Shame list, I bailed on a ski day because...

[abc]

Hunter is open this weekend. I decided I will go on Sunday (today). Skis in the car, sort out all the necessary gears. Really, it feels good to shake off the cobweb after the summer...

Normally, I don’t ski early season, much less the WROD, as I’m not a groomer lover. The gas money alone (250mi, rt) would be a deterrent, never mind if I have to pay for the lift ticket.

But since Vail took over Peak, I have free skiing at Hunter. Why not, even though they have only limited trails open. Gas money be damned. (Plus, I just got myself a pair of hand-me-down groomer carver, which naturally I’m eager to try out)

Pull out of my garage, on a curvy part of the lane, another car came really close to my lane. So I pulled close to the curb to avoid potential contact... there’s a drainage hole I normally stay clear of... Heard a “bang” underneath the car, louder than the usual when bumping over typical road imperfection. My heart skipped a beat...

Next thing, the tire low pressure light came on (run-flat tires).

Pull into a safe spot to take a look. Darn, the tire had a 2” long crack! OK, end of my skiing day. Drove back to my garage. Pull the ski back out, put away the stuff. Wait for shops to open tomorrow. I have food in the frig and today will be a chore day...

But wait! I have 4 winter tires in my garage. All I have to do is mount one of them on and I’m good to go! I was going to take the car to the shop and get them mounted in a few weeks anyway...

Why is my butt still firmly planted on the couch instead of out in the driveway jacking up the car?

I haven’t put the car on the “emergency jack” for close to 10 years now. Run flats had gotten me home or to the nearest shop each time. I remember though, in the past every time I did road side tire change, I end up with dirts all over, and pretty disheveled when finished. But I’ve done it enough number of times, I know how to do it, it shouldn’t be the end of a road trip...

I guess I just didn’t feel strongly enough about skiing the limited terrain to bother changing the wheels, I’m ashamed to admit.

Confession over.

Will I be banned from AZ? For bailing a ski day on such a frivolous excuse?

 

[bdfreetuna]

Depends on your vehicle but switching to 1 snow tire might not be a good idea if you're running 4WD or AWD. Do you have tools to mount a tire or are you talking swapping out entire wheels?

I would have said screw it too for WROD at Hunter on a weekend.

 

[kingslug]

We always get the snow tires on first week of November..run flats are unfortunately not very good at certain things..i had them on my vette and they had a terrible ride..sidewall is very stiff..
Never put a different tire on one side of the car..throws the handeling off.
I managed to get 2 good days at K this week..thankfully as now im sitting in...tennis camp..yes..tennis camp..my wife roped me into it as she did not expect conditions to be so good for skiing...

 

[abc]

Do you have tools to mount a tire or are you talking swapping out entire wheels?

I would have said screw it too for WROD at Hunter on a weekend.

Tire already on rim. That’s why I filed it under “frivolous excuse” column.

(The issue of AWD did occur to me. Though I knew a couple of engineers from the auto industry - I used to live in Michigan - who assured me it’s not as big an issue as the dealers/shops make it. It’s more of a marketing ploy to get you to buy a full set of new tires. Unlikely a big deal for just a couple hundred miles)

Webcam from Hunter didn’t look too crowded even yesterday. But it’s an hour and half each way. So add the time to jack up the car and change the wheel. It’s really a lot of hassle for a few groomers.

(I came back and read the “ski bum” thread. Decided we need a thread for those who shamelessly bag a ski day for lame reasons! )

 

[bdfreetuna]

(The issue of AWD did occur to me. Though I knew a couple of engineers from the auto industry - I used to live in Michigan - who assured me it’s not as big an issue as the dealers/shops make it. It’s more of a marketing ploy to get you to buy a full set of new tires. Unlikely a big deal for just a couple hundred miles)

Usually the difference is pretty minor and you can get away with it. Would need to know the specific vehicle. For example even among Subarus there's 3 common AWD systems in use, 4 or 5 if you go back some years. But the Subaru systems without electronic stability control should be alright --- a viscous LSD gives the drivetrain a lot of leeway and that's partially why they drive on rails.

4WD systems and AWD with electronic traction control and/or lacking a LSD will see more traction loss to the unmatched tire, which could involve binding the drivetrain or just applying brakes on that wheel electronically. The latter you can get away with for a short while, the former I wouldn't want to mess with on dry surfaces.

Something like an old school Honda CR-V or Rav4 that runs in 2WD mode but switches to 4WD/AWD part time on loss of traction, you would really want to have your tires relatively matched.

 

[So Inclined]

Depends on your vehicle but switching to 1 snow tire might not be a good idea if you're running 4WD or AWD. Do you have tools to mount a tire or are you talking swapping out entire wheels?

I would have said screw it too for WROD at Hunter on a weekend.

Yeah, I've always heard that running less than a complete set of winter tires is a bad idea. I'm no Mr. Goodwrench, though.

However I DID get it together to go ski Hunter today. My first ride up the Flyer around 10 am, I got to share the chair with a couple Jersey Boys sharing pulls on a Keystone Light tall boy and talking about how their apps had just clocked them at between 45 and 51 mph.
On the WROD, on what was almost certainly their first couple runs of the season.
Oh Hunter, how I've missed you so!
And this is essentially what you missed out on today.
(No really, it was pretty good for pre-Thanksgiving skiing. But cold + flat light + a pass means 3 hours was enough for me.)

 

[abc]

Usually the difference is pretty minor and you can get away with it. Would need to know the specific vehicle. For example even among Subarus there's 3 common AWD systems in use, 4 or 5 if you go back some years. But the Subaru systems without electronic stability control should be alright --- a viscous LSD gives the drivetrain a lot of leeway and that's partially why they drive on rails.

4WD systems and AWD with electronic traction control and/or lacking a LSD will see more traction loss to the unmatched tire, which could involve binding the drivetrain or just applying brakes on that wheel electronically. The latter you can get away with for a short while, the former I wouldn't want to mess with on dry surfaces.

Something like an old school Honda CR-V or Rav4 that runs in 2WD mode but switches to 4WD/AWD part time on loss of traction, you would really want to have your tires relatively matched.

The car has electronic traction that can be turned on and off. That gave me the impression the car’s “brain” has enough smart to deal with something as minor as a mis-matched tire thread pattern. (The winters are the same size as the summers. I got them that way “precisely so that I can use the winters as spare if need be”. But here I’m, too lazy to actually use it!)

Though it seems like I didn’t miss too much. Oh well, I got them excuses...

 

[BenedictGomez]

Normally, I don’t ski early season, much less the WROD, as I’m not a groomer lover. The gas money alone (250mi, rt) would be a deterrent, never mind if I have to pay for the lift ticket.

But since Vail took over Peak, I have free skiing at Hunter. Why not, even though they have only limited trails open.

But remember everyone, EPIC & IKON are NOT leading to increased crowding on the slopes.

 

[abc]

But remember everyone, EPIC & IKON are NOT leading to increased crowding on the slopes.

Funny you put that out.

I was dismayed at the crowding of Ikon mountains last season. But hey, everyone said it was due to a banner snow year!

Now I’m skiing Hunter and probably Mt Snow, in November no less! That’s of course due to... unusually early winter this year!

Got nothing to do with Vail bought Peak!!!

Hahaha!

 

[kingslug]

I will be at Hunter more now..and maybe Mt Snow and Okemo..the pass definitely will bring more people.

 

[SkiingInABlueDream]

In the OPs exact situation im pretty sure I wouldve bailed on skiing too. What I do think the OP should be embarrassed about is 1) having a dedicated winter wheel set (good in itself) but not having a decent floor jack with which to make quick work of wheel swapping, and 2) assuming road conditions were wintery that morning, then not having already swapped wheels to be ready for the drive. JMHO. [emoji16]

 

[cdskier]

I will be at Hunter more now..and maybe Mt Snow and Okemo..the pass definitely will bring more people.

Curious...does that mean you'll be at Stowe less? Or are you skiing more overall? Or are there other places you're now skipping?

 

[ss20]

I will be at Hunter more now..and maybe Mt Snow and Okemo..the pass definitely will bring more people.

I don't have enough Stowe experience to say this definitively but I'm sure as hell it's less crowded than Okemo/Mount Snow.

 

[abc]

Curious...does that mean you'll be at Stowe less? Or are you skiing more overall? Or are there other places you're now skipping?

I will likely ski more.

Having mountains nearby and on my pass, definitely will make the “marginal” days less marginal. Hence skiing more days.

 

[bdfreetuna]

I don't have enough Stowe experience to say this definitively but I'm sure as hell it's less crowded than Okemo/Mount Snow.

Pretty much on par in my experience. I don't go to Stowe on weekends unless it's April.

 

[abc]

assuming road conditions were wintery that morning, then not having already swapped wheels to be ready for the drive. [emoji16]

Wrong assumption.

Don’t know where you are. But roads are still dry as a bone. And probably stay that way for a whole. It’s only November!

having a dedicated winter wheel set (good in itself) but not having a decent floor jack with which to make quick work of wheel swapping

Guilty as charged.

Not quite though. Run-flats need to have their tire pressure monitor reset after wheel change. It’s not as “quick” as in the old days.

 

[kingslug]

I might be at Stowe a little less as we can now hit Okemo or Mt Snow on Sunday after Stowe on Saturday , then have a shorter drive back home.
Hunter will be the go to when I just don't feel like driving 5 hours or I just have 1 day to ski.
And yes..if your going to change tires/wheels a good floor jack is needed. I bought a Quick Jack but that a 1200.00 deal. A good aluminum floor jack is all you need...and a torque wrench.

 

[abc]

My local garage does the swap for $30. No fuzz, no tools. Too lazy to bother doing the swap myself. Yeah, I’m getting old and getting soft...

Now that I no longer work on my own cars any more, I no longer keep updating my tools.

 

[2Planker]

Bought an electric floor jack specificall for DIY swap overs.
Works great, can do all 4 tires in 10 mins. Paid for itself in 1 year...
TPMS reset is 1 button, 1 sec....

https://www.amazon.com/BestEquip-El...ZtMlg&slotNum=0&tag=electric-car-jacks-pcr-20

 

[abc]

https://www.amazon.com/BestEquip-El...ZtMlg&slotNum=0&tag=electric-car-jacks-pcr-20

Interesting!

But maybe it's just me? "[FONT=&quot]Made of high-strength steel, not easily deformed"

The wording bothers me. I would expect a jack NOT DEFORM, period.

Thanks for the link though. I'll look around a bit more. [/FONT]