to squeeze in one more trip. It was to be a decidedly more chill ski trip than my other escapades(**) as I was taking my seven year old son who was on spring break.Day One kicked off with an early pickup from school and a quick session at Prospect Mountain in Woodford VT
This is our third season skiing Prospect and had no idea they have a ski tunnel. My son thinks skiing through tunnels is the best
Day two we went to Mount Snow and had a blast ripping the deep new snow.
Day four we drove north for the second time to catch the eclipse. We were hoping to get to Burlington but the traffic was HORRIBLE. So we only made it as far as Windsor, where we stopped at the Harpoon Brewery and had some tasty beverages while we watched the 98% totality eclipse.
Day five, six, and seven we spent being tourists in Montreal, which is an absolutely amazing place. My wife and I loved it so much we discussed the possibility of moving there.
After a glorious time in Montreal we headed south. As a kid I read My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George at least a hundred times. So, naturally we had to make a pit stop in Knowlton QC to visit the city where Hollywood turned the book into a film in the 1969 film by the same name.
Beer Art #1
Beer Art #2
Beer Art #3 (we did stop at the brewery where they make this beer, but unfortunately this art is on their #9 IPA now they are on IPA #10). After rehydrating and eating some wood fired pizzas we made the four hour drive south back home.
Day eight we were back on the road - and for the third time in a week we again turned north. This time we only went to Northampton Massachusetts though. We went to see a concert, which just so happened to by my son's first concert! We went to see Pat Metheny at the Academy of Music. As a musician he is extraordinary. His concert was fabulous and mind blowing. My son loved it to btw!
Day nine we continued north to ski closing weekend at Okemo.
The shenanigans start young...
I picked up these skis earlier in the season at Woodstock Inn & Resort. They were 50% off demos that had been used once the season prior. I had been hoping to get it's younger sister the SBound 98 but these were such a great deal I couldn't pass them up.
This was my second or third time taking them out at a resort. I must say that these skis want to turn. They're like a hyper little puppy that just darts about effortlessly and happily. I was driving them with a pair of Xplore bindings and Afla Free boots. Now I will say that I love those skis in inbound terrain when I am with my son. This is his first year doing down hill skiing (and his third xc skiing). He's still learning and that means lots of falling, stalling out on the flats, or needing a push or pull with my ski poles. Having skis with scales that effortlessly transition to uphill and that respond brilliantly on the downhill have been a game changer. Then there is the fact that my skis, bindings, and boots weigh as much as my downhill ski boots. IMHO it is pretty awesome how capable this setup is for how light it is.
It definitely takes some getting used to though as a randonee skier I am not accustomed to having the heel free. Now it could have been the Xplore stock bumpers but I did notice that normally when things get tricky I think "press your shins into your boots" but when I did that with Alfa/Xplore cockpit there isn't much if anything there. This lead to some humbling moments of nearly falling flat on ones face.
We pushed north and got into Smugglers Notch and setup camp in the rain at Brewster River Campground
We were definitely glamping on this trip though. I only packed the tent, bags, and pillows. All of our food was going to be sourced at nearby restaurants (dinner = Martell's at the Red Fox breakfast = dunkin donuts). It snowed that night. It was neat to listen to the river by our camp flooding and huge boulders crashing and bouncing down stream while the snow pelted the fly).
Day ten dawned blue bird and fresh snow gracing the highlands. Stowe had gotten four inches! So, we made all possible speed there to ski (with a pit stop of course to build a boating course for my sons lego ship in the river next to our campground).
The drive south back to Connecticut was mellow and with zero traffic despite the heavy rain at the Massachusetts/Connecticut state lines.
It had been an action packed spring break but hopefully not the last day on skis for the season. I am hoping to get in a day or two at the Mt Washington Snow Fields when the Auto Road opens up. Who knows I might just bring my son...
**
I had made a few XCD excursions earlier in the season to break in my new XCD skis. Namely the Wildcat Mountain Ski Trail, Connie’s Way Ski Trail in Pinkham Notch, Brenton Woods lift accessed nordic terrain (which was epic btw - 4+ inches of fresh on recently groomed terrain), and some off trail explorations at places like Glen Trails and of course Prospect
