Conditions Report
Report for Saturday, February 22
Titus Mountain Family Ski Center has been having one of its best seasons in recent memory. My daughter Dylan and I visited the resort before Christmas and had an amazing time. I’ve been following its daily updates on socials, and, like much of the northeast, it has been hammered with snow for weeks. I knew I wanted to get back, and soon. After reading the weather and road conditions, I decided to head to Titus early Saturday morning.
Montreal is a mountain on an island surrounded by mountains. I’ve written in my reports many times that I have an ever-growing fear of driving on crowded roadways in bad weather conditions. Living along the 401 highway along the St. Lawrence and Great Lakes will do that to a person, but if the roads are covered in one direction, they may be clear in another. There are a lot of options of where to ski and snowboard from Montreal, and having an Indy Pass for the past couple of seasons has added to the selection. Living the dream.
Saturday’s forecast heading southwest from Montreal called for a mix of weather. Sun was predicted for the first few hours of the morning, then light snow, and the possibility of an overnight storm. It was a good weather window to head to the eastern edge of the Adirondacks. With Titus a short hour and half drive from Montreal, my plan was to ride for four, maybe five hours, and be home by nightfall.
When the sun is shining, the drive along New York Route 11 is something from a movie or a dream. I let two decades slip by without knowing this was at our doorstep. Silly. Every adventure-loving Montrealer must make it here some time. It’s also a short distance from border crossings in Vermont and eastern Ontario. You drive by acres of windmills, miles of forests, historical structures, and boarded-up ghostly buildings. At one point, I encountered walls of snow five feet high on either side of whatever pull-off my GPS led me to: awe-inspiring.
The lot was nearly full when I arrived about 10:30 a.m. This is expected on a Saturday. Titus, twice voted ‘Best in Snow’ by Liftopia, and with three terrain parks, a tubing hill, and night skiing, is a popular destination for locals and families. Popular, yes, but never crowded. In my previous visits here, always on weekends, I’ve never waited in a lift line. As far as conditions at first view, I drove through and arrived to walls of snow–so much snow–a good sign that my day would be one for the record books.
I wasted no time getting on the mountain. I headed towards the lower mountain lift and a favorite blue run of Dylan’s. I am sad to admit I hadn’t been in the mountains since my epic midweek powder day at Bolton Valley. Life gets in the way sometimes. C’est la vie. My first chairlift up, I chatted with ‘Logan’ from Plattsburgh, who kindly offered a quick conditions report, as I was a late-morning arrival: “Nice groomers on the lower mountain, and you’ll find tons of untracked powder up top. Have fun.” Thanks, Logan!
This is the vibe here; everyone is kind and welcoming. They love their mountain resort and are eager to share it with visitors. After some warm-up laps, I headed skiers left towards some more challenging trails I’d remembered from one of my first visits here. There wasn’t enough coverage at the time to truly enjoy this part of the mountain. This time was excellent. I stayed here for the morning, admiring the views of the valley below, listening to laughter in the trees, and watching some kids ski race training. By the lunch hour, I was ready to take a breather and warm my toes.
I wanted to spend the rest of my day exploring the summit and upper terrain. My previous visits here have all been early in the season when the upper mountain is not yet accessible. Titus actually has three connected peaks where you can experience the beauty of the eastern Adirondacks. Midway through the lunch hour, I headed towards the mid-mountain lift that connects to the summit lift. Before heading to the summit, I opted to try some trails and untracked tree lines I’d scoped on my way up. The wide-open trail skier’s right, with some steep terrain, powder on the side hits, and some nice rollers further down the mountain looked fun, so I headed there first. It was blissful.
On my next ride up, I had planned to go to the summit, accessed via one of two trails from the top of the mid-mountain chair. I took the blue trail under the lift that connects the mid and upper mountain. There is a long, flat section at the end of this trail. If you’re on a snowboard, you’ll have to unstrap and skate to the bottom. Next time, I’ll investigate the green run, which appeared to be the preferred route. At the bottom of the blue run, I saw several skiers lined up to go through a tunnel, an interesting challenge, but this was the only crowded part of the mountain I had encountered all day, and by this time, I was watching the clock.
I made a quick decision to stay on the mid-mountain where there was virtually no one else, and conditions were ideal. This is the luxury of having an Indy Pass and knowing you’ll be back; It doesn’t all have to be done in a day. I took the lift I’d just snowboarded under back up. The views from this chair, of the many ski-in / ski-out chalets tucked into the trees, were so pretty (pro tip: Titus has an ‘own the upper’ offer, Monday through Thursday, fully staffed, for private parties). I lapped the mid-mountain chair for the rest of my day, with a plan to see the summit first and bring Dylan with me on our next trip to Titus.
There was a blip in the matrix last night when rain fell in the region, but winter is back in a day, and it is far from over. Not even close. We’ll head back to Titus at least once more this season. On that note, I’m heading to my local resort Bromont for some nighttime turns. I have a trip booked to Saddleback, Maine, next week for the Quebec school break with Dylan, my shred sister Veronique, and her daughter. Veronique is such a good snowboarder and I have to get some practice days in before our next epic adventure.
See you on the slopes!
Trail Map
Current Conditions
NOAA Forecast
