Day 38 - Killington

I took a few days off with all the rain and ice over the weekend. Out 10:45 to 4:15 with a long, leisurely lunch at the condo; windy with a growing cloud layer and temps around 30°; 18 runs; 19,250 vertical ;skied the Volkl Mantras; thick granular, chunks, and tons of ice with quite a few rocks thrown in just for good measure; lots of people but no real lift line; the rather large, irregularly shaped, snow making bumps on Cascade were replete with big patches of ice - if you can't tell it got the better of me this afternoon.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 37 - Killington

Out 12:15 to 2:00; 7 runs; 7,650 vertical; skied the 2015 Volkl RaceTiger SL World Cups; some people, but only rode the chair with another person once.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 36 - Killington

Out 1:15 to 2:45 with a break at the ski club; 12 runs; 12,000 vertical; skied the 2015 Volkl RaceTiger SL World Cups

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 35 - Killington

Merry Christmas. Out 8:30 to 3:15 with a coffee break in the ski club bldg. and a luxuriously long lunch at the condo; bluebird skies with a little nip in the air - temps rising to nearly twenty with a little wind up high; 20 runs; 22,500 vertical; skied the Fischer RC4 GS Cheater 18's; firm and flat - several seemingly useless snow making setups; plenty of people especially later.

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Day 34 - Killington

Received my first Christmas present today when the Sunrise chair opened, ski-in/ski-out is finally here! Out 11:30 to 2:45 with a coffee break down at Snowshed; clouds building into a constant light snow with temps around 20°; 18 runs; 20,300 vertical; skied the Fischer RC4 GS Cheater 18's; crunchy, frozen groomers with plenty of chunks and rocks and even a little snowmaking thrown in; plenty of people, but never much of a lift line; Skyeship Base opened today too.



View of my condo, the tunnel on Sun Dog and Bear Mtn through the woods from the Sunrise Triple chair

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Day 33 - Killington

Successfully waited out today's rainstorm. Out 2:30 to 4:00; rain with temps around 50° and less wind than I think was predicted - it rained hard all then day stopped for an hour around 3:00; rain soaked ice and various forms of wet and/or soft snow and running water; lots of dirt and rocks exposed today; 10 runs; 11,140 vertical; skied the Blizzard Brahma #2's; nobody else out; Sunrise lift scheduled to run tomorrow - I hope all the rain doesn't change that plan.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 32 - Killington

Bluebird. Out 9:10 to 3:00 with a KSC coffee break and lunch at the Peak Lodge; sunny with temps rising through the thirties and a building wind; 25 runs; 30,309 vertical; skied the Volkl Mantras; 3f mostly, however did do some low angle woods on Ramshead; lots of people out enjoying the weather; Timberline was something new today that was very good; Bear Claw-Anti-venom was a delight again this AM; these skis are fine - they carve well and easily pave any bumps or piles into submission, it's just they're heavy and wide which makes them feel a bit sluggish.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 31 - Killington

Ski Bum #2. Out 9:10 to 2:00 with a couple of breaks in the ski club building; clear, cold and windy to start, but temps did eventually rise well into the twenties; 16 runs; 18,520 vertical; skied the 2012 Volkl RaceTiger SL World Cups and the Atomic D2 3.0 Race GS's; 3f; got to the Canyon this afternoon for 4 runs on Cascade; did pretty well in today's race - only got beat by 1 girl.

17 151 MARTIN BURNS 23.50 (17) SM5 (2)

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Day 30 - Killington

Out 9:15 to 1:00 with coffee in the Ski Club Building; cold and windy with another thick dusting of snow overnight - 10° to 15° with winds gusting to 40 mph+; 14 runs; 16,500 vertical; skied the Volkl Mantras; crunchy groomers with pockets of wind blown snow; nobody here today; wimped out and did 13 of my 14 runs in The Bubble; Mantras skied well today - they held nicely on anything firm and smoothed out all the bumps.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 29 - Killington

Out 9:15 to 1:45 with a coffee break in the KSC building; mostly in the cloud with temps around freezing, light snow falling and a steadily increasing breeze - just enough snow overnight and this AM to turn everything bright white again; 20 runs; 24,388 vertical; skied the Blizzard Brahma #2's; good and bad on the hill today, the good: the soft rolling groomer that was Upper Bear Claw/Middle and Lower Wildfire - the bad: the rocks on Bittersweet again and the chunks on Skyelark; missed the Canyon today - lapped Snowdon in The Bubble to keep warm instead.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 28 - Killington

Out 9:00 to 3:00 with coffee and lunch breaks; temps right at freezing with an in and out K Cloud and a tiny bit of wind; 27 runs; 34,250 vertical; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 17's; groomers and other stuff; skied with Chris - I love skiing with somebody who can keep up and/or even lead; still love these skis; did Double Dipper, NorthStar, and Ovation sans the bottom pitch; Bear Cub and Sun Dog opened today, but still no Sunrise Chair.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 27 - Killington

Out 9:00 to 12:45 with a coffee break in the ski club building; sun and clouds with temps rising into the twenties and the tinyest bit of wind; 19 runs; 23,000 vertical; skied the Blizzard Brahma #2's; mostly groomers with a selection of other stuff; did Vertigo sans the headwall and NorthStar; snow guns on Sun Dog right outside the condo at 6:00AM this morning.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 26 - Killington

First Ski Bum Race. Out 9:00 to 1:45 with a few equipment and warmup breaks in the KSC building; temps in the teens with some wind and a persistent K Cloud up high; 15 runs; 18,000 vertical; zoomer groomers - 3f; just skied ok today - still got beat by 3 girls; still waiting for ski-in/ski-out - maybe this weekend?

22 151 MARTIN BURNS 27.34 (22) SM5 (3)

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 25 - Killington

Out 9:00 to 1:45 with a couple of warm up breaks in the KSC building; clear and cold this AM with a little wind - temps rising into the twenties this PM; 20 runs; 22,050 vertical; skied the Atomic D2 3.0 Race GS's; flat, firm and fast - 3f; way too many rocks on Bittersweet and Middle Chute.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 24 - Killington

Out 9:00 to 12:45 with a coffee break in the KSC building; 20° and mostly sunny with a little wind up high; 18 runs; 21,260 vertical; skied the 2012 Volkl RaceTiger SL World Cups and the Head iSpeed GS Cheater 19's; nice carvable groomers with some real crunchy granular on most of the steeps; started at Bear this AM; hopefully ski-in/ski-out by Wednesday; skied all over today - Bear, Needle's, Skye, Canyon, and Snowdon; rode the new Snowdon Six Express for the first time today - very comfortable, but not so fast?

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 23 - Killington

Cameo for Chris and Aaron. Out 8:00 to 10:45 with a KBL coffee break; clear and cold with very little wind - +3°in the Vale this AM; skied the Blizzard Brahma #2's; 8 runs, 8,500 vertical; groomers; the Snowdon Six Express debuted today - I was going to take a ride, but skied by the huge line directly to the car instead; made the first three with Susan and Jay; made the last three with Chris and Aaron.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 22 - Killington

Almost a powder day. Out 9:15 to 2:45 with a long lunch in the ski club building; 4" overnight - cold and blustery all day; 25 runs, 20,000 vertical; skied the Blizzard Brahma #2's; powder and packed powder - but we slipped a course on Upper Double Dipper and ran gates; GS and SL - keep the upper body tall and forward, don't collapse the upper body especially at the bottom of the turn; made several free runs today to check out the mountain - did Escapade, Panic Eye, Bittersweet, Cascade; Doug T. characterized my skiing as elegant.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 21 - Killington

Race Camp race on Highline. Out 9:00 to 2:45 with a long lunch at the ski club building; cold and blustery with significant snow showers; 15 runs; 10,000 vertical; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's and the Fischer RC4 GS Cheater 18's; firm and flat; the Heads worked significantly better than the Fischers on the steep, icy pitch on Highline.

Run 1       Run 2       Total
22.93 (3) 23.23 (3) 46.16 (3)

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Day 20 - Killington

Race Camp Day 3. Cloudy with flurries and temps rising into the twenties and very little wind; 15 runs, 10,000 vertical; skied the Fischer RC4 GS Cheater 18's; firm and crunchy; PM session was 4 runs on the Ski Bum course on Highline.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 19 - Killington

Race Camp Day 2. Out 9:45 to 2:45 with lunch in the Ski Club Building; broken sun and clouds with temps in the teens and a diminishing wind; 15 runs; 10,000 vertical; skied the Fischer RC4 GS Cheater 18's; video analysis first thing this AM; great video from yesterday on Mouse Trap;

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 18 - Killington

Race Camp Day 1. Out 9:00 to 2:45 with lunch in KBL; temps started just above freezing but were dropping fast by the time I left; windy all day; a little mix of everything in the sky: rain, snow, fog, clouds, sun...; skied the Fischer RC4 GS Cheater 18's; 17 runs; 11,000 vertical; in John Pierce's group with Kathy, Bob, Ken, Tim, Andy, and Dennis - everyone except Dennis was in our group last year; worked balance, specifically fore/aft balance - edge release, pivot-slips; falling leaf; 360's; worked early edging - statue of liberty; worked turn shape - apex drill.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 17 - Killington

5 runs in a downpour. Out 12:15 to 1:15, no break; temps in the mid-to-upper thirties with rain and fog; skied the Blizzard Brahma #2's; 5 runs; 4,000 vertical; frozen, ice covered snow and chairs and cars, and everything; skied with David W.; he had a free lift ticket so I'm sure he just felt obligated to use it, but we had a good time any way.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 16 - Killington

Skiing with Bud and Tommy. Out 9:00 to 1:00 with a KBL coffee break; mid-twenties with no wind and an in and out, hazy K Cloud; 15 runs; 15,500 vertical; skied the 2012 Volkl RaceTiger SL World Cups; mostly soft pack - some chunks on Supe; the past 3 days have been a revelation - tuned skis definitely work a whole lot better.



Artic blue

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Day 15 - Killington

Out 9:00 to 1:15 with a KBL coffee break; storm ended with 4" more overnight - 32° with freezing mist early then heavy overcast and very windy; 19 runs; 17.250 vertical; soft pack groomers and even some trees; skied the Volkl Mantras; fair number of people out today; no K-1, but Superstar, Bittersweet, Upper Needles all on line today; did Patsy's and Skye Hawk too.



I've been wanting to post this since I took it on Sunday.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 14 - Killington

It's still snowing. Out 9:15 to 1:00 with a quick break in the KSC building; storm totals approaching 2 feet - K's reporting 6" more overnight; temps in the upper twenties with moderate snow falling and a stout NW wind; 10 runs; 10,000 vertical; skied the new Volkl Mantras; powder, crud, and softpack; less people out today - no lift lines; skied lots of stuff for the first time today: Powerline, Royal Flush, Conclusion, Swirl, and Snowshed; it says a lot about how much snow we have that I'd risk brand new skis on so many natural snow trails ; my legs are toast; power finally restored at the condo.



#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 13 - Killington

Snowstorm. Out 9:30 to 1:00 with a KBL Coffee Break; 12" overnight, 4" more this morning while we skied, 32° and snowing hard, no wind; 7 runs; 8,250 vertical; skied the Volkl Katanas; powder - ok, it was really just heavy, wet, deep snow; lots of people, but no lift lines at all; my 7:30 AM attempt to make it to the mountain failed, as I immediately got stuck - had to wait for the plow; power's out at the condo.



#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 12 - Killington

Post World Cup hangover. Out 9:00 to 1:30 with lunch at the Peak Lodge; K cloud in full effect - visibility at 0; 32° with heavy fog and winds building from the southeast - snow just started as I left; 16 run; 17,500 vertical; skied the Rossignol Avenger 76 Ti's; frozen groomers with soft spots; starting to really like making Highline laps off the Snowdon Triple's mid-station; skied several with Bob Sardelli - with the heavy fog he couldn't ski away (that's a joke); emotional and excitement hangover, not alcoholic; World Cup was great - see below.



#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 11 - Killington

Out 8:00 to 11:00 with a warm-up break in KBL; cold and sunny, no wind, -2° at the condo, 5° in the parking lot, 12° when I left; 11 runs, 11,750 vertical; skied the Volkl RaceTiger SL World Cups; the groomers were perfection this morning; enjoyed laps in the Canyon and a run down Highline in the sun; saw Jay, Joel, and Jenn in KBL at break - Kevin Ture as well; World Cup VIP tickets for this weekend!

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 10 - Killington

Frozen turkey. Out 8:00 to 10:15 with a warm up break in KBL; sunny and cold with a little wind just to top it off (-10° this am); 5 runs; 7,100 vertical; skied the 2012 Volkl RaceTiger SL World Cups; crowd building by the time I left; over dressed and got sweaty; googles iced over inside and out, so I basically skied by brail; left early when I went back out after break and my googles immediately froze over.



Somebody got the goods.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 9 - Killington

More snow. Out 9:00 to 12:15 with a break at KBL; 2" overnight, then at least a couple more starting around noon as I left (as of 10:00 PM K is reporting 6" total) - otherwise overcast, cold and blustery with temps falling into the teens; 11 runs; 12,500 vertical; skied the Fischer RC4 GS Cheater 18's; groomers with cream chees frosting - the steeps were getting dutifully firm by quitting time.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 8 - Killington

Another snow day. Out 9:00 to 12:45 with a Peak Lodge break to dry out and grab a bite to eat; 3+" overnight with another 2" this morning; 9 runs; 10,000 vertical; skied the Blizzard Brahma #2's; very manageable crowd; skied all the stuff I didn't ski yesterday - Cascade, Highline and Downdraft Headwall; with the new snow and steeper terrain I got tired sooner than I would have hoped.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 7 - Killington

Out 9:00 to 12:30 with a quick break in KBL; temps right around freezing with the K Cloud mostly in full effect; 13 runs; 13,150 vertical; skied the Fischer RC4 GS Cheater 18's; stuck to the groomers - fairly firm and flat; nice to ski East Fall; didn't have the right skis to do Cascade and Highline under the guns; saw Mikaela Shiffrin twice today - once as I was exiting KBL after break, she and her mother were just stepping on to the snow outside KBL's side door as I skied by - later I was over at Peak Performance getting some work done on my boots when she and Mike Day walked in to pickup some ski socks.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 6 - Killington

Snow overnight. Arrived at 9:00, a tad late for a pseudo-pow day, and waited in the car till 9:20 to let the crowd clear; out 9:30 to 12:30 with a break in KBL to dry out; 4" overnight with another 2" while we skied; 7 runs; 7,000 vertical; skied the Rossignol Experience 98's; the snow was all scraped into piles by the time I got up on the hill; the only thing that skied even half way decent was Upper Rim Run and that was on natural snow only - go figure; today was one of the rare occasions where I wasn't happy with the performance of my skis - other than on URR they pretty much sucked all day.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 5 - Killington

Out 9:15 to 11:15 - no break; 12 runs; 8,800 vertical; skied the Fischer RC4 GS Cheater 18's; left early with an upset stomach.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 4 - Killington

Top to bottom today. Out 9:00 to 12:45 with a break in the Peak Lodge; sunny and comfortably warm with temps around freezing and much less wind than yesterday; 17 runs, 12,750 vertical; skied the 2012 Volkl RaceTiger SL World Cups; nice firm, flat groomers; The new Bunny Buster tunnel/bridge ("The Bunnel") is interesting - much more of a left turn than I thought.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 3 - Killington

Mid-winter. Out 10:00 to 11:30 - no break; overcast with temps in the mid-twenties and a stiff breeze; 9 runs; 5,000 vert; skied the 2012 Volkl RaceTiger SL World Cups; fairly soft groomers with plenty of coverage; skied ok; no heart attack on the stairs.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 2 - Killington

Veterns Day crowd. Riding up K-1 I saw the massive line at the NRT, rode directly back down, and went home.



#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 1 - Killington

Blizzard Brahma #2's; able to ski down to the open terrain in North Ridge, but had to use the stairs and download to the bottom on K-1; 9 runs; no heart attack on the stairs.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Home this Winter

Unit L-4, 90 West Glade Road, Killington, VT 05751

#justgivemeagroomer    

My Favorite

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Race Camp Photos

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Day 93 - Crested Butte

I'm done. Out 9:00 to 1:00 with lunch on the hill; 40° sunny with a little wind; 16 runs; 27,000 vertical; skied the Atomic D2 3.0 Race GS's; firm groomers; not much of a crowd; skied ok; skipping Monarch tomorrow - just driving home.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 92 - Crested Butte

Out 9:00 to 1:00 with lunch up on the hill; plenty of sun, but cool and windy with temps around freezing; 14 runs; 22,000 vertical; skied the Atomic D2 3.0 Race GS's; firm groomers; not much of a crowd; skied ok.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 91 - Crested Butte

Out 9:00 to 1:00 with lunch up on the hill; mostly sunny with passing snow squalls and temps around freezing; 16 runs; 24,000 vertical; skied the Fischer RC4 GS Cheater 18's; firm groomers; a quick snow squall right at 9:00 covered everything with a coating of glue; didn't ski particularly well today; feeling ok.



#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 90 - Crested Butte

Out 10:00 to 1:00 with a break for lunch up on the hill; a high, hazy overcast gave way to partly cloudy skies with temps in the thirties with little to no wind; 14 runs; 20,000 vertical; skied the Fischer RC4 GS Cheater 18's; really firm groomers; skied ok; feeling ok; perfect combination of ski/snow conditions today; Triangle to International was very good; Forest Queen to Gallowich (yes, that's spelled right) wasn't too bad either.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 89 - Crested Butte

Out for a couple of hours to check out the hill. Out 11:00 to 1:00; mostly sunny with temps in the thirties and a light wind; 10 runs; 16,000 vertical; really firm groomers; some people, but not much of a crowd really - never more than a minute or two in the liftline; very little snow here; enjoyed skiing Treasury and International; used some Vitamin I today - first time since Big Sky or Solitude.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 88 - Copper Mountain

Out 9:00 to 12:00 with a quick 'get dry' break; snowy and windy with temps around freezing; 10 runs; 16,000 vertical; skied the Blizzard Brahma #2's; groomers topped with some new snow; skiing ok; feeling ok.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 87 - Copper Mountain

Out 12:00 to 2:00; warm and windy with increasing cloudiness; 7 runs; 11,000 vertical; sticky soft groomers and other stuff; skied the Fischer RC4 GS Cheater 18's; had a hard time getting going this morning; my knee doesn't exactly hurt, but it doesn't exactly work right either? ; tired.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 86 - Copper Mountain

Last NASTAR of the season. Out 10:00 to 12:30 no break; overcast with occasional flurries and temps around freezing; 15 runs; 15,000 vertical; skied the Atomic D2 3.0 Race GS's; soft groomers; 12 handicap at NASTAR - Platinum medal.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 85 - Copper Mountain

I was due. Out 9:00 to 12:30 with a long break back at the car changing skis; windy with on and off snow showers and temps in the upper teens - 2" new overnight; 7 runs; 13,000 vertical; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's and the Line Supernatural 108's; started with some creamy groomers and finished with all the stuff off Alpine; absolutely destroyed my Head Cheaters - I'm sure the guys at Peak can repair the damage, but I'm not sure they'll ever be race skis again; then to top it off after I switched skis I dinged the Lines on some rocks on Far East.



#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 84 - Copper Mountain

Out 9:00 to 11:45 no break; mostly cloudy with temps in the twenties - 2" new snow overnight; 10 runs, 14,000 vertical; skied the Line Supernatural 108's; groomers, trees, and other stuff; big crowd.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 83 - Winter Park

Pow! Out 9:00 to 10:30; snowing hard but not too windy - 10" overnight; 4 runs; 6,055 vertical; skied the Volkl Katana's; deep powder everywhere; HUGE crowd - I just left after standing in a couple of big lines; did get a couple of good shots - Kinnikinnic and Wildwood Glade.



#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 82 - Winter Park

Out 9:00 to 1:45 with a big bowl of soup at Lunch Rock; clear to start, on-and-off snow when I quit - temps in the low thirties; 16 runs; 23,075 vertical; skied the Blizzard Brahma #1's; groomers and other stuff; did the Wonderland stuff off Olympia and several of the open glades off Pano; still skiing and feeling ok; lots of people from Texas skiing here this week.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 81 - Winter Park

Out 9:00 to 1:00 with a quick break; sunny with temps rising through the thirties; 13 runs 21,209 vertical; groomers; everything I skied today was good; skiing ok; feeling ok.



#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 80 - Winter Park

9:00 to 12:00 with a quick coffee break; partly cloudy with temps rising through the twenties; 10 runs; 16,773 vertical; skied the Fischer RC4 GS Cheater 18's; groomers; big crowd; Arrowhead and Golden Spike were marvelous.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 79 - Winter Park

Out 9:00 to 12:30 with a quick pee break at Utah Junction; 20° with an equal mix of sun and clouds and a growing breeze; 12 runs; 14,694 vertical; skied the Blizzard Brahma #2's; soft groomers; big crowd - it's the main reason I didn't stay any longer; Sleeper was very good.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 78 - Steamboat

Out 9:45 to 1:00 with a quick coffee break at the Gondola Summit; overcast with temps around freezing; 10 runs plus 9 over on Basher for NASTAR; 14,000 vertical; skied the Fischer RC4 GS Cheater 18's; soft groomers; 1 O'clock and Lower Valley View were both very good today; 11.70 handicap at NASTAR - Platinum medal.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 77 - Steamboat

Skiing backward in time. Out 10:00 to 1:30 with lunch on the hill; sunny and warm with temps rising into the upper thirties; 8 runs plus 9 runs on Basher doing NASTAR; 10,000 vertical; sun softened groomers; skied 3 O'clock, then 2 O'clock, and finally 1 O'clock - see, skiing backward in time; NASTAR again today - 14.39 handicap, Platinum medal.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 76 - Steamboat

First NASTAR in almost 2 years. Out 10:00 to 1:00 with a coffee break at the top of the Gondola; clear and cold to start, but warming to near or above freezing very quickly; 6 runs plus 9 on Basher to do NASTAR; 7,500 vertical; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's and the Blizzard Brahma #2's; groomers; 7.25 Handicap at NASTAR - Platinum medal.



#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 75 - Steamboat

Out 9:00 to 1:00 with a coffee break; partly cloudy with a stiff breeze and temps in the twenties; 12 runs; 22,000 vertical; skied the Fischer RC4 GS Cheater 18's; lots of groomers; lots of people, but only a few small lift lines; skied ok; feeling ok; continually amazed how fast the Gondi line here moves.



#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 74 - Steamboat

Out 9:00 to 1:00 with a coffee break at the top of the Gondola; 5" new snow overnight, more up top; cold and windy with the cloud layer up and down all morning; 12 runs; 15,000 vertical; skied the Blizzard Brahma #2's; skiing with Tom Watson again this week; we skied with Sam DelSordo this morning; didn't ski particularly well today; totally wrong ski selection today; with Sam leading this morning and my past experience here I didn't look at the trail map at all before heading out this morning - after Sam called it a day, right after coffee, Tom and I got lost.



#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 73 - Solitude

Out 9:00 to 2:00 with a coffee break in the lodge; overcast and windy with temps around 20°; 25 runs; 28,500 vertical; skied the Blizzard Brahma #2's; wind firmed groomers; bigger crowd today - still no real lift lines; didn't ski my best today; they finally groomed Rumble, Grumble, and Stumble - Diamond Lane remained nice.



#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 72 - Solitude

Out 9:00 to 2:00 with a coffee break in the lodge; snow developing with temps in the twenties and a little wind; 27 runs; 31,350 vertical; skied the Blizzard Brahma #2's; firm groomers that gave way to a slow, sticky layer of new snow; skiing ok; feeling ok; very few people today, so the steep groomers stayed nice all day; Diamond Lane off the Powderhorn lift was stellar; gave away a day yesterday when it took much longer than anticipated to do my laundry yesterday morning.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 71 - Solitude

On the hill 9:00 to 2:15 with a break for lunch in the lodge; temps rising into the upper twenties with a high overcast sky, some peaks of sun and a little wind; 29 runs; 34,500 vertical; skied the Fischer RC4 GS Cheater 18's; firm groomers; skied ok; lost Tom just before lunch - did the rest of the day on my own.



#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 70 - Solitude

On the hill 9:00 to 1:15 with a coffee break; overcast with temps around 20° and a little bit of wind; 21 runs - covered 7 of the 8 lifts today; 22,100 vertical; skied the Line Supernatural 108's; groomers - firm and thin; didn't ski particularly well today; skiing with Tom Watson again this week.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 69 - Big Sky

On the hill from 9:00 to 1:30 with a lunch break in the car - meatloaf sandwiches again; started the day with temps around 4° and a light snow, ended the day with temps around 6° and steadily increasing sunshine; 14 runs; 21,750 vertical; skied the Blizzard Brahma #2's; still more groomers; need to do skis badly.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 68 - Big Sky

Out 9:00 to 3:00 with a quick lunch break at the car and a 2¼ hour 'break' on the Six Shooter lift when it broke down; clear and warmer today, 4° to start, 14° when we left, the sun made it feel much warmer; 13 runs; 21,100 vertical; started the day with the Head i.SG RD's and switched to the Blizzard Brahma #2's at lunch; groomers; good crowd; so Tom and I got stuck on the lift today - thank god we were the only two people on a six person lift - they had started the evacuation from the lift when they figured out their problem and eventually ran us off under what was eventually full power - the mountain comped us a free lift ticket and a $50 Big Sky Gift Card; today's picture is Chad, our friendly ski patroller with the evac rope!



#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 67 - Big Sky

Out 9:00 to 12:45 with a nice lunch on the hill; cold with increasing cloudiness and very little wind; 12 runs; 16,875 vertical; skied the Fischer RC4 GS Cheater 18's; more groomers; feeling ok - just needed to go into Bozeman to get the oil changed in the vehicle.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 66 - Big Sky

Out 9:00 to 3:00 with a couple of breaks; cold and mostly cloudy with just a hint of wind, 0° this morning, 12° this afternoon; 18 runs, 27,500 vertical; skied the Fischer RC4 GS Cheater 18's; mostly soft groomers; made a few with Jon Lamb before lunch; skiing ok; feeling ok; clean onto the new ski - think about starting to shorten the outside leg of the old turn as the first move of the new turn



#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 65 - Big Sky

Out 9:00 to 3:30 with a long coffee break and a long lunch break; clear and cold, -16° this morning, 6° this afternoon, 16 runs; 23,000 vertical; skied the Line Supernatural 108's; soft groomers all day; skiing with Tom Watson; skied ok; feeling ok; covered most of the stuff around Mountain Village and Madison Base; looking forward to Trembler and Ice House among others tomorrow; the only good thing about our Mountain Village condo is this view and the hot water.



#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 64 - Whitefish

WOW was that crowded. Out 9:00 to 10:30 - no break; heavy snow with temps in the upper twenties; 4 runs; 6,000 vertical; skied the Line Supernatural 108's; despite today's excellent conditions, I left when lift lines grew to unmanageable proportions; Big Mountain, new snow, and holiday Saturday → huge crowd.

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Day 63 - Fernie

Out 9:30 to 1:15 with a quick coffee break; heavy snow with temps in the twenties - 4" or so by the time I left; 12 runs; 18,350 vertical; skied the Blizzard Brahma #2's; powder; skied mostly in Timber Bowl with a couple off Great Bear and 1 down Currie Bowl; skied ok; 3 days of powder skiing has my right knee and calf barking quite loudly.

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Day 62 - Fernie

Out 9:00 to 3:30 with a coffee break and a long lunch back at the condo; clear and cold with 6" of new snow overnight, 7° this morning, 20° this afternoon; 11 runs; 16,000 vertical; skied the Line Supernatural 108's; fair number of people on the hill today - never really a lift line, but people on every chair; stuck mostly to Timber Bowl, but did 1 in Siberia Bowl and 1 in Currie Bowl; skiing ok; feeling a little leg weary - no vitamin I for a couple of days, maybe that's the problem.



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Day 61 - Fernie

Powder day. Out 9:00 to 12:15 with a coffee break; 8" overnight, but it seemed much deeper up top this morning - 20° and overcast with no real wind; 11 runs; 14,250 vertical; skied the Line Supernatural 108's; powder; first tracks in Cedar Bowl on Cruiser and Emily's; good crowd for opening bell, but the real crowd accumulated at the top of the White Pass Chair waiting for the rope to drop in Currie Bowl around 11:00 - maybe 250 people; lots of treacherous patches where the frozen snow underneath made the new snow on top just slide away when touched; my skiing today was hit or miss - great at times, horrible at others; quit early today when I just didn't go back out after lunch in the condo.

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Day 60 - Fernie

Out 9:00 to 3:30 with a coffee break and lunch back in the condo; this morning's mostly cloudy skies gave way to a warming and windy overcast this afternoon, 0° this morning, 20° this afternoon; 23 runs; 31,750 vertical; skied the Fischer RC4 GS Cheater 18's; more firm and crunchy groomers; more people today, but still a light crowd - never a lift line; skied ok; feeling better on the seriously steep stuff.



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Day 59 - Fernie

Out 9:00 to 3:30 with a long coffee break and a longer lunch break back at the condo; clear and cold with no wind, -10° this morning; 20 runs; 30,375 vertical; skied the Atomic D2 3.0 Race GS's; last week's rain has everything here locked up firm - mountain ambassadors were recommending sticking to the groomers, so today was all firm and crunchy groomers; nobody else out till it warmed up a little bit in the afternoon; Polar Peak was closed; liked Heartland first thing this morning.



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Day 58 - Kimberley

Powder Day. Out 9:00 to 1:00 with a ½ hour coffee break; 10" overnight - partly cloudy with passing flurries and temps around 10° today; 9 runs; 14,500 vertical; skied the Line Supernatural 108's; powder with some soft groomers; huge crowd for opening bell; skied lots of soft, steep bumps and lots of trees; pretty easy to find small patches of untouched all day.



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Day 57 - Kimberley

Out 9:00 to 11:45 with no break - just never went back out after lunch; 2" overnight up top, rain at the bottom - mostly sunny in the am with dropping temps and a stiff wind; 10 runs; 14,300 vertical; skied the Blizzard Brahma #2's; soft, sticky snow up top, soft rain soaked groomers down low in the sun, and flash frozen, rain soaked groomers down low in the shade; skied some steep soft bumps today.



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Day 56 - Kimberley

Out 9:15 to 3:00 with an hour lunch in the condo; overcast with temps in the twenties and a little wind; 20 runs; 35,100 vertical; skied the Fischer RC4 GS Cheater 18's; firm groomers; ran a 21 gate GS course 5 times this afternoon - great training over the rollers and down the steep pitch at the bottom; skied ok;

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Day 55 - Kimberley

Perfect day for an afternoon nap. Out 9:00 to 11:45 without a break; 10° with clear skies and a little valley fog; 11 runs; 20,000 vertical; skied the Fischer RC4 GS Cheater 18's; firm groomers; the resort basically shut down at 12:15 when the main lift broke down - thank god I was in the condo eating lunch and didn't get stuck on the lift; didn't ski particularly well today; enjoying watching the para alpine racers - yeah, the sit-skiers and the one-leggers are inspirational, but the really impressive skiers are the one-armed Austrians, they're seriously good.



#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 54 - Kimberley

Out 9:00 to 2:30 with a ¾ hour break for a burger and a couple of beers; 2" overnight, overcast with flurries and temps in the low twenties; 20 runs; 31,250 vertical; skied the Blizzard Brahma #2's; this morning's silky carpet gave way to some fairly firm and crunchy afternoon conditions; nice hill - good variety - they even have several runs with trees; Para Alpine World Cup Finals going on here this week - some impressive skiers out on the hill today; stuck mostly to the groomers, however did do one bump run and two day old, dust on crusters.

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Day 53 - Panorama

Really glad I didn't just drive by. Out 9:00 to 2:30 with only a 20 minute coffee break - not bad for my 7th consecutive ski day; overcast with temps around freezing; 23 runs; 38,500 vertical; skied the Blizzard Brahma #2's; perfectly carveable groomers all day; loved Skyline, Roller Coaster; Fritz's, Little Dipper, and Outrider; skied exceptionally well today - strong crossovers while maintaining good forward pressure - high, round and smooth - lots of carving above the fall line - great retraction and extension turn to turn without popping up; great little mid-mountain coffee hut - spectacular views; definitely want to come back some day.



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Day 52 - Kicking Horse

Out 9:00 to 2:30 with a half hour no coffee, coffee break; snowing with temps in the upper twenties; 10 runs, 30,000 vertical; skied the Blizzard Brahma #2's; Wiley Coyote was good again this morning; this hill would benefit from a different lift configuration - with the gondola being the only way to access about ⅔ of the terrain, there's way too much 'skiing out' or 'getting over' or 'you have to do this to get to that'; sufficiently humbled by this mountain.

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Day 51 - Kicking Horse

Out 9:00 to 3:00 with an hour long sojourn for lunch at the Eagle's Eye; relatively clear and not too cold; 12 runs; 32,500 vertical; skied the Fischer RC4 GS Cheater 18's; groomers, groomers, and more groomers; changed back to my old boots and a decent carving ski - man do my feet feel a lot better; did 3 consecutive non-stop, top to bottom runs - 2 off the gondola (3,500 vert) and 1 off Stairway to Heaven chair (3,900 vert) - each run took approximately 8 minutes of skiing; feeling ok; lost Tom again this morning, but found Wiley Coyote.



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Day 50 - Kicking Horse

Out 9:00 to 3:30 with a 3 hour, coffee-lunch-nap break back at the condo; very nice day - mostly clear and relatively warm; 9 runs; 19,000 vertical; skied the SkiLogic Customs; soft groomers with the exception of 1 run through the leftover crude from yesterday off Redemption Ridge; I don't say this often, but I didn't like the way my skis worked today - I could never find the sweet spot on the SkiLogics; getting more accustomed to the big hill here - made 1 top to bottom (3,750 vertical feet) today with only 2 stops; finally cleared enough this afternoon to take some scenery pictures.



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Day 49 - Kicking Horse

10" overnight, but delayed opening because of avalanche danger. Instead of remaining in the humongous Gondola line, we walked over took the Catamount chair and did a few laps on the bottom of the hill. Got first tracks on a groomer with 5" or 6" on top and did some low angle powder bumps then went back to the condo for coffee while the Gondi line hopefully diminishes. We'll head back out shortly. Letting Tommy use my Line Supernatural 108's for the remainder of the week.

Went back out and did a couple off Redemption Ridge and one down Feuz Bowl. Mostly clear and comfortable today with a little snow in the late afternoon. 7 runs, 11,000 vertical, skied the Volkl Katana's. Fell 3 times today.



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Day 48 - Kicking Horse

This is a real skier's mountain - big and steep without many groomers. Out 9:00 to 1:00 with a lunch break at the top; 2" or 3" overnight, with snow all day and temps in the twenties; just 5 runs, 12,500 vertical; skied the SkiLogic Customs; skiing this week with Tom Watson - we got separated when he was going to walk back out the top of Bowl Over; found some good skiing in the glades under the Gondola; skiing here is a humbling experience - glad I'm not here with either of the Chris's, they'd kick my ass.



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Day 47 - Lake Louise

Day 4 on my Big3 3 day lift ticket. Out 9:00 to 10:15 - I had to drive today, so I just left when I skied to the bottom and didn't want to get in either of the lift lines; 10° with overcast skies and no wind - light snow the whole way from Lake Louise to Kicking Horse; 6 runs; 10,000 vertical; skied the Atomic D2 3.0 Race GS's; some firm groomers with a tiny bit of snow on top; caught the very first chair at 9:00 and didn't really see many people till I made the mistake of returning to the bottom; sad that it was snowing lightly for the drive to Kicking Horse - everyone says it's a spectacular drive, but I didn't get to partake.

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Day 46 - Lake Louise

Out 9:00 to 1:00 with a quick coffee break; mostly cloudy with intermittent flurries and temps rising into the teens; 15 runs; 25,000 vertical; skied the Atomic D2 3.0 Race GS's; they've had some snow, but it's obvious they're having a lean snow year; can't get enough of the scenery.



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Day 45 - Sunshine Village

Out 8:30 to 11:30 with a quick coffee break; 6" to 8" overnight - intermittent snow and sunshine with a little wind high up on the western peaks of the resort; 10 runs, 10,000 vertical; skied the Line Supernatural 108's; powder; good morning - got 4 in before it got tracked up at all - left when the crowd started to arrive and really ski it off quickly; rode all but 2 of the main lifts; feeling ok.



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Day 44 - Mount Norquay

Out 9:00 to 12:00 without a break; increasing overcast that ended in some light flurries with temps in the low twenties and no wind; 21 runs; 21,400 vertical; skied the Blizzard Brahma #1's; firm but carvable groomers; basically the only person out till 10:30 or so; funky mountain layout, but there was a marvelous pod of blue groomers at the end of the rainbow; not much snow here either, but it wasn't as firm or crunchy as Nakiska; glad I stuck to my original plan and came here today; didn't get scanned, so my 3 day, Big 3 Pass still has 3 days on it!



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