2 feet + on the Tug
- Thread starter skimore
- Start date
What I love about Snow Ridge is that the website doesn't even bother to tell you how much snow they got from the storm or year-to-date totals. It just says "we've got lots of snow."
Great pix.
Great pix.
tirolerpeter
New member
Great pix! Enjoy it while it lasts. I remember how rare (and great) it was when I lived in the east and managed to catch a day with real powder. After an occasional day like that I was more motivated then ever to go live in a place that had dumps like that on a regular basis. Of course, I had to wait until I retired to accomplish that.
It's not the Wasatch, but the best of the East at 250+ is comparable in snowfall/number of powder days to many areas in Colorado.
tirolerpeter
New member
skimore":2aediwbr said:
Having a job with a very rigid calendar, and living 165miles (Hunter) or 300 miles (Killington) each way from those "powder dumps" resulted in exactly what I said above. Those "Pow" days were were very rare indeed. If I had lived in the plume of "lake effect snow" (I looked up Camillus,) and didn't have to untangle myself from the NY Metro area traffic Monster to reach a skiable area, I might have gotten more of that "Pow" you speak of. But, I didn't, so my comment still holds true.
Every year, I manage to score a bunch of powder days, and I live in the Tri-State Area Devil's Triangle of which you speak, ski mostly in the Catskills, and have a full-time job in Manhattan.
The second half of last season, if you didn't score powder, you weren't trying.
It ain't the Wasatch, it ain't northern Vermont, and god knows we get some challenging conditions from time to time, but my own experiences contradict all that doom and gloom.
The second half of last season, if you didn't score powder, you weren't trying.
It ain't the Wasatch, it ain't northern Vermont, and god knows we get some challenging conditions from time to time, but my own experiences contradict all that doom and gloom.
tirolerpeter
New member
jamesdeluxe":28e5p2o9 said:
Tsk, Tsk, Tsk, why so sensitive? My original post in this thread was a COMPLIMENT. To wit: "Great pix.." I don't recall spreading "gloom and doom." It is simply a fact that eastern powder has higher moisture content and rapidly turns to "packed powder" or, perish the thought, crust and then ice. Sure, Jay can hold its own when it comes to powder. But, over the years my kids and buddies and I made two really LONG drives north from NY metro and both times, Jay was unskiable due to high winds and brutal cold (-18 at the base). Other then a few green trails, near the lodge, I never even got to the top of Jay.
Another year I booked some "Christmas Holiday Rates" lodging at Sugarbush and was treated to skiing for two days wearing plastic garbage bags as rain coats. The third morning we woke up to 15 degrees and the closest thing to a glacier that I ever experienced since I hiked up the Pitztal in Austria. Needless to say, we bailed on day three with a "credit" for our remaining lodging that we never could recover. Trust me, hitting consistent powder, or even just an "open" mountain can be a real frustrating experience in the east if you don't live near some of the major mountains.
If we like to ski, we all do the best we can with the time and opportunities that we can find. We make the best of what Mother Nature delivers wherever we are. I have been fortunate to be able to move to the Wasatch. And, I am enjoying every minute of it. Oh yes, there is a "down-side." I had to sell a perfectly good car that I really liked that was limiting my access to fresh snow since it wasn't 4 wheel drive. I bit the bullet and bought an "Outback" to get around the "4 wheel drive or chains only" restrictions that this past month and a half of snow has created for the BCC and LCC roads. I'm sure I have your sympathy for having to do so.
We've been over this many times, but there are many more eastern skiers with tirolerpeter's experience than jamesdeluxe's. The bottom line is that if you live 300 miles from a reliable powder source, you're not going to get that much of it.
This was nearly as true for me for me in L.A. as the NY Metro people, so I started in 1996-97 with the cat skiing to ensure at least some fresh tracks each season. The more typical advance booked trips out here don't have that great a shot at powder either, but rarely are they the horror stories tirolerpeter described at Jay and Sugarbush.
This was nearly as true for me for me in L.A. as the NY Metro people, so I started in 1996-97 with the cat skiing to ensure at least some fresh tracks each season. The more typical advance booked trips out here don't have that great a shot at powder either, but rarely are they the horror stories tirolerpeter described at Jay and Sugarbush.
baldyskier
Member
Nice pix. I skied Mt. Baldy, CA on Saturday after a nice dump, but the snow was so wind blown that the it was more like "naturally packed" powder, even in untracked areas. (I could push a pole down 2' to the base, but my skis only went down about 3".) I'm not exactly complaining, just making the point that even when it dumps a couple feet or more of fresh snow at cold temps and you get out within a day or two, the powder experience still may not be so epic. That tends to happen often here in CA, esp. during the bigger storms.
I learned to ski at Snow Ridge. I didn't get a lot of powder days (I only skied there one full season), but when it dumped it usually was deep, unconsolidated powder that your skis would sink down into nicely. I don't miss that 500' of vertical, however...
I learned to ski at Snow Ridge. I didn't get a lot of powder days (I only skied there one full season), but when it dumped it usually was deep, unconsolidated powder that your skis would sink down into nicely. I don't miss that 500' of vertical, however...
riverc0il
New member
Yes, we have been over this many times, and what jamesdeluxe (and I) take issue with is the blanket statement. Jay Peak cold and icy? Have you seen my trip reports? I am batting almost .700 on powder days this year. Unless you were specifically referencing the groomers but why would you go to Jay to ski groomers with better options closer?
Yes, we all agree, if you are driving 6-7 hours each way and can not come when it is good, you are rolling the dice and not likely to catch things at their best, nor do you probably ski NoVT enough to get to know the mountains and their secrets. But that does not mean the skiing is not more often than not epic. If you booked every weekend in Northern Vermont, you would hit good conditions far far far more often than bad. Nothing to do with proximity to the mountain, again another over broad inaccurate statement.
BTW, AWD does not increase your access to great snow in the East. I have and continue to drive a small, light weight, efficient 2WD coupe (with snow tires) and chase all the storms. Irrelevant.... which is what people have been taking issue with on some of your posts. Maybe you needed AWD to feel comfortable and maybe you struck out more often than not and maybe the distance was difficult for your to overcome and maybe your schedule and work was to restrictive for you to capitalize on the best mid-week skiing... but that does not effect the actual quality of the snow and skiing. I get light fluffy snow almost as much as the dense heavy stuff, to the point I often wish the powder was dense and heavy for more base building. The issue is passing off personal experience as literal fact.
Yes, we all agree, if you are driving 6-7 hours each way and can not come when it is good, you are rolling the dice and not likely to catch things at their best, nor do you probably ski NoVT enough to get to know the mountains and their secrets. But that does not mean the skiing is not more often than not epic. If you booked every weekend in Northern Vermont, you would hit good conditions far far far more often than bad. Nothing to do with proximity to the mountain, again another over broad inaccurate statement.
BTW, AWD does not increase your access to great snow in the East. I have and continue to drive a small, light weight, efficient 2WD coupe (with snow tires) and chase all the storms. Irrelevant.... which is what people have been taking issue with on some of your posts. Maybe you needed AWD to feel comfortable and maybe you struck out more often than not and maybe the distance was difficult for your to overcome and maybe your schedule and work was to restrictive for you to capitalize on the best mid-week skiing... but that does not effect the actual quality of the snow and skiing. I get light fluffy snow almost as much as the dense heavy stuff, to the point I often wish the powder was dense and heavy for more base building. The issue is passing off personal experience as literal fact.
HogbackVT
New member
BTW, AWD does not increase your access to great snow in the East. I have and continue to drive a small, light weight, efficient 2WD coupe (with snow tires) and chase all the storms. Irrelevant.... which is what people have been taking issue with on some of your posts. Maybe you needed AWD to feel comfortable and maybe you struck out more often than not and maybe the distance was difficult for your to overcome and maybe your schedule and work was to restrictive for you to capitalize on the best mid-week skiing... but that does not effect the actual quality of the snow and skiing. I get light fluffy snow almost as much as the dense heavy stuff, to the point I often wish the powder was dense and heavy for more base building. The issue is passing off personal experience as literal fact.[/quote]
This is funny to me personally...your first sentence and last
sentence here...if you could only see my driveway, you'd probably
consider changing your stance...it's one of two reasons I own an
AWD Subaru...One to make it out of my driveway...Two to make
it to Smuggs and then back up the f'r on a powder morning... :wink:
Maybe with chains...forgot about that...but who wants to deal
with that just for their own driveway when AWD can suffice?
This is funny to me personally...your first sentence and last
sentence here...if you could only see my driveway, you'd probably
consider changing your stance...it's one of two reasons I own an
AWD Subaru...One to make it out of my driveway...Two to make
it to Smuggs and then back up the f'r on a powder morning... :wink:
Maybe with chains...forgot about that...but who wants to deal
with that just for their own driveway when AWD can suffice?
tirolerpeter
New member
I never had a problem physically getting to the ski areas in the east with my own cars. Even an unplowed six inch "dusting" has been no trouble for me when staying on the Killington Access Road and taking either the "back" way up to Bear Mt. base, or the road up from Rt 100 next to the SKYSHIP. The vehicle that I traded in was a FWD Hyudai EGT equipped with REAL (look for the Snowflake symbol on the sidewall) snow tires on all four wheels. I have used Bridgestone Blizzaks, Pirelli Wintersports, etc. over the years, and have never needed chains. The actual snow on the roads has never stopped me. It is the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Department that decides what type of equipment is needed to go up the twisting canyon roads with no guardrails. Truthfully, considering the winter driving talent I have observed in over 45 years of driving in all 50 states, I understand why they limit vehicle/tire types. Too many tourists (not to mention locals) end up going over the side into the canyon.
My point was and continues to be that a combination of unpredictable snow types/quality, unpredictable freeze thaw cycles, and (as it is for most NY Metro area skiers) real life work schedules and LONG drives that must be planned with the calendar having more influence than opportunistic snow falls, limits access to powder skiing for most people.
My point was and continues to be that a combination of unpredictable snow types/quality, unpredictable freeze thaw cycles, and (as it is for most NY Metro area skiers) real life work schedules and LONG drives that must be planned with the calendar having more influence than opportunistic snow falls, limits access to powder skiing for most people.
Sharon
New member
living in the east and dealing with all the conditions it has to offer from powder to ice to rain and everything in between is what makes us better skiers and it is also what makes going out west for vacation so sweet and special.
If we had powder every day, we'd end up being spoiled babies like Admin and the rest of the Utards :wink:
If we had powder every day, we'd end up being spoiled babies like Admin and the rest of the Utards :wink:
tirolerpeter
New member
tirolerpeter
New member
Is that why it rains when Sharon comes west? She brings that "eastern Karma" with her? #-o We gotta get Homeland Security to put her on the "No Fly List" :wink:
Sharon
New member
FWIW, it has NEVER rained while I was in Utah...it is usually bluebird sunny skies for a full week!! I usually bring sunshine wherever I go
So I often don't get the powder that I'm looking for when I go there, but it is difficult to complain about sunny weather, skiing in a soft shell with sunglasses on.
Looks like it will be different this year.
http://tinyurl.com/yoogsy
