This past weekend proved to me that skiing in the East this light snow season can have its high points. Saddleback, as shown below has plenty of natural snow.
I skied there with friends all day last Friday in the trees after a few inches of fresh snow had fallen overnight.
Sugarloaf (below) also has a good amount of the white stuff although their famous snowfields aren’t open.
Attending the Industry On-Snow Demo Event at Stratton last week made two points very clear:
1) Finely tuned skis make a tremendous difference.
2) There are never never more expert skiers on the mountain.
The day could not have been improved upon (Feb 5).
Phenomenal man-made snow, impeccably groomed, not a cloud in the sky, no wind, low thirties by mid-afternoon and open terrain for all abilities. Several rides on the recently unveiled state of the art 6 pack Bluebird Express. Sun. Sun. Sun.
Don’t stay home, get out and ski and ride!
Kudos for all those who work at Mount Snow.
Hannah Kearney (USA) won her fourth consecutive FIS World Cup mogul event this season at Whiteface Mountain in Lake Placid on Thursday January 19th. Hannah’s win was her 11th straight World Cup victory. She now owns the longest Freestyle World Cup win streak! Justine DuFour-LaPointe (CAN) placed second and Nikola Sudova (Czech Rep.) was third.
Mikael Kingsbury (CAN) won the men’s super-final, also his forth consecutive FIS World Cup Mogul event followed by Patrick Deneen of the US and Philippe Marquis (CAN) placed third.
Practice was limited for all contestants due to weather conditions, but the Whiteface crew did a very credible job in preparing the course.
Photos by the author
Before the grooming begins, mounds of man - made snow pile up at Catamount on the MA / NY border and create a micro-snowstorm unique to snow country.
Snow piles more than 15 feet high in places wait to be pushed around and molded into fine corduroy.
And you thought there wasn’t any snow on the ground. Wait till this snow gets groomed on the Catapult Trail and it will be heaven. Check out Catamount’s web-site.
Photos taken on January 16th.
My ski buddy and fellow contributor Mike Roth, has a cousin Elana presently living in Japan. She sent us this link. Check out the video for a surprise preview of a fantastic place. Thanks Elana.
