Photo: IStock.comMarch 1, 2010
Okemo, VT
Ski Watch Reporter Todd

Ski Watch Reporter Todd skied at Okemo in Vermont on Monday, March 1. Here's what Todd had to say about his ski day: (Keep in mind foggy conditions on the upper mountain terrain is what happened on Monday. Tuesday's conditions will be different.

Snow Conditions: Variable today. The top half of the mountain remained firm all day but the bottom half became heavy and a little slushy as the day progressed particularly after 1:00.

All of the trails off the Jackson Gore Express Quad and the Solitude Express Quad had snow that was firm and plentiful today, especially in the morning up until the early afternoon. The texture of the snow was lumpy and like chopped cabbage. The base was malleable and the top 1-3 inches was soft and pliant, perfect for fast cruising.

If you wanted to carve and make quick turns that was fine also but more tiring because the snow was a little heavy, particularly as the day progressed. Off the Jackson Gore Express Quad, the easiest trail that a beginner could take was Tuckered Out, a long winding trail.

The Vortex to Quantum Leap was an easy expert trail (that could be skied by an intermediate skier), and if you wanted a little more challenge ski the Quantum Leap upper trail. Upper Lime Light to either White Lightening or Rolling Thunder were expert trails that had a few bumps but they were skiable by an intermediate.  

For an expert challenge, the Black Hole through the woods to Quantum Leap or Eclipse had deep snow and well carved turns through the woods that one could follow. Finally Lower Limelight was an easy intermediate trail that brought you down to the Jackson Gore Express Quad and it could be accessed by beginner to intermediate skiers by Sunset Strip to Blue Moon. These are all nice wide trails with plenty of loose soft snow.
 
All of the trails (about five trails) off the Solitude Express Quad had great snow today including Colebrook (beginner) to Sidewinder (intermediate), Heaven’s Gate to Screamin’ Demon, and Lower Tomahawk and Sapphire, all intermediate trails with good snow, similar to conditions of the trails off the Jackson Gore Express Quad.

The conditions were drastically different off the North Star Express Quad. The top half of the mountain was covered with dense fog today making visibility very limited and practically nonexistent, especially the top 1/8 of the mountain which made identifying even the location of the beginning of the trails almost impossible.

After my wife slid out on the very first run of the day up here on Rim Runner, a relatively easy intermediate trail, she almost quit but once we got off the top half of the mountain on upper mountain road the visibility improved. When we went back around 12:30 the conditions up at the Summit Lodge had NOT improved, it was still foggy and windy. The trails off of Okemo Peak were also fog shrouded limiting visibility. If you could make it through the fog, some of the runs off the North Star Express Quad were solitary and the snow held up all day due to the non- existent ski traffic. I wanted to check out the South Face Express Quad area, but I had to go through the fog to get there so I stuck with trails where there was good visibility (Jackson Gore and Solitude Express Quads), then called it a day when the snow at the bottom of these quads started to get heavy and soft in the late afternoon.

Observations from lifts on trails not skied: Upper Chief looked ok and it had some new protective webbing along both sides of the trail, to keep skiers from skiing off the edge into the woods on the right side and to keep the trail under the Quad separated. The Ross Powers Superpipe was huge and in perfect condition although most riders only soared a couple of feet above the rim or edge, nothing like the Olympics.

Lifts in operation include: 12 out of 19 lifts allowing access to all the trails on the mountain.
 
Newsworthy or pertinent Lift information: There were no lift lines today, as I suspect is the case most weekdays.

Weather:  was mild and overcast on the bottom half of the mountain, mid to high 30’s in the morning, ten degrees warmer in the afternoon. The top half of the Okemo Peak trails were totally fogged in, very windy, probably 20-30 knots from the north and west and much colder, it felt like single digits.

Current and Upcoming Events or ticket deals: March 6th is demo day at the solitude base area. TD Bank Eastern Alpine Championships begin Tuesday March 2nd on Chief and Wardance. Race continues though Saturday March 6th. Ladies Day Tuesday: all women ski or ride for $39 when tickets are bought online. Family Stick and Puck in the Ice House tonight from 7-9 pm.

Mountain amenities: The french fries at the summit lodge are huge and good.

Ski tips: Bull Run has 3 Terrain Features. Lower Timberline is on hold for Terrain Park construction. There are new seeded moguls on the Plunge.

An overall subjective opinion:  Today was like skiing with two sets of conditions, one for the top of the mountain (terrible), one for the bottom half (very good). So as long as you stuck to the lifts that did not go all the way up to the Okemo summit the conditions were fine.

-Ski Watch Reporter Todd