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In addition to hitting up Schweitzer yesterday I wanted to check out another new place. I went to a cool brewery in Spokane when I landed on Sunday and the bartender told me to check out Lookout Pass if I wanted something off the beaten path and fun. I made an early morning hot tub decision to head there even though it wasn't on Indy or Ikon. I got there to find out that they give 1/2 off to season pass holders from other places so I got a ticket for $30 which is a freakin steal nowadays. Possibly another spot that hasn't been hit by PASR? This place is a gem. It is 90 years old and has old school Powder Mountain vibes. Nothing too technical but the groomers were incredibly fun and the trees had stashes in them from the storms over the last few days. Old slow fixed grip lifts kept trails and trees pretty empty. It was a beautiful little hill and I had an absolute blast there. It was hard not to smile ripping down some runs with titty sparkles in the sky. One of the unique features of the place is that it sits on the Idaho and Montana border so you get to ski in both states on the same run or lift ride. It was also super confusing because it is also the border of time zones, so my phone and watch kept shifting back and forth an hour depending on where I was. The snow was incredible and sun filled the sky. Would also highly recommend if you're in the area. That's all. Looking for a dinner spot in town now. Then back in the hot tub to consider a place to ski tomorrow.

Schweitzer is a pretty cool place. The windy road up there was a bit sketchy covered in snow. Anyway, some fun steeps and small cliffy areas to mess around in. The trees are top notch here and the groomers were great to rip with some fresh snow on them. I really enjoyed it and I had to add it to the stat manager so either it hasn't been skied much, if at all, from people here or I missed it on the list. First time in Idaho and it really seems like a cool place to live if you're into the outdoors. It's been snowing a lot here lately and maybe a bit more to refresh things over the next few days. My hip held up for about 3.5 hours and then I had to take it easy getting back down to the lot. Check it out if you're ever in northern Idaho. Here are some pictures of the place when I remembered to take out my phone, and a food picture on my drive back for Doug.

1/21/2025 The wife’s another year older and time for another birthday “week” ski trip up to NH, specifically for the World Cup mogul competition at Waterville, but also hit some Indy mountains too. Out of the house at 6am and into the freezer, big time! Decided to stop at Catamount on the way up as I’ve never been. The lowest temp along the ride there was -1, but bounced anywhere from there to the teens. Rolled into Catamount just after 9am, booted up, hit up the counter to get a pass using the Indy and out to the freezer. Looking up the mountain, only 1 of the 3 expert runs, Ripper, has snow on it. The other runs on looker’s right were open and they were blowing on the blues far looker’s left. The mountain is basically beginners on looker’s left and the more fun stuff on looker’s right off the Ridge Quad. Unfortunately that quad is a donkey, so it’s slow up and quick down. The place is similar to Blue but much more spread out and slower lifts. Ran down the blues which has some nice, soft freshly blown and groomed snow that was fast and edgeable, with a few slick spots in the center. Did a run down Ripper that was quite dark and lots of marbles, but it’s got some giddy-up and a nice roller at the bottom for some good air if not absorbed. Hit up the bar for a beer with the wife and headed off Brats at One Love brewery…

Headed for home tomorrow. A fun week, beautiful country. Only had one day that visibility was so low, I couldn’t ski. Ended the trip with 18 inches fresh snow and a blue bird day. Taking the train every where is nice, too. Price included with your lift ticket IMG_1888.mov

Visited Prospect Mountain today. Opened in 1938 and operated on and off until 1991. About ten years ago it was reopened as a backcountry and nordic ski area. This place is a blast. Lodge straight from the 1960s. Wood paneled everything. Metal wickets for your ticket. Wood fired stove with bricks on top to stick in your stinky wet boots. Homemade cookies at the counter. I got a bowl of chili. There's a designated uphill track straight up the old T-bar lift line. The split board did its job. First time using one. I think I got the hang of it by the end of the day. The mountain tops out at 2770 feet and you get around 600 feet of vertical. A good first test for uphilling since I've never done it before. The trails are still cleared so there's lots of options down from the top, plus a few places where they've thinned out the trees. They're sitting on around 24-36 inches of snowpack right now in the southern Greens. About 8-10 inches fell on Sunday and a couple more last night. Fresh tracks could be had on a lot of the trails. The lift line and two of the wider ways down the mountain seem to get the most traffic. Those were choppy pow but still pretty fun. No real steep sections except for maybe the top of the T-bar tow line. Big old cross country championship thing going on today. Lots of buses in the lot. Place was packed with high schoolers. Girls race was on during my second run. Accidentally came out of a trail onto the race track. I think they rang the cowbell for me. It was all good. Love the split board. Today was tons of fun.

Its ok today.

Untracked pow on every run…some tracks crossed, some nasties below..lots of Herbs…gonna be some good action shots later.

Schweitzer Monday, Lookout Pass Tuesday, 49° North yesterday, Silver Mountain today. I only had about 2 hours before I had to catch my flight so I figured I'd squeeze in one last day somewhere new. I'm glad I did. In addition to the snow that they received over the last two days, the continued snow overnight into the morning, and the wind, the conditions were 9/10 fantastic. Definitely some of the best off-piste turns of this short trip. Silver Mountain is unique. You need to take a gondola from town to get to the actual resort which is a crazy 3.1 miles long and was once the world's longest gondola, but is now 5th longest. Originally named Jackass Ski Bowl, the first GM for the place was actually from Big Boulder. Today, the place still has a small mountain vibe when you get up there. The original double still stands and gets you access to some of the best terrain on the mountain, with the exception of the North Face glades which have some ass-puckering chutes and trees accessible through gates. The best stuff I've skied in a while. I wish I had more time to enjoy this place because the crowds were small and the lines to ski were pretty much endless because I only saw one other person while skiing anywhere off of Wardner Peak. Only a few pictures because it was snowing and I was short on time. Gotta say, Idaho was not high on my list of places to go but I would replicate this trip over a long weekend again anytime. The places were great, the people were friendly, the snow was good, and for a "holiday week" the places were empty. Thanks for reading my random reports.

Driving to Albany later tonight then hitting Magic tomorrow. Staying in Maine Sunday and Monday nights, planning on Saddleback Monday and probably Tuesday unless I feel like paying for Sugarloaf or Sunday River. Staying at Burke Tuesday night and riding there Wednesday. Not sure on the plan after that. Either Jay or somewhere in NH Thursday then start making my way back and probably a short session somewhere Friday. Snow and beer reports to follow after tomorrow

Well... I am just sitting here in the big apple trying to reintegrate back reality of work after this weekend. The stars aligned that I could sneak away last minute for the weekend and with a favorable snow forecast I was giddy and excited to get out there. My flight to Jackson was the last scheduled flight to land on Friday night. After some delays leaving EWR and increasing snow in JH, I was busy with a lot of flight tracking, weather checks and sweaty palms the whole flight just hoping I'd get in and not diverted. Luckly there was enough of a break in the action, and we squeaked in there using every inch of the runway. Saturday was a good day of skiing as other have said, but Sunday was even better. That first run down the Hobacks on Sunday was a run that will be seared in my mind for life. Seriously can say that it was one of the best runs ever for me. I had packed enough stuff to be stuck there for a few more days and was not so secretly hoping that I wouldn't have been able to get out yesterday. Oh well. Overall, it was most excellent way to spend a weekend. JADIP.

And I'm losing control because the power Blue's supplying, it's electrifying. Nobody home, for the first time in two seasons I saw nobody I knew. It's obviously cold but with the sun and no wind it wasn't brutal. My toes did get a bit cold which is quite the accomplishment. The snow was super mega grip western groomer. Very dry and slow for blue standards, as the water is evaporating what's left behind is like a malformed dendritie or more accurate a round with fuzzy gripy fingers. Main first thing was just set it and forget it, whatever speed/turn shape you wanted. It was effortless and pure skiing. After dicking around over by main I went Razors as with the slower snow you just couldn't get to that top gear. Razors the entire way was just do whatever the fuck you want, many times there was no one on the trail and my God is nice to let the dogs out at blue. Ditch was good but the coming soon headwall was the only not great thing I found. Alas there is bad news to share as they have put 10000 features on nmdw, lots and lots of rails including one right in the kill box of the first turn. You can still find a way through but you can put a fork in it if you like the turn. Hopefully the low crowds are maintained through the weekend.

1/22/2025 Well, the original plan was to head over to Mt. Abram today, but then I looked at when they open to determine when we needed to leave and discovered that the mountain is t open today! Change the plan, as other Blue bumpers are headed to Ragged Mountain, which I had planned to hit on the way home. Got into the car at 7:15 to -9 and headed South towards Ragged. The temp ranged between -12 and -10 all the way down. Arrived at the mountain about 8:45 and froze my fingers hitting up in the lot. A short walk to guest services to get my $5 card and back out to the frigid cold. The Spear Mt express was the only lift running at the open, so up I went. After a pic or two, down Flying Yankee on a pristine, Deer Valley-esque groomer. Snow was truly packed talcum powder groomed to perfection on a rolling, winding, fairly steep run where they run their races. So much fun!! Next I took Cardigan and Turnpike just to sample what the masses run and it was another gorgeously groomed packed powder run with lots of huge rollers for kicks. Finally took a run down the liftline on Showboat and Showoff which was again glorious packed powder on a fairly steep run. The other Blue bumpers showed up and we repeated the above runs because the Summit Six was having issues. After a lunch break, they got the Six running and we took runs down the trails off skier’r right. The most fun was Raggae Glades, the only open woods. This place really deserves a repeat when all the trees are in play. They place is loaded with tree runs, none of which were open due to lack of snow. Ended the day with a few beers up in the lounge and the over to Woodstock brewery for dinner. Definitely recommended but it does get crowded! Meatloaf Horseshoe!

Vt on presidents is like a UN meeting and as such I was looking for a place to beat the crowds. Trackbiker or someone had mentioned the Bowl last week and it clicked in my head that Saturday would be Winter Rodeo. Imagine a frat party at a ski mtn or Mt Rose's beer fest but with less drinking. The day starts with a big Gs race for all the local colleges and considering who they are that is some very good skiers. Then by about noon the dj comes out and everyone really gets going. I don't know what the ratio is at Middlebury but had I known about it in my teens I would have flunked out of there for sure. Partying aside the bowl delivered the goods, from bell to bell I never waited in line and the trails were mostly empty. The snow was a mix of super grip groomer and chundery off trail. The off trail was deepish but not easy to rotate in. The groomers at the bowl are generally good however their grooming is on par with a college hill and the real star is the tree zones. My favorite is big tree off 11 but all of it was good tail gunning super soft. Liftline was the classic VT mix of excellent and shit all at the same time and I lapped that until my back said no more. I cannot speak highly enough about the bowl. You want to get away from it all or experience what magic was like before it became magic I say give the bowl a long look. It's lifts are slow and the vert nothing to write home about but it's classic VT skiing which is sadly becoming a dying art.

Oh holy hell today was gooood. Like,”save the neck for me clark” type stuff. Like doug, i had some google issues from the get go that messed with my head. We stood in wet snow for quite a while and right before opening i started to fog. I cleared them up a little on the gondi ride, but it just wasnt great and got worse to the point they were pretty much soaked and really a problem but plowed through as best i could. I made it to the potty at the top of one lift for some well needed TP, to at least dry the lenses, which helped tons. Anyways, man that early run down the hobacks was totally worth the price of admission. Deep deep stuff, but pretty heavy. Big open field of untracked loveliness. Currently using the hair drier and heater to dry all my shit out. Everything of mine was pretty wet. I need to step up my “rider of the storm gear”. What a great day. Areas in the hobacks probably had the deepest snow i have ever skied in.

February 2nd 2025 Jackson Hole day 5 of 7 Today dawned with 7” of new snow in the past 24 hours and 16” in the last 2 days. I saw Dirtwolf at the bagel place again today…had first tracks at Pearl street bagels and a lot more first tracks throughout the day. A slow and steady drive to the mountain had us there around 8am and in line for the gondola at 810am it was snowing hard with a temperature around 30 degrees and we were maybe 15 people back in the singles line. Amphitheater was deep..as deep as yesterday a tad lighter density but medium to dense I guess..the left side all untracked my goggles were giving me some issues so I skied it a little slower and kept atomic Jeff waiting like a whole minute at the Thunder chair. Next run getting to Grand low vis plus goggle issues I just decided to ski alone…but don’t cry for me Argentina..my goggles got a little better later and all I skied was untracked..lots and lots of it. Grand was boner doner..Jeff was like it was so deep and untracked on the left, well the center was as well..then off to the Hobacks and second or third best Hobacks for me…the line I usually take is less travelled to begin with but just a handful of people in there and that’s where I took the most pictures…I literally felt old moguls like three spots in 2500 vertical feet. Union pass had a bit of a line and the heavy snow on the mountain was more a rain snow mixture with some sleet pellets..I was pretty soaked already…the guy I rode the lift with said his son is at mammoth and it’s raining to the peak. I skied into the village used the restroom and went into ski shop to see about cat poop which is something that prevents goggles from fogging but honestly my helmet and strap and foam just so soaked wouldn’t have mattered and the line was so long and others using hand dryers on goggles in the restroom. I just used a few paper towels and last few runs like 40% better…i took teewinot to apres vous and the main blue run was giant pow bumps and Jerry’s everywhere so I ducked right into the Moran area to the skiers left of the Teton lift and that was really good and not a ton of people. By now I was super soaked it wasn’t a big vert day but a big untracked snow day and I didn’t want in any long liftlines..doing the hobacks early today the pro move. I’m sure it was great later but not blank canvass…I stopped at the mangy moose store while boys were still skiing had an iced tea outside and like fifteen minutes later they were done and then went back to town changed into dry clothes and went to the snake river brewery for lunch. Mexican food tonight I could go for a frozen strawberry margarita served in a chalice the size of a small bird bath.

Yes today was v good

Day 3 Woke up to low pressure again on the tire. Loaded the ski gear in my daughter's car. Drove to discount tire at 830. My daughter picked me up soon after got to the mountain around 915 while blasting lil yachti, future, Kendrick and logic for stoke. The tire had a screw in it and they repaired it for free. So glad I did that before heading down 17 back to Phoenix. Another cloudless bluebird day. First run up the grand canyon express, left at the catwalk to find a nice surprise....they dropped the ropes on volcano for the first time this season. The trail itself is groomed but there's a chute off of volcano that is natural. They had a sign marked thin cover and this week's snow fall was waiting. Rode that a few times. also ran another unnamed ungroomed trail near volcano. So some new snow goodness early on. But the theme for today was the bluest of bluebird skiing and primarily soft fast groomers. Not quite as good as yesterday but still a beautiful fantastic ski day where I didn't want to leave but the legs were done. Posted up in Scottsdale now before heading out to eat. Done skiing but what a great few days. I feel really lucky that I came this week. Just hope things turn snowfall wise soon.

Bolton conditions today range from deep powder to windblown ice on the upper groomers. Lower mountain groomers are great and the glades are incredible. Did a few groomers and natural snow trails, along with enchanted forest, then 2 runs down Vista glades. On the second run in Vista, I found a pair of sunglasses so I returned them to lost and found and heading out and over to timberline lift in a few

Some pic. Arrived Saturday afternoon. IMG_1614.mov

Day 36. My best day since I hit 70. Perfect density snow. Went in some places I haven't been in a decade.

Super windy day on Sat. Went in with zero expectations. I thought conditions were pretty good for the rain/temp drop we had. Grip was there, but now and then it wasn't. The wind was rough. You were always looking to go faster. Wind took all the snow off the top of Challenge. Sunday was just cold. 15 in the lot when I rolled in. No real wind today. New ungroomed man made at the top of Main was a treat. Much better than yesterday. There is a decent size booster on Challenge that will put you in the danger zone if you don't know it's there. No speed limits today.. It was a big race weekend with fencing everywhere and lots of race people.

Bummer I missed you guys by a few days. I had a short trip there during the dry period and mostly did tram to side country (Rock Springs lines). I have a few friends staying up in Village this weekend and they texted me three inches at base already . I am jealous 😢 enjoy ❄️❄️❄️

A little wildlife this morning.

1/30/24… Day 2 of 7 Hey all, I’m finished with another fun ski day at Jackson hole mountain resort. We arrived at the ski resort around 830am and it was -10 at the base and 28 degrees at the summit. First civilian gondola again and down amphitheater first which was decent eastern cord. Up Thunder and down Laramie which was groomed and kind of stiff. Then up Sublette and skied Bivoac which saw a rare grooming and was fairly edgeable chalky snow… We repeated Bivoac two more times then skied back to Thunder and skied Ampitheater to lower Tram line. We then took the Tram up and was basically a walk on Tram. Rendevous bowl was really bad refrozen crud and bumps…makes sense as it hit 49 degrees yesterday at the summit. Back to Bivoac a fourth time and up Sublette then down to the Hobacks. I really enjoy the spicy entrance but just like in R bowl, most of the hobbers got cooked yesterday but some decent snow along the boundary line…wow I got really sweaty on that run and then freezing cold as the valley was still about zero degrees. Then up union pass to teewinot and up apres vous and skied a random groomer and had my fill. Just like yesterday we skied about 12-13 runs for a little over 20k of vertical. Lunch was at Osteria I had some sort of Italian soup and margarita pizza. JFDan is now in town and tomorrow Nazareth Jay and Dirtwolf arrive. JADIP

Sunshine and snow LFG!!!

Day 1...hella fun with a bit of fresh snow. It was exactly what I had anticipated. Sweet and soft western groomers with some playful stuff off the sides of the trails. Off piste is probably not very smart given the drought situation, although I saw a few tracks here and there. I didn't want to risk it. Started off sunny up top then the clouds rolled in with a little bit of pixie dust falling from the sky. They may call it an inch when it's all said and done. Either way my best runs of the season so far. High or low tide... There's just something about the snowbeezy that just feels like being at home. And I probably love it even more than I did yesterday. The locals were pumped this morning. High fiving each other and blasting bob Marley. You'd think they be bummed over the lack of snow but instead it's like whoville on Christmas morning. It didn't matter. Excellent ski day!!

1/24/2025 The plan was to get down to Waterville around 8am for a 9am open, until i checked my email and found one from Waterville. For some reason I opened it to find they open at 8am for the comp weekend. Scrambled around a bit to get going and arrived at 6:49 to some flurries and mostly cloudy skies. Booted up and made our way up tot eh lodge to get passes and spectator tickets. Upstairs in the lodge the competitors were booting up and getting ready by hopping on tables and running around the place. Slim and I were early, so headed out and lined up, being the only 2 people at the quad. The clock struck 8 and they rang a bell over the lodge to open the place! Blue should take note! Up the quad you get a good view of the course on Lower Bobby’s run, named after Bobby Kennedy who used to ski it. Took the short run down on just absolutely beautiful packed talcum powder snow, definitely the best snow of the week. Up the Sunnyside triple and right back down True Grit that’s steep and fast with some wind blown goodness on the right side. Back up the triple and took a run down Bobby’s to check out the course. This run is freaking steep and it’s amazing these bumpers rip down this and then hurl themselves off the jumps. Met up with the others and made our way down tot eh lodge Psyched that was left ungroomed and had enough natural on it to ski the bumps. The first round was staring so made our way back to Bobby’s to catch some of the runs. Standing along the course for any length of time is tough as it’s so steep. After lunch we decided to check out some woods we saw on the trail map. Found the entrance that looked a bit sketchy, well, a lot sketchy but we dropped in anyway. Bad decision!! It dropped off quick into a minefield of rocks, limbs, logs, sticks…. It was a big effort to make our way out of that mess. Headed back to the spectator area to watch the semifinals. Standing there we got cold and I heard “BEER” off in the distance, so headed back down tot eh lodge meet up with the wife in the lounge. We watched the final runs in the bar. Two of the US girls took 2nd and 3rd and Nick Page took 2nd in the men’s. Headed down to the town of Waterville and grabbed some slices of pizza before the ceremonies and came across Wayne Wong. The legs and body are beat and ready for a break. Another fun Indy/Mogul comp trip in the books!

2/19 Dartmouth Skiway I have mad meetings this afternoon and could only swing a half day so I wanted to peep somewhere a bit more intimate. My first memory of Dartmouth is rich wanna be investment bankers booting and rallying but only a bit after that was I wanted to ski Dartmouth Skiway. The logical question is why ? It's like 900 vert and has two old mad slow lifts.....because it's literally ski history, short of getting a DeLorean and going back in time this is as close as you can get. The skiway is two pods across the street from eachother so I started on the Holt side as I wanted to ski their big race trail Don Warden Schuss. They only kinda groom and blow snow so I figured this would be by far the best and I was not wrong. A razors like wide strip of perfection, unlike Ragged it pours the steep on. When you get to the point were most trails ease off it goes even steeper. I ran this like 10 times it was sooo good and had that dramatic background that makes you feel like your movie skiing. On the natural snow only trails like lift line the snow was hyper hyper dry and slow which was good because there is a solid layer you can't get through so the surface is quite firm. After I skied all the Holt trails I went across the street to Winslow. This seems more like the noob area and the lift stopped about 5 times per ride. More rolling blues and greens this was set it and forget it territory where I wasn't even warming up down the hill. It honestly felt like a step back in time, super cool place to ski.

Just got back not too long ago. Timing was great as crowds were minimal. The sunset views were also great. Winds dissipated as well. What wasn't great were the snow conditions. Sugar and hard pack with medium grip. Only the quad and the OG 6 were running. Which wasn't the worst thing in the world because that meant empty main Street and switchback runs. Speaking of switch it was easily the run of the day. Followed closely by coming soon. As bad as snow conditions were it was still a fun evening out due to lack of crowds and the world famous Blue mountain sunset. Decent night.

MrsSnoBunSki and I set sail for Jay in the cold, rain and snow early Thursday morning, becoming all snow right around Albany. Friday morning we woke up to howling winds and boot deep snow. The wind would keep all the upper mountain lifts closed, so we lapped the the fractional Moons and Bushwacker before taking an early lunch. It was a ton of fun and the low angle trees would provide a good warmup for Saturday. After lunch we had the great idea to make the drive to check out Bolton Valley only to find that Indy redemptions are limited to one a day. Implementing Plan C we slummed it with a few beers at the Alchemist. A few more inches overnight and diminished winds gave the green light for Saturday morning, finding everything from a few inches on corduroy to knee deep snow all over the mountain. Lines moved quickly except for the tram (which we skipped - again!) It was hard to contain my powder frenzy but I did so enough to get my fill of trees and get MrSnoBunSki in and out of her comfort zone. My best day at Jay with no wind (’cept on the Flyer lol), deep blower, sun and snow showers. Dumping again when we left for home Sunday morning, we made a stop at Berkshire East which had gotten around 6" or so. More great snow but the lines were a little long so we only got 6-7 runs in before heading south to watch the Birds annihilate the Chiefs -GO BIRDS!!!

A bunch of us had had enough of Blue lately and decided to use up an Indy on Montage yesterday and from the sounds of the reports out of Blue, it was a good decision. Arrived in the lot just after 8am to 19' and hazy sunshine. It felt cold in the lot, so went with the extra puffy just in case. Later the sun came out and standing around in it, felt overdressed, but out on the slopes it was cold again. In all the years I've skied, I've never bothered to venture to Montage and have to say I'm happy I finally did. Even though the mountain has a bizarre layout, it's unique and a throwback. The beer shack in the middle of the mountain with a DJ cranking tunes was cool, even though we didn't stop for a beer. They had another DJ cranking tunes at the bottom of the Phoebe Snow lift. They opened precisely at 9am and for kicks and giggles we took the Short Haul lift out of the lodge area. The snow was spectacular, loose talcum powder groomed to perfection, what a concept! We cruised on down Boomer which too had perfectly groomed snow and the run had some giddy up. Passed by White Lightning that unfortunately had a Closed sign, and the reason was evident when we got to the bottom and saw a winch cat grooming the bottom headwall. Up and down Smoke which was also perfectly groomed and a lot of fun. Is it Saturday? The place is a ghost town! If it were 930am at Blue, we'd be dodging people already and the runs would be cookies, marbles and ice, but none of that was around, at least in the expert area. Giving the groomer some time on White Lightning, we went over to the Iron Horse lift and down Switch were they were setting up the Nastar course. Next to the run under the lift, there was overblown chalk that a few sampled and found quite enjoyable. The run itself had groomed powder. Up the Long Haul and now we found ourselves back in Blue conditions. They evidently hadn't put as much effort into the conditions over here and/or it has a lot more traffic from beginners and intermediates. The snow was more granular with patches of ice here and there that you had to be careful of as they'd take down an unsuspecting slider. Back over to Boomer to check on White Lightning and they had just dropped the rope. Down the in run, it reminds me of Coming Soon, flat. Up ahead there are a bunch of people just standing around. We all fly past them and down the headwall. Woo-hoo, it definitely has some giddy-up and woah that compression at the bottom was unexpected. Wow that's fun! We lapped that a bunch of times and discovered a bunch of overblow into the woods next to the run where you could actually get a few nice pow turns in the trees. Definitely a fun diversion from the rigamarole that is Blue. This place holds a lot of potential for Spring skiing and warrants a repeat then to use up the second Indy ticket.

It took me awhile to get to this, but I figured it’s better late than never. I hadn’t been to Snowshoe since 2004 when I was a senior in high school, so when my parents, who have an affinity for WV, offered to take us on a trip there, we jumped on it. When we last went, they hadn’t finished Corridor H or Snowshoe Drive over the backside of the mountain, so the trip was much shorter this time. It would have been about 7 hours without any extra stops, but they are tough to avoid when you have extra people, so it took us about 8. The last hour or so on the winding WV roads were partially snow covered too, which added to the adventure. It’s been difficult to justify going to WV when the drive to Southern VT is the same distance and has much more consistent snow, but we just got really lucky this time. Outside of days in the northeast where I’ve gotten free refills all day, this was probably top 3 in terms of pure snow conditions. They hadn’t experienced a freeze thaw event in almost a month, snow guns were constantly going, and they had received 6 feet of snow in the previous two weeks. We stayed ski in/ski out at the top of the mountain. We got into our accommodations at 3 on Monday, got an hour or so the first day, went bell to bell with some stops Tuesday-Thursday, and then did another hour in the morning Friday before we left. We got a couple inches of fresh snow Tuesday night and a couple more Thursday night, so in addition to the snowmaking, there were some little refreshes in there. Overall, the mountain is relatively mellow, but has some great cruisers. It’s also a top/down mountain which is unique. There are 3 distinct mountain areas. The main mountain is where most of the lodging and village are located. Silver Creek is a little smaller, has the night skiing, and you have to take a shuttle to it. The Western Territory is where they have “4” runs that are the full 1,500’ vert, and they are fast, open, and really make the mountain ride/ski a lot bigger than the stats show. Those runs compete with some of the runs up in VT, but there aren’t many of them. They were also blowing snow on open terrain which you don’t see too much of south of NY, so that was cool to see too. There’s plenty of high speed lifts, so you can cover the mountain quickly and really rack up some runs. Most of the trip was spent at the main area. All the trails were packed powder. There wasn’t any ice. It was incredible. The main HSQ in the middle of the mountain, Ballhooter, was by far the busiest lift, sometimes having a 5 minute lift line, but every other lift was ski on/off. I spent most of my time on the Soaring Eagle and Powder Monkey lifts. Since I was there last, they also added some glade skiing. They were cut well, but even with all the natural they had gotten, there were still obstacles and they could have used another foot in there. On Thursday we took the opportunity to go to the Western Territory by walking across the road at the top of the Powder Monkey lift. It’s about a 100 yard walk. I knocked out 7 or 8 runs in about an hour and 15 minutes. There were some hard pack spots over there due to the sun exposure, but all in all, nothing to complain about. The view there is very reminiscent of out west minus the lack of above tree line views. The amenities are really nice. We stayed at the Mountain Lodge, which has a great location, but being one of the first lodges built in the late 70’s/early 80’s, is very dated. The village is great. Nice mix of shops and food. There is a small grocer at the top, which comes in handy for overpriced necessities, but make sure you bring what you need since Snowshoe is out in the middle of absolutely nowhere. There’s a Dollar General at the base, but if you can’t find it there, you’re traveling an hour plus for a real grocery store or a Wal-Mart. Great trip overall. I’d go back, but you just don’t get that lucky on conditions that often. When we were there, they had more snowfall for the year than Sugarbush had. Sometimes you just get lucky.

As always I’m going to post the Good the Bad and the Ugly…while things are fresh… Good: Jeep Wagoneer rental car…plenty of space for five people and five pairs of skis…was only $50 in gas for 7 trips to the mountain and a couple back and forths to the airport. Bad: Walking around town a few days..very hard to keep feet dry..never walked on my heels so much..I should bring boots to JH but I feel like I’d jinx it and it wouldn’t precipitate. Yesterday I saw a homey with plastic bags wrapped around his shoes and Yak Traks… Ugly: Cue the dude looks like a lady song for the blonde in the singles line…always a letdown when the fly shawty boo you see from afar turns out to be a dude…nice hair though.. Good: The Crew…Atomic Jeff has done this trip with me 15 times…and still finding more nooks and crannies and he’s a great Chauffeur. This was Jack Frost Dans fourth trip to Jackson hole and he’s always on time, a strong skier obviously and good company. Nazareth Jay was the wild card and Also his fourth trip to JH..everybody likes Jay, he’s super positive and enjoys skiing…he’s always been a giant GSS fan except when my ski jacket smells like fromunda cheese…lots of laughs that’s for sure. Dirtwolf booked JH like a week ago and had a short window but miraculously made it work…and got the two best powder days of the trip…with on time openings. Talk about catching lightning in a bottle. 48 hours in Jackson hole he got to hit up the mangy, snake river brewery, Mexican restaurant and Silver Dollar bar with a hippie band playing..and couldn’t hit up the Cowboy wouldn’t be right without NMSki…and NMSki was there in spirit..he’ll be back next year and hopefully Mute, Toast, Ridge, angryHugo, MBike, Nastar Glenn, Johnny Style and anybody else who wants to go…no friends on a powder day, I ditched Jay then got ditched in the same 10 minute period…and if I’m slow I wanna get ditched. Didn’t matter the boys saved me freshies in the Hobacks.

Fun weekend and glad Sunday conditions were better than Saturday. Picture of the Law brothers fit check and one we got back from ski camp featuring little Boo and @Mixilplix

We got in gondola singles line around 810am about 20-30 people back. Bombs going off hopefully not too delayed of an opening.

After lunch, back out for a few more runs. Did upper and lower bear den to Graham slam, which was a nice ungroomed intermediate. Then did power line again and also hit Sasquatch glade. Took a break to refill my Gatorade and book tonight's hotel, then back out. 2 runs down wilderness, then a few other runs after that, hit Doug's drop, borderline, lews leap, and a few others. Ski patrol did drop the ropes on a few trails that weren't listed as open this morning. A lot of the glades weren't open, but overall an awesome day. Left around 3, still snowing. Drove to Hill Farmstead after that for a Nelson IPA and picked up some stuff to go. Staying in Waterbury tonight and planning on hitting Bolton Valley tomorrow. Their report from this morning showed 3" and it's been snowing all day, so I'm expecting more by tomorrow morning.

So far so good!

Went down muleskinner and off into the trees next to it, which were wide open glades and really good snow. Tried hiking another spot but it was pretty deep too. Didn't take any pics on the glades but took a few on muleskinner and lower peachys peril. Boot is done for at least for now. The part where the set screw threads into is totally ripped out. Back at the car for a beer and figure out what to do next

It's good this morning. About 3" up top. Did a few powdery groomers and then started to attempt the hike to the above treeline snow fields. After like 1000 feet of trudging through waist deep snow i felt something dragging at my boot...boa coiler hanging off. Shit...popped it back on but it's not coiling or loosening. Gave up on the hike after that. Heading out muleskinner and back to the base to see if I can fix it. If not I have a spare pair in the car although brand new so they are gonna hurt

After lunch, I rode the Rangeley quad up and did a green trail to Wooly Bugger glades. Steep and tight trees up top, along with a couple bands of big rocks. Obviously didn't jump off any. It flattens out towards the lower part so I hiked back to a groomer and back to the Rangeley quad. Went down Green Weaver to the Kennebago quad and took a run down upper governor and over to Family Secret, which is under the lift line. Back to the top and then took the Firefly traverse to Dark Wizard glades. The first part is pretty steep and at least today, required a mandatory drop or straight line depending on where you drop in. Then hit Casablanca glades again and tight line after that. Took that all the way to the bottom, found a ton of powder on lower green hornet, but it's a mellow green trail so couldn't stop or mess around too much. Finished out the day riding groomers until 3. Hit Portage tap house in the next town over and had a flight and duck for dinner. Tomorrow is gonna be bitter cold and windy so I'll probably stick to the glades and some groomers. I won't do the hike to terrain again but doubt that'll be open anyway

Went down green weaver to the kennebago lift. Up to the top...20 minute hike to Muleskinner. Did not disappoint. Deep pockets of snow. Some windblown ice but overall incredible

@AtomicSkier and I did some more recon on another area near blue last night. ~950 verticals. Has the potential to be a very fun little lap but needed a bit more snow to really go.

@Dirtwolf and I did some inspection today. 800ft vertical foot run near Blue. Needed some more snow but was good enough for the wiggle.

Winter is back! Finally. Snowed about 6” overnight. By the time I left the house it was 8+. Roads were awful so I just went into town the XC ski the park with the local ladies. Took my fatter skis and broke trail, good workout. got my jeep stuck coming home. Our plow guy seems to do our road last. Took about an hour to get it unstuck. puking snow now. Supposed to get another 4-8 today

C1er and BFG crew in the house featuring special appearance the Glenn Experiance. Sunny and deliciously empty, I had figured it would be more of the weekend and started a few minutes late because I'm an idiot and wore a different jacket. Everything seemed soft and super nice but I wasn't buying any of it until about a 1/3 of the way down main. Full grip, easy turning cream cheese on top of a wet hard base made for super fast super fun mega slutty arcs. Switch and Raceway were more of the same though a bit harder and midway was ratty from the start somehow. When I switched sides of the hill I ran into Glenn and we put rail road tracks down Challenge, Razors, side and coming soon. While not as nice as main all were more spring like hero snow under blue skies and super sun. My favorite condition is empty bleachers and the best part of the day was all the goof balls were not skiing. Multiple times I'd go main and Glenn switch or similar so that both of us could have the trail to ourselves......I wish the eagles could play in the super bowl everyday ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sketchy lift rumors, I rode up with two snowboard psia master dudes I've never seen before who said they are disconnecting coming soon from pdis. I was highly skeptical but if true that would be a massive improvement.

Sucks to hear about Jim. We were in the neighborhood and stopped by Von Trapp Bier Haus for some pretzels and beer cheese on the way to Jay 8 hours of driving in the

Day 2. Just wrapped not too long ago. By far the my best day of the season. It started off with a scare though. when I went out to the car the low tire pressure warning was on. I immediately panicked thinking I may have had a flat and that I'd be late or worse, but there was plenty of air to get me to the circle k. $2.50 later the tire was back to 32 psi. That snafu cost me a few minutes however and the roads were dicey, especially snowbowl road which required AWD (they were checking). Climbing the mountain I passed some guy in a Kia Sportage who was going way to slow and got there around 9:05. What a day though. The bluest of blue skies, not a single cloud in the sky with freshly fallen snow from overnight, clear views of the surrounding area and the Grand canyon to the north. Started off on the Grand canyon Express which was the move since the gondola was on wind hold. It really wasn't that windy but windy enough to blow piles of new snow into deeper piles. The first few runs were $$$. Like the million dollar man Ted Dibiasi money. Shin deep in spots and a bit of flotilla. That didn't last long however as locals don't play when it snows here. That said, the gondi opened at noon so there was a chance for round two on lower bowl or upper ridge. I was there waiting in line but it was taking long so I took my chances and skied back to the GCE. when I got to the top I saw that the gondi was loading. I hauled ass down logjam and hopped on for a sloppy seconds run down lower bowl with a few more runs before calling it. I didn't want to leave but my legs had it. My face is red as I think I got burnt. By tomorrow (more sunshine) I'll look like Kramer from the episode of Seinfeld where he fries himself with butter. A 10 out of 10 day at snowbowl which is now officially my most frequented ski resort outside of Pennsylvania, taking over the spot previously held by whiteface.

After muleskinner I hit casablanca chutes 1 and 2, then casablanca glades. Great snow, good amount of powder in casablanca glades. Didn't see a single person all morning in the hike to terrain

1/23/2025 Up at the usual 0 dark thirty and made ready for an hour or so drive over to Black Mountain. Over hill and Dale, passing by the amount Washington resort and Attitash and finally ending up at Black, a tiny podunk family ski area that exudes the original charm of skiing. The one triple chair that only goes 2/3 of the way up wasn’t running, but the main double donkey was, so we boarded that towards the peak. Up through the woods you come upon a mid station when you could drop off to avoid the peak or just hit the little LOSTBO hut where they have music blasting, a deck with fire pit and beach chairs out on the snow, which we found odd until after lunch, when the Sun broke out. Black is different in that the mountain faces South, and their motto Ski in the Sun became evident. Every trail was lit up like springtime in the middle of winter. Up on the peak you could see for miles and miles, Attitash off to the left and Mount Washington on the right. Unfortunately another mountain that would bee a hoot had it been a good snow year. They have ample snowmaking, but the real fun runs rely on natural, especially the winding Upper Galloping Goose right under the lift. We did the tour of open runs, all of which had beautiful, soft, well-groomed snow. The runs are fast and quite steep and very tight through the woods. The place was empty and we made fun when a second row of 10 or so cars appeared. We had to stop in the LOSTBO shack for kicks to see what it had. A range of snacks hung on the wall, some brats rolling on the hot dog cooker, beer, wine, etc. we opted for cider and hot chocolate and Tom the tender, a Boston transplant was very willing to tell the tales of Black and its savior Indy who’s committed to keeping the mountain going, but doesn’t want to own the land, where the hopeful co-op takes over. He also told us from where the LOSTBO name originated that’s all around the mountain. Evidently Les Otten at one time promised to buy the mountain and make the owners wealthy but backed out at the last minute after having them cut out the expert terrain at the top. Sitting around pissed at him for backing out the one came up with Les Otten Sucks The Big One and so it stuck. He also told us of Friday night skin up, party and ski down nights that sounds crazy fun. The place is tre-cool and a throwback to the old days of skiing and we were all glad to get there. On the ride back passing the Mount Washington inn, the sun was setting and lighting up the Presidentals, spectacular! Stopped at Rek-lush brewery on the way back for some dinner