Trip Report - 12/9/2017

[saltyant]

It has always been my dream to try cross-country skiing, and today my dream was finally realized at Camelback Mountain. The day had started off promising with ample freshies inbound. I headed to East Gourmet Buffet and had pepper chicken, oysters, white rice, bananas with red gel, and tap water. I tipped the waitress one dollar. Then I headed to Camelback and received the awesome news that preferred parking was free for all today. My day was just getting better and better, and I saved 72 steps (mostly uphill). Little did I know that I would need all the energy I could muster to survive cross-country skiing.

The snow was coming down like crazy, and the mountain looked identical to Colorado. I knew crowds would be pretty heavy because other mountains (i.e. Blue) are in extreme remote Alpine tundra backcountry and only accessible by sled dog.  I called it right - Upper Marc Antony was indistinguishable from the Schuylkill Expressway at rush hour. Due to the massive undertaking earlier this season to open snowtubing before Blue, no other trails were available, and all skiers congested the narrow passage, causing major delays and several near-misses.

At this time I discovered two new cross-country trails. The first was at the top of Upper Marc Antony, and the second was right before Honeymoon. Due to the slow snow, getting down the mountain required an incredible amount of exertion at both of these spots. I pushed and pushed and wore my arms out. I also tried using the ice skating technique, but that wore my legs out after a while. A former instructor gave me a lesson on how to ski cross-country more efficiently. I improved a little after receiving his wisdom, but by this time my energy levels were drained, and ski wax was far beyond my reach. I made 25 runs today, less than half compared to last Saturday when conditions were epic.

To conclude, the scenery today was spectacular, and the snow was amazing. If Camelback had opened either Upper Cleo, or even James’s Way, those trails would have replaced the need to ski on ultra flat terrain, and I'd likely still be skiing for 4 more minutes. Those two trails would not have required a lot of snow, and Upper Cleo would have also alleviated much of the congestion on Upper Marc Antony. Overall, I am a little disappointed with the terrain today, which could have been much, much more fun especially with the surprise blizzard. But a Camelback official assured me that half the mountain will be open by next weekend. Hopefully by this time the gnarliness will return to Camelback.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 10, 2017 by saltyant

[RidgeRacer]

Well played on that last photo Saltyant.

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Nice report and no rice or noodles???  That was nice of you to tip $1!!!  

[saltyant]

1 minute ago, RidgeRacer said:

Well played on that last photo Saltyant.

I don't know what you're talking about, that's an actual photo of my fortune cookie wrapper and fortune.

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

 

I would have had to poop after eating that.  

[saltyant]

1 minute ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

Nice report and no rice or noodles???  That was nice of you to tip $1!!!  

Thanks. Yep, I mentioned that I had white rice. I hate noodles - they are way too difficult and time consuming to eat.

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

 

OMG I just saw the fortune cookie and am laughing so hard!!!

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

 

I would have had something tasty to drink with the Chinese food. I like water but not with meals.  

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

 

In slow snow you have to straight run before a flat and as momentum slows start polling and skating..be happy you weren't on a snowboard..with fresh snow steepness and speed is your friend. 

 

any liftlines???

Edited December 10, 2017 by GrilledSteezeSandwich

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

2 minutes ago, saltyant said:

Thanks. Yep, I mentioned that I had white rice. I hate noodles - they are way too difficult and time consuming to eat.

ok sorry missed that I like white rice.  Rice rice baby..vanilla rice rice baby.  My local Chinese buffet has a hibachi setup..you get the show without paying the dough lol

[saltyant]

2 minutes ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

In slow snow you have to straight run before a flat and as momentum slows start polling and skating..be happy you weren't on a snowboard..with fresh snow steepness and speed is your friend. any liftlines???

I tried everything today to move on the flats. It wore me down. Either I'm just not doing it right, or my skis need wax or it's my skis in general.

Liftlines were a little longer than last week but still not bad at all.

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

5 minutes ago, saltyant said:

I tried everything today to move on the flats. It wore me down. Either I'm just not doing it right, or my skis need wax or it's my skis in general.

Liftlines were a little longer than last week but still not bad at all.

Longer stiffer and wider skis will be faster. Wax only lasts a day or two..I'm lazy and barely wax my skis.  I should more or at least use rub on wax I notice slow speed on unwaxed skis the most when it's fresh snow or spring snow..or new manmade followed by warmth. No issues with speed today at Blue even on easy out 

[saltyant]

2 minutes ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

Longer stiffer and wider skis will be faster. Wax only lasts a day or two..I'm lazy and barely wax my skis.  I should more or at least use rub on wax I notice slow speed on unwaxed skis the most when it's fresh snow or spring snow..or new manmade followed by warmth. No issues with speed today at Blue even on easy out 

At Blue when you turn right at the top of Main Street chair, there's a slight uphill grade. It was somewhat tiring on opening day but nothing like what I had to deal with today. Fortunately tomorrow I believe I can avoid that by turning left and hitting Lazy Mile.

[Shadows]

Youre trs are amazing. Keep it up

[theprogram4]

Well played on the fortune cookie 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

3 minutes ago, saltyant said:

At Blue when you turn right at the top of Main Street chair, there's a slight uphill grade. It was somewhat tiring on opening day but nothing like what I had to deal with today. Fortunately tomorrow I believe I can avoid that by turning left and hitting Lazy Mile.

So what if you're tired..imagine some of the uphill skating and sideways traversing out west...I'm a pro at skating from my days at the fun rink..at abasin there is a slight uphill run to get to the backside it's maybe 200 yards long and I skate and poll full blast past people 70 pounds lighter than me and in superior shape..it's cause I get after it and that's at 12,000 feet.  My body can handle it better than my lungs. 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

 

Abasin actually just installed a rope tow there and I'll still likely skate along side the tow to see if I can go faster than the rope tow...

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

2 minutes ago, Shadows said:

Youre trs are amazing. Keep it up

Ditto SaltyAnt is the best poster alive 

[RidgeRacer]

East Gormet is definitely a good spot for tearing up on a little Chinese buffet...I'll give him that. Salty do you start with the sushi bar? I hope you're smart and go in with a solid plan. Start with the sushi, maybe some soup then move to that massive plate you posted above. If you go all out on your first plate you'll be shitting in your drawers on the Sullivan express.

[eaf]

8 minutes ago, saltyant said:

At Blue when you turn right at the top of Main Street chair, there's a slight uphill grade. It was somewhat tiring on opening day but nothing like what I had to deal with today. Fortunately tomorrow I believe I can avoid that by turning left and hitting Lazy Mile.

You need to check on your skis. There was nothing slow about snow today. I saw people skiing without poles and casually conquering that hill. There were some newbies stuck there and some kids towed by their parents, but it really didn't require any significant effort to get from Marc Anthony to Honeymoon.

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

7 minutes ago, RidgeRacer said:

East Gormet is definitely a good spot for tearing up on a little Chinese buffet...I'll give him that. Salty do you start with the sushi bar? I hope you're smart and go in with a solid plan. Start with the sushi, maybe some soup then move to that massive plate you posted above. If you go all out on your first plate you'll be shitting in your drawers on the Sullivan express.

I usually get hot and sour soup at buffets and I don't mess with the Chinese buffet sushi. 

[saltyant]

36 minutes ago, RidgeRacer said:

East Gormet is definitely a good spot for tearing up on a little Chinese buffet...I'll give him that. Salty do you start with the sushi bar? I hope you're smart and go in with a solid plan. Start with the sushi, maybe some soup then move to that massive plate you posted above. If you go all out on your first plate you'll be shitting in your drawers on the Sullivan express.

Nope, I just wing it. I was too eager to hit the slopes today and didn't feel like spending extra time eating soup. I just ate whatever was most efficient and fast. I had a bad experience with sushi once - ate a whole spoonful of wasabi in college. Not fun.

35 minutes ago, eaf said:

You need to check on your skis. There was nothing slow about snow today. I saw people skiing without poles and casually conquering that hill. There were some newbies stuck there and some kids towed by their parents, but it really didn't require any significant effort to get from Marc Anthony to Honeymoon.

I think I need new skis then. I saw other people moving across the slopes effortlessly.

Edited December 10, 2017 by saltyant

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Good deals on skis online. 

[saltyant]

7 minutes ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

Good deals on skis online. 

A ski shop wants to sell me Volkl RTM 81's for $599. My plan is to wait until April and see if he'll give me a lower price. But if I find a deal online I'll consider it.

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

38 minutes ago, saltyant said:

A ski shop wants to sell me Volkl RTM 81's for $599. My plan is to wait until April and see if he'll give me a lower price. But if I find a deal online I'll consider it.

$547 with bindings here for those.  Have you demoed them?  Lots of skis online in the $200-$300 range. 

 

https://www.alpineshopvt.com/volkl-rtm-81-skis-with-marker-12-0-tcx-bindings-2017.html?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Google+PLA&scid=scplp00821264610053&sc_intid=00821264610053&gclid=Cj0KCQiAsK7RBRDzARIsAM2pTZ_ZTSxMYQhLwxM-YrKkkBfMwyWK6JMaQRcb8bmZBBBP3usoTIEdBkUaAq1EEALw_wcB