The Professor Rides Magic Mountain

Last Thursday (geez, has it been that long?!) we finally received a much needed dump of snow. Well, that's not quite accurate. The mountains received snow. The valleys...well, let's talk about the mountains.

Air-udite Dartmouth Professor Nick Reo, grabbin' some hang time.
Yahoo! I'm enjoying it too Nick!

No, it's not you. This image is black and white. But mostly grey. When the snow is thick, a foot can feel like two. And that's a good thing!

Better than a day at the office!
Specifically, let's talk about Magic Mountain. Without a doubt, my favorite ski area in southern Vermont and one of the best in the east when the snow is right. Located in Londonderry, Magic mountain is a true New England ski area. Not a resort. With two slow double lifts, although they usually only run one, since they pretty much both go to the top, Magic Mountain is all about fun winding trails on natural snow, steep terrain, secret glades and no crowds. Not to mention tickets are cheap.

And you've got to love their philosophy. "Magic is open Friday-Mondays, plus all of Presidents Week and any future mid-week Powder Days when we receive 6"+ of snow."

There are hits in the trails, and even a small cliff here and there. We had almost three runs of mainly untracked snow, before we had to start choosing our freshies more wisely. With a decent base (surprisingly) and 10" at bottom and 16" at top, the gettins were good, and the goods were great. 

Skiers who wear red on cloudy days are photographers' best friends. I didn't know this dude.

On grey days, trees are the best way to add depth to a skiing/snowboarding image.

I told you skiing with a photographer is no fun.
 Nick and I were in line before the lift opened. We got in eight runs and 387 smiles. By eleven, the powder began to resemble chowder, and by noon we were skiing between raindrops in cement.  It didn't matter, we were exhausted.

The red chair.

Enjoying the ride up while imagining the ride down.

What would a blog be without self-deprecation? So, for your enjoyment, yours truly doing a spread eagle. I think I nailed the eagle but lacked spread. But I've got the smile, and that's the most important thing! Photo by Nick Reo
I haven't had many days at all this year, so a powder day at Magic was just the thing.

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