Jump to content
  • Member Statistics

    17,502
    Total Members
    7,904
    Most Online
    Weathernoob335
    Newest Member
    Weathernoob335
    Joined

The 2014-2015 Ski Season Thread


Skivt2

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 1.5k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Has anyone on here done Tuckerman in the spring? I am down on long island but have hiked mnt. Washington in the summer. Have yet to do it in the spring, but want to hike in and ride down this year. Looking for any tips on best times to go, conditions, anything else to watch for etc. Thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Has anyone on here done Tuckerman in the spring? I am down on long island but have hiked mnt. Washington in the summer. Have yet to do it in the spring, but want to hike in and ride down this year. Looking for any tips on best times to go, conditions, anything else to watch for etc. Thanks.

I went on Memorrial Day weekend in 1997. Was going to ski Tukerman's but the bowl was closed due to high avalanche danger since they received 18" of snow the night before. So I and a buddy skied Hillmans Highway instead. It's adjacent to Tuckerman's. It was a record year and a record May for snowfall. I think they got 100" in May alone. The snow was very deep above 4000 feet. We hiked up Hillmans and as we neared the shoulder of Mt Wash, I turned around and looked down. I was scared sh!ttless, it was so very steep and I felt it was beyond my ability. I was afraid that my edge of my skis would slip and as soon as that though entered into my mind, I lost my edge and fell down the mountain. Skis went flying off... and I felt like cat clawing into a sheet of glass as I slid down prolly 500ft until I came to a stop. Shaken up, my friend had to give me a "pep talk" into skiing the rest of the way down.. Which I did without incident. Being that it was late May, the snow pack lasted until about 3000ft so it was a bit of a hike back down to Pinkham Notch parking lot. I recommend going a month earlier and perhaps you could ski back to the car. Back then I had the old school 200s straight skis, now it would be easier with my shorter parabolic skis (and I'm much better, lol) this was the hardest trail I've done in the east coast. I've done all the Kmart DDs, but this was considerably harder.. I think Tuckerman's is prolly harder than Hillmans Highway. Also, hike up the same route that you ride down so that you are familiar with the terrain. What an amazing experience that was! Best of luck to you and stay safe.

Jason

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I did forget to mention when I hit Bolton on Friday it was perfect conditions for my goal to break 60 mph on a run :) I logged 64.6 mph as a max speed on one run. After that I took it easy and enjoyed cruising. I don't want to push it any more than that :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Has anyone on here done Tuckerman in the spring? I am down on long island but have hiked mnt. Washington in the summer. Have yet to do it in the spring, but want to hike in and ride down this year. Looking for any tips on best times to go, conditions, anything else to watch for etc. Thanks.

Yes, I did many years ago but I don't know enough about it to be a good resource on it myself.  The weather and conditions are hard to predict and change quickly, so unless you are up there for awhile and can pick and choose your day, you'll probably just get what you get. If weather isn't cooperative you can ski wildcat instead.

 

I'd probably sign up and post on http://timefortuckerman.com/forums/

There seems to be a ton of knowledge there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I did forget to mention when I hit Bolton on Friday it was perfect conditions for my goal to break 60 mph on a run :) I logged 64.6 mph as a max speed on one run. After that I took it easy and enjoyed cruising. I don't want to push it any more than that :)

that's flying, I hit 52 but man, all it takes is one edge. The guy who died at SR while I was there was into speed
Link to comment
Share on other sites

that's flying, I hit 52 but man, all it takes is one edge. The guy who died at SR while I was there was into speed

 

Yeah it certainly was risky to be sure but I'm good. I did it once and that was all I needed :) I certainly made sure nobody else was around and that the conditions were right first.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah it certainly was risky to be sure but I'm good. I did it once and that was all I needed :) I certainly made sure nobody else was around and that the conditions were right first.

don't get me wrong as I used to hit 135 on a bike. Sh it I almost died skiing at 10 mph, catapulted off a 35 foot cliff into a stream, but I agree the buzz and rush is pretty cool.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice powder stashes up north.

At Killington for the most part it was lsgr and scattered fzgr, bumps did not soften despite a cloudless sky, but were still really fun as a challenge. But the far S aspects, notably Royal Flush and Devils Fiddle corned up nicely. Fiddle has been just awesome lately, airs, great skiers, and bumps. Wide open with big rocks in play and the sun, it has been Tahoe East this past week. May have one more big day left in it, possibly midweek?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I went on Memorrial Day weekend in 1997. Was going to ski Tukerman's but the bowl was closed due to high avalanche danger since they received 18" of snow the night before. So I and a buddy skied Hillmans Highway instead. It's adjacent to Tuckerman's. It was a record year and a record May for snowfall. I think they got 100" in May alone. The snow was very deep above 4000 feet. We hiked up Hillmans and as we neared the shoulder of Mt Wash, I turned around and looked down. I was scared sh!ttless, it was so very steep and I felt it was beyond my ability. I was afraid that my edge of my skis would slip and as soon as that though entered into my mind, I lost my edge and fell down the mountain. Skis went flying off... and I felt like cat clawing into a sheet of glass as I slid down prolly 500ft until I came to a stop. Shaken up, my friend had to give me a "pep talk" into skiing the rest of the way down.. Which I did without incident. Being that it was late May, the snow pack lasted until about 3000ft so it was a bit of a hike back down to Pinkham Notch parking lot. I recommend going a month earlier and perhaps you could ski back to the car. Back then I had the old school 200s straight skis, now it would be easier with my shorter parabolic skis (and I'm much better, lol) this was the hardest trail I've done in the east coast. I've done all the Kmart DDs, but this was considerably harder.. I think Tuckerman's is prolly harder than Hillmans Highway. Also, hike up the same route that you ride down so that you are familiar with the terrain. What an amazing experience that was! Best of luck to you and stay safe.

Jason

Thanks for sharing. That's pretty wild about the 18 inches in late May, although they have recored snow in all months up there. I want to try and go up when the weather is above freezing and grab some soft snow.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, I did many years ago but I don't know enough about it to be a good resource on it myself. The weather and conditions are hard to predict and change quickly, so unless you are up there for awhile and can pick and choose your day, you'll probably just get what you get. If weather isn't cooperative you can ski wildcat instead.

I'd probably sign up and post on http://timefortuckerman.com/forums/

There seems to be a ton of knowledge there.

Thanks. I have actually been lurking around that forum as well just trying to get as much knowledge as I can before hand. The weekend I hiked up in the summer there was a very slight chance of t-showers in the forecast. The morning was clear as could be and we headed up anyway (mostly because I had one weekend to do it and we had just made the damn 8 hour drive to get up there.) Well, sure enough we make it to the summit in clear sky's and on the way down we got hit by a rainstorm that quickly turned into a hailstorm. The changeable weather is for real on that mountain and should be respected.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

that's flying, I hit 52 but man, all it takes is one edge. The guy who died at SR while I was there was into speed

Or i kid falling in front of you , when your going 40 and some bad luck. There is always a danger in skiing. No need to play "mom" to eyewall.

Nice work eyewall hitting your goal.

Most ppl that have ski'd realize what trails and surroundings they can accelerate and when they shouldn't.

Anyway, lookin for a good mtn to plan a monday after Easter Day trip to. Who the heck is open in Nh mid week (Loon?). My beloved crotched is closed...lol.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice powder stashes up north.

At Killington for the most part it was lsgr and scattered fzgr, bumps did not soften despite a cloudless sky, but were still really fun as a challenge. But the far S aspects, notably Royal Flush and Devils Fiddle corned up nicely. Fiddle has been just awesome lately, airs, great skiers, and bumps. Wide open with big rocks in play and the sun, it has been Tahoe East this past week. May have one more big day left in it, possibly midweek?

Devil's Fiddle was always my favorite trail at Killington as a kid. I'm not sure how it looks these days but there were like alleyways and slots all down the side through the alder brush, big wide open middle with one good rock band and then a bunch of smaller hits scattered about, and just soft spring bumps all over the place.

Up here it has been like two different worlds on each single run...7-minute lift ride for 2100 vertical feet and you go through like 2-3 climate zones on the way down. The top half from 2500ft+ is packed powder and winter (such as where my photo was taken), while the lower half is loose/frozen granular and sounds like what you had at Killington. It's amazing the difference to me above and below that last rain/snow line. 5" upper half, half inch of rain lower half. It is that time of year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hillman's Highway is baby time compared to Tucks, granted its still super steep! When I did it a couple years ago some kid let go of his snowboard and it went flying down the slope and almost took some people out....if that hit someone we probably would have seen a helicopter coming shortly after....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Devil's Fiddle was always my favorite trail at Killington as a kid. I'm not sure how it looks these days but there were like alleyways and slots all down the side through the alder brush, big wide open middle with one good rock band and then a bunch of smaller hits scattered about, and just soft spring bumps all over the place.

 

Still looks great on trail.  The pic from the top I took yesterday, the pic from below I took on Wednesday.  Clear for launch on the rocks, and we did.

 

post-992-0-59638400-1427722717_thumb.jpg

 

post-992-0-17400900-1427722726_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Area skied: Whiteface Mountain, NY

Date skied: March 29th, 2015 from 8:30am - 1:30pm

Weather: Sunshine, 19F at 8:30am - 41F at 1:30pm (base temp)

Surface conditions: Packed powder, loose powder, groomed granular and corn snow.

My son and I spent an extra day in the Wilmington/Whiteface area after skiing on Saturday with cloudy conditions while waiting for clear weather. Sunday dawned cloudless and frigid with temps near 0F.

Whiteface at 8am:

Whiteface_zpsku8e19hp.jpg

We started the day off the gondola skiing down Excelsior to the summit quad. Riva Ridge/Parons Run where next with hard packed groomed snow.

Whiteface Summit:
Whiteface%20Summit_zpscwpzy1bz.jpg

Upper Skyward to Niagara featured soft packed powder and groomed snow and subsequent runs down Riva Ridge and The Follies had softer packed powder as it got skier groomed.

Summit Chair:

Summit%20Quad_zpsad5etjvu.jpg


My son at the summit:
Son%20Top_zpsrbjfyaaf.jpg
I skied the Wilmington Trail alone, while my son skied off the summit. This is a very long intermediate trail from the 4,000' summit of Lookout mountain with 2,780' of vertical when skied to the base. Conditions varied from soft groomed packed powder above 3,000' to groomed granular below.

Wilmington Trail:

Wilmington%20Trail_zpso3e2kr8p.jpg

Upper Boreen, Boreen, Lower Valley and Fox where soft corn snow by 1pm and this was my first taste of spring conditions for the year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I did forget to mention when I hit Bolton on Friday it was perfect conditions for my goal to break 60 mph on a run :) I logged 64.6 mph as a max speed on one run. After that I took it easy and enjoyed cruising. I don't want to push it any more than that :)

wow that's fast my season high is 54.3mph at Cannon. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mt Snow was awesome yesterday. A perfect bluebird day. Started off a bit cool 8 at the summit but it warmed up fast 35 by noontime. Overall conditions were excellent for March 29th. Coverage from edge to edge on 83 trails. Bumps softened up in the afternoon and the we sere still skiing the woods. Reggae music cranking at the base. Epic Spring day at Mt Snow yesterday. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Devil's Fiddle was always my favorite trail at Killington as a kid. I'm not sure how it looks these days but there were like alleyways and slots all down the side through the alder brush, big wide open middle with one good rock band and then a bunch of smaller hits scattered about, and just soft spring bumps all over the place.

Up here it has been like two different worlds on each single run...7-minute lift ride for 2100 vertical feet and you go through like 2-3 climate zones on the way down. The top half from 2500ft+ is packed powder and winter (such as where my photo was taken), while the lower half is loose/frozen granular and sounds like what you had at Killington. It's amazing the difference to me above and below that last rain/snow line. 5" upper half, half inch of rain lower half. It is that time of year.

So true whiteface was the same way this weekend. Deep winter with powder at the summit, granular corn snow in the middle and just pure sloppy mashed potatoes at the base. I tired to stay up high or middle I hate mashed potatoes. What a sick sick mountain. I was super stoked on it! I love the Adirondacks in General and so did my gf. I would love to have a place up there as the drive from Long Island wasn't bad at all compared to Vermont as it's a straight shot up the thruway. I would have to say it's my favorite mountain now. The views are just insane the vert is ridiculous with cruisers galore for a boring snow boarder like myself. I'll take that over more trials and more upscale amenities any day all day

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Those Whiteface shots are incredible

There's a reason it's an Olympic training facility and hosts events like the US Alpine Championships (and the Olympics way back when). It's got some serious vertical...the Adirondacks are very impressive as a mountain range.

My first seasons passes were from Gore/Whiteface. We mostly skied Gore but would go the hour and a half north to Whiteface a few times per season...as far as steep groomers go, Whiteface has the terrain. Fall, and Gore-Tex accelerates rapidly on packed steep snow, it makes it exciting.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...