method9455

Who knows is exactly that. All bets are speculation. I can gaurentee you this - the first window of snowmaking weather they will be making snow. Peak is about open early/stay open late, especially at JFBB and Mount Snow to make up for their relatively small size compared to their close competitors. Even before Peak, Thanksgiving often was the first weekend mountains in PA were making snow. There is no weather window between now and Nov 15th assuming the forecasts are close - which they usually seem to err on the side of being too optimistic for snow making rather than underestimating it - so the first window for anyone may be around Nov 20th. At that point I think you will see other mountains get in on the action, and JFBB will have no choice but to go all out. The good news is that they can open swiftly and really lay down a solid base in a short amount of time. So I think guess the real question is "When will the weather get cold enough". I think it takes 2 cold nights to open Freedom, they didn't seem to have more than that last year. When I see highs in the low 30s, lows in the bottom 20s for 2 days in a row, I'm going to say they will be opening. Highs in the low 40s/high 30s and lows in the upper 20s just doesn't give them a long enough snowmaking window unless it is exceptionally clear, dry, and not that windy such that temperatures will cool fast. And I only see a handful of days that fit that description in the next two weeks.

Slam. If I were a season pass holder I would be for it. The only downside I see is that if you are skiing with non-season pass holders it becomes a pain in the ass when you are used to lines.

I'll take the warm weather before they start laying down the snow instead of after. Overtime, things always work out to the averages. It is above average now - it will be below average later.

I agree, no ankle socks. If you look at the back of the boot there is a heel cup that holds your foot down on toeside turns, ankle socks will be right in line with that and it will be really annoying. Can you do it? Sure. Will it be fun? No. Thin socks will work. I've never ridden with no socks but it doesn't seem like a good idea if you want to avoid atheletes foot. If I remember correctly aren't the Anthemn's single stich and you can't remove the liner? They do give you those drying things to put in there but still, just go with a thin sock. I have no recommendations on socks, I just pick up whatever is on sale. I have some Euro's and some Burtons and they're all fine. I'm not sure if switching socks will appreciably change it. If it is somewhere specific that is bothering you like a big toe, you can take it to a shop and they have a little pneumatic cylinder they put inside and you can stretch certain points out so it is less of a problem. A half size bigger is not that hard to get done.

Wow Crystal Mountain does speed traps with a radar gun, definately never going there.

I have a pair of medium 390s, pretty well used though.

True but natural snow is better than wet unfrozen mud - which is what we had until today.

From the jfbb site: http://jfbb.com/explore/media/photo

50-50 to faceplant

Have any pictures of it?

My list in no particular order NY: Gore Whiteface VT: Mount Snow Smugglers Notch Sugarbush Jay Peak Killington Stowe Figure out your budget, and look at the deals. Any will do you right if you have never been north before. Add up hotel price, lift ticket price, driving distance/mpg and find which ones are the cheapest for your weekend. Food will be constant across all of them basically. If you want park, bump Mount Snow and Killington to the top of your list, and add Stratton and Okemo.

Pipe gets so fun once you start hitting it. I started out on jumps, then jibs, and then pipe, now pipe is my favorite by a wide margin. You need a nice stiff board and then you can just lay into it, it feels great to string together a few solid hits.

Yea doesn't 7 Springs have the best pipe in PA? I wouldn't mind being near it.

I'd second that K2 makes a great all mountain ski and you can't go wrong at that price.

Great post NiftyShifty, thanks for the chart Cloud cover only matters for how rapidly the temperature drops. Clouds insulate the air from the sky, if it is clear the heat escapes faster so you can make snow earlier in the night - but the forecasts take that into account already.

News flash, you are not the only one who understands wet bulb temperature.

I saw a few minutes of the crystal mountain one, its alright but I feel like the Blue one will be so much lamer. They were talking about avalanche beacons and what not and it just made me think how their Ski Patrol is aimed at being EMS & SAR, while the Blue Mountain and Camelback ski patrollers act like their job is to be EMS & State Trooper.

Exactly, you have to compare the same product from the same year when you are comparing price. The difference between this year's and last year's model is 30% at a minimum, and then when you get to brand there is a huge difference. Comparing A Kayak, to ANOTHER Kayak, who knows. Maybe one is just a hunk of shit plastic in a mold that someone thought looked good and the other is a quality plastic. If you kayak, you know that you can spend $150 for a cordura life jacket or $75 for one that feels the same but isn't actually cordura. After a season in the sun, one is going to look brand new and one will be worn to shit. Did you really get a deal? I've had the same vest for 5 years 40+ days a year and it hasn't worn out, it was definitely worth the extra money. I bought the cheaper one for my girlfriend, she used it <5 days a year for 2 years and it is showing its age already. All shops know this, the question becomes if you are the kind of shop that refuses to sell the cheap shit and so therefore your prices start out higher, or are you the kind of shop that suckers people into buying stuff that will break down? Nestors never struck me as a place that sold cheap shit or ripped people off. Did you ever think that maybe they DID place the order and Smith is really the problem? Did you try to return the goggles and get a different pair and they wouldn't let you? I would be pissed about that, but to be honest I would never have paid for the goggles until they got the replacement lens. If I worked out that deal I would say to the store, you get the lens and when you have it I will buy the goggles plus lens. Often times the shop calls up the manufacture, they have none of the part left, and you are left holding the bag. These are small businesses with little leverage on the people they buy from, the store WANTS to keep you happy, but they can't uf you really only want the turbo goggles, no other goggles are going to satisfy you. If I were you, I would go back, get a refund or a different pair of goggles, thought at this point 18 months in I doubt it will work.

Seriously can we lock it for lameness?

I think it is a lot simpler than all of that. They are working on a new site. During that time you don't want your site to come up blank and give people the impression it isn't live anymore and then they would stop going there or delete their bookmarks. jfbb is just their other site.

Thanks I'll try to get one

Naw I get Ski magazine instead, what issue? I kind of want to read it.

Yea, those assholes doing pre-season website maintenance! On a real note, I like the new JFBB.com website, it seems like they really nailed it. Just enough edge without too much eye candy that it distracts.

From the Mt Snow Report today: