Our latest storm moved into the area yesterday, and it held the potential for some decent mountain snows. Yesterday afternoon, I could see that a few inches of snow had already accumulated at the summit elevations at Sugarbush, but there was really just a trace in the mid mountain elevations, so it was unclear how low significant accumulations were going to go. When reports started coming in from the west side of the Northern Greens, it turned out that snow levels were much lower there, with accumulations visible down to 800 feet in the Nashville area. In line with those low snow levels, we were even getting snow here at the house, which is down at 500 feet.
I had initially contemplated heading to Stowe for some turns in the morning, thinking the terrain above 3,000’ would really be needed to get into some good snow, but those low snow levels on the western slopes definitely had me thinking about Bolton Valley as good option. The overnight didn’t seem to bring about any substantial changes, so I stuck with that plan and headed to Bolton for a ski tour this morning.
“I could tell right away as I began my descent that the density and consistency of the snow called for steep terrain, so I dove right down Spillway and that really hit the spot.”
Low clouds were obscuring the mountains by our house, but it seemed like the snow line this morning was down around 1,000’. On my drive, the first signs of fresh snow accumulations were indeed right around the 1,000’ elevation on the Bolton Valley Access Road, and then the world just got whiter and whiter as I headed up.
I started my ski tour at the Bolton Valley Village, which is a bit above 2,000’, so with the way this storm accumulated that meant decent coverage from there on up to the summits. At the base elevations this morning the temperature was just edging above freezing in the 7:30 -8:00 A.M. timeframe, and the snow was definitely dense. The fresh snow was wet, but not slushy or sopping at that point. It was gradually falling of the trees on my ascent as the temperatures rose. I headed up into cooler temperatures, but it was still warming all the way to the summit and I bet temperatures in the mid-30s F tracked with me as I ascended.
Here’s a summary of the accumulations I found this morning for various elevations:
500’: 0”
1,000’: Trace
1,500’: 1-2”
2,000’: 3-7”
2,500’: 8-9”
3,000’: ~9”
The larger range I’m reporting at the 2,000’ level was simply because I had time to get a sense for accumulations atop the different surfaces, with the low end being on paved or gravel surfaces, and the high end being on the existing snowpack, elevated surfaces, etc.
In terms of what was out there on the trails for new snow, the numbers above show that there really wasn’t a huge bump in accumulations above 2,000’, so I’d say those elevations did fairly well in terms of maximizing whatever snow they were going to get out of the available moisture. We had ~¾” of liquid in the rain gauge at the house this morning, so presumably the mountains are somewhere north of that.
“Even with 115 mm fat skis I was still touching the subsurface at times, but this snow was definitely dense enough to hold up pretty well on steep, aggressive turns.”
Although it can’t compare to the drier snow we had with last weekend’s storm, the turns were actually pretty sweet today. I could tell right away as I began my descent that the density and consistency of the snow called for steep terrain, so I dove right down Spillway and that really hit the spot. Even with 115 mm fat skis I was still touching the subsurface at times, but this snow was definitely dense enough to hold up pretty well on steep, aggressive turns. I stuck with Beech Seal on the lower half of the mountain, and the pitch there was also quite sufficient for a lot of good turns.
Today was the last day of April, but it’s certainly been a decent one for snow. It’s time to move on to May and see what it delivers for turns!
I just started following your blog recently and it’s excellent. I guess I’m skiing vicariously through reading these posts. Thanks. I grew up down in Weston in the 50s/60s and skied Bromley and Magic. This was pre-Stratton for the most part. But I skied there later on. Magic was the Bolton of southern Vt. I worked for the Thorners all through school breaks. I worked and my sister skied for free. Hmmm.
Hi Mike, thanks for stopping in and we’re glad you’re enjoying the reports. It was a pretty nice April for skiing, not so much from warm spring turns, but there were certainly a few storms with fresh powder. A lot of people are welcoming the warmth we’re supposed to get over the next couple of days; it’s been a wet and chilly few weeks for typical spring activities if you’re not an avid skier getting out in the mountain snows.