Crotched Mountain NH 03/17/10

[andyaxa]

Date(s) Skied: March 17, 2010

Resort or Ski Area: Crotched

Conditions: Spring

Trip Report:
Headed up Wednesday morning and hit the chair at about 9:15 with some new skis. Not a cloud in the sky, temps around 34, but rising quickly. The mountain is still in really good shape. Looks like a lot of base left...no bare spots, and I could be mistaken but I think they might have even picked up a little from this last rain/wet snow event. Everything skied really nice right from the start. The shady sides of trails were a little hard, but by about 11am, when the west sides of the trails were getting a little sticky I moved over to east side (formerly shaded) and it was perfect. By about 1pm the high traffic areas were starting to get too thick and heavy for my bad knee, so I called it a day. I don't think there were ever more than 40 people on the hill.

I did confirm that Sunday ends the season as far as weekdays go, and from here on out it will be a weekend by weekend basis.

 

[57stevey]

Andy, I was at Sunapee the same day, also with new skis. Did you find that the deteriorating conditions as it warmed up skewed your perceptions of the new skis? I was a straight ski guy for years, have been on 70-72mm for the last 5 or 6 years and have 84 underfoot now. It took me awhile to grasp that I had to ski the slush in big sweeping turns rather than straightlining and getting caught in the suction.

 

[andyaxa]

Did you find that the deteriorating conditions as it warmed up skewed your perceptions of the new skis?

Actually, the deteriorating conditions skewed my perception of myself and my skiing ability...or lack thereof! Seriously, however, I was really happy with the skis. As this is my first year slapping planks on my feet and sliding down a mountain, everything is new to me. As soon as I start to get used to certain conditions, they up and change, but once I got back a little I felt more comfortable in the slop. It was just really hard on my knee (ACL reconstruction 25 yrs ago). I'll keep the longer turns in mind...thanks. I think that would help.

 

[WJenness]

One thing to keep in mind in the spring is wax wax wax...

The better your wax job is on your skis, the less suction you'll be prone to. It also helps to have a good true base...

I plan on hitting the yellow wax pretty hard next weekend while doing the Saddleback / Sugarloaf AZ Summit (assuming temps call for it).

-w

 

[57stevey]

One thing to keep in mind in the spring is wax wax wax...

The better your wax job is on your skis, the less suction you'll be prone to. It also helps to have a good true base...

I plan on hitting the yellow wax pretty hard next weekend while doing the Saddleback / Sugarloaf AZ Summit (assuming temps call for it).

-w

This might have been part of my problem since I was skiing mine straight out of the box. Once it got really deep in the PM I needed to keep them up on edge as much as possible. I will hit the wax hard before the next day out. Thanks