Everybody is rooting for slatham to be right!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by slatham
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Everybody is rooting for slatham to be right!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by slatham
Want to post a special thanks and send vibes to mag Blackbeard who broke his femur in Idaho on Sunday. He reached out (he's been following this thread) and offered me 2 transferrable pre-bought ski days at Ragged. Have been so wanting to ski there for a long time. This is the impetus to pop that cherry. Pretty sure powbmps has a pass there so will reach out when I figure out when I'm going but it will be soon. Probably going to combine that with trips to Cannon and Waterville (staying with my 82-year-old dad). Will also reach out to Jack Straw from Wichita and jhyatt when I head that way.
And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming...
Day 40: Killington, VT (IKON Pass)
Met up with Goniff in Bay 1 and proceeded up the hill with minimal fanfare. Definitely more natural snow here than points further south but still pretty sketchy on natural-only trails.
The place is a Beast. They were pounding Superstar all day.
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Goniff whale watching
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The blow over as far away from the guns as you can get was sweet but the goggles got a good coating and the last few turns definitely had a Braille component to them. After about an hour met up with Rusty, one of the K-zone regulars that Goniff and I ski with all the time. We skied some low-angle trees and those were fine but anything steeper would have required edging and would likely have uncovered some nasties.
Skied quite a few bump trails, some better than the others but my leg muscles were telling me that 35+ days on smooth groomers doesn't get you in shape for shit.
Back at Magic and looking for some skis to burn. Salomon X-Max 09s or Dynastar Legend 84s?
Whichever skis work, just don't let hippy Carol get a whiff of them!
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Day 41: Magic Mtn, VT (Magic Pass)
This morning broke clear and cold. I rallied at 10:00 and headed over to Magic. Immediately linked up with MMP, OrangeGondola and RustyGroomer along with non-mags Bank-mang and JFR. Goniff was still en route. Also got to chat with Magicsnowboard for a bit as he's teaching his 3-year-old to be a knuckledragger.
We skied only natural snow trails and we were graced with the presence of noted filmmaker, Guy Douchette (if you're not familiar, search his work on Vimeo). There were lines all day but they rarely exceeded 7 minutes. Nice and warm in the sun down low but stayed cold all day up top.
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Guy and his crew did a lot of camera work so I didn't take any action shots but I'm going out on a limb and saying this was [by far] the best day of my season so far. Spent the afternoon skiing with a lady friend who most consider to be the best skier at Magic (although MMP's son was here today and that kid flat rips).
Phenomenal day. Going to spend the coming week skiing with my 82-year-old dad in NH.
Marc Chauvin is awesome. I worked with him as editor of his book The Mountain Guide Manual and was thoroughly impressed by his knowledge and professionalism. I've edited dozens of climbing instructional books with a lot of very qualified authors, and he still distinguished himself as a cut above.Quote:
Originally Posted by MyNameIsAugustWest
You going to make it to Montana?
Yeah, man.Quote:
Originally Posted by yeahman
Day 42: Ragged Mountain, NH (vouchers gifted to me by Blackbeard)
Another morning that broke at -10* once the sun came up. My dad and I agreed to rally at Ragged Mountain in Danbury, NH at 10:00am. It's about a 45 minute drive for him and about 75 minutes for me. I've driven by this place dozens of times but never skied here. I wish I had stopped before today.
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The mercury had risen to about 7* so up we went. Nice views of the northern Whites from the top. Looks like the top of George poking above the horizon just to the left of the Spruce grove.
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Tons of tree skiing here but, like at Sunapee, we need a fair bit more snow for the trees to be in. They're doing what the can to cover the rest of the place though.
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Here's my dad skiing. Hard to believe he's 82. Hope I got his genes for staying healthy (although my mom is 81 and is probably going to do the Camino this summer for the 3rd time in the last 8 years).
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To the north/northwest is Mt. Cardigan. There's a hut up there and a weekend of skinning/skiing/hut dwelling is a bucket list item for me.
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So glad I got to ski at Ragged...skiing with my dad was a huge cherry on top.
Just awesome man, heart is warm here
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Today looked like the day to be out. No crowds, I'm assuming?
PM me if you go back.
this thread is awesome. 82 and shredding - we should all be so lucky
No crowds whatsoever. Was a cool start but the sun made it feel much warmer. Will definitely get in touch next time.Quote:
Originally Posted by powbmps
Indeed. We're going to ski Waterville Valley today (he lives in the Valley)Quote:
Originally Posted by raypruit
FKNA! Glad you were able to use the Ragged tickets, even better to use them with your Dad! Hope to make it back to New England next year post-rehab. Keep shredding MNIAW!
Day 43: Waterville Valley, NH (Indy Pass)
Another morning below zero but bright sunshine and not a breath of wind made getting out by 9:30 easy. I've been skiing WV off and on since 1976 but never really regularly. My brother (1 year younger than me) lives here full-time as does my dad. Redeeming the Indy Pass for a ticket was a piece of cake and off we went.
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The manmade was in surprisingly good shape but maybe it shouldn't have been a surprise as there were very few people skiing. My dad pointed me in the direction of most ways down. The trails to skiers left of the main lift were very shaded and hard to see the changes in snow surface. The aptly named Sunnyside section of the mountain is where the steeps are and the ability to see subtle changes in the surface gave me confidence to rip down the black trails (Gema, Ciao, True Grit). My dad had no trouble keeping up.
WV is located at the end of a major drainage out of the central Whites and the scenery is spectacular. Franconia Traverse with Mt. Lafayette behind the twig stoke to the north
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Almost became one of those "WTF were they thinking?" people when we hiked the traverse one summer. It was 85* and humid at the trailhead so I decided to leave any foul-weather gear in the car. Got halfway across the bare ridge on the way to Lafayette's peak when a storm rolled through the notch. Temps dropped to mid 50s and we were lashed by wind and rain. Never been so happy as when we got to the hut just below Lafayette's summit.
And to the northeast is Mt. Washington (aka George, aka the rockpile, aka Agiocochook). Looks so serene an a calm, clear day...
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My brother was able to join us at around noon. He's 61 and skis on Fischer WC slalom skis and Head whatever plug boots. He was absolutely ripping the steeps even though this was only his 3rd day out this year. Even though we live in the same small state, we don't see each other often enough. His kids are much younger than mine so he's still dealing with them plus he decided to un-retire and has a business in Phoenix, AZ that he runs so he spends a lot of time in the SW. So good to catch up on the few chairlift rides we got to share.
Overall, I would rate the day as an A but if I wasn't skiing with my family, it would have been a solid B. Fun day.
Decent snow, beautiful views, and a chance to catch up with family on the slopes. That's a great day of skiing, right there.
Day 44: Cannon Mtn, NH (Indy Pass)
Last day of skiing with my dad today. First morning in a while it wasn't below 0* up this way. We knew the weather was changing and had hopes that the wind bringing in the storm wouldn't be too bad. Our hopes were dashed. The mountains were socked in at Waterville Valley but as we came through the Notch, we could see blue skies over Vermont. Wind was blowing out the cloud remnants as we headed for the lodge.
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We booted up
Anything detachable was on windhold the entire day so we were confined to the trails above Echo Lake.
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Good news is, although short, those trails can be very entertaining. Skied those trails numerous times and skied the soft bumps under the Zoomer chair multiple times. I had to get back to Vermont ahead of the incoming weather so we headed out at 1:00. I had skied at least 15 laps and was satisfied.
Fingers crossed for a right side up storm....
Day 45: Magic Mtn, VT (Magic Pass)
Posting this the morning after as MMP kept me out way too late last night. The storm was a total bust for the mountains of Southern Vermont. Mostly freezing rain with some sleet mixed in overnight. It actually started snowing at about 8am and continued throughout the day. MMP had come up the night before and we headed over to the lodge at 9:00. Green chair was running and the Red Chair was on de-icing hold. We decided to wait for Red to get going.
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RustyGroomer joined us shortly and we waited...and waited. At around 10:30 we decided to ride the Green Chair as it seemed Red was going to be an iffy thing. As it turned out many areas (Bromley and Jiminy for sure) never even opened due to icing on their lifts.
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The skiing was quite good with a creamy surface over the snowmaking and natural snow trails. We did a few short hikes to find untracked as the snow continued to pound throughout the day. At around 3:00 Rusty and I decided to hike (bootpack) to the top to get tracks on Talisman. Just before we got to the top we were passed by a young lady with skins and a touring rig.
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She made a huge tactical error and went to the top of the Red Chair rather than heading straight to the West side. Rusty and I were ahead of her until we stopped to take pictures. Then she passed us.
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Rusty:
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One of me...Rusty is really good behind the lens (and in front of it)
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A day that started out with low expectations delivered smiles and high 5s.
Day 46: Magic Mtn, VT (Magic Pass)
Took the day off on Saturday as my knee was barking at me and I had already skied 5 days that week. Still not sure that was the right call: on one hand, Magic had to cut off ticket sales because they reached their daily limit of 1,500 so the crowds were pretty bad; on the other hand, the snow was pretty good. Today, the latter was no longer true.
A lot of the long-time passholders like to ski the trails in a certain order that starts off with a pretty tough one...Slide of Hans was a mess. No snow, lots of limbs and rocks, and more than 1 waterfall to contend with. Makes me a better skier, right? Slide is short and you can usually relax on the meandering blue square that it feeds into to get back to the lifts. Not so today. Wizard was also a tilted rink and the 2 steepish pitches had ice moguls dotted here and there. 2nd trail in the progression is Sorcerer, on most days, my favorite trail at Magic: natural snow, steep, and somewhat narrow. I had a hard time finding places to turn that were not bulletproof. Progression trail #3 is Talisman, a wide, steep groomer that actually skied ok. I gave up on the rest of the progression and tried to find soft snow. I failed.
Still had a fun day because I got to ride the chair with MSB's wife. She's a great skier and a fun person to be around. Met up with several regulars but nobody had any secrets to share. Oh well, they can't all be pow days.
So stoked for the MNIAW and Goniff trip to the tetons. Keep the great stuff flowing man
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I head west 2 weeks from today. Hopefully I bring the snow with me. I'll be in touch soon with more deets on arrival date/time.Quote:
Originally Posted by kokomas
Day 47: Stratton, VT (Ikon Pass)
Was hoping that the grooming that Stratton is famous for would resurrect the trails after a very busy weekend. Instead, we encountered the worst conditions I've seen this season. Every trail was a tilted rink and it's a good thing Stratton isn't very steep or I would call today dangerous. I had just diamond stoned some pretty decent skis before I went and absolutely could not get an edge.
Sticker stoke...
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For the record, I am a supporter of ski patrol, just thought the sticker was funneh.
Had an early lunch at Grizzly's and our favorite bartender (several years at Magic) was working. Once again, no charge for beers. Big tip (again).
Going to head north in search of something skiable tomorrow. I need to stop in to Guest Services at Killington to square away an account issue there so maybe there. Wish Pico was open on Tuesdays...
Day 48: Killington, VT (Ikon Pass)
I didn't end up skiing on Tuesday because skiing the bone rattling hardpack at Stratton on Monday had me ready for another day off...sucks getting old.
I had to stop in at Guest Services at Killington to fix an Express Card/Ikon Pass conflict but was on the gondi by 9:15. It was a stunning day with bluebird skies, not a breath of wind and temps climbing into the low 20s.
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If you look at the top of the lift, you can see the Superstar Glacier. It's already huge and they will likely continue to blow up there well into March.
A quick run down Cascade and onto the Canyon Quad to hit the steepish trails in that pod before they got too tracked out
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Seems like Killington got most of the snow that fell in New England yesterday and last night...we got a dusting at Magic and Vt-F reported 1/4" at Sugarbush...Killington got 3-4". I was one of the first to hit Royal Flush.
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This trail faces due east and is always the first to mank out...I timed it perfectly.
Also skied several runs down Double Dipper under the Canyon quad; totally in the shadows and skied like Colorado snow. Perfectly formed bumps also.
My legs were begging for a groomer run or 2 so I headed over to Superstar. Big mistake. It felt like it was prepped for the World Cup races they hold here every Thanksgiving weekend. Skied a few more runs and then called it an early day to make sure I don't further injure my knee.
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A few words about Killington...they've always treated veterans well, giving us a free Express Card (50% off on weekday tix and 25% off weekend tix) and they let us ski for free on Veterans Day. As I mentioned above, there was a conflict in their system that was charging my Express Card when I used my Ikon Pass. I traded emails with Sharon G who is usually the person that gives me the Express Card in late October. She ID'ed the issue and told me to stop in to see her so she could fix it. Unfortunately, she wasn't working today but assured me her colleague Gail could square it away. I walked in to Guest Services and started to explain the issue and Gail said, "you must be [name redacted].. Here's your new Express Card...this will solve the issue." It's not often that you get such service at a huge resort. If Killington was 30 minutes closer, I'd definitely get a pass there.
Enjoying this thread; not as much as you are, but look forward to some cameos along the way.Quote:
Originally Posted by MyNameIsAugustWest
Cheers and thank you for your service.
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+1. skiJQuote:
Originally Posted by MMP
Day 49: Magic Mtn, VT (Magic Pass)
For whatever reason, Jeff with a G likes to put me in front of any pro lenses that are shooting at Magic. I'm not sure why because I am not that good of a skier and I certainly have a face made for radio. He had contacted me last week to ski for a video being shot for Vermont Tourism today but I got conflicting emails from the producer making me think I wasn't needed. When I walked over to Magic at the crack of 1:00 today, Stefan B, our local famous videographer grabbed me to ski with him as the video team was shooting mostly him. Stefan is a great skier and is just a great human being to be around so how could I say anything but yes?
Video shooting is not that fun. Lots of standing around waiting for the camera folks to do whatever it is that they do. Then we ski about 10 turns and rinse, repeat.
A snow squall rolled in as we headed up the lift:
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Just another view of the snow starting to drop...
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We skied a couple of tree lines and a couple of groomers
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I broke off to try to link up with Biggins who was getting in a coupla laps after work. We missed connecting so I headed back to the lift and promptly linked up with Stefan's better half, the lovely Wendy. She's as much fun as Stefan to be around so we had a lively chat going up the hill. I skied Twilight Zone and I knew the filming team was looking for a long lens shot of Stefan ripping Goniff Glade. Those trails merge toward the bottom and so I was cheering Stefan on from below.
The camera crew stashed their gear and when we got to the top, they wanted to ski the gnarliest trail we could. Since Patrol closes the West Side of Magic at 3:30, we were stuck on the East Side. I knew an unmarked tree line that should have good coverage and a lot of interesting features including a natural halfpipe. The crew was all on snowboards so they were loving the choice. I've been skiing solo a lot and I won't do tree runs alone so this was a bonus for me.
Finally linked up with Biggins and also Goniff at the Black Line Tavern for a coupla brews before calling it a day.
Day 50: Killington, VT (Ikon Pass)
What a day. Had originally planned to ski at Magic but Goniff convinced me that the Beast of the East was the play for today. With only a few days left before I head west, I wanted to use as many of my Killington/Ikon days as possible. We parked at Bear Mountain and headed up after linking up with Rusty from K-Zone (not to be confused with RustyGroomer from TGR).
After a quick warmup on a mostly soft groomer, we headed for Devil's Fiddle. Goniff compares DF to Blackline at Magic and although DF is much wider, the terrain is similar. Didn't hit too much on the way down and when we looked back up, it was shocking how many rocks were exposed:
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Skied a couple of low angle tree runs. Goniff snapped this pic of Rusty in Arthur's (?):
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We then proceeded to Stitchline, a narrow, natural snow trail under the Needle's Eye quad. It's amazing how much better natural snow skis...
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After several laps on Double Dipper, another natural snow trail, I was getting hungry so we agreed to head back to the K-1 base for something from the Taco Truck. To get there, we skied Anarchy, a pretty steep and tight tree run.
Lunch was muy bueno
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We ended our day back at the Bear base. Subaru was doing some big promotion so we grabbed some swag. The Ghost of Paul Revere, a band out of Portland, ME was playing but I had to get back to take care of my dog so we had to split earlier than we wanted to
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The weather is not looking promising. It's currently 45* at 10pm and the wind is howling. Rain is forecast tonight and then a big temperature crash tomorrow night should lock things up solid. That makes the skiing today even more great....