snorovr

Just drove home from a friends place in the Chestnut Hill section of Philly. There was about 4" all over down there, and I measured 5.5" in the middle of the yard at my place in Abington. I'd post some pics but I need to get rest... Roads are pretty crappy right now. All kinds of people with poor tires/vehicles/both. I was passing people all the way back cuz I wasn't gonna do 5mph with the hazards on. Townships had also been closing off some of the steeper roads to blitz them with salt for the morning commute. Looks like on-time openings or bust for tomorrow morning...

No snow on the ground in Cherry Hill, NJ. Little to none sticking in Philly proper. Got six miles outside the city to my place in Abington and there is 4-5" of fluff in the driveway... Gotta love the extra few degrees the city puts out!

Mountain Inn is always a safe bet too. Great breakfast, usually decent priced rooms, heated pool, tolerant of shinanaginery, etc... Stayed there a few times and its always been good. They have the kokopelli out front...

Let us know how it goes!

Try the "SOS" for breakfast... The lobster bisque makes you feel constipated compared to that stuff...

Mikovits? I guess these are a lil short for him...

and.... if anything is smoking, it is too hot!

Hey Will, Post some pics man! If I could ride right now I would love to come check out the park, but I can't so I am hoping to swing by next year. In any case, throw some pics on the different message boards. It only takes a few minutes and is a super effective way to attract riders to your park. Almost every park in teh area has about/around 30 features right now, if not more, so it never hurts to provide people with a more in your face reason to come and buy tickets. Not everyone is going to check out Camelback's Web site, as you are trying to rebuild a reputation that in the past has not been as good. That being said, keep up the good work! I heard nothing but positive things from friends who visited earlier in the season. If things are still on par with what they were, it is definitely commendable that you have seemed to turn things around in less than one season. Best of luck!

Sean Jordan rides the NAS as far as I know. Not sure if he has changed to something else as of this point in the season. He liked them, but usually people do when its extremely affordable. Honestly $300 for a pair of twin-tips on e-bay these days is only okay. The first year the Salomon Dumonts came out I scored a pair pre-season on e-bay for $250. That ski went for $450+ in shops and online all season long. Keep looking and you'll find better deals. If you're looking for some lighter skis in a little bit shorter length on closeout look for Rossi Scratch WRS, obviously just a shorter length in the Silencers, some of Salomons older stuff like Foils and Thrusters, Dynastar Troublemakers, etc... These skis are kind of all over the performance range so if you see something on a deal just let us know and some of us will be able to give you an experienced opinion on it. You might also see if the shop you bought those Silencers from with let you demo something shorter if they have it. Probably won't let you take it on rails but you'll get an idea of swing weight and such. Look PX12 Jib Troubles are a solid binding with a proven history. Can't go wrong there and you can usually find some great deals on them.

If Kevin wants to throw an afterparty that is all good. I'm down for hosting it again though...

... thats all.

Should be a real fun time. Any word on key sponsors yet? Skullcandy DJ? I think I'm gonna try to get up and shoot film/photos. I think I'm gonna try to have surgery around this time so maybe I can make it just after...

Shoot me a PM.

Its a hassle vs. benefit type deal. It is easier to just take off the demos, sell them on ebay, and get some regular binders. It really isn't a super big deal to ride demo bindings all the time, my little brother has done it for a couple years. There is just better feel on the ski with regular bindings, less chance of a prerelease, etc...

I was there in the Line tent! Wish I woulda known you were there...

Maybe around here that was the case, but out west some places have been renting boards more than 20 years.

Much better breakfast than Marriot, just as clean, family run. No brainer...

I'll rain on the parade and say that before they groomed them out last year the knuckles looked very legit. Then they ran them over with the groomers a few times...

There are a few reasons, the main one being that they allow trying riskier tricks in a much safer manner. There is a lot less consequence involved because as soon as you leave the lip you are not falling back to earth, but rather the earth (in beautiful landing form) is coming up to greet you with a smooth cushiony welcome (as opposed to the smack of ice that Blue locals are all too familiar with). With a well built stepover (steep landing and nice lip), you can just about land on your head and be fine. They don't even have to be super big to be a lot more fun than a relatively big stepdown. You're exactly right that they often do look more intimidating, and that is why many people have such a big problem with them. It is something that doesn't look right to people whose idea of jumps until now has been their kid setting up a plastic skate ramp on the steepest part of their driveway with. However, they are all about speed. All one needs to do is watch someone hit it first so that they know where to start from to get the right speed, and viola, even Doug Slifkin is throwing cork 5s... Check out this video. The style goal in modern park skiing with respect to jumping is basically riding away from the jump like you've never left the ground, so that you can get in that all important "afterbang." Stepovers make this sooooo much easier. The jump in the video is built as a stepover, even though its got a relatively big lip. http://www.freeskier.com/articles/article....article_id=3060

LOL!!! Remember that other mountain that built a nice jump recently when the groomer was basically falling over the knuckle because it was maxed out on how steep it could go without a winch? Yes please...

In what some people might consider an ideal thread there would be talk about who rode well, what was good with the jam, what could have been improved, etc...

Swiss Acres hooked it up big time when I was there over the summer. Nice little place with a hot tub and good breakfast. We rented out the biggest room which was above the lobby and it could have easily slept our entire party of like 10-12 people. It was only about a 3-4 minute drive down onto the main street, and cab service was cheap and fast when we got a buzz. Check out their ski packages. Says they offer some discount rates and might do one for students... Breakfast, free shuttle to the mountain and to main street, lift ticket, and lodging... http://www.swissacres.com/ski.htm

On Thursday night I stayed at the Dickson City Fairfield Marriot at exit 190 off of 81 and it was only like $57. It included an awesome breakfast with a waffle machine, lots of fruit, oatmeal, juices, etc... They also had a pool and hot tub. Only about 25 minutes up to Elk from there.

Melissa, GO HAVE AN AWESOME TIME SOMEWHERE OUT WEST. It is the equivalent of of a young kid going from the local carnival to Disney World. It just blows what you know out of the water. It is an experience you'll likely remember for the rest of your life. Have fun! As for fat skis, the softer snow of the west during any time of the year just makes having something a little wider that much more fun. If you're going to take or rent something wider, as Sib said something 90mm in the waist is a good number to shoot for. Id recommend that you rent something in the 85-90mm range, because if you go too much bigger it might feel like a lot of ski as compared to what you are used to and could start to be a little to much to handle without more time to get used to it. Something a little bit wider than what you have will allow you to glide through the softer snow easier and keep your speed up.