reflections

[2knees]

No videos, no pics, just my memories. We all have them and they cant be projected correctly no matter how crystal clear the media format. The softest spring bumps in december I’ve ever seen. The joy I had when I came down my little local hills first drop to find that YES, they did indeed extend their bump run significantly. The view of Magic as I approached after the valentines day storm. Then dropping the cliffs on redline for the first time. Looking down paradise in January only to be able to see about 10 feet, with a raging hangover and pounding headache. Skiing powerline for the first time at killington. With huge pow bumps. In April. And then doing it again a week later. Understanding why hunter has such a loyal following after skiing Annapurna 8 straight times. Hittin the 420 in the gondi at killington with a couple of hardcore older skiers. And spending my last day at killington with so many sick bumpers out there it made me feel like a complete gaper.

And the people. Far too many to mention without sounding like a sally ass but watching Greg go from an aspiring bumper to knowing he’s gonna clean my clock by the end of next year was eye opening.

 

[andyzee]

watching Greg go from an aspiring bumper to knowing he’s gonna clean my clock by the end of next year was eye opening.

Yeah, in the last video I saw he actually looked decent, big change from the beginning of the year!

 

[Greg]

Neat thread idea. Nice and simple. My list may get long, but here goes:

• The excitement of kicking off the season at Mount Snow in November. Great to meet andyzee and V.
• A cold early December day at Hunter with JimG. Also met Grassi21 for the first time that day and I got the impression he thought we were nuts!
• Hunter 12/15. I was pretty hyper over this one. I just wanted it to go off smoothly with the group rate and all and everything went off perfectly. 16 AZers + friends resulted in a group of 22. Largest AZ gathering to date, I believe. Good bumps and great people!
• Hitting Sugarbush with Pat and Joe. Tons of shit-talking the night before at the bar which resulted in pathetic displays of hungover skiing the next day. Pat locking himself out of his room that night was classic.
• The many night sessions at Sundown. Especially memorable was 1/31 with the Sundown regulars being joined by Marc and madskier6. It was great to watch Brian's confidence build as he progressed from the Exhibition bumps to Nor'easter. Also great to see Chris start dabbling in the bumps. Two AZers that improved a ton this season.
• Magic a few days after the V-Day storm. A late start as the original plan was the Mount Snow gathering, but windhold made Magic the obvious choice. Magic is great. Twilight Zone was fun with the boys and Redline was awesome.
• Berkshire East with ALLSKIING, Brian and Chris. Loaded the guys and gear up in the AZ Express (my Cherokee) and was greeted at the mountain with 3-5" of fresh snow. Hitting Upper East Glades with the "no cover crew". Poaching Beast with Dave. Awesome open to close skiing day!
• A midweek stay in the MRV with the family and our friends. An untracked run of 10" fresh powder on Morning Star with Joe. Hitting Jester top to bottom with Joe and my father-in-law under cobalt blue skies and perfectly groomed powder. Finally skiing Rumble. An awesome visit to MRG with Joe and just exploring around.
• A visit to Gore. Crappy conditions, but cool to see the mountain and ski with Jim, Brian and HPD.
• Many runs on Annapurna with Pat at Hunter on 3/19.
• Visits to Jiminy with my father-in-law and once with my brother-in-law on April Fool's Day. Also great to make Chris's last run of the season with him at Jiminy
• MRG on 4/6. Insane 14-18" April powder day with Joe, Jeff, Keith, Chris and Brian. Best day of the year!
• The Killington 420. My return to Killington after many years. Great spring bumps and perfect way to finish off my best season ever!

Out of my 35 days, I skied with fellow AZers on 24 of them! Thanks to all the AZers I had the pleasure of skiing with this season. However, the highlight was by far getting my daughter out on skis for the first time this season. She skied 8 times and I think she's hooked already.

but watching Greg go from an aspiring bumper to knowing he’s gonna clean my clock by the end of next year was eye opening.

Yeah, in the last video I saw he actually looked decent, big change from the beginning of the year!

Thanks for the kind words, Pat. Doubt I'll be smoking you anytime soon though, but it gives me something to aim for next season! Actually andyzee, the video from Mount Snow and Hunter 12/15 demonstrate a pretty lame wide stance on my part. Tightening that up was a big goal of mine this season and I think I accomplished what I wanted to.

2006-07 ruled it! :beer:

 

[jack97]

My fondest memory was bringing my daughter to the bump field at sunapee. She was having a blast; first time was mint conditions and second time out was spring bumps.

I had some breakthroughs on a steeper pitch bump trail, but with the season cut short I couldn't work on consistency.

 

[dmc]

BC in JH...

 

[SkiDog]

Finally getting off my butt and moving west to Utah.

M

 

[andyzee]

Actually andyzee, the video from Mount Snow and Hunter 12/15 demonstrate a pretty lame wide stance on my part. Tightening that up was a big goal of mine this season and I think I accomplished what I wanted to.

I'm no expert on bump skiing, but in you last tape, I see a huge improvement!

 

[andyzee]

OK, let me join in and I'm sure I'll miss some, it was a great year. Some of my highlights:

• AZ outing at Mt. Snow and meeting AZers I haven't met before
• AZ outing at Hunter and meeting even more AZers. Great spring conditions for Dec 15th!
• First day of natural powder at Killington 12/30
• First trip to Burke, where we met even more AZers! Great day with tons of powder after the Valentines day dump.
• Trip to Utah, where we hit 6 mountains, including 2 new ones with Powder and Snowbasin. Oh and met an AZer out there (Zook)
• Cat skiing at Powder mountain
• First year I had a chance to really check out Pico, great mountain.
• First time skiing at MRG, timing couldn't be better, this was after another storm that dumped about 2'
• Meeting up with a crew from the Sunday River board, BobR, Thaller1, Whaller1, etc... at Sunday River. Fun bunch
• Meeting a number of AZers at Killington throughout the season.
• Closing out the season at Killington on a high note with great weather, conditions and people.

There were many more fine moments, these were just the first to come to mind.

 

[Grassi21]

A cold early December day at Hunter with JimG. Also met Grassi21 for the first time that day and I got the impression he thought we were nuts!

I will never forget that day. It was honestly my worst day ever. The night before I landed late on a flight from Paris. I was coming off a bought of diverticulitis and had a severe cold. I woke up at 5 am to drive to Huntah to be blasted in the face with snow guns on a windy as heck Belt Parkway. Greg, I didn't think you were nuts. You being nuts was confirmed at the BEast as the leader of the "no cover crew".

Also great to see Chris start dabbling in the bumps. Two AZers that improved a ton this season.

Thanks again. I learned a ton from you guys this season. I expect more next year too! :beer:

Berkshire East with ALLSKIING, Brian and Chris. Loaded the guys and gear up in the AZ Express (my Cherokee) and was greeted at the mountain with 3-5" of fresh snow. Hitting Upper East Glades with the "no cover crew". Poaching Beast with Dave. Awesome open to close skiing day!

One of my best ski days ever. Great company. Great day. I hit all the big name trails at the BEast with the exception of The BEast. But based on ALLSKIING's face after he emerged from that trail made me feel better about my choice. I also skied in the trees for the first time on Blizzard Island. I wouldn't call my first tree run on Fallen Timbers at Mt Snow the week before skiing. It was more of hanging on for dear life.

Visits to Jiminy with my father-in-law and once with my brother-in-law on April Fool's Day. Also great to make Chris's last run of the season with him at Jiminy

After two weeks on the bench I hit my last day with Greg. My body felt fresh, the conditions were great, and once again I hit all the big name trails that I was fearing. Thanks for lightly pushing me to give them a try Greg. Those were some good confidence boosters for next season.

But I try to live in the present and dream about the the future. Despite all of the great days, memories, and new friends, I can't wait to log some days on the slopes with wifey this upcoming season.

 

[reefer]

Some memories

Downloading Thanksgiving weekend at Okemo and Mt. Snow!
Early season Killington keeping my head in the game Dec13, 22, Jan 15, 28!
Mt. Snow on the Vday blizzrd 2/14, and following up the 16th and 17th!
Mt. Snow/Stratton double shot March 3/4 in powder. Snowed both days most of the day!
St Paddy's blizzard at Mt. Snow 3/17!
Spring skiing Cannon and Waterville in 60 degree weather March 22/23, not realizing I wouldn't have spring conditions again til' April 21. Both first time visits!
Sugarbush/Mad River Double shot in 14-18" of powder April 5/6. I agree with Greg MRG may have been the best day of the year, with the AZ crew as company, pushing it above a lot of others by a little bit. Looking at my pictures there was always powder after mid- January!
Following up the next week with a Sugarbush/Killington double shot April 13/14.
Now back to next year.....................

 

[loafer89]

No skiing in November for the first time in many years
Finally meeting Greg and Brian as well as alot of other AZ people
Skiing 2 open trails in 60F weather at Mohawk on January 7th.
Lots of night skiing in sometimes interesting conditions at Ski Sundown
14" powder day at Arapahoe Basin and skiing Gulch with Warren
4 powder days in Summit County
Skiing in the Nevada Desert at the Las Vegas Ski & Snowboard Resort
20" powder day at Sunday River on April 6th
Last chair of the 2006-2007 at Saddleback with 3" of powder to boot
Endless, historic snow at Sugarloaf with 60" falling in one week.
4 Powder days at Sugarloaf
Fantastic backside snowfield skiing with my son
Earning turns in May at Killington

 

[ERJ-145CA]

I still find it hard to believe but my most memorable experience of the past season was powder skiing at little Campgaw in Mahwah, NJ on March 16th during the St. Patricks blizzard. The snow was coming down fast so I figured I should pick up my son early from day care but with Campgaw on the way to his school I left a couple of hours early to get some turns in. There was about 6" of powder when I got there and about 10" when I left 2 hours later. It was snowing so heavy I could only see about a third of the way down the 600 foot long slope. I was having so much fun I really didn't want to leave but I had to force myself because the roads weren't getting any better. Of course I had to follow up that day by skiing Belleayre on 3/18 and 3/19 with the best conditions of the season.