Mar 31

Skiing in the Rain Appeases the Weather Gods

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Monday only reinforced our belief that skiing in the rain appeases the weather gods. What started as a potentially sopping wet ski tour gradually developed into a fine late-afternoon of fresh tracks and floating flakes. And this time we weren’t in the southern Andes – where a 2-foot snowfall once commenced just hours after we skied through a deluge alongside mighty Volcan Puyehue; nor were we on a remote island off the coast of East Greenland – where a 7-day streak of blue skies and sunshine set in just hours after we went crawling from our tents in a state of absolute boredom, and went skiing in the grey, sopping rain…

Rather, we were close to home in the northeast on Monday, heading to Vermont’s Bolton Valley after running a few long-neglected errands in the big city of Burlington, VT. Along the way, we alerted some friends of our ski plans, thinking some of them would like to join us. None of them responded. Understandably, too. Puddles were slowing traffic on the highway. There was water running across the access road to Bolton Valley. Still, we had a feeling it was going to be worth it.

By approx. 5pm, while skiing up the mountain, the rain ceased. A fresh breeze gave our moistened jackets and pants a chance to dry, and by the time we reached top of the ski area, snow filled the air. We soaked up a little summit time. And we let the snow accumulate.

Combined with the layer of rain-soaked snow leftover from the night before, the fresh flakes produced a creamy 1-2″ coat of untracked snow that kept us skiing til dark – utterly convinced that the weather gods were looking out for us.

Enjoy the rain!
-Brian


Mar 28

Photo of the Week: Marvelous Maine!

Maine’s got a lot going for it, with its rugged and beautiful coastline, an abundance of fresh water lakes and rivers, and some of the world’s tastiest lobsters. It’s also home to some truly spectacular skiing, but getting to lines like this one requires a bit more effort than showing up to your local ski area.

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(Photo: Brian Mohr/EmberPhoto.com – Skier: Ian Forgays)


Mar 26

Ski It While You Can: Creek Skiing – Part 2

Here’s another take on “creek skiing” here in the northeast, from just a few day’s back – and most likely the last time we could have skied this gem of a ski line this season…until it dumps, that is. The snow surface was nearly perfect corn. The sound of running water filled the air. Birds were singing. And a few slush pockets, narrow spots, ice flows and a small area of undermined snow kept our skiing honest and wholesome. We’re looking forward to getting into this stream with belly-deep powder conditions next winter…

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(Click on photo to enlarge)


Mar 24

Creek Skiing Craziness!

The beds of natural streams and creeks coursing down our northeastern mountainsides are some of our favorite lines to ski, especially when Old Man Winter buries them deeply in snow…

We’d like to share with you photo essay that we put together for Vermont Life on this unique approach to skiing our northeastern mountains. Click HERE to view the story in PDF format. Enjoy!

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Mar 21

Vermonter Lars Chickering-Ayers Wins Freeskiing Worlds

Vermonter and lifelong Mad River Glen skier Lars Chickering-Ayers took first place at the podium this past weekend at the Freeskiing World Championships at Snowbird, UT. You can view the results HERE. This win comes just a couple of weeks after another Vermonter and Mad River Glen-raised skier, Dylan Crossman – a close friend of Chickering-Ayers – took first place at the podium at the North American Freeskiing Championships at Kirkwood, CA. Both events are part of the Freeskiing World Tour, which began in La Parva, Chile back in September 2009, and they feature some of the most talented and aggressive alpine freeskiers on the planet. Twenty two year old Chickering-Ayers has been competing out west for the last two winters, and was joined this season by his younger brother Silas, who graduated early from high school this past December.

Way to represent Vermont and the northeast boys!


(Slide timer to 7:20 to catch Lars’ winning run)

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