What am I thankful about? 2 things, primarily.
When I approached the lower mountain chairlift @ Pico around 8:30 on Saturday morning, I noticed the nametag on the liftie reading "Sofia, Bulgaria". I asked her - even though I was pretty sure the answer was "no" - whether natural gas had been restored there. With a very sad look in her eyes (it was damn cold, and everybody was wearing masks or gaiters, covering their mouths), she shook her head horizontally. I'm not sure many people here realize how bad the situation is over in the Eastern European nations that caught in the middle of this "gas war" between Russia and the EU; not only are thousands of people in that region without heat, but the resulting "switch" to burning coal, fuel oil, and God knows what else to generate heat is causing a mini-environmental calamity, with a nasty smog covering densely populated areas. I would think that girl is working with extreme concern for her family back in Bulgaria, and I'm thankful I'm able to go back to a dwelling with reliable heat (aside from the occasional ice storm!).
The skiing was pretty good on Saturday, although the upper mountain was uncomfotably cold, even when dressed appropriately. So I stuck to the low elevation areas, including numerous runs on the terrain (formerly) served by the Outpost Chair. More on this later, but even though it had not snowed since the previous Sunday (maybe an inch midweek), I was able to find untracked powder on the sides of the trails and in the trees, as the 2-3 minute hike to access this terrain precludes most casual skiers & riders from partaking.
Anyway, I got in a good groove where I would usually get back to the chairlift at the same time as a group of blind skiers and their guides. I was told that pico was actually hosting the American Assoc. of Blind Athletes that wknd, and that many of them were very good skiers, even the ones with no vision whatsoever. It made me thankful that I have all my senses in tact, even if my sanity is somewhat borderline. :-$
I awoke to new snow falling Sunday morning, and even though I only had about 2 hours to ski (only $32 during value days for Pico Card owners - Yahoo!! \
/ ), I made the most of the 2-3" new, pretty much staying on the Summit Chair the whole time and racking up some sweet runs of a little fresh pow on groomed trails - where you can really let 'em fly - as well as my favorite woods shots including the woods between Upper KA & Upper Sunset 71 (unmarked), and the Birch Woods (marked). I went back to the condo down in the valley and took my wife & son sledding, where we had a great time. In fact, my just-turned 4 year old looked on enviously at the kids skiing the Quechee Lakes ski hill, and said he wanted to do that. So I think he's ready for his 1st ski lesson!
Anyway, I just wanted to throw out a marketing idea I had while skiing under the Outpost Chair...if Pico/Killington/Powdr Corp is not going to run the Outpost chair this year (maybe it was running during Xmas week, but it hasn't been running on any of the days I've been there, including 4 weekend days), why not turn a perceived liability ("they're too cheap to run the lift!") into a strength: market the Outpost hill as a throwback for expert skiers/riders, where they can enjoy ~ 500 ft of raw, natural, uncrowded terrain via a quick hike? It's practically like having a mostly-lift served, quasi-backcountry experience.
Just a thought.
When I approached the lower mountain chairlift @ Pico around 8:30 on Saturday morning, I noticed the nametag on the liftie reading "Sofia, Bulgaria". I asked her - even though I was pretty sure the answer was "no" - whether natural gas had been restored there. With a very sad look in her eyes (it was damn cold, and everybody was wearing masks or gaiters, covering their mouths), she shook her head horizontally. I'm not sure many people here realize how bad the situation is over in the Eastern European nations that caught in the middle of this "gas war" between Russia and the EU; not only are thousands of people in that region without heat, but the resulting "switch" to burning coal, fuel oil, and God knows what else to generate heat is causing a mini-environmental calamity, with a nasty smog covering densely populated areas. I would think that girl is working with extreme concern for her family back in Bulgaria, and I'm thankful I'm able to go back to a dwelling with reliable heat (aside from the occasional ice storm!).
The skiing was pretty good on Saturday, although the upper mountain was uncomfotably cold, even when dressed appropriately. So I stuck to the low elevation areas, including numerous runs on the terrain (formerly) served by the Outpost Chair. More on this later, but even though it had not snowed since the previous Sunday (maybe an inch midweek), I was able to find untracked powder on the sides of the trails and in the trees, as the 2-3 minute hike to access this terrain precludes most casual skiers & riders from partaking.
Anyway, I got in a good groove where I would usually get back to the chairlift at the same time as a group of blind skiers and their guides. I was told that pico was actually hosting the American Assoc. of Blind Athletes that wknd, and that many of them were very good skiers, even the ones with no vision whatsoever. It made me thankful that I have all my senses in tact, even if my sanity is somewhat borderline. :-$
I awoke to new snow falling Sunday morning, and even though I only had about 2 hours to ski (only $32 during value days for Pico Card owners - Yahoo!! \
/ ), I made the most of the 2-3" new, pretty much staying on the Summit Chair the whole time and racking up some sweet runs of a little fresh pow on groomed trails - where you can really let 'em fly - as well as my favorite woods shots including the woods between Upper KA & Upper Sunset 71 (unmarked), and the Birch Woods (marked). I went back to the condo down in the valley and took my wife & son sledding, where we had a great time. In fact, my just-turned 4 year old looked on enviously at the kids skiing the Quechee Lakes ski hill, and said he wanted to do that. So I think he's ready for his 1st ski lesson!Anyway, I just wanted to throw out a marketing idea I had while skiing under the Outpost Chair...if Pico/Killington/Powdr Corp is not going to run the Outpost chair this year (maybe it was running during Xmas week, but it hasn't been running on any of the days I've been there, including 4 weekend days), why not turn a perceived liability ("they're too cheap to run the lift!") into a strength: market the Outpost hill as a throwback for expert skiers/riders, where they can enjoy ~ 500 ft of raw, natural, uncrowded terrain via a quick hike? It's practically like having a mostly-lift served, quasi-backcountry experience.
Just a thought.