Great Weekend Dec 19-20 to Ski and Ride

[dmc]

No, thank you very much, I'll sit this one out. Man made snow is a just barely adequate substitution for the real stuff. It just simply doesn't even come close, making for an overall poor experience. Given typical weekend traffic, it gets skied off really fast and transformes into ice in no time.
I am aware that when it's really cold and the mountain really wants to make good quality snow, they can, but it hardly ever happens.
Most snow making operations aim at the "base building" grade, which is just icy crap.

If you don't make the first chair - I hardly ever do, (as a day tripper) then you're in for a typical icy day on the slopes. Little joy in that. With lift tickets even at smaller places edging over $60, I'll opt for something a bit more fullfilling. I don't mind hiking up/down icy mountains, for instance.
I'll wait for nature to deliver.

wow... what a grump... Trouble in Whoville?

 

[dmc]

I don't know what you're all are getting excited about. The warm up that we're having, which will be followed a freeze, tells me that that the conditions will suck. Bulletproof and thin at best on natural trails and man made on all the rest - death cookies and ice underneath.
Yeah, I'm going to wax'em boards right now!!!

I guess he's excited because he actually likes skiing...

Would I rather be in the rockies riding untracked waist deep? Hell yeah!!!

But I'm not there.. I'll take the manmade anyday...


My question is - why not do both? BC and inbounds...

 

[catskills]

What DMC said ^^^^

Just to add. If you only ski natural powder on the east coast then you must not ski very much. Actually snowmakers can make some awesome champagne powder with enough compressed air. Its not waist deep dry Utah powder but it sure is a hell of a lot of fun.

 

[dmc]

We've been in the woods at Hunter on natural this year already..

In the "glades"....

 

[Bumpsis]

What DMC said ^^^^

Just to add. If you only ski natural powder on the east coast then you must not ski very much. Actually snowmakers can make some awesome champagne powder with enough compressed air. Its not waist deep dry Utah powder but it sure is a hell of a lot of fun.

I don't just sit arround waiting for big dumps from Mother Nature. I fully recognize that skiing in the East means skiing on mostly man made. The point of my post was that a lot of ski areas put out inferior product that in my opinon is just not worth paying for.
By the time I actually get to slopes, the stuff that is enjoyable (freshly made snow that has been groomed) is well on its way to being scraped off the trail and transformed into ice. This is especially true early in the season where there has not been too much natural snow yet.

My idea of good ski experience here in the east is at least some mix of natural and man made. Even a few inches of fresh snow (natural) on top of a man made can make for fine conditions.
Bottom line: I just don't enjoy skiing on ice.

 

[dmc]

I don't just sit arround waiting for big dumps from Mother Nature. I fully recognize that skiing in the East means skiing on mostly man made. The point of my post was that a lot of ski areas put out inferior product that in my opinon is just not worth paying for.
By the time I actually get to slopes, the stuff that is enjoyable (freshly made snow that has been groomed) is well on its way to being scraped off the trail and transformed into ice. This is especially true early in the season where there has not been too much natural snow yet.

My idea of good ski experience here in the east is at least some mix of natural and man made. Even a few inches of fresh snow (natural) on top of a man made can make for fine conditions.
Bottom line: I just don't enjoy skiing on ice.

What can I say except it sucks to be you... (joke) Believe me - I'm not a any ski day is a good ski day gaper...

My idea of a good ski experience is looking over a 10 foot cornice and down a 4,000 foot bowl on a 15,000 foot mountain...

Until I mover to Kashmir.. I'll take what I can get...

 

[Greg]

I guess he's excited because he actually likes skiing...

Would I rather be in the rockies riding untracked waist deep? Hell yeah!!!

But I'm not there.. I'll take the manmade anyday...

Right on.

I'm pretty easy to please when it comes to skiing. Sure as hell glad I am that way.

 

[Greg]

Bottom line: I just don't enjoy skiing on ice.

I think you're exaggerating with the "ice" expectation, but enjoy your weekend.

 

[dmc]

I think you're exaggerating with the "ice" expectation, but enjoy your weekend.

If there's no fish under it... It aint ice..

 

[Greg]

If there's no fish under it... It aint ice..

Right. "Ice" is thrown around a lot. Quite frankly, I wouldn't expect much hard pack at all this weekend on all but the steepest and most wind-scoured trails. I have to imagine a lot of snowmaking is going to happen the next 3+ days. Sure, not natural snow, but far from horrible conditions.

 

[dmc]

Also - I've encountered ice(hardpack) in the back country.. And the places I've encountered it... You BETTER know how to deal with it..

 

[Geoff]

I pretty much have locals disease now. I might go out for an hour at 8:00 Saturday morning. There just aren't enough acres open to cope with the weekend traffic.

 

[jaywbigred]

Bottom line: I just don't enjoy skiing on ice.

Oh, ice isn't that bad if you've got the right tune

Or as long as there is soft snow on SOME part of the bump...

 

[Geoff]

Oh, ice isn't that bad if you've got the right tune

Or as long as there is soft snow on SOME part of the bump...

If you can't carve a turn, ice isn't much fun.

 

[dmc]

If you can't carve a turn, ice isn't much fun.

thats probably the real issue...

 

[mikestaple]

With lift tickets even at smaller places edging over $60, I'll opt for something a bit more fullfilling. I don't mind hiking up/down icy mountains, for instance.
I'll wait for nature to deliver.

Monday. Ragged. Liftopia. 2 adult tickets - $25 and change all in. I'll take it!!!

 

[SIKSKIER]

I love ice!!! You need to learn to love it too

I thank you for leaving more room on the trails for those of us who know how to ski in conditions other than natural snow.There is no better surface to learn how to really ski correctly than a frozen hardpack surface.Very little forgiveness when making mistakes at speed.
My advice is lose the attitude and learn how to ski in other conditions so you won't have whine about it on a ski forum.

 

[catskills]

What's the difference between skiers/riders that whine and a 2 month old puppy?

Puppies eventually stop whining

 

[Bumpsis]

I thank you for leaving more room on the trails for those of us who know how to ski in conditions other than natural snow.There is no better surface to learn how to really ski correctly than a frozen hardpack surface.Very little forgiveness when making mistakes at speed.
My advice is lose the attitude and learn how to ski in other conditions so you won't have whine about it on a ski forum.

Thank you for the advice, but my attirude is just fine, thank you. I guess you guys just can't take a contrarian among your ranks here who sees the world a bit differently. I just don't see anything to be really excited out there this wekend.

You can call me whiner and an incompetent all you want but that won't change the fact that man made base, under weekend traffic (weekend skiing was the orinal part of this thread) at most places, will get icy really quickly given the most recent weather conditions. I do hope for all who will get out there this weekend that I'm wrong.

As to my ice handling skills, I can deal with a wide variety of hard pack/white ice/blue ice well enough not be danger to myself or others. Thirty some years of skiing in the east, including some club racing gave me plenty of exposure to less than ideal conditions. I can handle ice just fine - simply don't enjoy it as a recreational skier.

It is also my observation that a lot of people don't handle icy conditions well and end up being out of control and a nuisance (or danger) to others. Given that a lot of traffic will be funneled onto a limited number of slopes, I'd rather avoid the whole thing althogether and wait for a better weekend.

 

[billski]

The one thing I've learned about skiers and boarders - each and every one of us has a slightly different reason for what take us out on the hill. There's no best and no worst of anything. Do what you want, leave each of us a little space and we all can enjoy thehills.

Me? I'm out there Friday morning on skis at minus five degrees to knock off the Trifecta in MWV. Don't ask why.