CONDTIONS REPORT

I had a free day and had heard that NoVT above I89 had been getting dumped on, so I made a daytrip north.

Looked like potential high winds forecasted so I aimed at Bolton because I am more familiar with backcountry ski lines there than Jay, Smuggs, Stowe, etc (in case of wind holds).

Indeed---windhold and power outage. Single digit temps and high winds made for some exciting cold weather skiing. 2-3' of fresh snow up at elevation with refresh snow all day.

The deep powder did disguise the lack of base (lost to the rain/warm up event a couple weeks back). The light dry snow was fun to ski, but didn't compress at all, so I bottomed a couple of times and avoided obvious looking pillow hazards.

I skied up Bryant to Heavenly and Moose Glen, dropping back towards the resort from Camel's Hump view. I also skied up Cliff Hanger and dropped into Prayer Flag and Holden's Hollow. Not a lot of tracks in either area, in fact Holden's looked pretty untouched. No cars in the backcountry lot when I arrived and only 2 others when I returned for lunch.

I can't heap enough praise on this 'resort'. Not only is the backcountry area vast and fun to explore, but it has that awesome 'community-first' vibe that is just right. And in case you didn't know, they not only rent backcountry ski set-ups, but they also have a sauna, hot tub, pool, shower area, ping pong, pool, pickleball courts, beer bar and general hang-out area FOR backcountry skiers (no extra cost beyond day pass to backcountry). Yes, I did two rounds of sauna before heading down to Montpelier for burger and beer at the Three Penny Tavern.