ruin it. I would be cancelling my trip to NE for a chance at UT this holiday week (check Alta's forcast). When talking about skiing and riding in the NE, one must be extremely modest - news articles should never compare eastern to western conditions nor should they boast about "current" conditions - because as we all know, you blink and they change to crap!! Well I better add this year to Dec Christmas - New Years week of 2003 and 2005 (oooh, looks like a pattern).

Silly newspaper...............

change to crap it did...dammit. it was great while it lasted

[Mister Moose]

Admins:

Something funky going on with photo uploads. Red Riders new sig pic is doing similar weirdness.

[RedRider]

Admins:

Something funky going on with photo uploads. Red Riders new sig pic is doing similar weirdness.

MM - Whats wrong with it?