What is the worst weather that you have ever skied in ?

[bvibert]

I recall a day back in the mid 90's at Mount Snow on Exhibition where the visibility was so bad, that I could only see one turn in front of me. Not fun.

I hate fog! My first trip to Snow was this year and we were socked in for the first half of the day.. :angry: I was quite unhappy and contemplating stopping at lunch time, luckily the sun came out during lunch and we had a great afternoon! It would ahve been nicer if we were there two days later when they got dumped on instead of skiing around patches of grass in February... the extremely high mid-week ticket price didn't help my mood in the morning either... :angry:

 

[Zand]

I've had my share.

Back in 2002-2003 at Wachusett, during February, it sleeted like clockwork EVERY night. I skied backwards most of the time. Sight didn't matter. I could probably see where I was going better backwards.

March, 2003- One day at Wachusett it was about 50m and pouring all day. They were giving away free trash bags to use as ponchos.

January, 2004 at Sugarbush was interesting. I remember the bottom half of Lincoln being pretty clear, but the top was all fog. you couldn't see 5 feet in front of you. I took Organgrinder for the first time ever and I was happy just to see the top of Super Bravo when I got within 15 feet of it.

Sunapee- January, 2003 and February, 2005 both had horrible weather for me. January 2005 was about -10 out and an unexpected snow squall came in with 30 MPH winds and stuck around all day. It was also very foggy. They closed the summit at 2 that day for wind. February 2005 was another one of those insanely foggy days.


As for my best 2 NOT including snowstorm days- they were both this year. March 21st at Okemo was beautiful. 50 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. In the morning, the snow was hard and fast and everything softened up beautifully by noon. The other was April 10th at Wachusett. 80 degrees and sunny all day. The conditions were great for April. Shorts and T-Shirt all day plus $0.25 hotdogs on the BBQ down on the deck at the lodge and a good live band. Maybe my greatest spring day ever.

 

[awf170]

Back in 2002-2003 at Wachusett, during February, it sleeted like clockwork EVERY night. I skied backwards most of the time. Sight didn't matter. I could probably see where I was going better backwards.

So can you carve backwards yet...

 

[dmc]

Back in 2002-2003 at Wachusett, during February, it sleeted like clockwork EVERY night. I skied backwards most of the time. Sight didn't matter. I could probably see where I was going better backwards.

So can you carve backwards yet...

A friend of mine can telemark backwards... It's crazy...

 

[awf170]

Back in 2002-2003 at Wachusett, during February, it sleeted like clockwork EVERY night. I skied backwards most of the time. Sight didn't matter. I could probably see where I was going better backwards.

So can you carve backwards yet...

A friend of mine can telemark backwards... It's crazy...

how do you do that? do you still drop a knee or what?

 

[dmc]

Back in 2002-2003 at Wachusett, during February, it sleeted like clockwork EVERY night. I skied backwards most of the time. Sight didn't matter. I could probably see where I was going better backwards.

So can you carve backwards yet...

A friend of mine can telemark backwards... It's crazy...

how do you do that? do you still drop a knee or what?

He drops the knee.. Carves and everything...

 

[awf170]

Back in 2002-2003 at Wachusett, during February, it sleeted like clockwork EVERY night. I skied backwards most of the time. Sight didn't matter. I could probably see where I was going better backwards.

So can you carve backwards yet...

A friend of mine can telemark backwards... It's crazy...

how do you do that? do you still drop a knee or what?

He drops the knee.. Carves and everything...

wow :blink: that is crazy, can he do any other crazy things...

 

[ChileMass]

Can't decide on just one -

Jan 1974 - Race day was -10*F actual temp with 30-40 mph wind all day. The coaches refused to cancel the meet and lots of kids got frostbite. Not fun.

March 1998 - My only day at Alta, UT was 55*F. The 18" of powder from the night before turned into knee-deep cement and my legs were cooked after 2 runs. And then the thunderstorm came in the canyon and the lifts closed at 2PM. Sucked.

March 2002 - Left Mass heading for Sugarloaf and it was 77*F. 5 hours later when we got to Kingfield, you could see the sun shining on the melting trails, but at the base it was foggy and temp was dropping like a stone. That night it rained about 2 inches and then went to 10*F. The next day (a packed Saturday during kids' winter break), they got one trail open by 10:30PM and about 10 thousand people tried to ski on snow that felt like ball bearings. Without question the worst conditions I have ever tried to ski on in my life. And, it cost us $400/night for the privilege. Next day they got 3 trails open all day. I love the Loaf, but that was a lousy weekend.....

 

[GrizzlyFD]

January 2003 -Summit thermometer read -550f at Jay. We could only ride the tram because being on a chair was too painful.

We rode the tram, went into the summit lodge to warm up, skied down through glades because the wind on the trails was killer, went into the base lodge to warm up, and then back on the tram.

The only good thing about the cold was the minimal amount of people that could withstand the cold.

It was so cold the lodge we were staying at had its water pipes frozen for 2 days!!

 

[dmc]

Back in 2002-2003 at Wachusett, during February, it sleeted like clockwork EVERY night. I skied backwards most of the time. Sight didn't matter. I could probably see where I was going better backwards.

So can you carve backwards yet...

A friend of mine can telemark backwards... It's crazy...

how do you do that? do you still drop a knee or what?

He drops the knee.. Carves and everything...

wow :blink: that is crazy, can he do any other crazy things...

He can crank a sweeet telecopter...

 

[Sky]

Worst Weather

Nothing to compete with these stories...

I've skied -10 and agree with someone above that in this weather...the crowds are lean and the snow is fast. SO I don't count this as a "bad" weather experience.

However, the first time I went to Waterville Valley (8 yrs ago?)...it was a warm March day and the fog was relentless. Top to Bottom 15' vis. I was not as strong a skier back then so I had "issues" (OK, "fear") about headwalls suddenly showing up or gettting whacked at trail junctions. Nothing happened...I just skied all day long with that fear, which is what bothered me most.

 

[dmc]

The only weather I really hate is fog...
I can deal with rain - the snow is soooo nice when it rains!!!
I can deal with super cold - just cover everything and ski with no crowds..
I can deal with ragin snowstorms - just head into the trees for better visibility..

I got the gear for whatever Mother Nature throws at me... Not a big deal..

 

[skibum1321]

Yeah I agree that skiing in fog sucks

 

[Sparky]

A couple of years ago I was at Jiminy Peak with a guy that had a gadget that could measure wind chill temperatures. It had a tiny fan in it as well as a thermometer. At the top of Jiminy, which is only about 2300ft., it showed -30degress

 

[JimG.]

MANY years ago at Stowe, before the HSQ at Mansfield. The old single chair was still slowly humping skiers up to the top. Middle of January, brilliant clear blue skies and sunny but BITTER cold. I mean -30F without the windchill, and there was a steady 20MPH wind blowing straight down the liftline.

Those were the days when they gave you a blanket/poncho to stay warm. I used 3 each ride that day and I was still cold. One of my contact lenses froze to my eye. My girfriend's earrings froze onto her earlobes. We had to stop frequently to warm gray patches of skin to keep from getting frostbite. It was a constant struggle to stay warm.

Still had a blast!

 

[dmc]

My girfriend's earrings froze onto her earlobes. We had to stop frequently to warm gray patches of skin to keep from getting frostbite.

Every year I encourage lots of kids to go inside and visit Ski Patrol when I see that grey developing around their piecings...

It's insane...

 

[sledhaulingmedic]

My girfriend's earrings froze onto her earlobes. We had to stop frequently to warm gray patches of skin to keep from getting frostbite.

Every year I encourage lots of kids to go inside and visit Ski Patrol when I see that grey developing around their piecings...

It's insane...

Gee, Thanks. There's some piercings I'd rather not have to inspect :idea:

 

[dmc]

Gee, Thanks. There's some piercings I'd rather not have to inspect :idea:

HAHA!!! I hear ya...

If I can see the nasty peicings on a -10 degree day - those people got more problems then frostbite...

 

[snowsprite]

The only weather I really hate is fog...

Yes, this gives me renewed awe and admiration for blind skiers! Last season at BMMC at Killington you could not see 5 inches in front of you over on Skyeburst. And thought, how difficult to just rely on the sounds of someone's skis in front of you plus shadows, wind, and verbal cues to get downhill.

So yeah...I'm not good enough to ski well in the fog!

Sprite

 

[JimG.]

My girfriend's earrings froze onto her earlobes. We had to stop frequently to warm gray patches of skin to keep from getting frostbite.

Every year I encourage lots of kids to go inside and visit Ski Patrol when I see that grey developing around their piecings...

It's insane...

Gee, Thanks. There's some piercings I'd rather not have to inspect :idea:

:lol: Wow I hear you on that one! Back in the day the only piercings we knew were in a woman's earlobe.