Ski

Montage was empty because that's what a typical day is like. It lost money last season and this year is going to come close to break-even. There were a few school buses at 4pm today, but very few cars.

Everyone from the board is welcome at Montage; everyone else should go to Elk. I heard rumors of free beer and wings at Elk, and something about chicks streaking.

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I was reading your devious mind...

And, BTW, Atomic if that newspaper pic shows up in this thread I will have to kill you. And I won't be in a speed suit, so it'll be a slow death.

Uh, Hall and Olsen are the only one's I know. If I told you Sonja Nef looked amazing in a speed suit, I can't imagine that would mean a thing to you. Speed suits on most grown men do look pretty bad. Sometimes they look downright grotesque, which tells you how much 1/10 of a second means to an old guy.

If wearing a clown suit made you go faster, then we'd all wear clown suits. Speed suits are uncomfortable and you freeze your ass off. If Tanner Hall could score higher with a speed suit on 'cause judges could see rotation better, then he'd be wearing the tighest one he could buy.

BTW, just this morning rlarick asked for a photo analysis of his son's race technique. This was easy to do because he sent me a link to an album at: http://www.montagephoto.photoreflect.com Even if you never buy anything (sorry Anthony ), it's a great place to check yourself out in the terrain park or on the NASTAR course. I swore I wasn't going to pay for another photographer's photos, but he just happened to be there for my 4-year-old's first ever NASTAR race and so he got me for two pics. And the quality is as good as it gets. Hey, 'Dude or Skimom, could you imagine what you could do just seeing a dozen great shots of each of your GS runs?

The girls practiced on the steep trail the night before the first race---they had gates set up---but that "super steep" headwall is really short. I guess Denton had me confused by that hype.

Ha, didn't like that P.S. remark? That maniac kid Zaldon was faster and crazier than 99% of the people I ski with.

I'm hounding them for straight up, peak season Sundays, Skimom. I'm letting them know that we aren't looking for slush bargains or Tuesday nights. We want their best product at our most convenient time. And $15 will get people there that won't come for $25 becasue they have passes elsewhere. Still no reply...

Silence so far. I'm sending it again...

I still can't believe they groomed it. I get the crap beaten out of me by the usual WL moguls; big icy mounds surrounded by World War 1 foxhole trenches. I know it's sorta p*ssy to say, but I was psyched when I heard they flattened it. I'd love it as a 50/50 trail.

Jump off the Castlerock lift to the left, then pick it up from there. It crosses Liftline right at the top, then winds down parallel to Liftline. My advise would be to ride up over Liftline (it's below you the whole way) and get an idea how conditions are from the carnage below. After skiing Liftline, then do Rumble. With great conditions, they aren't too bad...but Castlerock doesn't have many of those days. Sugarbush is a great place. I had a blast there at camp in December. The Bush is also cool because it can be sunny and 40 at the base, but 15 and blizzard-like on the upper lifts. Two worlds.

The Denton PA Cup race was on their steepest trail, right from the top.

To me, Liftline and Rumble at Sugarbush's Castlerock are the gnarliest runs in the east. Outer Limits is the hardest, while Devil's Fiddle (when open) is one of the outright steepest. Although I worked there for three years, Mount Snow's Northface has some surprising steeps, like Jaws of Death. With snow built up at the top of the headwall, WL is steeper than anything at Belleayre, Windham, and even Hunter. That it leaves an impression of "Holy crap" when you hit the bottom, is good enough for me. Part of it's coolness is that it's in Pennsylvania. Like it shouldn't be there. As Dthml said, maybe it's better not to see pictures of it. I bet by 9:45 tonight, when the refreeze was complete, WL was pretty darn sick.

I waited around as long as I could, but I had the kid with me. She actually took a pretty good wipeout at the very bottom of Cannonball and was a little dazed while hanging out by the lift. Anyway, I was going to get a yardsale on WL, but it was pretty empty this afternoon. You really have to take the time and use the right lens to get an idea of steepness. Even on OLN they are always saying how the race courses are much steeper than they look on TV. I just had a little point-and-shoot digital cam. BTW, I ran into Linemavericks...couldn't take a run, though, since---again---I was 'with child'.

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I'm not talking about waxing skis for speed, Sib. Bases need wax, or they dry out. A dry base oxidizes and flakes off. That's not just my opinion or interpretation or something I made up. It's a fact. If you can ski faster while leaving bits of your base along the way, then go for it. But I guarantee that a waxed ski will turn better, glide faster, and last much longer than unwaxed bases. Skiing with all the wax worked out of the base is like driving a car around with extremely old motor oil.

I'm sure she meant worse than nothing for performance, not damage to your bases. Skiing with dried out, unwaxed bases creates lots of friction and damages your bases. Even leaving your skis in a closet without wax will do damage. It is better for your bases to always have wax on and in them. The wrong wax will make your skis grab, but still protect them from drying out. Cold temps with dry snow=hard wax. Warm temps with manmade or high water content snow (East)=soft wax. Ski bases are like people. You want the moisturizer rubbed in...lots of it is best. But you also want to wipe off the excess, or you can't turn doorknobs.

"You could always try some of that Zaldon stuff...Tell us how it works." My Grammy used to mix up names a lot, too, right before she went to the big Grammy farm in the sky.

Hahahahahah! I'm not telling you why that's funny, 'Dude... The sticky feeling is pretty accurate, Think. Ski bases that don't allow water/ice/snow to pass easily are creating a suction. After four days (and after the first, actually), your bases don't have any wax. Your temps are pretty good for an all-around wax. Ski shop bulk waxing can suck if it's really cold or really warm, because they load up with mid-range. I'd avoid the Zardoz stuff and pick up some packs of Swix or Toko rub on. You can get them in little towlettes, like Wet One's, or in a tube that has a sponge on the end. It isn't as good as a hot wax, but works well for a few runs. If you go to a shop, ask them if they'll use Swix CH7, or the equivalent.

Ha, I knew that would be skimom's solution: do both.

An email to Montage group sales: Hello: I am a season pass holder again this year and a member of a new, but growing ski/board message board with 223 very active members. The members of the message board, paskiandride.com, have been gathering at various Poconos areas to sample each other's home hills. Sunday was Montage's day and here are a couple of threads you might take a moment to view: http://www.paskiandride.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1277 http://www.paskiandride.com/forums/index.p...topic=1270&st=0 http://www.paskiandride.com/forums/index.p...topic=1252&st=0 The boarders and skiers from paskiandride.com are mostly high school and college students without a lot of expendable income. They buy their season passes, mostly at Blue and Camelback, then ski around when possible. I know you run specials for armed services, as well as the $10 flash your pass, but the bottom line for getting students that already have season passes elsewhere is in the $15 range. Scheduling for this demographic is equally difficult, so turnouts would never be guaranteed (to qualify for group discounts); we'd only gather from six to 15 people and Sundays seem to be the best days. If there are any upcoming Sundays that you'd be willing to sell deeply discounted tickets at $15, we have members willing to make the trip, especially after the reviews from yesterday's outing. Thanks for your consideration. ********************************** I'll let you know what they say....