Today, I was one of those self-employed jerks that takes hot laps while all of your followers live vicariously through Instagram while seated at their desk. I'm not mad about it, of course, because the mountain was nearly empty, there were no lift lines, and the terrain was fast, groomed, and had a slight coating of fake snow.
Here is your Tuesday snow report and my thought's on the conditions so far this season:
Tuesday is typically a good day to ski midweek if you're looking for a more peaceful day on the slopes. Today, myself (Abby), Danny, and our friend Christian (aka Mayo & the head chef at @homestylehotel!) took some threesome laps mainly on the Sunburst Six and the Evergreen Express Quad. The bubble coverage kept us warm from the wind at the summit and the (finally) colder temperatures.
Snowmaking was occurring mainly in the unloading areas and high-traffic areas: Below the mini bubble, the big bubble, and Open Slope towards the big bubble. It's nice to see these areas getting some fake snow because they can be pretty dangerous when icy. There were several trails closed today for snowmaking as well: Sidewinder, Heaven's Gate, and Screaming Demon. If these trails are open tomorrow, you'll want to take advantage of Okemo's famous corduroy.
Due to being big babies and refusing to ride any lift other than the bubbles, we only skied the main mountain today including Jolly Green, Mueller's Run, Sapphire, Tomahawk, Sachem, World Cup, and Arrow. The best run of the day has to be Upper World Cup → Chute → Lower Chief. There were nice little pockets of snow on the sides of the trails and because Upper Chief is closed, not many people know Lower Chief is open via Chute, allowing for more groomed and easy-riding terrain. Overall, the snow surface was flattened out, smooth, and scraped away in some areas but with very few icy/death cookie patches. The steeper parts of the mountain (I'm looking at you, Countdown) were skied off and were more like an ice luge than a ski trail - but it only lasts a few seconds.
Pro Tip: Watch the snowmaking plan this week and shred the trails that have gotten fresh snowmaking and grooming recently!
Now, I have to talk about the elephant in the room. I keep hearing whispers of "Oh, it's just awful up there!" or "Okemo's really hurting this year!" and I'm here to set the record straight. Okemo's conditions are honestly great. Period. They have combatted some tough weather patterns this season while maintaining big crowds and navigating through unfavorable snowmaking temps.
All things considered, the skiing and riding is just as good as it's always been. Yes, it doesn't look as pretty as if we had snow-covered trees. Yes, we don't have 100% terrain open. But your ski day is what you make of it. I choose to enjoy the moments I get to be outside, away from my desk, while making my friends jealous via Instagram. But really, when you catch yourself being ungrateful for strapping on your skis, remember that if you're lucky to be on the mountain, well, you're lucky enough.
"It's a little scrape-y, but it's fast, just the way I like it." - Mayo 🥪
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For more information on today's conditions update, please visit www.okemo.com.
Think snow,
Abby + Noah
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