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Yesterday I made somewhat ambitious plans for my own little "super bowl of skiing" at Greek Peak, the plan was to try out my tele skins, hit Kennedy Sf for some bcXcd, then pop over to see some GP A18/nyskiblog friends at their Super Bowl tailgate in the chair 5 lot. I set out a O’dark thirty through intermittent snow showers to get started before the lifts started running at 8:30 as required by Greek’s uphill policy. I booted up just after 7:30. The root up Alpha/Castor was smooth cord with a dusting of fresh snow with gentle flurries for stoke. About a third of the way up a patroller on a sled came by and asked how far I was going, “Sounds like a loaded question” I laughed and he said I need to be down before the lifts started and agreed I had about 15 -20 minutes to go. About 2/3 of the way up I heard his sled approaching again and gave a wristwatch/thumbs up signal, he stopped and said not to worry about it that chair #2 doesn’t run until 11 and just don't go past the lift. At the top I chatted with a hiker who had come in from the Finger Lakes Trail, he said he hadn’t been to Greek in 50 years and that it looked the same except for a little more rust, lol. My original plan was to ski Aesops Glades but it looked a little bony and being alone decided to take my same root down the fresh chord. Since the second quarter of my game was contingent on lift #2 running I did 5-6 tele runs. Nice snow, both groomed and ungroomed on Iliad, Elysian and Trojan. Ran into one of the A18 guys and rode up chair #4 with him but it was close to 11:00 by that point and needed to hit the tailgate locker room for an equipment change. A quick coffee stout and soft pretzel break at the Trunk and Tire and I was off to chair #2 with the XCD setup for a ski in Kennedy SF. The snowmobile /ski trail runs parallel to Pollux so I ducked in and bushwacked the 20 or so yards and was on my way. I ski’d the multi use trail to the Cook Rd XC ski trailhead for about a 6.9 mile loop including the harrowing ski back down Castor to the base. Even with cable bindings I can’t drive those skis, especially on warm days, those boot soles are just way to floppy. (FYI my skin track is the same root as the finish to start on the track below) It was about 2:30 when I got back to the truck. I was pretty beat but the snow was really coming down so I threw on a dry shirt, grabbed a couple of pocket beers, locked down my heals and headed over to chair #5 area to see if the A18 crew were still around. Had a fun cruise over laying down some big arcs after the morning’s work. Chair 5 lot is an unimproved lot with a tailgating scene that may even rival our row. I got there late and missed the venison spedies though... Caught one of the last chairs back over to the base so I had a burger at tracks before heading out for the snowy ride home. Legs are cooked today A great day a Greek with good snow, all the lifts running (smoothly but slowly!) and a lot of nice folks. Reminded me how much I miss the place. Hopefully this is the start of winter there and I get back up soon. Oh, and I’m more of a hockey guy than football so my Super Bowl of skiing only has 3 quarters!!

Day 3 of 3 for me today at JHMR. Wish I would have hit the powder jackpot this year but had a great time anyway! Did a nice tour of the mountain from skiers right to left then back right again. Bivouac run was pretty chalky and nice, and most of the north facing steep stuff was pretty good. Split off from JFSkiDan and did Cheyenne gully which was very cool to north hoback which was frozen solid and very exhausting skiing. Wanted to close out the quads and took a final tram lap - rendezvous bowl to Laramie traverse, through some trees under the thunder lift shack to a very nice paintbrush/ toilet bowl then right down to the mangy moose. My third time to Jackson with this crew and a great time as always. Look forward to coming back again. Here’s a nice pic from the cliff where paintbrush spills out into toilet bowl.

February 3rd, 2020 Day 6 of 7. Today dawned cold, snowy and windy. There was about 2-3” in town when I walked to the bagel place and it was a bit slick in spots. At 625am there were three skiers from our hotel or cowboy village waiting for the bus already in ski boots. We left for the mountain at 720am which is the pow day departure and 740am for non pow days. Not that many cars in ranch lot at 7:42am. Temperatures were in the teens at the base and around zero up high with strong winds. Already a handful of people in the main line but nobody in the singles line..curiously there was a snowboard against the singles line scanner and it was still there after 20 minutes so I placed it on the other side of the fencing...well then lady returned from her rendevous inside and business calls and was like that’s my snowboard and Jeff said it’s rude to leave the line like that...anyway didn’t really matter as homegirl was still strapping in when we took off towards Amphitheater. Snow was a bit stiff in spots I’ll say sporty I skied amphitheater slow I bet JFDan and Atomic Jeff waited a full 30 seconds for me. Up thunder and was a fast start as it was only 915am at the top of thunder tied for our best start. I think they let us on the gondola at like 8:56. Getting to grand was tricky with a few drifts one almost sent me and JFDan ass over teakettle good thing we are agile mofos. The meat and potatoes of Grand had the best snow on the mountain...huge swaths of untracked and a consistent density no hitting bottom this was fresh snow you ski on top of more than in. Up Sublette which was a cold cold and windy ride wind chills must have been -30 to -40 at the top and straight into the wind into ten sleep bowl. 10 sleep bowl was nice..traversing near the top of the cirque was a bit freaky as the snow was cracking and sliding. The thickness of the snow had me skiing it a bit less aggressively which makes for a ton more work and my feet and legs were bugging me and I really needed a few minutes to get my bearings so I split up with Atomic Jeff and JFDan. Five minutes later feet and legs felt better. I skied over to the Casper area via Nez Perce traverse and right under the Casper bowl was nice groomed with a little fresh and not many people because it was so early and usually I’m not in that area until later in the morning. Up Casper and basically all of the campground stash park was untracked and much lighter than other areas as it’s very sheltered then into the run under Casper lift and I traversed over to some woods for a long awaited piss. Snow in the lower Casper woods was nice but you could feel the crusties underneath. I basically skied the same exact lap off Casper four times..passively tried to meet back up with the boys but they were on the gondola and marmot and thunder then when they went over to Casper I was at apres vous. Skied to the base...had a Red Bull outside on the deck of general store didn’t even take off my helmet and to cold for no gloves. My head still sweat a little. Atomic Jeff was at the base about 20 minutes later went back to car to deboot and grab JFDans sneakers then went to the handlebar in the four seasons. Was like a 20 minute wait for a table. People were eating outside and yes there’s heat lamps and Fire pits but I feel like people’s food gets cold real fast out there. Had part of a $13 soft pretzel and a delicious $27 French dip with brocolini with ginger sauce, I’ve had enough fries on this trip needed some greenage. All in all was a good ski day not an epic pow day but i skied fresh snow on at least parts of 7 runs..and only the cirque and top of grand gave me any real issues. While I’m a good powder skier the windslab is always tricky for me..I just haven’t skied it that much..one more ski day for me and Atomic Jeff looks like cold and sunny for tomorrow.

Snowy day

Clear skies... Warm temps, spring snow. Just a really nice night out here. Crowds are minimal. 6 pack is down. Feels like late March. Despite the fact that it's too warm for early February tonight is really good.

They don't want you back.

It was fucking cold. 60mph winds and near 0F temps at the top of Sublette were not very enjoyable. Unfortunately not the big honking pow day we were expecting but those bottomless turns on Grand made it worth it. The Shiros are probably the best ski in our group for wind slab, but that doesn’t really say much. It was still a workout and there just wasn’t enough snow to cover up the firm spots off trail that got sun baked in previous days record temps. @JFskiDan and I still explored a little including lower Casper Bowl and Woosley Woods. The groomers over on Casper were probably the best they’ve been all week. One more ski day tomorrow that should bring sunny skied and moderate temps for some turns on Jackson Hole groomers.

Finally getting some snow here!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Was out first thing this morning, Monday, February 3. Nice and sunny, with frozen cord. After it warmed up a little bit skiing was a lot easier. Rivershot was in pretty rough shape from all the traffic over the weekend, and I don’t think there is enough base to properly groom it out. but Floyd’s wasn’t too bad, and Challenge in great shape all day. They groomed out the fresh snow we got yesterday afternoon pretty much everywhere except the left side of Exhibition. That was the run of the day, with nice baby bumps on the first slope with fluff on top. Left about 1, and the temperature was in the low 50s. Spring skiing, but it never got slushy.

Come out and visit me fool!

Came across this discount while looking for Elk specials if I end up going, looks like it can be used at a bunch of different PA mountains in case anyone is interested. I couldn't see any restrictions or anything like that on the coupon or elsewhere. One thing it did say though was the the coupon needed to be printed. $5 isn't much but it's basically a beer, right? note: this is for midweek.

This has just been a really crappy winter. Warm, then cold a couple days. I really think Blue is doing a pretty good job considering the variation in temperatures. Everything is open, not many places around here can claim that. Think of it this way, if you can ski ruts, bumps, cookies, sugar, you’re improving your skiing. As far as the 6 pack being a mess, it’s not like they can run to Pep Boys and get the part. Everyone needs to stop whining. Ugh.

Fun day. Definitely some heavier snow than anticipated. The warm up the other day was a little unfortunate as well for today, but we still found some good stuff to play in, and its always great to get out and ski some place different with some other Blue regulars.

Maybe if I buy next year's now I can put it in my other glove and have double the chance of a gate actually opening when I wave a hand against it.

Your last days will be

Wow....giving away ONE season pass? Seems like odds of me winning it are pretty good.

Damn they must be hurting. Gotta buy that part for the lift.

February 2nd 2020 Day 5 of 7 Today began warm and windy and it sure felt like groundhogs day as once again me, NMSki, JFBBDan and Atomic Jeff were the first civilian gondola which was MSY mad steezy yo. First run on amphitheater to thunder was nice cord not the best light not the best either. Grand was also alright I’ve had a few worse flat light days and now will admit I waited till somebody got in front of me to use for perspective. Up a windy sublette and also breezy..skied Bivoac was good chalk to R trail repeated that run again then moved over to thunder. Up Thunder and me and NMSki skied below the expert Chutes where Mute and Ryan had skigasms three days ago...wasn’t as good but smooth enough. Went ovet to Casper area via Nez Perce traverse. My feet were bugging me and I split up from the group sat in the woods for a few got a second wind went over to Teton left and also did a run on campground off Casper then stopped near the bottom of apres vous for a safety break and a few minutes later skied to the base then had lots of drink and some food at the mangy moose. JFDan skied a little more and NMSki skied a lot more. Was a fun day and best of all tomorrow is gonna be a powder day.

No surprises... the grooming was pretty bad...First run down Sidewinder was just a frozen mess...I think just about everything was bad....Main Street had lots of crumbs on the upper half..lower was a little softer with random push piles....I was on skis (and I suck at skiing) so maybe I'm being a little too critical...Some light snow showers came through when we were enjoying Enjoralas' meats in the lot...Enjoralas,Enjoralas' dad,J Law,Salty,PSUFly,Tarponhead,Indiggio,Benm,TP4,and other who I have seen but never met...One who gave me a Postal bin to put my boots in to keep the car clean...It's fuckin awesome..If you are reading this a big thanks!

Hey All, I'm back from another fun session at Blue Mountain the true mountain. I arrived at the lower lot at 07:45 and parked in Atomic's spot to make him jelly. It was around 28 degrees under partly cloudy sky's. In the house were JohnnyLaw, Enjoralas, Enjoralas's Dad, Enjoralas's Cousin, Enjoralas's delicious meats and shrimp, Tarponhead, Indiggio, TP4, PSUFly, BenM, Mixilplix, and many many others. First run was Challenge which was hard and solid, pretty legit. Then hit up Sidewinder, P-dizzle, and Main Street. Lazy Mile was in pretty damn good shape and later on was like a western groomer. The 6 pack seemed to be running slow again, so I rode the quad which was running at a higher speed. Eventually the race team inundated the quad with lines so went over to the Main Street and Burma lift. Around that time met up with @enjoralas and @pops and we made a few runs on Switchback which was definitely ROTD and in very nice shape, smooth as butter. Then we hit some glades (I skied between 3 trees). Then on Lower Main Street tragedy struck. I crashed into the middle Slow Down orange sign and became Jerry of the day. No one laughed at me too much so I brushed it off, and my legs and RTMs continued to function normally. Tried to put the sign up but my efforts were futile. Parking lot shenanigans were great. The meats and shrimp were outstanding, 10/10. Stayed until around 1 pm. All in all a great day at Blue the True. Some lyfestyle shots below.

I see lots of FB complaining about grooming and lifts at JFBB, which, i dont know, is the FB stuff because they are getting more traffic now being Epic? Historically their grooming has always been real good. I dont really remember many bad days of grooming there, but sort of whats going on there just seems to be a continuation of things i saw years ago, which is what prompted my exit. but, like ridgeracer is eluding to grooming is bad more than its good at Blue. seems like both establishments dont really care about the product they deliver to the end user. Sometimes Blues shit is down right dangerous. Problem is, we just keep showing up and buying passes, they continue to sell overpriced day passes.

Ok boomer.

If you want perspective come to Blue.

Conditions will probably be better at Elk and it'll likely be less crowded. Is it worth the extra hour? That's your call. If you have fun that's what matters right?

If all the lifts work sure.

Postal bin dude is Falco, seriously the best idea in years on the boots. Keeps all the stones out of the back. I like the dueling banjos style trs but I think this is a more accurate representation. I skied today with Benm and it was better but still some very very poor grooming. It was 50 though so just nice to be skiing.

The snow was kind of brutally firm and the grooming highly suspect but once again enjorales meet delivers as always. Salty 10 points for taking out the sign, that's a pro move and those signs are stupid

Fri Feb 21 $10 tix if anyone is interested. https://www.jfbb.com/club-login/ Username: JBWMGK Password: cordlive

4” overnight lots more on the radar slamming the Tetons. Windy as well.

Snowing hard in town.

Does the season pass for the parking lot go on sale at the same time?

Candid shot

It’s currently warm and windy in advance of an approaching storm from the north and west. I’ve never seen the sidewalks in this town so clear. 38 degrees base 35 mid mountain and 24 summit but temperatures will be dropping during the ski day could be a tricky day to dress...bagel place also didn’t have their bagel egg and cheese sandwiches ready yet so had to slum it with a cold breakfast. Right now NMSki is feasting on White Castle sliders and a burrito to get extra farty today and JFDan is across the street at the 49er eyeing the bacon and pancakes.

I like big bumps and I’ll tell you why!! Big, skier-made bumps are grate! Big, groomer-bomb trenches, not!

IMHO when the grooming has been subpar this year it is because there is not enough base to dig deep enough to do a good grooming job. This is the worst year for warm temps and rain that I can remember. But still most trails at JF are in great shape, just the high traffic steeper ones are showing the strain. A couple of lifts had dirt showing today if you cut the corner getting off. I don’t think Epic has increased their traffic at all, if anything it is down over previous years, although I have the luxury of not skiing weekends anymore so I miss the busses and crowds. With the changing climate, putting in a 30 year investment into a new or refurbished lift is pretty sketchy economics. Glad that Saddleback in Maine found investors to fund their lift replacement. The Balsams ski area in Dixville NH is still trying to get funding.

That's an awesome day on the snow!

That's a super adventure and in a low tide season a big accomplishment. Way to kill it and back yard adventures get extra cool points for sure

Lucky me! I guess I’ll be in the lot looking at a broken lift sooner than I thought.

Usually when you re-up your pass, Blues high tech scanner system usually shuts your pass off. Wont matter how many passes you have on you.

I'm in. Do you do half day tix or full day? Trying to get an idea about what to expect. Thanks.

im confused by the race team here on weekdays. Don't these kids have school????

Kinda nervous about putting my email address in there TBH.

Blue couldnt have farmed email addresses from a company specific page? 3rd party lol

wow just wow seems like groundhogs day

Link to the contest?

Electric lettuce

We all had a nice supper at Rendezvous bistro. Thanks NMSki for treating and also for the elk jerky earlier!! Jamaican mule, escargot and Salmon steamed in parchment paper. The town is one giant puddle...and it’s supposed to be below zero by Monday night...

March is the big dog, January/February in pa is normally pretty bullshit but March is our month