2010-11 Ski-Day Count

jamesdeluxe

jamesdeluxe

Administrator
Staff member
Bean counters unite. When your season is done, show us where you've been.

28 Days
1 Snow King, WY
2 Jackson Hole, WY
2 Grand Targhee, WY
1 Brighton, UT
1 Hunter, NY
3 Belleayre, NY
1 Song, NY
1 Skaneateles, NY
1 Hickory, NY
2 Whiteface, NY
1 Gore, NY
3 Windham, NY
2 Winter Park, CO
1 Loveland, CO
2 Alpine Mountain, PA
1 Camelback, PA
3 Jay Peak, VT
 
Did you post these TR's and I missed them? Somehow my brain doesn't recall them; which could be the lack of sleep from a 1 year old that likes to wake up at 5:30am most of the time.

jamesdeluxe":18zgrni6 said:
1 Song, NY
1 Skaneateles, NY

2 Alpine Mountain, PA
1 Camelback, PA
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Nice Alpine Mtn TR. I spent a couple decades hitting what seems like the majority of obscure ski hills in the region so I love seeing TR's from tiny places like those. I'm still waiting for TR's from places like Eagle Rock, Blue Marsh, Wisp, and Cazenovia among others... I figure in addition to Eldora out here I may do some trips in a few years with my son to places like Sol Vista, Ski Cooper and Snowy Range just to mix it up.
 
I'm not sure if my season is over yet. It depends on the wife, as I may go up to Lake Placid this weekend. I haven't been there all year, which would be a first since 1992.
 
I will second MarcC's post above with a caveat. As Patrick notes every year, there are East Coast areas that spin lifts to late April/early May each year. While I think it would be obnoxious of me to suggest delaying this thread until Mammoth closes July 4, I think the close of eastern lift service is probably the appropriate time.
 
Marc_C":15zzpnst said:
As always, you east coasters start this thread weeks if not months too early.
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While I concur this thread always starts to early every year, it has nothing to do with east or west. Many northeast areas are still operating with about a half dozen having the potential to go into May. Not to speak of those who will be earning turns well into the summer. The Loaf plans to stay open until mid-May which is longer than most western ski areas. Snide commentary about northeast skiers from the Utah crowd continues to make this place rather unfriendly.
 
I decided not to post my wiseass remarks this year, as it's getting old. Funny the first year or two, but pretty predictable.

Marc_C":2m9ctgz4 said:
As always, you east coasters start this thread weeks if not months too early.
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You'll note that the thread is started by James ever year. Noting that James is sidelined for the rest of the season and on the DL, makes it even more reasonable for him to start this thread. Although James variety and ski choices are far from the average skier, his season as always look similar to them. I know some hardcore skiers put their skis away in early April and get the kayak out. These skiers would probably ski circles around Marc on any terrain and ski double the amount of days.

riverc0il":2m9ctgz4 said:
While I concur this thread always starts to early every year, it has nothing to do with east or west. Many northeast areas are still operating with about a half dozen having the potential to go into May. Not to speak of those who will be earning turns well into the summer. The Loaf plans to stay open until mid-May which is longer than most western ski areas. Snide commentary about northeast skiers from the Utah crowd continues to make this place rather unfriendly.
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Entirely agree.
 
SKI-3PO":2fzm2m4b said:
The only Blue Marsh I knew of (near Reading, PA) no longer operates as a ski area.
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I guess that's not too surprising. I probably work in a building that's about as tall as that place... (the building is 17 stories).


As to Marc C's comment, I don't know that pointing out that the season is far from over in many places is exactly wrong? but the phrasing of the comment is very snide and in-your-face... and thus inappropriate IMO. For that matter, assuming Admin wants to grow the population of these boards would mean a fair number of skiers both east and west who, as Patrick points out, may be very dedicated skiers who have other actual interests in life starting earlier than others on this board. You don't automatically have to ski from October to June exclusively to be a great and dedicated skier.
 
Thanks for starting the thread. Given the huge amount of snow in the Sierras this year, I suspect it'll be July before my final day.
 
While I like to think of myself as an unstoppable force on skis, it turns out I’m no match for an immovable object. My “adult” ski season this year met an untimely demise near the end of the day on January 22 when, on a bushwacky gravity traverse at Bohemia, I hooked a ski under a submerged, but securely-cemented-into-the-snow tree branch, and came to an immediate dead stop, in non-releasable bindings, from somewhere between 5-10 mph. The results? my first orthopedic injury in 36 years of skiing, specifically: a grade-II MCL sprain (“moderately high-grad tearing”), meniscocapsular sprain peripheral to the body of the meniscus, a deep fissure in the patellar cartilage, and moderate strain of the hamstring tendon.

After about a month off of skis, I was able to get back to skiing (parallel turns only, no tele) the local molehills with my daughter (she turned 5 at the end of January and, much to her mother’s horror, is now really ripping it on the groomers), but decided to skip two tentatively-planned western trips, and any additional weekends on the U.P.

The totals:
5 MRG,
2 Bohemia,
Somewhere between 15 and 20 (I lost count) on the local molehills with my daughter.

Due to my injury, my “adult” ski-day total this season (7), is by far my worst season since 05-06, the year my daughter was born. On the other hand, I have really been pleasantly surprised by how much fun I have had skiing with my little girl, and I did do more of it this year because I didn’t head west.

At this point, even with a healthy knee, I’d be done with skiing for the season anyway (this weekend will be the last lift-served skiing in the region), as the short regional whitewater season has begun. The creeks around Lake Superior have started to run and the water will only last until late May or early June. I got in two class III-IV warm-up runs last Saturday on North Shore just outside of Duluth and am now thinking of the lingering snow pack in the Superior basin only as water in reserve for the ongoing runoff.
 
Patrick":2ez7lnpw said:
Noting that James is sidelined for the rest of the season and on the DL, makes it even more reasonable for him to start this thread.
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Hip surgery was yesterday, which ended my season. Leaving the hospital tomorrow.

I have a question -- doesn't Alta usually close around the third week of April? I see that final day is May 1 this season. I always thought that USFS closing dates were more or less set in advance?
 
jamesdeluxe":34i9l2qy said:
I have a question -- doesn't Alta usually close around the third week of April? I see that final day is May 1 this season. I always thought that USFS closing dates were more or less set in advance?
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For the last several years, Alta has intentionally done a soft closing. Yes, they always "close" the third weekend of April, but that's really the end of daily operations. They've been adding a "bonus" Fri-Sun weekend in years that snow allows. This is because of the large closing day party. It had been increasing in size to the point where the SL County Sheriff's Office and SL Dept. of Water Quality began to take serious notice. In an effort to tone things down, two "closing days" were established. Maybe the thought was that it would confuse easily-confused skiers? I'm not sure how effective it's been, as everyone views the end of daily ops as the real closing day and not the bonus weekend. It seems the weather has more of an impact on the size of the party than anything else.

Yes, the USFS dates are set in advance, but it's probably after Alta's official closing date. Alta's date is determined mostly by amount of skier interest and a nomadic workforce, many of whom are river guides, ranch hands, climbing instructors/guides, etc. Spring is a difficult season here - so many activities overlap.
 
Best wishes for a speedy recovery, James!

jamesdeluxe":ntqaqare said:
I have a question -- doesn't Alta usually close around the third week of April? I see that final day is May 1 this season. I always thought that USFS closing dates were more or less set in advance?
Click to expand...

That notion's a fallacy from what I understand to be the case at most (but not all) resorts on USFS land. In Alta's case as in most it depends largely on business conditions. It certainly isn't snowpack, especially this year.
 
Admin":2bjzni49 said:
Best wishes for a speedy recovery, James!
jamesdeluxe":2bjzni49 said:
I have a question -- doesn't Alta usually close around the third week of April? I see that final day is May 1 this season. I always thought that USFS closing dates were more or less set in advance?
Click to expand...
That notion's a fallacy from what I understand to be the case at most (but not all) resorts on USFS land. In Alta's case as in most it depends largely on business conditions. It certainly isn't snowpack, especially this year.
Click to expand...
Thanks, Admin and Rob.

Funny how that perception about USFS lands having hard closing dates has, over the years, become conventional wisdom.
 
jamesdeluxe":2b4e74x3 said:
Admin":2b4e74x3 said:
Best wishes for a speedy recovery, James!
jamesdeluxe":2b4e74x3 said:
I have a question -- doesn't Alta usually close around the third week of April? I see that final day is May 1 this season. I always thought that USFS closing dates were more or less set in advance?
Click to expand...
That notion's a fallacy from what I understand to be the case at most (but not all) resorts on USFS land. In Alta's case as in most it depends largely on business conditions. It certainly isn't snowpack, especially this year.
Click to expand...
Thanks, Admin and Rob.

Funny how that perception about USFS lands having hard closing dates has, over the years, become conventional wisdom.
Click to expand...

I seem to recall a small handful of resorts with hard USFS closing dates due to certain wildlife birthing seasons/habitat involved or something like that. For no apparent reason, a handful of brain cells want to recall Steamboat as one of those... Though I could definitely be wrong since I can't imagine what animal would be special to that area/habitat that the Boat occupies.
 
MarcC":1x4k782k said:
everyone views the end of daily ops as the real closing day and not the bonus weekend.
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????? Not the administrator of FTO it seems. I had a few conversations with him about which was the "real" closing day in terms of Highboy celebration, parking lot BBQ's etc., and he was quite confident it was May 1 this year.

I had missed James' injury. As the timing of his Ski Day post was exactly the same as prior seasons, it gave me no clue. My suggestion was intended as constructive. Something around May 1 seems a reasonable compromise between those who ski to the bitter end or take to the backcountry vs. those who move on to spring pursuits as soon as the weather at home gets warm. I too would like this thread to move on beyond the inevitable too-early post followed by the inevitable potshots.

I am impressed that flyover was back on skis only one month after a combination of serious knee injuries.
 
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