My New Blog for 2014/15!

http://justgivemeagroomer.blogspot.com

Day 98 - Killington

#justgivemeagroomer    Out 8:00 to 11:15 with a coffee break; cold and snowing - 2" from 8:00 to 10:30; 13 runs; 15,000 vertical; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's; skied with Susan and Jay through coffee; Dip Dip was groomed - I did 5; conditions remain baby soft.

Day 97 - Killington

#justgivemeagroomer    8:00 to 10:00 with a coffee break; 20° overcast and very windy; 6 runs; 7,000 vertical; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's; skied with Susan and Jay; still soft packed powder.

Day 96 - Killington

#justgivemeagroomer    9:30 to 12:00 with a coffee break; 3" new snow overnight snowing and windy with temps in the twenties - another inch or so this morning; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 17's; 10 runs; 12,500 vertical; the snow remains really soft; 4" of snow yesterday too.

Day 95 - Killington

#justgivemeagroomer    Out 9:30 to 11:00; upper twenties, overcast, and very windy; 8 runs; 9,000 vertical; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's; skipped today's two run Ski Bum - both times I went over the line was huge; conditions still excellent; knee still hurts.

Day 94 - Killington

Out 10:30 to 1:00; 20° with increasing light overcast and no wind; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's; 11 runs; 14,500 vertical; Lower Downdraft groomed was worth doing 3 times.

Day 93 - Killington

It's good to be home... and park 5 ft. from the snow for free. Out 11:15 to 2:30 no breaks; mid-teens, full sun, no wind; 17 runs; 19,100 vertical; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 17's; very few people on the hill today; still dry packed powder - a few of the steeper trails were starting to firm up; Lower O was groomed so I did like 6; feeling much better - I can tell because my knee is once again more noticeable than all the congestion in my lungs.

Day 92 - Copper Mountain

Writing this 3 days after the fact. Skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's; 21.16 NASTAR - Gold; was still sick - just out for a few runs since I'd already paid for a lift ticket.

Day 91 - Arapahoe Basin

Still sick as a dog - I wish I'd just cough up a lung and be done with it! Out 9:00 to 12:00 with a coffee break - just long enough to make a couple off Pallavicini, see the rest of the mountain and go back to the hotel and climb in bed; 20° or so, bright sunshine and a stout breeze; skied the Blizzard Brahmas; 8 runs or so; unknown vertical; even the greens here are blue.

Day 90 - Breckenridge

Sick as a dog today - almost didn't go out. Out 11:30 until 3:15 without any breaks; bluebird day with temps in the upper twenties on the hill; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's; 20 runs or so; unknown vertical; tons of people - I mean a lot; stuck to the groomers - lots to be had; Peak 10 groomers (Centennial, Double Jack, and Crystal) were supreme; the altitude still sucks the life right out of me; Breck has the money extraction routine down tight - bought lift ticket, paid for parking, and paid for lunch before actually hitting the snow.

Not Breck, but taken this morning

Day 89 - Crested Butte

Another beautiful spring day. Out 10:00 to 2:00 with Radvanyi; skied the Blizzard Brahmas; lots of groomers and just a couple 'other' things - thanks for taking it easy on me today Chris; took a couple of good falls this morning, including one where my boot must of stuck a rock or something as I tumbled, because 3 of the 4 teeth on one of the metal buckle clasps are now broken or severely deformed - update a few days later: I also totally destroyed the skis - bases and edges - as bad as I've ever done before; a fairly large crowd, but no real lift lines; the Silver Queen Express lift might be the most efficient lift I've ever ridden - extremely fast with more or less top-to-bottom coverage on a big hill (maybe 2,500 vert?) and access to all types of terrain; very cool looking down, and I mean down, on the town of Crested Butte from the top of the mountain; very tired.

Day 88 - Telluride

Out 9:00 to 2:00 with Radvanyi and Natress - I bailed on the two Chris' when they hiked Palmyra Peak after lunch; spectacular panorama of the San Juan’s from the top; skied Blizzard Brahmas; as I'm writing this a couple of days after the fact, I can't really remember what we skied, just that my overall impression of the mountain was a luxury Sunday River on steroids; countless million $ homes in Mountain Village.

Day 87 - Silverton

Serious skiing. Radvanyi & Natress were here today as well. 5 runs, 4 of which were heli-drops. The San Juan's are serious mountains. US-550 from Ouray to Silverton to Durango is quite a road - a scary drive, but exceptionally beautiful. Silverton is a ski lift and helicopter pad, not really a ski resort.

Day 86 - Jackson Hole

Out 9:00 to 1:30 with a lunch break; 5" new snow overnight on the hill; mostly sunny with very little wind and temps at the top around freezing at noon, mid-forties at the base; skied the Blizzard Brahmas; 19 runs; 22,400 vertical; needed to give my legs a break so it was mostly groomers today; I did take the time to stand in the Tram line and go to the top for a look down Crobett's - it's doable, just not by me.

Looking up Corbett's from the top of the Gondi

Back Bowls from the far side of Rendezvous Bowl

Day 85 - Jackson Hole

Hello spring. Out 9:00 till 2:00 with a quick lunch break; 9" cement overnight, 35° at mid-mountain at lunch, 45° at the base at 2:00, mostly sunny, virtually no wind; skied the Volkl Katanas; 17 runs; 20,800 vertical; fully explored all the intermediate black and blue terrain off Apres Vous and Casper before lunch, then moved on to Thunder and Sublette; toughest thing I did today was the Tower 3 Chute off Sublette; nicest thing I did today was first run in Saratoga Bowl off Apres Vous; the Tram just seems out of reach - huge lines in the morning and by the time the line dies, so do I; very heavy snow today; tired legs.

Day 84 - Jackson Hole

The scale of every thing here is impressive. Out 9:45 to 3:00 with a lunch break; 6" new snow, cloudy and windy; skied the Volkl Katanas; 15 runs, 21,700 vertical; tons of snow here; used my first day here to check out the mountain - started out on lower level stuff and worked my way up most of the mountain, but never came back down for a Tram ride to the top; did Alta 1 & 2, but passed on 0 - pretty sure that means I'll bail on Corbett's too.

Day 83 - Steamboat

Ski and Travel Day. Out 9:00 to 12:00 with a 5 minute Boat Burger break; upper twenties, in and out sun, a little wind; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheaters; 18 runs; unknown vert; 9.46 NASTAR today; the drive from Steamboat to Jackson Hole was beautiful.

Day 82 - Steamboat

Out 8:30 to 12:30 - no break; 2" wet snow overnight; mostly cloudy; temps in the upper twenties; very windy - in fact the gondola and the top of the mountain were closed; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's; 25 runs or so, but 20 or more over on NASTAR; 6.77 today at NASTAR - platinum; with the upper mountain closed it seemed very crowded.

Day 81 - Winter Park

A very nice day. Out 9:00 till 2:00 with a ¾ hour lunch break; 8" of fresh, skies cleared around 11:00, temps held steady around 20° or so on the hill, very little wind; skied the Volkl Katanas; probably around 12 runs or so, no idea how much vertical.

I was lucky enough to share my second chair lift ride with Alice, a local women with an ever present smile, who was kind enough to show me tons of untracked trees. I was surprised at the strength of Alice's skiing, given she used purely alpine technique on teli gear. I know, all teli skiers revert to alpine at times, but she pressed it nicely. Just one last thought: I'm not used to following - is that good or bad?

Day 80 - Steamboat

Thank God is started to snow this afternoon... lots of old crud, groomed death cookies, and frozen granular - felt like home; out 8:30 to 2:00; about 35 runs - 20 using the short lift next to NASTAR; unknown vertical; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's and the Blizzard Brahma's; 10.33 today at NASTAR - Platinium; even disregarding the snow conditions, I'm not all the impressed with the mountain - expansive, yes but not very much sustained steep; maybe some new snow will help my disposition; taking 13 days off was a huge mistake - I'm tired as hell, but maybe that's just the 17 NASTAR and 2 warm-up course runs talking.

Day 79 - Killington

Powder Day. Out 8:35 to 12:10 with coffee; 11 runs, 12,333 vertical; skied the Volkl Katanas; near blizzard conditions continued all day, 18"-20" so far; knee deep everywhere; first shot at a spectacular waist deep drift skiers left all the way down Mouse Trap; too much snow to ski low angle stuff - wallowed around a while getting out of Caper Woods.

Day 78 - Killington

Volkl SL History Day. Out 9:00 to 1:00 with a coffee break; teens, snow, and wind; started snowing at about 11:00 - 12"+ forecast for this afternoon and evening; 23 runs; 15,400 vertical; skied the P50's, P60's, RaceTigers, and World Cups; the P50's felt similar to the Head Cheater 17's; the P60's and the RaceTigers felt like slalom skis - turny; the World Cups felt great on the flat, but were too stiff for me to keep in front of on any pitch what so ever; the snow was fantastic - soft pack with new snow falling.

Day 77 - Killington

Wednesday Ski Bum Race. On the hill 9:00 to 1:15 with a coffee break; clear, cold, and still; 14 runs; 16,750 vertical; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's; Ski Bum Race Result: 27.72 (21) +4.13 behind leader; groomed packed powder everywhere; Downdraft and Dip Dip were groomed and the Quad was running - nice.

Day 76 - Killington

Atomic GS History Day. On the hill 9:00 to 1:00 with a coffee break; 1" new snow, single digit temps, cloudy, a little windy, intermittent light snow; just enough new snow on top of the grooming to completely cover the ridges; skied the Atomic ARC 24's, Atomic 10.22's, Atomic GS-11's, Atomic GS-12's, and Atomic D2 Race GS #2's; 3 runs on each, oldest to newest (ARC 24's to D2's); 16 runs; 17,200 vertical; surprised that each pair felt better than the last; only the ARC 24's felt straight - maybe they just felt long; the snow was velvety soft.

Day 75 - Killington

Powder day - 6" of bone dry, blower pow this morning; out 9:00 to 1:00 with a coffee break; Temps around 10°, cloudy, light winds, heavy snow squall when I left; 12 runs; 13,600 vertical; started with the Blizzard Brahmas, but changed to the K2 Apache Xplorers almost immediately to venture into the nats; did tons of stuff for the first time this season - Patsy's, Low Rider, Lower Great Bear, Northstar, Conclusion, Escapade; Big Dipper Glade; they cleared way too many trees out of Low Rider; 3 falls today - I believe that doubles this year's total.

Day 74 - Killington

KSC Masters Training; out 8:30 to 11:00; 8 GS runs on Bunny; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's; beautiful day, 15° Sunny - no wind; the snow is still soft and dry.

Day 73 - Killington

On the hill from 9:00 to 12:30 with a coffee break; cold and windy with a diminishing K-Cloud; 14 runs; 16,425 vertical; skied the Atomic GS-12's - still my favorite skis; packed powder everywhere; Double Rime Fall was soft and smooth.

Day 72 - Killington

Out 9:00 till noon; 6”+ since yesterday, 3” last night; clear and cold, no wind; skied the Volkl Katanas;  6 runs; 8,100 vertical; powder and packed powder everywhere; Vagabond was good; Patsy's was open, but I passed - it looked thin.

Day 71 - Killington

9:00 to 12:00 with a coffee break; 6" new snow - the snow slowed considerably when I left, but started again hard as I got home; skied the Volkl Katanas; 9 runs; 12,100 vertical; lots of people on the hill today.

Day 70 - Killington

Out 9:00 till 12:30 with a KBL coffee break; 17 runs; 19,500 vertical; skied the Blizzard Brahmas; sunny and 20° with a little bit of wind;

Day 69 - Killington

Out 9:00 to 1:00 with a quick coffee break in KBL; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's; 21 runs; 27,250 vertical; OL groomed - 7; Supe Groomed - 7; Canyon - 7; conditions down the intersection of Lower Downdraft & Dip Dip were unbelievably difficult today - I only did each one once, then moved on; mid-twenties, overcast with little wind - light snow up high when I left.

Day 68 - Ski Sawmill

Surprised how nice it was for such a small hill - 225 vertical; out from 12:30 until 5:00 with a couple of short breaks; overcast with temps comfortably around freezing; 25 runs; 5,600 vertical; skied the Volkl RaceTiger SL Cheaters and the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 17's; picked up new skis from FedEx in Horseheads

Day 67 - Killington

Out 9:00 until 12:00 no break; sunny but cold, low-single digit temps; 11 runs; 12,000 vertical; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's; 2-Run Ski Bum:   Run 1 - 28.57 (20)   Run 2 - 29.10 (19)   Total: - 57.67 (17)   +10.46 behind Sardelli; conditions remain good.

Day 66 - Killington

On the hill from 9:00 until 1:30 with a coffee beak; clear, cold, and windy; -5° for first chair, -1° when I left; 20 runs + 6 Snowdon Poma's; 27,700 vertical; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 17's; very few people, very good snow.

Day 65 - Killington

On the hill from 9:00 until 1:00 with a coffee break; temps falling through the twenties as a quick 3" of snow fell in a howling wind storm; 17 runs; 23,750 vertical; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's and changed to the Volkl Katanas after coffee; I'm looking for a new name for the blog - any ideas?

Day 64 - Stratton

NEMS GS   Run 1: 1:29.22 (95)   Run 2: 1:31.82 (96)   Total: 3:01.04 (91)   15° and snow accumulating to 4" by the time I left at 2:30; skied the Atomic D2 Race GS #1 and #2's.

Day 63 - Pico

Out for 45 minutes at 3:15 just to keep the feel for the GS skis before tomorrow's Master's Race at Stratton; clear and cold, 5° with a very light breeze; skied the Atomic D2 Race GS #2's; went down on Gold Rush when I stepped out of my right ski - great way to start my ski day!

Day 62 - Gore Mountain

Thankfully, warmer today than I expected. On the hill from 8:30 until 1:00 with a coffee break; -14° at home when I left at 6:00 AM, but much warmer on the hill, 0° for first run and 8° when I left; brilliant sunshine with a light and variable wind; 21 runs; 24,100 vertical; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's; The Rumor wasn't open, but Lies was pretty good so I did like 9 or 10; nobody on the hill today but me, nice; my skiing feels better, but not as good as I'd like; I'm getting my hips much more forward and inside before applying pressure high and early - this is creating much higher edge angles and less skidding and gives me the ability to control or tighten the turn radius as needed.

Day 61 - Killington

On the hill just long enough not to freeze to death. Out for 4, then quickly in for coffee, then 5 more before calling it a day; -10° warming to a balmy -7°; brilliant sunshine didn't help much since there was a stiff wind that made it almost unbearable; skied the Atomic D2 Race GS #2's; nobody on the hill, not even very many people on the Gondi; Skyburst was pretty good; lots of snowmaking today.

Day 60 - Killington

On the hill from 9:00 until 1:00 with a rather long coffee break to warm up; increasing light overcast dimmed the morning's sunshine; -5° for first chair, 0° when I left; no wind; 22 runs; 26,600 vertical; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 17's; they've groomed everything flat, flat, flat; did 9 Superstars by 10:00; nobody, I mean nobody, on the hill today; wish I would have taken one of the Atomic 27's today.

Day 59 - Killington

Good day - it felt good to get some mileage. On the hill from 8:00 until 12:00 with just a quick coffee break; light snow accumulating to 2"; intermittently windy with temps in the low twenties; skied the Blizzard Brahmas; 21 runs; 22,800 vertical; light crowd for a holiday - never waited in a lift line and the KBL parking lots were only half full when I left at 12:00; hit a rock on Dip Dip and nailed the edge on the Brahmas - first time I've dinged them up; got to ski Lower Ovation and Outer Limits for the first time this year; felt pretty good today - I handled lots of tough conditions with ease; Lower O was gnarly, icy bumps; Lower Downdraft was flat, but an ice skating rink; Vertigo Headwall was an ice skating rink as well.

 

Day 58 - Middlebury

NEMS GS - DNF Run 1; on the hill from 8:30 until 11:00 - left after blowing out in Run 1; light snow accumulating to 2" with temps in the low twenties; skied the Atomic D2 Race GS #1 and #2's; a little disappointed.

Day 57 - Pico

ASRA GS - three runs back-to-back-to-back from about half way down B-Slope, best two counted;   Run 1: 32.94 (20)   Run 2: 33.27 (20)   Total: 66.21 (20)    On the hill from 8:30 until 11:30; mostly sunny with temps rising into the low thirties; skied the Atomic D2 Race GS #1 and #2's; feeling better skiing in the gates, but my times don't seem to be improving; first chair to the summit this morning for an unobstructed run down a well groomed and untracked Pike on my GS skis - nice!

Day 56 - Cochran's

NEMS 'Give It A Try' clinic - some good swag; on the hill for a couple of hours; mostly cloudy with temps in the low thirties; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's; our group was lead by Bobby Cochran - the youngest looking 72 year old I've ever seen; get the skis out away from the body and up on edge as early as possible - ankles, then knees, then hip.

Day 55 - Killington

A little more snow today; on the hill from 9:00 until 1:00 with a coffee break; upper twenties with a light snow that ended around noon - another inch or so of accumulation; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's; parked in the Vale and started at Ramshead, then moved to the Canyon before coffee, then a run down Superstar and over to Bear; the mountain needs some love - not as much snowmaking going on as I would have expected; got to ski Downdraft today, but Cascade was much better; hiked up the very top of old Snowshed Crossover to get OL, but they had it roped at the top, so I turned around.

Day 54 - Killington

Surprisingly good today after a full day of hard rain yesterday. On the hill from 9:00 until 12:30 with a quick coffee break; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's; yesterday's rain ended as 2" of new snow above 3,000 ft.; bright sunshine today with temps rising into the 40's at KBL; got to ski Dip Dip for the first time this year; Ski Bum today: 29.46 (24) +4.84 behind Sardelli.

Quite a contrast in conditions from KBL to the top of the Canyon!

Day 53 - Swain

On the hill for a couple of hours then left - that's all it took to ski all the trails; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's; the overcast was so thick that the light were on and it actually helped.

Day 52 - Montage

ASRA GS in the rain; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 17 & 19's; good and bad today - nearly came to a stop twice in the first run, but recovered for a decent second run;   Run 1: 48.39 (11);   Run 2: 43.75 (6);   Total: 91.14 (9); visited the doctor on Thursday and got a steriod shot in my right knee - for now it feels much better.

Day 51 - Ski Denton

Not much open; skied for about an hour and a half; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 17's; my right knee is still a problem.

Day 50 - Elk Mountain

ASRA SL - DNF; skied the Volkl RaceTiger SL WorldCups.