EAST COAST ROLL CALL #8 14/15 A NEW HOPE

[Vt-Freeheel]

-4` clear and calm bob, nothing new with this. Although there is plenty of sandy old snow sitting around waiting to be tracked, we could use some fresh powder. Watching folks in Kentucky sit for a day on the highway in a foot of snow is getting old.

[Hermitage Skier]

Spent all day in the Jay State Forest today. 6 runs...great snow quality. No tracks.

How do you think it will be this weekend? Looking to get out of S. VT on Saturday. Will this be a crowded weekend at Jay Peak? Those pictures look awesome.

[JerseyDave]

How do you think it will be this weekend? Looking to get out of S. VT on Saturday. Will this be a crowded weekend at Jay Peak? Those pictures look awesome.

No thaws or anything on the way. Be prepared to go real far from the resort for anything untracked. Like real far.

[meatspicy]

can anyone provide some beta on Mt. Tom access? ive been tearing the forums apart with the search function and have little/nothing to show for it, so i figure i'd just ask.

I've heard a lot of the surrounding area has been sold off to private owners. Is it still as easy as driving to the base area and jumping right on the hill, or are there access issues? I called Mt Tom park and the Holyoke parks and rec and neither had any good info

Thanks

[meatspicy]

also would love any other recs for places to "tour" in central mass. is there anything on the backside of Wachusett that is worth skiing?

[moops]

It's as easy as driving up the Mt T access road off Rt5 to the gate and skinning in...maybe .5 mile...

can anyone provide some beta on Mt. Tom access? ive been tearing the forums apart with the search function and have little/nothing to show for it, so i figure i'd just ask.

I've heard a lot of the surrounding area has been sold off to private owners. Is it still as easy as driving to the base area and jumping right on the hill, or are there access issues? I called Mt Tom park and the Holyoke parks and rec and neither had any good info

Thanks

[I've seen black diamonds!]

is there anything on the backside of Wachusett that is worth skiing?

There are a bunch of hiking trails. http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dcr/par.../wachusett.pdf


I imagine they're skiable these days. Maybe skin up the hiking trails and ski down the resort if the conditions suck?

[Jonathan S.]

can anyone provide some beta on Mt. Tom access? ive been tearing the forums apart with the search function and have little/nothing to show for it, so i figure i'd just ask.

I've heard a lot of the surrounding area has been sold off to private owners. Is it still as easy as driving to the base area and jumping right on the hill, or are there access issues? I called Mt Tom park and the Holyoke parks and rec and neither had any good info

Thanks

A few years ago you could drive to within a fairly short skin up some sort of snowbound road to the [former] ski area.
However, I recall hearing more recently that the road is gated even further down, and hence a long[er] "dry" approach is necessary.

But I don't know for sure since I've skied only the western couloirs recently on Mt Tom:






I do know for sure though that everything here is now underneath a crust.
Once it's skied up, the snow underneath is quite nice.

[Jonathan S.]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone!

I will be skiing Jay from Saturday till Tuesday, so will cheer you on from the lift. If some random greybeard in a bright red jacket says "Hello Jonathan," that will be me.

Just yell out "Go USA" -- only a few of us will respond positively!
(Seriously though, it's mainly a Quebec race -- but I'll be in the white/black/red Hagan suit, with matching skis ... although with a Dynafit pack, and the same color scheme.)

Funny warning from the Jay conditions update for tomorrow:
"Please be alert of racers traveling uphill and downhill at alarming speeds."
Some of those Quebec guys will be straightlining all the groomers!
Report from the Burke race last month:
"Daredevil descending by some of the Canadians passed us (easily going 60+mph ) like we were standing still on the first ski."
And that's coming from the winner of the Greylock race, who was skiing like this:
http://selko.photoshelter.com/galler...000.SCivSz_7gM
(Sorry, no way to post the image here.)

[ex-powderbroker]

did you really "ski" that this year?

p.s. our hero:

[Mr. Multiglisse]

No thaws or anything on the way. Be prepared to go real far from the resort for anything untracked. Like real far.

I'm in Montgomery now. To wind down from the 7.5 hour drive from MMHQ, I skinned and skied what is probably the most obvious and most easily accessible BC area in these parts (not lift access). Nice skin track, a few sets of fresh tracks but lots of room for more. Saw one other skier. I am sure things will change tomorrow. Snow is lovely, supportive, dense and carvy pow. Heading for the hill tomorrow to cheer on "Team USA" even though I am Canadian.

[danmelon]

My whip smells like chocolate.

[Vt-Freeheel]

14.4` bob, light snow just started on light west winds.

Nice BC solo tour yesterday = fun in the sun. Snow depth approx. 46" +- in all NE aspects probed. Due to the lack of resets this winter and the unfrozen ground cooking from below I could push into the ground with just a little wiggle and moderate pressure. Snow was a mix of dense-ish wind buff that skied really consistently with a sink factor of 4-5" and "bag of sugar" dead powder in lee areas which had a SF of 8-10". Skinning was a joy without deep sinking except the occasional drainage cross or barely covered tree.
Have fun this weekend!

[JerseyDave]

I'm in Montgomery now. To wind down from the 7.5 hour drive from MMHQ, I skinned and skied what is probably the most obvious and most easily accessible BC area in these parts (not lift access). Nice skin track, a few sets of fresh tracks but lots of room for more. Saw one other skier. I am sure things will change tomorrow. Snow is lovely, supportive, dense and carvy pow. Heading for the hill tomorrow to cheer on "Team USA" even though I am Canadian.

Untracked can mean "I didn't cross a track all the way down". It can also mean "No one has skied here and the canvas is blank".

[ex-powderbroker]

Untracked can mean "I didn't cross a track all the way down". It can also mean "No one has skied here and the canvas is blank".

It can also mean:

to cause to escape from a slump

And its first use was recorded in 1939.



I wasn't aware of this one:

achieving a superior level of performance after a slow start.

And used in a sentence:

The team suddenly got untracked and began to score.

The urban dictionary elaborates:

An annoying and meaningless but for some unknown reason widely used expression in sports journalism and commentary. A likely corruption on the much more sensible 'get on track', referring to an athlete or team playing better after a period of subpar performance.

[JerseyDave]

It can also mean:

to cause to escape from a slump

And its first use was recorded in 1939.



I wasn't aware of this one:

achieving a superior level of performance after a slow start.

And used in a sentence:

The team suddenly got untracked and began to score.

The urban dictionary elaborates:

An annoying and meaningless but for some unknown reason widely used expression in sports journalism and commentary. A likely corruption on the much more sensible 'get on track', referring to an athlete or team playing better after a period of subpar performance.

Knowing is half the battle....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogEtfIdgjpY

[Boreas]

Well, I was on track to ski an untracked 1,000 foot birch glade, but after 400 feet of blissful snow passing only moose tracks and while grooving to track 14 on my iTunes, the terrain pushed my down track into a stream bed. So if someone heads into the woods and successfully follows my skintrack don't follow the down track unless you too want wet and frozen skis and boots.

[Diamond Joe]

also would love any other recs for places to "tour" in central mass. is there anything on the backside of Wachusett that is worth skiing?

The Old Indian Trail (skiiers left from the summit) is usually worth skiing. Its a little dicey as of yesterday due to some thaw/melt and uphill traffic, combined with no recent new snow, but still skiable.. The PIne Hill trail is steep and rocky and narrow and needs real good snow to be skiiable. It was a few weeks ago but I doubt it is now. Thats about it man.

Duck off the Mass Pike into the trees skiers left coming from the A lift and head down to the top of the H lift (usually only running on weekends). Under that lift (although always roped off) was cleared by my good buddy and is a good run, especially with new snow on it.

Wachusett beta= done

[BigDaddy]

Anyone ski Mt Watatic lately?

Last time I skied it was 1974/5? Maybe mellow tour tomorrow?

[biggins]

I think VTsesson and/or Anospa might have a line on Watatic. I think its one of Anospa's pre-work splitboard destinations.

[BigDaddy]

Thanks J. I am looking for an easy day tour while I recover from my severe man-cold...

[east or bust]

Any mags know if the road up to Lake Mansfield is open for wintertime travel? Parking?

[Peruvian]

Superb kick and glide skiing today. Really fast with blue wax doing the job.



Vegetarian curry for lunch.

[Boreas]

Any mags know if the road up to Lake Mansfield is open for wintertime travel? Parking?

If you mean the Trout Club, the gate will be closed, on occasion there will be spots for 2-3 cars not blocking the gate or you can use the overnight parking located a 1/4 mile down the road and the last right before the gate. If not plowed for some reason park at the CT pulloff and hoof it to the gate. You should see cars and a trail beat out if you go on a weekend. Whatever you do don't block the gate.

[rightcoast]

I think VTsesson and/or Anospa might have a line on Watatic. I think its one of Anospa's pre-work splitboard destinations.

We did it about 3 weeks ago. Skin up the access road then lap the top half multiple times. Fun tree lines and great snow then. I was out in the wachusett woods today and it it CRUSTY. I was thinking of hitting Watatic tomorrow but I think it might be worth waiting til it corns up a bit