severine
New member
Date(s) Skied: 2/3/2009, night
Resort or Ski Area: Major William E. Besse Park, Torrington-NELSAP, now a sledding hill, formerly a town-run ski hill (aka West Torrington)
Conditions: dark, ungroomed, 4"+/- fresh powder on top of hard crust
Trip Report: As a sort of last minute thing while Brian and I were talking about my Line Celebrity skis (and my musings on whether I should keep them or get Volkl Auras instead), he said "Why don't you just go out tonight?" I was lucky enough to have my class canceled due to the weather... so after thinking a little, I said, "Sure, why not?"
Except by the time I got on the road, it was already 8:45PM. By the time I would get to Sundown and booted up, I'd only get a 1/2 hour of skiing. So I made the executive decision: now was just as good as any other time. I turned toward West Torrington and decided to finally ski the NELSAP sledding hill.
Arrived to find 2 other cars in the lot and heard voices on the hill (the lights are shut off after 8PM, though there is some ambient light from neighboring properties and the street lights). I was hesitant at first, seeing as there were clearly multiple males on the hill, in the dark, and I was alone. But once I saw they were sledding and sort of snowboarding, I decided to go ahead with the plan. Booted up and slung the Celebrities over my left shoulder.
Luckily, the hill is only about the equivalent of Little Joe at Sundown. Hiking in ski boots sucks and is quite tiring, especially when you don't come prepared with at least a pack to carry your skis on. There were about 4" +/- of fresh, powdery snow on top of a very hard crust. I've had problems with these skis before but they were made for ungroomed snow. I went for it. And this time, they clicked. Maybe it was the less-steep terrain, but they were fun. The terrain was a bit rough; you mogul nuts would have loved some of the bumped up parts. I also accidentally hit a jump on the flat bottom. :lol: I wasn't going too fast and landed just fine. Hiked up 2 more times over in the less sledded on area of the main hill. NICE. My technique needs work, and there's really not much real estate to get in many turns to practice, but I'm glad I went. Those 3 turn-earned runs got my heart pumping, a skier's high going, and a smile on my face. I'm content.
Resort or Ski Area: Major William E. Besse Park, Torrington-NELSAP, now a sledding hill, formerly a town-run ski hill (aka West Torrington)
Conditions: dark, ungroomed, 4"+/- fresh powder on top of hard crust
Trip Report: As a sort of last minute thing while Brian and I were talking about my Line Celebrity skis (and my musings on whether I should keep them or get Volkl Auras instead), he said "Why don't you just go out tonight?" I was lucky enough to have my class canceled due to the weather... so after thinking a little, I said, "Sure, why not?"
Except by the time I got on the road, it was already 8:45PM. By the time I would get to Sundown and booted up, I'd only get a 1/2 hour of skiing. So I made the executive decision: now was just as good as any other time. I turned toward West Torrington and decided to finally ski the NELSAP sledding hill.
Arrived to find 2 other cars in the lot and heard voices on the hill (the lights are shut off after 8PM, though there is some ambient light from neighboring properties and the street lights). I was hesitant at first, seeing as there were clearly multiple males on the hill, in the dark, and I was alone. But once I saw they were sledding and sort of snowboarding, I decided to go ahead with the plan. Booted up and slung the Celebrities over my left shoulder.
Luckily, the hill is only about the equivalent of Little Joe at Sundown. Hiking in ski boots sucks and is quite tiring, especially when you don't come prepared with at least a pack to carry your skis on. There were about 4" +/- of fresh, powdery snow on top of a very hard crust. I've had problems with these skis before but they were made for ungroomed snow. I went for it. And this time, they clicked. Maybe it was the less-steep terrain, but they were fun. The terrain was a bit rough; you mogul nuts would have loved some of the bumped up parts. I also accidentally hit a jump on the flat bottom. :lol: I wasn't going too fast and landed just fine. Hiked up 2 more times over in the less sledded on area of the main hill. NICE. My technique needs work, and there's really not much real estate to get in many turns to practice, but I'm glad I went. Those 3 turn-earned runs got my heart pumping, a skier's high going, and a smile on my face. I'm content.
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