Ski

I tell ya, MS, last Thursday night I went down to Blue around 5pm...I pulled into the lower lodge lot and there was a traffic jam of cars and buses. The lodge was crammed with kids...maybe a kabillion of them. Then, outside, somebody broke their fancy quad, so there was a 45 minute line to ride a dinky old chair up to the top. Ever been on the NYC subway at 5pm? I couldn't even see any of the park features 'cause there were too many people laying on everything. I know Blue skiers/riders are all richer, smarter, far better looking, much nicer than the Hunta crowd...but there's just soooooo freaking many of them. I was a little scared. In fact, I hesitated to mention this in Blue's forum, since they may travel in packs of thousands and didn't wanna p*ss any of them off too bad.

It's probably that they wanted to show that Lower Fast Track and Lower Runaway were easier than the others, so people would feel more comfortable skiing the entire mountain from top to bottom. Or, it's just that three double blacks sound better than one.

...I think Gurp should get the avatar back, too.

If Volklfreeskier backs out, then he owes Rob a big apology. That's in the official rule book, too.

I bet Sib has better insight, but Cliffhanger was first cut and opened to be a signature slope for CB. It was homologated, which means CB pays money to the FIS every few years to have it certified as a trail capable of holding an FIS event. Blacks and double blacks, though, can have a pretty vague definition. Montage used to have one double black...now we have three. But no new trails were cut. Sounds like a riddle.

I knew it! He won't race because it's boring and costs $5! Hahahah! I'll send ya $5! Sounds like Rob is about to be declared the WINNER. Oh, well, I lost that bet.

Ha, you go for it, Metz. As long as you are willing to put in the work and stay at it, then you'll never be a loser. Good for you. Nope.

Don't badmouth someone that is drunk at a ski race? EVERYONE should jump on his ass for that. Maybe a little intervention? I also believe in strong discipline for kids on my teams. We had a 16 yr. old kid with a bottle of vodka in his gym bag...you should have heard the head coach "badmouthing" his ass right off the team Maybe it won't ever happen again.

1000' vert, which is 200 more than CB. Nine more skiable acres than Blue. Not dissing, though, we try and keep it quiet. BTW, welcome back Shadows. You scared a lot of people.

It's bigger than Blue and CB, but don't tell anyone. It's mostly just because business is bad.

out of the five people at Montage today. I love when that happens.

Well, lets look at it. Since he won the BC GS after being on his butt four times, here's what he's done: DNQ2 (meaning he hiked) 7th 3rd 5th DNF2 (crashed in run 2) 8 8 DNF1 (crashed in run 1) DNF2 (crashed in run 2) DNQ1 (meaning he was outside the top 30 in the first run and didn't qualify for a second run) 9th 14th DNF1 (crashed in run 1) In 13 races since Beaver Creek, Bode has had ONE third place podium finish. For comparison, here are Rahlves most recent finishes: 2nd FIRST PLACE 5th 3rd 32 DNF1 12 FIRST PLACE 9th 6th FIRST PLACE 6th That's three World Cup wins and a total of five podiums.

Why be an apologist for Bode? He was quoted in the Italian press and on Eurosport television that he drinks alcohol almost every night. Did you see any of the Bode on the Bus shows last season? He was getting drunk in every segment. Steve Porino, who is an ex-US Ski Team downhiller and a terrific "on the hill" commentator is NOT a journalist. He is an advocate for the sport of skiing, especially the US Ski Teamers. Steve is best known for getting on a plastic sled and going down a downhill track to show what it's like to crash into the netting. He's like the chick that does the goofy features at the end of the local news. The morning after Bode won the title, he was clearly drunk in the start and skied out of the race. That was the extreme example. But saying it's only been that extreme once, so there's no problem, is ignoring a real problem for Bode. This weekend's races were just terrible. He pushed out of the GS start and stepped on his own ski tail. Bode almost didn't make it to the first gate! He skied down nearly 2.5 seconds behind the leader, then barely held on in the second run for a few points. Sunday, Bode simply skied out of the first run of slalom. He was sloppy and late for every turn, then simply skied out of the course. He hasn't finished a single slalom race this season. I just don't think it's cool. I think it's tragic and a horrible example for kids.

I have a lot of friends on the Montage staff, so I'm not trashing them. Most Montage employees are the best in the Poconos, from my buds that drive the shuttle to the PSIA people. There are a few gaps, though, that are attributed to the unique ownership. Again, I may be the only person on here that wouldn't change a single thing about Montage. Belleayre? Probably the friendliest, down-home sort of employees you'll find in the Catskills. But I've experienced the same gaps, too. But I don't mind. Everybody has a bad day or a bad week. I let MS keep the caf girls in line.

I checked the official rule book and 'Mom is correct. The challenger was unspecific in the type of race, so it falls back to a NASTAR as the default venue. There are no separate mandatory conditions allowed, but certain "requests" can be made.

Well, Rob, I hope you at least make it through more gates than Bode did before crashing in yesterday's slalom. I sense, though, that Voklfreeskier will back out when he realizes it's NASTAR. He trashed your technique and skills, but I have a feeling that he doesn't see making arced GS turns as "skills". The purest form of ski carving is a giant slalom turn, especially when it's a basic NASTAR course. I bet he disappears for a week or two.

Sorry, I couldn't bring myself to read what was surely a reasonable explanation that didn't involve building ADA compliant ramps instead of taking down the signs and putting a Hummer there.

Ha, Hunter people even shout when they advertise rentals.

County employee, really. You'd be surprised at the difference.

OMG, congrats on getting handicapped spots removed---I guess. I don't think I've ever heard of a human being lobbying management to remove HC spots for any reason, no matter how 'noble'. I can almost hear that conversation: "For their own safety, you need to pull out those signs and let me park my Hummer there." Rob, are you Satan? I'm only half kidding.

Uh, we handled the challenge for you last night: http://www.paskiandride.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3007

Two things are clear this morning: Rob continues to be and Metz is in. But lemme tell ya' Metz, age has nothing to do with it. Lots of boys as young as 8 or 9 go through what is only half jokingly called the low center of gravity stage. The kids that can carve a turn yet don't have a lot of weight pulling them out of their line are rabbits down a course. Ridge is among the top 40 J4's in Eastern PA, which means he can take every recreational racer that wanders over to a NASTAR course by a ridiculous amount of time. Now Rob, on the other hand, has gotten cocky with his new race skis. His excuse days of twin tips are gone. If you race, then you are a racer.

I was wondering what happened to that, Gurp. That sorta sucks. I may have put it another way I believe Voklfreeskier was talking NASTAR...downhills are a little sketchy on weekends at CB.

From the employee parking thread. Rob called him a lazy, lard*ss slacker.

Excellent question, MS...we need to know more about him. But it's a good race from the fact that he's a CB employee.