The 2021-2022 Ski season thread

[radarman]

On 10/19/2021 at 4:14 PM, powderfreak said:

This kid had first turns of the season in VT (I believe) at Stowe this morning.  That’s dedication.

I had those skis.  They saw their share of snow.  And similarly they're rock skis now.

[radarman]

6 hours ago, MRVexpat said:

Good points, though even when I was more reckless about stuff like this I would want at least 5" over mowed MRG slopes before getting out there. Also icelantics have bulletproof bases so on that front he's probably incurring less risk as well, lol. 

Lol, they make a fun, light, poppy ski but I"m thinking 

[powderfreak]

21 hours ago, Angus said:

$69 advance purchase out west where the snow conditions are much less variable is probably a chance I would take. I'm hard pressed to purchase a ticket now for mid-march in NE and I will ski  in just about anything!

as I stated, I moved from the epic pass to the indy  pass this year. I already have a six days of skiing planned out west at indy areas. given some of the distances from metrowest boston, I am interested to see the # of days I get in - BEast, Magic, WV, Pat's Peak (night?), Cannon, Black are all day trips. Bolton (day trip viable!) and Jay will probably paired up as back-to-back days. Saddleback, I will combine with SLoaf 5 pack I purchased for something like $60/day.

Taking my skis to get tuned tomorrow!

So you’d pre-purchase 5 days at $60/day but not $69 for one day in the East?   Just curious there as the first statement seems like it’s insane to buy a ticket ahead of time in the east due to variability (not tied to a date, use anytime).

 

[Angus]

my 5 day pack at Boyne are any day of my choosing. I'm assuming I need to specify a day to purchase a $69 ticket in advance right now? I use to buy the SBush 4 pack but seemed to never use all 4 tickets. East coast conditions are too variable. 

[powderfreak]

3 hours ago, Angus said:

my 5 day pack at Boyne are any day of my choosing. I'm assuming I need to specify a day to purchase a $69 ticket in advance right now? I use to buy the SBush 4 pack but seemed to never use all 4 tickets. East coast conditions are too variable. 

Ahhh no you don’t have to pick a date.  Good any time.

The Epic Day passes can be used anytime… which frankly is terrifying but it’s a good deal.  Can get 4 days (any date non-holiday) to Vail Resort Mtns for $65 a day.  $33 per kid ticket.

1-day is $69 and it drops per day from there.  Don’t need to pick dates.

 

 

[Baroclinic Zone]

Here is some huge news.  Chet Homer is stepping aside as Owner of Shawnee Peak after 27 years.  Boyne Resorts has purchased Shawnee Peak and will be running the mountain moving forward.  Hopefully this will bring some more capital to make continued improvements to the mountain.

[GCWarrior]

1 hour ago, Baroclinic Zone said:

Here is some huge news.  Chet Homer is stepping aside as Owner of Shawnee Peak after 27 years.  Boyne Resorts has purchased Shawnee Peak and will be running the mountain moving forward.  Hopefully this will bring some more capital to make continued improvements to the mountain.

I just saw this! I wonder if they will offer 5 days on the Ikon pass this season.  I love Shawnee Peak. 

[Baroclinic Zone]

41 minutes ago, GCWarrior said:

I just saw this! I wonder if they will offer 5 days on the Ikon pass this season.  I love Shawnee Peak. 

Made some of my 1st turns skiing there when I was 5.  They used to had a t-bar across the street from base lodge.

Did majority of my teenage skiing there.  Was great when Shawnee bought them in the late 80s and added lights.  Used to from 4-10 and shred the mountain top to bottom because it was virtually empty.

[Angus]

@powderfreakThat's a good deal and I didn't see that this morning when your response got me to go on the stowe website. last year I skied Sunapee/Crotched/Okemo/Wildcat on my NE pass but as I documented throughout last season, my 'go-to' mountain, Wildcat, was disappointing. My 3 days at Stowe were the best skiing of the season.

[Angus]

1 hour ago, Baroclinic Zone said:

Made some of my 1st turns skiing there when I was 5.  They used to had a t-bar across the street from base lodge.

My uncle was skiing there in the 50's. I took my first chairlift ride there in the early 70's in the summer. IMO, good addition for Boyne for the Portland market - betting weekday nights will get significantly more busy as the weekend skiers at SR and SLoaf have a convenient night skiing option. Looks like they are not integrating with the Boyne pass this season - 

 

[radarman]

21 hours ago, powderfreak said:

Ahhh no you don’t have to pick a date.  Good any time.

The Epic Day passes can be used anytime… which frankly is terrifying but it’s a good deal.  Can get 4 days (any date non-holiday) to Vail Resort Mtns for $65 a day.  $33 per kid ticket.

1-day is $69 and it drops per day from there.  Don’t need to pick dates.

 

 

Thanks this is an awesome deal.  Just bought a couple.

[PowderBeard]

On 10/20/2021 at 1:36 PM, MRVexpat said:

Good points, though even when I was more reckless about stuff like this I would want at least 5" over mowed MRG slopes before getting out there. Also icelantics have bulletproof bases so on that front he's probably incurring less risk as well, lol. 

I think I will try Icelantics for my next pair of 110-115 waisted sticks. Any likes or dislikes? I usually prefer a super stiff ski with a little rocker.

[Lava Rock]

Flakes flying on the Sugarloaf cams.

[MRVexpat]

5 hours ago, PowderBeard said:

I think I will try Icelantics for my next pair of 110-115 waisted sticks. Any likes or dislikes? I usually prefer a super stiff ski with a little rocker.

I have only owned a vanguard 97 for touring duties. Minimal camber and plenty of rocker (like most of their models) made for a ski that liked to pivot and make quick turns in the woods. I have skied the Nomad 105 as well. Not the stiffest ski I've ever ridden but a progressive flex made for a poppy yet stable ride. I think they make a 115 as well. 

[radarman]

6 hours ago, PowderBeard said:

I think I will try Icelantics for my next pair of 110-115 waisted sticks. Any likes or dislikes? I usually prefer a super stiff ski with a little rocker.

I have the Natural 111s from last year.  They are super lightweight and make for a really good touring ski.  They're quite surfy in powder and I like em a lot, but if the idea is to hard charge all the time, I think you could do better. 

[powderfreak]

Want to be in the Sierra right now.

Mammoth Lakes, CA.

Sugarbowl.

[MarkO]

Maybe PF can answer this question. We have one fan gun we cover a 1 acre practice slope with. Do you think if we move it a little farther up the mountain we can cover another 2+ acres pushing it up to 1000' to the top of the chair lift ramp?

[powderfreak]

22 minutes ago, MarkO said:

Maybe PF can answer this question. We have one fan gun we cover a 1 acre practice slope with. Do you think if we move it a little farther up the mountain we can cover another 2+ acres pushing it up to 1000' to the top of the chair lift ramp?

Hmm I’m not sure I totally understand the question but my first reaction is pushing snow uphill is hard.  No matter what you are trying to cover, it’s easiest (by far) to push snow and spread it out downhill… so start higher rather than lower.  Not sure how much water you can move, is the one fan gun maxed out?

[MarkO]

The fan gun has 200' of hose/electric. We can't blow it up top due to pressure/electric/water being at the bottom. It's about 200' vertical from where we can blow from to the top. Next winter we hope to install a snow makign system, but trying to find out if we can cover one trail in December. Taking into account how much time it takes to cover an acre, I think we have the time to produce the volume, should the temperatures cooperate.

[Baroclinic Zone]

36 minutes ago, MarkO said:

The fan gun has 200' of hose/electric. We can't blow it up top due to pressure/electric/water being at the bottom. It's about 200' vertical from where we can blow from to the top. Next winter we hope to install a snow makign system, but trying to find out if we can cover one trail in December. Taking into account how much time it takes to cover an acre, I think we have the time to produce the volume, should the temperatures cooperate.

Campton Mountain?

[PhineasC]

How quickly can some of these places blow snow to get some trails open? The extended doesn't look all that cold to me through the early part of November so any plans to open the 2nd to 3rd week of November seem kinda suspect. I am not sure how quickly they can get it going though.

[MarkO]

Campton Mountain is right!

Killington has the capacity to cover a trail in probably 24 hours, although that's really a guess based on what I've seen them do on a trail like Superstar.

 

 

[PowderBeard]

1 hour ago, MarkO said:

Campton Mountain is right!

Killington has the capacity to cover a trail in probably 24 hours, although that's really a guess based on what I've seen them do on a trail like Superstar.

 

 

Not sure about Superstar but I know North Ridge (Rime, Reason, Upper EF) area they can get enough base in about 12 hours, then a few hours of pushing/grooming to open. 

[PhineasC]

35 minutes ago, PowderBeard said:

Not sure about Superstar but I know North Ridge (Rime, Reason, Upper EF) area they can get enough base in about 12 hours, then a few hours of pushing/grooming to open. 

Wow, that's pretty quick. 

[PowderBeard]

12 hours ago, PhineasC said:

Wow, that's pretty quick. 

Crotched in NH probably has the best system around. When I was a Peaks holder in 2011-2014 they would "resurface" the entire mountain (~100 acres) after any liquid event or free/thaw cycle. Basically just blanket the mountain in 4-6", the conditions were always fantastic, rarely heard hard pack noises. They run into issues come February because they have limited water supply. 

[radarman]

I watched the TGR In Pursuit of Soul movie last night and I have to admit I was pretty disappointed by it.  They basically went all in on the anti-corporate messaging and the family business aspects and the interesting locals that inhabit these areas... which is fine, other than being more than a bit unfair to some of the bigger resorts, those stories deserved to be in there... But it was like watching the Olympics on NBC, all fluff pieces and tug at the heartstrings testimonials.  Where was the skiing??? Where were the people saying, "I ski here because it's sick!" ?  I was at Berkshire East the day TGR was filming and I can tell you it was one of the best days in years with some of the biggest features on the mountain in play.  Was so looking forward to seeing some of the pros killing it.   Between Magic and Saddleback and all the other places they could have made a real ski film that highlighted the bona fides and not just the nostalgia and the quirkiness.

[MRVexpat]

25 minutes ago, radarman said:

I watched the TGR In Pursuit of Soul movie last night and I have to admit I was pretty disappointed by it.  They basically went all in on the anti-corporate messaging and the family business aspects and the interesting locals that inhabit these areas... which is fine, other than being more than a bit unfair to some of the bigger resorts, those stories deserved to be in there... But it was like watching the Olympics on NBC, all fluff pieces and tug at the heartstrings testimonials.  Where was the skiing??? Where were the people saying, "I ski here because it's sick!" ?  I was at Berkshire East the day TGR was filming and I can tell you it was one of the best day in years with some of the biggest features on the mountain in play.  Was so looking forward to seeing some of the pros killing it.   Between Magic and Saddleback and all the other places they could have made a real ski film that highlighted the bona fides and not just the nostalgia and the quirkiness.

Bummer, was looking forward to that one. Will still watch but like you said, was hoping for some skiing!!!

[Angus]

They do that - I think - exclusively with pole mounted fan guns (I guess a few on wheels too). It is one of the reasons why I always recommend Crotched for young families. The snow conditions are always excellent after washout/freeze up, et cetera. The trails have about zero character but I like it and it is a great resource for the community. Took the kids there all the time when they were young. When mid-night madness went until 2am, I was skiing after midnight once in a whiteout of 'Utah" powder for 1 or 2 runs as a cold front pushed through, then the sky cleared completely and the cold, moonless sky was spectacular - very memorable. At that point, I think I was the only sober person on the hill - was all kids from local colleges I think.

[powderfreak]

20 hours ago, MarkO said:

The fan gun has 200' of hose/electric. We can't blow it up top due to pressure/electric/water being at the bottom. It's about 200' vertical from where we can blow from to the top. Next winter we hope to install a snow makign system, but trying to find out if we can cover one trail in December. Taking into account how much time it takes to cover an acre, I think we have the time to produce the volume, should the temperatures cooperate.

Do you have a snowcat to push uphill?  Its something that being familiar with the snow output of the operation that if you think you can do it, you probably can.  Mother Nature is the biggest wildcard though.

[powderfreak]

17 hours ago, PowderBeard said:

Not sure about Superstar but I know North Ridge (Rime, Reason, Upper EF) area they can get enough base in about 12 hours, then a few hours of pushing/grooming to open. 

Yeah depends on what people mean when they say "cover a trail" because there's making it white, making it skiable, and then making it an actual product that you can sustain traffic on.

Killington North Ridge area is like 500 verts and the trails are reasonably narrow.  That's like 24 hours and you can groom it out with a cat.  12 hours and you can probably open it ungroomed.

At Stowe we have to open top-to-bottom and need at least a good 72-hour run time to adequately put depth down on 2,000 vertical feet to the point where it can sustain daily grooming and skier traffic.... as well as put enough snow/depth around the lift load/unloads to support operations.  

Still, it can happen pretty fast.  It can be warm until like November 12th and then get a cold shot in the teens and things are ready to go like 4 days later.  A place like Killington opening the North Ridge can pull it off in probably 36-48 hours from gun start time to loading public skiers on a lift.