outlyr

I'll be heading up to Smugglers' Notch in a few weeks, anyone been boarding there lately?

FirstChair

Went there on Feb 2 , conditions were about average I stayed out of the woods though, as cover looked a bit thin. The groomers were nice though.
Whenever I go there, it seems like there is always some fresh on top of the groomed trails-they must groom early am .

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outlyr

Thanks. Have you been to Stowe or Jay Peak lately?

FirstChair

Nope,
Will visit Jay soon,maybe next weekend, and probably Stowe in the last week of Feb.
I usually ride Bolton Valley.It's been decent there, though some of their terrain was late to open up for obvious reasons.

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outlyr

While conditions in Northern Vermont were far from ideal this past week, seven straight days with temperatures ranging from the low 50's to the high seventies made for some good riding nonetheless. I spent Saturday through Monday boarding at Smugglers' Notch. Saturday was the coldest day I was there, temps were in the low forties throughout the early morning hours making for fairly good cover. Smuggs had probably 40 percent of the trails open with a few smaller park features and a nice small to mid-size jump line. Conditions deteriorated as temps rose into the high fifties in the early afternoon. Daytime temps were well into the seventies on Tuesday and Wednesday. Huge bare spots opened up throughout the days with only maybe 4 or five top to bottom runs remaining open. So on Tuesday I decided to head up to Jay Peak. Another day in the high seventies. Although conditions at Jay were much better than at Smuggs, by the time the lifts closed at 4 they lost a lot of cover. Some French-Canadians in the tram line recommended Stowe. So I picked up a two-day lift ticket for a staggering $174. Stowe, by far, had the most snow and the best conditions. They also had a kick-ass high speed quad that had me doing multiple laps per hour. A nice twenty footer in the park off of the 'Standard' trail had me pulling magazine cover quality heal-side grabs on my Westmark. Day two at Stowe, more of the same, this time on my DH. Friday was a travel day but I decided to hit up Sugarbush for a half-day or so of riding. I boarded from 9-2:30 on their 2 trails ("five segments") at a discounted rate of $59 (normally $83). Needless to say the two trails got choppier with each run, by noon both consisted of huge moguls with rocky bare spots in the valleys. There was however a small roller that allowed for a risky highspeed pop over a twenty foot bare spot with an equally sketchy landing on snow. Overall as shitty as the conditions were, with such mild temperatures I was just glad to get in seven straight days of riding.

FirstChair

Sweet.
I hit Stowe late last spring and it was a blast,with discounted tickets even(Apr.9) they prob. wont be open that late this year.
This season ended for me on Feb 28 when I tore up my rotator cuff.....There was powder so I kept riding for 2+ hours knowing that my season was done right there.Driving a 5 speed home was no fun however.

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outlyr

Yeah, all the locals kept telling me how much better last season was. Apparently, last year most places were going strong well into April. Not this year. I assume that Smuggs, Jay, and Sugarbush are all done for the season as of today. Stowe might be able to stretch into next weekend, but with more mild temps there days are numbered.

Did you tear your rotator cuff during that big powder dump they had up there earlier in the season? They said the lift lines were an hour long at Smuggs in the days following.

FirstChair

I got injured during the bunch of snow we got Feb 26-28, but it was at Bolton Valley .Conditions were excellent.
The lift lines weren't too bad there , at least when I left at 1PM painfully.
The storm you're talking about was earlier in the season and bigger. The lift lines may have been worth it.......

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poutanen

Yeah I was at Jay April 2-5 or so last year and it was great, still just below freezing with good cover everywhere. I think we even had powder one of the days...

BTW I've fucked my rotator cuffs three times now snowboarding, and I was always back on on the slopes in about three weeks (with some pain). There's really good physio you can do for a rotator cuff. Unfortunately I still have pain when I bend my arms a certain way, but they're not holding me back at all.

outlyr

Thankfully I've never had any rotator cuff issues, I have however had my fair share of shoulder injuries due to boarding. I've been lucky this season as far as that's concerned though. I've learned that rolling with falls seems to prevent shoulder injuries. I try to stick the landings, not the falls.

I just checked out the Stowe website, looks like they have some fresh powder up there.