Ride Delaware ?

Is it quiet contemplation if we all know?

Is it quiet contemplation if we all know?

Castlerock is awesome, but I hardly ever free ski there. Unfortunately, whenever it’s good, the place is mobbed. I usually head over to North since my gear is there to begin with. I’d rather ride at North all day than be stuck in a line half the day for a couple runs at Castlerock.

I never surfed and gave up bodyboarding a decade ago. Started spending money on snowboarding and didn’t like waking up at the butt crack of dawn to get the good waves...

It was worth a try... Back on topic... Lawson’s is reason enough to make it to the MRV for at least one day.

If I’ve got a good book to read, then I can last a little while on the beach. Otherwise, once I’m out of the water, I’m ready to go...

Dentistry I hope? I could use some discounted dental work...

I’m not sure what I did to deserve that, but ok. I am fairly guilty of being condescending by accident. I’m not a literary expert. I don’t look too far into my posts. I don’t look for hidden messages. If I post something that isn’t taken well, I would say that 99.99% of the time it’s because I didn’t see how it was offensive at the time I wrote it. In that situation, I am pretty quick to try to make things right.

Now that I read back through it, I think my thinking was that it might be worth pushing through that 5.5 hour drive to WF wall to go the extra hour to SB or MRG to try it out, not that your reasoning based on hours was illogical. However, if you enjoy going to WF, and you only get one trip up north per year (not sure how many you’re usually able to take), then why pass up a guaranteed winner in your mind for an extra hour, especially when SLC is 9 times out of 10 going to be a winner for the same time frame? I drive all the way to Le Massif when able, and there’s plenty of places just as good and more vacation friendly much south of that, or much west of that and a shorter travel time. I just don’t want to miss out on it. Just something about it keeps me wanting to go back. Maybe I’ll stop digging myself a hole sometime soon and shut up. I probably need a second cup of coffee...

Definitely not my intent. I read that sentence like 6 times before I posted it to make sure it made sense, but I didn’t proofread it for douchiness. Lots of stress with stuff at work and sleep isn’t coming easily. Brain isn’t always working well first thing in the morning.

I feel pretty confident you read it and just didn’t have a witty response. On the flip side, I’m hoping that if you didn’t read it, this post will make you go back to read it so you can come up with a witty response...

Only the outsiders call it lower slower. Everyone around here knows it’s Slower Lower. Lower Slower was created to sell some LSD bumper stickers. Population growth is still insane down here. It’s mostly retirees, but young people are also moving in to fill the service jobs created by the booming retirement population. 2,500 plus new houses are still being built every year...

I didn’t mean to infer that it wasn’t logical. Your logic is what you decide it is and how your brain works. I don’t think an extra hour would deter me because I’m used to 9.5 hour drives to get up to VT anyway. I have to think about going out west because historically I haven’t been in a financial position to do so, and it’s much cheaper for me to hop in the car on a minutes notice and drive to Sugarbush for two weeks than to go out west for two weeks. I find going out west to be difficult because I’m not a planner. Figuring out where to fly from, how much it is to leave the car, where to fly into, where to get appropriately priced passes and lodging, and if I have to rent a car, is all exhausting, not to mention expensive. On top of that, I need to remember to bring all my gear home from VT ahead of time, and with work, I just don’t know when I’m going to need to attend a meeting. Unfortunately, complex issues arise all the time in development, construction, and leasing. It’s much easier for me to hop in the car, pound some coffee, and drive home, than it is for me to have to leave early and fly home in case of emergency. The financial stakes of leaving VT early and driving home are much less than a full outlay for a trip out west as well.

You’ve been out of the game for awhile now Steeze. Patrollers skiing free with a letter from the PD are largely a thing of the past, especially with the larger mountains. Most of the Vail Resorts are half price at best, and you go through customer service. If you are lucky to have a direct connection with the PD and can pass the the customer service desk, you might score a free pass. Smaller independent resorts still offer that type of reciprocity, but it is harder to find year in and year out. I often feel like I’m banging my head against a wall with you, as I’m sure others sometimes do as well, but it often takes significant planning to get a letter from the PD and email the visiting PD to arrange for a pass. Most of the letters are form letters, but they do tweak them for date and location to add a little personal touch. Most of the time I decide to go to another mountain, it is a last minute decision based on weather or a whim. That’s hardly conducive for getting a comp ticket, especially if I’m chasing an upslope event. Buying an Epic Pass is probably the difference between me going to different mountains this year, or just riding all season at the Bush.

I didn’t know it was possible for it to be more chaotic down there, but I heard that people lining up to get a glimpse of Catch 23 actually did make it more crowded around the docks.

The mind isn’t always logical, and sometimes we use that flawed logic to create illogical walls that aren’t logical in and of themselves. I completely understand your thinking. I think it’s about pushing through that “wall”. I often find myself thinking more and more about going out west, but the amount of planning and logistics it takes for a trip out west often scare me away. You may think that SB and MRG are past that mental point, but the reality is that it is still easier to hop in the car, drive 6 hours, and book a night in a hotel on a whim, than it is to go out west. I appreciate WF for what it is. Unfortunately, even on the best years, I haven’t found the coverage in the woods to be very spectacular. It’s just as cold at Sugarbush as there, so that doesn’t scare me away. I’m not a huge town person, so LP doesn’t have that draw for me that it does for others. Regardless, I’d rather drive 6.5 hours to SB and make it skiing, than to say “ah, it’s almost easier to go out west,” and then not do either. Nothing wrong with WF. Can’t fault you for going there even if I prefer Gore.

OCMD will be nuts. Last week and this week are the busiest two weeks of the season. Things will start tapering off after the 15th...

I’m not going to take too long listing all the places I hope to go this year. The wife and I do want to go out west, so the Epic pass is in the cards. Looks like it will be an even better buy now that I can do a day or two a season at Stowe, Wildcat, Mount Snow, and Okemo. Mount Snow and Okemo are easy to hit on the way home. I would love to get back to Canada after skipping last year, but I really doubt my schedule will allow that.

I’m less active on PASR more than ever, but if you’re back up in VT this year, give me a heads up. My schedule will be limited again, but I’d love to take some runs. That goes for anybody who is up in North Central VT.

Are the leaves changing yet?

I just bought an Exos 58 last year to cut some serious weight. I rock a medium. Great lightweight pack for anybody interested at a darn good price. If you’re looking for a pack and it fits, jump all over this. You won’t be disappointed.

That might be a little excessive. Did they ever get the approvals for the hotel? Regardless of whether they build it or not?

Any further word on the hotel at Blue? I thought that was the next big project? Or are they still waiting on the natural gas spur line for their power generating plant?

Didn’t you have an A-Frame somewhere around there?

I might be wrong, but it feels like I haven’t seen DMC post on PASR in years...