Owl's Head - April 7, 2023

For what might be the closer to the 2022-23 season, Lukas and I headed off to Owl's Head today for his first visit there. He's heard of the stories of my working there way back when, so it was his time to experience the mountain for himself. We left early, and arrived just before 8. There were a few cars already in the lot when we got there. It was partly sunny, and mild but wow the wind was howling! I wasn't expecting to be windy. We got ready, picked up Lukas' RFID card, and headed outside to get ready for the morning.

The schedule was for the Summit Quad, Family Quad, and the Panorama to spin today. I ran into my buddy Adam who works at the mountain, and let me know that the Summit Quad was on wind hold. It was blustery at the base of the mountain, and you could really hear it up the hill. While talking with Adam, down by the Family Quad we had a visitor running up the trail, a young moose ran by! Out of the years working there, I had not seen a moose on the hill. Lots of porcupine, and a variety of other animals, but not a moose!

After the excitement Lukas and I headed off to the Family Quad to start the day. The conditions to start were a bit crusty. The trails had been groomed during the night however with the wind, and temperatures right around freezing made for fast skiing. Spring has definitely sprung. There were some ice patches poking through to watch out for but nothing to worry about. There was plenty of space to avoid them. After a few runs on the Family Quad it was on to the Panorama Quad.

It was down the Nice & Easy then the Chouette to get yourself to the bottom of the Panorama Quad. The coverage was pretty much the same, groomed granular snow with a bit of a crust, and a few ice patches to boot. We spent awhile in this sector, and with the sun starting to appear more, the snow started softening up but not to the degree of becoming like the typical spring time mashed potatoes. There were some crosswinds riding up the lift but nothing that affected the operation of the Quad. You could still access the Upward Trail with a few crossover connections, The Lake Quad was not in operation today. There no lines at either Quad.

The Nice & Easy and Junction With the Chouette:

The Chouette Further Down and The Bottom of the Panorama Quad:

We had a few turns on the bottom part of the Upward Trail on the bottom of the Lake Quad and back over to the Chouette. It was crusty as well on the Upward Trail but softened up pretty quickly with the sun being out. When the sun disappeared behind the clouds, and with the wind, it started to get a light crust again which softened up when the sun reappeared. 

The Upward Trail Looking Up:

We then headed back to the Family Quad by the way of the Bambi Crossing to the last pitch of the Kamikaze. Back up the Family Quad, Bambi Crossing to the last pitch of the Lower Standard. 

After 15 runs or so we finished the morning, The Summit Quad was still not running at noon as it was still windy on top and you could really hear it. We had a really good day despite the limited operations on what would be most likely our last day, well Lukas' last, but I could be easily coaxed into another later day in the next couple of weeks. Until next season Owl's Head, we are looking forward to it!

Here Are A Few More Scenes of the Day: