Ski

I like the cloud puddles in the background.

"Beach Party"...they keep using phrases like that and I know a kid that'll make it a Set Fire To This Place Party.

Where did you ski each day?

Gutter? Let's talk Shleper and gutters...her undies would bring a blizzard.

Oh, yeah, Utah. I wonder how much snow the Gods would bring to CB if you could manage a pair of Picabo's panties for the tree? Skidude, do you think she'd go for it?

Yeah, go for sure. Pound some shots with Skimom.

Sibhusky's kid, CW, and my kid couldn't even find it the first season they all skied together. So I gathered up a bunch of food and smuggled it out the Fireside to them. As I turn to go back in, guess who is standing there about to tell me the food was for passholders only? DaveK, of course. I had to explain to him that the girls couldn't find their party, blah, blah, blah. Yeah, you caught me DaveK. I like this trend of banning smoking in bars and restaurants. People can still smoke at Mountain Creek and Jack Frost lodges and I just don't get it. The CB passholder's party has been in that smoke-filled downstairs bar and I can't take hanging out with the Skierforevers and JollyJakes of this world. Imagine standing at a bar with Skierforever telling you his life story, while Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville blasts from bad speakers, with Rangers pounding Sam Adam's and laughing about all the skiers and boarders they beat down that last week. Skierforever probably smokes cigarettes with one of those long holders and uses a fake Russian accent while trying to pick up women:

The passholder party for over-21 people is like going to a bar with old people that smoke and drink a lot, then eat from the same 20-foot hoagie and have mass-produced pastries for dessert. Ah, there's nothing better than when 60-year-old women get drunk and threaten to take their shirts off. Mmmmm. For under-21's, I liked the year they had it in the Children's Learning Center. Cold pizza and warm soda. But lots of miss-matched Old Maid cards and broken toys to play with. It was like, "Here, you didn't pay for the pass, so screw you kids."

Well, there are more competitive regions than PARA, but there are also some that are more like the high school level. Some kids just want to race and don't have World Cup goals (imagine that, Skidude!). What USSA is considering is the equivalent of having high school aged kids use Major League size bats, no matter how small the kid is. The next level for USSA racers to reach is FIS. And the kids that get there should ski FIS minimums. Otherwise, kids should be learning on the best possible equipment for their size and ability, as recommended by knowledgeable coaches. It seems pretty simple to me.

I guess they might decide at the USSA Congress in May, but I'm not sure. But I don't think they'll pass it as a requirement for races within a region, such as PARA Cup races; just for the races you qualify afterward.

Jeez, if only it had been cold enough to build up some stock-piled man made to have us skiing into April's sunshine...oh, wait, it was butt-cold all f*king winter. Oh, well, gotta watch the bottom line when eight CB Board members each draw over $100,000 for VERY part time work.

Girls: SL=155 GS=180 SG=200 DH=210 Boys: SL=165 GS=185 SG=205 DH=215

It's really a f*cked up rule for USSA racers to follow FIS guidlines, unless it's for regional events (ie JO's). Tell a short little 15-year-old girl she has to ski GS on 180's? Where exactly is the safety issue there?

Just got back from Montage. Spent two hours avoiding rocks on my race skis. Coverage is edge to edge and no real bare spots, but f*ing little rocks everywhere. Great skiing for rock skis, I guess, but sucks otherwise. Vermont will be FINE!

Rocks?

I'm not missing the point...I'm encouraging it. I like fights. In fact, I'd like to beat up Skierforever.

It's a real deal and it benefits the ski area. There's really no added cost to give out free beginner packages and they figure they are creating a new customer that wouldn't have tried skiing otherwise. And you may notice that there's no free lunch included. When you buy a season pass at Montage, you get a coupon for either a free day pass, or free beginner package.

Jib can film the fight. It could be like the last scene in Better Off Dead.

Ha! I skied up to him and asked him if he recognized the hypocracy. I was inviting him to take it up a notch, but he decided he didn't want to. Skidude: are you and Atomic about to come to blows? Jeez, you two sure sound like it.

They know when they are closing. They've had a date set for weeks. It's just their bullshit little game they feel it's necessary to play. If you ask Dave K straight up, he'll lie right to your face. I wouldn't even bother asking...

Hit her? No, that's Atomic's hobby. Or did you mean the slang 'hit her'? Waaaay too young.

Montage Ranger at Montage. They even wear the same coats. And I knew it was dangerous, but I was surprised by how many novice skiers were bombing down our "exit" slope. It was just safer to get her the hell out of there. Fine, he can say what he has to say to me, but I told him I already knew. We were leaving. But he had to KEEP repeating it. Then he led his bunny skiing daughter down a double-black. She was rolling down the windows the entire slope in her pizza wedge. And no helmet.

The 9.20 is a great ski, but too soft for REALLY killing a jam turn for a crank gate. The 11.21 has great rebound and you are able to ski it short because of it's holding power. It's not as quick as my 9.16 SL, but it's CRAZY FAST. Not fast. CRAZY FAST. Coming down a headwall and getting into a tuck and rolling your knees into turns is 100X better than Batman the Ride. You feel like you are being launched while coming out of turns on the top headwall of Razor's Edge. And I bet Marjie's would be an ideal slope to let them run. Okay, you asked and I'm a little f*ing giddy! It's like Trent Reznor sang: "There's nothing like something new." I just thought that meant females, until now.

Apparently, it doesn't matter what mountain... So I took my 3-year-old with me to Montage, where she hung with friends while I took three quick NASTAR runs. Afterwards, I was skiing with her and just cruising around. By 1pm, there were too many people, so I took her down the semi-black diamond you have to use to take the lift up to the mid-mountain parking lot; I park pretty much right next to where the lift dumps people on the North Face. So anyway, we get to a pretty steep headwall and I'm holding the handle of her harness as she's skiing next to me, but there are too many out of control "bus people", so I reach down and pick her up and make four fast GS turns to the flats. I use the Apple-Rise learning system gear, so it's not like she's skiing between my legs. A Ranger skis up to me and says, "If she can't ski it, then she doesn't belong here. You can't pick her up. Get her off this slope!" Nice. So I reply, "No shit, Buddy. There's 500 people that don't belong here and you're yelling at me. She does fine on this slope without the hords, but it's safer for me to get her down to the lift quickly. We're leaving for the day." But he feels he hasn't convinced me of his superior knowledge, yet. "It's too dangerous to have a small child over here. It's reckless," he says. "No, shit! I'm trying to get to the lift to leave, okay? Relax." "Just get her out of here, now!" Fuckhead. So my kid skis down to the lift next to me and we get on with friends and we're done. I'm about to click out, when the Ranger gets off the lift with HIS family of four and heads toward a double black diamond. "Watch the baby," I say, as I turn to follow this little Ranger family, as they head to Cannonball, where the Ranger skis down about 20 yards, then turns to watch his 13-year-old daughter SNOWPLOW down a double-black, without a HELMET, arms and poles flailing, completely out of control. I skied down to the Ranger and asked if he understood the hypocracy of this situation. I hate Rangers. I just hate them. My daughter learned a new word today: "Dipshit."

You have a Welcome Center? It was a risk getting the 171, but everyone else was doing it and I followed like a sheep. But it was the right choice. I was working on just throwing them out as far from the gates as possible today and just cruising and don't even think about how short they are. In the short size, they have some of the properties of the SL ski, but none of the drawbacks. They make my 9.20's feel like heavy dinosaurs. When I was on a steep diamond and really bending the ski, the rebound when I released the arc almost knocks you over; not a ski to be lazy on.