V to the T

[SallyCat]

Hey PASRs! It's Sally here with a check-in from the Green Mountains!

I saw Salty's excellent trip report from CBK and I was inspired to see if I could do a sort of Greatest Hits Report of what's been going on up here, ski-wise.  I do genuinely miss skiing at Blue; miss the night-skiing, miss the lot. I even smoke more weed than Doug now.

Anyway, here's the haps from up north:

I have a lightly-used VT Gold Pass; it’s the catch-22 of working in the ski industry: All the perks you could want and no time to use ‘em. I do ski at Magic whenever I get a chance. Love that place for leaving intermediate trails ungroomed for us mere mortals and plodding intermediates. S6 tends to roll up the carpets early in the season, so when we close, I hope to get out for some spring skiing.

Ascutney Outdoors, for whom I was doing a shite-ton of volunteer social media and PR work, has turned out to be full of assholes, and I'm glad their stupid rope tow keeps un-fraying. (The first time it happened, I was still doing PR for them and I had to announce the shut-down. I posted: "Rope Tow this weekend? 'FRAID NOT!"   )  Anyhoo, I asked those jerkfaces if I could reduce the number of hours I was volunteering for them. They told me it wasn’t that much work and probably I was lazy and inefficient, then they kicked me off the board. I felt like Fredo in The Godfather II. I didn't get in their fucking rowboat, though.

^Trash. Fuck them.^

Presidents’ week we were booked solid and jammin’ in the ski school. Then a young instructor called out for the day and it screwed up the schedule completely. Then I saw him skiing. I said “Mike, did you seriously call out so you could come ski. HERE!?” He said yes. Because he’s a dumbass.

I told our mountain manager, who said, like a really nice-but-angry Jabba The Hut: “BRING HIM TO ME.” 

 I bet Mike felt a lot like Fredo in that moment, too. We haven’t seen him since, come to think of it…

 

Here’s my interaction with every tenth customer:

ME: “Do you know how to use the wicket?”

CUSTOMER: “Yes, of course. <<eye roll>>.”

(Three seconds pass)

CUSTOMER: “Can I… uh, have another ticket? <<Shows me a crumpled lift ticket stuck awkwardly to itself and the wicket, but NOT attached to the customer’s jacket.>> 

 

I showed up at a night-time snowshoe that takes place every Thursday night. Everyone was on xc skis or snow-trekkers (Altai Hoks or BD Glide Lites). They said it was no problem, they’d wait for me. I was like, I’m not that slow, why would they have to wait for me? Then we got to the top of a big pasture and stood chatting and enjoying the beautiful night sky. When it was time to go down, the skiers/trekkers all said BYE! and shushed off through the fresh powder. I was like “@#$%^&*“ snowshoes!!!”. So now I have me some BD Glide Lite 147s with AT bindings on them. Getting them mounted today; will report back.

That's about it. I tried snowboarding and fell a lot and it sucked. 

And my cat's still a jerk.

Hope the spring skiing in PA is awesome!  Best wishes to everyone!

Sally out! 

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Thanks for checking in!!!

[SallyCat]

1 hour ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

Thanks for checking in!!!

Slow day at work!

[saltyant]

That was great, please write more reports! I love the real life experiences from working at a ski resort and dealing with lazy coworkers and the general public who don't know how lift pass stickers work.

I was a lift attendant for 2 years, and the guy I worked with had some issues. The ticket window was at the top of the mountain, and a teenager skied down to us without a lift pass because none of the workers ever checked tickets. But that day, my co-worker decided to check tickets, and every time the skier got on the lift, he would shut it down. "No ticket, no ride". Then the skier actually tried walking up a black diamond to get back to the ticket window, and when he realized the futility of it he threw down his rental skis in a fit of rage. Utter stupidity making a skier walk back up a mountain. Eventually he called management and was allowed to ride back up.

Edit: I actually found the picture of them reunited later that day!

Edited March 7, 2019 by saltyant

[toast21602]

10 minutes ago, saltyant said:

That was great, please write more reports! I love the real life experiences from working at a ski resort and dealing with lazy coworkers and the general public who don't know how lift pass stickers work.

I was a lift attendant for 2 years, and the guy I worked with had some issues. The ticket window was at the top of the mountain, and a teenager skied down to us without a lift pass because none of the workers ever checked tickets. But that day, my co-worker decided to check tickets, and every time the skier got on the lift, he would shut it down. "No ticket, no ride". Then the skier actually tried walking up a black diamond to get back to the ticket window, and when he realized the futility of it he threw down his rental skis in a fit of rage. Utter stupidity making a skier walk back up a mountain. Eventually he called management and was allowed to ride back up.

Edit: I actually found the picture of them reunited later that day!

This is great! 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

9 minutes ago, toast21602 said:

This is great! 

It really is. 

[toast21602]

7 minutes ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

It really is. 

No it isn't.

[saltyant]

2 minutes ago, toast21602 said:

No it isn't.

You're right, SallyCat's is more entertaining. And today I learned those metal things are called wickets.

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

5 minutes ago, saltyant said:

You're right, SallyCat's is more entertaining. And today I learned those metal things are called wickets.

Loveland still has the old school lift tickets.  I’m not good with them. I got a D in arts and crafts. 

[SallyCat]

2 hours ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

Loveland still has the old school lift tickets.  I’m not good with them. I got a D in arts and crafts. 

Pro tip: Fold the ticket in half before you expose the adhesive. Makes the process less like an I Love Lucy episode. 

Oh, totally forgot: I turned 50 and competed in a downhill fatbike race in the same week. I just rode my regular bike, though, not a fattie.  Bottom line: if you ever get the chance to ride dh in the winter, you should do it; it's a ridiculous blast!

 

Edited March 7, 2019 by SallyCat

[Schif]

Sally! Kick ass report and awesome on the biking. 

[Shadows]

Couple behind you..... mine 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

SallyCat you need to post here more often!!!  

[toast21602]

7 hours ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

SallyCat you need to post here more often!!!  

Correct. 

[Ride Delaware ?]

Unfortunately, I’ve heard that is a pretty common reaction to volunteering at non-profits in Vermont. These people love the non-profit and the mission so much, that they just miss the point that it isn’t your job. It’s a hobby and you need to enjoy it. You’re doing it to help other people and the overall mission, not your personal ego.

I have friends that have been treated the same way at a mountain biking club that creates and maintains trails in the MRV. Seems to force out all of the competent volunteers so that the incompetent ones can boost their ego and not accomplish things half as quickly or do the job half as well.

[trackbiker]

46 minutes ago, Ride Delaware ? said:

Unfortunately, I’ve heard that is a pretty common reaction to volunteering at non-profits in Vermont.

 

It's not just in VT. People with no management experience in anything get in a position of "power" and go ego crazy in a lot of organizations all over the country. Fire companies, civic organizations, youth sports, churches, etc...

Sally, I'm skiing Magic tomorrow. Doubt you'll be there tomorrow but just in case you are; what kind of skis and color parka would you be wearing?

[SallyCat]

@trackbiker , I wish I could be there, but have to work. Have a great time and report back!