Sunapee 2012-01-22 ... the good, the okay, and the dick move

[thetrailboss]

Sorry that was your experience. They run a tight ship. And I also am :blink: regarding the 85 mph statement.

 

[Cannonball]

Couple things for you to do...

#1. Call Jay Gamble, he is the President. When they ask what this is in regards to tell them customer service, they will usually put you through to him. Tell him you want him to know what happened and how you feel. DO NOT BE RUDE. Tell him it was your first time there, and you may never go back now because of how you felt like you were treated when you did nothing wrong.

Yes, don't be rude. And also probably don't mention that you were going 85MPH on a trail with other paying customers. Sunapee might consider THAT the 'dick move' in this little story.

 

[bdfreetuna]

I'm really not too burnt about it. I understand ski areas have rules and sometimes they make mistakes when it comes to who they are trying to make an example of.

My friend and I had a nice conversation walking that half mile down to the parking lot and it's all good.

I didn't mean for that to be the primary point of my trip report. Shit happens, sometimes people are assholes because they think they have to be, whether right or wrong.

But, on another note... I feel I should be able to ski as fast I want to (if I am in control) on any mountain. I wasn't going 85mph. Maybe 75mph tops. Still really damn fast, yeah, no doubt.

But the trails were mostly clear, I had a clear view of the way down, and I am confident in my skills enough at that speed to be able to stop in any conditions in a reaonsable amount of time if necessary.

Mount Sunapee is one of those mountains you can pretty much see the bottom from the top, with a couple humps in between. It's not like you're going to come up upon a group of children or a sudden hairpin curve without knowing well in advance and being able to slow waaaay down.

Like I said normally I don't ski for speed, I ski for style. But my friend is a maniac snowboarder and he lives for speed and I'm pretty happy I was able to keep up with up

There's no beef between me and Sunapee. Probably in twenty years I will be Ski Patrol.... so I understand their concerns. Until then .....

 

[Nick]

You said on a snowboard, thats freaking fast

at the az summit last year, vdk03 on a board, skistef and myself hit 58 down one of the runs during first tracks...... that was cooking, measured with Google my tracks. I hit 52 at Cannon last Sunday.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[bdfreetuna]

was that average mph or peak speed?

I wish I had some gizmo to accurately measure.. but I have a pretty good idea within at least plus or minus 5-10mph at high speed because I used to get clocked racing... and I'm pretty sure I'm a lot faster now if I wanted to be than I was in my teens in the race league ... for one thing my skis are like 30% longer and I'm about 40% heavier :lol:

 

[drjeff]

was that average mph or peak speed?

I wish I had some gizmo to accurately measure.. but I have a pretty good idea within at least plus or minus 5-10mph at high speed because I used to get clocked racing... and I'm pretty sure I'm a lot faster now if I wanted to be than I was in my teens in the race league ... for one thing my skis are like 30% longer and I'm about 40% heavier :lol:

FYI, on the mens world cup downhill circuit, the Hahnenkamm downhill in Kitzbuhl, Austria is one of the fastest courses on the world cup. And the racers on PERFECTLY tuned skis, wearing some of the fastest, most aerodynamic suits in the world average about 65 mph with a maxiumum speed of about 90mph. Just saying....

 

[WWF-VT]

at the az summit last year, vdk03 on a board, skistef and myself hit 58 down one of the runs during first tracks...... that was cooking, measured with Google my tracks. I hit 52 at Cannon last Sunday.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

Google My Tracks is known to not be very accurate. Unless you guys are on a timed course or being measured with an accurate device you are kidding yourselves if you think you are skiing 50-75 MPH.

 

[St. Bear]

FYI, on the mens world cup downhill circuit, the Hahnenkamm downhill in Kitzbuhl, Austria is one of the fastest courses on the world cup. And the racers on PERFECTLY tuned skis, wearing some of the fastest, most aerodynamic suits in the world average about 65 mph with a maxiumum speed of about 90mph. Just saying....

So what you're saying is that we have one of the top skiers in the world in our midst?

 

[St. Bear]

Mount Sunapee is one of those mountains you can pretty much see the bottom from the top, with a couple humps in between. It's not like you're going to come up upon a group of children or a sudden hairpin curve without knowing well in advance and being able to slow waaaay down.

Except for where trails cross and merge.

Which, at Sunapee, happens all the time.

 

[bdfreetuna]

Compared to a downhill race course I did not have to worry about going around gates or following a very specific line.

I was just picking the fastest line from top to bottom... so I don't see how it's hard to believe my friend and I could have topped out at 75mph

Unless you have never skiied that fast, I guess it's easy to say "no way you did that"... but in downhill races (where racers have to go around gates and follow a specific line..) they go in the 80s all the time and sometimes in the 90s.

No I'm not one of the world's best skiiers but I'm not too bad at it either .. I guess I can't expect everyone to believe what I say but it's not like I have a motive to come on here and exaggerate or lie. I've been skiing since I was 2 years old and spent years on a race team so it's not like I'm just pulling speed estimates totally out of my ass

Also I would not trade my Rossignol Phantom SC80 185cm skis for any other ski ever made. Do not underestimate those planks in any conditions (except they suck in tight moguls because the tail is too long)

 

[from_the_NEK]

wearing some of the fastest, most aerodynamic suits in the world

That there is the key. I've been radar gunned at 63 mph on Lower Warrens Way at Burke. At that speed the wind resistance is very high and it maxed out at that speed. You need a skin tight suit or a very steep trail to overcome the wind resistance to achieve speeds over 65 mph. It also takes a lot of effort to stop at speeds above 60. The step up from 50 to 60 mph seems/sounds more like 20 to 25 mph (the difference in wind noise is incredible), which iss why you "feel" like your going 70+.
I'll give you 65mph at Sunapee but 70+ just isn't physically possible :roll:.

 

[from_the_NEK]

wearing some of the fastest, most aerodynamic suits in the world

That there is the key. I've been radar gunned at 63 mph on Lower Warrens Way at Burke. At that speed the wind resistance is very high and it caused me to max out at that speed. You need a skin tight suit or a very steep trail to overcome the wind resistance to achieve speeds over 65 mph. It also takes a lot of effort to stop at speeds above 60. The step up from 50 to 60 mph seems/sounds more like an increase of 20 to 25 mph (the difference in wind noise is incredible), which is why you "feel" like your going 70+.
I'll give you 65mph at Sunapee but 70+ just isn't physically possible :roll:.

 

[bdfreetuna]

:lol: I'd say it's physically possible

To clarify, now that I'm looking at the map, the only run we topped out at 70+ (and I'm saying my friend on the snowboard actually topped out faster than me, so if I went 70, he went 75.. but I'm fairly sure I topped out over 70)

Anyway that run was Upper Blastoff > Lower Blastoff ... It's a straight shot down most of the mountain's vertical, there is only one trail crossing the entire way, and plenty of view ahead of time of that crossing in case you had to slow down or stop.

Look at the map for yourself if you don't know the mountain... if you don't think you can get to 70 or 75mph on that run on a day with no uphill wind, really slick/fast groomed hard pack conditions... well I guess you know your limits!

 

[awf170]

Add one to the no freakin' way group. I think you could reach 70+ mph straight lining lynx. No way blast off is steep enough or straight enough. Maybe 55mph tops.

 

[WWF-VT]

I have skied Blastoff. Bode Miller couldn't hit 75 on that trail.

 

[awf170]

I have skied Blastoff. Bode Miller couldn't hit 75 on that trail.

Maybe with a jet pack.

And yeah, i agree. Not steep at all, curvey, and full off dips and rises.

 

[deadheadskier]

I have skied Blastoff. Bode Miller couldn't hit 75 on that trail.

this.

not even on downhill skis in racing spandex.

mid 50s would be doable with normal gear and clothing

 

[St. Bear]

There's only one way to resolve this.

Yup, I'm talking Ski Off.

 

[bdfreetuna]

Oh well I give up you guys are right I was actually snowplowing down the mountain and you can thank me for the scratchy conditions at Sunapee !!

What is an accurate / proveable way to show how fast you are going? GPS?

All I know is I've been clocked in the past in the high 60s and that was when I was much younger on a smaller mountain and I was definitely going *significantly* faster than that the other day at Sunapee.

I have also gone 62mph confirmed downhill on a bicycle and I was definitely going much faster than that skiing the other day.

Fastest I ever skiied. sorry chip!

 

[57stevey]

What is an accurate / proveable way to show how fast you are going?

I suggest next time you ask Ski Patrol to time you as you straightline blastoff. Let us know how that goes.