It’s hard to believe that March is coming to an end, supposedly taking the spring skiing and riding season with it. Just as I was thinking of putting away my snowboarding boots and stocking up on sunscreen, New England did as New England will do, and it snowed.
While everyone around me griped about the unseasonably late flakes, I privately rejoiced knowing that snow in Boston likely meant more snow in the mountains, and yet another weekend on the slopes.
My friend Breanne was as excited as I was. She had just bought a new pair of Volkl skis, and was anxious for them to see snow before the season’s end. With new skis and new snow, the weekend promised to hold prime spring skiing.
Mount Snow Spring Skiing
Saturday morning finally came, and Breanne and I loaded up the car, punched West Dover, Vermont into the GPS, and began the three hour drive up to Mount Snow. We arrived around 10:00, and found the mountain pretty packed with skiers and riders holding onto winter.
Mount Snow is the closest big mountain in Vermont to both Boston and New York, and therefore a popular destination. But the well-organized staff is every bit a match for the number of visitors, and everything, we were to discover, is efficiently run. Frequent shuttles (painted to look like Vermont dairy cows) ran us from a lower parking lot up to the base, and we had no trouble finding our way to the rental shop.
After putting away my snowboard last weekend at Waterville Valley and rediscovering my love of skiing, I decided to stick with skis again at Mount Snow. The rental staff was friendly and helpful, and the rental process was, in true Mount Snow fashion, quickly and efficiently done.
On our way out, we stopped to listen to the Reggae band playing on Cuzzin’s Deck at the base in celebration of Mount Snow’s 13th annual Reggaefest. Even though the Jamaican beaches are about as far from Mount Snow, Vermont as you could possibly get, the music still fit the scene perfectly, and lent the entire base an atmosphere of celebration. Mount Snow has some kind of “fest” activity going on almost every weekend starting in January, so be sure to check their events calendar for what’s happening the day(s) you go.
The fun really started when we got off at the top of the Summit quad. Breanne took off on her new Volkls faster than I remembered her being. I followed, and felt fantastic being back on 150cm skis after being in 124cm the weekend before. We found that the front side of the mountain offered a variety of groomed runs, but was also crowded. The lift lines for the two quads open at the bottom were long, but with the staff’s help, the lines moved quickly (or at least as quickly as a hundred people dressed like snowmen can move).
On our next trip up the lift, Breanne and I chatted with a couple from Manhattan who have held season passes for several years. Their loyalty and enthusiasm for the mountain spoke for itself. They told us about the new snow making machines and bubble lifts going in right now in preparation for next season. As a big fan of warm fingers, I’m pretty excited about the bubble lifts. Our new chairlift friends suggested we check out the mountain’s north face, so we did!
Breanne and I discovered that the north face was our favorite place on the mountain. I highly recommend it, but only if you are an experienced skier or rider, as all of the runs are tough blues, blacks, and double blacks. There are fewer skiers and riders on the north face, and the challenge ranges from steeps to narrow trails with moguls. Our favorite run was Plummet to Little Steep, where the terrain was wide, steep, and well groomed.
Skiing with Breanne was a welcome challenge. She told me to work on using my legs to do all of the work, and keep my hips facing downhill. I worked on her simple advice for the rest of the afternoon, and felt my skiing had improved by the last run of the day.
After a late lunch, we went to see Carinthia, the terrain park a friend of ours had made out to be a giant, frozen playground. His claims proved true! Calling Carinthia a “park” is kind of an understatement. It’s an entire mountain face. Eight separate park areas offer everything from half pipes to boxes. I even saw a half buried tractor tire! Riding up one of the park’s lifts, I felt like I was watching a movie as skiers and riders flew, one after another, over the enormous kickers, spinning and flipping in mid-air.
In stark contrast, I think I caught an inch of air (cumulatively) on my way down one of the runs. I’ve never ventured into a terrain park on skis, so I took it easy. I’ve had enough hard spills on skis and a board to know that a concussion is not my favorite way to end the day.
Watching a gigantic bunch of grapes ski on to a pond and eventually sink, however, is a great way to end the day. Well, not real grapes. It was actually a man dressed as a bunch of grapes. Every year, Mount Snow hosts an annual pond skim where people braver than me dress up in ridiculous costumes, ski or board down a slope gaining as much momentum and possible, and ride on to a 100 foot pond. Whoever gets the furthest before sinking wins a prize. This year, it was a highly coveted season pass. Breanne and I joined the few hundred other people gathered to watch this entertaining event for several runs, but we didn’t stay to see if Santa beat out the Swiss yodeler. We couldn’t resist soaking up the remainder of the sunny day on the slopes.
It was hard to believe the Mount Snow Spring Skiing will end soon, especially since the high didn’t get above 30°F all day. Even though we were spring skiing, the snow held up all day just it like it was January. Lucky for us, Mount Snow will be open as long as the cold weather hangs in there, and the conditions are still good.
If you’re thinking of seeing the 2011 spring skiing and riding season through, I suggest you try Mount Snow Spring Skiing. You can bet they’ll have some kind of “Fest” going and, judging from my experience with Reggaefest, it’s sure to be a fun time. I’m sorta thinking the Brewer’s Festival might be worth a special trip.
Reminder to self: get your skiing and boarding in before you head to the party!