Bolton Valley 1/11/25

snowphoenix

https://newenglandskiconditions.com/viewreport.php?reportid=3749

Despite the weekend crowds, yesterday was the best day of my season so far! I arrived a bit later than I intended and had to park in the furthest lot from the lodge, then wait for 25 minutes or so to redeem my Indy Pass and get an RFID card. While waiting in line, someone was walking around with a QR code that you could scan with your phone to fill out a waiver. Seemed like a lot of folks were using the Indy Pass yesterday (you can only get regular pre-purchased tickets at the pickup boxes). The Vista Quad was busy throughout the whole day (about 2-3 minutes in the singles line, longer in the main line) while Wilderness and Mid-Mountain had a wait of a few chairs. It looked like Snowflake was ski-on the entire day. I skied mainly off the Vista Quad with a few runs off of Mid-Mountain and Wilderness to change things up. I only rode to the summit of Wilderness once since Peggy Dow's was the only way down from up there. Despite the lift lines, the trails didn't feel particularly crowded.

Most of Wilderness and Vista Peaks were open except for TNT, Schuss, Lower Wilderness, Upper Crossover and the trails off of it, and all trails off of the Snowflake Double except Sprig O' Pine. Snowmaking was in progress at the base of Timberline and the access trail to it. There was plenty of terrain to explore especially with the glades in play, and the narrow and winding nature of many of the trails made the mountain ski bigger than its vertical drop would suggest. The snow was dry packed powder over a hardpack base with thin cover on some of the natural terrain due to skier traffic and windy conditions over the past few days that blew snow into the woods. Some of the steeper groomed runs got a bit icy in the afternoon but weren't terrible.

Bolton Valley was reporting something like 27'' in the last week and also picked up another 1'' from gradual snowfall throughout the day. Not really much wind and no visibility issues apart from at the very top of Vista Peak in the afternoon. Pretty scenery with snow and rime ice on all the trees. The skiing was definitely worth the waits to redeem my pass and get on the lifts. Let's hope these good conditions continue!

Riding up the Wilderness Double

Peggy Dow's

Glades

Riding up the Vista Quad

Summit of Vista Peak

Cobrass

Vista Glades

Lower Wilderness Woods

Preacher

Devil's Playground

Cobrass Woods

Lower Showoff

Hard Luck

Moose Run

NewEnglandSkier13

Pretty trees!

riverc0il

Nice report!

That is the first time I've ever seen someone say that Bolton skis bigger than its vert suggests. To me, it is the opposite due to the run outs and mid-mountain flats. Hard to believe, but Bolton has 200' more vert than Magic (which skis way bigger, IMO).

That said, where Bolton is steep, it has some really nice terrain, for short pitches. Devil's Playground has some interesting lines. And Bolton has a few really fun cliffs, if you know where to look.

NewEnglandSkier13

I feel that Bolton definitely skis bigger than Magic when both are completely open.

lotsoskiing

Wilderness is a loooong chair. Feels like skiing at Smuggs

shpride

lotsoskiing;c-67073 wroteWilderness is a loooong chair. Feels like skiing at Smuggs

You’re right it’s long. I fell asleep on it once riding up solo. I woke up to the sound of the mid station window being banged on.

JMaul

lotsoskiing;c-67073 wroteWilderness is a loooong chair. Feels like skiing at Smuggs

You say that and reference Smuggs' like it's a bad thing :p

lotsoskiing

JMaul;c-67076 wrote
lotsoskiing;c-67073 wroteWilderness is a loooong chair. Feels like skiing at Smuggs
You say that and reference Smuggs' like it's a bad thing :p

Not at all...love that place, just tough on a bitter cold day...

rickbolger

lotsoskiing;c-67073 wroteFeels like skiing at Smuggs

so it was fogged in the day you were at Bolton?

ski_itJR

NewEnglandSkier13;c-67072 wroteI feel that Bolton definitely skis bigger than Magic when both are completely open.

Bolton is bigger than magic correct? Also magic has the old ski area behind it you can tour on which adds some terrain but Bolton's BC area is insanely big.

Glad to see Bolton getting more snow!

NewEnglandSkier13

ski_itJR;c-67081 wrote
NewEnglandSkier13;c-67072 wroteI feel that Bolton definitely skis bigger than Magic when both are completely open.
Bolton is bigger than magic correct? Also magic has the old ski area behind it you can tour on which adds some terrain but Bolton's BC area is insanely big.

Glad to see Bolton getting more snow!

Yes, Bolton has more overall vertical and skiable acreage.

riverc0il

ski_itJR;c-67081 wroteBolton is bigger than magic correct? Also magic has the old ski area behind it you can tour on which adds some terrain but Bolton's BC area is insanely big.

I wouldn't count Timberidge nor Bolton's BC area as part of the main areas at either location. The BC area at Bolton requires hiking and there is very little of Timberidge that can be skied and still get back to the lift at Magic.

NES13 and I will have to agree to disagree about Magic and Bolton. I feel (at least for an expert skier), Magic skis way bigger. Like, not even close, bigger. Too much mid-mountain flat and runout at Bolton, its steeps are very short and not nearly extensive as Magic.

All that said, Bolton gets more than twice as much natural snow, and all that terrain doesn't do much for Magic when it isn't skiable. :(

Both areas are great and deserve way more skier visits.

snowphoenix

riverc0il;c-67085 wrote
ski_itJR;c-67081 wroteBolton is bigger than magic correct? Also magic has the old ski area behind it you can tour on which adds some terrain but Bolton's BC area is insanely big.
I wouldn't count Timberidge nor Bolton's BC area as part of the main areas at either location. The BC area at Bolton requires hiking and there is very little of Timberidge that can be skied and still get back to the lift at Magic.

NES13 and I will have to agree to disagree about Magic and Bolton. I feel (at least for an expert skier), Magic skis way bigger. Like, not even close, bigger. Too much mid-mountain flat and runout at Bolton, its steeps are very short and not nearly extensive as Magic.

All that said, Bolton gets more than twice as much natural snow, and all that terrain doesn't do much for Magic when it isn't skiable. :(

Both areas are great and deserve way more skier visits.

I agree that Magic skis bigger, and is probably my favorite between the two mountains. I think my remark about Bolton skiing bigger than its vertical suggests (just the ~950' of the upper peaks, not the total vertical) was because its runs are much more interesting and in some cases longer than other mountains I've skied with a similar vertical drop, such as Wachusett. For example, if you take Cobrass to Cobrass Woods to one of the lower unmarked woods areas, you get a run that feels long, varied and entertaining. On the other hand, the groomers like Spillway to Beech Seal do feel relatively short.

Yes, Bolton does have some flat areas but they didn't bother me much. As for the runouts, you can spice them up by going in unmarked glades or MTB trails if there's enough snow, as there was on Saturday!

NewEnglandSkier13

I have also never been bothered by the flatter areas or runout, because, as snow phoenix mentioned, there are almost always glades to duck into. Bolton is also much more spread out than Magic, making it feel bigger.

marcski

I think Bolton skis smaller because the total vertical includes the road down to the Timberline lift, which isn't really skiable as a consistent run from the summit.