MRVexpat

1 hour ago, STILL N OF PIKE said:

That or go 10 miles North to Temple NH and Miller state park . Base 1450’ Top 2200’ (they had over 40” up top in last march storm ) I think it’s Temple / Peterborough border right on rte 101 (which is always plowed ) . Miller state park parking lot will probably get at least a once Over During the sort of am lull 

Thanks. Yeah I've heard of Temple before when browsing NELSAP and have always been curious. Just not sure of how skiable that place is after 8-12" of what I assume would be medium density pow. The beauty of Watatic is that the local crews keep it very well manicured. Really only need 6" and some fat planks to have a good time there. 

Mt. Watatic in Ashby looking like a decent bet for a jack out of all of this. Ratios should be real solid there with 1200-1800' elevation. Thinking about going for a ski tour Sunday afternoon or Monday AM. Only question is plowing/road conditions. @ineedsnow, this is your hood? Any insight into plowing frequency? I have winter tires and 4WD which helps, but would want to ensure at least a pass or two of that area by Sunday PM. 

11 minutes ago, bwt3650 said:

Some more pics from today..as has been mentioned, the scenery right now is incredible. Almost as good as the early season skiing. I wish I had the talent to photograph like pf and jspin, because there’s some great shots to be had…









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Agreed

39 minutes ago, Lava Rock said:

Arlberg in Austria

Bummer about those powerlines though. 

Can't ask much more from late November. Was able to perfectly time the opening of Heavens Gate at Sugarbush yesterday. 

bush rocked. 1'

2 hours ago, mreaves said:

Last night's episode of Maine Cabin Masters had them doin a ski cabin near Black Mt. in Rumford, ME.  Looked like a nice ski area.  I know a couple of people here have mentioned it before but it doesn't seem to get a lot of press. 

Its Maine's MRG (they do allow snowboarding though). Lots of glading efforts going on there so when it snows the trees are a go. Great vibe and very impressive terrain for a smaller hill and there is an adjacent GBA glade for uphill enthusiasts. 

1 hour ago, Lava Rock said:

good stuff thanks. After reading some online reviews my impression was the rustler was more like the brahma and the enforcer and mantra were mostly hard chargers that were similar to one another. My interpretation must be wrong or the reviews are to be taken with a grain of salt. What I'd like is to be able to bomb down groomers with wide GS turns on edge, with good stability, little chatter and high confidence. At the same time, i want a ski that will turn quick on the steep stuff. The 188 brahmas are definitely too long for that but I got good deal on them several years ago and have managed. I was renting a 166 brahama before the 188 and that obviously turned much quicker. If the rustler is what I am after, what size would you suggest?

Tough to accomplish both without some compromise one way or another but based on my experience the Rustler is a better all arounder than either the Brahma, Enforcer or Mantra. As far as length, 180cm would probably be ideal here. 

These guys are out of Stowe and put out really solid reviews. Wonder if PF knows them?

3 hours ago, CT Rain said:

I have Enforcer 104s that I got last year and love them. I ski out west a decent bit but also do a couple weekends in new England... was worried about the 104s but I thought they handled very well on groomers. I'm really happy with them. 

104 Free? Amazingly versatile ski. Shouldn't be as quick and maneuverable as it is for all of that power and stability. 

8 hours ago, Lava Rock said:

Looking to buy a 2nd set of skis. Been skiing brahma's (188/88) last few seasons and I've always liked them, but wanted to try a wider ski, ~90s. I'm mostly an on-piste intermediate/advanced skier that'll ski mostly blue/black groomers, non-groomers. Can ski pretty much anything at SR except for the super tight glade stuff. Been considering the blizzard Rustler 9, Nordica Enforcer 94, Volkl Mantra M6. I'm 6'1", 155lbs and from what I've read, the Rustler would probably be best for me, but some reports of it being not as stable at higher speeds (2024 has full length metal edge so maybe better?) has me considering the other two.  I'd like to rip high speed GS groomers and the Nordica seems to fit the bill well. The Mantra, based on reviews appears to be a high charging heavy ski that at my weight may be more difficult to maneuver. Overall, I'd like a stable ski at speed, but still being able to execute quick turns on the steeper stuff. Any suggestions on these or other skis to consider?

I suppose this all depends on your goals. Do you want something to compliment what you already have in the Brahma (a stable and energetic carving/all mtn ski for sure) to unlock another side of your ski game OR do you want something similar to the Brahma that excels at many of the same things but in slightly different ways? Many people who opt to start to build a quiver go for the former. Another thing to consider is that a stiff ski 188cm long does preclude you from excelling at off piste or bump skiing to a degree, or at least makes it much more difficult to up your game if you're not already an expert. 

Having skied all three skis on your list, the Enforcers 94 and Mantra M6 will do well to accomplish the things your Brahmas are already good at with perhaps even more power and stability, just in a slightly wider package. Going for the Rustler 9 or even the 10 will allow you to experience a completely different side of the sport with their increased maneuverability and performance in slightly softer snow while still maintaining plenty of power and edge grip as long as things aren't too firm. Again, this is if your goal is to truly try a different type of ski and build a quiver that will allow you to enjoy a wider range of conditions. I would also strongly consider sizing down if going the Rustler route. While their increased tip and tail rocker mean you will have less effective edge, a shorter and wider ski with more rocker could be a game changer in trees/bumps/tighter terrain. 

This is the worst weather imaginable for outdoor activities. Happy for everyone who counts having a sweaty sack as one of their hobbies. 

The benefit of having your dad retire is you now have a private amateur ski photographer at your service. Got up to the Loaf this weekend! Still a bunch of snow up there. Sunday had decent conditions despite the mixed weather event/re-freeze. Just got to zoom around the mountain. Place is unlike anywhere in the east. 

1 hour ago, Lava Rock said:

How's that compare to their avg? Seems like they did alright despite the crappy start

Sent from my SM-G981U1 using Tapatalk
 

Quite a bit under. I think Bolton is around 300" and Stowe/Smuggs average a bit more. Very poor start but last 4-6 weeks have been great. 

8 minutes ago, Boston Bulldog said:

30" reported at Magic, and it certainly skied like it!

Note the pole for depth (with some slantsticking). The mountain sold out so most runs got quickly tracked up, but the trees were incredibly deep and untouched all morning. Unfortunately, around noon high winds took down a tree which cut the power source to the mountain so they had to shut down. They are giving out a free day voucher to everyone who bought a ticket, shout out Magic for the great customer service and working so quickly to amend an unfortunate situation!

Hey I was also there! Wish I knew the mountain a bit better (2nd time there, first in about ten years and actually the day Nemo was touching down, and with full coverage) but I was about the 10th skier down red line and then had a great run in the wardrobe trees. I thought the snow was on the heavy side of medium density and a touch wind affected but that made it all the more surfy! Overall four great runs before the power cut out. 

13 minutes ago, borderwx said:

2 chair visibility this morning

Another 3” since sunrise at the house. A very good storm!


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Heading there this weekend. Hoping temps can stay at or below freezing....at least at elevation. 

Where's Berg? His area appears to be snowing decently per radar echoes. 

8" at the summit of Lincoln Peak already this AM. Over performer en route for the C/N Greens?

10 hours ago, powderfreak said:

That is absolutely bonkers. I’d start to be worried about getting buried if one of those snow walls calved off.  Walk one at a time to make sure if someone gets buried another person is able to get them out, ha.  Children can’t go outside either, going to drown.

Heading there today and first ski day Sat. Hoping I timed it right with a few days for the pack to settle. Another 2-3' on the way...

14 hours ago, snowgeek said:

Heading to Salt Lake City tomorrow to sample some of their patented fluff n stuff. Skiing Tue-Sat at the Ikon mountains. Should be quite the adventure.


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Enjoy the snow! Should be epic. Was lucky enough to ski Japan this year but even that didn't beat 2 feet at Alta last year. The terrain in LCC is unmatched. 

9 hours ago, Angus said:

Anyone following the last man standing event at ski the whites, once again crazy

Absolute psychopaths. Impressive though for sure, lol. 

Japan is a magical place. Did 11 days of skiing on the northern island of Hokkaido followed by 3 days in Tokyo. The people, food and snowfall were all incredible. Will 1000% be going back in hopefully the not too distant future. 

Just got back from Japan. Skiing and food is ruined for me forever. Pics coming soon...

37 minutes ago, J.Spin said:

With the strong snowpack in the area now, I decided to head out to the Nebraska Valley for some ski touring today.  The last time I toured in the Nebraska Valley I was on the valley’s north side, but I’ve now heard from multiple students of mine that the south side of the valley offers some great skiing off the Catamount Trail.  I didn’t have too much information beyond the fact that you can just use the Catamount Trail as a collector trail for the terrain in the area, but it sounded pretty straightforward, fun, and convenient.

I was able to park right at the Catamount Trail parking area on the south side of Nebraska Valley Road, so the trail access was very easy.  It had started snowing around midday, and there was steady snowfall through much of my tour in the afternoon.  Following the Catamount Trail southward, the options for great backcountry skiing are indeed very obvious.  From the trailhead at an elevation of ~1,000’, the trail rises at a moderate grade for about 400 feet of vertical over the course of perhaps ¾ of a mile, and then the terrain flattens out into a relatively broad valley with the main drainage on your left, and steep slopes rising up to your right.  The slopes consist of very open hardwood forest throughout, with tree spacing in many areas as much as 20 or 30 feet.  I couldn’t see all the way to the top of the terrain, but there must be hundreds of acres there with very obvious ski lines, and the fact that there were tracks coming down out of this terrain suggested that it held good potential.  At around a mile from the trailhead I came to the first obvious skin track that headed up off the Catamount Trail into these slopes, so using that was a clear option for some great runs.

I just happened to run into one of my students descending on the Catamount Trail as he and his group were finishing up their session for the day, and he said that if I had the time, I should head higher up because the snow was better.  Being my first time in the area, I did want to take a long enough tour to get the lay of the land, so I continued another mile or so and toured up to around 2,400’.  The snow was indeed even better higher up, but the tree lines weren’t as open as the beautiful looking terrain I’d seen lower down.  The terrain higher up was plenty steep, and certainly offered decent skiing, but I’d say those initial slopes rising from the valley at around 1,500’ are the best bang for your buck as long as the snowpack and snow quality are good at those elevations.

It was snowing quite hard up at 2,400’ when I began my descent, hard enough that I would have been worried about being out there in such weather if I didn’t know the forecast wasn’t calling for sustained accumulations.  The snow had added another couple of inches to top off the snowpack, which certainly helped make the powder even a bit fresher.  Temperatures had been cold much of the afternoon, but on my descent I quickly realized that the freezing level had risen.  I descended out of the heavy snowfall down into mixed precipitation by ~1,500’, and just sprinklings of rain down at the trailhead elevations of ~1,000’.  I was glad that I’d finished my tour by that point because the lower elevation snow was definitely getting sticky and more difficult to ski.

Thank you for the report! I too have only skied the north side of the valley (south facing stuff on the other side of the ridge from Steeple). Good to hear there appear to be options aplenty!

Alta update: 368" 

2 hours ago, PowderBeard said:

Is there anything like the stuff out beyond Paradise at MRG (e.g., "Three Cliffs" or "Octopus Garden")?

Nothing quite on that level but there are some fun cliff bands in the woods skier's right of the triple. Not as much to explore as MRG but as I'm sure you saw, doesn't take much snow to make things "in".