Mad River Glen Midweek Pow Day

Mad River Glen Single ChairHow many phenomenal ski days do you get in a year? Maybe you’re saying something like “every day is a phenomenal day”, and that’s a nice attitude, but you have to agree that some days are better than others.

I’m talking about the special days, the ones that you remember for years. The ones with all the ingredients. Snow. Lots of snow. Fresh, open fields of powder. No lift lines. Nothing to do but ski.

I got to Mad River Glen a bit before 10am on Wednesday and found about 50 cars in the parking lot. I bought a “Mad Pass” with 3 transferrable lift tickets (might have to come back this weekend), and jumped on the single chair.

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November Magic!

It was called “White Saturday.” With the early season snow, Magic Mountain in Southern Vermont chose to spin the legendary Red Chair for one day only. The unprecedented event would be news for beating last year’s opening. Even bigger, it was still only November.

Prime Friday

Friday night is Prime at the Black Line Tavern, and we grabbed some of Vermont’s finest nourishment in preparation for the next morning.

On that day after Thanksgiving, we were thankful to have many Magic families show up for the occasion, including, of course, the family of our leader.

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I’m Done Skiing Alone

When I was a little kid living on a farm, I’d play by myself in a big tractor tire that served as a sandbox. I developed a reputation for playing alone. “Harvey doesn’t need playmates, he’s happy all by himself!” It wasn’t true, down inside I didn’t like it, but I didn’t know myself well enough to push back.

“Trust me, this opens up down below.”

As I got older, I got more proactive. In high school, I joined the cross country team and made best friends for life. Twenty five years after that, I discovered skiing, and it took me another two decades to learn the lesson all over again, in a new setting. A single life-changing event twenty years ago — a solo backcountry ski tour — delayed my embrace of this lesson.

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