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This Season of Skiing
2024-25 ski season has turned into one that I remember from years past. There are snow banks along the road up to Gore. I mean real snow banks that one would have to climb over to get to the other side; not just step over. That hasn’t happened in a while. The likes of Smugglers Notch and Jay Peak are reporting around 300” or more of snowfall for the season. I would guess that this has been a boom for the ski areas.
For me, it all started with the opening day at Magic Mtn. 17” of snow from a storm just after Thanksgiving. It had laid there for over a week without deteriorating. It has been many years since skiing on natural snow at the beginning of December has happened. My old legs struggle with it. My technique was still in the summer slumber. But I managed and had a grand time. Magic has always been “magic” for me and I always seem to have a smile on my face when I leave there.
Being retired should bring unlimited opportunities for ski days. However, I am sure all who are retired find that certain parts of life take priority and it is no different for me. To compensate for quantity, I try to go for quality. There is an advantage to living close to a number of ski areas. I can time my trips. I can pick and choose the days I go to have the most fun conditions. The only thing I need to know is what is going to happen with weather at the ski areas the day before and on the day of my planned adventure.
There is a saying now-a-days “there is an app for that” and I have 3 plus one web site. Weather apps, that is. The problem is, one is optimistic, another is pessimistic and the others are in there somewhere in between. Ugh. It is better than predictions by Tarot Cards, but not by much. Not too long ago I watched the predictions of a storm to hit central VT (Magic country). There were predictions of everything from 17” of new snow to a day and a half of freezing rain. More Ugh!
Another advantage to living not too far from ski areas is a thing called “take a chance”. After all, all of the apps were sure of one thing - the storm was going to drop something. This is why.
I have a Jeep and more than once I driven in the rain to a ski areas to find that a foot plus of snow had fallen. Yup, the drive up to Magic was in freezing rain. Yup, it turned to snow before I got to the mountain. 4” of fresh new snow and more coming down. That then quickly turned to sleet. All was not bad. The sleet was dry and filled in tracks nicely for great skiing.
Then, more recently was a trip to Gore which the apps were pretty much in agreement on, rain when I left my house with the mountain getting about 2” of new snow and a bit on the warm side. Agin I took a chance on the day. The surprise was that the cloud hanging to the peak decide to dump another inch or 3 (depending on where) of new snow during the day, which spiced everything up nicely.
On another occasion I booked a room at our Club House for a couple of days in order to ski and visit with friends. Even if Mother Nature hadn’t been kind, it still would have been enjoyable just to be with friends. But she was kind. She rewarded us with freshies every run for our day at Smugglers Notch and Stowe, the next day, shared in that kindness.
Old school skiing was on natural snow. This season has been old school from the start. Magic Mtn is a prime example with a number of their trails being natural snow trails and it takes a season like this one to make them skiable. This season I skied a trail call Magician which has been rarely open for a number of seasons in recent past because of how the snow has come and gone. This season it was as good as I have ever remembered.
The idea of skiing is to “enjoy”. Take a chance on a not so perfect day. It may be perfect. I certainly have “enjoyed” this season and hope you have too. Until next season, take care and enjoy the rest of the year.
Jon Skalwold
Opening Day early December at Magic Mtn with 17” of natural snow
Surprise snowfall at Gore in Late February
