That's always makes me laugh (and I've mentioned this umpteen times here) -- how people are unable to get outside their own mindset and understand that not everyone has the same requirements in creating a successful ski day.
Get ready for a Gore/North Creek interconnect
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I think BobMc said it best, and I'm paraphrasing... "for a skier, you're a good writer."
I understand completely. I didn't start until I was 25, and I sucked at all sports before then. And if I had somehow decided to start with tele instead of alpine, I doubt I would have gotten anywhere at all. My mindset was somewhat different though. Once I was making progress my prime objective was to be able to ski 95+% of marked runs. I didn't think I should spend the vacation time and $ to ski out-of-state destination resorts until I could do that at Mammoth.
I agree completely. In answering questions here, we should try to consider the characteristics of the questioner. Which is a reason I don't think Harvey44's experience is particularly relevant to rfarren.
You're putting a big bullseye on your back, Admin. :stir:
How about fact checking?
I like the fact that the Gore Interconnect Thread has become the mother of these other threads.
I disagree. If you are a black diamond skier, you have talent. The talent would translate. Face or chase the fall line. I'd bet NOW you could probably ski a blue trail like Showcase with Pturns on your first run. Then you just need the courage to do the russian hat dance.
Totally with you on this. I hadn't skied every marked trail at Gore until 3 years ago. Gore is still a huge challenge for me. At 50...there's a decent chance that I'll never ski all of Gore if you include named off the map runs. That's my goal...learn and ski every NAMED run at Gore. I realize that's a moving target. Chucky and the boys are very industrious.
I also understand wanting to be good before you move on. I always say I've never done any alpine...but its not true. I alpined 2 days in my life...one at Gore in the old Gondi days- early 90s. I rented and conditions were a sheet of ice and frozen dirt. If you skied Gore before they had access to the Hudson...you know.
The second time was actually a fair test. I was at Squaw for the first time. Definately an intermediate on teles. I rented alpine gear and was skiing like an advanced beginner. Tripping on my tails, and frustrated walking in tight boots that were supposed to be excellent. Back on tele in the afternoon and I was back to being an intermediate.
I skied with a client. He was a total bomber, on alpines, on his home mountain. I skied stuff WAY beyond my ability. Bad. Anyway he took me up a lift on KT22. It had skull and crossbones on the lift at the bottom. "Expert terrain only." He ASSURED me that an intemediate would be fine up there. We get off the lift and the wind is howling. There is this crack in the headwall with a sign.... TRIPLE black diamonds, a skull, and the words "The Slot." I was too scared to even look over the edge. All you could see through the slot was blue Sierra sky.
He lets me freak inside for a few secs and then tells me to take my skis off. We walk across a bunch of moon rocks, and get on this cat trail traverse...and somehow end up in a place he called the Enchanted Forest. It was awesome...really widely spaced huge trees.
I know the tale isn't totally relevant. And it may not be totally true. That's just the way I remember it. Somebody who has skied Squaw could tell me if the names match up with the topography up there.
Tony Crocker":28ri37td said:
I disagree. If you are a black diamond skier, you have talent. The talent would translate. Face or chase the fall line. I'd bet NOW you could probably ski a blue trail like Showcase with Pturns on your first run. Then you just need the courage to do the russian hat dance.
Tony Crocker":28ri37td said:
Totally with you on this. I hadn't skied every marked trail at Gore until 3 years ago. Gore is still a huge challenge for me. At 50...there's a decent chance that I'll never ski all of Gore if you include named off the map runs. That's my goal...learn and ski every NAMED run at Gore. I realize that's a moving target. Chucky and the boys are very industrious.
I also understand wanting to be good before you move on. I always say I've never done any alpine...but its not true. I alpined 2 days in my life...one at Gore in the old Gondi days- early 90s. I rented and conditions were a sheet of ice and frozen dirt. If you skied Gore before they had access to the Hudson...you know.
The second time was actually a fair test. I was at Squaw for the first time. Definately an intermediate on teles. I rented alpine gear and was skiing like an advanced beginner. Tripping on my tails, and frustrated walking in tight boots that were supposed to be excellent. Back on tele in the afternoon and I was back to being an intermediate.
I skied with a client. He was a total bomber, on alpines, on his home mountain. I skied stuff WAY beyond my ability. Bad. Anyway he took me up a lift on KT22. It had skull and crossbones on the lift at the bottom. "Expert terrain only." He ASSURED me that an intemediate would be fine up there. We get off the lift and the wind is howling. There is this crack in the headwall with a sign.... TRIPLE black diamonds, a skull, and the words "The Slot." I was too scared to even look over the edge. All you could see through the slot was blue Sierra sky.
He lets me freak inside for a few secs and then tells me to take my skis off. We walk across a bunch of moon rocks, and get on this cat trail traverse...and somehow end up in a place he called the Enchanted Forest. It was awesome...really widely spaced huge trees.
I know the tale isn't totally relevant. And it may not be totally true. That's just the way I remember it. Somebody who has skied Squaw could tell me if the names match up with the topography up there.
This may be askin for it but I'd be curious to know if anyone thinks my experience is relevant to them.Tony Crocker":28ri37td said:
There's a big difference between being able to survive gnar and doing it gracefully.
I'm still trying to get out of the first group. Based on the videos I see here and elsewhere, I'm not alone.
I'm still trying to get out of the first group. Based on the videos I see here and elsewhere, I'm not alone.
icelanticskier
New member
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hey everybody! born again rog here! i like this thread. from pics i've seen, gore does look like an interesting place with the same snowfall as many nh resorts which when hit right ski as well as anywhere in no. vt. due to lesser crowds and lesser pow hungry crowds that like to congregate along the northern spine.
after like 16 years since i last lived/worked at loon, i went back this spring and was amazed by the quality of long fall line terrain, glades, and conditions. compared to say wildcat, loon skis way steeper with more variety. compared to cannon, the trails are plenty pitched for all 2100 vert and don't ski in halves like cannon and is less busy mid week than cannon. i know where i'm gonna spend a bunch of time next winter on pow days once base depths build. it'll be way less of a pow frenzy than the hill in the notch. i now see why joegm skis there. it really is pretty nice. i skied corn there this spring and it was the best lift served snow quality that i hit this year except for april 2nd at the loaf. buh bye sunday river, hello loon. closer for me and skis better/bigger. more terrain on south peak this year as well. this wasn't meant to change any subject of the thread.
rog
hey everybody! born again rog here! i like this thread. from pics i've seen, gore does look like an interesting place with the same snowfall as many nh resorts which when hit right ski as well as anywhere in no. vt. due to lesser crowds and lesser pow hungry crowds that like to congregate along the northern spine. after like 16 years since i last lived/worked at loon, i went back this spring and was amazed by the quality of long fall line terrain, glades, and conditions. compared to say wildcat, loon skis way steeper with more variety. compared to cannon, the trails are plenty pitched for all 2100 vert and don't ski in halves like cannon and is less busy mid week than cannon. i know where i'm gonna spend a bunch of time next winter on pow days once base depths build. it'll be way less of a pow frenzy than the hill in the notch. i now see why joegm skis there. it really is pretty nice. i skied corn there this spring and it was the best lift served snow quality that i hit this year except for april 2nd at the loaf. buh bye sunday river, hello loon. closer for me and skis better/bigger. more terrain on south peak this year as well. this wasn't meant to change any subject of the thread.
rog
I think there's some confusion in terminology here. Natural athletic ability means a fast learning curve at nearly all sports. Example: admin's stepson Michael. Limited ski experience when he arrived in Utah summer 2005, yet he's up on Main Chute his first ski day there. Then when he starts skiing regularly he's developing complex moves in the park. Even though acrobatic talent is not particularly related to ski talent. And some of you know that Michael is the top rated high school hockey player in Utah.
But a lot of these balance sports are related. In those cases the skills at the ones you know do translate to a fast learning curve. My son Adam probably has average raw athletic talent, but he's been on skis and a skateboard since he was 4. So he gets up on water skis first time, he carves on a snowboard after one lesson, he skis 20K on teles his first day, he probably learns surfing in San Diego much faster than normal. But Adam went to Mike Douglas' camp in 2002 and barely learned the basics in park moves, because acrobatics are a different and unrelated skill. Adam also played AYSO soccer for 10 years, but would barely have made his varsity soccer team as a high school senior, as was the case with water polo.
My guess is that other than the park Adam can outski Michael (I'll let admin make that call), but if so it's due to vastly greater experience and instruction over the years, not talent.
In my case I took the tele lesson at Crested Butte in 2007 after 30 years of skiing alpine. I had read up before and knew to use my alpine technique as a crutch, and the instructor observed this right away. I have no doubt that if I had tried teles back in 1976 I would have been completely hopeless.
I'd be surprised that anyone would be attracted to Loon by reading joegm's reports. I think the words "Loon" and "powder days" constitute an oxymoron. There's a lot of NCP falling at Loon on many of those powder days north of Franconia Notch. I suspect icelantic caught Loon on a good day, and given his strategy for last minute calls and cherry-picking conditions, I don't think he's going to pile up that many days there over the long run.
Ice, have you missed the HUNDREDS of posts where he bitches about Loon?icelanticskier":35715vzh said:
Can we get a third opinion? :-k
icelanticskier
New member
Tony Crocker":1ej4rx9c said:
joegm must ski there on weekends if he's bitching. seems silly to me that someone would own a condo at a place that they bitch about. call me crazy. i stayed in lincoln a few times this winter during 10-20" midweek storms in dec/jan and skied cannon. great skiing, but i bet loon would've preserved the pow longer and skied as well or better. these were all snow events at both mountains. i was having breakfast early morning at a place in no. woodstock nh and it was dumping. an old timer asked me where i was skiing that day and i told him cannon. he says, "good spot, but everyone goes there to ski powder, people go to loon to ski groomers". i should've listened to him. with cannons tues/thurs 2fer days and wed nh residents day for 30 bucks, the place is more crowded than most ski areas mid week. all loon has is a joey rep, works for me.
i ski at cannon for free and loon for 10 bucks, so i'll see how it skis on a pow day. the days that i caught at loon were just perfect groomer days or perfectly grooms corn days with untracked velvet all day long. i was raving about the groomers and steep chalky east basin bump runs/natural trails. that new ripsaw trail on south peak is steeper than most in nh and plenty long. impressive.
rog
icelanticskier
New member
Harvey44":uioawew3 said:
ok, maybe just a little bit. this video just made it into the backcountry mags web page cover. my buddy drew shot it from some stuff this winter. i've got 4 or 5 appearances. 2 out of the last 3 were from a 20" day at gulf of slides, a storm that mostly missed vermont, and mid late may at the great gulf skiing airpane gully 1200 vert of 45 degree easy peasy skiing in perfect untracked cornage.
enjoy
http://vimeo.com/4849489
rog
