Conditions Report
Report from Sunday, February 4, 2024
Like all my Indy Pass adventures on the weekend, I decide where to snowboard Sunday the Saturday night beforehand. One of the many benefits of an Indy Pass is all the options. Bolton Valley won the coin toss this time. I am joking, of course; there’s no coin toss, but I love this resort, the people who work there, the vibe, and the surrounding terrain. I also knew before heading out that they have had significant snowfall so far this season, and this, coupled with cold temperatures and snow-making operations, would make for an excellent surface to slide on. And I knew there would be sunshine there and tons of it.
If you live in this region and sense there has not been much this year regarding sunny skies, it’s more than a feeling. NBC5 reported January 2024 was the cloudiest on record in the Champlain Valley since 1951. For further perspective, only two days last month had sunshine throughout the day. Folks in the east were sunshine-starved through January, but this past weekend, the sun returned, and I am happy to report that as I write this – while sporting a goggle tan – we are on our third consecutive day of sunny skies.
For weekend riding, I almost always go on Sunday. While I’m driving south, a good swath of my Montreal neighbors are getting ready to drive back north. This Sunday was different. The resort was packed, and the main parking lot was marked ‘full.’ It was about 10:00 a.m. when we arrived and decided to take our chances as the early birds were already leaving for the day: ‘Front row, Jerry!’ In the lot, we saw plates from Quebec, Ontario, and every state in the east represented, and some from the west. Maybe Vermont’s ‘best kept secret’ (30 minutes from Burlington International Airport) is not so secret anymore.
My youngest daughter, Dylan, was my copilot and traveling companion for the day. She didn’t feel like snowboarding, which happens with kids sometimes, so she set herself up in the lodge with her sketchbook, and I headed to the summit. I started my season at Bolton when only the lower mountain was open, and I was excited to explore more terrain. Now, all six chairs are spinning, and they’ve opened up about ninety percent of their terrain, including Nordic trails. The place was pumping.
The lift line moved quickly. I was flying down Alta Vista towards Sherman’s Pass and Beech Seal in minutes. The terrain here keeps you on your toes, never a dull moment or lengthy traverse. Conditions up top were packed powder, and there was still some untracked snow in the trees, but the best part of the day was the views of snowy mountains against blue skies.
On my next ride up, I decided I needed my ‘good camera’ to record some beautiful shots of the day. I took a break around noon to have lunch with my kiddo and headed back out for a ½ dozen more runs in the Vermont sunshine. The snow was getting tracked and slick around 2:00 p.m.; it was time to head home. Do you know that euphoric feeling after a great day of skiing or riding? You’re tired but blissfully happy, not thinking about anything other than all the fun that you’ve just had. That must have been what caused me to leave my camera bag on the roof of my rig as we drove off. Thank you to whoever found it and handed it into the Nordic Center a million times!
Bolton Valley currently has five of six lifts and 60 of 71 trails open, with 30” of packed powder at the summit and 24” of machine-groomed snow at the base. Warm temperatures from Wednesday through to Friday will make for surfy spring-like conditions, which I love. We’re only halfway through the season in the northeast, and while Mother Nature has offered up some variable and unpredictable weather to the east this winter, next week’s forecast calls for powder…. Thank you, Bolton Valley and Indy Pass, for another stellar day on the mountain—À bientôt.
