11/12 Mid-Season Report Card

BenedictGomez · Feb 1, 2012

I'll give it a D to this point. I do believe it's the worst season thus far that I can recall in my life, though that would be more impressive coming from a 70 year old lifetime skier.

My goal this year was to hit a bunch of hills I've never been to, and so far I've only knocked off Whiteface (it was icy, but better than I expected). I would have knocked off at least Magic, Sutton, and Burke by now as well, but I dont want to experience a place for the first time in crummy conditions.

ERJ-145CA said:
I just have to stop checking the 10 day forecasts because that is always depressing this season.

THIS.

I actually think I have an OCD sickness going on with this, checking to see pattern shifts and whether cold may set in long-term. Lets just say, the watched pot hasnt boiled.

emmaurice2 · Feb 1, 2012

BenedictGomez said:
I'll give it a D to this point. I do believe it's the worst season thus far that I can recall in my life, though that would be more impressive coming from a 70 year old lifetime skier.

My goal this year was to hit a bunch of hills I've never been to, and so far I've only knocked off Whiteface (it was icy, but better than I expected). I would have knocked off at least Magic, Sutton, and Burke by now as well, but I dont want to experience a place for the first time in crummy conditions.

THIS.

I actually think I have an OCD sickness going on with this, checking to see pattern shifts and whether cold may set in long-term. Lets just say, the watched pot hasnt boiled.

You are not alone in your OCD for checking weather. Although, I've gone from the 10-day to 5-day forecasts.

deadheadskier · Feb 1, 2012

Puck it said:
This year we have had some cold periods. In 06/07, sustained cold never came until late Jan. Sunapee had only 4 or 6 trails open at the beginning of Jan. i skied Pats peak first outing on 1/7 that year and it was 70 out.

hmmm, I remember it being bad, but not worse than this year. Then again, I was a pass holder at Sunday River that season, so perhaps that's why it didn't as bad.

Also, I had conditioned my brain while living in Maine that I wasn't going to ski much natural snow compared with my Northern VT days. It certainly proved to be the case my two seasons as a pass holder at the River except for that epic spring.

hammer · Feb 1, 2012

Puck it said:
This year we have had some cold periods. In 06/07, sustained cold never came until late Jan. Sunapee had only 4 or 6 trails open at the beginning of Jan. i skied Pats peak first outing on 1/7 that year and it was 70 out.

Good point, I remember skiing some grass at Pats Peak in January because of the thin cover. IIRC, however, once we got past MLK weekend winter came on with a vengence. No real signs of that happening this time around.

snoseek · Feb 1, 2012

It's been pretty tough here in Tahoe, no snow at all till ten days ago, now there's some base but we need more for the trees ect...
I did get a week plus long trip to Utah on this last (and only) storm cycle. I was at the gate when they opened for the year :Honeycomb Canyon, High Traverse, Powder Country/Paradise, Mineral Basin, Supreme. It was a good trip and despite low bases we skied soft untacked blower all week by following the openings. Pow Mow was extra good all week.

Despite the historically awful snow year in Tahoe I've still gotten quite a few days out, I'm getting around fifty now, easily fifty more to come. I can sit here and bitch with every other self-absorbed douchebag on vacation, or I can just have fun and go skiing on hard pack groomers. I'll choose #2 and hopefully said douchbags put on their happy face when they jump on the chair.

With that said this year I came here to trysomething new, evetually find a place to settle. While the overall culture is great and there is affordable living closeby with a decent job market, I'm not so sure I have the patience it requires to live here. I'm a big fan of consistency. I would just go back and live in Utah but I can't deal with the constant police state, momos, smog and local politics....I love the skiing however. Colorado was always fun, maybe back there next year...hmmm this will require some thought.

Either way I've been on vacation for six weeks, with another 12 weeks ahead of me. It does not suck....

speden · Feb 1, 2012

I'd say it's been a little disappointing so far. The warm temps have lowered my stoke meter, which is making my Boyne pass look like a poor investment. Just doesn't seem worth it most times to drive north for conditions that aren't much different and sometimes are more icy than what I can get at Wachusett.

Then I was thinking of a trip out west for the winter break week, but conditions seemed so ho hum out there I held off booking anything and will probably just stay local now.

But the outings I've had have been fun, except one night at Wawa when the snow was kind of funky. I did manage to pull a calf muscle early in the season, which has been a nagging problem ever since, but it hasn't stopped me from getting out. I haven't made any dramatic breakthroughs in my skiing technique, but I think I've made some good progress at being more aggressive at carving turns on the groomers, and my balance seems better in general. So far no falls for me this season, but not sure how long that will last. I almost lost it once when I rammed into a heavy pile of wet sugar snow at Wawa the last time out.

SkiFanE · Feb 1, 2012

Worst start? Maybe..I just can't really quantify. A couple years ago beginning was fab, then it didn't snow more than a couple inches from Feb-spring. Another recent year had a fab beginning, then a huge Jan rain and warm spell that took mountain from being fab to a rock hard sheet of ice that didn't change for a few more weeks.. Last year Feb vacation week for us was a tough one - we spent most of the time in the woods b/c the trails were so crusty/hard. I guess I just take it as it comes, always some good days sprinkled with bad/mediocre every single year.

All I know is the year of 95/96, when I was preggo and could not ski was THE most fab winter of all...couldn't ski but I do remember shoveling snow until month 9 lol. Maybe being a NE skier since 1970 makes you immune...always crap to deal with each and every year, just different patterns. My knees still work, my body still moves...can't complain.

billski · Feb 1, 2012

You guys ain't got nuttin' to complain about.

My skis are IN the car. 'nuff said.

LonghornSkier · Feb 1, 2012

Abubob said:
You must be in mountain operations. :wink:

I don't think things have been quite as bad as 06-07 but a close second. I see indications of another possible storm mid February so the pattern is very similar.

You can't just "Rip and read" one run of the GFS that shows a storm and say that the pattern is similar LOL!

skiahman · Feb 1, 2012

A so-so season. Would feel worse if it weren't for that insane Friday at the Loaf a couple of weeks ago--the 3 or 4" inches turned out to be 8-10" of Utah powder, the sun shined all day and the trademark winds were non-existent--truly a rare combo for Sugarloaf. And we've got a sweet new lift to enjoy. Long live the King of Spring! The BEST is yet to come!

Razor · Feb 1, 2012

Tough year so far. Can't seem to time it right. We've skied 7 days, about 1/3 of normal by now. Best snow thus far was at Blue Hills, believe it or not, a couple of weeks ago after a 4 inch overnight storm. It's been so bad that when I went out to Colorado to visit my son a while back, he said don't even bother to bring skis. So I brought my skates and we played some serious pond hockey instead. Nothing but fast groomers to this point. I'd love to see some moguls and trees.

ScottySkis · Feb 1, 2012

snoseek said:
It's been pretty tough here in Tahoe, no snow at all till ten days ago, now there's some base but we need more for the trees ect...
I did get a week plus long trip to Utah on this last (and only) storm cycle. I was at the gate when they opened for the year :Honeycomb Canyon, High Traverse, Powder Country/Paradise, Mineral Basin, Supreme. It was a good trip and despite low bases we skied soft untacked blower all week by following the openings. Pow Mow was extra good all week.

Despite the historically awful snow year in Tahoe I've still gotten quite a few days out, I'm getting around fifty now, easily fifty more to come. I can sit here and bitch with every other self-absorbed douchebag on vacation, or I can just have fun and go skiing on hard pack groomers. I'll choose #2 and hopefully said douchbags put on their happy face when they jump on the chair.

With that said this year I came here to trysomething new, evetually find a place to settle. While the overall culture is great and there is affordable living closeby with a decent job market, I'm not so sure I have the patience it requires to live here. I'm a big fan of consistency. I would just go back and live in Utah but I can't deal with the constant police state, momos, smog and local politics....I love the skiing however. Colorado was always fun, maybe back there next year...hmmm this will require some thought.

Either way I've been on vacation for six weeks, with another 12 weeks ahead of me. It does not suck....

I was just curious what you dis like most about Utah because i'm thinking of moving their. But western CO is cheap to live too i guess

Smellytele · Feb 1, 2012

Not that I am a weatherman but the next 15 days or so show really nothing. That far out accuracy is low and I hope it changes.

Bostonian · Feb 1, 2012

Any day on the snow in my book is a good day. So this year has been great for me considering I haven't had much time on the snow compared to years past. But I have made up for it for multiple trips out to Wachusett for a couple hours here and there. Hoping in 2 weeks to get out somewhere good on Pres day, with small trips to wa in between.

4aprice · Feb 1, 2012

Smellytele said:
Not that I am a weatherman but the next 15 days or so show really nothing. That far out accuracy is low and I hope it changes.

To be honest with you I don't know what to think either. There are those who are still beating a colder and snowier drum and some who say its just not going to happen. The models are all over the place giving things and then taking them away. Snow is falling all over the place EXCEPT HERE. I wonder what we did to piss off the weather gods.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

snoseek · Feb 1, 2012

Scotty said:
I was just curious what you dis like most about Utah because i'm thinking of moving their. But western CO is cheap to live too i guess

Go for it! it's a fantastic place if you're a skier as the good stuff is just so damn close..easy to find a good life balance there.

I would say the overall police presence there is the biggest drawback for me personally. Police dogs sniffing through parking lots up in LCC looking for a roach is ridiculous. It's a witch hunt and they are there enforcing laws that I don't agree with...there needs to be a better seperation of church and state. Despite all this the methheads run rampant in that town. It's gotten a bit better than when I lived there before but still a ways to go.

Eden or Huntsville are a different story. I could peacefully live up there.

I have gotten pulled over for no reason over 50 percent of the time crossing the salt flats on I-80 and shaken down. It's sorta a police state IMO...

snoseek · Feb 1, 2012

BTW I am not there but constantly see pics ect... form Sunday River and Sugarloaf and it looks pretty good to me right now...

andyaxa · Feb 1, 2012

deadheadskier said:
hmmm, I remember it being bad, but not worse than this year. Then again, I was a pass holder at Sunday River that season, so perhaps that's why it didn't as bad.

This is an in interesting point. At first I thought, well, everyone giving this year high marks and getting in all those hill days must be a pass holder. I'm giving this year a solid D up to this point. Been out three times and haven't hit any good "powder", packed powder or butter cord. However, this year I opted to load up on a bunch of prepaid discount cards to our local hill instead of the family pass. The card discounts are good through next season, so I'm happy about that. If I would have gotten the pass I probably would have made it out much more and scored a better day or two.

planb420 · Feb 4, 2012

As of right now my stats for the season are as follows (Thanks Alpinreplay):

41 Days, 373 total miles, 28366 calories burned, 610 runs, 309.1k vertical feet, 670 Jumps with 325 seconds of air time, and an average sustaned speed of 51mph.

Not to bad in my mind, this year is about QUANTITY not QUALITY thats for sure! Gonna tack on day 42 with the wife tomorrow.

Nick · Feb 4, 2012

planb420 said:
As of right now my stats for the season are as follows (Thanks Alpinreplay):

41 Days, 373 total miles, 28366 calories burned, 610 runs, 309.1k vertical feet, 670 Jumps with 325 seconds of air time, and an average sustaned speed of 51mph.

Not to bad in my mind, this year is about QUANTITY not QUALITY thats for sure! Gonna tack on day 42 with the wife tomorrow.

that's a lotta days, good job getting out there!

11/12 Mid-Season Report Card

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