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The 2014-2015 Ski Season Thread


Skivt2

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Well we only got 2-3" from "Juno" up this way, but we've been getting decent snow all this year so the mountain snowpack is set up nicely heading into February/March/April... every snowfall now is an awesome powder day, no matter if its 2" or 18".

 

Today's 2-3" with sunny skies by 10-11am was great.  And for all those folks that say you can't find untracked in the East after a run or two... well you haven't been to Stowe mid-week then.  These photos were taken around 11am, when we were finding the over-looked trails completely untracked. 

 

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Looks fantastic!

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You didn't miss much at berkshire east. They and all of berkshire county got skunked. Got like 4 inches.

Well we only got 2-3" from "Juno" up this way...

Looks fantastic!

... so Stowe's 2-3" is better than Berkshire East's 4-5". How so?

Dude, Berkshire East is a GEM. Am I misreading all of your posts, because I get the impression as I've read the past few pages that you're dissing it?

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... so Stowe's 2-3" is better than Berkshire East's 4-5". How so?

Dude, Berkshire East is a GEM. Am I misreading all of your posts, because I get the impression as I've read the past few pages that you're dissing it?

Love that place. This was initiated by the Schaefers in case you hadn't seen it:

https://www.change.org/p/massachusetts-governor-stop-imposing-travel-bans-in-western-massachusetts-when-it-snows

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Yeah. I saw yesterday that they were open despite the ban. Made no sense for the gov to close out there. Or at least it should have been lifted earlier

Anyway, I do want to try some if the other western Mass hills sometime

Next time you get a snow day you should come out to Charlemont. I have buy one get one tix for weekdays in the ski ride free program. Nowadays gas is so cheap you can get a voucher for the equivalent of $50 in gas.

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Bill Schaefer forwarded me the position, didn't sign it though. Agreed that they should have lifted the ban by 5am when everyone know that western areas would bust.

As far as whether they run in the red or black, I don't know, and honestly don't care. They don't even really care, as their obviously not out to make as much money add possible.

Basically, whether you work there or buy tickets/passes, the vibe remains the same. The Schaefers own this really fun hill, and they let me play on it with them.

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Boy people are sensitive. You'd think I was talking about their child. It got skunked compared to the forecasted 24-36 inches! That was the forecast! Places further east got that amount of snow.

How am I dissing it? Probably the best mountain in southern new england because of value for the dollar, lack of crowds, great trails, and .powder left untouched. I'm just saying the pics look nice. Not comparing them.

Berkshire east is a passion of mine, I love it and get defensive when people turn their nose up at it because it's not an okemo or kmart or stratton.

Even during holiday weekends there is never more than 5-10 people waiting for first chair. There's way more than just a few trails. Whether it's a powder day or not, a good bet is to start on the left side of the mountain and work your way to the right.

-Mowhawk is a good warmup.

-Chief is best in the early am, that's run #2

-Jug/broken arrow on a powder day, it'll be untracked all day (natural trails)

-Cloud

-Liftline if you want more untracked powder

-Comp

-Minnie dole

-Grizzly (powder or moguls, take your pick)

-Umass

-War dance

-Exhibition

-Hemlock

Rinse and repeat as needed, or head back to your favorite. ... or combine sections of trails for something new each run. ... And that doesn't even mention the woods/glades, both marked and unmarked. (Just follow the tracks of others for ideas if you don't know where to go. Horace's Grove if you like drops. East glares if you like your woods steep as hell. Blizzard island of you don't. ... not to mention all of the mountain bike trails through the woods).

I've been a part of that mountain for a long time, and I've never seen a powder day where there aren't still plenty of fresh lines 2 hours after lifts start spinning.

While they only have 1000' of vert, it's plenty big. There's something for everyone. Steep groomers, natural trails, epic woods... You name it, is got it. (Well, no half pipe lol).

I honestly have no idea why people would rather drive father and spend more $ to ski amongst the crowds in southern vt. I can only imagine that is a status thing. People would rather scrape and sideslip down outer limits just so they can tell their friends back home that they did it.

As for snowboarding, sure it's fun in powder, but personally i don't like what it does to the trails (both pow and groomed). 95% of snowboarders couldn't carve a turn if their life depended on it. Scrape, scrape. I'm all set with that. Unless you're like my good friend who snowboards with hard boss and an alpine board. ..That's a different story altogether. I've seen him carve trenches that have swallowed entire kids doing the pizza down exhibition.

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The Schaefers live quite comfortably.

Personally, if I owned a business, I'd want it to be as profitable as possible. But not everybody feels the same way. Sure, they don't like pissing their money away, who does? ... but turning huge profits isn't nearly as important to them as providing skiers with an enjoyable experience on the snow at an affordable price.

Yes, I know the owners. Sounds like you do to, since you've mentioned that you talk with them.

No, I don't market for them. They do a lot of things that make me scratch my head at times, believe me. ... If you've been following my ski thread posts over the years, you'd know that I often am critical of the place.

I'm probably as passionate about my local hill as powderfreak is about stowe. But you accuse me of "marketing, " but not him? Fyi, that's pretty much what he does at stowe, and his posts are a direct reflection of that. ...but I'm the one being accused of this? Why?

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Berkshire East = Berkshire Ice

Wachusett = Why choose it?

Pat's Peak = Pat's Pimple

Stratton = Flatton

 

I like to assign a garbage pail kids style name for everything.

Any ski mountain with the word Kill in it is pretty bad...old joke

What is the Native American word for "flat mountain"? Okemo...another oldie

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i was thinking of going tomorrow...gotta get some boots, or get my binding readjusted to my old boots...i have a fantastic boot buying debacle story...sheesh...

diane, do you have demo-style bindings that are really adjustable (where the toe and/or heel pieces are able to slide), or do you need to re-drill?

Let me know what type of bindings you have and I'll talk you through it if it's really doable.

Also, depending on how much difference there is in the sole length of your new boots, your binding's DIN settings may have changed. For that, all you typically need is an online ski binding din chart and a screwdriver.

I apologize for raising the profitability issue... just hope to never see this place on the NELSAP site.

I'm not worried about their P/L statement. Nobody here should be either. If you're apologizing because it started a heated discussion, no worries. ... Part of me really wants to open people's eyes as to how great the place is, but the other part of me wants to keep it a secret.

I also wouldn't worry too much about it becoming an addition to the lost ski area website. I have a feeling that is not going anywhere anytime soon. They're becoming more and more self-sustaining every day, and in a time where costs go up daily, they've been very resourceful.

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not sure, i think my bindings are two slideable pieces...DIN? hmmm, gotta google that one

diane, do you have demo-style bindings that are really adjustable (where the toe and/or heel pieces are able to slide), or do you need to re-drill?

Let me know what type of bindings you have and I'll talk you through it if it's really doable.

Also, depending on how much difference there is in the sole length of your new boots, your binding's DIN settings may have changed. For that, all you typically need is an online ski binding din chart and a screwdriver.

 

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Take a pic of your bindings and message me on Facebook.

To set the din (release send of your bindings), once the bindings will fit the boot, you'll need your age/height/weight/skier type (1 2 or 3) and the sole length of your boot. There is a website that will calculate it for you... just gotta find it.

Edit:

http://m.mechanicsofsport.com/skiing/equipment/bindings/din-calculator.html

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ok, so i'm looking for some suggestions on where to go to get fitted for a ski boot...i have a hard foot to fit...i need at least a 104 Last, but i also have a good arch...so i need something that is wide, but also has good height/depth so it doesn't put to much pressure on my arch...I went to the ski loft in Leominster...yea, that was a debacle...the manager put me in a pair of Dabello's...said it was his widest boot, and that it would be perfect for me. I knew right away it wasn't my boot. It squished my arch and cut circulation to my toes just in the few minutes I had the boot on in the store. I told him it wasn't going to work, and asked to try on something else...we went back and forth for about 5 minutes, and then he lost his cool and accused me of being a ski bunny who was looking for something as comfortable as a pair of Uggs, and then said ski boots weren't something you wore around your kitchen to cook dinner in...

 

yeah, so I'm still in the market for a pair of ski boots.

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... he lost his cool  ...

Damn, what a jerk.

 

I thought the link posted above had some good info on ski boots, including some info that would seem to indicate that some boots can be heated and formed to fit feet better.  Check it out:

 

http://m.mechanicsofsport.com/skiing/equipment/boots.html

 

I'll also add that I had custom-made foot beds fabricated by a specialist, and it helped improve my skiing tremendously.  

 

I second the suggestion of going to a ski area to try on boots.

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