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Your 2021 / 2022 Ski Season Thread

boston_e

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Yeah, outside of the pandemic affected last year, getting north ridge open first is pretty much standard operating procedure.
 

ss20

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A minute from the Alta exit off the I-15!
With no world cup last year they got to Snowdon sooner and spread out quicker then normal and Superstar suffered cutting the season short, I understand they have capacity etc as they are the Beast, but the year before they barely got Superstar ready for the world cup because of temps etc, so they could try and hit that earlier the usual

They already blow Superstar anytime it is at all possible October 1-World Cup. They are even more liberal about it than making snow up in North Ridge.
 

KustyTheKlown

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i saw something that was reposted by skiology facebook but which came from an actual weather source, but i am not sure what it was, and i don't really have a go to source for my own info on long term. but there's a big old ridge driving high temps up into Canada - it hit 100 in Montana or some shit this week - the jet is gonna push that warmth into our neck of the woods thru oct
 

machski

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Northwood, NH (Sunday River, ME)
With no world cup last year they got to Snowdon sooner and spread out quicker then normal and Superstar suffered cutting the season short, I understand they have capacity etc as they are the Beast, but the year before they barely got Superstar ready for the world cup because of temps etc, so they could try and hit that earlier the usual
No WC also meant no extra portable air compressors rented and added into the mix to increase air (kind of important for early season makes when air needs are large for marginal temps). This should happen again this year and while that is to back SS make, it helps post WC too.
 

Newpylong

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Dec 20, 2005
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Upper Valley, NH
They still lease diesels but they don't fill out both pads if there is no World Cup. Usually 24 for WC years, 12 or less if not.
 

slatham

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Sep 17, 2012
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LI/Bromley
Where do you guys get long term forecast?
I use two paid sites: weatherbell.com and weathermadness.com. I previously used Accuweather but don’t any longer (and their winter forecast is freely available). pivotalweather.com and tropicaltidbits.com are good sites with some free access to weather models, but you have to know a bit about weather etc to get good use out of them. I also follow Ben Noll and several others on Twitter. In fact Ben just posted a map of average Nov and December’s that followed a very warm October. It would be nice! I want a warm October.
 

abc

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Lower Hudson Valley
thanks all for the long range forecast web sites.

I'm not looking that far forward. I'm still in summer mood. So the warm October is music to my ears. ;)

But of course, it's followed by cold November and December will just be perfect for the switching of activities. As far as I'm concern, November is a waste of time. It's never good for much of anything except Thanksgiving time off and eating my heart out. Never skied Thanksgiving and have no plan to start. So it might as well be as cold as possible and set us up for a decent early season.

Not putting any cold water on the simmering kettle. But I'm not the jonesing type. I always enjoy what I have rather than waiting for what comes next. Right now down here in the flat land, we're still in the best part of cycling season. Just warm enough to ride hard without getting overheat. And the leaves are going to change soon (probably already changing up north?) which will make the rides most spectacular!

Although I've technically "skied" as early as first week of December. But I only did that once, in training session as instructor. Sure, ,it's skiing alright. But I'm not driving more than 30 minutes to do that kind of "ski".

Wait, I take it back. I did "skied" in October once! A few years back that Halloween "Frankenstorm" dump over a foot of wet snow on my backyard. I took out my cross country skis and did a couple loops on the golf course! The picture of me standing with skis on snow (and tracks behind me), and the still green and color leaves on the background, was good for a laugh at the Thanksgiving family gathering.
 

ERJ-145CA

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Hopefully Big Snow if they can get there fire mess cleaned up quickly. Was supposed to go this week, doh!

For the real stuff I'd be surprised if it wasn't Killington.
I was planning to go to Big Snow also. It was a bummer. Hopefully it's up and running again soon.
 

ThatGuy

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Feb 10, 2021
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Park City
Not putting any cold water on the simmering kettle. But I'm not the jonesing type. I always enjoy what I have rather than waiting for what comes next. Right now down here in the flat land, we're still in the best part of cycling season. Just warm enough to ride hard without getting overheat. And the leaves are going to change soon (probably already changing up north?) which will make the rides most spectacular
Surprised the leaves haven’t changed at all downstate. This is what it looks like around me.
6AA96266-A51A-41B5-866D-891A72949BC2.jpeg
2C5F4AA0-C429-48C1-9FE1-57745AD898B6.jpeg
 

Geoff

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Jun 30, 2004
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South Dartmouth, Ma
My last Killington opening day SWAG is from November 3 2014. I’m not wild about white ribbon of death with 2,000 of my closest friends and I’ve done enough laps on Rime to last me a lifetime.

My season is in flux at the moment. I thought I was retired and skiing half time at Beaver Creek. I just had a 3rd Zoom interview so that plan is probably in ruins. I booked flights for my first two weeks in January. It’s now wait & see.
 

Abominable

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Jan 18, 2013
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Here's one guy getting VERY stoked for the upcoming season!

The past few years have been quiet (skiing-wise) years for me with the births of three kids and of course the pandemic. I got a few solo trips in here and there, like the blackout storm at Platty and some other great days, but for the most part my trips were local and kid-focused. I have skied some new areas (to me) like Victor Constant at West Point (cool place) and Mt. Peter (crowded but fine for kids). Only really got a couple days in in spring when the pregnant wife could sit outside with the two year old. I was on skis for the first time in 25 years having snowboarded exclusively since the early 90s. I'm a terrible skier but good enough to get the kids down between the legs. Have also been doing a lot of XC / backyard downhill / sledding with the kids. Thankfully we've had some good snow years locally (Westchester). And my kids love being outdoors and spend a ton of time outside in any weather (mandatory!).

This year my oldest is finally eligible for seasonal programs at four years old. My wife and I got season passes to Catamount and he'll be in the kids program every weekend / holiday day we can get there. This is the first time I've had a season pass since probably 2000? Very happy this has coincided with the Schaefers' purchase of the mountain and improvements. They've put a ton of money into the place, new lifts and new terrain, plus new lodge and dining, which helps the family experience and means I can probably drag Grandma along to babysit a couple times. Also, getting three mountains on a pretty inexpensive pass is great. We'll be able to do some overnights and show the kids other hills (Bousquet and BEast).

My two and a half year old will be with me on the magic carpet to start but she's a big kid and always trying to keep up with her older brother so I expect she'll pick it up quick. My eldest "gets it" and can ride the chair and ski well on leash; expecting big improvements this year. I'm hoping to get 20 - 30 days in. 30 days would be great. And, given that I'll be working from home for awhile yet, really hoping to get the snowboard back on and rip it up a few days, maybe even take some solo trips up. One of the best parts about having a pass is that you don't feel guilty not skiing bell to bell. Up for a few laps first thing in the morning, back to pick the kids up from school / daycare is feasible. Stoked!

I always enjoy getting on the board here and skiing vicariously, reading about trips out west and everywhere else. After a couple years basically "off" to rear three kids, I'm truly excited skiing is gonna be a big part of my life again and getting the kids into it is so much fun. Ten years from now I'll be posting my own "road trip through Idaho ski areas with the family" thread. Until then, good luck getting after it and THINK SNOW!

Here's my eldest practicing his yard sale out of the gate:
 

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