Southern Idaho skiing

[Admin]

(OK, before I post let's just get this out of the way: I'm alive, I'm not abandoning FTO, etc. More to come.)

I just got back from 5 days skiing through southern Idaho, where they're hurting for snow just like most of the western U.S. We were snowcat skiing at Soldier Mountain, skiing lift-served at Pomerelle and Pebble Creek, and checking out a few other things like Lava Hot Springs, City of Rocks, Shoshone Falls in Twin Falls, etc. I'll just let the video do the talking:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INAQRA3XsmE[/youtube]

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Video: great
Conditions: mostly yikes

 

[Admin]

Rough winter.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

I watched the video with no sound -- does Bruce Willis still own Soldier?

Those mountains look like fun with more cover.

 

[Admin]

No. Willis gave it to a non-profit, which in turn sold it to Matt & Diane McFerran.

In particular Pebble Creek would be a blast with normal snowpack. It's 2200 verts of relentless fall line with ridiculously easy sidecountry that looks amazing.

 

[EMSC]

Must have been fun wearing your outdoor outfit inside for that final green screen scene.

I'm not abandoning FTO, etc. More to come.

Looking forward to hearing about it (or at least some sort of update).

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Looking forward to hearing about it (or at least some sort of update).

In his absence, Tony and I have turned the Euro into the most active FTO forum!

 

[Admin]

Must have been fun wearing your outdoor outfit inside for that final green screen scene.

Yeah, that was pathetic, wasn't it? LOL. I didn't film the outro before leaving Idaho, partially because the winds were gusting to 50 mph when I left Pocatello for Utah, so I reluctantly resorted to that method. It was my first attempt at a green screen shot and clearly I have a lot to learn, but hey...it sorta worked.

I'm not abandoning FTO, etc. More to come.

Looking forward to hearing about it (or at least some sort of update).

Stay tuned.

 

[Tony Crocker]

I watched the video with no sound

I did the opposite. I wanted to hear about this trip but we're leaving early tomorrow and I have a mid-month snow roundup to research.

Maybe I'm antiquated, but I really really don't want to spend 31 minutes of undivided attention to learn what I could read in 5 minutes of traditional FTO TR's. Maybe some people prefer the videos, and if you want to do both, great. But substituting lengthy video's for ski TR's (of which we have seen zero since Dec. 23), sorry that's a big net minus in my view.

I visited Pomerelle in March 2010, skied with the same GM. They are sticking to their niche as an excellent value learning area with reliable snow. As far as $45 lift tickets are concerned, we never spent as much as 50 Euros/day for lift tickets anywhere in Italy on our last trip, and that includes marquee destinations with lots of state-of-the-art lifts like Cervinia and the Dolomites.

Soldier Mountain and Pebble Creek are chronically snow challenged. Two of the people I skied with at Points North in Alaska in April 2012 were from Pocatello and they had not skied Pebble Creek at all that season due to lack of snow. There is no question Pebble Creek has an excellent terrain reputation (2,200 vert with good slackcountry :-k ,the Mt. Baldy of Idaho!?), and since admin lives within modest driving distance, hopefully he will actually get up there when they are having a good season. But he's been in Utah 13 years without skiing at Jackson or Targhee, so I'm not holding my breath for a return to Pebble Creek soon.

 

[Admin]

Maybe I'm antiquated

At least your skiwear is...

but I really really don't want to spend 31 minutes of undivided attention to learn what I could read in 5 minutes of traditional FTO TR's. Maybe some people prefer the videos, and if you want to do both, great. But substituting lengthy video's for ski TR's (of which we saw zero between Dec. 23 and now), sorry that's a big net minus in my view.

You're entitled to your opinion, of course, but I or anyone else am equally entitled to post TRs in whatever manner we choose. However, given that the video required ~14 hours of editing time, you can breathe easy.

I visited Pomerelle in March 2010, skied with the same GM.

Correction: Snowsports School Director.

As far as $45 lift tickets are concerned, we never spent as much as 50 Euros/day for lift tickets anywhere in Italy on our last trip, and that includes marquee destinations with lots of state-of-the-art lifts like Cervinia and the Dolomites.

Ummm...clearly there was an unspoken caveat that I was referring to U.S. ski resorts. And when you factor in the airfare, well...

There is no question Pebble Creek has an excellent terrain reputation (2,200 vert with good slackcountry :-k ,the Mt. Baldy of Idaho!?), and since admin lives within modest driving distance, hopefully he will actually get up there when they are having a good season.

There's zero question that I will. I loved the place.

 

[Tony Crocker]

However, given that the video required ~14 hours of editing time, you can breathe easy.

It does not surprise me in the slightest that making videos is an incredibly labor intensive process. Therefore, given the demands of admin's day job and that he was understandably getting tired of the time suck of FTO News, it is interesting to say the least that he has chosen to replace that with an even more time consuming venture.

I was not criticizing admin's recent choice of ski resorts vs. mine. Geographic reality limited my trips to the Alps before retirement. My critique is of the US. lift ticket pricing model vs. the Euros.

 

[Admin]

However, given that the video required ~14 hours of editing time, you can breathe easy.

It does not surprise me in the slightest that making videos is an incredibly labor intensive process. Therefore, given the demands of admin's day job and that he was understandably getting tired of the time suck of FTO News, it is interesting to say the least that he has chosen to replace that with an even more time consuming venture.

Your assertion that it's a replacement has no factual basis.

 

[Tony Crocker]

Your assertion that it's a replacement has no factual basis.

The last News was posted Dec. 18.

Admin is of course free to devote his extracurricular time as he pleases. Nonetheless I think the regular users of this site are past due for an explanation of a 6-week blackout during the peak of ski season.

 

[Admin]

Your assertion that it's a replacement has no factual basis.

The last News was posted Dec. 18.

Which does not equal replacement.

Admin is of course free to devote his extracurricular time as he pleases. Nonetheless I think the regular users of this site are past due for an explanation of a 6-week blackout during the peak of ski season.

In due time.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

As always:

 

[Admin]

As always:

No kidding. Missed it, didn't ya? :wink:

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Maybe I'm antiquated, but I really really don't want to spend 31 minutes of undivided attention to learn what I could read in 5 minutes of traditional FTO TR's. Maybe some people prefer the videos, and if you want to do both, great. But substituting lengthy video's for ski TR's (of which we have seen zero since Dec. 23), sorry that's a big net minus in my view.

That ^^ may seem like an insult, but if you turn your laptop 90 degrees and read it again, you'll see that he's actually complimenting your TR work!

 

[Admin]

If so, that's about as sideways as compliments come.

 

[socal]

I like video's and appreciate the insane amount of editing that must have gone into that one.

Some constructive criticism, the video is way way too long. I think something in the order of 1/3rd the length would have told the story better. I "watched" but really i just skipped around. I love the drone shots, but how many 20-30 second drone shots can someone watch in a video? I'm guessing, since I'm no film maker, that like writing, the hardest part is getting something to be as concise as possible. It's easy to shoot 1000 photos on a trip, it's hard to pare those 1000 down to 20 good ones.

Not bashing, and I'd like to watch more videos of yours (hey I actually subscribed) but given the content a 30 min video was way too much.

 

[Admin]

I most certainly appreciate the feedback, and I'll readily admit that it's tough to weed out footage. Thank you. Most of my vids have been anywhere from 4-12 minutes each. I thought about splitting this one in 3, and perhaps I should have.