TauntonBlizzard2013 Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Attitash blows IMO. My family has owned there for 20 years and we try to trade off as much as possible, but usually end up there at least once a year. The lifts are awful, and they refuse to adequately make snow, and the trails clearly suffer because or it. The attitash condos themselves are also really bad, they haven't been updated in decades. My parents recently bought in the new building so we would not have to stay in gross outdated rooms. They are seriously considering selling the share there because they are paying a lot of money in maintenance fees every year and nothing is improving and the problems are mounting. It's really unfortunate because they could really do a lot with that setup and mountain. With regards to the skiing at this point. It rains, and it sucks. However, the majority of people who go up north have pre planned trips. They are going to go skiing regardless of the rain the previous day or whatever. If the trip was booked when I was a kid, we were going regardless. People are going to ski no matter what. It's nice to have all avliable terrain open, but the majority of skiers I would assume use the trails that are blasted with snow as opposed to glades and woods trails that are for those who are more advanced (but also a far less percentage of the whole). If most if the family trails and what not are open, most people will be happy. I understand from a business standpoint that mountains want tons of snow and terrain, but IMO if people have a trip booked in advance, they are going and skiing. Just my two cents * my girlfriends family owns a house in the glen area, only been there a couple times, but I really can't escape that area haha. For me, Cranmore FTW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitman Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Pico has a small pond. They are very water restricted. I thought conditions were better than they were. It was New Year's Day. I did not ski Monday or Tuesday but I knew it snowed. I was really sick with a cold/flu and I went out for a run on those skis because I have been skiing on them the past 8 ski days or so and felt most secure/balanced on them. The natural snow trail I went down looked really good. It was my second run and the first was an easy snowmaking trail. Looks were deceiving. Which I guess is my point. With natural snow trails when we are talking base it's not just depth. It's consistency. The stuff on the ground before this rain at Killington/Pico was not a good base. It was super easy to break through. It skied thinner than it looked. And now even that is gone. As someone said, it's heartbreaking to get so much snow and have so little to show for it given that it's January and we have no storm to look forward to in the near future. Central VT and NNE are very different. For folks in central VT the click is ticking. I drive by pico and have noticed the lack of snowmaking. It seems less than in prior years. That really hurts in a season like this. But the natural snow trails are just not there yet. Some good powder to be found at times but sketchy base. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professional Lurker Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 I see that the yearly debate has started... The guys who go out every day and ski on whatever is out there vs. the people who only ski when conditions are ideal. I'm sure that deep down, everybody prefers hero snow, and it's been my experience that most people love powder but can't ski in the stuff... Personally, I strive to be the best skier I can be. If I skied only when the snow was perfect, not only would I only get out a handful of times each season, but I'd also not know how to handle all snow conditions. It's like learning to drive. At first, your parents only let you practice on nice days, with light traffic. If driving was always like that, we'd never be ready to handle rush hour in a blinding downpour... I'm the kind of guy who honestly believes that blowing donuts in a snowy parking lot actually makes you a better driver, at least in the winter... Not sure if that analogy works or not but... Skiing can't always be the icing. Sometimes you actually have to eat the cake too. ...and I've never really had bad cake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skivt2 Posted January 7, 2014 Author Share Posted January 7, 2014 I guess I'm the odd one out. I am getting impatient for consistent natural snow conditions in the woods and on trails with no snowmaking because I ski a lot. I go no matter what and I fear another year like 11-12. I've got 25 days in now and I will ski and have fun no matter but I am hoping I don't spend the next 3 months on groomers only to have the season cut short in early April again. We got a taste of it with the legit powder day two Sundays before Christmas only to have it completely destroyed down to bare ground with the grinch storm as Killington torched rather than iced. Then we get 7 dense inches followed by 7 inches of fluff making natural trails open on a very sketchy base only to see it washed away in a torch again with nothing but dry cold in the immediate future...... It's heartbreaking like Lucy with the football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ono Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 When you're skiing down those mountains with your kid on trails they're telling you are in good shape but they're actually car sized sheets of ice...come back and tell me you'll be having fun with your kids. When Lazy River has big hand written signs telling people to beware of dangerous ice...as did other trails...that sucks. I saw more people taken off in stretchers Friday-Saturday than I had in my entire life prior. That was despite the glowing reports. It also takes the fun out of it when you have more to worry about than yourself...IE when you're skiing with little ones. We will see how Scooters attitude (and yours for that matter) changes when he's skiing with little scooter down icy trails when the reports are all glowing. Give me either well groomed trails or trails with fresh snow on them...not "packed" powder that is really a trace of snow covering ice harder than TD Banknorth underneath Set GPS to the Best Western in Waterbury, VT. Go, arrive and look at the ski/fun options around, and you're pretty much guaranteed to never have that experience again unless you want to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N. OF PIKE Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Attitash blows IMO. My family has owned there for 20 years and we try to trade off as much as possible, but usually end up there at least once a year. The lifts are awful, and they refuse to adequately make snow, and the trails clearly suffer because or it. The attitash condos themselves are also really bad, they haven't been updated in decades. My parents recently bought in the new building so we would not have to stay in gross outdated rooms. They are seriously considering selling the share there because they are paying a lot of money in maintenance fees every year and nothing is improving and the problems are mounting. It's really unfortunate because they could really do a lot with that setup and mountain. With regards to the skiing at this point. It rains, and it sucks. However, the majority of people who go up north have pre planned trips. They are going to go skiing regardless of the rain the previous day or whatever. If the trip was booked when I was a kid, we were going regardless. People are going to ski no matter what. It's nice to have all avliable terrain open, but the majority of skiers I would assume use the trails that are blasted with snow as opposed to glades and woods trails that are for those who are more advanced (but also a far less percentage of the whole). If most if the family trails and what not are open, most people will be happy. I understand from a business standpoint that mountains want tons of snow and terrain, but IMO if people have a trip booked in advance, they are going and skiing. Just my two cents * my girlfriends family owns a house in the glen area, only been there a couple times, but I really can't escape that area haha. For me, Cranmore FTW Ya i didnt do my due dilligence on this mtn, thought they would make adequate snow , nope they don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 I see that the yearly debate has started... The guys who go out every day and ski on whatever is out there vs. the people who only ski when conditions are ideal. I'm sure that deep down, everybody prefers hero snow, and it's been my experience that most people love powder but can't ski in the stuff... Personally, I strive to be the best skier I can be. If I skied only when the snow was perfect, not only would I only get out a handful of times each season, but I'd also not know how to handle all snow conditions. It's like learning to drive. At first, your parents only let you practice on nice days, with light traffic. If driving was always like that, we'd never be ready to handle rush hour in a blinding downpour... I'm the kind of guy who honestly believes that blowing donuts in a snowy parking lot actually makes you a better driver, at least in the winter... Not sure if that analogy works or not but... Skiing can't always be the icing. Sometimes you actually have to eat the cake too. ...and I've never really had bad cake. Fantastic post. With that said, today will be rugged. But I'll be out there to work on edging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baroclinic Zone Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Ya i didnt do my due dilligence on this mtn, thought they would make adequate snow , nope they don't. Pop on over to Shawnee Peak if you're staying up in N. Conway. I grew up on that mountain thru the 80s and 90s. They strive to put a quality product out there. It's about the size of Cranmore. Just checked their website and it looks as though they decided to close today so that they could focus on getting the terrain/conditions back to a satisfactory condition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TauntonBlizzard2013 Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Ya i didnt do my due dilligence on this mtn, thought they would make adequate snow , nope they don't. They really don't do anything good there lol. The mountain is just meh all around. Not very friendly, snowmaking is terrible, and there is just no atmosphere about the place. I'm not picky at all with conditions, but they just have blatant disregard for satisfying a customer who is paying a fortune to use the mountain. I've been there too many times to count, and I've seen snowmaking once. It's really a shame because I really like the area. Really could have a great one if they cared at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clinch Leatherwood Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 I have 14 days in at sugarbush coming up from ny on weekends and holidays. I would say all but 2 or 3 were in good conditions with limited if any ice or boilerplate. Sure there have been various trails which are to be avoided at times. There were days where I just did laps on the same groomer. But There is a ton of snow made due to the low temps and all snow making trails are open and buried. That is not something we can always say on 1/6. I have caught 3 legitimate powder days which is above average at this point. Thanksgiving and early December were really good. I want to get into the woods as much as anyone (especially since my wife has started to hound me about high speed bombing the cruisers), see our discussion in the NNE thread. But this season has not been so bad to date. I may be singing a different tune if mlk comes and we are still on the schneid, but for now, it's been average, at worst. Where you are I think you guys largely dodged the ice/sleet event on the peaks? SR dropped down to 74 today, 3 of those losses are due to a race but that's now down about 40 trails since before the torch. Sure in a few days they'll ramp back up but I doubt they're going to get back to 100 barring real snow falling which seems unlikely for the next 10 days anyway. As a number that's terrific. 50 or so has been about the average for this time of year. It'll come eventually once the cold pattern begins to break and more storms are forming. Like I said it's just a personal choice to not ski in conditions like a week ago by CHOICE. The people we were with had been going to these places for 20+ years and felt like we did that the reports didn't match the conditions by a mile. I guess part of this is I'm learning the reports are typed up by marketing types...moreso every year I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkO Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Regarding Attitash, sad to see them suffer. They got some great rolling terrain. Fun mountain overall. Can't blame snowmaking on elevation. Loon is very similar in many aspects, yet worlds apart in terms of a business plan. I decided not to marry one mountain and instead build the cabin in the heart of 93 ski areas. We even have a small hill in our backyard. Perfect for the kids to learn on. Already we've been out 5 times this year on natural snow (they're looking into snowmaking). Bare bones, no frills area, but for $75 I get 4 lift tickets, lunch and a cocktail! My son is 6 and already hitting the woods and jumps. A chip off the old block. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginx snewx Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 I see that the yearly debate has started... The guys who go out every day and ski on whatever is out there vs. the people who only ski when conditions are ideal. I'm sure that deep down, everybody prefers hero snow, and it's been my experience that most people love powder but can't ski in the stuff... Personally, I strive to be the best skier I can be. If I skied only when the snow was perfect, not only would I only get out a handful of times each season, but I'd also not know how to handle all snow conditions. It's like learning to drive. At first, your parents only let you practice on nice days, with light traffic. If driving was always like that, we'd never be ready to handle rush hour in a blinding downpour... I'm the kind of guy who honestly believes that blowing donuts in a snowy parking lot actually makes you a better driver, at least in the winter... Not sure if that analogy works or not but... Skiing can't always be the icing. Sometimes you actually have to eat the cake too. ...and I've never really had bad cake. yessir Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clinch Leatherwood Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Regarding Attitash, sad to see them suffer. They got some great rolling terrain. Fun mountain overall. Can't blame snowmaking on elevation. Loon is very similar in many aspects, yet worlds apart in terms of a business plan. I decided not to marry one mountain and instead build the cabin in the heart of 93 ski areas. We even have a small hill in our backyard. Perfect for the kids to learn on. Already we've been out 5 times this year on natural snow (they're looking into snowmaking). Bare bones, no frills area, but for $75 I get 4 lift tickets, lunch and a cocktail! My son is 6 and already hitting the woods and jumps. A chip off the old block. What's the name of the place? MRG a perfect demonstration of what we would be facing sans snow making. 3 trails open, 1 blue, 2 baby. ouch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baroclinic Zone Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 What's the name of the place? MRG a perfect demonstration of what we would be facing sans snow making. 3 trails open, 1 blue, 2 baby. ouch. There's a tiny hill in Campton, NH. http://www.waterville-estates.com/ski.html There is also King Pine over in Eaton, NH http://www.kingpine.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkO Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 What's the name of the place? MRG a perfect demonstration of what we would be facing sans snow making. 3 trails open, 1 blue, 2 baby. ouch. http://www.newenglandskihistory.com/NewHampshire/camptonmtn.php I'm betting Campton Mountain won't be open this weekend. Maybe just the tow rope Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gravitylover Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 ^^ King Pine kicks *ss. I skied there a bunch in the late 70's and early 80's and they always had the best conditions around. Nearly unlimited water meant that they would be wide open when everybody else was trying to get it together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoarfrostHubb Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 I still need to try Granite Gorge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clinch Leatherwood Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 http://www.newenglandskihistory.com/NewHampshire/camptonmtn.php I'm betting Campton Mountain won't be open this weekend. Maybe just the tow rope That's awesome what a gem of a place to have in your backyard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 The people we were with had been going to these places for 20+ years and felt like we did that the reports didn't match the conditions by a mile. I guess part of this is I'm learning the reports are typed up by marketing types...moreso every year I guess. See I beg to differ with your opinion... I think the advent of social media, forums, blogs, etc have made reports more accurate. The 80s and 90s had some horrific snow reporting, there was no way for anyone to prove resorts wrong, so they could say whatever they wanted. Now, if your report is off, or conditions suck and you said they are great, or the snowfall is inaccurate, you have a social media sh*tshow on your hands by 10am. Anyway, I look at a lot of snow reports every day, and I think what you need to do is accept that most mountains won't tell you not to come. Its a business. If you said that you might as well close (which MRG does often), but its like a restaurant saying, hey our food is spoiling and going bad as we speak, so come on in and enjoy it. They might as well just not open that day. What I look for though in snow reports is to read more between the lines. If places aren't telling you to come, or aren't telling you its fantastic, its probably not. I do put some little things in the report when conditions are good/great... I have pretty high standards too. Often I just use the snow report as a place to give our mountain operations updates (ie. grooming, snowmaking, lifts, trails, trails closed for special reasons, and the weather forecast). I'm just not one for cliche marketing statements...mine can be dry at times, haha. While we are on this, here are a few snow reports from today. None say its awful (because if you did, you might as well close for the day), but none also tell you that you NEED to come experience these great conditions. It is what it is. Sunday River Stowe Sugarbush Killington Okemo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitman Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 I think also, that when conditions limit skiing to groomed man made snow trails, said trails see a lot more traffic. Therefore, by 11am the trails start to get skied off and conditions are not what they were when the corduroy was fresh when the lifts started spinning at 8am. Early bird catches the worm not only when there is fresh powder but even more so when conditions are challenging. There are trails which are great in the morning, but a horror show in the afternoon. And so, while the snow report may be accurate, conditions deteriorate thereafter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 I think also, that when conditions limit skiing to groomed man made snow trails, said trails see a lot more traffic. Therefore, by 11am the trails start to get skied off and conditions are not what they were when the corduroy was fresh when the lifts started spinning at 8am. Early bird catches the worm not only when there is fresh powder but even more so when conditions are challenging. There are trails which are great in the morning, but a horror show in the afternoon. And so, while the snow report may be accurate, conditions deteriorate thereafter. These are great points and I had forgotten that piece about timing...if snow reporting is part of your job at the mountain, you are there very early. My 8-hour day runs roughly 5am-1pm. I am never on the hill after like 11am unless it's a powder day or we are doing a video/photo shoot. Stowe has the earliest lift opening in the east at 7:30am on weekends/holidays and 8am weekdays. Those early times are so the pass holders and locals get their skiing in early and still go to work or go about their day. It's borderline dark when the lift opens at 7:30 this time of year. Most of the vacation crowd doesn't show up till 9 or even 10am. The ski experience between 7:30-10:30am is vastly different than the afternoon. But I rarely experience that. You can get 20,000 vertical feet in prior to 10am, which is more than most folks do in a whole day (there is a 10 by 10 club where you do 10 runs at 2,100 vertical feet each prior to 10am and then go to work). Thus my view is based on the first half of the day; someone once told me they should make snow reporters ski from 2-4pm and then do the report, haha. Even during this crowded holiday period we just went through...I go out at 7:30, jam out a lot of skiing and get off the hill by 10am when the bulk of people hit the slopes. At 7 minute lift rides for over 2,100 vertical feet, you can do a heck of a lot of skiing very quickly. Of course we have lifts that open at 9am too like most mountains, but it's been a tradition to give the locals early runs on the main quad so they can go about their day after that. Early bird gets the worm, but not a lot of vacationers like to get up at 6:30am when they don't have to go to work, haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clinch Leatherwood Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 See I beg to differ with your opinion... I think the advent of social media, forums, blogs, etc have made reports more accurate. The 80s and 90s had some horrific snow reporting, there was no way for anyone to prove resorts wrong, so they could say whatever they wanted. Now, if your report is off, or conditions suck and you said they are great, or the snowfall is inaccurate, you have a social media sh*tshow on your hands by 10am. Anyway, I look at a lot of snow reports every day, and I think what you need to do is accept that most mountains won't tell you not to come. Its a business. If you said that you might as well close (which MRG does often), but its like a restaurant saying, hey our food is spoiling and going bad as we speak, so come on in and enjoy it. They might as well just not open that day. What I look for though in snow reports is to read more between the lines. If places aren't telling you to come, or aren't telling you its fantastic, its probably not. I do put some little things in the report when conditions are good/great... I have pretty high standards too. Often I just use the snow report as a place to give our mountain operations updates (ie. grooming, snowmaking, lifts, trails, trails closed for special reasons, and the weather forecast). I'm just not one for cliche marketing statements...mine can be dry at times, haha. While we are on this, here are a few snow reports from today. None say its awful (because if you did, you might as well close for the day), but none also tell you that you NEED to come experience these great conditions. It is what it is. Sunday River report2.jpg Stowe report.jpg Sugarbush report3.jpg Killington report4.jpg Okemo report5.jpg Webcams painted the picture...the few cams from the resorts I checked were pretty empty today. Here's my take as someone who has skied heavily from about Xmas into January every year for the last 5 or 6. The race to have the most trails/miles open between "some" of these resorts took a little toll this year on the trails already open. IE, instead of dumping snow on a core of 40 or 45 trails they rushed to open 60 or 70 thinking/not forecasting the torches in between and the ice storm. So as a result instead of having a 30" base of mostly manmade on some key trails it was maybe 15-20 as they fired the guns up on other trails. When we took these hits the trails that they were building on torched and the ones that would have had 30" but only had 15" were down to dirty snow, rocks and shards of branches during the worst of days. This wasn't rarely used or new trails this was main links that were shockingly thin or icy. I think maybe a lesson was learned this year as the conditions suffered somewhat. I'd rather have 50 trails deep in manmade/snow then 30 trails deep and 40 that are really dodgy just so they can say we "have the most miles open xxx" Up until a year or two ago 25-40 trails open NYE week was the norm even in good snow years. This year they pushed 70-80 with very little real snow. Probably spread themselves a bit thinner hedging that the cutters wouldn't happen. For the record we're a first chair family....usually up before the lift "opens" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoarfrostHubb Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Morning is key but I rarely get to do that. I get the leftovers at night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N. OF PIKE Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 I try to get first chair , me , uncle and kids get it @830 bc by 10am its crap. Next time im in the area i will try cranmore or wildcat dependin on temps. I actually like 4 or 5 of cranmore trails alot and havent ski'd the mtn in about a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blizzard118 Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Hi all. I usually don't post too much but I am a little concerned about next week. I am planning to head up to stowe next Wednesday to Sunday for some skiing. Does anyone have any insight on how the trails and conditions look? Any info would be greatly appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lava Rock Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Hi all. I usually don't post too much but I am a little concerned about next week. I am planning to head up to stowe next Wednesday to Sunday for some skiing. Does anyone have any insight on how the trails and conditions look? Any info would be greatly appreciated! Rock skis? This next event is looking awful. Salt in the wound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clinch Leatherwood Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Rock skis? This next event is looking awful. Salt in the wound. SR didn't make a huge push to reopen the closed trails and it doesn't sound based on their reports like they're blasting a ton of snow. I think the writing is on the wall....close the shades, maintain what you have/core trails and wait it out. The debate from a few days ago is increasingly moot. If two cutters are in store MLK looks bleak unless Leon makes an appearance immediately prior. Glad we opted for other activities that weekend this year. More skiing time later on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Hi all. I usually don't post too much but I am a little concerned about next week. I am planning to head up to stowe next Wednesday to Sunday for some skiing. Does anyone have any insight on how the trails and conditions look? Any info would be greatly appreciated! The snowmaking trails have plenty of base, but forget anything "off-piste". The snowpack isn't going to get wiped out, but it won't be pleasant to ski on such a variable surface. What I hate is more the aesthetics of it looking like late March rather than January. At least during the cold snaps, there's been a lot of snow made. Unfortunately, no control over the natural snow trails. Man-made snow lasts till May, so I wouldn't sweat the rock skis next week unless you are planning on ducking ropes to attempt the natural trails, lol. Regarding conditions, its going to be a day by day thing depending on temperatures and recent precipitation. The surface at 30F will be better than at 10F, and even better at like 35F. The best surfaces can usually be right around the freezing point, as it loosens up the snow. We're probably looking at a granular surface for a while, but granular at warmer temps can ski as smooth as spring corn. You start to get the edges of the grains to moisten and it creates a smoother, more fluid bond and interacts well with ski bases. Unlike really cold temps when that just locks up and the crystals have a more rigid bond, you don't get as smooth a ride. To be honest, warmer weather isn't a bad thing necessarily, its the rain that often accompanies the warmth and then the freeze that follows. That's why spring skiing can be so enjoyable at like 35 degrees...you get a nice glistening in the snow that enhances the glide and its a smooth ride. The problem arises with sharp temperature drops and the precipitation that comes with the more mild temperatures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderfreak Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Webcams painted the picture...the few cams from the resorts I checked were pretty empty today. Remember that this week is also historically the lowest occupancy week in January at most ski areas. So yes, its going to be pretty empty. On Monday when it rained, if there was a day for it to be bad, that was the day. There wouldn't be anyone there even if it was a great day. Not many people take vacations immediately after they just had like 1-2 weeks off from work or school for the holidays. How many families do you know that went on vacation or traveled in the prior couple weeks, and how many families do you know are traveling this week? The first Mon-Friday period after January 1st is notoriously empty. MLK weekend is really the next time of crowds. Hotels in town that were 100% full for two weeks, are at 30% this week. This lack of visitors also plays into the part that most mountains are making snow to deepen base depths on certain trails, and aren't out there trying to resurface 40 trails in the next few days. Visits in past seasons are generally pretty low until MLK weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clinch Leatherwood Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 The snowmaking trails have plenty of base, but forget anything "off-piste". The snowpack isn't going to get wiped out, but it won't be pleasant to ski on such a variable surface. What I hate is more the aesthetics of it looking like late March rather than January. At least during the cold snaps, there's been a lot of snow made. Unfortunately, no control over the natural snow trails. Man-made snow lasts till May, so I wouldn't sweat the rock skis next week unless you are planning on ducking ropes to attempt the natural trails, lol. Regarding conditions, its going to be a day by day thing depending on temperatures and recent precipitation. The surface at 30F will be better than at 10F, and even better at like 35F. The best surfaces can usually be right around the freezing point, as it loosens up the snow. We're probably looking at a granular surface for a while, but granular at warmer temps can ski as smooth as spring corn. You start to get the edges of the grains to moisten and it creates a smoother, more fluid bond and interacts well with ski bases. Unlike really cold temps when that just locks up and the crystals have a more rigid bond, you don't get as smooth a ride. To be honest, warmer weather isn't a bad thing necessarily, its the rain that often accompanies the warmth and then the freeze that follows. That's why spring skiing can be so enjoyable at like 35 degrees...you get a nice glistening in the snow that enhances the glide and its a smooth ride. The problem arises with sharp temperature drops and the precipitation that comes with the more mild temperatures. I suppose a larger problem is the timing as well...you're not going to see the moms and pops rush to go ski in torrential rains this weekend. Timing continues to stink. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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