Ski Day #26- Gettin' Phat at Pico (Pico, Vermont)

Last Sunday my father and I headed up to Pico for the first time ever. We had driven by Pico many times before on the way to its big brother Killington...and what a mistake that was.

Pico is only about 15 minutes closer to the Capital District than Killington, but when you factor in the fact that its just a small parking lot and you can park right next to the lodge, it seems like an hour closer.

The lodge is an old-fashioned wooden structure with a great fireplace on both the 2nd and 3rd floors.

While on the Summit Express Quad Chair we got some great tips from a local. He told us about the Birch Glades which were a nice blue gladed area. However, my favorites were the Summit Glades, a lot steeper and with nice moguls and Upper Giant Killer, a long, steep mogul run with a nasty double fall-line. In fact, most of the mountain is a double fall-line, making the whole place tricky.

One interesting aspect of Pico is its Natural Woods. Just like Killington, Pico has opened up its woods for "pick-your-own-line" skiing. I jumped in a few times to get some freshies. Its pretty tight and you have to be Johnny-On-The-Spot with your turns, but its true test of your skiing abilities and is lots of fun.

Overall, Pico satisfies great. I would even venture to say, I enjoy it more than Killington.

-Steve
"Born On Ice, Perfected In Powder"

 Pico Peak; Killington in the background.

 The Phat Italian, the signature sandwich of the deli on the access road.

 The sign at the deli in the Pico lodge.

 The bar in the Pico lodge.

 Some live music in the bar. My favorite song was Bob Seger's Turn the Page.

 The fireplace in the bar.

The cover of SKI Magazine with Billy Kidd on it is up in the Vermont Ski & Snowboard Museum in the lodge. I got to ski with Billy Kidd out in Steamboat, his new home.

Ski Day #24- They're In The Bear Cage! (Mount Snow, VT)

Last Friday I headed up to Mount Snow. The day had four main highlights:

1. Dot's Restaurant: This is a classic east coast ski diner that SKI Magazine recommended. Its located Wilmington along the Deerfield River, you pass by it when driving from New York's Capital District. The apple pancakes were phenomenal. And of course they came with real Vermont maple syrup.

 Dot's Restaurant, a New England classic.

Some great apple pancakes.

2. the not-just-in-november: This is a sandwich at 1900' Burger recommended as a healthier option for lunch by SKI Magazine. The sandwich has great turkey, but the star tangy and delicious cranberry-apple compote that comes on it. I recommend pairing it with a Yorkshire Porter, a great dark beer from the Queen City Brewery in Burlington. Green State Lager is another great beer served on tap here, also from Burlington.

#greatsandwich

#greatbeer

3. Beartrap: This is my favorite lift/trail in the world. It is a short run with a double chair on it, usually with bumps, although this day there were none. What sets this spot apart though is the speakers on each lift tower playing music for the skiers and riders to rip to. Its a great a spot to not only shred but watch other people send sick lines too. Definitely a must-hit with on any trip to Mount Snow.

As Dusty said in Twister, "They're in the bear cage!"

4. Carinthia: This is Mount Snow's terrain park area. This park rivals the one's out west like Area 51 at Keystone and the Freeride Terrain Park at Breck. I hit a few few jumps and got pretty steezy, but I'm not that skilled in the park. Still, it's a great spot to watch others throw back flips with ease.

Riders getting ready to crush Carinthia.

-Steve

"Born On Ice, Perfected In Powder"

 View of the Deerfield River from the north face.

 It's not east coast skiing without some blue ice. Skate the east.

This may be the best advertisement I have ever seen.

Mojo Cafe- Mexican and Skiing, The Things That Go Together

One of my favorite lines from a song is "Cigarettes and coffee, broken hearts and being lonely, little girls and ponies, the things that go together." (Shake Me Like a Monkey- Dave Matthews Band https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRZsDxrRUng). Well two other things that I think go together are skiing and Mexican food. It was in this spirit that my father, sister, and I headed to Mojo Cafe in Ludlow, VT to kick-off our Okemo weekend.

My sister wrote this with the magnetic Scrabble pieces to foreshadow the imminent, imminent shredage.

Mojo Cafe sits in a small building on Main Street. It is a counter service restaurant with a great vibe established by the band and concert posters on the wall and the Johnny Cash tunes playing on the speakers. The joint describes their food as Tex-Mex, but its more Mex than Tex.

Two great rippers fueling up for the next day's ripping.

We started off splitting some poblano rings, poblano peppers fried in tempura batter served with a ranch dipping sauce, and the gumbo of the day which had tasso ham, sausage, and lots of rice. Both were great appetizers to start off the meal.

Gumbo and poblano rings.

Each of us got something different for our main dish. My sister got a chicken burrito, my father a chicken quesadilla, and myself the VT Steak enchilada. I tasted the burrito. This thing was great, it stands up to any burrito I ate while in Colorado, where you will find the best ski-town Mexican food in the world. But the star of the show at this place is the enchilada made with local Vermont steak. You can choose either red or green sauce. I went with the green in the tradition of Colorado green chili. The portion was big, but the flavor was bigger.

VT Steak Enchilada

Chicken Quesadilla

Kendra krushin' the chicken burrito.

For dessert we tried the pasilla-infused flourless chocolate cake. This was rich with a little bit of kick from the pasilla peppers and the jalapeño-raspberry sauce on top.

We forgot to take the picture until halfway through eating this great piece of cake.

Of course, any Vermont meal is not complete without some Vermont brews. Valor Ale from 14thStar Brewing Company is a mellow ale that quenches your thirst without overpowering the foods' flavor. But being Vermont, you can't just drink beer, you have to get some cider. This place serves Woodchuck Cider on tap, a must have if you ever get the privilege. But the star of the bar is the Hermit Thursh Brattlebeer, a sour ale with cider that nicely finishes off any meal with a tart, yet sweet flavor.

Head to this quaint little spot for tons of character, flavor, and fun.

-Steve
"Born On Ice, Perfected In Powder"

Ski Day #21- LAX Bros Doin' It Big in the ADK (Gore Mountain, NY)

Yesterday I headed up to Gore Mountain with one of my best friends, ski buddy, and LAX Bro, Phil. As with any trip to the Adirondacks, the day started out at Stewart's where we met up (and grabbed a quick donut and orange juice, of course).

We stepped onto the gondola shortly after 8:30 and headed right to the Straightbrook area. Chatty and Hawkeye skied great. There was supposed to be a bump contest on Hawkeye but the snow they had made on the trail hadn't been turned into moguls yet. I was pretty disappointed because this was the trail I learned to ski bumps on and can remember the days when it was a big deal for me to get down it without falling, but it skied great anyway.

This trip also saw two new trails enter my list this season. First was Topridge, a nice, long, steep, south-facing ride. Second was Echo, a trail over in the Burnt Ridge Area. I've only skied Echo once or twice before because it is almost never open in December which was the only time I skied Gore while in the Army. But this marathon run of pitch and views is a great addition to Gore's lineup.

The beer of the day was Davidson Brothers Brown. This beer from Glens Falls is a nice British brown ale with a malty taste and smooth mouth feel. There are few better beers to close out a ski day with.

No pictures from this trip. It was way to cold to take your gloves off to snap a shot of anything. Maybe next time.

-Steve
"Born On Ice, Perfected In Powder"

Ski Day #20- Let's Get Some F!@#$% French Toast (Ski Butternut, MA)

Today I headed out Ski Butternut. I've never been there before, but I went because of an article in SKI Magazine that recommended hitting Joe's Diner in Lee, MA which is nearby. This was my first stop on the trip. A ski breakfast out in Colorado is eating a breakfast burrito while walking up to a lift, but a ski breakfast back east means diners, and this one did not disappoint. The french toast was big, creamy, and delicious. It's the perfect way to start out your day at Butternut (or Bousquet which is also nearby).

After filling up on toast frenchies it was time for some snow freshies. Butternut reported five inches of snow from the storm that swept through the night before (the most in the east), but it was more like six inches in many spots. Butternut is not very steep, but I was able to get in a few faceshots by making quick turns on Downspout.

Butternut is not overly large, so fresh lines were disappearing fast. As I was searching for some more fresh gnar I came up with a new song in my head. It is re-write of Steal My Girl by One Direction which I was listening to earlier in the day (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpsKGvPjAgw). It goes:

Everybody want to steal my line,
Everybody want to shred that pow today,
Couple billion in the whole wide world,
Find another line cuz that one's mine today.

In summary, just another great New England ski day.  French toast and fresh pow, what more in life do you need?

-Steve
"Born On Ice, Perfected In Powder"

Could I be anymore of a foodie?

The view from the top of the Overbrook Triple.

Check out the old school lift towers, such a throwback.

This is the scene from The 40-Year-Old Virgin that inspired the title of today's post.

Butternut reminded me a lot of Monarch Mountain in Colorado. Same type of layout and same laid back vibe.

Ski Day #19- Oops, Somebody Left the Water Running (Mount Snow, VT)

Last Sunday I skied Mount Snow, Vermont's most southern big mountain. The day prior while I was skiing Stratton, it started to snow at about 3 PM. It snowed for about four hours until it turned to sleet at about 7 PM, then to rain sometime in the middle of the night.

As I walked up the lift just after 9 AM with rain drops pinging off my helmet I said to myself, "Oops, somebody left the water running." This quote is courtesy of Lewis Bodine, the side-kick of Brock Lovett in the movie Titanic and, along with Dusty from Twister, the greatest supporting role in a movie...ever.

The entire mountain was socked in with fog for the first few runs. As the day continued and the temperature got warmer, the rain shut off, the fog cleared out (a little), and we were left with great hero snow, corn so ripe that it made you smile with every turn. The best runs were on the north face. These runs are long with a steady, steep pitch.

For lunch, I took SKI Magazine's recommendation and headed to The Bullwheel, a restaurant and bar at the summit. The meat and cheese plate is the pick here. It comes with three cheeses, two types of sausage, mustard, cranberry spread, olives, and toast, most of it locally sourced. To wash it down, The Bullwheel has a number of craft beers on tap. I enjoyed a Harviestoun Ola Dubh, an old ale aged for 18 years. It is pretty potent, but definitely satisfying. For the faint of heart, try the Schneider Weisse Wheat Ale, a nice wheat ale that compliments the charcuterie very well.

-Steve
"Born On Ice, Perfected In Powder"

There he is, Lewis Bodine.

Ski Day #18- That Dude Sucks (Stratton, VT)

On Saturday last week I headed over to Stratton, another place I hadn't skied in about 15 years. East coast shredders have a nickname for this place: Flatton. The mountain isn't that steep, however, it was a lot better than I remembered. There are some great tight, tree-lined trails; true New England classics. And with the luxurious ride in the new gondola cabins, Stratton has a lot to offer.

But the story of the day came while getting onto the URSA Express. As the group in front of us followed the chair ahead of them out, a little ripper, probably about five or six years old, fell down before getting out to the loading area. Rather than trying to help his son up, his father looked over at the liftie and said "Stop please!" The liftie didn't hear him and the chair came around and ran into the kid (he was OK, he did not get hurt). Seeing this, the liftie stopped the chair. Then the boy's father looked over and said in disgust "Does the word stop mean anything to you?" With this, I turned around the to the girls behind me that were laughing and said "This dude should be more concerned about helping his son up than telling the liftie how to do his job." Nothing is more irritating than a lift that stops while your sitting on it. This guy is clearly not a true shredder. A true shredder would have picked up his son by the back of his coat so that they could get to their run as soon as possible, not expect the liftie to hold up everyone else's shred. When the lift finally started back up and I got to the loading spot, I looked at the liftie, pointed at the guy would held us up and simply said "That dude sucks." The liftie gave out a big laugh and told his buddy working inside the lift shack. It was one of the funniest moments I've ever had on the hill.

One lunch suggestion is to check out Bar 802 in Stratton Village. This bar has six craft beers on tap and the best burger in town for $14. This may seem like a steep price for a burger, but when you consider you will pay the same thing for a frozen one in the baselodge, you may as well head to 802 where your burger will at least be made from fresh, grass-fed beef.

-Steve
"Born On Ice, Perfected In Powder"

Here's a picture of Stratton taken the day before at Bromley.

Ski Day #17- Is That Jerry? (Bromley, VT)

On Friday last week I headed up to Bromley, a place I haven't skied in about 15 years. The first thing I noticed when I walked into the base lodge was the smell. This isn't a place that sold out and put in a gas fireplace, they're still burning real wood and it makes the lodge so inviting. But who hangs out in the lodge, I needed to shred.

I spent the entire morning hitting runs off of the Blue Ribbon Quad. The snow coverage was great, but there were a lot of whales that the groomers hadn't plowed out yet, so it was a little bit of a bumpy ride.

The afternoon was spent on the Sun Mountain Express. However, I did take one ride up the Sun Chairlift. The Sun Chairlift is an old-school double that shares lift towers with the Alpine Chairlift. This is a true throwback, you really don't see two chairs next to each other anymore. I rode this lift just for the enjoyment of getting to ride next to another chair, it's really a great experience if you ever get the chance.

The après spot at Bromley is the Wild Boar Tavern. This is a pretty great place with good Vermont craft brews on tap and live music. The day's band was Beyond Further, a Grateful Dead tribute band. Only two guitars and a bass, but these guys brought it with a great rendition of Mexicali Blues (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyaWbPRhJvE). Of note, the lead singer looks just like Jerry.

One lunch tip, get Rookie's Root Beer, a great root beer on tap from Burlington.

All around a great day, I can't wait to head back for the great vibe that Bromley offers.

-Steve
"Born On Ice, Perfected In Powder"
 

 This is a picture of Bromley that was taken the following day at Stratton.

 This is a pretty cool sign that hangs up in the lodge over the fireplace.

Beyond Further. I think that's Jerry in the middle.

Ski Day #16- No Doubt We Crushed The Berkshires (Jiminy Peak, MA)

New Year's Day we headed out to Jiminy Peak. When growing up my family often skied with my grandfather and cousins on New Year's Day. My grandfather is no longer with us, but my father and sister Kendra met up with our cousin James to carry on the tradition.

The rain storm that swept through the east the week before really hit the Berkshires hard, there was not much natural snow. However, Jiminy is did a great job of making snow and had 33 trails for us to shred. The pick of the day was definitely Upper Fox into Lower Fox. This is a nicely pitched run with good man made snow for us to slide down.

One of the best moments of the day though didn't happen on the trails, it happened while getting onto the lift. While waiting in line, we heard the song Spiderwebs by No Doubt come on the speakers (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZktNItwexo). While we were growing up, No Doubt was a favorite band of mine, my sisters, and my cousins. It was a nice moment getting to hear this with James while waiting to get on the lift.

-Steve
"Born On Ice, Perfected In Powder"

Four great rippers: James, me, Kendra, and my father.

 Starting out from the top.

Family, bluebird skies, and snow means big smiles.

 The big wind turbine over to the left.

 More wind turbines in the distance.

At the top of Jericho.

 Look at these two great shredders.

 Getting into the Flow State.

James gives the day a big thumbs up.