Ski

Ha, someone knows an awful lot about eco-terrorism...

Ha, yeah, it was just missing a close-up shot of dead woodchucks in the tire marks of the monster truck.

It must have been the full tune. What's the difference? Is is just that they swipe the base edge along with doing the side edges? I know they did both on the same machine. It was the deal the last season that Sib was at CB, so I guess that makes it four seasons ago... IDK, but getting the same coupon the Loft offers in some brochures and ads just doesn't blow me away as a great reward for buying a season pass.

Holy cow...that's just when they'll start getting fast again. You Epic people do crazy stuff.

Heheheheh... But I'd have killed to have been able to take a few runs in the Poconos tonight...

Phil, Train is a PASR member and came to us with a question, so we do have a vested interest in helping him. Just to be clear, even racers really only need to set their bases once a season. But to go more than a day or two without touching up your side edges means you aren't getting the maximum quality out of your skis. Just a quick polish with a diamond and not taking off too much material. And just deburr when you feel a burr... But who the heck can't run a Base Beast along an edge? I can't think of something easier to do...it's easier than waxing.

Well, we all start somewhere. But tuning isn't rocket science and if you use a magic marker on the edge so you can gauge how much material you are removing, you can't fuck up that badly. If you follow directions, hand tuning is no harder than doing a paint by number picture. If you apply light pressure and use moderate strokes, then how can anyone go wrong if they have the right tool? It's not like fixing a carb or taking apart an engine; it's just polishing metal. My experience has been that I've never seen a machine come close to a good hand tune. The fact that a machine costs so much just means that the cost is passed on to skiers. Why the heck should it cost $40 to swipe a ski through a machine? Answer: the machine costs $100k. Phil, I'm not trying to bust on you and most people do prefer the convenience of dropping off their gear, but a good tune lasts only a day or two in our conditions, so if you want your gear performing at its maximum potential and ski 100 days, then, well, you can do the math.

Possibly the worst movie ever, but here's the clip of tree removal on the website: http://snomtn.com/mov/newtrails.wmv The clip doesn't indicate where they are working, but it looks like it's the far east side of the mountain, where there's a little vert dip followed by a long flat. The lower part of the run is where it'll be gnarly.

What kind of Loft coupon? Is it real credit or just savings off a purchase? The WORST coupons EVER were the one's we got from CB for season passes a few years ago. It said "GET A $20 QUICK TUNE IN THE CB SHOP!" So I was like, okay, I'll let them tune my rock skis and save the wear on my good diamond stones and the crappy shop wax was going to be fine. But when I picked up my skis, they said they wanted $20 and I was like, "But I have a coupon for a $20 tune..." I misinterpreted the coupon...it was "You just spent over a thousand dollars for a family pass so here's a piece of paper to get you to pay $20 for a lousy shop tune." Stupid me for thinking a ski area wouldn't be that slimy.

Just the idea of maintaining the pure watershed in the Catskills to provide water service to Manhattan while Manhattan exports its garbage into PA landfills is pretty f'd up. I say let 'em go thirsty.

The people from the Catskills should send NYC Mayor Bloomberg a pamphlet for salt water purification with the message that Manhattanites can go bite themselves.

Yeah, for sure, Timeless. Some of us are picking on the Ski Mag survey hype which is, for the most part, totally goofy. I mean, Elk has better weather than my house? I probably live less than 27 miles as the crow flies...we have the same damn weather no matter what some dude in West Buffalo says on his survey form. But Elk is also a hidden gem that is best experienced during a midweek afternoon. It's a shame they can't keep ticket prices down so more people would be willing to just give it a try. Elk is NOT a smaller version of Vermont skiing. It's not even a smaller version of Catskills skiing. But it is a great hidden spot in the Endless Mountains that has a really unique, layed back feel. You get the county or state owned feeling, but without the savings that government run ski areas can offer. Pick a day that you can ski/board for enough hours to get your money's worth, on a day with good weather. You'll be impressed...

Totally.

Eh, do you really believe Elk blows as often and as hard as Blue, BB, and even CB? Elk relies on a colder micro-climate and regrooms old snow while places like Blue are churning out thousands of gallons of expensive manmade. For every $100,000 Elk spends in snowmaking, I bet Blue spends $1 million. Blue's budget is enormous compared to Elk. Elk is MUCH closer to me and I would rather ski there more than Blue (except for the lack of PASR people), but Elk isn't in Blue's league when it comes to burning cash on snowmaking. If it's not 10x, then it's pretty close. Jeez, it wasn't that long ago when a fire completely destroyed Elk's pumphouse system and they had zero snowmaking. Luckily, I live close to a better snowmaking system than either mountain and we have MUCH less crowds than Elk Just don't tell anyone.

I don't disagree that the X Games have changed over the last decade. Even Shaun Palmer was initially in it to be a "Superhero". That was his term. But as to Shawn White: I've heard and read a heckuva lot more snowboarders call Danny kass an asshole than I've heard them say it about the Flying Tomato. Being trash talked by alternative sport people for not being just like them? That's kind of funny. Like U2 being lauded for being the biggest selling (AKA commercial) alternative music band. Huh?

Hmmm...I thought Danny Kass was the far end of the spectrum. Sort of like using Bode as an example for the typical ski racer---people would get the idea all racers were alcoholic narcissists. My opinion of the X Games is that it's a fine showcase that at one time could have challenged the Winter Games for some prestige on a limited level, but they chose to sell it out in every possible way. The early X Games were filled with amateur athletes in some goofy sports that were there for the fun, like that chick who kept slamming into the inflatable wall in the downhill snow bike races. The X Games and the Winter Games are just two completely different things. Doesn't ESPN own all rights? I'm not sure how great it is to have a commercial business running a competition...they dump any sport that doesn't pull ratings and when WalMart makes a large enough bid, you can bet they'll be the WalMart X Games. But the Olympic experience is something else. For every Danny Kass, there are hundreds of snowboarding kids with a dream to be the best who couldn't give a crap about payoffs. Just because the loudest portion of snowboarders may be just trying to cash in, there's no way it's the largest portion. And Danny Kass is such a dope that who the hell knows or cares what he really thinks? He says things just to sound cool and contradicts himself from interview to interview. IDK, I just think the concept of upper middle class white kids who have never suffered a day of poverty and have come from families which provide them with everything they need (yeah, that's the actual demographics of sucessful snowboarders) looking to hit the lottery by winning Olympic gold doesn't make sense. Inner city kids with 1.4 gpa's on college scholarships fighting for NBA contracts these kids are not. So what do the kids on PASR think? Would TP4 head to Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Games and win gold in Big Air but trade it in for $200,000? Would TP4 take the cash or take his gold and go on Conan O'Brian and Oprah? Would TP4 like to make the college campus tour scene and let breezy co-eds fondle his medal and listen to them say how amazing he is? To be honest, I just HOPE you're all wrong...I hope snowboarding hasn't become such a cynical endeavor.

Timeless, I don't buy the James Dean wannabe act. I think most kids are more like Shaun White who are grounded and sophisticated enough not to have somehow given up the dream of being seen as the best by their peers. Being the best is exclusively a ski racing thing? No way. I'd be curious what Rob thinks about this. Would either of his kids take a stack of cash over being an Olympic or X Games champion?

-I honestly don't get it, DH...aren't the X Games and the Olympics about competing? -To be honest they're more about a paycheck and less about the spirit of compettion. -I'm trying to tell you that the majority of professional snowboarders who compete are doing it for the money and not for the glory of standing on a podium. Olympic snowboarders are doing it for the cash not the glory? If you're that cynical, DH, then maybe you should get a different job and stop envying people with money. To say that 15 year old's who are already coming from relatively wealthy families are driven by money over fame is wrong. Could you be saying that when they turn 17 or 18 or 20, the dream of being seen as the greatest disappears and it's then about cash?

DH, if you just posted that the Olympics are more about a paycheck than the spirit of competition, then you're officially nuts and know NOTHING about the Winter Games. I could give you a thousand examples of how absurd that is, but here's a quicky: look at the Summer Games and the US basketball Dream Team. Think about it. Multi-millionares risking career ending injuries to win gold. The average NBA paycheck is the biggest of any sport, yet they play game after game against mostly terrible competition, just to get some sort of glory that isn't just about themselves. They are expected to win and aren't in it for any money or further endorsements. Reason 999: the vast majority of Olympic sports have no paychecks, nor any endorsements. Jeez, I can't even go on. You should go rent Miracle on Ice...

I'm just kind of confused about racers entering top level competitions that claim they couldn't care less about competing. It's like why go to the Indy 500, climb in a race car, then say that you really aren't interested in winning? I really wasn't talking about the freeride scene.

I know it's a little pathetic for me to dig this up and rag on a blog post, but we deal with this attitude on a daily basis...

Well, Blue probably has 10x the snowmaking capacity as Elk, so the constant season-long touch-ups do make for better snow conditions more days than not. Elk really needs to step up their snowmaking investment---just how long they can rely on some phantom Ski Mag rating is probably limited, especially with the trend toward warmer winters with less natural snow. Elk claims 100 inches, but a groomer compacts that to just over 13 inches. How can you even begin to legitimately promote your superior snow when you are relying on such a miniscule amount? Both CB and Blue have some real nightmarish weekends, but both have far more better snow days than Elk simply because of vastly superior snowmaking. Elk's snow quality doesn't even compare to BB's...not even close. Is grinding up old man made snow over and over really better than making new snow, even though temps may be marginal? Not to me... Elk is a great place, not for the snow---IMO--, but for the fact that it's in a remote area.

heheheh...we knew what you meant...heck, we argued the temperature difference between MC and CB (wasn't it 4 degrees?)...

I honestly don't get it, DH...aren't the X Games and the Olympics about competing? Heck, I can see people saying it isn't just about winning and losing, but about the competition. Eh, but to say it isn't about competing?

Caesars Cove Haven. Is that the hardest easy word to spell, or what? The champagne tub room is $520 a night...it's a cheesy, scratched plastic tub...for $520 a night! I did a quick search for opinions regarding the room and found something kind of funny at britishexpats.com. I'm posting this because it is a perfect example of the New Yorkers who come to the Poconos and bring some sort of superior attitude, when they are actually total morons. Here's what Sindy, an upper-crust 20-something from a special part of Manhattan wrote: For the longest time i was planning a nice romantic getaway for my boyfriend and I. I was doing a lot of research before hand just to see what my options where. I thought about the Hamptons (seemed to ritzy not romantic) a nice bed and breakfast (boring to spend time in someone elses bedroom) Then i thought to take a look at the Poconos, even though i know some of the tacky things people say about it, i checked it out anyway. That is when i stumbled upon Ceasers Pocono resorts. I have to admit that when i saw the pools in their rooms it immediatlly caught my interest. I started browsing through newsgroups took get some real people feedback. There wasnt that much bad to sat about it except that it was tacky, but i figured that's what the Poconos is all about. I just want to give quick backround info just so everyone can get a clue to what type of people we are... We are both in out late 20's. Live in a better part of manhattan & have professional jobs. (Just so it can be imagined how much we stuck out in the Ceasars crowd) Sindy stuck out because we are uneducated farmers? When we arrived in Lakeville (have to say Cove Haven is the farthest caesars resort from NY than the rest) There where so many cheesy sighns pointing out our way to the Cove Haven. I was already starting to get nervous. But i kept thinking to myself "How bad can a pool in a room be" We finally pulled up to the main lobby and it seemed ok, it was a tiny chalet, i attomatically knew that all rooms where separate entities.(Which made me feel better) F*ck me, I've been spelling both of those words wrong for years! Once we walked in i attomatically saw the other couples that where checking in. It was what i assumed. Typical midwestern couples showing up on there honeymoon.. (i do not want to rag on anyones aspirations, but i could never honeymoon there) It's their, Sindy, not there. Plus anyone's is possessive. What is typical midwestern? Is that small cowboy hats? We received our key to the Cleopatra Champange suite. I have to admit i was excited..We pull up to our room. From the outside they looked like regular motel rooms. Sliding my card through the door and opening it and looking around my room I thought to my self "This isnt what i thought it would be" It looked worse than in the pamphlet.The room was beyond tacky it smelled so bad in there like a nasty funk mixed w/ cigarettes and dirty carpet. The first thing i hadto do was call front desk and ask them for a non-smoking room, they responded w/ that they had no non-smoking rooms. I sprayed as much deodorant as i possibly could. Wouldn't a fancy metro chick spell it champagne? You sprayed deodorant on the carpet? Next was the Pool. This i have to say looked nice. It was in a seperate glass enclosed area. The pool was heart shaped and rather small, but nice. This area was totally enclosed from the rest of the suite which means it was climate controlled. Lets just say it was alway 90 degrees in this room and the water tempeture was about the same.We could only stay in this room at momets at a time how hot it was. In this area was also the sauna and the massage table. (Which we never used)You could view the pool area from the living room and vice versa, so it was pretty cool Vice as in porn? Sopposedly it was all enluclusive. Yeah only if you are willing to sit with 10 starngers at a table. They base the place on romance but then they want you too mingle with all of their guests. The rest of the night is private.. But i have to say this... I couldnt sleep the whole night because of the stank in the room... What? We had more fun leaving the grounds and visiting the animal park a few miles down. Woo hoo! Props to Claws and Paws! We hear the lions roar from our backyard. It was the biggest rip-off ever. Oh before i forget let me tell you about the wonderful breakfast in bed.. (sense the sarcasm) Lets just say if they served breakfast in Highschools this is what it would be like. I'll bet that even Skidude can spell high school with his eyes closed! I could have stayed at the plaza for that kind of money. We'll miss you next year! Best Wishes Sindy