Martin Luther King Jr. Day, 2016 provided an opportunity to get out and enjoy the snow.

What a difference one week can make with the right temperatures and optimum equipment.

We don’t just have snowmakers, we have snow heroes. Let’s than them for what they have been able to do since the beginning of this season was pretty much a bust!

Guess what?

Today, January 8th, Most of the areas are about 20 to 25% open , but if you want to ski you only need to have one trail at a time.

Gore is reporting  18 trails and 8 lifts mostly at the Northwoods Area, I will be there tomorrow and give you a report of conditions when I return tomorrow night. I have spoken with a couple other skiers who went to Gore on Wednesday who reported back to me that the skiing was remarkably good taking everything is consideration, plus it was above freeing which made it even more comfy.

Whiteface is reporting 34 trails and seven lifts

Windham has with 25 trails, 129 acres, 5 lifts and they are saying outrageously great conditions! Last weekend they had 5 trails, 38 acres and variable conditions. That’s a big jump the snowmakers have made.

Mount Snow has 20 trails with 10 lifts going

The picture above is from early season at Killington  where currently they have 44 trails and nine lifts

The same goes for most of the other ski areas in Vermont and New Hampshire.  I will give you a report on New Hampshire next Wednesday when I return from there.

Don’t even think about staying home this weekend. There is some good skiing out there even though it is basically man-made but we all have to take the good with the bad. And if you are a skier the bad is pretty darn good.

Do you have friends who want to learn to ski? January is learning to ski month and many of the ski areas are hosting special for beginning skier. Check them out at your ski area of choice

There are many ski and stay packages at all the ski areas when you basically can stay and ski for the price of the room or the price of a lift ticket, depending on which way you want to look at it. We have been suffering long enough, get out there and enjoy what we have to work with, if you are waiting for a significant snowfall you may have to wait a long time ( let’s hope not!)

Sometimes the last day of a holiday week can be the best day for others.

Such was the case for this Christmas/New Year’s season at Stratton Mountain Resort in Vermont.

This season has been tough.  No one disputes that. But people still want to get out on the slopes.

I was able to make two trips to Stratton during the Christmas/New Years break.  The first was on December 30th, a Wednesday, and again on January 3rd, a Sunday.

Wednesday was very active with masses of season pass holders coming out after Storm Goliath rolled through.  Goliath had subsided significantly by the time it hit central Vermont and only left with a few inches of natural snow.

Seething with the pent up demand pass holders headed out in droves to get some of what they have been yearning for.  Conditions were good where there was snow but the lack natural snow and warm and humid weather had limited snowmaking.  This resulted in only a few lifts being operated.  The gondola was not running.  I think it had to do with the layer of ice on the towers and cables from some freezing rain that Goliath left.  Wise move, safety first!

The result was long lift lines.  Everyone seemed to be taking it in stride though.  They seemed glad to be out and on their boards and skis.

Fast forward to four days to Sunday.

Those who had booked the week had appeared to had left town, or were packing to leave.  Driving up Route 30 I saw several vehicles loaded up with skis, boards and boxes on their roofs.

The Mountain seemed like a different place than it was a few days earlier.. The lodge was less crowded with ample seating and room to change.

The crowds were gone and so were the lift lines.  The gondola was open and was essentially a walk on. While ski school participants were lined up for the American Express Lift the line moved quickly.

Two views of the Ursa Express. On the left December 30th. On the right January 3rd.

The Ursa Express, which had a 30-minute line on Wednesday, was down to three minutes.  By noon there was no line and the lifties went about their chores without ensuring that every single chair had six people.

Snow conditions were better too.  A few more days of cold weather allowed for more snowmaking that continued on the upper mountain.  Although some up the upper expert trails like Tamarack and Polar Bear got a little scraped off by 1:00, good snow was found on Upper and Lower East Meadow and Lower Wanderer up until 3:00.

You should know that Stratton Mountain is the home of the Great Snow Guarantee: “On any day, ski or ride for one hour from the start of your day (time at which you bought your lift ticket – ticket is time stamped); if you are not satisfied with the snow conditions bring your ticket to guest services and receive a voucher for the same type of ticket good until the end of the current season.”

So if you can start your vacation, or take a day trip on the last day of the a school vacation, Stratton, or any other mountain will be a different place.

For more information visit http://www.stratton.com

 

Some video from Stratton Mountain from Janary 3rd.