Bolton Valley Nordic & Backcountry, VT 30DEC2017

An image of snow-covered berries on a tree up by the Bryant Cabin near Bolton Valley Ski Resort in Vermont
An image of a glade in the Bolton Valley backcountry network at Bolton Valley Ski Resort in Vermont
Taking advantage of today’s slightly warmer temperatures to visit some of the glades in the Bolton Valley backcountry network

I last got out for a ski tour at Bolton Valley on Tuesday, with the plan of getting in some turns ahead of the very cold weather that was forecast for the rest of the holiday week.  Indeed the cold came into the area as expected, and while the low temperatures were far from anything that would set records, high temperatures that were staying below zero F and wind chills on top of that meant that it was going to be brutal out there.  Today marked a bit of a respite from those temperatures though, with highs expected to be well up into the single digits F, no winds, and sunshine.  I figured that today was my window to get back out for a ski tour before temperatures dip back down in the coming days.

An image of some plants poking through the snow along the Broadway trail at Bolton Valley Ski Resort in VermontThe warmest part of the day was expected to be in the afternoon, with a southerly flow of air thanks to the remnants of Winter Storm Frankie passing through the area.  I went with two base layers (lights under heavies) just to ensure that I’d be comfortable, and headed up to the mountain around 2:30 P.M.  There was still some dim, arctic-looking sun pushing through the clouds off to the south as I arrived at the Village and parked right along the edge of Broadway.  Temperatures were in the in the 5 to 10 F range, and with no wind it was actually quite comfortable – within a few minutes of starting my ascent of Bryant I was skinning without a hat in order to cool off.

“Learning from my Tuesday tour, I brought fatter skis and dropped the pitch of my selected slopes just a bit, and that yielded some excellent powder turns.”

It was my first day out on the backcountry network this season, so I stuck with a simple trip up to Bryant Cabin with one of my favorite touring routes:  Car –> Broadway –> Bryant –> Bryant Cabin –> Gardiner’s Lane –> North Slope –> Connector Glade –> Gardiner’s Lane –> Grizzwald –> Gotham City –> Girl’s –> World Cup –> World Cup Glade –> Telemark Glade –> Broadway –> Bolton Valley Village –> Fireside Flatbread –> Car.  It seems like quite the tour, although it’s only about 2.5 miles.  That last stop before the car is pretty important though, especially on a cold December afternoon when the sun’s gone down.

A map with a GPS tracking data plotted onto Google Earth for a ski tour on the Nordic and Backcountry network at Bolton Valley Resort on December 30th, 2017
The GPS track of today’s Bolton Valley Nordic & Backcountry tour mapped onto Google Earth

We’ve had perhaps an inch or two of snow since my last outing on Tuesday, and at Village elevations I was finding about 5 inches of powder atop a thick layer.  That surface snow depth definitely increased a bit with elevation, and if you punched through the thick layer in the snowpack you’d be looking at 18 to 24 inches of snow before getting to whatever base snow was below that.  Learning from my Tuesday tour, I brought fatter skis and dropped the pitch of my selected slopes just a bit, and that yielded some excellent powder turns.  Some of the best sections were Girl’s and Telemark Glade, where the terrain and snow really flowed well.

Bolton Valley, VT 26DEC2017

an image of the Timberline Lift at Bolton Valley Ski Resort in Vermont
An image of ski tracks in powder snow on the Brandywine trail at Bolton Valley Ski Resort in Vermont
Preparing for some turns on Brandywine during my ski tour at Bolton Valley’s Timberline area today

The middle of Winter Storm Dylan at the end of last week had some mixed precipitation that put a thick layer into the snowpack, but since then we’ve had the backside snow from that storm, the snow from Winter Storm Ethan, and some additional snow from a localized streamer that was affecting the area yesterday.  It was certainly enough new powder to entice me out to the mountain for a quick tour today, especially with some very cold air coming into the area later this week.

I arrived at Timberline in the mid-afternoon period, just as a some snow was moving into the valley.  The snow was steady during my whole tour, although visibility was generally in the 1 to 2-mile range, so it wasn’t especially heavy.  In terms of the powder, I found roughly 4 to 6 inches at the 1,500’ level, and probably 5 to 7 inches at the 2,500’ level.

An image of the Timberline Lodge with some snowfall at Bolton Valley Ski Resort in Vermont
Snowfall at the Timberline Lodge today

Although I did ascend all the way to the Timberline Summit, my main goal was a trip down Brandywine, which had some great snow and just a couple of previous ski tracks.  The powder was deep enough for plenty of good turns on Brandywine, although I think it would have been better with some wider skis vs. just my midfats.  I also think some slightly lower angle would be good to really stay away from that crust.

At the end of my tour I spoke with one of the crew that was working on grooming Timberline Run, and it sounds like they’re planning to open the Timberline area tomorrow for lift-served skiing.

Bolton Valley, VT 22DEC2017

An image of snow from Winter Storm Dylan collecting on a chair by the Timberline Base Lodge at Bolton Valley Ski Resort in Vermont
An image of Quinn skinning up in the Timberline area at Bolton Valley Ski Resort in Vermont
Quinn heads up on his ascent of Timberline this afternoon to enjoy the fresh snow from Winter Storm Dylan.

We’re currently under the influence of Winter Storm Dylan, which started dropping snow on the area early this morning.  The snow started out slowly for the first couple of hours, but by 10:00 A.M. or so it had ramped up to very heavy intensity – at one point it was coming down at a rate of roughly 4 inches per hour.  It continued at a steady pace, and by midafternoon we’d already picked up 6 to 8 inches of snow at the house.  By that point it was obvious that there was going to be enough fresh snow for a ski tour, so I headed up to Bolton Valley while I still had light.

I pulled into the Timberline lot amidst heavy snow, and chatted with another gentleman who was just skinning up his skis for an ascent.  Within a couple of minutes, Quinn appeared out of his truck, and we sort of laughed amongst ourselves how everyone sort of had the same idea.  Well, great minds think alike, and know to get to the powder while the getting’s good.

An image of Quinn preparing his skis with climbing skins for a ski tour during Winter Storm Dylan at Bolton Valley Ski Resort in Vermont
There’s definitely some excitement out there for what Winter Storm Dylan was delivering today!

As I began my tour, my checks near the Timberline Base Lodge revealed that roughly 8 inches of new snow had fallen.  That number was growing by the minute though, and the snowfall during my ascent was quite heavy.  At times, visibility was down to a tenth of a mile, which equates to very heavy snowfall.  Up at the Timberline Mid Station I was finding anywhere from 8 to 12 inches of new snow.

“Up at the Timberline Mid Station I was finding anywhere from 8 to 12 inches of new snow.”

There were few if any tracks on Twice as Nice, so I decided to make use of its fairly consistent pitch and make my descent there.  I was on my 115 mm Black Diamond AMPerages, even with accumulations only topping out around a foot, the snow was mostly bottomless.  My legs got cooked pretty quickly from making Tele turns, but it gave me time to stop and soak in the scene with the storm, the snowfall, and the solitude.  It was a great outing, and there’s nothing like getting some of these productive winter storms during the holiday period when one’s schedule is a bit more relaxed.

Winter Storm Dylan is supposed to continue through tomorrow, but we’re going to have to watch out for some mixed precipitation and see how that plays out before everything changes back to snow.

Bolton Valley, VT 16DEC2017

An image of Ty and Jay at the bar at Fireside Flatbread Pizzeria at Bolton Valley Ski Resort in Vermont
An image of Ty Telemark skiing in powder on the Snowflake Bentley trail at Bolton Valley Resort in Vermont
10 to 12 inches of powder greeted us on the slopes of Bolton’s Snowflake area this afternoon.

It’s been a great week for snow in the Northern Greens.  Last weekend we had some lake-effect snow that dropped several inches in the mountains, and when that was followed up by the larger storm we had in the first half of the workweek, the local resorts were looking at snow totals of roughly two feet.  Since then, we’ve had additional rounds of light snow to keep the surfaces fresh, and the result has been some simply fantastic skiing.

“The general depths of powder we found today were in the 10-12” range, and it’s light and dry and simply delightful to ski.”

Light snow continued on and off today at the house to the tune of an inch or two of accumulation, but Powderfreak said that Stowe had seen a few inches, and the skiing looked really good.  One can only watch the flakes fall out there for so long before you want to take advantage and get in some powder skiing, so taking a trip up to the mountain was inevitable.  Dylan had a friend visiting today, but Ty and I headed up to Bolton Valley in the midafternoon to catch a few runs.  Temperatures had started in the 20s F, but they were definitely falling as the back side of this latest event came through.

An image of Ty Telemark skiing at Bolton Valley Resort in Vermont
Ty working on turns in some of the fresh powder out there today

As we were gearing up, Ty decided that he needed to hit the restroom in the main lodge, and when he came back he could not stop raving about the pizza smell inside.  With that, we knew where we were heading as soon as we were done skiing.  Ty had brought his Tele skis today, and we ended up just doing runs off Snowflake to let him work on his turns.  Actually, Snowflake was an excellent choice in general today because thanks to its generally lower amounts of skier traffic, it held some fabulous snow.  Ty had his pick of working on his turns in powder, chowder, or packed snow.  The general depths of powder we found today were in the 10-12” range, and it’s light and dry and simply delightful to ski.

“There’s easily a foot or more of powder in many places over there – it’s just been building up over the past few weeks with little traffic.”

We finished off the day with a ski down through the fresh powder on Timberline, and of course that was a highlight.  There’s been at least a little skier traffic down at Timberline from folks earning turns, but fresh turns are essentially everywhere.  Ty had no choice but to work on powder turns for that run… oh well.  There’s easily a foot or more of powder in many places over there – it’s just been building up over the past few weeks with little traffic.  We’d called ahead to let E know that we were heading down, and she was right there at the Timberline Base to pick us up and bring us back up to the main base.

E couldn’t stay, but Ty and I headed up to Fireside Flatbread as planned, and had a couple of slices at the bar.  Since E and Dylan hadn’t been able to join us, the natural course of action was to get a couple of pies to take home.  Man that crust was good. 

The base depths at Timberline aren’t quite there for lift-served traffic yet, but we’re definitely OK with that.  There’s more snow in the forecast in the coming week, so surfaces and powder availability should remain in good shape.

Bolton Valley, VT 12DEC2017

An image of ridgelines in the Bolton Valley Reosrt area in Vermont disappearing behind snow from a December storm
An image of Ty skiing powder during a December storm at Bolton Valley Resort in Vermont
Ty catching a few Telemark turns on today’s ski tour at Bolton Valley

Due to the winter storm coming through the area today, school was cancelled for Ty, and since I had contemplated working from home due to the weather, Ty being home for the day sealed the deal.  The storm had only started up in the morning, so it would take some time before there was much new snow down for skiing.  So, I got a bunch of work done, and finally in the midafternoon, we headed up to Bolton Valley for a quick ski tour in the new snow.

“We toured in the Wilderness area from 2,100’ up to around 2,800’, and we measured depths of the new snow in the 6” to 9” range, with some spots approaching 10” near the top of our ascent.”

On the way up to the Village, we noted the state of the snow at the Timberline Base (1,500’) and one could certainly have made some turns there if they wanted to, but some of the taller brush was still showing so I’d say it wasn’t quite ready for prime time at that point.  We toured in the Wilderness area from 2,100’ up to around 2,800’, and we measured depths of the new snow in the 6” to 9” range, with some spots approaching 10” near the top of our ascent.  I’d say the accumulations up there at that point weren’t all that different than what we had down at the house, although the flakes were pretty small, and the powder a reasonable middle-weight variety, so I’d say they’d picked up more liquid equivalent.

An image of snow drifts forming in the Bolton Valley Village
Drifts beginning to form in the Village

In terms of the powder skiing, although it certainly wasn’t champagne dry snow, the moderate heft to it was decent for keeping you up off the base.  At this stage of the season we can of course use some snow with plenty of liquid in it to build the snowpack, and if what’s up there gets topped with fluff form the back side of the storm, it should produce some excellent powder skiing.

“There’s something special about these deep dark December storm days though, the low light just gives them a unique feel that it’s hard to replicate at other times of the year.”

We’re into some of the shortest days of the year now, so light it as a premium, especially during a snowstorm.  I brought my brightest lens, the Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, and it was definitely sufficient, but there was still a lot of snow in the air making action shots a challenge.  There’s something special about these deep dark December storm days though, the low light just gives them a unique feel that it’s hard to replicate at other times of the year.

Stowe, VT 09DEC2017

An image showing ski tracks in powder snow in the Meadows area of Spruce Peak at Stowe Mountain Resort in Vermont
An image of the Spruce Camp Base Lodge at Stowe Mountain Ski Resort in Vermont
A view of the Spruce Camp Base Lodge today with the sun disappearing as clouds approach from Winter Storm Benji.

Today was our annual training day for the local ski programs at Stowe, and since Ty has now graduated from BJAMS and is out of the age range for being a student in the program, he’s actually going volunteer as a chaperone.  So, Ty joined E and I for the training today, which added a nice new dimension to the annual session.

“ There was one section where Ty and I decided that our midfats were definitely the tools for the job vs. our groomer skis…”

We certainly had a decent November with respect to snow in the Northern Greens, and while the snowfall slowed down a bit for the first week of December, a big change in the overall weather pattern this past week brought a large trough to the eastern U.S. and the snowfall is ramping back up.  Lake-effect snows from Lake Ontario drifted into the northern parts of Vermont in the midweek timeframe, bringing several inches of fresh snow to the resorts.  The recent snows were very obvious today at the resort, with 6 to 8 inches or more of powder available off piste at elevation, and several inches visible even near the base elevations.  The base depths aren’t quite there to do too much exploring the off piste yet, but it was easy to get into plenty of powder simply by sampling the edges of many trails.

An image showing ski tracks in powder snow in the Meadows area of Spruce Peak at Stowe Mountain Resort in Vermont
Tracks in powder showing some of the recent snow picked up by the local ski resorts

Those samplings aside, our main focus today was definitely on piste with our instructor Steve that we’ve had a few of these sessions now.  E, Ty, and I had the rare treat of checking out some fresh corduroy as we kicked off the day at Spruce Peak, and the recent snows have been mixed into the snowpack quite nicely to produce some pretty decent groomed surfaces.  We did a lot of fairly “free” skiing with Steve as he focused heavily on safety, and the minimal crowds at Spruce Peak kept the snow in really good shape.  Some terrain off the Gondola is available, so we skied Perry Merrill as a group.  Unfortunately, with only part of Gondolier open, the skier density on Perry Merrill was really too high to keep the snow in good shape.  The good part about the number of skiers on Perry Merrill was that they had already pushed a good amount of snow to the edges of the trail, which combined with the available powder, made for some really soft skiing.  There was one section where Ty and I decided that our midfats were definitely the tools for the job vs. our groomer skis, but overall, the skinnier carving skis were the right call for today’s outing.

That one run on Perry Merrill was enough to show us how good we’d had it over at Spruce Peak, so we headed back there for the rest of our session.  The main training drill that we practiced with Steve was a double pole plant drill that will aid students in getting their weight forward.  Lunch at the Great Room Grill was great as always.  The Taqueria was open, so Ty and I each got a burrito – they had three kinds of meat and we massive.  Two people could easily split a single order if they wanted.

Early morning sun today was pretty quickly obscured by Winter Storm Benji, which was approaching the area from the south.  The more notable accumulations have certainly been off to the south and east of our area, although we have picked up almost an inch of snow from the storm at our house.  The forecast suggests that we’ve got more snow coming this week, and with wintry temperatures in place, the ski conditions should make a nice increase in quality with surfaces softening even more.