Long awaited Nor’easter finally arrives in Stowe

The height of the storm was midday yesterday and if you were like The Scribe, headed for the hill on a Tuesday morning you might have expected some slowdown due to tough driving conditions. However, it was a weekday and most of those pesky out-of-towners were just that — out of town. After mega snow-blowing labors in the driveway back in Waterbury Center, your scribe embarked for the hill with plenty of time to spare, or so he thought.

He was mistaken. He hit the end of a Harlow Hill traffic jam at 10:40 a.m., and sat, and sat and sat. Turns out some of those bad drivers might have been locals. Not one, not two, but three cars were nosed into the snowbanks completing sealing off traffic in both directions on the Mountain Road while Stowe police and numerous plows tried to sort out the mess.

So much for a comfortable arrival for the ski bum race. An hour later, the trusty EUV Bolt, your scribe’s electric car, finally made it to the parking lot. Sadly, there was a text message on his phone informing him that the course was closed so your scribe’s first ski bum race of the season is still on hold.

At least the skiing was awesome. With so many skiers and riders stuck in traffic, the early birds were rewarded big time for their arrivals in front of the more leisurely crowd. It was the sort of day with snow falling at better than an inch an hour, powder tracks were covered up quickly. This snow would not be described as blower powder — in fact, the descriptor “cream cheese” comes to mind — but most skiers today are on a fat ski, and, for this day, large numbers of super-wide powder skis came off the rack or out of the garage. For the snowboarders, this was paradise found. If there exists one situation where boards might reign supreme, it is on the powder days.

Loyal readers know that your scribe is a big-time stake watcher, perhaps even obsessed with the WCAX snow stake and its long history of snow depth data over the years. Well, he is happy to report that for the first time since back around Nov. 20, the recorded depth at the stake has now exceeded the average reading of this time in winter — now measured at 77 inches as of Wednesday morning. Not only is it the highest measurement of the 2022-23 winter but it is even a tad above the average high point of snow depths as gleaned from more than 60 years record keeping.

There is one other note associated with the impact of this storm. It should set the stage nicely for the impending ski bum holiday known as Saint Patrick’s Day. With the hill likely to be open 100 percent as far as the trails go, with the woods in the best shape of the entire winter and nearly six and a half feet of snowpack, the Chin and Hellbrook will certainly be drawing in plenty of adventurers if Friday proves to be a sunny day.

The conditions will certainly suit the ski bum leprechauns who traditionally color the waterfall under the Gondola in a cloak of emerald green. Friday is one of the days on Vail’s restricted parking list but expect the lot to fill quickly after 2 p.m., which is when parking is once again free.

Ski bums race

Despite the difficulties faced by your scribe and many other racers stuck at the bottom of Harlow Hill, the fifth race in this year’s series was run. With steady snowfall and lots of snow already covering the Slalom Hill, it took a concerted effort to stage the race. Racers were asked to do repeated slip runs down the single course set to create a safer venue for what would wind up being a one-run special. Your scribe very much wanted to be in that field but the combination of generous offerings from the snow gods and a scattering of inept drivers seemed to have conspired to keep him away.

In the end, 58 racers managed to complete a run down the course. Some of the usual pacesetters were among the missing but one of the weekly stars, Karl Lipsky skiing for FUBAR, turned in the fastest time of the day, in the process besting his teammate, Shaun Rowe. Third and fourth places went to Metropolitan Music skiers Nate Hazard and Adam Juzek. Fifth place finisher was Jefferson Lawler of Morgan’s Monsters.

Quickest woman racer on the day was another Morgan’s Monster, Emma Maiden in the eighth spot ahead of another Monster, Devon Laidman. The fastest telemark skier was Pete Hussey of tElementality. Bottom Notch O’s rider Bill Lockwood was the top snowboarder.

FUBAR, with its one-two punch of Lipsky and Rowe, joined by Rick Stram and James Andrus, took the Smuggler’s Bowl. A Met Music trio — Nate Hazard, brothers Adam and Rob Juzek, were followed by Morgan’s Monsters — Lawler, Maiden, Laidman and Bill Chilton.

The post-race party was hosted by The Matterhorn, but The Scribe was back home as the celebrants gathered and thus unable to congratulate both the winning teams and the individuals who skied or rode the fastest on a great day for a free ski but a tough one for racing. At this point there is only one scheduled race before the finals. Hopefully, it will be a sunny day with perfect weather to celebrate the last day of the regular ski bum race series.

Kim Brown, a ski bum by winter and a hacker by summer, lives in Waterbury Center with his very understanding family.