Day 59 - Montage

Out 8:45 to 12:15 with a quick pee break back at the car; clear, cold and windy, 15° in the parking lot this AM; 27 runs; 18,036 verical; skied the 2019 Head i.Speed GS Cheater 17's; groomers with a nice, even, thin coating of snowmaking on the steeps; decent crowd, but no real lift lines; skied the first hour and a half with David Wadas; skied ok; the snowmaking on Boomer was dreamy - they did a nice groom job, then put the fan guns on oscillate; snowmaking on Lightning was good too, they just didn't groom first.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 58 - Montage

Beer League Week #8 - Finals. Out 4:00 to 6:15 with a quick break back at the car to change skis; cloudy and windy with temps around thirty; 12 runs; 7,458 vertical; skied the Atomic Redster D2 3.0 Race GS's and the Atomic Redster G9 RS's; frozen groomers; not much of a crowd other than all the racers; skied okay; our team (The Ski Shack) took 1st place for the season, I ended up in 7th overall for the season.

8 91 MARTIN BURNS    26.80 (7) 26.60 (8) - 53.40 (8)

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 57 - Montage

40,000 at the 'Tage! Out 8:50 to 6:15 with a couple of ½ hour breaks in the car; clear, cold and windy to start, then a nice afternoon as the wind died and temps rose into the mid-twenties; 61 runs; 40,358 vertical; skied the Fischer RC4 GS Cheater 18's, the Atomic Redster D2 3.0 Race GS's and the Noridca Enforcer 88's; frozen groomers or snowmaking; standard mid-week, Montage crowd - nobody till 11:00, then a few people till about 2:30, then nobody again till after 5:00 - never a lift line; snowmaking on Smoke - nice early, very wet later on; White Lightning was a firm, crunchy groomer - fantastic on some of my GS skis, so I did it 49 times... I kid you not; took my 3rd fall of the season on Smoke very late in the day. #justgivemeagroomer    

Day 56 - Montage

Lazy 9:30 start trying to wait out the rain, out till 2:45 with lunch in the car; overnight rain ended by 10:30, then temps falling into the mid-thirties as the wind picked up and the cloud cover lifted; very nice early - groomers and soft leftovers with no traffic; it got mushy in the afternoon as traffic picked up; skied the Nordica Enforcer 88's; 36 runs; 23,914 vertical; me and one other lady until the rain stopped, then pretty normal Monday crowd albeit a little late arriving; skied okay; Smoke early was really good - groomed top and bottom and the pitch of soft, relatively smooth leftovers; as the day wore on and things got mushier, the pitch on White Lightning really came into it's own - cornilicious.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 55 - Montage

Out 8:30 to 11:00, no break; < 1" of wet snow overnight ended as an hour of drizzle and mist this morning; skied the Blizzard Brahma #2's; 17 runs; 11,111 vertical; soft groomers; left as soon as there was even the hint of a crowd; poached the Ski Team's GS on Smoke twice and the NASTAR course once; skied okay.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 54 - Montage

out 9:00 to 2:00, no break; sunny and warm with a high overcast by the afternoon; 34 runs; 23,624 vertical; skied the Volkl Mantras; groomers; parking lot was crowded, but with Long Haul running there was never even a hint of a line; Smoke was very, very good; skied okay.



#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 53 - Montage

Beer League Week 7. Out 3:00 to 6:00 with a quick break at the car to change skis; clear, warm and windy - temps falling into the mid-thirties; 11 runs; 6,541 vertical; skied the Atomic Redster D2 3.0 Race GS's and the Fischer RC4 GS Cheater 18's; frozen groomers in North Face - mushy groomers up top; not too many people; didn't ski particularly well, but didn't ski horribly either.

8 91 MARTIN BURNS  28.58 (10) 27.70 (7) 56.28 (8)

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 52 - Kite Hill

Total fail - way too warm.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 51 - Montage

out 9:00 to 12:15, no break; overcast with temps right at freezing - snow showers left a thick coating of sticky, wet snow; 23 runs; 15,692 vertical; skied the Blizzard Brahma #2's and the Fischer RC4 GS Cheater 18's; groomers; not much of a crowd - no lift line at all; skied with David W. till about 11:00, then finished off by myself; skied okay; Boomer excellent again - Smoke excellent as well; the Fischers skied very well the past two days.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 50 - Montage

Out 9:00 to 2:45 with a long lunch break in the car; snow all day - first flakes at 9:00 with snow starting in earnest at 10:00 and then letting up significantly by 1:00 - 3"+ total; 33 runs; 22,503 vertical; skied the Fischer RC4 GS Cheater 18's and the Nordica Enforcer 88's; groomers with new snow; pretty busy for a Monday, but no lift lines; Boomer was exceptional today - groomed perfection kept soft with the new falling snow; didn't ski particularly well. #justgivemeagroomer    

Day 49 - Kite Hill

Earn your turns Day 2. After a more or less failed attempt at skiing at my house after the 2+ foot snowstorm in December, I thought I'd try it again in a little more favorable set of conditions - 4" of new snow on top of an old layer of firm snow covering the entire field. I made two runs on my Volkl Katanas. I forgot my phone so instead of Ski Tracks I used Google Earth to determine each run of 75 vertical feet was about 875 feet long. I didn't want to have a heart attack so I stopped after just two runs. #justgivemeagroomer    

Day 48 - Montage

Beer League Race #6. Out 3:15 to 6:30 with a quick break in the car to change skis; snowing with temps in the low twenties - 3" so far today; 14 runs; 8,275 vertical; skied the Atomic Redster D2 3.0 Race GS's and the Atomic Redster G9 RS's; groomers with some small piles of new snow; pretty good crowd, but with Long Haul running, no real lift lines anywhere; skied horribly again... ... ...; 6-7m offset on such a flat hill sucks regards of distance; 20.51 hcp - Gold.

7 91 MARTIN BURNS  29.97 (8) 29.56 (8) - 59.53 (7)

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 47 - Montage

So ends our streak of winter weather. Out 8:45 to 2:30 with a ½ hour lunch break in the car; lots of rain overnight, intermittent fog today with a heavy overcast and temps in upper thirties; 35 runs; 23,642 vertical; skied the Blizzard Brahma #2's; super soft, rain soaked leftovers and some mushy groomers on the upper mountain - actually pretty nice; absolutely nobody else out till well after noon; skied till about 10:00 with Dave Wadas; lots of runs skied very well: skier's left on Boomer, all the groomers up top and the soft bumps on Lightning; had a nice day. #justgivemeagroomer    

Day 46 - Montage

Mental health day after a terrible weekend of racing in NY. Out 9:15 to 3:15 with an looooooong lunch in the car watching Shiff win the Alpine Combined World Championship Gold; freezing rain with temps in the low twenties on the drive in, then a little on and off freezing rain during the day; 29 runs; 20,157 vertical; skied the Nordica Enforcer 88's; groomers; skied a few runs early with David and Joe - by the time I arrvied they already looked like glazed donuts; skied okay.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 45 - West Mountain

Mid-Atlantic Master SL. Out 8:30 to 11:00 with a quick warm up break in the car before my only race run; coating of snow overnight with cloudy skies and temps in the twenties; 6 runs, 5,112 vertical; skied both pair of Volkl RaceTiger SL World Cups; groomers; holiday crowd; skied horribly again; DNF'ed first run and just left.

- 51 Burns, Martin M7 DNF DNS -

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 44 - West Mountain

Mid-Atlantic Masters GS. Out 8:30 to 2:00 with a couple of warm up breaks in the car; clear, clod and relatively calm again; +5° today in the parking lot; 11 runs; 12,326 vertical; skied the Atomic REdster D2 3.0 Race GS's and the Atomic Redster G9 RS's; groomers; holiday crowd, but not horrible; what was horrible was my skiing - again.

55 51 Burns, Martin M7 1:22.72 (57) 1:18.78 (56) 2:41.50 (55)

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 43 - West Mountain

Mid-Atlantic Masters SG Doubleheader. Out 8:30 to 3:00 with a couple of warmup breaks in the car; clear, cold and calm; -5° this morning, probable around 10° today; increasing clouds all day; 11 runs; 12,336 vertical; skied the Head i.SG RD's; groomers; not much of a crowd; skied horribly.

SG #1: 38 51 Martin Burns M7 1:29:22 (38)

SG #2: 38 51 Martin Burns M7 1:28:89 (38)

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 42 - Montage

Beer League Race #5. Out 3:45 to 6:15 - just long enough for a few warmup runs and my race runs; temps in the twenties with an intermittent wind; 12 runs; 6,000 vertical; skied the Atomic Redster D2 3.0 Race GS's; not too crowded; didn't ski particularly well;

7 91 MARTIN BURNS  27.66 (8) 27.79 (7) - 55.45 (7)

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 41 - Montage

Out 8:45 to 2:30 with a ¾ hour lunch break in the car; more snow with temps in the twenties - 3" total, 2" fell this morning after opening; 27 runs; 18,938 vertical; skied the Volkl Mantras; new snow on soft groomers - very nice; not many people out; skied untracked snow all morning; skied the afternoon with Ana searching the side of the runs on the upper mountain looking for freshies; skied okay. #justgivemeagroomer    

Day 40 - Montage

SG practice - race Friday. Out 9:00 to 2:30 with a ¾ hour lunch break in the car; clear, cold and calm; -5° down by the river at Rummerfield on the drive in this morning, 9° in the parking lot at opening bell and probable 20° or so when I left; groomers; 33 runs; 22,663 vertical; skied the Head i.SG RD's; light crowd, but I left when it start to build; skied okay; the hill is in excellent shape; several tuck runs down Boomer this morning; forgot my poles, ugh - I went to rent a pair and they just gave me a set.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 39 - Montage

Mid-Atlantic GS/SL Double Header. Out 8:30 to 4:30 with a quick lunch in the car; sunny and windy with temps in the twenties; 21 runs, 12,339 vertical; skied the Atomic Redster D2 3.0 Race GS's, the Atomic Redster G9 RS's and the 2015 Volkl RaceTiger SL World Cups; huge crowd/long lines; skied horribly in the GS, okay in the SL; 3 women beat me today - both races; 3rd in class in the GS, 2nd in class in the SL.

GS: 29  51  Burns, Martin  Tri-State  M7    43.69 (28)    43.93 (30)  1:27.62 (29)
SL: 17  51  Burns, Martin  Tri-State  M7  1:02.97 (19)  1:03.28 (22)  2:06.25 (17)

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 38 - Montage

Beer League Race #4. Out 4:00 to 8:30 with a quick stop at the car to change skis after the race; sunny and warm with temps quickly falling into the upper twenties as the sun went down; 19 runs, 10,930 verical; skied the Atomic Redster D2 3.0's, the Atomic Redster G9 RS's and the Nordica Enforcer 88's; soft groomers with the steeps on North Face starting to firm and/or bump; skied okay; could have pulled a really nice result tonight, but I got late and dropped all kinds of time in the bottom half of the Red course and still was only .03 seconds slower than my time in the Blue.

5 91 Martin Burns 27.49 (5)

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 37 - Montage

Wow. Out 8:45 to noon without a break; another foot or more of new snow since I quit yesterday at 3:00, more than half of that fell after last night's close at 9:00; still snowing hard with temps in the twenties - another 2" or so this morning; 16 runs, 10,024 vertical; skied the DPS Lotus Alchemist 124's; powder, powder and more powder; crowd didn't start to build till I left at noon; skied ok; dinged the edge of my new skis pretty good on a rock in the trees above the start shack on Switch; freshies all morning; the new pow skis work really well - excellent float, not too heavy despite their size; epic day.



#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 36 - Montage

Out 9:00 to 3:00 with a long lunch in the car; 3" new snow overnight; light snow all day with temps in the twenties - maybe 2" more today; 24 runs; 18,307 vertical; skied the Volkl Katana; powder; not too big of a crowd for a powder day; skied with Radvanyi and Company this afternoon; destroyed my skis - first in the trees beside Lightning, then following Chris in the trees off Fast Track; first tracks on Boomer, Smoke, Lightning Woods, Highball and Main Street; covered the entire trial map today, including some trails (Easy Street) for the first time ever. #justgivemeagroomer    

Day 35 - Montage

Beautiful day, terrible skiing. Out 9:00 to 12:00; clear and coldish, no wind - temps in the teens; 14 runs, 8,630 vertical; skied the Volkl Mantras and the Atomic Redster D2 3.0 Race GS's; excellent conditions - soft groomers and leftover snowmaking; good crowd, but with all the lifts open the only real line was on Iron Horse during NASTAR; leftover snowmaking on Lightning was still marvelous; skied horribly at NASTAR - 21.47 hcp (Gold); okay after looking at the results it wasn't as bad as I thought, only Nicolae Soare and Steve Rheault beat me - I can live with that; today's picture shows the top of Smoke at noon on my way out, still very nice. #justgivemeagroomer    

Day 34 - Montage

Dreamy. Out 8:45 to 4:15 with a couple of breaks in the car, including an hour for lunch; mostly cloudy, cold and windy - single digits this morning, maybe ten degrees or so this afternoon; 45 runs, 30,390 vertical; skied the Nordica Enforcer 88's; the snowmaking on Lightning was silky smooth and sloughlicious; very few people; Lightning trees starting to come in too. #justgivemeagroomer    

Day 33 - Montage

Beer League Race #3. Out 4:15 to 6:45 with a quick break back at the car to change skis and warm up; clear, cold and windy - temps in the teens, NW wind straight up the race hill; 10 runs; 6,191 vertical; skied the Fischer RC4 GS Cheater 18's and the Atomic Redster G9 RS's; snowmaking on Lightning and Boomer, otherwise groomers; skied ok; beat all the women;

7 91 Martin Burns 29.33 (7)

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 32 - Montage

Out 8:40 to 2:45 with a long lunch in the car watching the first run of the Men's Slalom in Schladming; snow to sleet to freeing rain starting at 8:30 this morning; maybe an inch of snow - just enough to cover everything nicely; 32 runs, 22,744 vertical; skied the Atomic Redster D2 3.0 Race GS's and the Line SuperNatural 108's; groomers and leftovers - all with a fresh coating of snow; skied okay; Lightning was excellent again early; skied the new snow along the edges all afternoon; still like the Lines - they're smooth and slinkey; nice to have the #2 GS skis back in the fold with some new bindings after I broke the heel piece on the originals; big winner in today's Fantasy Ski Racer game for the Women's GS in Kronplatz, Italy.



#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 31 - Montage

Out 9:30 to 2:00 with a looong lunch in the car when the Phoebe Snow lift broke down; clear and cold with virtually no wind - temps in the teens all day; 19 runs; 12,448 vertical; skied the Volkl Mantras; groomers with fresh snowmaking on White Lightning; very few people; skied okay; the snowmaking on Lightning was very tasty, unfortunately the Phoebe lift broke down so I only got 10 runs or so; waited in the car till the Long Haul lift came on line then went back out for a few to finish the day; today's pictures are of some of the big piles on the middle section of Fast Track.



#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 30 - Greek Peak

NY Masters Race. Out 8:30 to 1:30 with a couple of breaks in the A-Frame to get warm; 2" new snow overnight; cold and blustery - temps in the teens with come-and-go clouds and wind; 17 runs; 12,846 vertical; skied the Atomic Redster G9 RS's; groomers; skied okay, except for run 4 - I hit a cross rut with too much weight on the inside ski and went down and slid through the B-net into the edge of the brush - first fall of the season; DFL in my class again today.

GS #1: 39 40 M7 Martin Burns 54.94 (45) 54.20 (38) - 1:49.14 (39)

GS #2: 44 40 M7 Martin Burns 58.65 (44)

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 29 - Toggenburg

NYS Masters Race. Out 9:00 to 12:30 with a quick break in the lodge between races; 6" new snow overnight; cold and snowy with a little wind; temps in the teens; 12 runs; 7,200 vertical; skied the 2015 Volkl RaceTiger SL World Cups; powder; skied okay; first run in this morning's pow was very very nice; DFL in class race 1, but with Tomassetti's DNF and Lenda's hike in race 2 I wasn't DFL in class - mission accomplished!

SL #1: 21 21 M7 Martin Burns 48.93 (24) 48.76 (23) - 1:37.69 (21)

SL #2: 19 21 M7 Martin Burns 45.45 (21) 46.32 (20) - 1:31.77 (19) 

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 28 - Montage

Beer League Race #2. Out 4:00 to 6:30 with a quick stop at the car to pick up the GoPro; temps falling to around freezing, no wind and a beautiful sunset; 11 runs; 5,957 vertical; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's and the Atomic Redster G9 RS's; frozen, new, uneven snowmaking on the race hill; good crowd, 5+ minute lift line at Phoebe after the race so I left; skied horribly; I did beat all the women, but only because Stacey skied horribly as well; 20.68 NASTAR hcp (Gold); after reviewing the video I think my problem is not accounting for terrain changes - I'm not getting my turns done above the rolls, so I ski straight over the roll, the ground drops away and I can't make the turn till I'm back on the ground which puts me way low and late...

11 91 Martin Burns 28.42 (11)

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 27 - Montage

Out 9:00 to 3:00 with a ½ hour lunch break in the car; 2" snow overnight; thick, dark clouds this morning finally gave way to a little bit of sun around 2:00 - temps rising from a few degrees below freezing to a few degrees above; groomers, leftovers and a tiny bit of snowmaking on Switch; 40 runs, 25,372 vertical; skied the Atomic Redster G9 RS's and the Nordica Enforcer 88's; light crowd - never a line and never rode with anybody; Boomer early and Smoke in the afternoon were nice; skied okay; today's vertical in 6 hours, 6 minutes - this makes the theoretical vertical limit in a day at Montage 50,000 - might try for 40,000 some day this season.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 26 - Montage

Out 8:30 to 2:00 with ¾ hour in the car for lunch; mid-twenties overnight rising to the mid-thirties with a snow shower or two; 31 runs; 19,750 vertical; skied the 2019 Head i.Speed GS Cheater 17's and the Nordica Enforcer 88's; nice, firm groomers gave way too some thickening sugar snow; holiday crowd, but manageable - left when there was a line at Phoebe two runs in a row; skied okay; all the headwalls on North Face were groomed last night; Lightning early and Boomer later were stellar; Long Haul was not running today?

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 25 - Montage

Out for a few before the holiday crowd overruns the place. Out 8:30 to 11:00, no break; some rain overnight ended this morning as a ½" of slush; 17 runs; 10,746 vertical; skied the Nordica Enforcer 88's; skied till there was a line then left; soft and sticky - the leftovers on Lightning and Smoke were excellent; skied okay; low outside shoulder with body forward and well inside the arc and with the ski UP on edge; today's photo reminds us how steep White Lightning really is lest we forget based on the past few days GoPro video shot pointing straight up the hill.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 24 - Montage

Another great weekday. Out 9:00 to 2:45 with a ¾ hour in the car for lunch; overcast with temps right at freezing to start, but a building SW wind started to blow in tonight's rain clouds; 32 runs, 20,504 vertical; skied the Nordica Enforcer 88's; firm groomers and rattley leftovers to start, softened beautifully as the temps rose this afternoon; very few people out; skied okay; figured out that to ski better I need to 1) be more athletic and 2) get low with the skis out from underneath my body → higher edge angles and tighter turn radii.



#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 23 - Montage

Beer League Race #1. Out 4:00 to 9:00 with a couple of quick stops to change skis; temps around 40, no wind; 24 runs; 14,525 vertical; 2019 Head i.Speed GS Cheater 17's, Head i.Speed GS Cheater 17's; good cover, soft snow; good crowd, some ocasional small lift lines; didn't ski very well; a couple of poor choices - ran too early given the soft snow and used the wrong skis; did beat all the women - barely; 17.90 hcp (Gold).

8 91 Martin Burns 27.91 (8)

>#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 22 - Montage

I love skiing weekdays. Out 9:00 to 2:30 with a ½ hour lunch break in the car; not much sun with a high overcast and temps rising through the twenties to just above freezing; 32 runs; 20,216 vertical; skied the 2019 Head i.Speed GS Cheater 17's and the Nordica Enforcer 88's; groomers mostly with some relatively flat, ungroomed chalk on the Lightning and Smoke's headwalls; very few people out today - maybe only a dozen other people skiing the North Face till after 10:30; skied okay; todays video really shows the little bunny hop transition move I'm trying to eliminate.



#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 21 - Montage

Out 9:00 to 2:30 with a ½ hour lunch break in the car; sunny with temps rising through the twenties and the tinyest bit of wind latter in the day; some sweet, talcum powder snowmaking on Boomer and Lightning first thing; 20 runs; 11,659; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's and Atomic Redster G9 RS's; light crowd till after noon then 20 minutes+ on Phoebe Snow from the Cannonball side; skied horribly today - could not find a clean arc-to-arc line in the course today; next time I'm going to try my new Head i.Speed GS Cheater 17's when the course is so turny - today's use of a 24m ski was disaster; I was a lot more tired after Race Camp than I thought; 8.40 hcp at NASTAR today, Platinum.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 20 - West Mountain

Mid-Atlantic Masters Race Camp Day 4. Out 10:00 to 2:00 with a ½ hour in the car for lunch; partly sunny with temps in the twenties and no real wind; 13 runs; 6,550 vertical; skied the 2015 Volkl RaceTiger SL World Cups; groomers with patches of fresh snowmaking; no real crowd other than the campers and a bunch of West Moutain Jr Racers; odd morning course - full gates on the left, stubbies on the right, then half way down it switched; full course for the afternoon which was full of cute little tricks; good tip on tactics from John Jacobs, adjust the rise line based on changes in direction of the course not changes in terrain like fall-aways; I didn't ski particularly well today - we'll have to see what the video says. Review of the video proves Coach Lisa's adage, 'The rut trumps all.' Two seperate times in a twenty second video I was bounced well off line after going too straight and slamming into the rut, once in the hairpin and again in the flush.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 19 - West Mountain

Mid-Atlantic Race Cammp Day 3. Out 10:00 to 2:30 with a ½ hour in the car for lunch; sunny with temps in the twenties and little to no wind; 15 runs; 5,800 vertical; skied the 2015 Volkl RaceTiger SL World Cups; groomers; very light crowd; slalom training today; Lisa Ballard lead our group today - very good coach; slalom skiing: 100% of your weight on the downhill ski with the upper body down the fall line at all times with both hands sterum high and forward; drills: make turns lifting inside ski off the ground while keeping the tip on the snow; frame drill - grasp both poles half way up the shaft, then holding them both straight out in front of you, make short, rythmical turns with your body facing straight down the hill keeping a single object down the slope 'framed' within the two poles; hold both poles horizontally out in front of you, make short rythmical turns keeping the poles (and your upper body) level across the hill and square to the direction of travel; fun brush course in the afternoon - left hand flush to right hand flush to diagonal flush to picket fence - it also provided great lesson on looking ahead, spot the top of the first turn after the flush as you enter the flush; additionally 2 stubby courses set over the terrain on the race hill - a good lesson here was SL inspection isn't just about combinations, check out the terrain and make sure to note when to move forward over the knolls; got like 5 runs through both stubby courses - plenty of SL gates today; skied okay generally, but horribly on video.



#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 18 - West Mountain

Mid-Atlantic Race Camp Day 2. Out 10:00 to 2:30 with a ½ hour for lunch in the car; overcast with temps around freezing and little to no wind; 22 runs; 10,324 vertical; skied the Atomic Redster G9 RS's; groomers; basically we free skied while they set the course, then we ran The Wall Drill - they set 3 brushes just outside the ideal line on each turn, 1 at the top, 1 at the apex and 1 at the bottom -the idea is the brushes form a wall keeping you inside on the fast line; 4 timed runs this afternoon; I guess I skied okay, because I beat all the women including Sharon Way and Amy Patterson who beat me soundly on Sunday at Swain.

Trying to put a few thing together today. Eliminate all the extra motion. Up and down motion during transition, rotary motion of the shoulders at the top of the turn and various gyrations of the hands to duck the gate or execute a double pole plant. All these extra motions take time and potentially change balance and/or pressure - that's bad. Through undisciplined free skiing I've fallen in love with countering my shoulders at the very top of the turn. While this locks in the new edge right from the very top of the new turn, when started too early it causes a rotation of the shoulders away from downhill ski of the old turn which occasionally causes my tails to slide out. Because of my low hand position during the turn, the up motion of my hands and body that happens when I double pole plant is causing a couple of issues. First as I come up and get tall my stance tends to narrow. Second the up motion unweights my skis. This loss of pressure takes time to correct and happens just I should be rolling up onto the new edge with forward pressure. This loss of pressure can be accentuated in rolling terrain. So to sum this all up... ... ... Stay low - especially during transition, stay square, stay forward and keep the hands up and forward.

14 30 Martin Burns 32.10 (14) 32.21 (14) 1:04.31 (14)

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 17 - West Mountain

Mid-Atlantic Masters Race Camp Day 1. Out 10:00 to 2:30 with ¾ of an hour in the car for lunch; overcast with temps in the low thirties and no wind; 16 runs; 6,696 vertical; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's and the Atomic Redster G9 RS's; groomers; never a liftline, but quite a few people out given the amount of terrain open; in Group 3 of 4 with Carlene and Stu, Andrea and Steven, Allan, and Bastion; had John Pierce as coach today; outside ski pressure drills: statue of liberty, outside pole down/inside pole up, and with hands out and no poles match hands and shoulders to slope; got to run a 30 second GS course 7 times; skied okay; much better with fewer people in camp.



#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 16 - Swain

NYS Masters GS and SL today. Out 9:00 to 2:00 with a ½ hour in the car for lunch; heavy overcast with temps in the lower thirties and no real wind - a little bit of freezing rain on the drive in and the tinyest bit of drizzle around 1 o'clock; 16 runs; 8,230 vertical; skied the Atomic Redster G9 RS's and the 2015 Volkl RaceTiger SL World Cups; loose, wet frozen granular; very few other people on the hill; the soft conditions lead to massive ruts right from the start; despite not skiing particulary well, I did accomplished today's modest goal - don't finish DFL; I even beat someone else in my age group in the SL; drove home into a snowstorm - 3" on the ground when I arrived.

GS   23 27 Martin Burns 51.88 (25) 51.35 (23) - 1:43.23 (23)

SL   18 27 Martin Burns 51.12 (17) 50.69 (18) - 1:41.81 (18)

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 15 - Montage

Out 8:30 to 12:15, no breaks; rain overnight ended as a tiny bit of snow/sleet/freezing rain mix right at 8:30, otherwise heavy overcast with temps right at freezing and little to no wind; 26 runs; 16,305 vertical; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's and the 2015 Volkl RaceTiger SL World Cups; baby soft, cream cheese groomers; virtually nobody else out for most of the morning; skied with Chris - Yatsko joined us for the last hour or so; talked Chris into letting me do a couple of runs on his brand new Head Supershape i.Titan's - too much sidecut of me; skied okay; glad I did a couple of runs of my SL race skis rather than heading off to Sunday's race at Swain cold; think I got some good video of Chris this morning.

#justgivemeagroomer    

Day 14 - Montage

Another holiday crowd. Out 8:30 to noon, no breaks; mostly sunny with temps around freezing; 17 runs; 11,245 vertical; skied the Atomic D2 3.0 Race GS's and the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's; light crowd till 11:00, then all hell broke loose; groomers with some overnight snowmaking thrown in for good measure; the binding on the Atomics failed - kicked them off to place the GoPro in the woods and I couldn't get them back on; the snowmaking on Smoke was stellar; Switch opened today - too bad I didn't find it till the crowds showed up at 11:00 because it was pretty good; skied okay.



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Day 13 - Montage

Definately a 'holiday weekday'. Out 10:00 to 2:30 with a really, really long lunch break in the car watching RCS win the Bormio SG - late start today because I had a doctor's appointment this morning; mostly sunny with temps around freezing and an on again off again wind; 15 runs; 9,812 vertical; skied the Blizzard Brahma #2's; scratchy groomers; pretty big crowd - lift lines all day; didn't ski particularly well.

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Day 12 - Greek Peak

Merry Christmas. Out 8:30 to 12:45 with ¾ hour break to dry out; 2" rain overnight ending by 11:00 this morning as sleet changing to snow; 20 runs; 15,210 vertical; skied the Blizzard Brahma #1's; rain soaked groomers; absolutely nobody else out till 11:00, then just a couple of dozen people; totally encrusted in ice when I stopped for a break to dry out and change gloves; the rain soaked groomers were surprisingly moonscape-free; skied okay, feeling okay.

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Day 11 - Montage

A very nice, quiet day. Out 9:00 to 2:30 with and hour in the car for lunch; foggy with temps in the low thirties to start then a few wet flakes, a gust of wind and just like that the fog lifted; 30 runs; 18,417 vertical; skied the Nordica Enforcer 88's; soft groomers; nobody else out on the hill till around noon, then just a few people - never a lift line; skied alone; Boomer and Smoke were very good - no chucks on Boomer today and the ungroomed 'headwall' on Smoke continued to soften overnight; missed tracking my first run again today when I forgot my phone in the car for the second day in a row; I also forgot my pass for my first run, but it didn't seem to be a problem as I just skied onto the lift at the bottom; I think early morning on weekdays here are going to be nice.

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Day 10 - Montage

Good start to my 'home season'. Out 9:15 to 3:00 with ¾ hour for lunch at Midland; sunny to start with an increasing overcast all day - temps in the low thirties - no wind; 30 runs; 20,918 vertical; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's and the Nordica Enforcer 88's; groomers - a few thin spots on the very top of Smoke and a few chunks on Boomer's headwall; standard Montage crowd - nobody to start with an increasing number of kids out by the time I left; skied with Chris - we made several with Maria and Ana and a few later with Richey and Deb; only took 2 minutes to pick up my pass; social distancing wasn't much of an issue with today's light crowd, but adhereance to masking protocols was less than ideal; feeling okay, but didn't ski particularly well today; today's picture is Maria, Chris and I practicing social distancing.



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Day 9 - Kite Hill

Stuck at home with 2 ft. + of new snow on the ground so I broke out my new DPS Alchemist Lotus 124's and hiked for a couple of runs off the sand mound.

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Day 8 - Windham

Still waiting for the season to start here at home - big snowstorm expected Wednesday night. Out 9:00 to 3:30 with ¾ hour break for lunch in the car; light snow started on the drive up, stopping around 2 o'clock - an inch up top at the open, maybe another inch during the day - temps rising to just above freezing; 43,981 vertical; 33 runs; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 19's and the Blizzard Brahma #2's; generally variable early season conditions - Upper Wolverine had excellent coverage and a pretty good groom job - with the exception of a couple spots, all the flatter terrain from the middle of montain down was very thin; very few other people out - never rode the chair with another person; the Heads worked noticably better than the Blizzards on the steeps; skied okay I guess.

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Day 7 - Killington

So ends part 1 of my ski season - it's mostly Montage and NY state day trips from here. Out 9:00 to 4:00 with just a ½ hour in the car for lunch; an early, high level K Cloud gave way to a sunny, pleasant day with temps just above freezing - the wind did pick up a bit toward the end of the day; 41,692 vertical; 34 runs; skied the Fischer RC4 The Curv's and the Blizzard Brahma #2's; nice groomers at opening bell that got pretty scratchy as the day wore on - a little new snowmaking thrown in just for fun at the end of the day when they dropped the rope on Lower East Fall; huge crowd early that thinned out by the afternoon; after due consideration I've decided that I've absolutely ruined the Fischers by having them ground flat (0° base bevel) - I won't make that mistake any more; didn't ski particularly well today; looong drive home after a looong day on the hill.



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Day 6 - Killington

Miles. Out 9:00 to 3:30 with a quick get dry break in the Ski Club Building and 45 minutes for lunch in the car; 2" of new snow overnight - windy with temps in the mid-twenties and light snow all day - 2" more during the day; 33 runs; 37,699 vertical; skied the 2012 Head i.Speed GS Cheater 17's; after yesterday's soaking rain and freeze and last night's deep groom conditions chunked up real quick - as the day wore on and the snow continued to fall things softened up and de-chunked nicely; lots of people out this morning, but never much of a liftline - tons of KMS, GMVS and SMS kids; skiing well; feeling well.

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Day 5 - Killington

Better than a sharp stick in the eye today, but not by much. Out 9:00 to 3:00 with 45 minutes in the Ski Club Building for lunch; 50°, overcast and windy - ½ hour of light rain at 1:00; 31 runs; 30,385 vertical; skied the Blizzard Brahma #2's; no grooming overnight because of all the rain, so everything frozen up and was real rattlee till it got skied in quite a bit - the rain overnight also uncovered tons more thin spots; not too many people, but lots of the regulars - Barb and Don, Bob and Pheobe, Mark and Cindy, Mike C., Karen, Ric S. - lots of KMS and GMVS kids on the hill today too; skiing pretty well; despite the effort of skiing the ungroomed all day I'm feeling pretty well.



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Day 4 - Killington

30k in the rain - again. Out 9:00 to 2:30 with 45 minutes in the Ski Club Building for lunch; overcast and 40° in the parking lot - rain started by 11:00 - the wind really picked up by 1:00; skied the Volkl Mantras; 26 runs; 30,756 vertical; deep granular that actually got better as the rain soaked in; all the locals out early before the rain - nearly empty by noon; they closed the mountain at 2:30 - just as well, I was soaked and ready to quit; skiing well; stuck mostly to the Bubble, except to ride the Box once to ski Upper Downdraft and Lower East Fall.

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Day 3 - Killington

Out 9:00 to 3:30 with coffee and lunch breaks at the Ski Club; overcast and very windy with temps rising through the twenties; 28 runs; 23,734 vertical; skied the Blizzard Brahma #2's; very good conditions - loved the rock hard groomers in Northridge and the skied-in snowmaking on Middle and Lower Chute; lots of people; small (2-5 minute) lift lines most of the day; Snowdon 6 down again till 11:00, then it was swamped so I headed up to Northridge for a couple of hours; just like yesterday, consecutive rides the Snowdon Triple stopped in almost the exact same spot; skiing pretty well; disappointed that the Snowdon 6 was down so much this trip - I estimate that riding the Snowdon Triple instead cost me 11 or 12 runs.



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Day 2 - Killington

Out 9:00 to 3:45 with a 45 minutes lunch in the KSC Building; temps in the teens and low twenties some clouds and a little bit of wind - the intermittent clouds this morning gave way to brilliant sunshine by the end of the day; 26 runs; 25,233 vertical; skied the Head i.Speed GS Cheater 17's; not crowded by any means today but lots more people than yesterday; the groomers on Snowdon chunked up early, then either got skied in nicely (Upper Bunny) or mercilessly polished (Mouse Trap) - by the time I got to Northridge things had firmed, but they still skied well; the 6-Pack Bubble did't run today (snowmaking on Lower Chute) so I was relegated to the Snowdon Triple and today's vertical total shows the difference riding high-speed makes; skied okay; with Lower Chute closed, Lower Bunny was a herbitorium; stopped in exactly the same place on the Snowdon Triple on two consecutive rides.

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Day 1 - Killington

Typical 2020 - steady rain the entire drive up. Out 9:00 to 3:00 with a 45 minute break back at the car for lunch; raining and 42° to start - first wet snowflakes at 10:00 - full on snow by 11:00 - thick coating of wet snow followed by a little more drier snow as temps fell into the twenties; 28 runs; 31,436 vertical; skied the Nordica Enforcer 88's; soft, rain soaked groomers firmed considerably as the day went on; nobody else out till it started to snow; never rode the lift with another person; never waited in a lift line; everything but my gloves stayed dry; skied every open trail segment today; skied okay for day one; good start to the season despite the rain.



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2019/20 Season Recap

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COVID-19 Ends Season.

Killington, along with everything else, closes.

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Day 81 - Killington

Radvanyi and Company Day 3. 36 runs, 39,147 vertical.



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Day 80 - Killington

Radvanyi and Company Day 2. 26 runs, 30,000 vertical.

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Day 79 - Killington

Radvanyi and Company Day 1. 25 runs, 29,521 vertical.



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