4/10/12 - Jay Peak

Who would've though!? After losing nearly all of its base due to the March heat wave, the Jay Cloud emerged once again! It dropped a foot of new snow on the mountain, albeit it was extremely dense, wet snow, and Hoff, Becca and I ventured up to the motherland for some shredder's delight. Although it was a struggle plowing through the concrete snow, it was definitely worth it, and definitely still POWDER! Although we got soaked it wasn't enough to keep the smiles from our faces, and yet again we thank you for your splendor Jay. Until next time, whenever that may be.

3/30/12 - Jay Peak

Today Hoff and I shredded on a total of three trails (the Flyer was closed for snowmaking), and said what we thought were our final goodbyes to our beloved Jay Peak. The unseasonable temperatures had brought the base down to 15 to 25" and we weren't very confident that we'd be able to get back to Jay before packing up our college years for good. Thankfully we were wrong.

3/20/12 - Bolton Valley

Well it looks like ski season in the East is just about over. Today Hoff and I skied in 75 degree weather in conditions that were akin to a puddle. Although this season was not always what we'd hoped, there were still great days to be had and not one hour spent on the hill was wasted. I hope this is not the end but based on the weather it may be. To all of you fellow ski nuts, may the pow be with you...

3/7/12 - Big Jay

Today we ventured back out to Big Jay, this time accompanied by Ryan and our friend Marshall. The sun had softened the snow quite a bit, making it extremely difficult to move through the heavy mashed potatoes. Today became a lesson in backcountry safety for all of us when Ryan tumbled backwards off a small cliff and broke his binding. He then had to get down the mountain on one ski, which provedto be quite the endeavor. Luckily, with the support of everyone, he made it down in one piece, although the same can't be said for his skis. One lesson we all learned: ski with a group!

3/6/12 - Big Jay

Today the crew, myself, Becca, Sara, Lily, Alex, Brian, Kyle, as well as a few new friends took an excursion out to Big Jay, the back country of the ski resort. There were bluebird skies all day and it was quite the experience to say the least. The hike out there was more fun than any of us imagined and the skiing did not disappoint. There was an abundance of steep terrain that funneled into some great tree skiing. The top featured chutes and cliffs galore, and not one of us left without a smile plastered upon our face. Tomorrow: Plan for the same.

3/4/12 - Vail

Today the family in I participated in something called "Dawn Busters" as part of the Carnivail activities hosted by the mountain for the Dartmouth Alumni, i.e. my dad. We got up on the lifts at 7:30, an hour before anybody else, and enjoyed some freshly groomed runs on the Northbrook Express Quad as well as out in the bowls. The scenery was beautiful and my legs thanked me for taking it easy after going hard for the initial four days. It was bluebird skies all day and I even received the slightest goggle tan on my pasty white Irish skin. Sadly it is my last day in Colorado, but the coming week means that I get to return to the mother ship...Jay Peak.

3/3/12 - Vail

Today my cousin Drew came up to ski from Denver and showed me around the mountain a little bit. Knowing my eastern roots he took me into some great woods out in Blue Sky Basin, fully equipped with tight turns and some cool cliffs. After spending the day out in the bowls we had lunch at Mid-Vail before spending the rest of the day grooming it out at Lionshead. At this point my legs are becoming wobbly and tomorrow may be a straight groomer/goggle tan day.

3/2/12 - Vail

The snow hasn't stopped and Friday offered up some great skiing. Early in the morning I hightailed it out to the Mongolia Poma and Mongolia Bowls where there was plenty of untouched turns to be had. After three runs out there, each consisting of a brutal run out that involved plenty of skating, I headed back out to Blue Sky for some woods skiing and ended the day with the family on the front side.

3/1/12 - Vail

I got my first full day in at Vail and it didn't disappoint. The snow never stopped and I was able to get some great runs in out in Blue Sky Basin where I spent the majority of my day. Steep and Deep, Lover's Leep and the Montane Glades were my highlights. At the end of the day I even got some hoots and hollers from the chairlift as I dropped two cliffs under the Northbrook Express Quad. The snow isn't supposed to stop until Saturday which I can't complain about.

2/29/12 - Vail

After a long day of travel I finally arrived in Vail at about 12:30 local time, giving me a solid half day of skiing. The word was that 11" fell the night before, but when I got there it was mostly skied off. Luckily I know the mountain pretty well and was able to find some nice snow out in the back bowls and in Blue Sky Basin. Thanks to Becca's purchase of the GoPro chest mount, I got some great footage out in Blue Sky Basin. The forecast says snow for the next 3 days so I couldn't be more excited!

1/26/12 - Jay Peak

We awoke to what can only be described as a dream...47 inches of powder in 48 hours. We blasted through waist deep powder all day and those shit eating grins never left our faces. Tonelli took the opportunity to take some fantastic pictures as the skies remained blue all day. Unfortunately the edit of the footage from the weekend is taking me a while to upload, considering its upwards of 30 GB in size. It'll be up soon enough. Hopefully this storm signifies the real start of winter. Jay, I'll see you soon.

2/25/12 - Jay Peak

After a treacherous drive up to Jay the night before we woke up to 12-15 inches of new fluff and the snow continued all day. We blasted through knee deep powder all day and tried our best to withstand the brutal winds that were associated with the storm. Our posse was large including Alex, Sara, Becca, Tonelli, Hoffman, Ryan as well as myself. The snow continued all night making for a Sunday for the record books.

2/24/12 - Jay Peak

Today we woke up to a surprise 7 inches of snow at Jay, despite wetter conditions down in Burlington. We scrambled to the Super Camry and high tailed it up to Jay and despite not getting there until 10 we grabbed the first Tram we could and skied hard all day. The snow was wet but conditions were pretty prime and we made our first three laps on the Face Chutes of the year. The snow is supposed to carry on through Saturday morning and you can bet your ass we'll be there. Until then. PRAY FOR WHITE POWDERY GOODNESS!

P.S. Here's a little edit of the highlights from the day.

2/19/12 - Bromley Mountain

Today Becca and I, along with my dad, went to Bromley Mountain to enjoy "Vermont's Sun Mountain." Thankfully Bromley received the most overnight snowfall in the area, about 2 to 3 inches, and we were graced with bluebird skies on top of that. The crowds were pretty large but we didn't let them affect our day as we enjoyed some soft mashed potato-like conditions and tried for the ever elusive east coast goggle tan. This was my first time skiing Bromley and was pleasantly surprised to say the least. There's still plenty of skiing left to be done this season so keep praying children!

2/18/12 - Killington

Today Becca and I met up with my family, Mom, Dad and Max at Killington as well as our friend Leman. It was a good day over all with about 2 inches of fresh snow to play around in. The President's Day weekend crowd wasn't as bad as expected and we had a wonderful day skiing with family and friends. This season has taught me to appreciate the 1-3 inch storms and not take the sport of skiing for granted. The snow will come, but all we can do in the mean time is enjoy what we've got. Until next time, think snow!

2/17/12 - Bolton Valley

Today Brian, Sara and I ventured to Bolton to shred 2-3 new inches of snow that fell overnight. It was a great day to have Cleaver along as she hit the Tier, pictured above, for the first time as well as hopping on a rail in the Jungle Jib park. We even managed to get her to have a beer and some nachos with us in  the Bolton bar. Hopefully this small dusting is a sign of things to come, until next time pray for snow!

2/13/12 - Jay Peak

Today I met up with the brothers Hoff, pictured above, up at Jay Peak for a great day of skiing. Although my sources told me to expect anywhere from 4 to 6 inches, the gods dusted the mountain with 1 to 2, which still made for a good day. Thankfully Brian and I knew which spots to hit and we were able to hit the Oasis cliff on Deliverance as well as Eduardo's. Michael was not amused by Eduardo's drop but definitely needed to experience that area before leaving for DC. Overall it was a great day, capped off with Switchbacks in the Tram House bar. There are rumors of a dump coming this weekend into Monday, nothing would make me happier. Think Snow!

2/11/12 - Mad River Glen

I made my first appearance of the season at MRG today, along with a crew including Becca, Sara, Alex, Lily and two new friends Cody and Danny. Not to sound pessimistic but the conditions were some of the worst I have skied in a long time. Most of the mountain was sheer ice but luckily our group hiked up the bunny hill the night before and got first tracks on some freshly laid corduroy. Thankfully Cody and Danny were as knowledgeable about MRG as Hoff and I are with Jay and they found some fun lines to ski around the mountain. Until next time, pray. for. snow.

Bolton Valley - 2/7/12

I woke up early to get some turns in this morning at Bolton. There was a thaw yesterday with a freeze overnight so most of the mountain was sheer ice but you take what you can get I guess. I spent a couple of hours doing laps on the Vista Quad and hitting up the jungle jib park. The highlight of the day was finding a little cliff feature in the woods off of Vermont 200 which was a pleasant surprise. Guess I have no choice but to bring the GoPro there tomorrow right? Anyway I made a little 6 min edit of the footage I've gotten so far this year and for my first try I don't think it's half bad. Enjoy!

P.S. Apologies to Cleaver for her lack of an appearance in the edit....also...PRAY FOR COLD AND SNOW

Bolton Valley - 2/3/12

I ventured down to Bolton Valley today to get a couple runs in before lunchtime. Conditions weren't too awful but I stayed most on the snowflake lift doing laps in their progression park, which right now is just two jumps. After practicing some 360s and hitting up the jungle jib park a couple times I called it a day and headed home to start the weekend. Pray for snow!

Jay Peak - 1/30/12

The greatest sound to grace my ears in a while: POWDER DAY! Finally Jay got about 9 inches overnight and Brian and I were up at the crack of dawn to get up and ski. We hit all of our spots and got some great video on the GoPro. I managed to snap one of my new ski poles but thankfully had some backups in the car. After a burly crash in the park to end the day we drank a few Switchbacks, took in the bounty of the day and made our way back to Burlington. Thanks be to Jay for yet another glorious day of east coast blower. Until next time, pray for snow! 

P.S. Enjoy the first ever Isham Street Ski Blog video!

1/29/12 - Jay Peak

It had been a week since I'd last skied so despite less than optimal conditions, Becca and I ventured up to the Northeast Kingdom and got some turns in at the Mothership. Thankfully it snowed all day and into the night. With a powder day looming I may have to return in the morning to reap the benefits. PRAY FOR SNOW

Bolton Valley - 1/21/12

Bolton received about 3 inches overnight so Becca and I headed down to the valley to try and find some pow. In doing so I had one of my scariest falls to date after tumbling backwards off of 2 cliffs at the Tier. Note to self: Listen to ski patrollers when they tell you how icy it is under the tiny top layer of snow. After the tumble we took it easy for the rest of the day. Hopefully the end of January into February brings snow. Pray for it!

Jay Peak - 1/20/12

We woke up before the dawn for the first real powder day of the year at Jay. There was about six inches of dust on top of the icy crust that developed. Although the face chutes are still closed, Brian and I were able to snag the second tram of the day and jump into Green Beret for what was a stellar opening run. We then proceed to the little cliffs under the Bonny Quad and the trees to the right of the trail. After that we hit up our spot dubbed "Dr. Eduardo's" and slayed some tight powder turns. Overall the day was a rousing success and we hope the snow continues to fall. Until next time, pray for powdah!

1/16/12 - Bolton Valley

The peeps from 31 Loomis and 23 Isham converged on Bolton Valley for a great bluebird MLK Day. Hoff and I took Tonelli to the Tier first thing although the landing was not what it was on Saturday. We spent the day scouring the woods for snow and hitting some jumps off of the snowflake lift. Looks like there could be a storm coming in, pray for snow!

1/14/12 - Bolton Valley

Today Becca and I made our first visit to Bolton of the season. The area had received about 5 to 7 inches of fresh fluff the night before and the crowds were minimal. We were one of the first to head to an area in the woods off of Preacher we have dubbed "The Tier," because of its step like qualities. Unfortunately I had forgotten to charge the battery of the GoPro and was unable to get myself going off of it, we got Becca on camera, even if she tumbled off the second step. We shredded for a few hours until we skiied off most of the pow and called it a day. Pray for snow everyone!

1/12/12 - Jay Peak

The crew welcomed former housemate Marshall into the mix for a day filled with 3 to 4 inches of fresh snow. The crew included myself, Hoffman, Ryan, Marshall, Cleaver, Becca and Alex with a fairly gnarly encounter with  Cleaver's friend Jorgé after lunch. We began using the new GoPro camera and got some decent footage of the day. Until next time, pray the snow continues!

1/11/12 - Jay Peak

Jay finally has the majority of the mountain open, including the Tram. We started off on the Tram before messing around on the lifts to the skier's right side of the mountain. Brian and I ducked some ropes and jumped into the woods off of Deliverance for a little bit of untracked powder. With snow in the forecast for the following day we were more than excited to get back on the mountain the following morning.

1/5/12 - Butternut

And the first turns of the new year came at Butternut, nestled in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts. My friend Mike and I did some laps in the park before bombing around the rest of the mountain in the afternoon. Despite limited terrain we managed to have a good time while simultaneously showing off optimal steez appeal....til next time, pray for snow!

12/30/11 - Stowe

Temperatures stayed cold today and gray skies provided a bounty of ice to be slayed. The gang had a good day at Stowe despite the traffic on the slopes and icy conditions. We hot lapped the gondola in the morning before heading to Spruce Peak to mess around in the afternoon. After the most expensive lunch of my skiing life I have made a conscious decision to never eat at Stowe again...til next time, pray for snow!

12/29/11 - Sugarbush

Ahhhhh! The first powder turns of the season, what a feeling! Had a great day with Brian, Becca and her family at the Bush. Despite frigid temperatures we braved the cold all the way to the closing of the lifts. Hoffman and I had our first woods adventure of the year and we were able to enjoy a solid couple inches of fluff before it was skiied off in the afternoon. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come. Pray for snow!