Scruffy
Active member
Why Ironic?
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Most fun skiing experience you've ever had
- Thread starter BeefyBoy50
- Start date
Why Ironic?
jaytrem
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2007
- Messages
- 2,149
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- 113
Wow, it's up to $18 now. It was under $10 when I first used it, $6 or $8 maybe, I must be getting old. They didn't actually use a cat for us that day. 1 on the back of a snowmobile and 1 being pulled. Not sure if they still do that on the slow days.
Edit: It was indeed $6 in 2001.
rocks860
Active member
That looks amazing, I want to do something like that so badly
drjeff
Well-known member
It will be 2 years this March. My family was out at Vail. Our last day of our ski week. The forecast was for 3-4" overnight, it was 6-8" at 1st chair and still nuking. After lunch, we finally made it out to Inner Mongolia Bowl and just started lapping Bolshoi Ballroom in about 18" of pure fluff! Me, my wife and at that time 7 and 9yr old kids just having a blast and tearing up mainly untracked deep powder in the back bowls of Vail! That was an incredibly fun day!
freeski
New member
Decided to day trip to Killington back in the ASC days. It was a Sunday in March and a 100 mile drive to K1. I turned up the access road and it was snowing. I remember thinking it will be great if they have an inch or so. I was one of the first cars in bay 1 and there was 4" on the ground and it was snowing hard. It snowed at more than an inch an hour all day. Best powder day I ever had. In the afternoon the snow was well over my boots and very dry. As in life, the best ski moments are unexpected.
BeefyBoy50
New member
My best ski experience in recent memory was last year at the Canyons in early march.
Later that week we had a decent powder day but the real great experience was just your generic spring skiing before the snow came.
We went up 9990 and skied to the right over to Red Pine Bowl. The snow was nice and soft, a little warm, really good for a somewhat steep run and there was a good base.
At the bottom as the bowl flattens out there is a bit of a gully, probably formed by some stream or something in the melting season. I stopped at the top of that gully and looked down at the little trail winding its way through- there was a jump at the end. I had a sudden urge to try doing a 360 which I hadn't done in two years because I kept pussying out.
The snow was soft, the sun was bright, and I was in a good mood so I decided to go for it.
I came down with a decent amount of speed, popped off the lip (this wasn't a big jump by any means) spun around in the air, saw the jump behind me, kept spinning and landed forward. I was so happy that I not only didn't crash (even though it would've been painless) but also landed cleanly that I was ecstatic. The chorus of Roxanne by the Police started to fade in to my thoughts (wasn't wearing headphones but I could hear the song clear as day just from memory) until all I could hear was sting singing "Roxannnnnneeeee- you don't have to put on the red light!" I have no idea what that song had to do with skiing but it fit the moment so well and that whole sequence was probably the best run of the season.
Later that week we had a decent powder day but the real great experience was just your generic spring skiing before the snow came.
We went up 9990 and skied to the right over to Red Pine Bowl. The snow was nice and soft, a little warm, really good for a somewhat steep run and there was a good base.
At the bottom as the bowl flattens out there is a bit of a gully, probably formed by some stream or something in the melting season. I stopped at the top of that gully and looked down at the little trail winding its way through- there was a jump at the end. I had a sudden urge to try doing a 360 which I hadn't done in two years because I kept pussying out.
The snow was soft, the sun was bright, and I was in a good mood so I decided to go for it.
I came down with a decent amount of speed, popped off the lip (this wasn't a big jump by any means) spun around in the air, saw the jump behind me, kept spinning and landed forward. I was so happy that I not only didn't crash (even though it would've been painless) but also landed cleanly that I was ecstatic. The chorus of Roxanne by the Police started to fade in to my thoughts (wasn't wearing headphones but I could hear the song clear as day just from memory) until all I could hear was sting singing "Roxannnnnneeeee- you don't have to put on the red light!" I have no idea what that song had to do with skiing but it fit the moment so well and that whole sequence was probably the best run of the season.
4aprice
Well-known member
So many great experiences over the years. Everything from great conditions to merely being with great friends. I like many others would have to include some of my powder experiences in Utah and Colorado, but I have a great time just about every time I go out, be it the Rocky Mountains or the Pocono Mountains.
Alex
Lake Hopatcong, NJ
Alex
Lake Hopatcong, NJ
KevinF
Member
I've had my fair share of powder days and other great conditions over the years. But a couple things come to mind:
1) First time I skied Stowe's Goat trail. I had Goat built up in my mind as being some ungodly steep, narrow, jump-turns-required, mandatory air-time, non-stop mayhem, etc. Skied it to the bottom (from the Haychute entrance...) with a few stops, no falls, etc. Was sort of my "hey! I guess I can ski bumps half-decently! That wasn't so bad!". moment. Goat is now one of my fave trails anywhere.
2) I've taken more than my share of ski instruction over the years, and I had always heard some variation of the "if you end a turn correctly, the next turn will just begin by itself and you get a sensation of just flowing". First time I got that "flow" feeling going -- wow. So cool. I just started looking at the mountain entirely differently. It's like a new world of possibilities and fun opened up.
3) I had a brief career in teaching skiing which for various reasons I didn't pursue whole heartedly. But there's very little that beats high-five-ing somebody who just made their first turns and you can see in their eyes that they "get it" and that there's another soul happily lost to the thrill of sliding on snow. Had a few of those. Great times.
1) First time I skied Stowe's Goat trail. I had Goat built up in my mind as being some ungodly steep, narrow, jump-turns-required, mandatory air-time, non-stop mayhem, etc. Skied it to the bottom (from the Haychute entrance...) with a few stops, no falls, etc. Was sort of my "hey! I guess I can ski bumps half-decently! That wasn't so bad!". moment. Goat is now one of my fave trails anywhere.
2) I've taken more than my share of ski instruction over the years, and I had always heard some variation of the "if you end a turn correctly, the next turn will just begin by itself and you get a sensation of just flowing". First time I got that "flow" feeling going -- wow. So cool. I just started looking at the mountain entirely differently. It's like a new world of possibilities and fun opened up.
3) I had a brief career in teaching skiing which for various reasons I didn't pursue whole heartedly. But there's very little that beats high-five-ing somebody who just made their first turns and you can see in their eyes that they "get it" and that there's another soul happily lost to the thrill of sliding on snow. Had a few of those. Great times.
Hawkshot99
Active member
I was a guest of Atomic my day at Powder Mtn, so I'm not really sure what it went for.
There US offices are in the closest "large" town, Ogden UT.
Thanks for starting this thread... it’s nice to be reminded around the holidays of how lucky I am!!! I couldn’t narrow it down so here’s a top 10 in chronological order:
1 – Mount Snow ’86 – I was 12 and it was my first trip to Vermont. I had some powder days growing up at Buffalo Ski Club and Kissing Bridge but this was different. Somehow my brother and I were on the North Face when they dropped the rope to Ripcord. I’d never skied something so steep and deep in my life. I fell all the way down but will never forget it!
2 – Steamboat ’98 – My first trip out west – a seminal moment for all us Eastcoasters! After getting bored of skiing the same mogul lines over and over in Western NY, I said, “this is skiing!” After barely skiing in college, my passion for skiing reemerges (or shall we say my addiction)
3 – Jackson Hole ’99 – A ski trip with the University of Buffalo ski club. 4 feet falls right before we get there and my brother and I are in a condo with 5 cute co-eds (who need us to buy the beer). My only regret is the day Corbet’s was open I was too hung over to even think about it.
4 – Italy ’01 – We luck out again with a 3 foot dump right before we get there. Plus the Italians think it’s more fun to carve GS turns “on piste” leaving powder everywhere off piste for us “stupid Americans.” I have my first man crush on our guide Marco who can ski 3,000 vertical feet without stopping or losing his breath.
5 – Colorado ’03 – My sister is a ski bum in Breckenridge and I arrive right before a massive dump hits with 7 feet of snow. An avalanche closes down I 70 so none of the Denver skiers can make it up to the mountains. We ski untouched powder at Breck for 2 days and then hit Loveland which had been closed for 3 days. Unreal!
6 – Portillo, Chile ’05 – My skiing addiction is now in full swing as I make my second trip to Portillo. This time, a huge storm closes all the roads to Portillo and we are stuck in Santiago for 3 days. When we finally get there, I’m rewarded with 100 inches of fresh. I also get to ski with Wendy Fischer who I fall in love with.
7 – Colorado ’06-’07 – My affliction causes me to quit my “successful” career in Manhattan to ensure I get at least one season in as a ski bum. One season turns into 2 as I learn every inch of Breck, Vail, Beaver Creek, and Keystone. I also get side trips to Steamboat, Aspen, Winter Park, and my favorite – Silverton.
8 – Alaska ’07 – My cousin was stationed in Fairbanks so I figured why not? I hit Alyeska by myself for a couple days. Skied two days at a closed area near Fairbanks (earning turns), and then did a day of heli-skiing in Valdez. What a trip!
9 – Jay Peak ’07 – Jay was having a huge early season with 200 inches by Dec 10[SUP]th[/SUP]! I got another 45 inches over two days on the 15[SUP]th[/SUP] and 16[SUP]th[/SUP] of December. This was probably my #1 and #2 powder days of my life… and my first niece was born during it all. Thankfully they live in Denver and I didn’t have to feel guilty about missing it!
10 – Gore Mountain ’13 – I’ve become a snow snob and now track storms to plan my skiing in the East (thank you to all of you on this site who guide me in the right direction – BillSki, Benedict Gomez, and others). Gore got 20 inches on back to back days and I got there for the first chair on the second day. The high temp that day was 4 degrees and it was crazy windy but I fell in love with the glades on Burnt Ridge.
Thanks for starting this thread Beefy Boy… I needed a reason to procrastinate this morning and this was probably the most fun thing I’ve had to think about in a while!
1 – Mount Snow ’86 – I was 12 and it was my first trip to Vermont. I had some powder days growing up at Buffalo Ski Club and Kissing Bridge but this was different. Somehow my brother and I were on the North Face when they dropped the rope to Ripcord. I’d never skied something so steep and deep in my life. I fell all the way down but will never forget it!
2 – Steamboat ’98 – My first trip out west – a seminal moment for all us Eastcoasters! After getting bored of skiing the same mogul lines over and over in Western NY, I said, “this is skiing!” After barely skiing in college, my passion for skiing reemerges (or shall we say my addiction)
3 – Jackson Hole ’99 – A ski trip with the University of Buffalo ski club. 4 feet falls right before we get there and my brother and I are in a condo with 5 cute co-eds (who need us to buy the beer). My only regret is the day Corbet’s was open I was too hung over to even think about it.
4 – Italy ’01 – We luck out again with a 3 foot dump right before we get there. Plus the Italians think it’s more fun to carve GS turns “on piste” leaving powder everywhere off piste for us “stupid Americans.” I have my first man crush on our guide Marco who can ski 3,000 vertical feet without stopping or losing his breath.
5 – Colorado ’03 – My sister is a ski bum in Breckenridge and I arrive right before a massive dump hits with 7 feet of snow. An avalanche closes down I 70 so none of the Denver skiers can make it up to the mountains. We ski untouched powder at Breck for 2 days and then hit Loveland which had been closed for 3 days. Unreal!
6 – Portillo, Chile ’05 – My skiing addiction is now in full swing as I make my second trip to Portillo. This time, a huge storm closes all the roads to Portillo and we are stuck in Santiago for 3 days. When we finally get there, I’m rewarded with 100 inches of fresh. I also get to ski with Wendy Fischer who I fall in love with.
7 – Colorado ’06-’07 – My affliction causes me to quit my “successful” career in Manhattan to ensure I get at least one season in as a ski bum. One season turns into 2 as I learn every inch of Breck, Vail, Beaver Creek, and Keystone. I also get side trips to Steamboat, Aspen, Winter Park, and my favorite – Silverton.
8 – Alaska ’07 – My cousin was stationed in Fairbanks so I figured why not? I hit Alyeska by myself for a couple days. Skied two days at a closed area near Fairbanks (earning turns), and then did a day of heli-skiing in Valdez. What a trip!
9 – Jay Peak ’07 – Jay was having a huge early season with 200 inches by Dec 10[SUP]th[/SUP]! I got another 45 inches over two days on the 15[SUP]th[/SUP] and 16[SUP]th[/SUP] of December. This was probably my #1 and #2 powder days of my life… and my first niece was born during it all. Thankfully they live in Denver and I didn’t have to feel guilty about missing it!
10 – Gore Mountain ’13 – I’ve become a snow snob and now track storms to plan my skiing in the East (thank you to all of you on this site who guide me in the right direction – BillSki, Benedict Gomez, and others). Gore got 20 inches on back to back days and I got there for the first chair on the second day. The high temp that day was 4 degrees and it was crazy windy but I fell in love with the glades on Burnt Ridge.
Thanks for starting this thread Beefy Boy… I needed a reason to procrastinate this morning and this was probably the most fun thing I’ve had to think about in a while!
Old Duderino
Member
Like most skiers i've had a lot of powder days but one stands out as a true bottomless day. It was at Park City in the mid-80's on a Friday in March (I only remember the day because we called it "deep Friday" afterwards) and it was 3-1/2 feet overnight on top of the 2 feet that fell the previous day. You literally had to turn to breathe, going straight at the top off of the lift to build speed would give you a non-stop face shot of the lightest Utah pow. The gnarliest that Jupe had to offer, 6 bells, Silver Cliff, Indicator all looked soft and inviting. I thought about hucking it off of Silver Cliff on my first run but didn't think I could get enough speed up to clear it. I hit Portuguese Gap instead which funnels snow towards the bottom making it the first track powder run of my life.
Another day that stands out, also in the mid-80's when I lived in Utah, was the day after a powder day at Alta with my brother. It was a clear bluebird day and as we were riding up the Sugarloaf lift we see a ski patroller going up to open the gates to Devils Castle which was closed the day before. Powder days are rare, bluebird powder days even rarer but when you get a seemingly endless deep run on a bluebird day it qualifies as unforgettable.
More recently I'd have to say two years ago only this time I was on a snowboard with my daughter at Pico. My wife and younger daughter had to go south at the end of a school quarter leaving me and my older daughter with nothing to do on a four day weekend. We would have had to little time and too much expense to go west so I thought why not the NE? I don't have fond memories of skiing the NE when I used to visit my brother to ski while he was in college there, it was always freezing rain followed by sub zero days. I waited to pull the trigger on it until about two weeks out to be sure we wouldn't have those conditions and this was the time I first started lurking on AZ to get some travel tips. We had two single digit days at K but it was sunny with no wind and the conditions were excellent and we had a blast. Our last day at Pico was the icing on the cake though as we got snow late in the evening and all day the next day and the temperature climbed into the mid-20s. There were maybe 10 people on the mountain as we hit the freshies on Birch Woods and Summit Glades all day. It wasn't super deep and these probably aren't the top rated glades in NE but it gave us a great first taste for NE glades.
Another day that stands out, also in the mid-80's when I lived in Utah, was the day after a powder day at Alta with my brother. It was a clear bluebird day and as we were riding up the Sugarloaf lift we see a ski patroller going up to open the gates to Devils Castle which was closed the day before. Powder days are rare, bluebird powder days even rarer but when you get a seemingly endless deep run on a bluebird day it qualifies as unforgettable.
More recently I'd have to say two years ago only this time I was on a snowboard with my daughter at Pico. My wife and younger daughter had to go south at the end of a school quarter leaving me and my older daughter with nothing to do on a four day weekend. We would have had to little time and too much expense to go west so I thought why not the NE? I don't have fond memories of skiing the NE when I used to visit my brother to ski while he was in college there, it was always freezing rain followed by sub zero days. I waited to pull the trigger on it until about two weeks out to be sure we wouldn't have those conditions and this was the time I first started lurking on AZ to get some travel tips. We had two single digit days at K but it was sunny with no wind and the conditions were excellent and we had a blast. Our last day at Pico was the icing on the cake though as we got snow late in the evening and all day the next day and the temperature climbed into the mid-20s. There were maybe 10 people on the mountain as we hit the freshies on Birch Woods and Summit Glades all day. It wasn't super deep and these probably aren't the top rated glades in NE but it gave us a great first taste for NE glades.
Not Sure
Well-known member
http://forums.alpinezone.com/showthread.php/128492-Back-Country-Pa-2-16-14?highlight=Jim+THorpe
5+ Mile Roundtrip , Hoping for a little less wait to do it again.
5+ Mile Roundtrip , Hoping for a little less wait to do it again.
BeefyBoy50
New member
j law your response was cool and well thought out. Reading stuff like this keeps me going especially when there is a region wide rainstorm in the forecast.
siliconebobsquarepants,
nice trip report! I've been hiking, biking, rafting in that area a lot- never really considered it for BC skiing. I've done some glade skiing (which was more like bushwacking) at Elk where the trees were entirely too thick and it caused me to basically write off the possibility of BC skiing in PA because the forests are simply too thick and growthy. I couldn't follow any decent line down through the forest because of the tightness of the trees and shrubs. Would you say it was like this in Jim Thorpe?
I live in Philly area and last year when it snowed a lot I was thinking about hiking the sides of the gorges in either Wissahickon or Evansburg parks. Both of those areas have pretty good pitches for 100-200 vertical feet and seem pretty open. If I do it this year, I'll let you know- we'll need a couple feet of snow first though.
Puck it
Well-known member
Yesterday was pretty damn good for this year!
Not Sure
Well-known member
DoublePlanker
Member
Chamonix - les Grands Montets with wife just after married so practically 2nd honeymoon. Road the 2 trams to the summit. While waiting for the 2nd tram, watched the tv's in the tramline which just happened to show the famous Bode Miller world cup run where he finished a downhill on 1 ski causing some boos from the tramline. At the summit, climbed to observation deck which was spectacular views. Spent like 45 minutes climbing and taking in the view. Then took the glacier run down which was the best run I ever experienced.
Epic day of skiing followed by some fondue in Chamonix.
Epic day of skiing followed by some fondue in Chamonix.
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