I arranged to take the morning off, knowing that we were to get some fresh snow on Sunday night. I made a good decision!
I headed over to Bolton Valley Resort to get my morning powder fix. I'd say there was about 5 to 6 inches of fresh and it had blown deeper in many places. Plus, it snowed all morning, despite the sunny weather down in town. We were in a snow cloud.
For those who like the groomed packed powder, it was lovely. For those who seek out powder like I do, it was very fun, and interesting.
I hadn't skied Cobrass yet this year so I pushed my way over there, past the thin cover sign, and took a peek. This trail has not had snowmaking or grooming and you could feel the crust under the powder. There were swaths of ice showing due to the wind, but there were enticing pillowy areas of powder that made me believe I could avoid them. I was about the third person down the trail and I enjoyed making turns in deep snow, while keeping an eye out for exposed ice spots. Good fun!
Then I tried Vista Glades and took a line down the skier's left of the trail. I had to watch out for some exposed stumps and rocks, but found some powdery turns and a surprise. I came up quickly on a steep dip that had not filled in with snow. I jumped a bit and leaned back so the impact on the other side of the dip would not throw me. Phew, I pulled it off and kept skiing.
My other runs included venturing over to ski under the Wilderness Chair, where I did fast, low-angle powder turns. And I went down Hard Luck, which was powdery at the bottom, where it was out of the wind. I also found some powder turns in Glades and along the sides of the partially groomed trails (wahoo!).
I can't wait until the Timberline area opens up this season. I love making powder runs over there.
Did I mention there was no line at the quad? It was a good morning to be on the hill!
