Fabulous Snow - Great Skiing - Clear Goggle Day

Woke a few times during the night but managed to get quickly back to sleep. Jacob was on the sleeper sofa and Bella at the foot of that bed preferring to use to the sofa cushions as her own private bed. I got up for keeps around 7am and headed into the bathroom to brush my teeth then garb up for a run. Twenty minutes later I headed out the door after alerting Mindy that I was heading out.

I noticed they had two large carafe’s of Starbucks in the lobby. I couldn’t resist. I poured and enjoyed a quick cup before heading out for a run. It was good! I briefly stretched my legs on a bench just outside the Tamarack door then trotted off on my run figuring to take the sidewalk route into town. There was little more than a dusting of snow covering the walk for most of the way. Ellicottville is one of the few towns that actually provides snow removal for the city’s main sidewalks.

The run was enjoyable and the view quite picturesque. The town looks like a Xmas card and in mid-winter form. Had to be between 12-18” of snow piled up in the yards. Was back in the room near 8am. I was pleasantly surprised to find Mindy not only up, but that she’d also made a pot of coffee. She was already prepping for a day on the slopes.

The kids were another story, though Bella was up shortly thereafter. Both, however, were slow to motivate into their ski gear. Originally, we talked about walking next door to get breakfast from the cafeteria at the new HV lodge. But the more we discussed it, it made more sense to eat a banana in the room, go ski a few runs, and then end up at the lodge for food. Bella and I each ate a little bit of leftover pizza in the room.

Jacob and I headed out to the Pilot at 915am to unload our skis. Everybody else was already in their full gear. I was in my ski gear too save for ski boots. I needed to stay in street shoes so I could climb up to the Thule. Mindy hung with my skis while I ran my shoes back to the room, which was just down the hall from ski check – convenient!

We were in line and heading up Mardi Gras by 945am. Not bad. By the way, it was 26 degrees and snowing lightly. We let the kids pick the first run. Somewhat surprisingly, they picked Mardi Gras to Holiday Run. It wouldn’t have been my pick but hey. I reminded them that we’d either have to take the Chute lift back up or peg to Yodeler since everybody wanted to do Independence and Champagne.

First run down Mardi Gras to Holiday Run. The snow was awesome, groomed with a soft surface about 3-4” deep. A little slow, however. We didn’t have near the speed to ski to Yodeler. Instead, we had to peg. Jacob insisted we simply take the Chute, but that would mean we’d have to ski down Chute or Edelweiss. I didn’t think Mindy would be ready for that just yet. We laughed about our tough peg to Yodeler – lessoned learned.

At Yodeler they were setting up for the afternoon’s pond skimming event. And as a result, there was already a large contingent of skiers riding up the lift. The kids and I skied Independence then headed over to Morning Star to find Mindy, who despite confirming we were skiing Independence headed over to Morning Star. The kids guessed that she was upset, though that wasn’t the case. Instead, she had a brain fart.

After our run down Independence we headed back up and then over to Morning Star. We didn’t find Mindy until our 2nd run there. After one more run down M.S, we rode up Eagle and skied Falcon and Eagle a handful of times. The snow was ideal, soft and moderately fast. And being a veteran of HV, I knew that I could find the powder caches along the edges of those trails. It was absolutely like heaven over there!
Before taking a break, we skied Fidler’s Elbow, one of only a few runs we’d never tried before. It was fun. Ends up back at M.S. and Eagle. From there we skied another never previously before skied, Day’s End back to the base lodge area and a break in HV lodge. We skied fairly hard for about 2.5 -3hours.

We sad and surprised to learn that the T-Bar was shut down for the season. That’s the bar on the top floor. However, the ULR bar was opened, which is down by the cafeteria. I ordered two spicy bloody Mary’s, watching carefully what she used to spice ‘em up. The secret ingredient was horseradish. Ah-hah!

The kids and Mindy headed for food. I decided not to order anything to eat, knowing all too well that Bella wouldn’t finish hers, whatever it was. I drank about a third of my bloody Mary then gave the rest to Mindy. It was good, just wasn’t hitting the spot. I went back to the bar for a Southern Tier IPA. Now we’re talking!

As expected, Bella didn’t finish her cheese burger and barely touched her curly fries. I also had a bite or two of Mindy’s pork tenderloin sandwich. A friendly guy from the Buffalo area came over to chat with us. A bit too forward – too chatty for me. But in the end, he was harmless. We took about an hour’s break then headed out again.

We skied most of the black chutes off Mardi Gras, spending a lot of time on Champagne, Edelweiss, and Yodeler. And for the first time ever, we skied in the trees top to bottom. That was fun & invigorating. I can’t say enough about the conditions, for my money perhaps the best all-around snow conditions ever at HV. And we’ve compiled quite the number of HV ski days over the past five years (about 30). Mindy and I polished off a flask of sumpin-sumpin’. Yum!!!

We took another break around 230pm only this time in the room. Indy and I both drank a quick beer. The kids opted to stay in the room. Mindy and I headed back out for more fun. Told the kids to call if they had a change of heart. We did countless runs leading up to 430pm when they closed Morning Star on us after we skied to the base. We took Day’s End back thinking we’d do Mardi Gras since we knew all the smaller lifts closed at 4-430pm. We were shocked then when they shut down Mardi Gras at 430pm too. What a bummer. That left only Cindy’s and Sunrise open until 7pm. Obviously they didn’t plan for such great spring conditions let alone the number of people.

Suddenly, the line for Cindy’s was longer than I’ve ever seen it. No thanks. We took it in stride deciding to call it a day and head back to the room and then to the hot tub. After some cajoling, the kids opted to join us in the hot tub. Mindy wanted to take wine but we didn’t have a wine opener in our room She settled for a beer.

Both hot tubs were darn near full. We invaded the one least crowded. Jacob and I were in five minutes before Mindy. Bella diverted for the indoor/outdoor pool. Met lots of fun, interesting folks. Lots of ski trip conversations. Met a couple from Warren Ohio that know Mindy’s bff, Teri G.N., or at least her family. Hung in the hot tub for at least an hour or until we were pruned. Spent a few minutes in the sauna before heading back to the room.

Now about 6pm, we got cleaned up for dinner. Mindy and the kids showered. Because I showered after my run, I simply rewet and dried my hair. Our goal was to dine at Cadillac Jack’s. Mindy insisted we walk. I was down with that, though the kids tried desperately to get Mindy to change her mind and drive.  Turned out, Cadillac Jack’s was closed. Happens a lot. Must’ve planned for next to no crowds. Faced with a decision, do we walk back and dine at John Harvard’s, or do we cross the street and dine at the Depot. I voted for the Depot thinking we’d eat at J.V.s Sunday night. It’s not that much farther and it wasn’t that cold – about 32 degrees.

We were seated right away and at a table away from the entrance door, which if seated nearby can leave you cold when others come in and out. Sweet! We arrived just in the nick of time. The place was full in the next 10 minutes and there were lots of people waiting for a table.

We opted for a pitcher of Southern Tier IPA while the kids drank Dr Pepper. I ordered XSFH wings. Can’t recall what the others ordered, though I know that Mindy and Jacob had onion wings with their entrees. We had a really attentive server. It took some doing, but Mindy and I polished off the pitcher of Southern Tier. Well, actually I walked home with the last cup. We were all tired even though it couldn’t have been later than 830pm. Before we settled our check, both kids enjoyed desert - Klondike bars.

Back in the room, it wasn’t long before everybody was in their PJs and in bed. And like a lot of snow ski nights, the lights were out well ahead of 10pm.