I created a thread because I was trying to avoid having many Big Snow TRs.
Patrick's Streak, Ski Travel Priorities
- Thread starter ChrisC
- Start date
I created a thread because I was trying to avoid having many Big Snow TRs.
Too much time out west and you lose your ear for our East Coast sense of humor.
Belatedly, moved here.
Patrick
Well-known member
Well... you know that the indoor ski area was initially project to open in 2008.
I found out that the Winter time is their busier time and their market is mostly beginners.
ChrisC
Well-known member
Well, here is the Snowbrains' Founder Miles Clark trying to get to 300 ski days in a single calendar year. I think he should go to Big Snow instead.
snowbrains.com
[VIDEO] "Nasty, Sketchy" Entrance to Main Chute on 11,000' Mt. Baldy at Alta, UT Right Now... | Ski Day #279 - SnowBrains
Report from November 11, 2023 Today was ski day #279 on my way to 300. I hiked up and skied Main Chute on 11,000′ Mt. Baldy at Alta, UT. Every foot of the run was earned. Despite taking 5-days off to chill in the Caribbean at a family reunion, I was still bushed… I did have my best time of […]
snowbrains.com
That looks scary and masochistic. Miles lives in Tahoe, so it had to be easier doing this on the WRODs now open at Mammoth and Mt. Rose.
The post also mentions a December 8 deadline. So that when this ski year started? That's odd because Mammoth was open with excellent natural coverage from November 5 last season. It's early, but this season is starting very slowly. It could be one of those years when I don't start skiing until close to Christmas.
The post also mentions a December 8 deadline. So that when this ski year started? That's odd because Mammoth was open with excellent natural coverage from November 5 last season. It's early, but this season is starting very slowly. It could be one of those years when I don't start skiing until close to Christmas.
ChrisC
Well-known member
He said he starts his 'new' ski year upon returning from Antarctica - last year was Dec 8th. So it's a self-created calendar but generally mirrors a traditional calendar year.
Again, it is nice to have the problem that seasons start to blur together because you are always skiing. And it is likely fair to say one's 2003 season continues if you are in South America and then Antarctica.
Was my trip to Portillo part of 2022/23? I would say so. It was not the start of 2023/24.
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Patrick
Well-known member
In my case and that is my personal feeling at the time, I've always tied in South Hemisphere season at the end of the normal Northern Hemisphere season regardless how late in goes. For example, the closing weekend of Australia ski season was the first weekend of October, regardless that I skied in October 2022, that was my last day of my 2021-22 season. To the other extreme, I skied on Sept 29 and October 1st, 2021 in Banff National Park, I included these days as the start of my season with new snow.
2021-22: September 29, 2021 to October 1, 2022, skiing twice on two different October 1st in the same season.
I draw the line at Sept. 30. I realize November in Antarctica is spring from the prior winter, but since it was a one-and-done event for me I assigned it to the upcoming 2011-12 season. I had already skied Oct. 7 at Mammoth from an early season storm that did not stick much after that.
I knew Miles spends much of July-September in Bariloche. I did not know he is a regular on the Ice Axe Antarctic cruise. I also did not know who he was in 2011 or if he was on that cruise.
Ice Axe has been backing up its dates into late October in recent years. My ski dates in 2011 were Nov. 12-17. In 2022 Miles did a second Antarctic cruise in late November. In between he went to Fitzroy and Torres del Paine as we did in 2011. However he did it the hard way on a 1,700 mile road trip. Thus he did not get to spent 5 days in Torres del Paine like we did. However he did get a backcountry ski day, probably above Lake Heumel like the Spanish guys we met in 2011.
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tseeb
Well-known member
I found Miles' report from Utah Dec. 8, 2022 when I was looking for some background on his quest for 300 days in a year. He also skied Suicide Chute on Mt. Superior on Oct. 29, 2022 before going to Antartica. I found his 300 day quest made Fox Weather (starts at 0:56). I like his posts, but some of what I've seen posted by others on Snowbrains is not correct and they don't seem to want to hear about it.
After all the crazy hike-to skiing he's done in the last year+, I didn't think he'd count skiing a WROD at Mammoth or Rose towards his 300 days. But he did go to Park City yesterday and says he's going again today. He must spend at least some of the Fall in Utah most years.
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Patrick
Well-known member
Not in anyway that I compare myself to Miles, but skiing at a place because it’s there and an important ski season gathering/event is attractive.
Although not as crazy as driving 1400km in one day to ski 2 hours indoors in October, I drove 4 hours on evening to ski 2 hours at a hill with a smaller vertical than BigSnow. Crazy considering there are various local skiing options with almost 10x the vertical of Mount Martin (Deep River, Ontario) within 30 minutes from home.
Update for 2024 of Patrick's "hard" months:
July: the patch of snow that Avila stores for Canada Day. This is the 7th time Patrick has skied Avila to get July.
August: Timberline. This is the 6th August at Timberline. The other 5 included September, but in recent years Timberline hasn't made it to September that often.
So September: Big Snow New Jersey. This is the second September for this, and I predict it will be common going forward as it drastically reduces cost vs. other options, which are getting more difficult in North America.
October: Whiteface Toll Road. I was surprised by this since we have all been reading how warm the Northeast was this fall. This was the fourth time for Whiteface Toll Road. Patrick has overall been very successful finding October snow in the East. Only 3 out of 20 Octobers have been in other ski regions. In the East 9 have been earned turns, 7 outdoor lift service and one at Big Snow New Jersey.
I was prompted to look this up because Patrick just landed in Europe a few days ago to visit in-laws in France plus some tourism. He still brought his skis, will be interesting to see where he goes.
As noted before Patrick's streak reached 201 months before indoor skiing got into the picture. This month will be #230 including the possibly asterisked extension.
There are now 5 months indoors in New Jersey, though 3 of them have the extenuating circumstances of Patrick skiing with a broken elbow against doctor's orders.
July: the patch of snow that Avila stores for Canada Day. This is the 7th time Patrick has skied Avila to get July.
August: Timberline. This is the 6th August at Timberline. The other 5 included September, but in recent years Timberline hasn't made it to September that often.
So September: Big Snow New Jersey. This is the second September for this, and I predict it will be common going forward as it drastically reduces cost vs. other options, which are getting more difficult in North America.
October: Whiteface Toll Road. I was surprised by this since we have all been reading how warm the Northeast was this fall. This was the fourth time for Whiteface Toll Road. Patrick has overall been very successful finding October snow in the East. Only 3 out of 20 Octobers have been in other ski regions. In the East 9 have been earned turns, 7 outdoor lift service and one at Big Snow New Jersey.
I was prompted to look this up because Patrick just landed in Europe a few days ago to visit in-laws in France plus some tourism. He still brought his skis, will be interesting to see where he goes.
As noted before Patrick's streak reached 201 months before indoor skiing got into the picture. This month will be #230 including the possibly asterisked extension.
There are now 5 months indoors in New Jersey, though 3 of them have the extenuating circumstances of Patrick skiing with a broken elbow against doctor's orders.
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