Ski

That's what I have, more or less. But with mine I can't go in and out of it just during ski season.

Yeah, Finn, people that consider Blue their home mountain are crazy. I suppose some people will never understand the pure joy of hopping in a car for a quick drive to get in some runs after work. How a bad day can be turned great because we live so close to ski hills. At what point does a skier get so jaded that they can't relish turns unless they are 2000 miles from where they live? I've read that hating on something so amazing and so close is a form of self-loathing. People who hate the Poconos should really consider therapy to get over such a horrible condition. I feel for you, brother Finn. But most therapists work on a sliding scale and I know there are other compassionate people on PASR that would take up a collection for you. Consider it...I'm sure it's not too late for you. NJ to Steamboat Springs, CO Total Est. Time: 29 hours, 0 minutes Total Est. Distance: 1901.82 miles

A friend of mine who runs a race program called me today regarding supplimental insurance for adult racers. He had searched around for some sort of seasonal coverage that didn't have contracts and was cheap and came up with a plan that was pretty much zero bullsh*t. For $20 a month you get $1000 of monthly income coverage above and beyond whatever other coverage you have. You just buy coverage for the months you race. Period. He gathered this info and came up with this offer NOT as a commercial enterprise, but as a service to adult racers, so anyone interested can PM me and I'll give you his phone number. He said he'd also accept adult patrollers and instructors.

Except for the billions of cigarette butts and blowing garbage, the Jersey Shore has better sand than all but two beaches we've been to in Hawaii.

Thanks for the update AND great to have you here as a mountain rep.

Hey, even if you pulled into the parking lot midweek they still look closed. That's a GOOD thing (unless you're an owner).

Ha, for $1000 they could have rented a 4000 sq/ft lakeside home on our main lake for a week and had a nicer hot tub AND they'd have been closer to the zoo. I hope she got crabs.

Sorry, I got caught up in a thread called 'Are Ski Instructors Lame?'...Phil, it's like you have 50 Skierforevers over there... Anyway, I'm just teasing you about your silly snobbery...it really takes you two hours to get to Blue? Are you from the Maryland part of Pennsylvania?

Well, they said they'd send out an email when they were ready for pics, but I haven't gotten one yet.

Nah, I heard they are just open weekends again this year.

I use red (fine) and blue (course), but rely mostly on blue.

Phil: stone grinding your bases create peaks and valleys that make the ski slow until they get worn back down. The p-tex looks like the Rockies under magnification---and sorry, 1st Grade, but there's a lot of hairs in there as well. A freshly stone ground base looks pretty with the naked eye, but feels like you have the wrong wax with all the drag. Nobody has ever recommended stone grinding every day or two. I did NOT recommend stone grinding more than once a season. You said you grind every 20 days...sorry, but I forget you don't ski much. To me and the people I'm around, that means four or five times a season. Your a nice guy, Phil...why not just get a local season pass and quit all your posing

Ha, I still believe most young athletes have dreams where money isn't involved. I'd rather just live in ignorant semi-bliss and coach small-town kids who just play for the love of the game. See you on the slopes, Glenn!

I took the rust as a metaphor... It's always funny when someone asks me what it's like to make a living as an artist. Artist? I always think they're joking. And I don't disagree that competing at art is silly...I'd even say it was more sad than silly. But competition brings recognition and I know I wouldn't turn away a Pulitzer for fiction. Thanks for chatting about this...I learned a lot, even though it wasn't a particularly positive image...

It looked too dense to be where the new tubing area is going in, didn't it? Aren't the trees below the lot kind of sickly and sparse? But, yeah, when the photo machine is finally hooked up it'll beeasy enough to take a look. Tough to say about the snowmaking. Aren't all the pipes to the left of the current trails as you ski? So they'd have to cross the trails to lay temporary lines.

Is it called Room Raiders? Where chicks go in guys rooms and check their beds with black lights? Freaking MTV used to be about music...now it's a scientific experiment for @%$& tracks. We're just so headed to Hell. Glenn: nevermind

Andrea Lawrence is as famous today as she was over 50 years ago and her medals aren't rusty. Jonny Moseley will always be a million times more famous for Nagano than he will be for his fourth place dinner roll bullshit. It's all in one's own perspective. If you've set a goal and attained it on an Olympic level, then your medal will never get rusty. Bode will be loved for his two silvers, but even more so for losing a pole in the slalom and nearly winning without it...because-at the time- he had a desire to win and race fans loved him for his effort. You don't have to win to endear most fans---you just have to give it your all. But your perspective is your own. If you see a movie clip as more valuable than Olympic gold, then that's how you see it. To me, big mountain skiing isn't the same as racing. Being the fastest among peers is a greater accomplishment to me than skiing a scary line. Doing a helicopter used to be HUGE when I was your age. An old video of me doing it today would look pretty lame. But isn't it a huge competition to get the best video footage? And a gold medal is just representative of a successful competition, not unlike the way great footage is just a recording of a great trick or line. So, again, there are many ways to compete and so I suppose we're disagreeing on motives. And I still believe the motivation for most kids is the glory in being the best and not swag (Rob's kids aside).

Sorry, I called dibbs.

I wasn't talking about their skill levels. Your second sentence means what? There is a 15 yr old in the Poconos who competes and wins in PGS? Why not tell us more? BTW, I'm not exactly vested in hoping snowboarders have any particular attitude one way or another. It's mildly interesting, but it's not like I actually care that they would prefer cash over glory.

Parallel GS is huge in Europe. There are academies for them just like the ski racing academies in Europe and around the US. Fame and glory---for these sports---are about your peers, I think. The curling guys, for example, are just looking for recognition among curling fans, since there's no chance of the masses caring. Film fame isn't a big deal among boarder X and PGS racers. Not that they have a choice. But they are looking to test themselves against their peers and not just throw big for a camera. Glenn, I think we're unable to reach a consensus because we're discussing different things.

Glenn, you'll have to move to Scranton after college. If you have any special skills like repairing bowling alley ball return machines, you'll always have work up here. Schif: unless anyone actually skis/rides Upper Runaway, it's just not possible to convey just how wide (and flat) that slope is. I'm sure it's a nightmare to cover and it gets full sun almost year 'round. Ty and I used to play stick tag going from side to side. Using trees for natural shade and to keep snow from blowing away is probably high on their list for the new slopes, especially considering how badly cut Upper FT and Upper RA are.

Ha, there's a billboard for the champagne glass bath tub just outside our community and it's always creeped me out a little. When I sleep in a hotel bed, I like to think I'm the first person on those brand new sheets. And those billboards showing people about to have (wait, 'Dude might be around) relations in the tub you might be thinking about renting for $520 a night is a little gross.

Got it. But keep in mind I'm not talking about boarders who don't enter comps, nor am I talking about guys at the end of their careers who are looking to get security from a contract. I'm talking about the hundreds of boarders from around the world who enter the Olympic stadium for opening ceremonies. Plus, isn't there only one freestyle event in the Olympics for snowboarders? Is there something other than halfpipe, parallel GS, and snowboard cross?

Wow, you must be so proud.

Getting free passes with season pass purchases are the best perks possible. Montage did it, but the new owners killed it.