Learn any lessons from this winter?

JimG. said:

I should have been skiing in Quebec every year; that is going to be a yearly prerogative from now on.

They had snowfall well below average too this season but they still got tons of snow. Great skiing!

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There average is only 150" or so. Like I said in another thread the reason it usually stays good is that they rarely get hit with rain or thaw/freeze cycles. Le Massif can get crusty on the lower section due to humidity coming off the St. Lawrence River though. Glad you had a good time & people are finally turning on to the area. My family & I first started skiing there over 20 years ago.

steamboat1 said:

Still haven't learned a thing.

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Have you considered making this your signature? Sums it all up in 5 words.

steamboat1 said:

There average is only 150" or so. Like I said in another thread the reason it usually stays good is that they rarely get hit with rain or thaw/freeze cycles. Le Massif can get crusty on the lower section due to humidity coming off the St. Lawrence River though. Glad you had a good time & people are finally turning on to the area. My family & I first started skiing there over 20 years ago.

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El Nino affected them differently because they are so much farther north but it did affect them because they did have a few thaw freeze cycles and many snow events turned to rain at the end of the storms. More crustiness than usual this season. And still I could not find a bare spot anywhere. The snow banks at Le Massif were impressive.

The art of the telemark turn.

Cannonball said:

Have you considered making this your signature? Sums it all up in 5 words.

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Learn me sumptin

This season has been so much more icy than other seasons, obviously because there is going to be more artificial snow on the trails. I have gotten so much better at ice and bumpy snow that forms at the end of days that even despite that the last section to the bottom will be tough, there are still some nice turns to be had on the top later in the day, especially on mountains where the sun sets on the face.

I learned that buying the 2014/15 Volkl RTM81 for $500 in November was one of the better ski purchases I could have made given the crappy groomers that I have been skiing most of this season

I finally "get" what the hoopla are about to those desert region ski resorts: Taos, Mammoth etc.

The snow, however much or little that fallen, are SOOOO DRY!!!

You think Utah has dry powder? Try Mammoth or Taos! (and probably should add Telluride, Crested Butte etc., but Taos and Mammoth were what I did this year)

El Nino my friend!

Ive had some pretty heavy snow at mammoth but yeah for sierra standards it wins.

Taos with a 60 or more inch base may be my favorite spot on earth.....or telluride. Yeah you're on to something!

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snoseek said:

Ive had some pretty heavy snow at mammoth but yeah for sierra standards it wins.

Taos with a 60 or more inch base may be my favorite spot on earth.....or telluride. Yeah you're on to something!

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See Wolf Creek's expansion plans? Could be an interesting place to go in a few years.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

Before buying your kid new gear and going on a ski trip with him, make sure he's still interested in skiing.

Helmets work.

If all you are going to get to ski are icy groomers, keep the straightish North Eastern carving skis tuned and ready to go. Ice is just no fun on soft, wide skis no matter how much I was wishing for a powder day.....

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No matter how crappy the winter, you can still ski many days if you just get our there rather than spending your weekends doing snow dances while staring at your skis in the basement.

Skiing is better than not skiing.

But I think most of us learned that a long long time ago.


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Don't ski White Nitro when it is blue ice halfway down and you can't see the ice from the top.

abc said:

I finally "get" what the hoopla are about to those desert region ski resorts: Taos, Mammoth etc.

The snow, however much or little that fallen, are SOOOO DRY!!!

You think Utah has dry powder? Try Mammoth or Taos! (and probably should add Telluride, Crested Butte etc., but Taos and Mammoth were what I did this year)

El Nino my friend!

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bootladder said:

Don't ski White Nitro when it is blue ice halfway down and you can't see the ice from the top.

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I skied 23 days this winter in UT and CO and it was probably about day 20 that I finally started to dress light enough to be comfortable most of the time. 40 out there feels like 55 in the East. The sun is more intense and the humidity is lower.

I was skiing Snowbird on April 5th. It was very firm. They had a cold night after several warm days. The offpiste was coral reef and the groomers were like ice rinks. No edge grip on a few of the steepest groomer drops, held on to poles with death grip while skiing those sections. This stirred me to tell a story to a friend on a subsequent lift ride about the time I skied White Nitro at Sugarloaf in similar conditions. Another buddy fell on White Nitro in slick conditions back in the mid-1990s and slid about 100 yards like a turtle on his back. Finally came to rest on the side of the trail and fortunately was not hurt.

Since my son moved to UT I have taken more plane rides in last 7 or 8 months than I have in the last 7 or 8 years. Me wife and I took a voluntary flight bump in early March on a return from UT and each got $800 flight credit for Delta. First time I tried this, won't be afraid to do it again in future.

dlague said:

Been there now doing that! CO in two weeks for the long term!

What I learned was take what the mountain gives you and have fun! Oh wait that is what I always say! I actually enjoyed our skiing days so far. A couple were not that great but we found something fun to ski on those days too.


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I hope you will keep us informed about how your transition goes. I like to hear lessons learned because I might migrate west in the future myself.

Well hes down south a little bit so 285 is a better way in on most days.

But what i did learn in my years there is find an alternative to taking 70 during busy times out of the front range...its infuriating too often. Ive learned for me personally the western slope is more my speed.

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jimk said:

Me wife and I took a voluntary flight bump in early March on a return from UT and each got $800 flight credit for Delta. First time I tried this, won't be afraid to do it again in future.

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That's a lot of flight credit. I tried more than once, the credit wasn't half as good so I didn't go through with it.

jimk said:

I skied 23 days this winter in UT and CO and it was probably about day 20 that I finally started to dress light enough to be comfortable most of the time. 40 out there feels like 55 in the East. The sun is more intense and the humidity is lower.

I was skiing Snowbird on April 5th. It was very firm. They had a cold night after several warm days. The offpiste was coral reef and the groomers were like ice rinks. No edge grip on a few of the steepest groomer drops, held on to poles with death grip while skiing those sections. This stirred me to tell a story to a friend on a subsequent lift ride about the time I skied White Nitro at Sugarloaf in similar conditions. Another buddy fell on White Nitro in slick conditions back in the mid-1990s and slid about 100 yards like a turtle on his back. Finally came to rest on the side of the trail and fortunately was not hurt.

Since my son moved to UT I have taken more plane rides in last 7 or 8 months than I have in the last 7 or 8 years. Me wife and I took a voluntary flight bump in early March on a return from UT and each got $800 flight credit for Delta. First time I tried this, won't be afraid to do it again in future.

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I'm with you Jim. The weather, the snow, the sun, it just plain better out there and I (we as I include my wife) are pretty sure we are going to end up out there one of these days.

Not only is the skiing more comfortable but life in general out there seems to be more agreeable. I know it can get cold even snowy in places like Salt Lake and Denver but it doesn't stick around and I love it after spending a day up in the mountains skiing around on nice deep bases coming down to beautiful 60-70 degree weather. Enjoying that weather down in the valleys and knowing its not killing the skiing above and that the next storm coming in will refresh and reboot the whole scene. Was a beautiful 70 degree day on Saturday in Denver (the skiing at Loveland was great) and flying into JFK at about 25 degrees Sunday morning was not a very nice welcome.

My son is headed to school in Denver next year and we too will be taking more airplane rides. Haven't played the bump game yet but may try it. Right now we are trying to figure out where we could stash equipment out there to avoid having to fly with it but we have 2 major destinations that we go to and the logistics are lacking. (ie don't want to have to fly to Salt Lake to ski in Colorado, or Denver to ski in Utah) Anyways the major lesson we learned was really last year when the west was supposedly so bad it was not worth the trip only to find it still better then what we left back east. Can't wait to get back out there. (Had it with Jersey too)

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ