Windham Mtn, NY: 3/2/12
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Windham Mtn, NY: 3/2/12
 
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So I'm pretty sure that anyone who was capable of skiing and calls themselves a skier was out to hit the fresh snow on Friday. Only having access to the Catskills and the Poconos this season, it was by far the best skiing I've seen all season. And one thing is for certain: I'm certainly glad I picked Windham Mtn to spend that perfect Friday.
There's no better feeling than emailing a coworker halfway through the workweek, and here's exactly how it went down: "Wanna ski tomorrow?" "Friday?" "Yep. 8" inches of snow in the Cats" And that's when she called my direct line. No, we didn't play hooky. We actually did warn our boss we wouldn't be in and she knew there wasn't much to stop us. The usual 5AM alarm went off and I was out the door in a matter of 45 minutes. I was just 15 minutes West on 23 off exit 21 on the Thruway when the snow totals doubled from that along 87. Before that, the snow was at most 2 inches deep and looked like it had been sitting there for some time.  It was absolutely AMAZING driving up through the valley. All along there was a very dense fog, but on the other side: a bright bluebird day! Not to mention the happily welcomed view of the back of a salt truck!  I found the layout of the main lodge a bit confusing and ended up getting my ticket in the rental shop after suiting up and renting a basket for the day. Oh, and the classical music rather than classic rock blaring from the speakers was a little off-putting to say the least. But I was there for the skiing, and the site presented by the mountain was stunning. The corduroy was so perfect, the lifts were still completely empty and prompted me to take most of my pictures on my first chair up...   Lower Whirlwind from the Whirlwind Quad  Whistler  Upper Whistler and Chute? My first ride down was Warpath Chute to Upper and lower Whistler. Couldn't deny myself the perfect cord and wide trail. I have to say I think Windham has some of the best grooming I've seen in the East. (Granted, they did have some nice snow to work with.) The main mountain stayed beautiful and carveable all day, but it was clear that the East Peak got at least another two inches when I headed over there when the lift opened at 9:30.  Wing 'n It   Top of Wicked and World Cup facing the West Peak  Funny story with this one: I stopped midtrail to take this picture of the nice cord before destroying it when my outside edge of my downhill ski caught and i did a split and fell on my *ss. Got a great comment from the guy who stopped: "Maybe you shouldn't be up here."...when I got up I raced ahead of both him and his wife... By mid-day, the clouds started to claim the sky and it remained overcast for a good part of the day, but it remained warm enough for the snow to continue to soften. My boarder co-worker and I discovered Upper Warpath which we lapped several times at the end of the day before calling it quits at 3:30.  Upper Warpath had the nicest snow throughout the afternoon. Upper Warpath Overall it was a day I would have been very upset to have missed. My first time to Windham and I believe I found my new favorite mountain within daytrip distance. They had a great variety of intermediate trails and their grooming was something out of my dreams. I can't wait to go back...
*~It is better to go skiing and think of God, than go to church and think of sport.~* -Fridtjof Nansen
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Re: Windham Mtn, NY: 3/2/12
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