Ski

Yep. I'm hoping the really good base holds out until the third week of this month, which is the full moon. That's our post-season night skiing.

I can't believe the grass actually grows on that slope after the melt.

A reason not to eat the snow... I believe it's mostly the big Areco snow guns that are the worst at adding oil to snow. We rely on five of them here at the Hideout and once we get warm temps, a coating of oil is left at the surface. One side of the run is okay, but the side that the guns are run from is crazy. I took a run down it yesterday and even the topsheets of my skis turned black. It also happened late last year at a Tanglwood race, but nowhere near as bad as this was. Anyway, a maintenance guy loaned me his lighter for a little test. And, yes, you can actually set a ski slope on fire.

I mentioned The Answer as an example and sure don't equate Bode's actions with Iverson's...but inviting cameras to follow you around getting drunk before races is offensive to me. Pulling cell phones out of goal posts after a TD? I had a kid in an Under 12 soccer game score a goal and then pretend he was an airplane and flew around in celebration. Our team was losing 4-0 with a few minutes left in the game when he scored. I quietly told his dad to explain to the boy later that night what an *sshole he was being. Maybe I'm just too old school.

Setting an example is different than being a role model. Kids should look to their parents for role models...at least in a perfect world. But I disagree with you 100% about professional athletes and how they act. I would want my kid's sports hero to act with class and dignity and show a great work ethic. I'm not interested in legislating Bode not to drink before races...but we're in a society where kids emulate what their sports heros do. Some professional athletes take great pride in using their position to be a great example for kids...Jeter, Michael Jordan, Gretsky.... Then there are guys who couldn't give a crap...like Iverson. And do you want your kid to root for a player that beats his wife, drives 100mph with a gun and an ounce of pot in the car, and tells his coach he isn't coming to practice because "it's ONLY practice"?

And on another "Bode on the Bus", they were doing shots in a bowling alley. A USSA kid would face suspension for just being at a party where other people were doing that.

yes

Showing kids it's okay to drink shots and beer the night before a ski race is a shitty example. A Bode tour? What's he going to do, race himself? Have Europeans turn out to watch him like a Harlem Globtrotter exhibition? What brought Bode to the top will send him to the bottom if he doesn't get a reality check. The moment Bode isn't winning on the World Cup, European fans will latch onto a new golden boy. And Benji Raich is all set to take over. If Ted Ligety starts winning---which he might---then Bode won't even be the coolest US guy on the tour. Bode needs to World Cup; the World Cup doesn't need Bode Miller.

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Hey, you don't like it when strange men in hotels gently tune you by hand?

Average speed for a downhill course is about 60mph. They hit jumps at a variety of speeds. Some are 45mph and some are at 75mph, or faster. But taking air is slow, so a racer squashes the takeoff and presses his hands down and tries to get back to the snow as soon as possible. The longest jumps are usually fairly high speed and the terrain simply drops away, then the skier has to land and hit a turn.

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World Cup men are now reaching 98mph. At Wengen there was a marker for 60 meters from the lip of the takeoff and a few racers went past the marker. That's 197+ feet. Consider the downhiller is launching and landing on ice; is also going off three or more other jumps of 100 to 150 feet druing the same two mile run; is racing against 60 other people against the clock. Some cliff jumpers may be crazier, but there is no comparison to who is ballsier. I'd still love to see Tanner take Rahlves up on the challenge of just skiing down the Hahnenkamm.

And Ski Plattekill. Belleayre is the cheapest, which makes Windham and Hunter management complain. Belleayre is state owned and is subsidized, allowing for lower ticket prices. Belleayre has more steep runs than Windham and usually a longer season.

$47? Holy crap! Maybe that's $47 Nicaraguan. I'll drive the extra 45 min. to the Catskills at that price.

They ran them until 3/27 last year. There's a possibility, although it looks like they didn't have them last weekend and maybe not this past weekend.

Schlopy's skiing Nationals at Mammoth on Tuesday 4/5, so he might just be free that weekend. Have you seen Ligety ski, 'Dude? He makes Bode look conservative. He sometimes comes through the finish and hop turns to fakie, then does a worm turn. European's flick cigarette butts at him, but he's funny to watch.

Oh, yeah, they sure wouldn't hold a PA Cup race on that slope. ASRA would even move down to one of the diamonds. All I'm saying is that it's a good J4/5 and NASTAR course, with a little more terrain than CB or Shawnee's NASTAR courses. I mean, could you imagine holding a USSA race on Raceway? Coaches would scoff.

This year's J3 race results on Switch at Montage. It's also a J4/5 race and set similar to NASTAR. Two more gates, but a similar offset. Did you do it in low 20's, 'Dude? 13 and 14 Men 1 388 E5941554 CASTELLANO, Tony MMST/91 32.44 30.70 1:03.14

I'm about 90% for next Sunday.

CB was CROWDED Friday by Montage standards. We had to wait in lift lines and wait for headwalls to clear. They are just getting ready for summer and don't give a crap about a spring skiing season. They could clean up after this coming rain and have great conditions through next weekend with no problem.

Okay, it took me a minute...

From the Belleayre website: TOO MUCH SNOW!!! DUE TO THE OVERWHELMING AMOUNT OF SNOW THAT BELLEAYRE HAS RECEIVED IN MARCH. BEACH PARTY WEEKEND WILL BE RESCHEDULED. WE WILL HOLD BEACH PARTY WEEKEND WHEN WE HAVE MORE SPRING LIKE CONDITIONS!! LETS RIDE AND SKI!!! Today is Sunday March 27, 2005 We got SNOW! 9 inches of fresh powder this week and conditions are AWESOME!!!

"F" ski shops, I say. How many products other than skis are sold that way? Manufacturers are all in agreement to not allow large chains to carry their products and use quantity buying power to offer them cheaply. Instead, every ski we buy from a shop has to come with a reminder that we're helping this small business owner pay his mortgage. And buying race skis at shops are the worst. Every shop gives you that "have to special order them" line, which means pick up a phone. You end up paying 110% of the suggested retail. Never again. Ebay offers $500 buyer protection. You can't get ripped off. And $500 spent on Ebay will get you $1000 worth of gear from your local ski shop.

Ogres are cool.