Pico 2/28/15

[rocks860]

Conditions: packed powder

This was my first trip to pico and I was very impressed. I had never even driven up the road past killington before as I usually keep going on 100. Got tickets through liftopia for me and my girlfriend for about 45 bucks each and it was definitely worth it. Girlfriend is a beginner/low intermediate snowboarder so we spent a good amount of time on the right side of the mountain on the trails where the terrain park is but even those were great. I got some runs in on my own from the summit and the were great. Summit glades had some fantastic bumps. Upper pike was getting a bit scratchy but there was still plenty of loose snow. There were several races going on so the lodge was packed but the trails never got too busy. Run of the day was probably Poma woods, great tree spacing and tons of snow. I definitely want to get back here and explore the rest of the mountain. First time out on the new skis and they performed great, the extra width didn't make them any tougher to rail on the groomers and they even performed well in the moguls.
Summit glades


Poma woods


Poma lift line/Giant killer




Woods

 

[skimagic]

looks nice! what kind of skis you pick up...i'm looking...

 

[SkiRay]

We must have missed each other. It has been our home mountain this season and very pleased. Hands down a better mountain than Killy any day. Today we had some people that we met on Epic Ski and on this forum meet us - with their killy day pass and they loved it. Hands down.

 

[rocks860]

looks nice! what kind of skis you pick up...i'm looking...

Surface dailys with Rossi freeski2 bindings. They definitely feel a little surfy but they still carved some nice turns on the groomers.

 

[xlr8r]

I was there last Sunday, (never got around to posting a TR), and it looks like things haven't changed much. Last Sunday they got 6" of new snow, and it was one of my best days in the last few years. Pico is one of my absolute favorite Mountains. and I make sure I get to it every year, 6 straight now. I only go when there is great conditions, and I don't go there too often to ruin and get too familiar with it. It makes every visit special.

Pico has a ton of secrets and glades that do not get over skied. It is also a great place to for lower pitched glades. I was talking on the lift last weekend with somebody who was also having their first day at Pico, and we both agreed that Pico was one of the best mountains for glades that you can just flow through non stop like Poma Woods. That too many other mountains only put glades on steeper pitches that get skied off too quickly, and require multiple stops on the run to plan your way down safely. Whereas Pico has a lot of Glades on more intermediate pitches that you can ski without worry or having to plan your way down.

Did you get to the Outpost chair at all?

 

[deadheadskier]

Sharp looking skis there rocks. You go with the 191 length? They look 120 underfoot

 

[SkiRay]

Fat. Very. .I am on 84 underfoot, going to 97 or 100 but, keeping my current 84 underfoot for rock skis.

 

[deadheadskier]

Sorry was referring to rocks860 and his new surface skis.

 

[rocks860]

Sharp looking skis there rocks. You go with the 191 length? They look 120 underfoot

Yup went with the 191 and I'm glad I did, they don't feel long at all

 

[rocks860]

I was there last Sunday, (never got around to posting a TR), and it looks like things haven't changed much. Last Sunday they got 6" of new snow, and it was one of my best days in the last few years. Pico is one of my absolute favorite Mountains. and I make sure I get to it every year, 6 straight now. I only go when there is great conditions, and I don't go there too often to ruin and get too familiar with it. It makes every visit special.

Pico has a ton of secrets and glades that do not get over skied. It is also a great place to for lower pitched glades. I was talking on the lift last weekend with somebody who was also having their first day at Pico, and we both agreed that Pico was one of the best mountains for glades that you can just flow through non stop like Poma Woods. That too many other mountains only put glades on steeper pitches that get skied off too quickly, and require multiple stops on the run to plan your way down safely. Whereas Pico has a lot of Glades on more intermediate pitches that you can ski without worry or having to plan your way down.

Did you get to the Outpost chair at all?

I took the outpost chair up once at the end of the day but they were racing over there so I didn't really ski much in that area. Definitely agree about the pitch on the glades, Poma glades was awesome for linking together turns and not worrying about what you had to avoid coming up/planning out a line.

 

[SkiRay]

Did you try Summit Glades into Sunset Woods? Great combo too..

 

[rocks860]

I did actually, went into sunset woods on my first run from the summit after hitting summit glades. I knew I forgot something, sunset woods was great

 

[sankaty]

I was there over the weekend, too. Giant Killer was great, but I spent a lot of time lapping Summit Glade to Sunset Woods, which was just glorious. What a great, uncrowded mountain, and at a bargain price most of the time.

 

[bdfreetuna]

I took the outpost chair up once at the end of the day but they were racing over there so I didn't really ski much in that area. Definitely agree about the pitch on the glades, Poma glades was awesome for linking together turns and not worrying about what you had to avoid coming up/planning out a line.

Poma Woods are a ton of fun. I hit Pico this year in December right after they got a couple feet of snow up there and I've rarely had more fun skiing than blasting through that stuff. You should check out the woods off Outpost chair too. Doozie is always a good time. Then there's another one I forget the name of it but its on the other side of Outpost. Starts of super mellow pitch but tight trees... then gets <><> steep for a short bit. Just fun terrain overall.

Sunset Woods at Pico might be tied for my favorite though. Not to mention they do have several areas of more difficult woods and even some pretty tough woods around Giant Killer. (and there's always Poma Line if you're feeling gnarly). You definitely have lots to explore next time you go back.

Edit:: looks like a few people beat me to the punch on Sunset Woods.

Great mountain for all abilities IMO. And a real nice trail layout that makes it ski a whole lot bigger than it looks.

 

[xlr8r]

Poma Woods are a ton of fun. I hit Pico this year in December right after they got a couple feet of snow up there and I've rarely had more fun skiing than blasting through that stuff. You should check out the woods off Outpost chair too. Doozie is always a good time. Then there's another one I forget the name of it but its on the other side of Outpost. Starts of super mellow pitch but tight trees... then gets <><> steep for a short bit. Just fun terrain overall.

Sunset Woods at Pico might be tied for my favorite though. Not to mention they do have several areas of more difficult woods and even some pretty tough woods around Giant Killer. (and there's always Poma Line if you're feeling gnarly). You definitely have lots to explore next time you go back.

Edit:: looks like a few people beat me to the punch on Sunset Woods.

Great mountain for all abilities IMO. And a real nice trail layout that makes it ski a whole lot bigger than it looks.

Yeah the other one off of Outpost is Outlaw, which is a little tighter and gets steeper the further you go down. There is also a new one off of mid KA called Mid Pike Glade. Also a must hit is Birch Woods between Birch Glade and Pike, I think this was the first tree skiing area they made at Pico probably 6 or 7 years ago now. But they have continued to add one or two new tree skiing areas every year to the point now where Pico is one of the better mountains for glades.

 

[rocks860]

Poma Woods are a ton of fun. I hit Pico this year in December right after they got a couple feet of snow up there and I've rarely had more fun skiing than blasting through that stuff. You should check out the woods off Outpost chair too. Doozie is always a good time. Then there's another one I forget the name of it but its on the other side of Outpost. Starts of super mellow pitch but tight trees... then gets <><> steep for a short bit. Just fun terrain overall.

Sunset Woods at Pico might be tied for my favorite though. Not to mention they do have several areas of more difficult woods and even some pretty tough woods around Giant Killer. (and there's always Poma Line if you're feeling gnarly). You definitely have lots to explore next time you go back.

Edit:: looks like a few people beat me to the punch on Sunset Woods.

Great mountain for all abilities IMO. And a real nice trail layout that makes it ski a whole lot bigger than it looks.

I saw a couple people coming down the Poma line on Saturday, braver souls than I.

 

[keyser soze]

I was there yesterday and it was also my first day on my new skis. I picked up some Fischer Ranger 88s and cannot believe how much better they are than my old RX8s, which I used to think were great despite the fact that they were > 10 years old. Light, nimble, and soft in the bumps, but they hold an edge on the hardpack very well. I am not a good bump skier but I just got twice as good with these skis. I didn't know what I was missing Highly recommend.