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Seemed like the poconos got skunked, and I didn't have the time to venture into the majestic mountains of New York or New England, so we undertook a mission a little closer to home. After digging through the NELSAP archives and the be-all-end-all of information that is Facebook, @GSSucks and I set our sights on Snow Bowl, a defunct ski area about an hour from NYC in northern New Jersey. I left home around 5:30 with a friend and we met @GSSucks about 2 hours later where he was pulled off on the side of the rode like a creeper. Car said 5°, weather app said -6° wind chill. Fueled by rice crispy treats and coffee, I booted up and we started our ascent. Minor wrong turn took us into what might have formerly been a snowmaking pond. Luckily it was all dried up, but it made for a spicy descent with skins on and heels loose. After we found the trail again, the uphill was relatively easy and uneventful. No one else was there, so @GSSucks set the skin track and we tried to keep up. Once at the top, one could theoretically see the NYC skyline, or at least the old trail map says so, but I saw no buildings. Oh well, the snow was good and we had it all to ourselves. We transitioned from uphill to downhill mode and took our first lap. Top 1/3 was a little scrapey and wind blow, but once the pitch kicked up and we got a little farther down the hill, the snow in the loosely spaced trees was great. Probably about 5-6", with some deeper pockets from drifting. We did four laps in total, for just shy of 1500 vert, with our last run having the best snow of the four. At under 2 hours from home, it's a great option for me when coastal storms skunk the Poconos but deliver farther east.

Today was a wild one. Wind was pretty rowdy at the base, and we heard 50+ mph at the top of the tram. We got to the top of the gondy and it was insane. Shit blowing everywhere. Our first run down Amphi was pretty nice. Vis was meh at best, but snow was soft. Lifty told us Tram and Sub were already on wind hold. Top of thunder it was blowing sideways at probably 35+ mph. We managed to get 3 runs off north facing stuff on Thunder before they shut it down a few chairs behind us. North facing aspects were holding a creamy 2", but everything else was wind scoured. With Tram, Sub, and Thunder down, over to Casper we went, which had a 5 minute line when we showed up, but due to winds, they were running it at 1/2 speed so the line grew quickly. Few runs over there before heading over to Teton, which had no lines. Even the Sweetwater gondy was down for winds. A random shot of GSS without his hands up for once.

Had work calls until 845 so rolled up a little later than normal to an empty house. King Mixl arrived a few moments later for a rare weekday morning session. Quad only and while it was quiet there were some bigger groups of older heads that kept the lines busy but the trails empty. First run down razors was a perfect groomed carpet then 3 in a row down challenge as it was absolutely spectacular. The first two I had the trail entirely to myself top to bottom with perfect snow which for challenge feels like stealing. We ran some switch and main which were both stellar and for some reason very few people were going that way. There were some marbles coming through the razors and challenge headwalls but I thought they were good marbles for blue. The quad stopped for 10 mins or so around 930 and again around 10 when we got down it was stopped with a line out the gates. I had skis being tuned so I went to swap them out and it got running again but I hate the do you stay and deal with the crap lines or miss very very good snow. Big props to the tune guys, they just put it on the machine but I had a fuck ton of ptex work and they didn't pull a single one. Snow is most excellent, better than yesterday I think but regardless if you can get out, get some for sure before the warm up.

Fun morning skiing with @Johnny Law today...Didn't take long for Razors and Challenge to get some mini marbles up top...Lower sections had very nice cord...Main Street was in fine shape.....Switch and Side had some crumbs on them but skied great...I suck at skiing and just about ran out of talent a few times trying to keep Law in sight...Big thanks for waitin for me at the lift... As soon as the quad stopped the second time the line just exploded...After JL left I took a couple of laps on the double chair(which hardly had any wait time)...Sun,skiing and some slightly warmer temps made for a great morning at Blue...Tomorrow am will be good...

Yo yo! Thought I'd throw it back and write up a TR for today, 1/31. My first year with a BC pass has been incredibly fun, and quite possibly reignited my love for skiing. Being 45 minutes away is a game changer, I'm able to rack up the midweek days now after work with ease. I'm on day 7 - probably the most I've skied in one season, since my last season in VT (2012)...so the most I've skied in 10 years! I would like to get a blue pass again just to avoid the shitshow on weekends and get longer runs, but I think I'll keep BC as my midweek home from here on out. It's just too close to not. I decided this year to fully dive right back into park skiing. It's been kinda rough at first, but now I'm finally feeling good and confident again. Just doing simple tricks and hot lapping the park leaves me with plenty of stoke to get me through the week. I 100% am skiing for me right now and it's an absolute blast. Onto the TR...today was probably the best conditions of the year (in the park), by far. I did my standard warmup, B-lift to the family park for some safety tricks and safety meetings (hike that for ~10-15min), sample the grizzly bumps, then back over to kodiak/black bear for the remainder of my session. Bottom half of the bumps were crusty, but the lower half were still OK with tasty stashes...firm, but tacky. Kodiak/BB is running great right now, the new setup after the hip is very fun and flowy. Basically like a skatepark out there, which is perfect for me. Lips were unlike anything I've ever seen at BC and the park crew has been putting in major work to keep everything fresh. I could do without the stepdown/sharp kink rail (my skis could too), and I wish they'd make the first jump longer (at least 2 lip options) with all the speed you can carry there. But those are minor quirks that I don't mind much at all. With that said, cascade is not the best, and kinda like a timewarp...that curve box, 5ft high lips onto things, etc. I hope they improve that setup...seems kinda phoned in. I am enjoying my family park/bumps warmup though, just would be nice to have better jib variety for a run or 2. There is only one good rail, but it doesn't warrant skipping Kodiak. Overall...coverage is great, snow quality is great, it didn't even look like BC out there. 10/10 on the JADIP scale. BTW...If you see me, come say hi! I've been skiing solo weekdays anywhere from 2-4pm until 6-7pm. Green camo-ish jacket, black helmet, blue/fire goggles, khaki pants, bright red fulltilt boots, line chronics with bright orange bases:

Yesterday was the fifth bluebird ski day in a row..it was a bit like groundhogs day..freezing cold down low, mild on the upper mountain. A lot of groomers off the sublette and thunder lifts and even a groomed Slalom run. Moderate weekend crowds but no real liftlines. Last night we had some trouble finding supper. First the brewery had a 20-25 minute wait for a table and I didn’t want to wait that long so went to Pizzeria Caldera which was closed then restaurant by the cowboy bar was closed and snake river grill closed. We ended up getting a table at Gather which was very good and we chatted with the couple from Mississippi who was at the next table who just wrapped up a conference and serious wining and dining at the Four seasons. This morning we had a little more moxie with snow falling. My walk to the bagel place was downright balmy as it was almost 20 degrees vs -10 and below previous days. We left for the hill at 7:55am and parked right in front in the village lot and were second and third people in the singles line of the gondola. Skied Ampitheater to thunder which had like an inch of new pow wow..Toast would have called it 2”..to the Thunder lift and wow was it windy at the top of Thunder. Down grand which was treacherous..hard to ski and barely any fresh at all..mostly frozen cord. Sublette and the Tram were closed. The cat track back to thunder had bad visibility. Up thunder again and took second entrance into Amphitheater via Jerry’s way which had some of the deepest new snow..maybe 2-3” perd so Toast and Jack Frost would have called it 4-5”..pleasant conditions and back to the Thunder lift for a third ride up and a few chairs behind us they stopped loading the Thunder lift. The same run again and then across to the Casper lift which had a moderate liftline and this was the first day Casper was running this trip. Got some stash park freshies and up casper again for a second round of stash park freshies then up Teton lift which had pretty bad snow up there just very skied off with all the traffic. I do think this new snow will groom out well and the winds should deposit the new snow to places like 10 sleep bowl and below the expert chutes. While early in the trip lacked new snow, it’s easy to take for granted perfect visibility..today’s visibility meant more turns in areas I usually let the skis run so was a good workout. Nice lunch at the four seasons and Atomic Jeff enjoyed a couple of $27 Old Fashioned cocktails. I wasn’t up for drinking so had Diet stoke, chili and a philly wagyu sang. Today was alright, wasn’t the best, wasn’t the worst but we lucked out getting a bunch of laps in before lifts started going down.

Still my favorite mountain on the east coast

Felt like skiing in VT without the drive, dam fun morning. Might try and make it back Wednesday morning before the rain.

Could be ideal timing for some fresh. It started around the time the report is posted so website says 0” new but could be a few inches when they open. Not a pow day but some fresh will be nice.

Short afternoon tour on the local GC to try out my new XC skis...The first kick wax I applied didn't really do much so I applied a softer wax and it seemed to help a lot...Kick wax is some really bizarre stuff..... The skis kick and glide nice ..even on slight up hills but the waxless skis do much better one the pitch gets a little more aggressive...Was just super fun to get out for an hour or so ..

It’s snowing on the mountain.

i call this a huge success. Doesnt appear as though anyone was inured, nobody stuck over a water main break, and the video i saw looks like it was a pretty organized evacuation.

my two favorites are the tilted hockey rink razors JFDan mentioned and the zero viz morning they seeded bumps skiers left on dream weaver for the first time with no lollipops or markings. on the former i remember sliding on the seat of my pant past bodies strewn off in the woods and changing my attempted self arrest into aiming for the 3 patrollers standing at the bottom of the headwall like bowling pins. I skidded to a stop right at their feet. I started walking over to Challenge an then said fuck this Ive never walked off or down a slope and wasn't starting now, the scary tip down was ok as long as you didn't try to turn... On NMDW i hit those bumps right at the bottom of a big GS turn, I held on for maybe 4-5 bumps and when I finished ragdolling Nastar Glenn's son thought I was dead lol

It’s dumping wow

There might be a couple inches of new snow for us tomorrow. Here’s a couple night time shots from around town

And any of you guys whose wife/girlfriend skis or rides, but doesn’t want to come with you, because they won’t be able to keep up, they are welcome to ride with me when I’m there. My group is definitely no pressure. Do what you want when skiing/riding. That’s what it’s about.

Lol that’s when I was eyeing the nylon fence and contemplating whether or not I can limbo. I was halfway up the corral. Then it started again. The trash clean up crew was coming down and they did a fine job . No cans or crap leftover. Decided to run up for a morning session hoping for 3hrs but work world found me and only managed an hour. I wanted to see what the Freefall bumps look like in the morning. Ok but the light was flat on skiers right and was some ice lurking and it was scraped down a bit. I was planning on a return this evening but work killed that idea $&@“$!!!. So I went home and drank some beer. “ Double Blizzard “

Rosé and I will be there for opening tomorrow too Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Second lift ride up 4Runner, I rode up with a guy from MALVERN. Not even joking. This is grate!

United tried to tell me snowboards are an extra charge compared to skis and charged me more. I immediately threw a temper tantrum on their Facebook page while in the security line and before the flight was boarding, they had reached out to correct the issue. It’s sad how being an immature asshole can get results, but unfortunately, years of retail and sales experience have shown me this to be the case

Yes, it's annoying as hell. They pretty much scratched Mon-Tue-Wed from weekday skiing, it now feels like a weekend, at times even worse because nobody's filling the chairs, people feel free to ride in pairs when there is a mile long line behind them, and the 6-pack is of course standing still, saving Blue the electric bill and attendants salary. Boo the Blue!

The issues with the quad is starting to get out of hand. It’s everyday all day at this point. At what point do they shut it down for a couple days and actually fix it and not bandaid it together?

wow just wow ... if you're going to mention @toast21602 at least tag him so he can get a few likes out of it.

East coast mother fucker!

Wonderful to hear about the good snow still being around. I should be up tomorrow +/- 30 minutes of opening.

They gave me VIP parking since I'm a celebrity here

I got a free RT flight but ok.

Never had an issue with any airline and ski bags. Domestic or international. Usually keeping it under weight and not being a dick are enough to keep any attention off of you.

Didn’t get enough of the outdoors at Blue today, so decided to noodle around the yard trying out the new stuff. Everything worked as expected, just need more experience with it. @JFskiDan the skins didn’t glide very well to start, but also did get better after a while. They sure make some strange sound when gliding.

I don't think it's actually busted like a drive issue or something of that nature. Rather it's old as fuck so the sensors keep malfunctioning. It tends to take multiple attempts to restart after a stop and today on the first stop Mixil and I heard the trash guys radio say they had 3 stops already for a sensor on tower 9. It seems to be worse the colder and more snow/ice is around which is common to electrical sensors. It's like an old car, the motor and trans are fine but the electrical system is sending crap to old crap sensors which tell the computer to stop as something is wrong. To replace it all would be a summer project if at all.

I can't speak for them, but I looked into this place last year when we got a bunch of snow and I think there was a small parking lot right along the road as well as a school very close by. I'm pretty sure this is part of a county park now, so there are some trails and maybe a bike park?

i also had the wagyu steak sandwich ... it was excellent, but the shitty photo makes it looks subpar.

They have to do something about the quad. Was on the second chair up, and things were as JL described. When the lift stopped for the second 10 minute incident, and the mechanic came down a second time on the skidoo, I headed over to the Main Street lift. That got a little crowded too, but I cheated by going under the lift to the west side line. Dreamweaver and Main Street were in great shape, Main Street better than it was last week. Switch was OK, but nothing special. Left about noon time, the quad line was 10 or 15 yards in front of the gates.

I'll be out, you can't believe how warm it felt this morning at 15 rather than 3. Tomorrow morning is going to feel incredible and the snow I think will still be very good.

I'd be willing to bet they would do just fine because they have training. Any time that I have dealt with Blue's SP for anyone or myself requiring medical attention they have done things incredibly well. We give them shit because they used to blow whistles at us while we skied like assholes, but I think the overwhelming majority of them know what they are doing. Now if the lifts had to evacuate the lift, that would be a different story.

Great job to Elk's ski patrol for doing a great job and no one got hurt. I guess that's what you get when you can source your patrollers from VT. The news said it was a problem with the gear box. They should have popped a Ford transmission in there as a back up.

Just keep in mind that on United at least, the ski bag and boot bag are considered to be one item and must be under 50lb limit combined. I’m allowed 70lb bags and I couldn’t be happier as two pairs of skis plus the weight of my ski bag is like 49.5lbs and I’ve had a few rogue scales say it’s 50.5lb which has resulted in me removing one of my towels that I use to wrap the tips, or just a “repositioning” on the scale at the request of the agent “look it’s under 50 now”.

What I find difficult are getting the front clips situated properly. Kinda hokey design as opposed to others that just have a metal rectangle that slips over the top of the ski which I would think would be the easiest to put on. Maybe there's some trick to putting them on that I'm not aware of. Doh! Guess a little searching first would have helped...

Had a nice day. Glad I got to sample the delicious breakfast for lunch. Thanks @enjoralas Didn’t do CS today, heard from a reliable source it wasn’t great, and Khrushchev’s crevice was not worth it. Best snow was on Switchback. But I am biased, as that is my favorite trail.

They should get one free day to ski the woods

Yep , Eminent Domain screwed lots of people and never built the project . https://www.nps.gov/dewa/learn/historyculture/tocks-island-dam-controversy.htm

One rock every 50’ Oh well nice day to be out anyway.

Saw a 5ver this morning. Math shouldn’t be that hard for people who can afford to ski.

Wrapped it up before 4 pm today, everything got icy once the clouds rolled in. Conditions were nice in the morning and mid afternoon. Favorite runs were Liftline, Perry Merrill, and Slalom Hill. Worst run was Sterling which was one of my favorites last time, but the cover was thin throughout and I almost ate it on pure ice

It stopped on me and mixi yesterday. After 20ish seconds it did the little 2 step sputter and we both said “aw f*** here we go.” Fortunately it was only stopped for about a minute. No plans on riding it except once a morning or so to hit CS.

Telling people jump and I’ll catch you?

Stowe is such a good place but it has changed alot and it's not nearly as "core" since AIG got it and put in spruce to get that sweet family $$$$$. The day a hiker can't get a ride in VT is super sad but even VT has gone a bit corporate.

I didn’t think they cared, as long as it didn’t weigh a lot. I always wrap my pants and coat up with my skis. But I leave my Blue pass at home or in my car.

Can you see if they will let you add a day or two?