For those who ski out west...

[wa-loaf]

Cool,. My prob..is that I can't figure out what the prob was. I'm in shape, don't get sick ever, have skied 50 degree chutes off Baldy, powder..never a prob, love it. I ended up at a different lift, didn't hear they where going to another one,Had to hear about that all day, met them the next run up. I just don't know where every area is, don't know the names of all of them,Probably should get The Powder Hounds Guide to Alta, they aren't all on the map. I've taken an avi 1 course..don't know many that have, its pretty tough, no lifts, you skin up. I think I've done everything I can. I pretty much never fall, am not a danger to anyone,...ah...who knows..just sux to come home pissed off...I know other people there who I have a good time with, They may ski a little slower but that is fine.I'm not chasing them around..which is tough when you are trying to keep an eye on everything.Think its time I check out other resorts..hitting Big Sky end of the month..that should be interesting.Guess not having the best sense of direction kind of makes it tough, working on it though..I've cliffed out several times, that scares me..don't want to come home in a bag...

Maybe they just don't like you? ;-)

 

[kingslug]

Maybe they just don't like you? ;-)

Not they...one...but don't want to get into it in a public forum...

 

[marcski]

Not they...one...but don't want to get into it in a public forum...

Get a new crew to ski with, Slug. Life is short.

 

[kingslug]

Get a new crew to ski with, Slug. Life is short.

I ski with several people here and there..I'm just interested how other people tackle the west and other places..looking to expand, but its a little tough going it solo. Everyone has their own schedule. Going to try the ski club thing this year and if that works out...its just another option. I just don't like booking trips too far in advance..getting skunked sucks...

 

[AdironRider]

Lived and ridden in JHole the past 5 years.

Altitude is what you make of it IMO. Drink a bunch of water and dont get hammered your first night at elevation and you should be good.

Steeps are no different than back east. Powder just sit in the back seat or on your back foot if you board and youll figure it out.

I dont ride with tourists unless they are friends or family. As you've mentioned you wont know your way around, will most likely be slower, and in places like Jackson or Snowbird, you will get yourself into situations you will not feel comfortable in, adding more slowness. Its better to explore on your own and figure out the terrain a bit first, then try and tag along with a local. Theres nothing worse than some tourist who rides the lift we me, follows me, then pusses out and either needs to hike or completely trash the run by side slipping. Naturally this is not as much of a problem in Summit County as oppsed to Jackson, Alta, Snowbird etc.

I think you are thinking about this to much. Just head out and ride. The mountains are bigger, the snow is deeper, and the conditions are almost always better. Quit trying to micromanage it and just go out there and have a good time.

 

[jlboyell]

lolkl, are you near big sky? or at least the 191 in mt? i usually ride by myself, but thats because i had friends that were either too married or too poor to go with me. now that ive moved, im here by myself, so i dont really have a choice. i stay in bounds though. you can go at your own pace, and cover a lot of ground.

 

[abc]

I ski with several people here and there..I'm just interested how other people tackle the west and other places..looking to expand, but its a little tough going it solo. Everyone has their own schedule. Going to try the ski club thing this year and if that works out...its just another option. I just don't like booking trips too far in advance..getting skunked sucks...

If you mean more expensive going solo. Then yes. Other than that, I don't see what else is any tougher going solo.

For one thing, you don't have to deal with other people's schedule!

(I mean, you know how to buy a plane ticket, and how to follow direction to get to the base of the mountain, right? What else do you need?)

 

[Rogman]

Altitude has only been an issue at Breck. Anyone who thinks they can come from sea level, drink a few of glasses of water, and be "fine" at damn near 13000 feet is delusional. Not too worried about the avi danger, because I don't ski out of bounds into those sorts of areas, but I do worry about tree wells which are in bounds. Trails are much steeper than what you find here, but generally the soft snow makes them much more manageable. In deep powder, 30 or 40 degrees might be intimidating at first, but once you wade in you realize it's nothing. You have to recalibrate your thinking about what is steep. Enjoy.

 

[First Tracks]

So, Kingslug...when did you get to be so thin-skinned? I thought you were a tough New Yawker. :wink:

We just gave you a rash of crap because we said about a half dozen times atop Sugarloaf that we were headed for Supreme, and somehow you weren't paying attention and assumed that we were going to Sugarloaf instead. This wasn't a wrong turn, it was just not paying attention. We then seized on an opportunity to pick on you for the error -- nothing more, nothing less.

You're waaaaaaaayyyy over-analyzing this. You screwed up and we razzed you for it. That's it. We love seeing you here (would I have invited you out for dinner both Friday and Saturday nights otherwise?) and rest assured, we'll keep finding ways to pick on you just like we do to each other -- all day, every day. Have you not been paying attention to our usual chairlift banter? We all pick on each other incessantly and it's all in good fun. I didn't see any complaints from you about AmyZ's stated efforts to "kill Kingslug" via her terrain choices on Sunday, which was just more collective razzing.

If your a good skier well then your a good skier... does not matter where you ski. are they taking you places that are over your head?

Not at all, we were cruising blue groomers at the time.

 

[darent]

1-wife or friends
2-no problem, I live at sea level
3-both
4-with as much grace as a can muster
5- look at trail map and all the possibilitie in between

 

[MadPatSki]

So, Kingslug...when did you get to be so thin-skinned? I thought you were a tough New Yawker. :wink:
(...)
You're waaaaaaaayyyy over-analyzing this. You screwed up and we razzed you for it.
(...)
Not at all, we were cruising blue groomers at the time.

WOW....just WOW!!!

Over-analyzing? No kidding. This thread is up to 5 pages on some skier not paying attention and being frustrated by people being pissed at him. I would be pissed also. I guess this thread goes on-par with the peeing while skiing or I lost my ski in the Kitchen Wall at Stowe.

 

[andyzee]

Some questions:
1. Do you travel alone or go with someone.
2. How do you handle the altitude.
3. Do you meet up with locals or wing it on your own.
4. how do you handle the steeps and deep powder.
5. How do you handle the huge areas which are so much vaster than ours.
The reason I'm asking this, well, things didn't go as planned this last trip. Seems like someone I have skied with for years out west doesn't think I know enough, have learned enough about the area. I pretty much land and ski first day if I can. The altitude does get to me in some ways, lightheaded mostly. Coming from a small area, Hunter, to these 2000 acre resorts takes a bit to get acclimated to even though I have been going there for years. I think that following people around is preventing me from really learning where to go. Mistakes out there can be fatal, so I'm cautious. I can't rip like these guys do, they have been skiing for 40 years or more, and get in over 100 days. I'm lucky to get in 30 to 35 and half of that is here. You can't practice here what you ski there, doesn't exist. So the question is..how do you do it??

Is Matt picking on you again?

1. Do you travel alone or go with someone.
Someone else, but you know that.
2. How do you handle the altitude.
Make sure I don't drink alcohol the day before, but do drink plenty of water, take Tylenol
3. Do you meet up with locals or wing it on your own.
Mostly wing it, but have done both
4. how do you handle the steeps and deep powder
Very carefully . :lol:
.
5. How do you handle the huge areas which are so much vaster than ours.
You know, I never found them to be that huge, I mean granted, they have more skiable acreage, but it's all open. Where as here, it's trails cut in the woods, so I have to wonder how big an Alta is in terms of actual land area as opposed to a Killington or Sugarbush.

 

[AdironRider]

Altitude has only been an issue at Breck. Anyone who thinks they can come from sea level, drink a few of glasses of water, and be "fine" at damn near 13000 feet is delusional. Not too worried about the avi danger, because I don't ski out of bounds into those sorts of areas, but I do worry about tree wells which are in bounds. Trails are much steeper than what you find here, but generally the soft snow makes them much more manageable. In deep powder, 30 or 40 degrees might be intimidating at first, but once you wade in you realize it's nothing. You have to recalibrate your thinking about what is steep. Enjoy.

I have never once had an issue with altitude. Mtn biked 35+ miles at 9k feet the day I moved to Jackson from sea level on the Cape and didnt feel a thing. Everyone aclimates differently, so to say Im delusional, well, you're just plain wrong.

Tree wells really arent an issue in Colorado, more so in the PNW and Tahoe. Avis though, oh man, I wouldnt want to be a backcountry skier in Colorado, that is always a sketch snowpack even in the best years.

 

[abc]

Tree wells really arent an issue in Colorado, .

Famous last word!

 

[First Tracks]

Not too worried about the avi danger

But you should be, as in-bounds avalanches can and do occur. I can think of at least a half dozen over the past few years. One occurred just two weeks ago on open in-bounds terrain at Winter Park and killed a guy:

http://www.firsttracksonline.com/2012/01/23/colorado-avalanches-claim-two-lives/

Good mountain sense is important to utilize so that you can recognize potential risks and deal with them appropriately. I personally choose to ski with a beacon, shovel and probe in bounds about as often as I don't. As a matter of fact, Kingslug too was beeping while he was skiing here last week.

Tree wells really arent an issue in Colorado

Famous last word!

It's true, they're not -- Colorado just doesn't typically receive snow in the large quantities, or have the type of forest, that easily lend themselves to tree well incidents.

I'm trying to figure out, however, what Kingslug's over-sensitivity that led to this thread has to do with not only tree wells and avalanches, but also East vs. West pissing matches, Jackson Hole's backcountry, antique snow hosts, Tuckerman Ravine, Bolton Valley, or anything else that these six pages have devolved into.

 

[andyzee]

But you should be, as in-bounds avalanches can and do occur. I can think of at least a half dozen over the past few years. One occurred just two weeks ago on open in-bounds terrain at Winter Park and killed a guy:

http://www.firsttracksonline.com/2012/01/23/colorado-avalanches-claim-two-lives/

Good mountain sense is important to utilize so that you can recognize potential risks and deal with them appropriately. I personally choose to ski with a beacon, shovel and probe in bounds about as often as I don't. As a matter of fact, Kingslug too was beeping while he was skiing here last week.



It's true, they're not -- Colorado just doesn't typically receive snow in the large quantities, or have the type of forest, that easily lend themselves to tree well incidents.

I'm trying to figure out, however, what Kingslug's over-sensitivity that led to this thread has to do with not only tree wells and avalanches, but also East vs. West pissing matches, Jackson Hole's backcountry, antique snow hosts, Tuckerman Ravine, Bolton Valley, or anything else that these six pages have devolved into.

You actually read six pages? You're a better man than me,:lol:

 

[Tooth]

Weird thread. Let it die. It makes no sense.

 

[kingslug]

Is Matt picking on you again?

1. Do you travel alone or go with someone.
Someone else, but you know that.
2. How do you handle the altitude.
Make sure I don't drink alcohol the day before, but do drink plenty of water, take Tylenol
3. Do you meet up with locals or wing it on your own.
Mostly wing it, but have done both
4. how do you handle the steeps and deep powder
Very carefully . :lol:
.
5. How do you handle the huge areas which are so much vaster than ours.
You know, I never found them to be that huge, I mean granted, they have more skiable acreage, but it's all open. Where as here, it's trails cut in the woods, so I have to wonder how big an Alta is in terms of actual land area as opposed to a Killington or Sugarbush.

The Alta most people see and the "real" Alta are vastly different..Alta is over 2000 acres I believe, not counting back/side country...and now that you can get between it and the Bird...makes K look pretty small.

 

[First Tracks]

Killington claims 3,000 acres within its boundaries, of which ~1,000 acres is skiable (reports range from 750 acres to 1,200 acres, depending on whom you believe and who was writing the marketing literature that day -- remember that massive swath of land from Snowshed east toward US 4 and south to the gondola terminal at Bridgewater Corners, none of which is skiable). Alta is 2,200 acres by itself, or 4,700 acres if you include Snowbird, nearly all of which is skiable.

 

[First Tracks]

And Kingslug, I'm rather disappointed that you didn't reply to http://forums.alpinezone.com/showpost.php?p=688726&postcount=49 so in response I have a little educational video for you the next time you come out here to ski:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unkIVvjZc9Y

(link NSFW with the sound turned up)