I could have also titled this, 5 desperate skiers climb a mountain in search of the last dregs of snow.  Burlington received a little snow this past week, Essex a little more, but the mountains really got hammered.  While the snow in Burlington has completely disappeared, Stowe is still hanging onto some snow.

The email arrived late last week; Cinco de Mansfield would take place on Saturday, May 1st. I haven’t done a lot of skiing in the last few weeks, my season really ended in March for some reason. I packed a pair of skis, boots, poles, skins, and cameras into the car and headed to Stowe for our 11:00am start.

It was looking pretty bare at the bottom when we arrived. Instead of heading up the gondola, we stuck to Nose Dive.

Skiing Vermont Stowe Telemark 1 Cinco de Mansfield, 2010

Skiing Vermont Stowe Telemark 2 Cinco de Mansfield, 2010

Skiing Vermont Stowe Telemark 3 Cinco de Mansfield, 2010

Skiing Vermont Stowe Telemark 4 Cinco de Mansfield, 2010

I guess there were 6 of us – how could I forget Carter?  He spent the day looking for snowballs and squirrels.

Skiing Vermont Stowe Telemark 5 Cinco de Mansfield, 2010

Skiing Vermont Stowe Telemark 6 Cinco de Mansfield, 2010

Cinco de Mansfield wouldn’t be complete without margaritas at the top.  Chris played bartender this year and mixed up a tasty drink.

Skiing Vermont Stowe Telemark 7 Cinco de Mansfield, 2010

Skiing Vermont Stowe Telemark 8 Cinco de Mansfield, 2010

Skiing Vermont Stowe Telemark 9 Cinco de Mansfield, 2010

After some time relaxing at the top, it was time to ski.  The first turns down Nose Dive were sticky and challenging.  I took a digger on my second or third turn and then started to figure out my balance again.  It turns out I missed skiing in the month of April.  What an odd ski season.

Skiing Vermont Stowe Telemark 10 Cinco de Mansfield, 2010

Skiing Vermont Stowe Telemark 11 Cinco de Mansfield, 2010

Skiing Vermont Stowe Telemark 12 Cinco de Mansfield, 2010

Skiing Vermont Stowe Telemark 13 Cinco de Mansfield, 2010

Skiing Vermont Stowe Telemark 14 Cinco de Mansfield, 2010

Skiing Vermont Stowe Telemark 15 Cinco de Mansfield, 2010

Skiing Vermont Stowe Telemark 16 Cinco de Mansfield, 2010

Skiing Vermont Stowe Telemark 17 Cinco de Mansfield, 2010

Skiing Vermont Stowe Telemark 18 Cinco de Mansfield, 2010

Skiing Vermont Stowe Telemark 19 Cinco de Mansfield, 2010

Skiing Vermont Stowe Telemark 20 Cinco de Mansfield, 2010

You can see the full gallery of photos on my Smugmug page.

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