Here is the information repeated from today's Inside Line Newsletter emailed from the Stowe Mountain Resort
Powder Edition - January 29, 2009
Volume 18, Number 8
Buried!
With over 200 inches of snow before yesterday's weather event, this new storm dumped up to 20 more inches of the good stuff, setting up this weekend to be the best to date. It has snowed for the better part of the last two weeks, but in modest quantities. However, as good as it has been, it just got radically better, thanks to a major storm burying much of the region. It is the final week of the month and everyone around here knows that the skiing and riding in February typically is even better than in January. Hoo boy! There will be some fun stuff on tap this weekend. This week is Winter Rendezvous XXV in Stowe. Saturday the resort will host the “Main Event Championship Series,” a snowboard slopestyle competition with a premium prize purse and U.S. Open spots at stake. Expect great powder skiing and riding to boot!
About the Snow in Stowe
It’s not easy to ignore global concerns about the very real possibility of climate change. But in terms of empirical evidence, this winter here in northern Vermont continues a recent trend of very good, very plentiful snow conditions for skiers and snowboarders over the last decade or so. Snowfall continues to be strong and the numbers from nearby Burlington support these findings as Vermont’s largest city located in the relatively temperate Champlain Valley as received over five feet of snow already with temperature readings about five degrees below normal. Here in Stowe, the average depth of the snowpack on Mount Mansfield, Vermont’s highest peak continues to run ahead of the average compiled over the last fifty-five winters. Some winters snow comes in big bursts with intermittent dry spells but this year as was the case last year, snowfall has been very steady. Already better than 220 inches has fallen and past history indi! cates that the snowiest months, February and March, are still ahead. With this week’s just arrived storm the depth of the snowpack should leap well past the 60” mark, which most knowledgeable woods skier & riders regard as the benchmark for full on fun in the hardwood designated glades of Stowe, which have received such acclaim in recent years. As good as things are right now, it is only the continuation of a trend that has seen each of the last eleven winters reach a snowpack depth that exceeds the traditional average on Mansfield. Old-timers like to say, “it doesn’t snow like it used to.” In fact they are correct. It seems to snow more than it used to. Life remains very good in Stowe these days.
Resort Report
Trail Report: Lot’s of new snow! The bump skiing will continue to be some of the best in years. Those cold days with nightly snowfalls do wonders for the mogul lines and Starr, Lookout and Goat are really in great shape. This weekend the bump lines in the Tres Amigos and Lookout Glades should be the best they have been all winter. Nightly grooming continues to set the stage for high-quality cruising with Lord from top to bottom about as good as it gets. Lullaby Lane is always missed yet savvy veterans know that low-angle runs offer sweet snow when many others have been skied hard. It will be impossible to find much to complain about over at the Gondola. Chin Clip will continue to mix relatively steep with pretty deep and that natural snow remains special. The cruisers; Gondolier and Perry Merrill, should be really good and resilient despite the efforts of many to slide them into oblivion. Like to mea! nder? See if you can follow Switchback from its beginning off of upper Gondolier to its always soft conclusion near the base of Chin Clip. Spruce will be very good everywhere and please check out the edge of the treeline alongside the meadows for some very nice soft snow under your skis or board. Upper Spruce will be the best it has been this winter and possibly the rope might drop on the cherished but rarely open Sensation liftline. Whirlaway has been excellent all week and now it is even better.
Snow report: A very good week for skiers and riders to savor snow as it often arrives in Vermont, an inch or two every day. That pattern has given way to a heavy storm which dropped up to 20” onto the slopes of Mansfield by opening time today/Thursday. The reading at the WCAX snow stake alongside the Toll Road rose to 58” on Tuesday night and that number will jump considerably by the time we reach the weekend. The forecast looks rather good. Snow showers Friday and Saturday, a break for some much needed sun on Sunday and then back to snow Sunday night. Gee you might want of call in sick Monday morning.
Snowmaking/Grooming Report:. Most of the tough work is now behind the snowmakers but they were having fun this week burying various pieces of Stowe famous quartet of trails known as the Front Four. Liftline was nailed from top to bottom as well as the traverse line named the Hay Chute serving those double black diamonds. Just for good measure the crew set up a couple of guns at the top of the very steep upper National Headwall just to augment Mother Nature’s efforts. They also blew some snow down onto the 40-degree steep headwall of Starr. The real challenge will be to see if they can take the winch cat over the top just to you know smooth it a bit. Hey everyone in Mountain Ops enjoys a bit of a challenge now and then. Nightly grooming continues on over half the trail system. snow accumulation has been over at Spruce.
Lift Report: During the week the Quad will be the first lift running when it opens at 8 a.m. It opens at 7:30 a.m. on the weekend, the earliest lift operation in the East. The Triple opens at 9:00 and the Lookout double opens as needed. The Gondola is open usually at 8:30 and the Spruce Lifts cycle in beginning at 8:30 a.m with the Easy Street Double. All lifts at Spruce Peak are expected to be in full operation daily. The Tollhouse Double opens at 9 a.m. and the Midway Surface lift will be running this weekend. The Over Easy transfer gondola runs daily from 7:30 a.m. (7:00 on weekends) through at least 5 p.m.
Calendar
January 28-February 1: XXV Winter Rendezvous - The annual GLBT week in Stowe. Fun and snow are the main menu.
January 31: Main Event Snowboard Championship Series - A slopestyle event to be held on West Run at Spruce. Register 8-10 a.m. Spruce Base Camp. Competition start 10:30 a.m. Info at http://www.maineventseries.com
January 31: Chef Presentation - 1 to 3 p.m. at the Spruce PeakPreview Center
January 31: Torchlight Parade & Fireworks - West Slope is the venue and the Spruce Camp will be the place to watch the colorful display as a torchlight procession of skiers & riders winds down the hill at 7 p.m.
January 31: Vermont Woodchuck Cider Dinner - See your shadow under the moonlight at the Cliff House Restaurant and then celebrate six more weeks of winter with our Woodchuck Cider six course pairing menu.
February 1: Mural Painting with Jess Graham at Spruce Peak Another - workshop in a series to run all winter. (Inquiries to Dhatoff@ sprucepeak.com)
February 3: Ski Bum Race #5 - GS race series continues at Spruce Peak. 253-7704.
February 4: Woodchuck Wednesday - Celebrate the rest of winter with $35 lift tickets and a chance to win free skis or a snowboard in the Golden Goggles contest. 888-253-4TIX.
Music on the Mountain
This weekend’s music lineup includes Dan Walker at Spruce Camp and the Detonators at the Den in Mansfield base lodge. The Myra Flynn Band will be performing up at Jose’s in the Midway base lodge and you can catch old favorite Jim Charonko in the Fireside Tavern down at the Inn at the Mountain. Scheduled times for bands are from 2-6 p.m.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Skiing Update
Hello from the long lost frozen north. I haven't updated in a while becuase real estate has been very busy, the weather has not been fantastic and the temperatures have been cold.
BOY, DID THAT CHANGE THIS WEEK!!!!!! Below is the ski report for this morning and it is bright and sunny, 25 degrees at noon time
Trails Open 110 (41.1 Miles)
Lifts Open 11
Surface Conditions, Powder/Packed Powder
Summit Temperature 6°
Base Temperature 15°
Snowfall last 24 hours 16-20"
Snowfall last 72 hours 16-21"
Snowfall last 7 days 27-34"
Snowmaking Trails Ave. Base Depths 36"- 63"
Natural Snow Trails Ave. Base Depths 21"- 32"
The morning there was over a foot of fresh powder, it stopped snowing about 2AM after coming down all day, 16 inches at my house and over 20 on top of the MT. Also they had 5 foot drifts on the trails this morning and have worked all morning to groom. Staff just left for the Mt. and it is reported to be awesome.
The forecast for Friday is a LITTLE more snow and than sunny on Saturday & Sunday with high temperatures around 30 each day. If you have the time and flexibility you should be here this weekend.
BOY, DID THAT CHANGE THIS WEEK!!!!!! Below is the ski report for this morning and it is bright and sunny, 25 degrees at noon time
Trails Open 110 (41.1 Miles)
Lifts Open 11
Surface Conditions, Powder/Packed Powder
Summit Temperature 6°
Base Temperature 15°
Snowfall last 24 hours 16-20"
Snowfall last 72 hours 16-21"
Snowfall last 7 days 27-34"
Snowmaking Trails Ave. Base Depths 36"- 63"
Natural Snow Trails Ave. Base Depths 21"- 32"
The morning there was over a foot of fresh powder, it stopped snowing about 2AM after coming down all day, 16 inches at my house and over 20 on top of the MT. Also they had 5 foot drifts on the trails this morning and have worked all morning to groom. Staff just left for the Mt. and it is reported to be awesome.
The forecast for Friday is a LITTLE more snow and than sunny on Saturday & Sunday with high temperatures around 30 each day. If you have the time and flexibility you should be here this weekend.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
This week at the mountain
January 1, 2009 - Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
New Year Arriving With Snowflakes
Regional sages have always said that winter doesn’t really begin in Vermont until after the New Year. Of course those who enjoyed some great powder skiing and riding in late November and throughout much of December will not share that viewpoint. This week fresh snow returned to the mountains and the prospects for the remainder of this holiday week and looking ahead 15 days, are excellent for both fresh snowfall and continued prime snowmaking conditions. The Spruce Peak Plaza is currently a lot of fun as Igloo Building gets underway and Ice Carvers will be unveiling a new ‘Ice Chair’ to commemorate the arrival of 2009. This weekend will also include the showing of another film in the new Mountain Films Series at Spruce Camp. It’s been an eventful season thus far and the best is still to come!
Spruce Peak Growing Lively
Stowe Mountain Resort can trace its history back many decades to the mid 1930’s when skiers arrived by sled and lifts were still a dream of the future. Skiing had rapidly become a social sport where deep friendships developed based on long and arduous climbs up the mountain and adventure-charged descents down difficult, narrow and largely un-groomed trails. Over time the sport grew substantially in numbers of participants. Stowe fast became one of the great centers of skiing and remains so to this day. As great a resort as it was though, Stowe lacked a social and cultural center at the base of the mountains. There were always spots popular with the regulars -- the fireplace at the Den, the deck on the Octagon in the spring and of course the Midway deck on sunny afternoons. But now a new hub is in place, the new Spruce Peak Plaza, with its companions Stowe Mountain Lodge and Spruce Camp. More and more, these facilities are creating a new world at Stowe ! Mountain Resort. From interactive art workshops -- such as the one this Sunday with local mixed media artist Natalie Voght -- to outdoor Igloo Village building, music everyday in the Spruce Camp and open fire pits where hot chocolate and s’mores are often offered, there is a new vibrancy at the mountain. So easily accessed via the Over Easy transfer gondola, anyone can make it to Spruce if the weather has you chilled, the mountain has you tired or you just seek a new experience. Hotel guest, skier, rider or visitor to the town of Stowe, the activities taking place in and around the Plaza or the nearby Spruce Camp have created a new diversion for all.
Mountain Operations Raises the Bar
When the hill is full of skiers and riders and Mother Nature is delivering her usual witches brew of weather, that is when the crews of Mountain Operations are called upon to do their best and most demanding work. A good early season stretch of snowmaking weather allowed Stowe’s snowmakers to bury virtually every trail in the system protected by snowmaking. The acquisition of an additional Pisten Bully allowed the groomers to be able to groom virtually every inch of the main trail system on a nightly basis. As a result, each day skiers and riders have found some pretty good corduroy and a freshly-manicured surface. None of this would have been possible 10 years ago in Stowe. The industry’s development of modern grooming machines boasting a wide variety of sophisticated hydraulic devices, and the tripling of the resort’s ability to deliver fresh snow over the last five years, have given the engineers and artisans of Mountain Operations a whole ar! senal with which to provide high quality snow surfaces for skiers and riders. This week always raises the bar for Mt. Ops., providing a higher volume of guests the best possible product available in the Northeast. So far the report card has been honors grades.
Resort Report
Trail Report: The trail count right now is at 66 but is expected to jump considerably with the arrival of the next storm forecast for the end of the week. Most of the key routes on the hill remain open. Cruising is the operative condition these days although those skiing and riding on Monday found some very soft and fresh snow. Recommended route for most off the top of the Quad is Upper Lord or Ridgeview. Once down to the top of the Lookout Chair there are excellent routes down via Middle Lord or Sunrise. Centerline offers bumps and as you get further down Standard and Tyro remain very good options. Good bumps exist in both the Nosedive Glades and the Tres Amigos Glades but remember it is very challenging skiing or riding in there. Over at the Gondola, Gondolier and Perry Merrill are the preferred routes and super grooming allows both trails to handle a pretty significant volume of traffic. There is a lot of very good skiing and riding to be f! ound over at Spruce and of particular merit is the knowledge that in the afternoon the sun still has been known to shine on much of that trail network. Lower Spruce has coast-to-coast grooming pretty much every night and the West Slope and Slalom Hill sections are both sporting very deep cover. Easy Street and Inspiration are also in good shape. Meadows is worth checking out because it is very quiet on those broad expanses that gave that area its name (Decades back Spruce Peak was actually a highland farm.) Main Street is in very good shape top to bottom. Expect to find Alpine race-training on skier’s/rider’s left in the mid-section but it is open over the entire length of one of the resort’s most scenic trails.
Snow report: A variable week for snowfall but it is ending well. A lively squall brought much-needed freshies to the face of Mansfield and Spruce Peak on Monday night and as much as 6-7” had collected on the lee side of the trails at the Gondola and on Mount Mansfield. Another inch or two fell in short bursts on Tuesday during the day. The forecast for the rest of the week is very promising. The reading at the WCAX snow stake alongside the Toll Road is sitting at 33” after a few days of consolidation in the snowpack. That reading is about normal for this point in the winter according to the 54-year averages kept by the weather service since the stake was installed in 1954.
Snowmaking/Grooming Report:. The snowmakers have been all over the hill this week. Each Christmas week they usually have snow guns in many different locations all over the system, capable of quickly recovering key areas. A priority at Mansfield has been Standard and North Slope and the tower guns have been active along Perry Merrill. There have been guns going on both lower and upper Spruce. Most of the snow is now made for the halfpipe on lower Standard and shaping of the pipe is now underway. Completion of the pipe is probably set for next weekend. Guns will also be blasting snow onto Tyro shortly with a goal of getting the big terrain park built as soon as possible.
Lift Report: All week the Quad will continue as always to be the first lift running. It opens at 7:30 a.m. the earliest lift operation in the East. The Triple opens at 9:00am and the Lookout Double opens as needed. The Gondola is open usually at 8:30 and the Spruce Lifts cycle in beginning at 9 a.m. All lifts at Spruce Peak are expected to be in full operation throughout the holiday week. The Midway Surface lift will be running daily and the Over Easy transfer gondola runs daily from 7:30 a.m. through at least 5 p.m.
Calendar
January 1: Ice Chair Carving - Carvers build a full size chair in ice. It will be here all season in the Spruce Plaza.
January 1-2: Igloo Village Building - Come help build an igloo village by the Spruce Camp patio - throughout the day.
January 2: Mountain Film Series - Enjoy a film from Stowe’s own Meathead Films. The offering is called “Head for the Hills. It will be shown from 6:30-8:30pm at Spruce Camp and proceeds benefit the Vermont Ski Museum.
January 4: Mixed Media art with Natalie Voght - Another workshop in a series to run all winter. All are welcome. (Inquiries to Dhatoff@ sprucepeak.com)
January 3: Salvation Farms Dinner - 1st in the Summit Series of Cliff House Dinners. The Cliff House will feature a nine course tasting menu to welcome the ‘09 season and raise funds to support the Vermont Food Bank and Salvation Farms.
January 6: Ski Bum Race #1 - Team GS racing begins on the Slalom Hill at Spruce Peak. 11:30 a.m. - Info at (802)253-7704.January 9: Women in Motion Camp Stowe’s popular clinic for women skiers and riders returns for another season. Info: 800-253-4754.
Music on the Mountain
The music scene at the resort is really vibrant these days. Spruce Camp is happening for après-ski with Kid Pinky and his Restless Knights the headliners on New Year’s Day. Friday it is the Peter Crag Duo and Saturday enjoy Raphael Groten. The Den’s roster includes Blue on Friday and the always popular Blues for Breakfast band led by Charlie Frazier on Saturday. Both of those acts are scheduled from 2-6pm. Midway offers music on both Friday and Saturday afternoons -- first Brett Hughes and then D.J. Scotty. For a little more mellow gig, try the Fireside to hear Brett Hughes on Saturday afternoon. (You can ski or ride down there at the end of the day but you will need someone to rendezvous with you by car since lift service ends at 4pm.
New Year Arriving With Snowflakes
Regional sages have always said that winter doesn’t really begin in Vermont until after the New Year. Of course those who enjoyed some great powder skiing and riding in late November and throughout much of December will not share that viewpoint. This week fresh snow returned to the mountains and the prospects for the remainder of this holiday week and looking ahead 15 days, are excellent for both fresh snowfall and continued prime snowmaking conditions. The Spruce Peak Plaza is currently a lot of fun as Igloo Building gets underway and Ice Carvers will be unveiling a new ‘Ice Chair’ to commemorate the arrival of 2009. This weekend will also include the showing of another film in the new Mountain Films Series at Spruce Camp. It’s been an eventful season thus far and the best is still to come!
Spruce Peak Growing Lively
Stowe Mountain Resort can trace its history back many decades to the mid 1930’s when skiers arrived by sled and lifts were still a dream of the future. Skiing had rapidly become a social sport where deep friendships developed based on long and arduous climbs up the mountain and adventure-charged descents down difficult, narrow and largely un-groomed trails. Over time the sport grew substantially in numbers of participants. Stowe fast became one of the great centers of skiing and remains so to this day. As great a resort as it was though, Stowe lacked a social and cultural center at the base of the mountains. There were always spots popular with the regulars -- the fireplace at the Den, the deck on the Octagon in the spring and of course the Midway deck on sunny afternoons. But now a new hub is in place, the new Spruce Peak Plaza, with its companions Stowe Mountain Lodge and Spruce Camp. More and more, these facilities are creating a new world at Stowe ! Mountain Resort. From interactive art workshops -- such as the one this Sunday with local mixed media artist Natalie Voght -- to outdoor Igloo Village building, music everyday in the Spruce Camp and open fire pits where hot chocolate and s’mores are often offered, there is a new vibrancy at the mountain. So easily accessed via the Over Easy transfer gondola, anyone can make it to Spruce if the weather has you chilled, the mountain has you tired or you just seek a new experience. Hotel guest, skier, rider or visitor to the town of Stowe, the activities taking place in and around the Plaza or the nearby Spruce Camp have created a new diversion for all.
Mountain Operations Raises the Bar
When the hill is full of skiers and riders and Mother Nature is delivering her usual witches brew of weather, that is when the crews of Mountain Operations are called upon to do their best and most demanding work. A good early season stretch of snowmaking weather allowed Stowe’s snowmakers to bury virtually every trail in the system protected by snowmaking. The acquisition of an additional Pisten Bully allowed the groomers to be able to groom virtually every inch of the main trail system on a nightly basis. As a result, each day skiers and riders have found some pretty good corduroy and a freshly-manicured surface. None of this would have been possible 10 years ago in Stowe. The industry’s development of modern grooming machines boasting a wide variety of sophisticated hydraulic devices, and the tripling of the resort’s ability to deliver fresh snow over the last five years, have given the engineers and artisans of Mountain Operations a whole ar! senal with which to provide high quality snow surfaces for skiers and riders. This week always raises the bar for Mt. Ops., providing a higher volume of guests the best possible product available in the Northeast. So far the report card has been honors grades.
Resort Report
Trail Report: The trail count right now is at 66 but is expected to jump considerably with the arrival of the next storm forecast for the end of the week. Most of the key routes on the hill remain open. Cruising is the operative condition these days although those skiing and riding on Monday found some very soft and fresh snow. Recommended route for most off the top of the Quad is Upper Lord or Ridgeview. Once down to the top of the Lookout Chair there are excellent routes down via Middle Lord or Sunrise. Centerline offers bumps and as you get further down Standard and Tyro remain very good options. Good bumps exist in both the Nosedive Glades and the Tres Amigos Glades but remember it is very challenging skiing or riding in there. Over at the Gondola, Gondolier and Perry Merrill are the preferred routes and super grooming allows both trails to handle a pretty significant volume of traffic. There is a lot of very good skiing and riding to be f! ound over at Spruce and of particular merit is the knowledge that in the afternoon the sun still has been known to shine on much of that trail network. Lower Spruce has coast-to-coast grooming pretty much every night and the West Slope and Slalom Hill sections are both sporting very deep cover. Easy Street and Inspiration are also in good shape. Meadows is worth checking out because it is very quiet on those broad expanses that gave that area its name (Decades back Spruce Peak was actually a highland farm.) Main Street is in very good shape top to bottom. Expect to find Alpine race-training on skier’s/rider’s left in the mid-section but it is open over the entire length of one of the resort’s most scenic trails.
Snow report: A variable week for snowfall but it is ending well. A lively squall brought much-needed freshies to the face of Mansfield and Spruce Peak on Monday night and as much as 6-7” had collected on the lee side of the trails at the Gondola and on Mount Mansfield. Another inch or two fell in short bursts on Tuesday during the day. The forecast for the rest of the week is very promising. The reading at the WCAX snow stake alongside the Toll Road is sitting at 33” after a few days of consolidation in the snowpack. That reading is about normal for this point in the winter according to the 54-year averages kept by the weather service since the stake was installed in 1954.
Snowmaking/Grooming Report:. The snowmakers have been all over the hill this week. Each Christmas week they usually have snow guns in many different locations all over the system, capable of quickly recovering key areas. A priority at Mansfield has been Standard and North Slope and the tower guns have been active along Perry Merrill. There have been guns going on both lower and upper Spruce. Most of the snow is now made for the halfpipe on lower Standard and shaping of the pipe is now underway. Completion of the pipe is probably set for next weekend. Guns will also be blasting snow onto Tyro shortly with a goal of getting the big terrain park built as soon as possible.
Lift Report: All week the Quad will continue as always to be the first lift running. It opens at 7:30 a.m. the earliest lift operation in the East. The Triple opens at 9:00am and the Lookout Double opens as needed. The Gondola is open usually at 8:30 and the Spruce Lifts cycle in beginning at 9 a.m. All lifts at Spruce Peak are expected to be in full operation throughout the holiday week. The Midway Surface lift will be running daily and the Over Easy transfer gondola runs daily from 7:30 a.m. through at least 5 p.m.
Calendar
January 1: Ice Chair Carving - Carvers build a full size chair in ice. It will be here all season in the Spruce Plaza.
January 1-2: Igloo Village Building - Come help build an igloo village by the Spruce Camp patio - throughout the day.
January 2: Mountain Film Series - Enjoy a film from Stowe’s own Meathead Films. The offering is called “Head for the Hills. It will be shown from 6:30-8:30pm at Spruce Camp and proceeds benefit the Vermont Ski Museum.
January 4: Mixed Media art with Natalie Voght - Another workshop in a series to run all winter. All are welcome. (Inquiries to Dhatoff@ sprucepeak.com)
January 3: Salvation Farms Dinner - 1st in the Summit Series of Cliff House Dinners. The Cliff House will feature a nine course tasting menu to welcome the ‘09 season and raise funds to support the Vermont Food Bank and Salvation Farms.
January 6: Ski Bum Race #1 - Team GS racing begins on the Slalom Hill at Spruce Peak. 11:30 a.m. - Info at (802)253-7704.January 9: Women in Motion Camp Stowe’s popular clinic for women skiers and riders returns for another season. Info: 800-253-4754.
Music on the Mountain
The music scene at the resort is really vibrant these days. Spruce Camp is happening for après-ski with Kid Pinky and his Restless Knights the headliners on New Year’s Day. Friday it is the Peter Crag Duo and Saturday enjoy Raphael Groten. The Den’s roster includes Blue on Friday and the always popular Blues for Breakfast band led by Charlie Frazier on Saturday. Both of those acts are scheduled from 2-6pm. Midway offers music on both Friday and Saturday afternoons -- first Brett Hughes and then D.J. Scotty. For a little more mellow gig, try the Fireside to hear Brett Hughes on Saturday afternoon. (You can ski or ride down there at the end of the day but you will need someone to rendezvous with you by car since lift service ends at 4pm.
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