Okemo New Stuff and Opening Date

[bobbutts]

http://okemo.com/okemowinter/ourmountain/snowreport.asp
Our projected Opening Day is November 17, 2007...but stay tuned as it might be earlier!

They list some minor upgrades..

Counterpoint :argue:

Okemo is flat and boring.. I know

 

[threecy]

Good stuff - I'm sure the mogul guys here will enjoy that bit about them leaving some trails natural longer.

Flat and boring? Still a fun mountain to ski.

 

[Tin Woodsman]

Good stuff - I'm sure the mogul guys here will enjoy that bit about them leaving some trails natural longer.

Flat and boring? Still a fun mountain to ski.

Not really. Flat, straight, wide boulevards filled with people and covered mostly by man-made garbage.

This quote is particularly noteworthy for its unintentional irony:

This winter, Okemo’s operations team will be devising ways to create more terrain variety on alpine trails. In addition to allowing a few of Okemo’s more difficult trails to take on more natural characteristics by grooming less often, some trails will receive some extra grooming attention to create gradual swales with subtle fluctuations that will make the snow surface more interesting.

Oh, so you'll be spending lots of time moving the snow around so the trails can "sort of" resemble what they used to look like before being graded and blasted into lobotomized uniformity? Great. Thanks for that special, innovative touch, Okemo!

 

[threecy]

Are there a lot of straight, boring trails at Okemo? Yes. Same with Mt. Snow, Stratton, et al. There's also some fun terrain there - ie Jackson Gore, the glades, Jolly Green Giant, etc.

When I'm skiing in Vermont and am concerned with conditions due to recent weather events, I go to Okemo, no questions asked. I've never had a bad day of skiing there.

 

[snoseek]

No crime in skiing groomers.

 

[Tin Woodsman]

Are there a lot of straight, boring trails at Okemo? Yes. Same with Mt. Snow, Stratton, et al.

Talk about damning with faint praise.

There's also some fun terrain there - ie Jackson Gore, the glades, Jolly Green Giant, etc.

The "glades" at Okemo are mostly just widely treed boulevards that they have tended to groom lanes through in the past. They don't really count. Now an exception to that rule, so I'm told, is the newer terrain at Jackson Gore. Still, with Okemo's latitude and the low elevation of Jackson Gore, one has to wonder how often those runs are in decent shape.

When I'm skiing in Vermont and am concerned with conditions due to recent weather events, I go to Okemo, no questions asked. I've never had a bad day of skiing there.

Great. When I'm skiing in Vermont and I want to have a good time, I go anywhere else. Maybe I've just hit it on bad days, but I've never found the conditions to be notably good in any capacity.

 

[threecy]

Talk about damning with faint praise.

I'm not saying Okemo is MRG or Sugarbush.

The "glades" at Okemo are mostly just widely treed boulevards that they have tended to groom lanes through in the past. They don't really count. Now an exception to that rule, so I'm told, is the newer terrain at Jackson Gore. Still, with Okemo's latitude and the low elevation of Jackson Gore, one has to wonder how often those runs are in decent shape.

I'm not saying Okemos glades rival Mad River Glen or Sugarbush. That said, compare their elevation/latitude to Magic and Mt. Snow.

Great. When I'm skiing in Vermont and I want to have a good time, I go anywhere else. Maybe I've just hit it on bad days, but I've never found the conditions to be notably good in any capacity.

With Okemo, Killington, and Pico crossed off your list, your anywhere else list is quickly shrinking

 

[bobbutts]

I always have fun there too and have a midweek pass. The big bang run on JG is ok, I didn't find too much natural terrain anywhere there, but their bump lines are pretty nice and well maintained. Well run/well kept resorts like Okemo are great for bringing along 'barney' friends and going to when conditions on natural snow isn't so good. That and a guy I ride with a bunch just loves the place.

Also most of the hits are too damn big for my taste, but there is a pretty impressive park they setup top to bottom. Stratton and Okemo are not tame if you are a park rat.

 

[snosharkrider]

considering what okemo has to work with from what nature gives them (terrain, snow, etc), i think they do a pretty good job of eeking the most they can from it and do so consistently.

its also refreshing to see a mountain put money back into the mountain and try to be innovative when so many other mountains in so. vt seemed to have forgotten that until recently.

 

[Greg]

N
This quote is particularly noteworthy for its unintentional irony:

This winter, Okemo ' s operations team will be devising ways to create more terrain variety on alpine trails. In addition to allowing a few of Okemo ' s more difficult trails to take on more natural characteristics by grooming less often, some trails will receive some extra grooming attention to create gradual swales with subtle fluctuations that will make the snow surface more interesting.

Oh, so you'll be spending lots of time moving the snow around so the trails can "sort of" resemble what they used to look like before being graded and blasted into lobotomized uniformity? Great. Thanks for that special, innovative touch, Okemo!

Sheesh, Tin. :roll: You're tough to please, huh? Any mountain that plans on grooming less often is okay in my book. Don't blame Okemo for once catering to the crowd that prefers vanilla groomers. That's where the money is. I applaud them for specifically stating they are going to try to make things more interesting. I don't see the need to hammer them for that.

considering what okemo has to work with from what nature gives them (terrain, snow, etc), i think they do a pretty good job of eeking the most they can from it and do so consistently.

its also refreshing to see a mountain put money back into the mountain and try to be innovative when so many other mountains in so. vt seemed to have forgotten that until recently.

Agreed, totally. I haven't skied Okemo in years, but if they emerge this season as a mountain that offers some great bumps, a revisit will be in order for sure. Gotta work with what you got.

 

[hammer]

Never been to Okemo...is it worth the extra drive if I can find similar types of trails/conditions at Sunapee?

 

[Greg]

Never been to Okemo...is it worth the extra drive if I can find similar types of trails/conditions at Sunapee?

I think so. It's definitely bigger than Sunapee and probably gets more snow. If you like Sunapee, you'll probably also like Okemo.

 

[threecy]

I think so. It's definitely bigger than Sunapee and probably gets more snow. If you like Sunapee, you'll probably also like Okemo.

Okemo is a great midweek confidence booster - with the grooming and terrain, its easy to look good. Also, the mountain is well served by detach lifts, making for lots of runs.

 

[WWF-VT]

Okemo is a great midweek confidence booster - with the grooming and terrain, its easy to look good. Also, the mountain is well served by detach lifts, making for lots of runs.

True - Okemo is an ego boosting mountain where you can ski fast on groomed slopes. May not be everyone's favorite but they know their clientele and expectations.

 

[2knees]

Okemo has some really nice seeded bump runs.

The "gladed" run, outrage or something like that, is pretty laughable though. I swear i saw a groomer track on it once.

 

[koreshot]

Yeah, Tim Woodsman needs to take a chill pill. Sorry if every mountain is not run/built to your liking.

Next time you go to work to your wall street job, look around the subway - all those intermediate, still working on carving, ski twice a year, hate ice and tough conditions, love hot chocolate with tiny marshmellow "gapers" you see standing next to you - they keep Okemo running. And as long as they keep going to Okemo, Stratton and Snow and stay away from where you and I ski, I am a happy man.

 

[Tin Woodsman]

Sheesh, Tin. :roll: You're tough to please, huh? Any mountain that plans on grooming less often is okay in my book. Don't blame Okemo for once catering to the crowd that prefers vanilla groomers. That's where the money is. I applaud them for specifically stating they are going to try to make things more interesting. I don't see the need to hammer them for that.

I guess I am tough to please. But I'm biased anyway - I don't like the type of terrain they offer b/c I'm not the type of skier they target. I just think it's ironic that they are highlighting a policy change designed to recapture a little of what they blasted away years ago.

 

[jack97]

MMMM .. I like nice wide groomers ... all the better to cruise on .. I have nothing to prove to anyone.

For me it's not about proving to some one else. Its about having fun and proving it to myself. I might be slightly misquoting from Glen Plake.... you can't buy a mogul turn. Meaning (for me) I know when I had a good run or not.

 

[Greg]

I guess I am tough to please. But I'm biased anyway - I don't like the type of terrain they offer b/c I'm not the type of skier they target. I just think it's ironic that they are highlighting a policy change designed to recapture a little of what they blasted away years ago.

Perhaps. But it's not a lot different than what many mountains have done. I give them credit for identifying it and making an effort at improving things.

 

[KevinF]

I realize that Okemo isn't exactly the most challenging place around, but as others have said -- they recover from a thaw / refreeze better then anyone. If I think that conditions are going to be crappy, I'll head to Okemo, no questions asked. I'll spend the time working on some aspect of my skiing technique (just skiing around, but mentally aware of how things "feel". I almost never do drills).

There's no place at Okemo that's really going to peg the "fear meter", so you can really work on driving your skis, etc. without resorting to any defensive "oh my god how am I going to get out of this?" "techniques" that chacterize about 95% of the skiing public. i.e, it's an awesome place to reprogram the sub-conscious mind and your skiing muscles to do something "different" or to experiment with some different moves, etc.