Bumps were the order of the day at Mad River Glen today. Soft bumps and smushed snow in between them. It was a fun day to play in the moguls.
There was great coverage at Mad River today after the big storm this week. But it wasn't light Utah snow — more like Sierra cement. You really had to ski where others had skied. In order to ski the crud on the sides of the trail you had to do jumping turns. So I was not skiing in the woods today, that's for sure.
The sun was out when my friends and I arrived, but looking to the top of the mountain, we could see the clouds whizzing by. It was windy up there. So to my disappointment, the single chair was not running today because of wind. (That just means I'll have to come back. Darn it.)
We would do laps all day on the double chair, getting our fill of bumps along the way. Some of our favorite runs were Slalom Hill, Waterfall, Quacky and Gazelle. Every once in a while we'd come across a groomed trail for a bit of a break. Mad River does groom some trails, just not very many of them.
We only felt the wind at the very top of the lift. Up there, the lift shack, tower and trees were covered in rime. It had a funky fish-scale kind of pattern. It snowed on and off through the day.
Even as my legs started to get weary, I kept heading for the moguls because they had grown bigger and softer through the day. I couldn't stop — except for when I was enticed by a cold beer in General Stark's Pub in the base lodge.
The old-school base lodge has a big bar and it was full. An Olympic hockey game was on the TV and the music was blaring. They had a good selection of beer. I got a German-brewed Spaten because I don't see them in too many places.
So despite being "singled out," we had a great time on the terrain off the double chair. And I can't wait to come back when there is a typical powder day. With all this new base, it will be great.
