The 2017-18 Ski Season Thread

[MarkO]

50 minutes ago, Dan76 said:

Click on his page and you can see it from his go pro, bindings must of been set on 0

I noticed that yesterday in his first post (Backcountry Touring in the Northeast), that right ski popped off very early, but Alex also said he was already done by that point and I kinda agree. He looked pretty off balance when that right ski caught that snow snake (for lack of a better term). He was pretty lucky he didn't faceplant those rocks up top and was able to walk away.

I'll be up on Friday with a few friends and my son. I'm planning on doing a run or two in the lower bowl and if the weather is ok, hike up into the snowfields and ski the right gully. Anything over a 30 degree pitch I call a "no fall" zone because that's where you start to pick up speed, but I think the right gully is probably the flattest route down. 

[LongBeachSurfFreak]

On 4/30/2018 at 2:20 PM, MarkO said:

I noticed that yesterday in his first post (Backcountry Touring in the Northeast), that right ski popped off very early, but Alex also said he was already done by that point and I kinda agree. He looked pretty off balance when that right ski caught that snow snake (for lack of a better term). He was pretty lucky he didn't faceplant those rocks up top and was able to walk away.

I'll be up on Friday with a few friends and my son. I'm planning on doing a run or two in the lower bowl and if the weather is ok, hike up into the snowfields and ski the right gully. Anything over a 30 degree pitch I call a "no fall" zone because that's where you start to pick up speed, but I think the right gully is probably the flattest route down. 

My buddy’s that hiked it recently said the ice was so bad it’s not skiable. Matches what pf said about the ice storm up high on Stowe a couple weeks ago 

[Angus]

May Day ski at Killington today. Skied from 10:30ish to 3:45 when I had to call it a day. Only the Superstar Quad is now running which limits the terrain. Lots of snow higher up on mountain. Was raining pretty good as I drove from 89 to 100 in the morning and the sun didn't really make an appearance until 11:30ish. Around 1:45, a front pass overhead and we had some frozen rain...kind of strange. After that blue sky. Boatload of snow on superstar. Skiing was good. Snow didnt setup overnite due to lack of freeze and was heavy. Pretty much skied bumps the entire day.

[powderfreak]

The skinning and skiing remains limitless with options as we head into May.  Probably could still have more trails open to start May than after a Christmas week thaw.  Top-to-bottom natural and snowmaking trails.  Decent trickle of folks today heading up for some exercise and a lap in the sun.

This is about as robust as I've seen it to start May in my decade living around here.  Plenty of glades could be skied on May 1 this year.

Every year Mansfield surprises me in the spring with how much snowpack it builds up and how well it preserves it.  Hard to find a front-side of the ski resort in the East besides Sugarloaf that looks like this type of coverage.

 

This is looking from the top of Sunny Spruce area towards the top of the Gondola.  I mean its buried.  Could still ski the Rock Garden up in the Alpine or the woods off Chin Clip.

[Ginx snewx]

18 hours ago, powderfreak said:

The skinning and skiing remains limitless with options as we head into May.  Probably could still have more trails open to start May than after a Christmas week thaw.  Top-to-bottom natural and snowmaking trails.  Decent trickle of folks today heading up for some exercise and a lap in the sun.

This is about as robust as I've seen it to start May in my decade living around here.  Plenty of glades could be skied on May 1 this year.

Every year Mansfield surprises me in the spring with how much snowpack it builds up and how well it preserves it.  Hard to find a front-side of the ski resort in the East besides Sugarloaf that looks like this type of coverage.

 

This is looking from the top of Sunny Spruce area towards the top of the Gondola.  I mean its buried.  Could still ski the Rock Garden up in the Alpine or the woods off Chin Clip.

IDk Sunday River looks pretty good too and its 1k lower than your skiable terrain

[Angus]

I was going to mention in my entry yesterday that coming down 89, you get glimpses of Sunapee. Looks pretty much top to bottom snow. That is rare this time of year. I do think the heat today, really beat up the slopes. I took a quick look at the webcams at both wildcat and sugarloaf.

[Sugarloaf1989]

I'm skiing at Whiteface on Saturday, never skied in New York State  in May.

[powderfreak]

On 5/2/2018 at 5:03 PM, Ginx snewx said:

IDk Sunday River looks pretty good too and its 1k lower than your skiable terrain

You're right... I always forget about Sunday River. 

Sugarloaf is always on the brain...but yeah you're right.

[powderfreak]

Hiked and skied 4 days so far this week.  I love the closed ski area... something about the hustle and bustle of the whole winter that it is just nice to get out and wander around by yourself and enjoy the scenery.

Cinco de Mayo on Mount Mansfield.

[radarman]

Berkshire East has purchased Catamount.  Good news.  They're building a new lodge which is key. 

[HoarfrostHubb]

2 hours ago, radarman said:

Berkshire East has purchased Catamount.  Good news.  They're building a new lodge which is key. 

Wow.  I'm actually surprised at that.

[Sugarloaf1989]

Magic Mountain is getting Strattons South Bowl Quad to replace the Black Chairlift. Stratton is replacing the lift with a HSQ.

[Angus]

23 minutes ago, Sugarloaf1989 said:

Magic Mountain is getting Strattons South Bowl Quad to replace the Black Chairlift. Stratton is replacing the lift with a HSQ.

It would be nice to see them succeed. Stratton, Bromley and Magic provide a nice mix of variety and experience all within a short radius for that area. Lift infrastructure has been an obvious weakness of Magic's. They absolutely crushed it this March and lift lines were pretty bad from what I heard. 

Sugarloaf1989 - did you ski Whiteface on Saturday?

[HIPPYVALLEY]

1 hour ago, Sugarloaf1989 said:

Magic Mountain is getting Strattons South Bowl Quad to replace the Black Chairlift. Stratton is replacing the lift with a HSQ.

That is great news.   I love that mountain but it is rustic.

[HIPPYVALLEY]

On 5/7/2018 at 11:23 AM, HoarfrostHubb said:

Wow.  I'm actually surprised at that.

Yeah, maybe Lurker has the inside details on that?

[Baroclinic Zone]

So Boyne has gone from operating Loon, Sunday River, Sugarloaf to now owning them.

[Sugarloaf1989]

2 hours ago, Angus said:

It would be nice to see them succeed. Stratton, Bromley and Magic provide a nice mix of variety and experience all within a short radius for that area. Lift infrastructure has been an obvious weakness of Magic's. They absolutely crushed it this March and lift lines were pretty bad from what I heard. 

Sugarloaf1989 - did you ski Whiteface on Saturday?

I didn't ski Whiteface on Saturday but my son did. The rain and warm weather the previous few day's melted allot of snow. Walking was required about halfway down the run, something I can't do with MS.

The strong storms the night before also knocked out power leaving the Facelift chair running on back-up diesel power. The plan was for Little Whiteface skiing, but this was not possible without power.

[CoolMike]

On 5/9/2018 at 2:04 PM, Baroclinic Zone said:

So Boyne has gone from operating Loon, Sunday River, Sugarloaf to now owning them.

This should be better for everyone involved.  I recall there was some kerfuffle between the condo owners, the resort owners, and Boyne due to confusion as to who was responsible for what when it comes to maintenance, upgrades, and operations details.  Having Boyne own the resorts means they have better incentive to continuously update and improve the surrounding area since it will only increase the value of their property.  

[Skivt2]

Great skiing at a Killington this past weekend.  Should have at least 2 more weekends.  

[Baroclinic Zone]

17 hours ago, CoolMike said:

This should be better for everyone involved.  I recall there was some kerfuffle between the condo owners, the resort owners, and Boyne due to confusion as to who was responsible for what when it comes to maintenance, upgrades, and operations details.  Having Boyne own the resorts means they have better incentive to continuously update and improve the surrounding area since it will only increase the value of their property.  

So far that appears to be what SR will be focusing on.  Many of the Condos at the Resort are aging and are in need of replacing/upgrade.

[CapturedNature]

Question for the skiers out there.  Late in the season my son expressed interest in learning to ski and I'd like to go out with him next season but haven't gone skiing in 20+ years.  One of my issues is wide feet and finding properly fitting boots.  One of the reasons I stopped was my inability to find properly fitting boots and how the boots I had made my feet and ankles hurt.  Can someone point me in the direction of getting a wide boot?  I figure it's never too early to start looking!

[Angus]

Can't speak to any bootfitters/ski shops down your way but if you are in market to buy a pair of boots, it would probably be worth purchasing a pair of custom footbeds. Best thing I ever did. Typically, if you are buying a pair of boots, you can get a nice discount on the footbed. Ski boots, like shoes, come in different widths. I have a problem because I have a relatively small calf and find a lot of boots aren't don't fit me well. 

[Professional Lurker]

Question for the skiers out there.  Late in the season my son expressed interest in learning to ski and I'd like to go out with him next season but haven't gone skiing in 20+ years.  One of my issues is wide feet and finding properly fitting boots.  One of the reasons I stopped was my inability to find properly fitting boots and how the boots I had made my feet and ankles hurt.  Can someone point me in the direction of getting a wide boot?  I figure it's never too early to start looking!

https://www.skis.com/Rossignol-Alias-Sensor-120-Ski-Boots/351508P,default,pd.html

Those are my boots. Very happy with them with my very wide feet.

Sent from my LG-LS998 using Tapatalk

[Skivt2]

On 5/15/2018 at 9:12 AM, MetHerb said:

Question for the skiers out there.  Late in the season my son expressed interest in learning to ski and I'd like to go out with him next season but haven't gone skiing in 20+ years.  One of my issues is wide feet and finding properly fitting boots.  One of the reasons I stopped was my inability to find properly fitting boots and how the boots I had made my feet and ankles hurt.  Can someone point me in the direction of getting a wide boot?  I figure it's never too early to start looking!

Buy boots from a reputable ski shop with full time professional boot fitters with unlimited free fittings and who stand 100% behind the boots and will replace them if you end up with an incorrect fit,  We use Norhern Ski works in Killington and they are top notch.  All you need to do is go there.  They will figure out what boot you need and then custom fit it.  Plan for spending a few hours on your first visit and then several follow up visits to tweak the fit after you use them several times.

[Hitman]

20 hours ago, Skivt2 said:

Buy boots from a reputable ski shop with full time professional boot fitters with unlimited free fittings and who stand 100% behind the boots and will replace them if you end up with an incorrect fit,  We use Norhern Ski works in Killington and they are top notch.  All you need to do is go there.  They will figure out what boot you need and then custom fit it.  Plan for spending a few hours on your first visit and then several follow up visits to tweak the fit after you use them several times.

+1.  Only go to a master bootfitter who will work with you for hours.  Most important thing you can do to be able to enjoy skiing.

[Whineminster]

On 5/15/2018 at 9:12 AM, MetHerb said:

Question for the skiers out there.  Late in the season my son expressed interest in learning to ski and I'd like to go out with him next season but haven't gone skiing in 20+ years.  One of my issues is wide feet and finding properly fitting boots.  One of the reasons I stopped was my inability to find properly fitting boots and how the boots I had made my feet and ankles hurt.  Can someone point me in the direction of getting a wide boot?  I figure it's never too early to start looking!

You're not alone, i actually tried skiing for a couple seasons but the boots would just kill me.  I've been a snowboarder all my life and the boots just work with my 4E foot so much better. 

[powderfreak]

Despite the lifts stopping at Stowe a month ago, I've still been able to average about 4 days on skis per week since then.

This rain may finish it off though, so if it does, we had a great time this morning enjoying the last of winter on Mount Mansfield.

[Skivt2]

Killington is doing really well with excellent skiing on Superstar but the top of the hill is getting a tad rocky.  Definately expecting lift served skiing next weekend although there may be some walking involved at some point.  Not sure about June.

[Lava Rock]

Despite the lifts stopping at Stowe a month ago, I've still been able to average about 4 days on skis per week since then.
This rain may finish it off though, so if it does, we had a great time this morning enjoying the last of winter on Mount Mansfield.

Awesome pics

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[amarshall]

Booking a trip for the Alta lodge with the kids for Feb break.  Has anyone else been?  I hear it's pretty basic which is fine.