Ski Sundown - 12/19/2007 (night)

Date(s) Skied: Wednesday, 12/19/2007, 6:40 pm - 10:10 pm

Resort or Ski Area: ski Sundown, New Hartford, Connecticut

Conditions: Freshly seeded bumps, packed powder. Light to moderate snow. Cool, calm winds.

Trip Report: Didn't get to the mountain as quick as I wanted. Stepped in about 6:40 and took my first run down Gunbarrel which just opened today. A groomer just smoothed it so it was pretty nice. At the bottom I saw MRGisevil about to load so we rode up together and hit Gunny. The next ride up I noticed Nor'easter was roped so they could groom Stinger, Temptor and Canyon Run so we hit Gunny again. Next run was Tom's so we could try the Exhibition bumps. Very similar to last year, although they stop a bit shorter.

The next ride up I noticed Brian at the summit. He was talking to Jarrod Moss so I had the chance to meet him and talk to him a bit about the bumps. Finally, they dropped the rope and we were off. Nor'easter was pretty sketchy the first run. The upper bumps before the Temptor merge were decent and almost identical to last year. The first stretch of Lower Nor'easter skis pretty similar as well. The flat section is where everything falls apart. That area needs some work. The bumps do extend all the way to the bottom and at the bottom there are some big kicker-esque bumps which are fun to launch off of.

Eventually hooked up with powhunter and jonnypoach and we skied Nor'easter exclusively. We even convinced MRGisevil to jump in and she took a few runs on Nor'easter as well! A bit after 9 pm she decided to bail. Not sure if she was tired or simply had enough of us heathens. The rest of us banged on Nor'easter till the end. With the light snow falling and as things got cut up, each run got better. Operation No'easter was a great success.

All in all a great first night on the Sundown bumps. Tons of potential; they just need massaging. It should be a really great season! Cheers to December bumps! :beer:

A short vid coming...

Very nice night indeed. I'm impressed that Randi jumped into the bumps and handled them well. I'm curious to see the video to see how I looked. I felt like I had a few good turns, but mostly pretty flaily..

My legs are already pretty sore, I'm not looking forward to getting up tomorrow already...

Big props to Sundown for seeding the bumps this early and giving us something to play with. They were really starting to get skied in pretty good by the time we left!

bvibert said:

Very nice night indeed. I'm impressed that Randi jumped into the bumps and handled them well. I'm curious to see the video to see how I looked. I felt like I had a few good turns, but mostly pretty flaily..

My legs are already pretty sore, I'm not looking forward to getting up tomorrow already...

Big props to Sundown for seeding the bumps this early and giving us something to play with. They were really starting to get skied in pretty good by the time we left!

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If you can sit tight a few minutes, the vid will be ready in a few. It's compiling now and probably will be uploaded in 15 minutes. It's a quick throw together...

I hear ya on the stiffness. I just got up to get a second glass of wine and I had all sort of crap cracking in my hips, knees and ankles! :blink:

We definitely took one for the team tonight. Those seeds were funky. A&E was almost a necessity or you would die slamming those things. Too much fun! We're whacked. :lol:

Way to go, Randi! :beer:

You guys are nuts. All of you! LOL!

severine said:

Way to go, Randi! :beer:

You guys are nuts. All of you! LOL!

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I just watched this vid and I'm pissing my pants. :lol: Total Velveeta. There is some of the weakest looking airs in there, but you can tell we all were having fun. jonnypoach is a riot. High res is half-uploaded...

Greg said:

If you can sit tight a few minutes, the vid will be ready in a few. It's compiling now and probably will be uploaded in 15 minutes. It's a quick throw together...

I hear ya on the stiffness. I just got up to get a second glass of wine and I had all sort of crap cracking in my hips, knees and ankles! :blink:

We definitely took one for the team tonight. Those seeds were funky. A&E was almost a necessity or you would die slamming those things. Too much fun! We're whacked. :lol:

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A&E a necessity huh? No wonder I'm so sore, I don't have much A&E skills...

High Res Video

High Res

powhunter looking strong in there! Nice job!

YouTubage

:lol: Mad steezy yo! I love that my crash where I just disappear for a few seconds was captured so nicely, thanks Randi.. The best part is when I try to redeem myself by throwing the sick air off of that little bump at the end of that run... :lol:

damn sorry i missed this. they look smaller this year. any truth to that?


you guys all look good in there.

2knees said:

damn sorry i missed this. they look smaller this year. any truth to that?


you guys all look good in there.

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They are definitely smaller this year. I'm thinking they are planning on top coating them, which will add to their size. I think they're planning on doing at least a little more manual tuning with shovels too...

I fired off an email to sundown praising the bumps this morning. I want to make sure they know they're appreciated!


BTW, thanks for the quick work on the video last night Greg.

I had a good time last night! Still wasn't feeling 100% which is why I bailed early, but aside from that it was alot of fun. You guys are really entertaining :lol:

I enjoyed myself on the bumps more than I initially thought I would (somewhat surprised that trying nor'easter didn't ultimately result in a monsterous face plant) and am actually already itching to get out and try them again! Thanks for accomodating my gaperdom during the bump runs last night.. hope I didn't slow you down too much

Took my first ever run on Gunbarrel and while I do like the run, I felt a little out of control. It was really flat (not as in pitch, rather as in packed) and I ended up skidding most of the way down. I get the feeling that it's a much nicer run when it's got a bit of loose stuff on it.

Also admittedly surpised to sign on and find that my handle wasn't mysteriously changed to mrgisradical

Thanks again guys!

Nice skiing with you Mr. Gisevil, you're a pretty cool dude..

bvibert said:

Nice skiing with you Mr. Gisevil, you're a pretty cool dude..

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Yes, Marge is a pretty rad fellow...

Greg said:

The upper bumps before the Temptor merge were decent and almost identical to last year. The first stretch of Lower Nor'easter skis pretty similar as well. The flat section is where everything falls apart. That area needs some work. The bumps do extend all the way to the bottom and at the bottom there are some big kicker-esque bumps which are fun to launch off of.

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When you say the flat section is where it all falls apart, do they still have that great last 6 or 7 bump line that has been there the last 2 years?

I have a holiday party in farmington tonight starting at 4. I think i'm gonna go home at lunch and grab my gear and find out for myself. would i rather drink with a bunch of people i see 5 days a week and have little in common with or go find out the answer to the above question for myself. hmmm

2knees said:

When you say the flat section is where it all falls apart, do they still have that great last 6 or 7 bump line that has been there the last 2 years?

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Not sure what you mean there. The section that he's saying it falls apart is the same part that it got funky with no line last year. The section after that seems a lot different to me too, I couldn't find any real good line through that either, but the other guys seemed to be doing ok. It is nice that it extends all the way to the merge this year though!

I have a holiday party in farmington tonight starting at 4. I think i'm gonna go home at lunch and grab my gear and find out for myself. would i rather drink with a bunch of people i see 5 days a week and have little in common with or go find out the answer to the above question for myself. hmmm

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I know what my decision would be...

bvibert said:

Not sure what you mean there. The section that he's saying it falls apart is the same part that it got funky with no line last year. The section after that seems a lot different to me too, I couldn't find any real good line through that either, but the other guys seemed to be doing ok. It is nice that it extends all the way to the merge this year though!



I know what my decision would be...

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the flat part ends with a nice little steeper shot. Last year, it was the last 6 -7 bumps before they stopped. these were the best turns on the run, in my opinion, the last 2 years. I'm breaking it WAAAYYY too far down probably.

yeah, i think i know the answer also. I'll make a quick appearance and head out to sundown around 6 or so.

2knees said:

the flat part ends with a nice little steeper shot. Last year, it was the last 6 -7 bumps before they stopped. these were the best turns on the run, in my opinion, the last 2 years. I'm breaking it WAAAYYY too far down probably.

yeah, i think i know the answer also. I'll make a quick appearance and head out to sundown around 6 or so.

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IMHO those great turns after the flat section aren't there this year, not yet anyway. That last section doesn't seem as steep to me either, like they didn't build it up as much or something. As with any bumps they're a work in progress, we just need to ski em in to how we like em..

I'll be working at Sundown tonight so I'll probably see you there.

MRGisevil said:

I enjoyed myself on the bumps more than I initially thought I would (somewhat surprised that trying nor'easter didn't ultimately result in a monsterous face plant) and am actually already itching to get out and try them again! Thanks for accomodating my gaperdom during the bump runs last night.. hope I didn't slow you down too much

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Glad you jumped in there. You did very well. It's actually pretty easy to ski right now. If you don't want to take a direct line, you can cruise around the bumps. You will find as it continues to get skied in and as they top coat them with snowmaking, the bumps will grow and the troughs will deepen. Keep at it and hopefully your skills will mature along with the bumps!

MRGisevil said:

Took my first ever run on Gunbarrel and while I do like the run, I felt a little out of control. It was really flat (not as in pitch, rather as in packed) and I ended up skidding most of the way down. I get the feeling that it's a much nicer run when it's got a bit of loose stuff on it.

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Bah! Gunbarrel... :roll: You're a bumper now!

MRGisevil said:

Also admittedly surpised to sign on and find that my handle wasn't mysteriously changed to mrgisradical

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:lol:

2knees said:

When you say the flat section is where it all falls apart, do they still have that great last 6 or 7 bump line that has been there the last 2 years?

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From the sun deck to the Temptor merge is almost identical. The initial section of Lower Nor'easter is also very similar. The part in the middle of Lower Nor'easter that is a bit flat and turns slightly left is sort of similar to last year in how the lines waver around. I know the 6-7 bump section at the bottom that you're talking about and it's not really there this year.....yet. That area needs the most work. Also, like Brian says, since the bumps extend down further, it throws your perspective off a bit. From the midpoint down on Lower Nor'easter is where the most work is needed. It did improve over the course of the night though. They need to dust them a bit more (Jarrod indicates Friday night) and they just need to be skied by some good skiers. Exhibition is very similar although it stops a bit shorter than last year. It's fun to carry speed off the Canyon Run flats and slam right into them... :lol:

2knees said:

I have a holiday party in farmington tonight starting at 4. I think i'm gonna go home at lunch and grab my gear and find out for myself. would i rather drink with a bunch of people i see 5 days a week and have little in common with or go find out the answer to the above question for myself. hmmm

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Get out there! They need your help.