Ski

It just seems that it if you have coverage on Mainline, then what's the purpose of duplicating the terrain by blowing so hard on Highball and not hitting Switch and/or the other runs over on that side? Mainline and Highball are so wide that they take a lot of effort to cover, when some more usefull terrain could be opened sooner. I dunno...I guess they have a plan.

Took a couple of quick runs...Boomer is the only diamond open right now. They are blowing hard on the North Face, especially on Smoke. The rain really set everything back. Couldn't tell what they were working on up top, except for all the circles on the right side.

They had to postpone junior races from the left side of that slope from this weekend until March 5/6. That isn't a good sign for getting snow guns over there, but it may only be a scheduling issue. We used to always be able to count on CB to get Cliffhanger open by a certain date because of the annual Corchnoy race.

Thanks. Without at least one slope open I'd have headed to Elk. The rain did weird things to our home hill: with streams running under the snowpack, you'd ski along and have a cave-in...sort of like sinkholes all over the place. Also--- welcome xnick11!

I just wandered over to the Montage website and it says all the diamonds were closed Friday night. I had to work at my home hill, so I hadn't gone over, but is this just the website being screwed up or did the weather hit that hard?

I sure wouldn't want to make a living as a Starter, but they hired a company that has great timing gear and they had the audable beeper that cycled through the count. It sounded very World Cup-like. The fun thing about being in the start corral is how scared some of the racers are...absolutely petrified as they approach the wand. Well, I'm off to give lessons at our hill tonight...speaking of something I wouldn't want to make a living doing...

They are supposed to, yes. As a matter of fact, a couple of years ago at the Corchnoy race (the year it was a PA Cup), the person in charge of the start order didn't use the newly updated list and all the coaches went crazy. So, maybe there's a rule I'm not aware of, but what then is the purpose of constantly updating the list with specific deadlines? That was a pretty cool weekend for me...I was the Starter and got to send all you little b*stards off: "Course is clear...racer ready...5,4,3,2,1..."

It's been snowing up here since 7am...4" so far and it's coming down hard. It's cool because it's also piling up on all the tree limbs. Schools around Scranton are closed because of flooding and closed over here for snow.

It's all true, though. I put in a lot of days there and a lot of nights partying. If Hunter were harder to get to from NYC/LI, then it would be a great place to ski. But it's not. I have 50 bad stories about the place and can't think of one good one. Elk may be a little over-rated with the superior snow quality thing and since I don't ski CB or Blue regularly anymore to make Elk's lack of crowds a big deal, it's still a great little area. Choosing between Hunter and Elk is like choosing between clubbing at the China Club in NYC and the old Zadars in New Hope, PA.

Hunter is 2 1/2 to 3 hrs. from downtown Manhattan. Hunter has much more terrain and challenge, but is chock full of *ssholes. Picture the train as it pulls out of Yankee stadium toward Queens some hot August night after a loss. Those are the angry, beer soaked people you'll be spending close-quarters time with at Hunta. Elk is night and day different. Smaller, but decent fall line skiing/boarding. Quiet and out of the way, you might think you've made the wrong turn and are lost in barren farmland. Hunter has amazing snowmaking, but it all gets skied off by the thousands of Starter Jacket clad jerks by 11am. Hunter has nightlife; Elk does not. In fact, if you were 21, you could watch chubby drunk chicks strip their tops off on the bar, before barfing and passing out. Of course, the video is always posted on the internet within a day or so... My humble opinion: Elk any day of the week.

The updated USSA points list came out today and Missy earned her way out of the back of the pack for her next GS start. No more 990! The 'Dude's NY trips now rank him about 20 spots better in the start gate in both slalom and GS when the PA Cups begin. That means he'll ski in much less rutted conditions because of his early season results in NY. Great work...now take it up another notch!

"besides one very odd time" Well, you don't get ANY odd times with Brown. Here's the latest update from the high-tech FedEx tracking site on where my new skis are: Date/Time Activity Location Details Jan 11, 2005

Yeah, FedEx guys are wusses. And this is all the info available regarding my new skis at the FedEd tracking site: Date/Time Activity Location Details Jan 11, 2005

Yeah, FedEx sucks. They destroy anything they don't outright lose. FedEx also steals your stuff. Ever see the airport security camera news story that showed the baggage handlers sifting through suitcases and stealing things? They learned that from FedEx. Go Brown!

Check skidudebay...but out of 2300 boots for sale, only 14 show up in that size...

We got there probably as you were leaving. I had my kid, so we were just up top, but it was still some awesome snow...sort of a spring mush that Westerners would laugh at, but it can be a blast to ski in. Wasn't it a flat rail by the playground?

We just got back from last runs at Montage. A pretty steady rain, then a snow squall, then sleet. We thought we'd be the only people there, but the lot was 1/2 full.

Thanks, Justo.

Montage diamonds are a little different than Tanglwood's...I took her down Cannonball (a Montage diamond) on a leash, but that doesn't count. I guess I just want her not to fear some phantom scary black diamond on the mountain. I think she can make it down anything steep, as long as it's fairly groomed, but she does it in such slow motion it's almost painful.

I just checked out the video on the site. It didn't dawn on me to look, since the Montage site sucks so bad. It sure is a narrow course and it looks like they made up for flatness with extra air. Looks like the hole shot wins, especially on skis. Shame they don't have video of the skiercross.

Ha, thanks, I just told her you said so. I sure wish I could improve as fast as a 4-year-old; each time out is a new skill conquered. Hey, it's shame they don't run the Wendy's Family Challenge anymore, where a parent and kid race as a team. You and the 'Dude would have beaten just about anyone.

Thanks...it's great that anyone in the Poconos would hold skiercross events. The first couple of X Games were carnage, with something like 1/2 the fields getting season ending injuries. Very cool stuff...

Would you mind breaking it down a little? So if they were to have ideal snowmaking conditions before skiercross, just how much like a full-blown skiercross event is it? How many are in each heat? Do they funnel together looking for a hole shot? Assuming there are built in rollers, did you absorb, jump, or double jump? Basically, it'd be interesting to hear a detailed run-through from start to finish.

My 4-year-old. Black diamonds are forbidden for her at Montage so she wanted to take advantage of Tanglwood's gentler versions. Then she made me get the camera so she could prove to her mom she was okay on a black diamond. It's funny how you when you tell a kid they aren't allowed to do something, that it's not safe, it becomes their absolute focus to do. That's why I tell her it's okay to smoke and drink booze, but she has to inhale and can only drink it straight. Ah, parenting...

Thanks, 'Mom, but my last run today was my favorite...and my legs are killing me from skiing the "black diamond" backwards holding a video camera.