Bolton Valley, VT 09APR2023

An image of skiers riding the Timberline Quad Chairlift at Bolton Valley Ski Resort in Vermont
Spring temperatures have arrived, and the snow coverage is still in good shape even down at the Timberline elevations at Bolton

With systems like Winter Storm Uriel coming through the area, the weather and ski conditions had generally been staying on the wintry side of the spectrum, with no sustained periods of spring warmth.  Ty and Dylan were up at Bolton Valley on Friday for a session, and the word was that the conditions remained hard both on and off piste.  Yesterday was probably a bit warmer, but with valley temperatures topping out in the upper 30s F, that still wasn’t going to cut it with respect to softening the snow.

An image showing part of the Bolton Valley Ski Resort in Vermont viewed from the top of the Timberline Quad Chairlift
A view back toward the main mountain from the top of the Timberline area

Today showed more potential though, and I headed up to the mountain for an afternoon session that saw temperatures pushing well into the 40s F at 1,500’ at the Timberline Base.  That was definitely enough to soften the snow into pleasant spring conditions, especially on west-facing terrain with afternoon sun.  The boys were up at the main mountain with friends for some terrain park runs, and I thought about heading over to see them, but it was well into the afternoon so I just stuck around Timberline for a few Telemark laps.  Temperatures certainly cooled with elevation, but the snow was soft enough everywhere to produce great turns.  In some spots with direct sun, the snow was even getting a little sticky since it hadn’t gone over to 100% corn, but in general the snow quality was excellent.  Coverage is still quite good on piste even down to 1,500’, but there are a few bare spots opening up on natural snow terrain at those low elevations.

An image of Lake Champlain and the Adirondack Mountains of New York taken from the top of the Timberline Quad Chairlift at Bolton Valley Ski Resort in Vermont
Looking out toward Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks today from the top of the Timberline area