Tomcat's Outdoor Adventures: Three Day Ski Trip in Vermont and Adirondacks

Winter finally returned to northern New England. I had purchased a card that gave me numerous lift ticket vouchers that I have not used. With the recent snow storms in the past week, I finally planned a trip to the slopes for a three day trip Monday to Wednesday earlier this week. After studying snow conditions at various ski areas, I set my sights on Smugglers Notch and Mad River Glen in Vermont, and Gore Mountain in New York's Adirondack Mountains.

I left my house in Maine Monday morning at 215AM. My first destination was Smugglers Notch in northern Vermont. Snow fell nearly the entire trip. The roads were covered with snow but travel was not too bad. However I hit several areas of slow cars and the trip took longer than normal. Numerous deer on the dark and snow covered roads kept me alert in the early morning hours. As I arrived at Smugglers Notch the snow increased in intensity.

My first ride up the lift was promising. The trails were not freshly groomed in corduroy. The trails were covered in fresh powder. My first warm up run, down a blue trail, was the start of a great day. I made first tracks on the trail I skied down. With a temperature in the single digits, the powder was very fluffy and skied great. I spent most of the morning skiing from the Madonna Chair. Most of the runs were blues with the harder double diamonds roped off. Most trails skied wonderfully. FIS, a black run skied alright but held some surprises with a few sheets of ice.

Snowy ride up Madonna Lift

Looking up FIS

After a quick lunch, I skied most of the afternoon off of the Sterling Lift. The runs on Sterling are a mix of blue and black trails. My top trails of the day were Pipeline to Full Nelson and Exhibition. Both runs are black diamond that ski top to bottom. They both had plenty of deep snow and good coverage. Even Exhibition, which can have a fair amount of bare spots and ice skied extremely well. Highlander was the only glade I skied. It still had decent coverage and skied well despite a couple of avoidable patches of very heavy ice. The locals advised that the woods were hiding a lot of obstacles so I didn't want to push my luck skiing the woods alone. The fresh snow made for a great day. Except for a short lunch, I skied from the 830AM opening until closing at 4PM. My legs were feeling weary from the long day in the fresh snow.
For a trail map to reference, click the link. http://www.smuggs.com/pages/winter/skiride/trail-map-large.php

Looking down Pipeline, my favorite run of the day at Smugglers Notch

Looking up Exhibition on Sterling Lift

Highlander Glades (other guy in glades is skiing in jeans)

Highlander Glades

Snow continued to fall throughout the day. Conditions were awesome with about 4-5 inches of powder on the trails at opening and another inch or so falling as I skied. Despite temperatures in the low teens, not even a tiny breeze blew. The mountain was pretty dead so the snow stayed in good shape throughout the day. I skied Smugglers Notch last year and conditions were pretty shabby. They were amidst a snow drought and the trails were extremely icy and the Madonna Lift was on a wind hold majority of the day. I wasn't too impressed with Smugglers Notch. The primo conditions this time allow me to recommend skiing Smuggs.

My next destination was Gore Mountain in the Adirondacks of New York. On my way I stopped at Chipotle for a burrito in Burlington. This is a real treat for me since I live nearly three hours from a Chipotle and love their burritos.

After dinner I made the drive into New York. Since my accommodations were in the posh and swanky Le Subaru Motor Lodge I wasn't in a great hurry to turn in for the night. I decided on a rest area along I87 for my home for the night. Various radio forecast were calling for temps around 0-5F. I was equipped with a 0F mummy sleeping bag as well as another rectangluar sleeping bag if needed. About 130AM I woke up cold and added my second sleeping bag. The next morning, I found that the temperature was down to -11F.

I arrived at Gore Mountain to be on the lifts when it opened at 830. This was my first time at Gore and found that it was worth the drive on this trip. Gore is New York's largest ski area in trail number and skiable acreage. The ski area has a good variety of terrain and good lifts. Unlike Smugglers Notch's powder, Gore was nicely groomed. Only a couple of trails had soft powder on the edges. Only a few runs were not open and I think nearly all of the glades were roped. I still had fun skiing the nice variety of terrain Gore has to offer. With the exception of a couple of green trails, I skied every trail that was open. I spent most of my day in the Straight Brook and High Peaks areas of the mountain with its black and blue terrain. I did hit every lift and explore the terrain throughout the day.

The gondola at Gore Mountain

View from inside the gondola

Sagamore was one of the best runs. It's a long black diamond with a mix of cruising sections and soft bumps where it got steep. Twister was a solid blue cruiser. I skied the steep double diamond Lies in the morning. It was extremely icy at the top but softer below the steep initial headwall. Double diamond Rumor contained big soft bumps but held some icy stretches between some of the bumps and was more skiable than Lies. For a trail map click the link http://www.goremountain.com/files/public/GORE-09092013-withGrnwayConveyor.jpg

The view from the top of Gore toward the top of the gondola

Looking toward the Straight Brook area

Warning sign at the top of The Rumor

I was on of the last ones to come down the mountain, finishing my day a few minutes after 4PM. I skied another full day from 830AM-4PM with a lunch break mid day. I wasn't nearly as tired as I was at Smugglers Notch where I was tired out by the powder and 2AM wake up. Again the mountain was fairly empty. Gore Mountain offers a lot of terrain variety and was well worth the drive.

My original plan was to lodge at Appalachian Gap, just above Mad River Glen. There is a branch of Le Subaru Motor Lodge there. With temps as low as 20 below forecast I was hesitant to stay at that elevation. I decided on a rest area on I89 closer to Burlington where it wasn't supposed to be quite as cold. Since I was in the area, I made another stop to refuel at Chipotle.

I settled in Le Subaru Motor Lodge at the rest area with both sleeping bags to start the night and a balaclava. I slept well. I slept well until 315AM when there was a knock at my door. Since it has happened before, I was expecting to be told to leave. I answered "yeah" to the knock. "State Police" was the response. I removed my cocoon and balaclava and opened my door expecting to be told I can't stay. The policeman just asked if I was alright since it was so cold and was satisfied that I was alright and let me be. It was -15 in Montpelier and -10 in Burlington that night.

I was at Mad River Glen when they opened Wednesday morning. To those that never skied it, Mad River Glen is an interesting mountain. They very rarely make snow and depend on mother nature. They very seldom groom. Their main chair to the summit is a single chair lift. These features make it an interesting place to ski. They need deep snow for ideal conditions. A lot of the terrain that is blue and black tends to be quite bumpy. It is a tiring place to ski, especially after my two full days of skiing on Monday and Tuesday.

Riding up the single chair

Looking over Lake Champlain toward White Face Mountain in the distance at Lake Placid in New York

Click photo for larger view

The Presidential Range in New Hampshire from the summit of Mad River Glen

Click photo for larger view

I put in a solid half day at Mad River Glen. There were signs recommending to avoid the woods because of tough conditions. I skied nearly all of the open runs. I only made a few trip into the woods. As promised, the glades were full of surprises hiding under the powder. Many of the runs, particularly the black runs, had quite a few bare spots. Numerous bare spots contained very heavy ice that was hard to distinguish from rock. With caution it could be skied and I still had fun. For those that can comfortably ski black diamond terrain, Mad River Glen is worth a visit for a good challenge and the novelty of skiing such a ski area. Since there are plentiful pockets of heavy powder, I wore out quickly, especially since I skied two 7+ hour days.

Looking across the lower part of Mad River Glen toward Appalachian Gap

Gazelle, under the Sunnyside Lift was my favorite run of the day. It is relatively steep and had a very consistent cover of deep snow on it. Upper and Grand Canyon skied like Gazelle but had a few more bare and icy patches that were hard to avoid. Catamount Bowl offered some nice steep terrain with big soft bumps to play in. Upper and Lower Glade skied okay but had numerous hidden surprises under the snow that ranged from rock to roots. Chute under the upper single chair skied roughly. The obstacle you can see going up the chair weren't always visible coming down the mountain. Very heavy deposits of powder lined the trails edge with lots of rock and ice in the middle. Lynx and Beaver had quite a few bare spots as well. I avoided Paradise and Fall Line this time with so many bare spots. Despite my report's grim sound, the skiing was still fun and most of the obstacles were avoidable. With the next storm currently falling, Mad River Glen should be in great shape. For a trail map click the link http://madriverglen.com/skiing/trail-map