Surprise! ❄️ Solitude is officially open for the season! Good morning subscribers and welcome to an Abby and Noah special. Me and my bestie took the first hour of our day to enjoy the newly-opened terrain at Okemo and it was fantastic. We were shocked at how nicely the terrain skied on its opening day (well, aside from The Plunge). Expect groomed, fast, and smooth snow at Solitude today. More on our ski day and Okemo's Uphill Travel update below... ⬇️
Just a quick thank you to everyone who has supported us by purchasing our merch! We have sold out of our corduroy hats and we only have one Bubble Tee left... which we hope to bring both back in the future. 👀
As we said, the snow at Solitude was outstanding. I finally felt like I could really open up my turns for a few reasons: 1. The trails were groomed super nicely, 2. My new Nordica Doberman boots make me a better skier, 3. My footbeds and canting from The Boot Pro is a game changer, 4. My Nordica Santa Ana 165s are longer, faster, and I have more control, and 5. I can ski faster than Noah when he's on tele and that helps my ego. 😏
We only took three runs: Heaven's Gate to Screamin' Demon, Express Lane to Lower Sapphire to Lower Arrow, and Sweet Solitude to The Plunge. You'll likely want to wait a few more days for the crew to smooth out The Plunge before you go cruising down; it needs more love to fix the choppy and scratchy bits. Sweet Solitude was scratchier than expected but its wide rolling terrain was fun for sure. High-traffic areas like the end of Lower Sapphire at the Evergreen Express Quad was icy and had some hard cookies, so be cautious of those types of spots on the hill. We are so stoked that Solitude is back open as we continue to see Okemo's crews expand terrain options.
Noah said it was great to be back on his tele gear and a great reminder of why he fell in love with it last year. Our trail of the day is easily Heaven’s Gate to Screamin’ Demon. The snow was impeccable. It’s rare that newly opened trails have that good of snow quality. Well done Mountain Ops team and thank you.
Today's Quick Facts:
🎿 Trail Count: 12/122
🚡 Lift Count: 4/20
⛷️ Today's Ski: Nordica Santa Ana (Abby)
🧤 Today's Gear: Helly Hansen Powderqueen Set (Abby)
Shoutout to Sabrina the OMS coach for saying hi to us on Sapphire. It’s awesome to hear from our supporters! The OMS kids were training GS today and they also found Heaven’s Gate and Screamin’ Demon to be superb.
Pro Tip: Gain speed at the end of Sweet Solitude to make it over the hill to Heaven's Gate.
We have a NEW PATRON! 👑 Thank you to James Guercio for joining our Patreon in the $3 Suncatcher Club. Our Patreon is the best way to support our free snow reports. You can join us too by clicking here.
"Well, that was awesome." - Abby
The conversation surrounding Uphill Travel at Okemo has been swirling around town regarding the rules and regulations. You can find Okemo's Uphill Travel Policy here. Please, please, please, be cool and follow the rules. Nobody wants to be the guy that ruins it for everyone. Respect the mountain and they'll respect you back.
Here are a few of the issues they are having right now that are putting our access to the mountain after hours at risk:
Not following approved routes skiing down. Okemo has seen significant use on Upper World Cup and Lower Chief which are not approved routes.
Uphill travelers not using headlamps
Dogs running loose
Morning skinners not using approved routes
Skiing too close to groomers
I am confident that the people who know Okemo’s policy are not the offenders right now but as members of the uphill community it is our job to educate our fellow uphill travels enthusiasts about what Okemo is looking for from us. There is also a local Facebook Group, Okemo Uphill Travelers that is a great resource for anyone currently using Okemo or interested in learning more about that. This group has direct communication with Okemo’s Mountain Operations team and the folks working on these issues. If you have any questions that is the place to find some answers.
One last tip is the Uphill Hotline, this is a great resource to find current information that will help ensure you are using the mountain in the right way. (802) 228-1491
Think snow,
Abby + Noah
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