Okemo, VT
01/08/12
Photo by Ski Watch Reporter Brendan January 8, 2012
Okemo, VT
Ski Watch Reporter Brendan

Ski Watch Reporter Brendan skied at Okemo in Vermont on Sunday, January 8. Here's what Brendan is had to say about his ski day, in his own words:

It was about 30 degrees F, it started out overcast, then turned to icy flurries. Icy flurries that stick to your goggles. Flat light that makes it hard to see the bumps.

Still no natural snow so terrain is limited.

Opened up to a partly sunny afternoon with flurries.

It's been a while since I've been to Okemo and I was disappointed by the lack of high speed lifts. They're still rockin’ the slow quads, even at the base. They do have magic carpets to get on and offload on the B Quad.

Although Mother Nature is refusing to drop the white stuff, Okemo is doing an excellent job of blowing snow. Most trails that are open have a nice 1/2 inch layer of granular to make carving and stopping possible.But that is getting skied off as the day progresses.

The bottom of the mountain was ice and the granular was skied off, upper trails had a nice layer of granular over the ice. 

The mountain had a low weekend turnout, there is little to no natural snow on the ground and much of the mountain is bare.  It's so unpopulated here for a weekend in January that everyone gets their own chair.  Only once so far have I had a passenger, and the talk was about going home after a half day because of conditions.

The B-Quad upper magic carpet broke down and people were stuck on the lift for a long period of time as they offloaded at the top chair by chair.  They offered free hot chocolate vouchers for those that had to wait on the lift.

If you're coming up to Okemo, check out Rimrock and Stumpjumper. They're the winners of the day.

-Ski Watch Reporter Brendan