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Sunday 2/27 Pulled into the lot around 8:00. 2nd row, decent amount of people, and a lot of race team folks similar to a Blue Mountain weekend morning. Cold 10 degrees but full sun. Redeemed my Indy ticket from the window and then eventually made my way to the lift after checking out the facilities. 8:30 opening and a few dozen people in the lift line for the start. Most of my first runs were spent on the NY side of the mountain, skiing Glade, Catapult, and Chute which was ungroomed. The snow that they got the few days before opened up some of their natural snow trails - thin, but still skiable. After that I went to explore the more mellow side of the mountain since lines were starting to form at the quad. Trails on the MA side are definitely nothing special, but the glades were skiable and fun. Everything under Walter's Way through the birches was pretty fun. A few free base grinds and slow lift rides sent me back to the NY side. Stopped for a quick beer, took a few more runs on the NY side, and then called it for the day. Monday 2/28 Pulled into the lot around 8:30 for a 9:00 opening. Same deal as Sunday but with significantly less people. The place was a ghost town and I was pretty much riding solo all morning. Most of the morning was spent on the NY side on Sidewinder and all of the little trails that shoot off of it like Fishers, Shawenon, Marty's. The snow was great again. Good grooming. Just some really fun runs on this side of the hill. Before ending the day I hit Catapult a few times since that is such a good steep groomer. Back over for two runs on the mellow stuff and then ended my day to head home. I would definitely come back here again, especially with a better snow year and all of their natural trails open. It definitely seems like some significant investments are being made here with new lifts going in, new trails being cut, and snowmaking upgrades. They definitely have some interesting old school fan-gun-looking things at this place.

Day 1 - Let’s take it easy The plan was to not kill our selves the fist day, as we had 4 more to go and Big Sky is huge. Well, that plan went out the window the second run… Left the house at 8:00 to mostly overcast but with some breaks of sun and 20-something degrees. Out the back door the parking lot shuttle stops along the road up to the mountain. Was told they’d be running by 8, but none in sight, so we started hoofing it. That didn’t last long, so we stopped and waited. Couple minutes later shuttle picked us up. Decided to tour Andesite to start, so headed for the Ramcharger. First chair up and down Bighorn to get acclimated. Luckily they got some snow last week, but they’re well below snow levels and it’s pretty bony compared to the last time I was out. Bailed on the take it easy plan and dropped into Crazy Raven into Everett’s Anger, both steep and all bumps. Snow was firm and edgeable, which made for a lot of fun but exhausting. Thank goodness I didn’t wear the puffy or I would have been dying. Lapped Snake Pit a couple of times, which was ROTD. Lack of traffic left good pockets of snow and lots of fun. It wasn’t quite lunchtime yet, so we headed down headed for Wardance but ended up on Colter’s Hell trees, Mineshaft and lower Wardance, Lots of steep and good pockets of snow. Headed to the base for lunch of sandwiches we brought with and then out the the Swift Current since the lines lightened for lunch. Found some good snow in the bowl, so we lapped the Powder Seeker a few times. The Gully chutes were really bony and we did see a few coming down Big Couloir. Bailed on the bowl and headed for the Callenger lift. Unfortunately the winds we’re picking up big time and that’s a slow triple. Only did that one once. Came down Highway and into some crazy steep trees on St. Alphonse that also had some good snow. Had enough for day 1 and decided to pack it in and head back to the ranch, hot tub and some grilled chicken, potatoes and broccoli for dinner, washed down with some Big Sky Hazy IPA. Overall a great day, hopefully a bit of snow tomorrow to start. Hoofing it… Breaks in the clouds… Slim on Snake Pit Found and tagged a party shack… Dinner

Some Safety Shack shots…

Today Woke up at 7am hoping for my skis but to no avail … i began my journey to rent gear. Unfortunately places didn’t really open until 8. i went to Spicy Rentals to get rental snow pants, helmet, skis and boots. I didn’t love the boots but I was a fan of the Volkls. Would not recommend ever going into a ski rental shop… I skied the Volkl Secret 92. It felt smooth and it felt like they naturally maneuvered the mountain. After the hoopla of rentals, I had peanut butter & banana for breakfast then scooted to the gondola. The inversion was thick this morning. The lines were crazy short but I knew people were on the mountain. I stopped in for a quick bathroom break on the Whistler side and I saw a billiojion people in line for food. Would 100% not recommend eating on the hill. I skied from 10-closing and most of the lifts. My goal was to mostly get a feel for the mountain. The place is huge. there was 6” of fresh snow in the past 24-hours. It was a lot of ungroomed soft powder that was tracked out. Visibility was tough so it was hard to determine when my knees would suddenly be in my chest as I flew over surprising bumps. Here’s a pic to show the visibility. Took the tourist pics by the Olympic Rings and Flags. weather improved but it was so variable depending on where you were on the mountain. Crazy how the weather changes drastically on the long runs. my last run was on red express lift at 3:25 and had a nice long run down. It was snowing and the visibility improved slightly. It was snowing up top and raining down below. as I approached the bottom, you heard the music pumping. The DJ was rowdy. The bar tenders came out with alcohol bottles with flames on them. People were dancing on the fire pit tables. I really felt like it needed some Grilled Steeze dance moves. Walked back to the hotel. The room is on the first floor, so I flung myself over the patio fence and crashed. For dinner, my brother got food at the crystal lounge. Someone recommended it on Reddit. A bit tricky to find but great happy hour. We eventually met at Tepley’s and had the chicken parm sandwich and some drinks. The sauce was a bit … seasoned? it had a kick. It’s definitely was not a bland sauce. Would 100% have it again. i stretched. Hot tubbed. And then my skis arrived ❤️ overall, great day. Started out a bit frazzled but I had low expectations with the missing skis. not sure the ROTD because I really didn’t look at maps much. I just pointed skis down the hill and went for it. It was awesome to meander a new mountain. Epic Mix told me 13 lifts and about 25k vert. Tomorrow - I’m hoping to check out some of the recommendations that toast and others wrote about above.

Breckenridge was rad. Started at 8:27 under sunny sky's. There wasn't much fresh Perder but still found some secret stashes. Skied da groomers, da bowls, da moegools, and da glades. Pretty sick #JADIP #WTGAI #sickbird #gnarlybird

Good food at the Riverhouse BBQ on Gallitan rd I'm surprised the shack is still there....There used to be an old gondie car next to it.... This is from 2014

Work shit meant I was on a lunch session. Mad warm but grey and breezy. Crowds and vibe were full spring and the quad was ride on. Everything other than coming soon was soft serve ice cream, full hammer down jump off everything kinda snow. Coming soon had boiler plate ice somehow in the left side bumps. Smelled like spring out there where you gotta get every day in.

Live look in. This doesn't suck

No skiing yesterday but here’s a recap about getting here Yesterday, I arrived to Canada. I had a layover in Toronto and did customs there. the process was a bit annoying. You needed to take a PCR test within 72 hours of arriving into Canada and have your results. So when I got this from CVS with messed up dates, it became a whole thing. Luckily I caught it before leaving Philly and took some extra PCR tests just in case. Arriving into Toronto, I was randomly selected for another PCR test. when I got into Vancouver, handled the baggage drama but everything else went smoothly. Grabbed snacks from the 7-11 and booze in the airport. Went to level 1, met my brother, and took a shuttle to Whistler. the seats were comfy, smooth ride. Definitely recommend if you’re interested in an alternative to a car rental. Cracked some beers and ate 7-11 taquitos like all classy people do. Arrived in Center village and strolled to the hotel which was super close. I’m We got settled then walked around a bit. We ended up getting drinks and burgers from El Furniture Warehouse (menu) i got the mushroom Swiss burger with fries. It was $7 which was a steal. Seriously cheaper than frozen food at The Grocery Store. And the cheapest on mountain food I’ve ever had. I didn’t love the bun. Too many seeds. But everything else was great. Would definitely go ahead. Very confused by their cocktails. i thought I was ordering a regular margarita and then she told it had wine in it. So I said no thanks. She then offered “bull dog style”. all a bit weird but I went with it. Definitely would not get this again. Music playing was 1990s rap — biggie, DMX, ice tea. Felt like this place could also be in fishtown. as we strolled through the village checking out the other places, I felt like I was on a college campus where you just hear music pumping in a distance. Overall, super impressed by Whistler.

Day 2, sooo much fun. Got stuck in a Perder stash but freed myself. Hitting up the Falcon Superchair expert terrain for the rest of the day. Some gnarly groomers and moguls. Sick!

Burke is the best off-the-radar mountain in VT. East Bowl is the best trail if conditions are good.

Blue used to do 7:30 opening on weekends, but that had to be like ~10 years ago now. I'm sure @GrilledSteezeSandwich and pepperridge farm remember. 7:30 for passholders, 8:00 for regular day tickets at blue would be pretty great.

These stickers were on the gas pump at my local Wawa. Gave me a good laugh.

Up at 0 dark thirty, no big surprise there, to finish packing, shower, egg sangwich, peruse the musings of PASR and make ready for next awesome ski adventure for the upcoming week. Will be off to meet with Slim, Donny, Rick for the ride over to Newark and a straight shot into Bozeman. Looking like a great day to fly and hoping that the airlines think so too. Stay tuned for further updates...

Had the two longest runs of my life down Paradise tonight, skiing with the boys. Very spring like. Feels like the end of season if going to come down like a house of cards. Probably time to talk dates.

The end of the pandemic will be announced tonight...what coincidental timing

Expect to hit Montage Saturday if it keeps looking like rain on Sunday

Correct. I've been taking a lot of pics and gopro footage. Will upload later. My road biking friend who I'm with has been cooking for the Breckenridge crew. I'm gonna look for a restaurant tonight but everything is crowded AF, need reservations

Thinking about it...I would pay a grand for occasional passholder only hours (didn't blue used to do this?) and some sort of actual skip the line type of thing. If we're turning skiing into six flags, might as well offer tiered season access and fast passes... My true hope is that mass society melts back into the nothingness it came from within the next 5 years or so, so I can get back to enjoying the outdoors again. But I guess every schlub skis or snowboards now (even on the most off-peak, terrible nights) so if I have to pay more to actually enjoy myself, whatever.

If it was $1,000 to ski in Pennsylvania, I would find a new mountain.

This morning, I woke up at 6:30am. Ate some leftover dinner for breakfast. Left my house at 7am and was at the baggage drop at 7:30am. I got there at the same time as the Halifax Thunderbird Lacrosse team was checking in. I listened to their stories from last night in Philly … sounds like they like to have a good time. They’re playing in Vancouver on March 5th next. I had a layover in Toronto and saw my luggage leave the plane but my luggage had other plans. It made its way on a different plane. i packed a carryon but all my ski gear is in my bag that’s definitely not here. Positively? It seems like all ski gear that went from Philly to Toronto to (what’s suppose to be) Vancouver got redirected in transit and is on the next flights. I’m on a shuttle to Vancouver. sounds like they’re going to drop my ski bag off at the hotel around 1am. (Fingers crossed)

Arrived!! From the digs… Slim testing the snow depth…

Nope, barely waited in line at all today. I've already figured out where to go to avoid the crowds.

I was there first thing this AM ... wasn't as well put together as yesterday ... slightly more sugar and chunks but still skiing nice, and enough grip to let the MX98s run 😍

Sad about that spring-feel but you gotta embrace it because it can sometimes be some of the best skiing and scene all year! WTGAI. I might try and get up there tomorrow morning.

looked great on your TR!

He probably needs to find a hot spot for his jitterbug

No thank you

Got Sand blasted at cannon today. Wind was stupid.conditions were lol ice. Thinking Burke tomorrow

Nice to see the report. Considered being there Sunday then made a last minute call to hit Magic instead, which was a great day and I am glad to have made that call. Hope to hit Catamount later this year, likely 2nd weekend in March.

I’m glad your crew is staying safe.

Air Canada. I guess it’s been happening more often because they don’t have the ground support to transfer luggage. @Justo8484i think I learned my lesson and will travel with boots in a carryon next time. I have the receipts - definitely. I rented volkls, boots, helmet and ski pants. I loved the Volkls. Didn’t love the boots but it was doable. I heard they reimburse “reasonable” amounts. So I bought a new pair of hestras too and hoping to slide in that reimbursement😂 bag is finally moving … so hopefully it’ll be here soon

Always have my boots as carry on.

Keep your rental receipt and make sure the airline reimburses you. I had the same thing happen to me once in Utah. That was the last time I flew with my boots in a checked bag.

1. Blue is not Camelbacks sister resort... 2. Blue opened and stayed open before Camelback.. 3. Camelback has no value...

Camelback paralleling blue with the 25% off the sister resort and adding special Pass Holder lift access. They come in an insignificant $20-$30 under Blue's overall price, but throw in Camelbeach and offer considerably better deals for their off peak pass - which also starts an hour earlier (3pm) on weekends. - Unlimited Pass for $629 ($399 for ages 6-22) - Skip weekends (until 3pm) with a Value Pass for $349 ($199 for 6-22)

Safe travels - have a great trip!

Blue seems to sell out of season passes and day tickets just fine, they don’t need a third party in there selling discounted passes w/ multi mountain options to put meat in the seats.

Exactly why we don’t want to be on ikon.

some TRs from previous trips. Not sure what is in them. Probably a bunch of drunk posts.

or do, and see how exciting your next lift ride is?

Its fucking crazy that prices jumped $200 in the last two years, but this $650 price is more market value or whatever the fuck business term is used. If prices stayed low, or where they were two years ago then we would be dealing with the Epic pass lift line bullshit like all of those resorts and bitching nonstop. With this, we just bitch now about the price and then the rest of this season and next is all butterflies and rainbows until the next early season pass price.

Yeah! Sounded like an exciting game! Skis still not here …. Waiting on rentals ….

Interesting that 'Tiny Tots' is free at CB but $50 at Blue.

Would be nice if they offered a Blue/Camel combo pass. Wouldn't actually cost them anything extra to do so as you can't ski them both at same time and there are negligible people if any buying 2 Pocono only passes. And they could even charge a little more for it I'm sure.