New England 2022-2023 Northeast Ski Resorts/Conditions/Meetups

[Wilhelmson]

Props to the ski patrol who took the sled with a dude down that up there ^. The guy in the front was amazing with his control. You could tell he knew exactly what he was doing. We saw it from the lift.

 

[KevinF]

Took the day off to see Bill Haight at GMOL in Stratton today. My boots have been giving me grief this season, but I think Bill got me setup correctly. Not sure what's changed in the last year or two as I thought the old setup was money, but that same setup isn't working anymore -- I've had absolutely no grip on ice which is a problem, especially this season. @SKI-3PO saw me almost go down a couple times when we skied Stowe a few weeks ago.

Anyway, Bill got me setup and I drove up the hill to ski Stratton while I was there. Bill said to take a few easy runs before turning it up a bit, but hey -- it's called "Flatton" for a reason. It's not known for having pitch. Although my first run really was pretty slow, even by my standards of "slow". Throw in a few pivot slips and traversing drills. The place was empty. There's definitely a glacier underneath the edge-deep powder. A couple higher traffic areas were groomed by a Zamboni, and I was happy to see that my skis once again "gripped and ripped". Like, ok, I haven't forgotten how to ski. Excellent.

There was a bump run underneath one of the chairs -- Sun Bowl or something? I wasn't paying attention to the signs. Skied that a few times -- once again, felt pretty good. The usual New England mix of conditions -- soft bumps, ice bumps, rocks, dirt, sticks, grass, etc.

Due to ski with @Erik Timmerman on Monday, so we'll see what he has to say about the new setup.

 

[James]

People came out around 11 today.
I expect tmrw to be a zoo.

 

[Erik Timmerman]

Not much line at Stowe today. 16 degrees feels pretty warm!

 

[KevinF]

Stowe report for February 5th.

Took a couple cruiser warm-up runs. Skied Cenerline which had some pretty big firm moguls, so I did that twice. Dropped into Goat from the Haychute (lower) entrance and found that they were just as big but were fluffy. Exit was a little rocky but otherwise was nice going. Bumped into @Erik Timmerman -- recommned that he ski Goat. Erik told me that if it sucked I would be paying for it in our lesson tomorrow. I guess I'll find out what his take on it was. We're gonna be doin' hop turns.. the entire way down.

Starr was also nice except the exit sucked -- either over the ice bulge or through the rocky traverse back out to Liftline. Lookout was closed to some competition. National was pretty good as well. Didn't bother with Liftline.

Skied some trees -- Tres Amigos remarkably had lots of soft snow left. Some of the easier glades off of Toll Road were overrun by ankle biters but were still fun once traffic cleared out.

Basically, first time this sesaon that Stowe has skied like Stowe. There's definitely still thin cover in the natural snow areas, but it was nnnniiiiiiicccccceeeeeee to ski some long bump runs again.

The quad got overrun eventually (unlike Erik's picture above), so I did a few double laps, but overall the crowds were manageable.

 

[Rudi Riet]

Stowe report for February 5th.

Basically, first time this sesaon that Stowe has skied like Stowe. There's definitely still thin cover in the natural snow areas, but it was nnnniiiiiiicccccceeeeeee to ski some long bump runs again.

Feel free to enjoy those bumps. This bionic hip doesn't happily play that game anymore.

But glad to hear things are starting to feel more normal. Will be at Waterville on Tuesday and Wednesday and TBD on Thursday (possibly Killington or maybe someplace further south given travel plans on Friday).

 

[James]

Yeah after lunch was hot. Too bundled up from the cold. From -21F yesterday before sunrise to like 35 today at the warmest.
Snow was decent. A lot less friction when the temps aren’t negative.

 

[Wilhelmson]

I had one too many layers but it was nice to be warm this morning.

Pretty good stuff out there at Sunday River today. A few of the woods are closed but there’s on ski. The new Caramaba opened up with some nice but chunky snow.
We did a bunch of runs off the new 8 pack with short lines. It would be fun to time the way up and down without a wait.

 

[zircon]

This has probably been asked, but is there a preferred tuning shop around Sugarbush? Looks like I won't be near my go-to enough consecutive days to get any work done.

Alpine Options? Ski Sharp?

 

[TSQURD]

Ski Sharp if you want a hand tune, Mountainside or Alpine Options are both good machine tunes. FYI, I dont think anyone in the valley is doing an overnight turnaround anymore.

 

[Crank]

Mountainside did overnight for us.

 

[Erik Timmerman]

Does GMVS take work from the public?

 

[Phelmut]

Mountainside did overnight for us.

MichaelRV was able to get an overnight tune at the shop at Sugarbush over the weekend.

 

[S.H.]

Does GMVS take work from the public?

Yes, per their website (https://gmvs.org/athletics/prepare-to-perform/ski-service-center/)

Ski Services for the Broader Community​

We are proud to offer our expert ski tuning services to the broader ski racing and Mad River Valley communities. See our services below and contact Scott Kennison at [email protected] or stop by the Ski Service Center in the RPC for more information.


Click HERE for pricing.

Looks like $20 gets you overnight service.

 

[BC.]

Stowe report for February 5th.

Took a couple cruiser warm-up runs. Skied Cenerline which had some pretty big firm moguls, so I did that twice. Dropped into Goat from the Haychute (lower) entrance and found that they were just as big but were fluffy. Exit was a little rocky but otherwise was nice going. Bumped into @Erik Timmerman -- recommned that he ski Goat. Erik told me that if it sucked I would be paying for it in our lesson tomorrow. I guess I'll find out what his take on it was. We're gonna be doin' hop turns.. the entire way down.

Starr was also nice except the exit sucked -- either over the ice bulge or through the rocky traverse back out to Liftline. Lookout was closed to some competition. National was pretty good as well. Didn't bother with Liftline.

Skied some trees -- Tres Amigos remarkably had lots of soft snow left. Some of the easier glades off of Toll Road were overrun by ankle biters but were still fun once traffic cleared out.

Basically, first time this sesaon that Stowe has skied like Stowe. There's definitely still thin cover in the natural snow areas, but it was nnnniiiiiiicccccceeeeeee to ski some long bump runs again.

The quad got overrun eventually (unlike Erik's picture above), so I did a few double laps, but overall the crowds were manageable.

I’ll finally be up Saturday…

 

[zircon]

Thanks, looks like there’s options. No rush… too many skis, too little time.

I was going to drop skis off at Sport Thoma in Lincoln today for pickup next weekend, but then decided to hit Sunday River instead. Sugarbush presidents week.

Don’t have much point of comparison but Sunday River is skiing quite well. Groomers are in great shape. Real packed powder not the New England kind. Light was super flat over at Aurora and Jordan this morning and I fell off the side of a groomer. Whoops. Sunny everywhere else. Only disappointment was in Oz which looked good from the lift despite a sketchy rock garden entrance but the snow was weird and styrofoam-y. Unexpected highlight: Risky Business

 

[KevinF]

Stowe report for Monday.

Skied with @Erik Timmerman this morning primarily for about evaluation of my new boot setup; got approval on that so that was good.

Visibility was comically bad do we just rode the new six pack. Worked on “get over it” drills all morning; good way to improve balance in the transition.

Sun finally came out so we headed over to the gondola. Of course, by the time we reached the top the clouds had returned. Top was a hockey rink but the lower stretches were ok.

Practiced GS turns while “getting over it” which is a good way to peg the fun meter.

Lunch. Erik had to go for another lesson. Quad was in the sun so I took a couple bump runs - Centerline to Christie glades to Gulch. As usual, some focused practice in the morning made bump skiing easier.

Met a couple at the bottom of gulch who asked me if that was Goat. Uhhh, no, that’s Gulch. How much harder is Goat? Ummmm. A lot.

The Front Four were closed; some snowmaking pipe had burst on the Haychute traverse into them so there was a giant ditch where the pipe used to be. Hopefully they get that fixed soon.

 

[Wilhelmson]

in Oz which looked good from the lift despite a sketchy rock garden entrance but the snow was weird and styrofoam

Caramba opened yesterday. It was pretty good despite the chunky clam chowder consistency of chopped up snow. People were falling all over the place. I was sticking with my wife so she wanted to skip Ruby Palace. Flying Monkey is almost always good and short but sweet.

 

[zircon]

Caramba opened yesterday. It was pretty good despite the chunky clam chowder consistency of chopped up snow. People were falling all over the place. I was sticking with my wife so she wanted to skip Ruby Palace. Flying Monkey is almost always good and short but sweet.

I was on one of the two big trails with a handful of trees sticking up skiers right of the Oz chair (Lost Princess? Eureka?). A little kid yelled at me that he skied it yesterday and it was bad as I was about to drop into the other one

 

[Wilhelmson]

I was on one of the two big trails with a handful of trees sticking up skiers right of the Oz chair (Lost Princess? Eureka?). A little kid yelled at me that he skied it yesterday and it was bad as I was about to drop into the other one

Those trails were not cut well and are backside ice moguls the whole way. Eurika wasn’t too bad though. Vortex has a more fluid fall line. The difference between natural and man made snow matters a lot sometimes.