snowgeek

Cool, thanks for the info. Gotta figure out my retirement celebration ski trip Winter 24/25. Austria is definitely on my list. .

I heard food, lift tickets and lodging are very reasonable in Austria. What was your experience? .

WTF!?!? That’s absurd! I used to pay that for a lift ticket! .

Thinking of going to Stratton tomorrow. Is it worth it? Icy and long lines ain’t my jam. Amy first hand info from VT skiing this weekend would be appreciated. .

Awesome video! Fortunately I’ll be in SLC in Feb, but Unfortunately we’re staying at the base of the canyon so I’m if there are deep days I probably won’t be able to get there lol. 6 nights lodging in SLC same as 1 night at Alta or Snowbird!

My son is in grad school in Oregon so I’ve skied Bachelor and Hood Meadows. Both are amazing for different reasons. Avoid Timberline…. Boring as heck. Bachelor is huge and when the summit lift is open it’s pretty epic. Not really any extreme stuff, but lots of great cruisers, trees and meadows. Get on the road from Bend early on buddy days as the access road can get crowded. Hood Meadows is epic! Heather and Clark canyon are some of the coolest places that I have skied. So huge, you feel like a speck lol. Some really fun steeps too. They are gate access and then there is s lift to take you out at the bottom. Skiing under Mt. Hood is Awe inspiring. We also skied Hood Ski Bowl one day. No frills, old lifts but done really great terrain. Hoodoo is fun too! One day there. Super cheap. I think Thursdays are like $25 at Hoodoo. .

Alps seem to be in worse shape that the Northeast! Only about half the ski areas are even open! .

Alta and Snowbird were closed all day with interlodge in effect. Highway closed. No skiing! Insane. Avalanche teams working overtime. Must be intense to be there. I’m staying in SLC in Feb. Staying at Alta or Snowbird was so much more expensive. Our Air BnB total price for 6 nights was what one night cost at the mountains lol. Wonder how many people are stranded there and sleeping in the lodge. And they can’t ski. Different world out there! .

Windham was great today. Soft snow, no ice, low 50’s, but snow is taking a beating. Lots of thin spots and the snow was melting fast. Warm nights and rain gonna do a number on what’s left. .

Stratton was fantastic today. So tired!! .

Dumping parachutes now. 32/31. Drippy sloppy spring snow feel. .

31/27 here in Albany with sleet and zr. Didn’t see that coming. .

Feel grateful for my 6.8” in ENY. Gorgeous out there. Here’s the view from my classroom. A little less snow here at work. I actually measured 8.5” on my grass in spots where the snow literally was sitting on top of the 2” of grass. Sticky dendrites!

Man, that boiler plate was rock solid at Windham. Fresh snow all day helped but still firm. The sides of the trails had some good snow and it got better during the day but overall they need more terrain and lots of snow. .

The hope of swirly manmade snow clouds. Woot. Better times ahead. .

Wow, y’all sitting up some pretty good old memories. I started night skiing at Ski Liberty, PA in 1978. Everything you guys are saying rings true. Snow guns pasting your goggles, boiler plate, skis without brakes flying down the hill, slow lifts, dirty smelly overcrowded lodges, muddy strips across the huge parking lots, horrible food…. LOVED IT!! The best of times. I agree that the boiler plate of yore made us better skiers, but at my age I now avoid going when it’s icy. Falls on ice can take a while to recover from lol. My parents didn’t ski. My dad could barely walk on snow or ice lol. My brother and I started in the Jr High Ski club. I can’t believe our parents let us go out west in high school without parents! 4 high school boys lol. Steamboat February 83 was my first trip out west. I planned everything. Called toll free numbers and had brochures sent. Reserved a slope side condo. Mailed a check lol. Airfare, greyhound bus over rabbit ears pass. Snowbanks were like 20 ft. tall. One of my best childhood memories. We were there when Steamboat supposedly broke some kind of record for consecutive days with an inch or more of snow. I think it was over 50 days? Upper lifts were dug out with people skiing above you. Hot tub, heated pool. Why could I afford to stay there then when I was in 10th grade when now I wouldn’t want to pay the crazy prices that exist today. I paid for that entire trip with lawn mowing money lol. I also agree that midweek skiing rocks. When I retire in 2024, midweek here I come!! New Year’s resolution. Enjoy the crowds, lift lines and chaos! Any skiing is amazing!! .

I never thought that there would be enough people skinning to effect the stats that much. Can’t breed more than 1 percent? .

Interesting perspectives. Definitely want skiing to be popular enough to thrive but not so popular that it’s crowded lol. .

Once it gets more consistently cool, the trails with no snow on them now will probably be in better shape than the ones that are currently open which will have a nice foot of ice on the bottom. The kind of ice that fresh powder just slides off of (especially the steeper sections). Boiler plate baby!!! .

I have noticed more and more of my 8th and 9th grade students talk to me about skiing each year. The sport Is definitely becoming more popular. A student just said to me , “Guess what, we’re going to Alta this winter.” For a long stretch, I had almost no students that skied. This year it’s at least 10. .

No weather balloon launches at Albany NWSFO until March! Won’t know if storms are coming until the day before lol! Public Information Statement National Weather Service Albany NY 943 AM EST Tue Nov 29 2022 ...The National Weather Service office at Albany, NY will be temporarily suspending weather balloon launches... Effective December 1 and until further notice, the National Weather Service office at Albany, NY will be temporarily suspending weather balloon launches. The reasoning behind this decision is twofold, the first of which continues to be the global supply chain disruption of helium, with a secondary reason attributed to the delayed arrival of a new upper air inflation building and helium piping at our new facility located in the ETEC building on the University at Albany campus. file:///var/mobile/Library/SMS/Attachments/d9/09/83B4799F-AF9E-4B2C-8F3F-4E674BD00C5B/UA_Outage_Dec1.pdf

Rain, freeze, warm up, repeat. Skiing gonna be pretty meh the next week or so although some areas might get some good upslope behind Wednesday system. Oh well. Hopefully fun times ahead after that. .

Will do. I feel like they usually make some pretty dense snow too early season which ices up easily. I went last year Thanksgiving time after a thaw/ freeze and it was very slick and hard. .

Was having second thoughts about Stratton tomorrow. Rain then mid 20’s tonight. Thinking icy tomorrow despite temps near 40 and sun. .

Article in Ski Magazine. “Why You Should Seriously Consider a Ski Trip to the Alps This Winter. $200/day for 5,000 acres or $75 for 200,000? You do the math. Here’s why skiing Mont Blanc is a far better value than North American resorts.” Get there before it becomes like here lol. Too bad about the airfare. .