Everybody is seeing the light and the light is TS

[poconoceancity]

I don't like the area of CB. I like CB better than blue for my kids.

[phillycore]

Elk's switchback would be kickapoo. It's a fun trail.

[Johnny Law]

Who cares how they sell it? I don't. All I know is that I enjoy elk and many far better skiers than me do, too. Im not trying to say you should like it but saying only "advanced-intermediates" or whatever is crap. I know a local mountain that conducts weekly off-site PSIA Level 3+ training at Elk.

 

Because marketing is a reflection of the mountain's culture, DV is DV because that's how they sell tickets in that market. You know what your experience is going to be base in part on how they sell themselves.

 

PSIA is not skiing, PSIA is a small portion of skiing. Are they good skiers ? Certainly, but so is the guy in 3pins noodling down Funnel at CB and they might as well be in two totally different sports. Skiing is alot of shit most of which has nothing to do with short radius turns on groomers.

 

Ask the elk peeps what they think of Okemo ? When they profess their love of Okemo get back to me on the advanced intermediate dealio.

 

[toast21602]

Because marketing is a reflection of the mountain's culture, DV is DV because that's how they sell tickets in that market. You know what your experience is going to be base in part on how they sell themselves.

 

PSIA is not skiing, PSIA is a small portion of skiing. Are they good skiers ? Certainly, but so is the guy in 3pins noodling down Funnel at CB and they might as well be in two totally different sports. Skiing is alot of shit most of which has nothing to do with short radius turns on groomers.

 

Ask the elk peeps what they think of Okemo ? When they profess their love of Okemo get back to me on the advanced intermediate dealio.

 

QFT in so many ways.

[RidgeRacer]

This thread delivers... Nice work Doug

 

I like Elk. I like the hill. Their marketing, prices, lack of tree skiing turns me off completely. It's in no way like Vermont and it takes balls to advertise as such. When you can't and don't deliver, that's false advertising... A shitty thing to do. Phillycore is right. Kickapoo is their switchback... Just not as good. Blue still has NMDW, Burma, Paradise etc. Blue's trails are cut to perfection. Yes it's 1k vert in the heart of the Pennsylvania slate belt but there is variety and character which is nice.

 

Obviously I like frost but what makes frost special are the trees and parts of East Mt. (and they seem to be taking that away). If taken away and it's a wider version of big boulder. Plus their ski season lasts 12 weeks tops (I don't care how long BB stays open... To me they are 2 separate and distinct areas). Plus of you work a 9 to 5 skiing at frost is limited. When I worked nights a few years ago it was great.

 

CB is a circus. Every time I'm there in waiting for the clowns and the elephants to make their appearance. The mountain is kinda boring with the exception of Pharoah and cliff hanger. Margies etc are a smaller, flatter version of razors and challenge. And yes Tannersville (complete with outlets) doesn't give off that ski country vibe. Nor do the water slides and Rollercoaster. At least blue has a cool ass covered bridge.

 

Blue is far from perfect but definitely gives you the most bang for your buck. And they are open till 10pm every night.

Edited March 11, 2015 by RidgeRacer

[thedude4bides]

Because marketing is a reflection of the mountain's culture, DV is DV because that's how they sell tickets in that market. You know what your experience is going to be base in part on how they sell themselves.

 

PSIA is not skiing, PSIA is a small portion of skiing. Are they good skiers ? Certainly, but so is the guy in 3pins noodling down Funnel at CB and they might as well be in two totally different sports. Skiing is alot of shit most of which has nothing to do with short radius turns on groomers.

 

Ask the elk peeps what they think of Okemo ? When they profess their love of Okemo get back to me on the advanced intermediate dealio.

 

The things that determine my experience at the mountain are conditions, terrain, and crowd, not what they say on their website... Sure the crowd part can be impacted slightly by marketing but I minimize that factor by skiing off-peak times. That's whatever.

 

I'm not sure where you get the whole advanced intermediate thing. So like, what's Blue then? Gaperjong central? Like I said, far better skiers than you or me like elk.

 

You are truly an opinionated a-hole, but I love you for it;)

[phillycore]

I have yet to ski at a mountain that I couldn't find something that I liked or disliked about it and believe me I've been to quite a few.

We all have preferences of what we like and sometimes those preferences even change just like the mountains and their operations change.

Embrace the differences, be open to change, and most importantly have fun skiing the living shit out of all of it as much as possible and for as long as you possibly can... The only guarantee is that every one of us will eventually have a final day, and a last run. Make them all count.

[AtomicSkier]

The things that determine my experience at the mountain are conditions, terrain, and crowd, not what they say on their website... Sure the crowd part can be impacted slightly by marketing but I minimize that factor by skiing off-peak times. That's whatever.

 

I'm not sure where you get the whole advanced intermediate thing. So like, what's Blue then? Gaperjong central? Like I said, far better skiers than you or me like elk.

 

You are truly an opinionated a-hole, but I love you for it;)

 

JohnnyLaw is exceptionally passionate about skiing.  He loves Vermont.  I love to say I hate it

 

I also don't think a PSIA Level 999 instructor is a better all around skier than JohnnyLaw.  You think some Elk instructor could slarve some huge fucking 100m radius turns down some 47 degree ramp at Mach 2?  Hell no, they'd be trying to perfectly time their pole plant.  No disrespect to PSIA instructors, I just don't use that as a measure of good skiers.

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

This thread really delivers I'm glad I started it!!!!

 

Are there really far better skiers in PA than JohnnyLaw??? Maybe Atomic Jeff...

No mountain in eastern PA has a run as good as switchback or Razors.

I have yet to ski at a mountain that I couldn't find something that I liked or disliked about it and believe me I've been to quite a few.

We all have preferences of what we like and sometimes those preferences even change just like the mountains and their operations change.

Embrace the differences, be open to change, and most importantly have fun skiing the living shit out of all of it as much as possible and for as long as you possibly can... The only guarantee is that every one of us will eventually have a final day, and a last run. Make them all count.

And hopefully their loved ones buy a tombstone from me so I can afford my ski habit.

[thedude4bides]

JohnnyLaw is exceptionally passionate about skiing. He loves Vermont. I love to say I hate it

 

I also don't think a PSIA Level 999 instructor is a better all around skier than JohnnyLaw. You think some Elk instructor could slarve some huge fucking 100m radius turns down some 47 degree ramp at Mach 2? Hell no, they'd be trying to perfectly time their pole plant. No disrespect to PSIA instructors, I just don't use that as a measure of good skiers.

Even the legendary Johnny Laws skiing and knowledge would improve if he went PSIA. Not even what we were talking about tho...

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Even the legendary Johnny Laws skiing and knowledge would improve if he went PSIA. Not even what we were talking about tho...

I doubt Johnny law has the patience to take advice on pole plants and slow deliberate turns from some ski instructor in tight pants.

[thedude4bides]

Speed hides your flaws, I used to like it that way... Now I address my flaws. All it takes is a will to be better and the patience follows.

[AtomicSkier]

Even the legendary Johnny Laws skiing and knowledge would improve if he went PSIA. Not even what we were talking about tho...

 

I know...but this is PASR...every thread gets thread jacked.

 

In all seriousness, I'm always trying to improve my skiing and become an all around better skier.  Racing, bumps, trees, slarving, etc, but I don't know where PSIA fits in.  I have a hard time thinking PSIA in particular would take my racing or bump skiing to the next level.

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Speed hides your flaws, I used to like it that way... Now I address my flaws. All it takes is a will to be better and the patience follows.

What if somebody likes the way they ski??? I just could never imagine skiing anything but Mach looney unless it was on super steep and narrow terrain where control is important. Steep terrain is easier to make lots of little turns than flat terrain..

 

I always thought most of the ski instructors at blue were pretty crummy skiers. I never really see them rip or grind like Matt edge and Johnny law.

[thedude4bides]

I know...but this is PASR...every thread gets thread jacked.

 

In all seriousness, I'm always trying to improve my skiing and become an all around better skier. Racing, bumps, trees, slarving, etc, but I don't know where PSIA fits in. I have a hard time thinking PSIA in particular would take my racing or bump skiing to the next level.

I have a hard time thinking you can get what you are looking for outside of PSIA without doing some weeklong clinic conducted by some former pro who may really be a tremendous skier but may or may not be trained as teacher. Most who go to those are people who are paying big bucks just to ski with a famous skier. PSIA has events that non-members can attend. Plenty of bump clinics.

 

Advanced Bumps: 2 day on snow.

"This course will focus on developing and refining essential skills and tactics necessary to ski bumps on black terrain. It will help participants who already ski black terrain bumps to handle more difficult lines, more speed, and more challenging conditions."

 

Advanced Movement Analysis:

"This course will help you to coach movement patterns of modern racing, mogul and off-piste skiing. Learn how to determine cause-and-effect relationships in the tactical application of skills. Develop activities that promote the adjustment and adaptation of skills to task and terrain. Use movement-specific analysis to assess technique. Use situation-specific analysis to assess tactics."

 

There's even specific slalom and GS events.

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Atomic Jeff how did you get to where you are now as a skier without the PSIA???

[thedude4bides]

What if somebody likes the way they ski??? I just could never imagine skiing anything but Mach looney unless it was on super steep and narrow terrain where control is important. Steep terrain is easier to make lots of little turns than flat terrain..

 

I always thought most of the ski instructors at blue were pretty crummy skiers. I never really see them rip or grind like Matt edge and Johnny law.

If somebody likes the way ski, then I imagine they are happy not being as good as they could be. Good question. The thing I like most about skiing is that there is always room to grow.

 

Most ski instructors at blue do ski like bums. Their training is practically non-existent. If they had good training I'd work there.

Edited March 12, 2015 by thedude4bides

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Wow me and TheDude finally agrees on something.

[AtomicSkier]

Atomic Jeff how did you get to where you are now as a skier without the PSIA???

 

I'm 100% self taught, except one or two days in the Explorers program when I was like 5.  Watching Youtube video really helped me visualize how I should be skiing a race course.  It takes more balls on top of skills to execute the plan though.  It's all about being right on the edge.

[thedude4bides]

I'm 100% self taught, except one or two days in the Explorers program when I was like 5. Watching Youtube video really helped me visualize how I should be skiing a race course. It takes more balls on top of skills to execute the plan though. It's all about being right on the edge.

You weren't coached in college? I thought you raced?

Wow me and TheDude finally agrees on something.

That's only because tapatalk on my phone doesn't block your posts from being viewed for some reason... Maybe a moderator can fix that;)

[AtomicSkier]

You weren't coached in college? I thought you raced?

 

The only coaching that went on was how to drink.  I raced with a bunch of kids who were top of their game and grew up racing at Stowe and Sugarbush.  They crushed beers at the top of the race course to make Mountain Creek *slightly* challenging.

[thedude4bides]

The only coaching that went on was how to drink. I raced with a bunch of kids who were top of their game and grew up racing at Stowe and Sugarbush. They crushed beers at the top of the race course to make Mountain Creek *slightly* challenging.

The lesson here folks is to follow your balls down the hill while drinking beer and you just might become a slalom gate smashing high speed carving prodigy. Haha;)

[toast21602]

The lesson here folks is to follow your balls down the hill while drinking beer and you just might become a slalom gate smashing high speed carving prodigy. Haha;)

Noted.

[mbike-ski]

....and thats why i'm the best (old busted up) skier on the mountain mofo's!

[Johnny Law]

The things that determine my experience at the mountain are conditions, terrain, and crowd, not what they say on their website... Sure the crowd part can be impacted slightly by marketing but I minimize that factor by skiing off-peak times. That's whatever.

 

I'm not sure where you get the whole advanced intermediate thing. So like, what's Blue then? Gaperjong central? Like I said, far better skiers than you or me like elk.

 

You are truly an opinionated a-hole, but I love you for it;)

Blue absolutely is part total junk show. They have one of the least talented general crowds around. But blue is really a country boy that moved to the city, he fell into a job in porno when everyone realized he had a 12 inch dick. They particularly in the past succeed almost in spite of themselves. Elk is the same dude but his parents were richer and he can't stop telling everyone about it.

 

Fuck yeah PSIA would vastly improve my short game, Jeff is far superior when it comes to carved turns. That's not my point at all, I'm saying that shit is great but it's one tiny part of the pie.

 

Skiing is a symphony,the fucking number of things that need to occur in order to ski is likely infinite. Air pressure, specific physical properties of water, 4d space time or gravity. Human shit like materials Science, industrialization,manufacturing, electrical production, billions of people doing exactly what they are supposed to everyday. Thousands of muscles all firing in perfect synchronization with my brain to make constant tiny adjustments based on fluid in my ear in a system we call balance.

 

All that fucking shit so my mostly ignorant hairless monkey self can ride two tiny pieces of metal around a curved area of frozen water at 50mph.

 

That shit is fucking nuts and it's alot more than edge purchase and turn shape. It's the solitude of click clack skis,its the unbridled adventure of bc skiing, it's flying like a mother fucking bird in park skiing and powder.....dude powder skiing is quit your job and live in the woods type shit. There are no tennis bums or dudes washing dishes and working construction 15hrs a day all summer so they can play hacky sack when winter finally arrives. Powder is floating in a 3d column of water, deep pow is a religion.

 

I wanna see it all, the good, the bad, I want to be as good as I possibly can in all aspects but nobody but particularly PSIA is going to define this experience for me.