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I don't know for sure whether Blue mountain is a true mountain, and have doubts that Camelback really ran out water so soon in the season, but I'm convinced that JF is a happy mountain, for where else can you find Happyland? On the serious note, what does a skier need to be happy? Decent snow, empty slopes, comfy lodge, lack of lines, maybe some atmosphere for the right mood... And JF delivers on all fronts! Their snow is always groomed the best, you hardly ever find ice (except perhaps on the eastern part), their crowds are the thinnest even on the peak days, and atmosphere is invariably relaxed, cozy, even on the lifts, which *are* slow. It's just so xmassy to flow among the snow-covered tree-tops, observing a windy river far at the bottom. To me JF is a unique mountain, almost a boutique. That's partly why I can never settle on a single SP from CB or BM - it will just kill the joy of visiting other places that may be as good as this one. So while some take endless pride in conquering challenges of true terrain and celebrating another mile of verticals with IPA, some die of boredom chained to a hump by a SP, less ambitious and more liberal ones just take it all. Winter, slopes, ambience. Today was perfect. Lodge 70% empty. Ideal snow. Reasonable temperatures. Lots of trails. Lots of glades. Tons of funs. Even JF racing team was an inspiration to look at while they zigzagged down the Challenge, compared to some other ones, begging for torches as they were cutting lines on the busiest day of the season. I still have so many JF tickets left from CM, yay!

Camel mountain, the thirsty mountain... Is the water situation really that bad, or are you exaggerating as usual?

OK, a constructive advice: https://www.coloradodiscountskis.com/store/product4871.html I haven't skied this specific model, but I did try the women's one that I bought for my daughter, based on the same technology. Those held the edge nicely, were easy to initiate the turn and smooooth. Also had a smaller TR, but most people here appear to be subject to a certain degree of gigantomania, so this may actually be better. If you're cautious of rocker and don't want to test drive, this is the deal. Only camber on the outside ski, and some rocker on the inside.

Oh, I wasn't talking about skills at all. I haven't seen you and have no idea how you ski (however some stories about poles and exhausting yourself on Upper Marc Anthony do come to mind). I was talking about time you were doing this.

Not necessarily. Beginners means that they're only starting. That's not mutually exclusive with them taking every opportunity at it. Anyway, I was right, the trips to Vermont are only to become annual.

I can't quite place you in the ski world. Sometimes you talk like a beginner, and now suddenly there are annual Vermont trips in the picture.

A couple of thousands?? What can you possibly spend so much on, if even new skis you're going to buy only in April and only deeply discounted. Do they do lap dances in that valley lodge? Is that why the upper one is for wankers?

Well, it's not very helpful comparing really old skis with what's out there now. In the far past they didn't even have edges, or those edges were screw-ins. So seeing those super-long straight and narrow K2 might give you a shot of nostalgia, but is that really something to go by in the current market? Materials are different, shorter skis today have better damping than longer ones yesterday. I'll readily agree that the modern trend is toward fat skis, but somehow I believed that it's also toward shorter ones. Now that I got thinking about it, the only reason why the trend might also be toward increasing the length is that rocker that reduces the effective edge length. But then again that rocker is a funny beast. Yesterday I tailed someone on Rossignol Sky 7, and that rockered tip was flapping up and down in the air all the way. So, what's the point?

184! Will you be competing in downhill category on them or are you just that tall?

Of all trails there I like Raceway (and the one parallel to it) the most. Wide, usually decent snow, separate lift, and rarely crowded.

Btw, as most probably know already, they've opened the other side at the Burma/Main Street lift, and also that green trail that ends at the lift. Interestingly, despite virtually no people both lifts were running.

That's the thing. Plenty. T-shirt, underarmor, sweater and a jacket, and still was freezing. Only 22F outside. Don't know what to think. There were girls who seemed like wearing nothing and still doing alright, and I was hardly warming up on the way down and then again going blue on the lift.

Yep. Hardly any people, no speed limit. And though the base is hard, it holds well, no obvious ice. Carving like on the rails, no need to check the speed or applied force. It just holds all the way through. Wow.

Yeah, yeah, you were all right. There isn't a hint of powder on the slopes, and skis rip right through the lazy mile. Amazing conditions. But maaan, am I cold or what??

Which part is bringing you so much joy? Me having SL skis or me thinking that they're not suitable for fresh snow? They're the best on hardpack and ice. For fresh I should've taken wider and longer ones.

Phew. Not all is lost

Nah, I don't think so. So he was using a gift card to buy a ticket, OK. Speaking of online system, BM's one is the worst. Really. The Worst. There is no way for me to associate a card that I got at a ticket window with the account and then do a refill. There is a webcode on the card, but there is nowhere to plug it to! So even if I buy a night ticket online, I still have to stop by the ticket window and either get another card or get the ticket associated with the previous one!

Ungroomed?! That sucks! I was gonna come tonight, but I have only slalom skis on me

Hey, it just occurred to me that you could've saved another $5 if you'd ordered it online! Another gift card coming?

Ha, that's how I feel when I come with friends who just take forever to change, take a sip of tea, stretch, and so on, and so forth. Come on, you lazy bums, you're eating my time! How come 2:08? I thought you were local?

They're positioned as freeride skis by Volkl. That's again something that's not happening very often here.

Explain why. The reviewers generally say that it's a ski that does awesome on deep powder, AND as a bonus it's also good on groomers. So people kind of emphasize that the main reason why the ski was made is the powder. Everything else is something that the ski just also happens to do good. Hence, why buy skis, which were not specifically made for local snow?

Jeez, here we go again. NJ people migrating in flocks to Blue mountain, the true mountain making everyone suffer in 1 hour lines. From what I've heard it's the NYC crowd that makes a difference at Blue.

Dude, isn't it ironic that with your blind despise of "NJ gapers" you kind of got the same treatment here with respect to CB?