Day 63 - Ski Roundtop

ASRA GS - 37.05 (18)    37.97 (23)    1:15:02 (19)

ASRA SL - 45.75 (10)    46.04 (12)    1:31.79 (10)

Ski Trip Day 1 - an ASRA 2-fer. Out 9:00 to 1:00 with a quick break between races; clear, cold, and windy - temps rising from some where around 10° to about 20°; 15 runs; 3,500 vertical; skied the Atomic D2 3.0 Race GS's and the 2015 Volkl RaceTiger SL World Cups; good snow on the hill; absolutely horrible skiing in the GS - not sure what's wrong; I felt much better in the SL despite a NASTAR handicap in the thirties; up early enough to miss all traffic this morning - made from my house to Roundtop in 3½ hours with a stop for coffee and a stop for gas; already off plan - today was supposed to be Tussey. #justgivemeagroomer    

Day 62 - Montage

BEER LEAGUE - 27.92 (7)    +2.29

Out 5:30 to 8:00 for the race and a few runs with Chris, Aaron, and CJ; 30° snowing and windy; 8 runs; 4,000 vertical; skied the Atomic D2 3.0 Race GS's; good snow on the hill and down in the hole; wish I would have brought something other than my race skis - I would have stayed out and skied a lot longer; pretty good result tonight - 11.81 NASTAR handicap.

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Day 61 - Killington

Ski Bum - 28.04 (33)    +6.49

Just out for an hour to do Ski Bum; cold, windy, and overcast - temps in the single digits; 3 runs; 4,400 vertical; skied the Atomic D2 3.0 Race GS's; soft, packed powder conditions - Highline was so soft that slipping the course was even difficult; got home and found that one of my boots was broken - ugh, very bad timing!



#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 60 - Killington

The snowpocalypse that wasn't. Out 1:30 to 4:00 with a break in KBL to warm up; light snow all morning accumulated to 4 inches and quit immediately when I went out; cold and windy, temps dropping thru the single digits; skied the Blizzard Brahma's; 9 runs; 10,250 vertical; did lots of stuff I hadn't got to all year - Tinman, Low Rider, Conclusion, and Ovation; as you'd expect I was able find a little untracked snow, but I was hoping for so much more; spent all morning doing skis - taking 7 pair on the upcoming trip.

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Day 59 - West Mountain

ASRA SL - 1:03.19 (12)    1:03.55 (12)    2:06.74 (12)    +21.01

Out 9:00 to 12:00; sunny with temps in the upper twenties and light winds; 7 runs; 5,000 vertical; skied the 2015 Volkl RaceTiger SL World Cups; skied a little better today - not fast, but no real mistakes;



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Day 58 - West Mountain

ASRA GS - 1:18.40 (23)    1:03.88 (15)    2:22.28 (19)    +26.66

Out 9:00 to 1:30 with a quick break between race runs; overcast with intermittent light snow and temps in the twenties; skied the Atomic D2 3.0 Race GS's; 12 runs; 9,000 vertical; skied poorly again; good snow on the race hill and one or tow other trails, but very little of the hill was open; big mistake at the bottom on run 1 - didn't stop, but came close.

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Day 57 - Okemo

NASTAR - 15.42 Gold

Out 9:00 to 2:00 with a quick 2 beer and Reuben lunch in the bar; sunny and mild - temps in the twenties; skied the Atomic D2 3.0 Race GS's and 2015 Volkl RaceTiger SL World Cups; 25 runs or so, but most all of them down low on the NASTAR course; surprised the SL skis seemed better running today's course; skied just OK.



#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 56 - Killington

Out 9:00 to 1:15 with a quick KBL coffee break and a quick shuttle ride home to switch skis; temps rising into the low twenties with increasing then decreasing clouds and a light breeze; skied the SkiLogic Customs and the Blizzard Brahmas; 23 runs; 23,000 vertical; mostly good snow conditions - groomers were very nice as you'd expect and Superstar was good under the guns despite limited visibility; the only thing that wasn't any good was Devil's Fiddle - very thin with tons of rocks poking through; despite their cool graphics, I'm still not enamored with the SkiLogic Customs; way behind on doing skis - have 5 pairs that need work.

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Day 55 - Killington

Ski Bum - 26.91 (17)    +4.16

Out 9:00 to 1:15 with a lunch break down at Snowshed; clear and cool with no wind - temps climbing through the teens; 18 runs; 18,250 vertical; skied the Atomic D2 3.0 Race GS's; stayed mainly to Northridge and the Canyon with a few Highlines and a couple of Snowsheds for good measure; conditions were good - mostly soft pack, but starting to firm up up in the Canyon; skied a little better today in the Ski Bum Race - beat all but 2 of the women; GoPro was testing some of their new drones this morning on Upper East Fall - the drone carries the camera and has a dual controllers, one of which is a GPS transmitter that a skier can carry and the drone follows.



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Day 54 - Killington

Pow day. Out early for the very first chair at 7:30 - didn't load until 8:45; 12"+ overnight - not near as heavy as I was expecting; overcast with temps in the mid-twenties; first tracks in Patsy's and The Throne were great; did Chop Chop in an attempt to find some more freshies, but it wasn't really ready - hit tons of stuff, including a stump that took my left ski off for a pretty good fall.



#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 53 - Killington

Out 8:00 to 12:30 with a KBL coffee break; 30°, overcast and windy in the Vale @ 8:00 - wet snow up top with 38° and rain in the Vale @ 12:30; skied the Rossignol Experience 98's; 20 runs; 23,100 vertical; did the first few with Susan and Jay; the Canyon was supreme - Downdraft was so good I did 10 - warming temps and recent snowmaking made smooth, chalky whales on Downdraft - Dip Dip was flatter, but way more variable; body position is key - 'vector the body' toward the next turn - forward, low, and inside, riding the inside edge of the outside ski - attack!

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 52 - Killington

Out 2:30 to 4:00 just to get the day; clear and very cold this morning, but 10° or so when I went out; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheaters; 6 runs; 5,000 vertical; lots of people; Superstar's lower headwall was scrapped clean; guns on Dip Dip!

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Day 51 - Okemo

NASTAR - 14.86 Platinum

Out 9:00 to 2:00 with just a 2 beer and Reuben lunch break; temps falling into the teens with a couple of very heavy snow squalls; skied the Atomic D2 3.0 Race GS's and the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's; 20 runs, but most down on the Bunny Hill to do NASTAR; their new Bubble Six-Pack lift is great - heated seats and everything; they removed the park from Nor'easter - I'm so happy I think I'll send them a Thank You Note; their pacesetter went from a 15.53 to a 23.76 this week at the Regional Pacesetter Time Trails, so if I would have run last week I would have had a 7.17.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 50 - Killington

A whale of a day. Out 9:00 to 12:15 with a quick KBL coffee break to warm up; clear, cold and still at first chair; high clouds, temps rising into the teens and a building SW wind when I quit; skied the Blizzrd Brahmas; stupid, big whales on Superstar, Outer Limits, Cascade, and Skyelark/Bittersweet; the new, Low-E guns on SS, OL, and Skye-Bitter made a much firmer snow than the older ground guns on Cascade, so I did Cascade 3 times despite having to ride the box.



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Day 49 - Killington

Ski Bum - 28.18 (29)    +6.06

Out 9:30 to 1:30 with a 2 cup coffee break in the KSC building to watch some of the bums ski; clear and cold with little to no wind; skied the Atomic D2 3.0 Race GS's; 11 runs; 12,100 vertical; another poor result despite not skiing that badly; failed to beat any of the Class A women finishers; the Canyon Quad ran today, so I did Dip Dip 4 or 5 times; conditions are stellar - soft pack everywhere



#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 48 - Montage

ASRA GS - 44.98 (27)    40.57 (25)    1:25.55 (27)    + 13.90

Sometimes you just suck. Out 9:00 to 2:30 with a quick 2 beer lunch to drown my sorrows between runs; clear, cold, and a little windy; 5° to 15°; skied the Atomic D2 3.0 Race GS's; stayed and skied with JJ after the race; White Lightning was real good - even in my GS skis; it took a while, 8 days, but I finally put a nick in the edge of my race skis - not to worry, it was just a small one.

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Day 47 - Montage

BEER LEAGUE - 26.81 (9)    +2.49

Out 6:00 to 8:00; 10° or so with a light cross-wind; skied the Atomic D2 3.0 Race GS's; skied OK - finally beat all the girls; tonight's race was scored as a NASTAR race: 14.52 handicap - Platinum medal; failed to break down my equipment after Sunday's SL at Elk and wound up with wet goggles that immediately iced over in the cold weather - so I raced without any goggles.

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Day 46 - Elk Mountain

ASRA SL - 1:04.93 (11)    1:07.40 (14)    2:12.33 (12)    +28.92

Not a rain day on the hill despite a steady rain overnight and a rainy drive home. Out 9:00 to 2:30 with a short break for race awards and another for lunch; foggy with temps constant in the low forties; 17 runs; 15,000 vertical; skied the 2015 Volkl RaceTiger SL World Cups; good snow on the hill, but a little too soft for racing - some big holes and ruts despite just 28 racers today; very complicated course set today - 50+ gates, 3 hairpins, 2 flushes including a 4-gater, and a thru gate; absolutely nobody else on the hill - so I stayed and skied a little after the race.

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Day 45 - Elk Mountain

ASRA GS - 44.01 (37)    45.39 (38)    1:29.40 (35)    +20.77

Out 8:30 to 1:30 with just a quick warm up in the lodge between race runs; overcast with temps in the mid to upper twenties - heavy snow developed between runs accumulating to 2" by the time I left; 10 runs or so; 8,000 vertical; skied the Atomic D2 3.0 Race GS's; needed to take a real late re-run in the powder after they missed the timing for Tomassetti's and my second runs - did the re-run with my coat and warm-ups on and my wax/tool bag stuffed in my jacket; slow again...



#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 44 - Killington

Out 8:00 to 11:15 with a fairly long Peak Lodge coffee break with Susan and Jay; 13°, mostly cloudy with a strong NW wind; 12 runs; 14,750 vertical; skied the Atomic D2 3.0 Race GS's; very light crowd this morning; lots of firm snow underneath last night's grooming; Timberline was fun - I did 2; Caper was much tamer this morning; Cascade was really good - nice and firm with just a little loose snow and a few chunks in the middle - I did 6 in a row after coffee then went home; skiing a little better today - working hard not to let any rotary drift into the top of the turns, especially on the right footers.

#justgivemeagroomer