Sundown - 12/22

[Greg]

Had a clinic with the race crew which was really good for me since I'm a sucky carver. Ran through several drills that the coaches teach the junior racers. They will not only help my skiing, but probably give me a few ideas to help my kids improve eventually. We finished up around 9:15 pm.

Anyway, now on to the important stuff. johnnypoach and I clocked out and had enough time for a few runs to check out the bumps. So far skier's left of Nor'easter is seeded and the bit of Temptor that turns down into the flats is seeded. The headwall (for you, Gary ) is not yet. The seed spacing on Nor'easter is perfect. It should set up nicely.

Snowmaking got going around 8:45 pm tonight and a few bumps here and there were silky smooth. The rest were rough, but not horrible. In fact the chunks for the most part were no bigger than baseballs on Nor'easter. The turn into Temptor was spaced out more with more football+ sized chunks, but a gun was aimed right on them and blasting them. I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story:

From the Stinger merge looking down:

From almost the turn into Temptor looking up:

The turn into Temptor above the flats:

They should ski in nicely. The headwall gets seeded tonight. Finished the night with a few beers in the bar. :beer:

 

[severine]

Nice! Wish my knee was cooperating...I'd try those!

 

[bvibert]

Looks pretty good! I wish I could have skied them in a little tonight. At least I got in on the beer action in the bar afterward... :beer:

Can't wait to ski them tomorrow. The seeding should hopefully get finished tonight, or at least most of the headwall.

 

[gmcunni]

1. G, you racing this year?
2. will be there tomorrow with Jake.. probably around 5ish
3. can't wait to ski the headwall on temptor
4. seeded bumps rule!

 

[bvibert]

Finished the night with a few beers in the bar. :beer:

BTW, if you see JP again soon let him know that he gave my wife back her helmet the day of the comp last season. I don't know where he got that other helmet from, but it isn't hers...

 

[Glenn]

I gotta get up there with you guys. I should be able to do a mid week session sometime after 1/1.

 

[RootDKJ]

Cool pics. Almost looks like a different planet.

 

[powhunter]

BTW, if you see JP again soon let him know that he gave my wife back her helmet the day of the comp last season. I don't know where he got that other helmet from, but it isn't hers...

He has a memory problem ;-)

 

[Greg]

1. G, you racing this year?

No, I'll be score keeping for the Tuesday night CISC league and some NASTAR sessions on Sundays.

 

[2knees]

judging by the pics, that may be one of the best jobs kurt has done yet. those look like they're perfectly spaced and very skiable right off the bat.

 

[bvibert]

judging by the pics, that may be one of the best jobs kurt has done yet. those look like they're perfectly spaced and very skiable right off the bat.

I agree, they look pretty effing sweet! Can't wait to try them myself tonight.

 

[Greg]

judging by the pics, that may be one of the best jobs kurt has done yet. those look like they're perfectly spaced and very skiable right off the bat.

I agree Kurt did a great job on that. Don't let the pics fool you though. Those piles are like concrete. The spots where snow making was accumulating was nice though. The spacing is perfect though. Tight, but not nuts like parts of Gunny last year. Good sized piles too. The turn into Temptor was spaced out and funky but the snow making was aimed right at it so some nice VWs should show up on that stretch. Hopefully the rest of Temptor turns out as nice as Nor'easter did.

 

[SteveInCT]

With almost an inch of rain in the forecast for Saturday, it seems like this wasn't a great time to seed. I would guess these things might be glass bumps after the refreeze on Saturday night. Maybe I am wrong and the rain makes it a good time to seed. Who knows.

 

[Greg]

With almost an inch of rain in the forecast for Saturday, it seems like this wasn't a great time to seed. I would guess these things might be glass bumps after the refreeze on Saturday night. Maybe I am wrong and the rain makes it a good time to seed. Who knows.

Typically what happens when it rains is they sorta crumble into mush bumps and all those chunks break up. They'll ski just like spring moguls so it's a good time to really shape them via skier traffic. Afterwards, yes - ice moguls...just the way we like them. :lol: Hopefully, it won't be a flash freeze into glare bumps, but rather a slow cool down so they can drain and turn into more of frozen granular bumps. Either way, Sundown is really good about top-coating them with snowmaking to keep them skiable. This is just how it goes down here every year.

So, what I'm saying is - grab your rain gear and ski those bitches when they're soft. I hope to be able to squeeze in a session while they are soft but holiday gatherings will probably make that tough.

 

[SteveInCT]

Makes sense to me Greg. I knew I could be wrong! Happens all the time (or at least that is what girlfriends have told me over the years) ;-)

 

[Chris Sullivan]

Today is the day to ski them. Seeding is finished and they have a good coating on them.

 

[Grassi21]

Today is the day to ski them. Seeding is finished and they have a good coating on them.

see ya tonight!

 

[drjeff]

No, I'll be score keeping for the Tuesday night CISC league and some NASTAR sessions on Sundays.

Nice! Greg in the gates!

A few quick tips for a bumper from an ex racer

1) There's these things that are sometimes shiny on the sides of your bases, called edges. They get shiny when your sharpen them, and don't be afraid of shiny metal on the sides of your bases and/or using them

2) Don't be afraid of skiing with your knees shoulder width apart, the "boys" don't get cold this way

3) Especially if your skiing through a "well used" course, as much as the walls of the rut at the gates might temp you to try them out as a bump, resist the urge!

4) Because of the increased speed you'll be carrying through the gates vs. down a bump run, you'll be able to get the the bar for a post run :beer: that much quicker!

5) If you happen to be in the starting area as some serious female racers wearing downhill suits are getting ready to head down the course, the views usually pretty good

Enjoy!

 

[Trev]

I had no plans to ski until this weekend, due to having no time to ski until this weekend.

So, now I am trying to reschedule, skip, boycott, give up, quit.. etc.. to make time for tomorrow. Tonight is a no go tomorrow is a Maybe Go! haha

If not, I'll be around Sunday PM... then into next week...

Enjoy em while they are fresh!

 

[Greg]

Nice! Greg in the gates!

A few quick tips for a bumper from an ex racer

1) There's these things that are sometimes shiny on the sides of your bases, called edges. They get shiny when your sharpen them, and don't be afraid of shiny metal on the sides of your bases and/or using them

2) Don't be afraid of skiing with your knees shoulder width apart, the "boys" don't get cold this way

3) Especially if your skiing through a "well used" course, as much as the walls of the rut at the gates might temp you to try them out as a bump, resist the urge!

4) Because of the increased speed you'll be carrying through the gates vs. down a bump run, you'll be able to get the the bar for a post run :beer: that much quicker!

5) If you happen to be in the starting area as some serious female racers wearing downhill suits are getting ready to head down the course, the views usually pretty good

Enjoy!

Uhm....I'll be in the finish shack working the timing system, but thanks for the tips.... :lol: