vinnyv11 Posted March 15, 2012 Report Posted March 15, 2012 Goals for the trip Get better and more controlled in skiing bumps Get the wife skiing better/more confidently Get techniques down for tree skiing Ski the trees!! Day 1 (Smuggs) Conditions: Early was overcast with nice snow down but WIND!!!! Mid afternoon rain with a heat up and late afternoon perfectly clear with light to no wind but with the snow getting a little sticky in spots due to the rain and warmth. Due to the lack of hotels near Plattekill we changed our itinerary and decided to stay outside of Burlington Friday night as well. I was able to get a Ski and stay package for the wife and I at a Fairfield about 35 minutes from Smuggs and 15 from Bolton so it worked out really well and was quite affordable. After getting some sleep and a quick bite in the morning we went through the 35 minute drive to Smuggs. We arrived at Smuggs about 20 minutes before first chair which apparently was not enough as this was by far one of the most confusing setups for a mountain I have seen in my history. Its not clear where the lodge really is or if there is one and where you can go to boot up and get lift tickets and such. Pretty confusing but luckily the rental shop has benches and your car is a stone throw away so once we figured that out we headed out to the slopes. We started the day on Morse mountain which for all intensive purposes is the beginner mountain. As the conditions said it was very windy and because of this a large portion of the mountain was on wind hold so we had to take the beginner (Mogul mouse) lift up to the top which was a slowwww ride. After finally getting off the lift the first run was down Garden path to lower morse liftline which was a nice run with great conditions. My wife would lap this run for a while with me cutting off to do runs down Upper Morse liftline which was a ungroomed black which had some nice big soft bumps early in the day coupled with some other runs here and there. Around 11 the other lift on Morse finally opened and we were able to get to the top which didn’t add much more but the lift was a little faster and the clusterf that was the line at the other lift got dispersed and dissipated. After a few more runs the wife decided she was tired and ready to eat lunch so we headed into the day lodge and grabbed some food. While we were inside we ran into a couple that we had talked to at a rest stop on the way up and after discussion the wife decided she would stay on Morse for a while by herself while I went and skied the rest of the mountain with the other couple. While we were inside the rain came for about 15 minutes and then the heat with temps getting into the 50’s. After taking off some layers we headed outside and made our way down Midway to get over to Madonna mountain. This is where I spent the rest of the day doing runs down Ruthie’s, Link, Lower FIS, Gary B’s Northwest passage etc. The trails were in nice shape and provided a lot of variety with parts that were bumped up nicely and other parts where you could really just carve out some great speed. After breaking off from the other couple I headed up to the summit to see what else the mountain had to offer. From the top of the mountain at this point we had crystal clear blue skies and you could see right over to Stowe and the other mountains in the area great view. A couple runs down here with my last real run being Upper F.I.S. which was steep and had some massive bumps on it (goal one). The run was difficult but with the bumps being so soft it was nice with only one hand down. After these runs it was closing time so I headed up to the summit and worked my way down Upper Chillcoat to Ruthie’s to midway to get back to the car where my wife was waiting for me. All in all I had a great day at Smuggs I really enjoyed the vibe of the mountain and there is definitely a lot to offer a variety of skiers. Unfortunately for me the wind holds really hampered a good portion of the day and being with the wife I didn’t get to explore as much of the mountain as I would have liked but definitely still a good day. I definitely need another day at Smuggs to see what she has to offer and get into what looked like some great glade skiing. Apres Ski/Night After a nice open to close day on the slopes we drove back to the hotel to change and head to downtown Burlington. On Johnny Law’s suggestion I had made a reservation at Trattoria Delia. The dinner was excellent definitely a good recommendation coupled with a nice bottle of wine and the trip was off to a great start. After eating we headed out into downtown Burlington and walked around to catch the scene. The bars were pretty packed as it was Magic Hat Mardi Gras so we headed into the first bar that didn’t have an obnoxious line for drinks. Headed out around 12:30 and hit the sack so we could get to Bolton early. Pictures from Smuggs: View over to Madonna Mountain from Morse: Black Bomber working her way down Morse View at Smuggs after the rain and lunch: View down Upper F.I.S: View of Stowe from the top: Me at the Peak: Dinner: Hippies!! Day 2 (Bolton Valley) Conditions: Overcast with a light wind. Fairly cold with about 4-6 inches of snow from mid afternoon through the rest of the day J. We left our hotel early and headed over to Bolton to grab our lift tickets and boot up. When we arrived at Bolton we were lucky enough that our room was already ready so we were able to check in and get our stuff in the room which made booting up and heading out that much easier. The wife wasn’t feeling 100% so I booted up and headed out on my own to start the morning. Virtually no crowds but the day before’s weather had done its damage. The heat of the day before had melted a good chunk of the top layer and the immediate freezing cold thereafter, made the surfaces pretty hard. As a PA skier that didn’t bother me at all but it was definitely noticeable as the bump runs were pretty solid not PA solid but definitely firm for VT standards as some people on the lift would tell me. My first runs were down the Vista peak shooting down the blacks on the face of the mountain Spillway and Hard Luck which were nice with good grooming and definitely runs you could get some nice turns in on. As I was skiing down I noticed there were definitely a lot of areas cut out intentionally or unintentionally for people to get into the trees and they trail map showed glade areas and wooded areas specifically. After coming down several times I headed over to Glades which was interemediate glade run. However, in reality it was a bump run with a couple of trees on it that you could easily avoid but it was a good confidence builder for the weekend. After heading back up I decided to try the Vista Glades at the top of the mountain which was definitely a lot more intimidating at first. This again was a large bump area with a lot more trees but manageable for someone who is still learning. Definitely a fun run down through there including a drop off that I didn’t see coming that almost landed me in the trees. After this I decided there was no time like the present so I headed over to Sleepy Hollow one of the mountains wooded areas. This was unlike anything I had ever skied before requiring some tight turns through the trees and a couple turn or hit moments. I definitely struggled through this but it was a lot of fun and a great introduction to what tree skiing could be. After this I headed over to the wilderness peak and up that lift to see what was available over there and took a run down outlaw which was bumped up with some icy patches in between from the thaw/freeze the night before then blazed down the wilderness liftline. After this the wife was finally ready to head out so I met her at the Mid mountain lift where we did a couple of runs down with me cutting off into the trees or down a bump run. This would be where I would learn a valuable lesson, if you don’t know what the landing looks like off a jump don’t jump off it lol. I was coming out of a wood shot and there was a high area to jump off of but under the jump was a hole rather than a landing area so my ski’s hit the hole dug and I double ejected off into a barrel roll to standing. This wouldn’t be my only tumble as deep snow and some areas in the trees would get me but this would be the only one that I would have any damage from as I walked away with a pretty deep tissue bruise on my hand from where my hand landed on my pole grip. Anyways we did a couple more runs and this is when the snow really began and started coming down heavy. After splitting off from the wife after lunch I headed over to Timberline peak to do some runs down some large open trails where you could really get some speed. The snow coming down was turning ok conditions into fantastic conditions as you could really edge nicely. After a couple runs down Cobrass, Nitro, Showtime, etc I headed back over to Vista peak to end the day. I did several runs down the Vista glades and back over to Sleepy hollow which was immensely better then earlier in the day as those hard pack bumps now had a beautiful layer of snow on top of them making them great to ski on. A great day where I definitely felt like I accomplished something so I was looking forward to what the next day would bring. Apres Ski/Night After another open to close day on the slopes we headed back to our room and changed to head over to the bar area for dinner and Trivia. We had a decent dinner and Trivia was fun coupled with some drinks and decided to call it a night as I wanted to get first chair on Monday when I anticipated the place would be empty. Day 3 (Bolton Valley) Conditions: Bluebird ski’s with no wind fresh powder from the day before but COLD!!! Temps under 0. Today was all about getting mileage in on my skis in the trees. We booted up and headed down after having a quick breakfast. We had decided to get the wife a private lesson today and since the mountain was so empty we actually signed her up for two separate privates with the same instructor. I also wanted to get a lesson but wasn’t willing to pay for a private so I asked about the group lessons and no one was signed up in the advanced group so I signed up for this so in effect I got a private lesson for $30. There was a little while before our lesson started so I headed up and did some runs down Vista Glades and some bumps which were in great shape after the day before’s snow. I met up with my instructor who was excited when I said all I wanted to work on was trees skiing. This really was a great experience as after a quick skill test he jumped me straight into the woods where it really turned into just skiing with the instructor and talking over some of the technique and tactics. With the instructor I did runs down Vista Glades, Wilderness woods, Cobrass woods and a clean run down Sleepy Hollow. This all culminated with him really asking me if I was ready for a challenge and we headed down Devils Playground the mountains double black woods tree run. This was steep and took a lot of technical turns. I was able to work my way down and really had to develop some techniques including some quasi hop turns to get through some tight areas. Really turned into a great idea that I would recommend as it helps to work with somebody to build up the confidence to really go at a tree run. After the lesson I met up with the wife who did really well including a couple runs down some blues so i’m hoping this leads to more active skiing with her as there are only so many green runs backwards I can handle. I spend the rest of the day working my way through the various tree runs throughout the mountain and by the end of the day I really had a good feel for working my way through a tree run. After another open to close we headed to the bar for drinks and food real quick as we had to get up early the next day to work our way down to Mount Snow and home. My take on Bolton Valley is that it is a great place to learn. They have a great variety of runs for beginners and a great introduction to trees that can get progressively harder to really ingrain the technique’s. The conditions were awesome probably the best I’ve ever skied in with a great base and a lot of freshies to be found throughout the mountain. I really got a feel for the small town mountain which had a local vibe and offered some great skiing for all. Not much of the steep go at it groomers but a lot of variety to be had. Pictures from Bolton: View down Vista Glades: View of the deep stuff before the additional 4-6: Sleepy Hollow (My first time in the woods): Sleepy Hollow down: View from the Room: Day 4 (Mount Snow) Conditions: Bluebird ski’s with no wind but warm. We woke up early at Bolton headed to the car and hit the road pretty early as the drive to Mount Snow was about 3 hours. The drive wasn’t that bad and we arrived at the mountain with little event around 9 so I didn’t get first chair but was fairly close. The wife took this day off as she was wore out from the other days so I was on my own which in truth after three open to close days of majorly trees and bumps I was pretty wore out as well. After booting up I headed out to get on the brand new bluebird express 6 pack bubble lift. Let me tell you that is going up in luxury with warm leather seats coupled with the bubble blocking the elements keeps you nice and toasty. After getting to the peak I headed over to the North face where the blacks of the mountain reside. To warm the legs up I took a nice run down Fallen Timbers which was groomed very nicely with a nice layer of snow on top. After heading back up the lift I wanted to hit some bumps and see what the trees looked like so I headed down Plummett which were VW size bumps that were fairly solid by VT standards. Made my way down and really was feeling the burn in my legs from the days previously but managed fairly well. The skiing days previously had really improved my technique on the bumps and I was definitely feeling a lot more comfortable. I’m still not good but much more manageable. On that run I saw a tree run between Plummet and Free Fall so I hit that on the next run down. This was a nice run but it had definitely been skied out making it a lot more technical with a lot more instances where you had no choice but to follow the rut. Another instance where I went through said I did it and moved on. In better conditions that is probably a lot of fun but in the case where it was mostly skied out and hard it wasn’t that great. I headed back up and down Free Fall a nice groomer and then down Challenger another bump run. After this I decided to explore the mountain a little more so I headed over to the Canyon area and tore a run down Snowdance which has to be one of the most wide open trails I have ever seen back down to the Bluebird lift. I then headed over to the Sunbrook side to see what it had to offer going down Cloud Nine and Big Dipper. Sunbrook definitely had taken a beaten this season as the snow on Big Dipper was solid and virtually unskiable. The tree run I saw didn’t look appetizing and I’m pretty positive was solid as well so I headed back over to North face for a few more laps then to the main face to close out my day. Last runs of the day were down Exhibition, Upper ledge, lower ledge and Roller coaster. Exhibition and roller coaster where great groomed trails in great condition while upper and lower ledge were bump runs that were in decent shape but had ice patches in between in sections. I called it a day around 1:30 due to the impending drive home but definitely enjoyed my last day of skiing. Mount snow really offers a lot to the intermediate skier. A majority of the trails are blue and there are a lot of intermediate trails with bumps to work someone through who is learning so it worked out well for working on my technique. The upper offerings weren’t great but in good conditions I bet the mountain is a lot more fun for the advanced skiers with definite stashes to be had plus Ripcord which was STEEP and with big bumps. Pictures from Mount Snow: View down Freefall: View from Peak: Bluebird Express: 1 Quote
Johnny Law Posted March 15, 2012 Report Posted March 15, 2012 Nice dude! Couple of inches to play with sounds like heaven right now. I glad you enjoyed Delia, its a really good meal and women seem to like the vibe. Skip golf and come up to Blue. Quote
vinnyv11 Posted March 15, 2012 Author Report Posted March 15, 2012 Nice report...did you stay in Colchester? We stayed at the Fairfield in Whiliston/Burlington the first two nights and at Bolton the second two. Back when I was in college the big spruce chair went all the way to the top of spruce peak/sterling mountain and Stowe skiers were allowed one run at Smuggs but I'd usually sneak a couple runs in at Smuggs. I talked to an instructor at Bolton who works at Stowe who said they still allow you to ski at both although its unsaid. Apparently its a hike between the two so they'll let you do it but they didn't get enough snow this year for it to be functional. After skiing at Bolton I definitely wanted to hit up Doc Dempsey's. It looked like a lot of fun I just wasn't confident enough around the trees at that point espcially being by myself. There definitely is alot of glades there that I am now kicking myself for not going through but it was early in the trip so I didn't want to push it up front. Quote
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