Photo: IStock.comJanuary 18, 2012:
Ski Sundown, Connecticut
Ski Watch Reporter Anson

Ski Watch Reporter Anson skied at Ski Sundown in Connecticut on Wednesday night, January 18. Here's what Anson had to say about his ski night:

It was cold here Wednesday night as temperatures plummeted toward the predicted low of 11 degrees. It was 24 degrees about 7 p.m. but the 6 to 8 mile per hour winds made it feel more like 10 degrees.

That was the bad news. The good news was that there was good skiing. The conditions were frozen Venetian atop packed, crunchy Venetian ice. This made for fast straightaways and easily carvable turns as edges cut through the crunch without skidding.

It was this way all across the mountain: on greens "Tom’s Treat", blues "Canyon Run" and "Exhibition", and diamonds "Stinger" and "Gunbarrel." The only exception was on "Canyon Run" near "Exhibition", where several patches of gray snow ice were in evidence.

The conditions made "Gunbarrel", arguably the most challenging diamond in the state, the easiest to ski that I’ve seen to date. The conditions made it easier to make those wide skidless turns that skiers use to slow their speed.

Sundown’s evening grooming gave skiers a layer of fresh corduroy on which to finish the day.
Skier traffic was light, enabling skiers to wait only a minute or two in line before boarding the lift. All trails but the unlit Panhandle were open, and all lifts were available for use.

All in all, it was good skiing despite the cold weather … well worth the drive from upper Fairfield County.

-Ski Watch Reporter Anson