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Hey All, I’m back from day 1 of the 2023-24 ski season at Blue mountain the true mountain. I arrived at the lower lot around 720am and PARidge was already in the house. Also in attendance were Dirtwolf, Mute, Mixilplix, TP4, Antman, Bethlehem Ford guy, Harold, Dime, Kumar, Slim, Indiggio, West Chester crew, Voltmer and many more. On arrival it was mostly cloudy with the temperature in the mid to upper 30s on the upper mountain and around 30 at the base…mad inversion yo…arriving at the super summit safari six pack there were about 25 people waiting at the gates. Opening was on time and I was on maybe the sixth chair with the west Chester peeps who were later interviewed by the WNEP station. First run was easy out to vista to midway to lower Main Street to shuttle to lower park which was pretty good some smallish pebbles but nothing crazy..coverage is excellent midway is a little narrow but deep base. The next few runs lower main stated good, easy out to vista was butter and midway the cookies got churned up but they softened a bit after a few runs turning into small Moe Ghouls. We took the quad once just for a different few and paradise doesn’t look quite ready. I skied burma once and it was better than a lot of times mid season..the corners were surprisingly grippy on my untuned skis. Crowds were light..a few bottlenecks mainly on midway..some needle weaving..one I can’t believe I didn’t bump foots or brush shoulders. Most importantly my boots felt good..my skiing felt solid and I just love that feeling on the drive up on opening day…I rocked out to Redmans”The Goodness” a little extra hard Fun parking lot, I had two beers and chatted with a few people and got some stories from the security guard and peaced out maybe 1145. All in a better than average and earlier than average opening day…PARidge took a lot of pictures This is all I have Ski everybody tomorrow..should be interesting how crowded the runs get with the lift capacity and terrain options..I heard 2,000 tickets were sold for Saturday JAODIP

Fun day today. In the house were Dirtwolf, GSS, Mute, Dime, mixelplix and others. Conditions were your standard opening day day fare. Not at all crowded for an opening day. Just glad to be skiing for the first time in 8 months or whatever it's been. Cheers to the new season! Good to be back in the snow

I’m sure somebody could sleuth it if they want, but I can’t even take a guess at the last time I wrote a trip report. Maybe 2019? It’s a little weird not patrolling this year. For the first time in 15 years I bought a season pass for my home mountain, Sugarbush, which happens to be an Ikon Pass. I am up in northern NH (near the shuttered Balsams) visiting family for the holiday, so I decided to use one of my days on the Ikon Pass today for my first day of the season. Since it snowed most of the night last night here, but not SR, and was a weekday, I decided to go over for an afternoon session so the roads could clear up a bit. I left about 10:50 and rolled in about 12:30. Temp was 24. The roads were clear in the tire tracks and I never saw anyone on my side of the road. Sunday River is replacing the Barker Quad this season, which along with the Locke Triple, is their early season terrain. Subsequently, they decided on a very unique opening plan this year. Last year they replaced the Jordan Quad with New England’s only 8 person bubble chairlift, so they decided to open t2b in Jordan. It’s an interesting play because services are limited, it’s in the middle of nowhere, and the trails are long and wide, so they require a lot of snow. After they opened in Jordan, they went back to the Locke Triple, and opened Upper Sunday Punch to Cascades, making sure to avoid going under the Barker lift during construction. Since connecting those two trail pods would require going underneath the Barker Six Pack, they are operating as islands and you can’t ski/ride between the two. They have started expanding from Jordan towards South Ridge, and have some terrain open in Aurora, but they still have a long way to go. Since I was getting there late, and wanted to maximize my runs/enjoyment, I decided to go to Jordan and lap the high speed 8. The parking lot had about 50 cars in it when I got there, and there were still an equal amount of people arriving and leaving at 12:30. I had to do some work in the car, and by the time I booted up and got on the snow it was 1 PM. I went down to the base of the lift and was immediately impressed with size and scope of the terminal. It is massive and entirely enclosed. They even had a temporary customer service area for lift ticket issues inside to the left of the terminal. I scanned through the RFID without incident, and noticed the lift used a conveyor belt system. Since I first used one at Okemo 20 years ago, they have become more prevalent. We’ve got one now at Sugarbush, so I leaned up against the gate and loaded without incident. For a standard chairlift, the chair is luxurious to say the least. All the seats are designated with dividers, there’s molded padding for each seat, and the safety bar locks and automatically lifts at the top. The bubble is heated, but despite the colder temperatures, they had the bubbles locked open and not in use. The lift ride is probably about 5 minutes and was very smooth. They even have an automated PA system that updates you when the lift unexpectedly stops. There were four runs open off the top. Lollapalooza, Excalibur, and Rogue Angel are all separate t2b runs with no crossovers. The final trail was Kansas (connector to the rest of the mountain and very flat) to Northern Lights, to Firestar. Firestar hasn’t been groomed yet this year, and it was under snowmaking, so I opted to skip the bumps for the first day of the year. I hit Lollapalooza 5 times, Rogue Angel 3 times, and Excalibur 3 times. Lolla was by far the run of the day. It’s a couple miles long, has a nice steady pitch, and due to the pitch, wasn’t scraped off. It held a great edge all day. It is a wide trail, but since the snow guns are on skiers left, only about 60% of the trail width was covered and groomed. The snow was stellar. Rogue and Excal are steeper and straighter down to the lift. The top parts of both trails are the steep parts, so they were a little scraped off, but once it flattened out, snow conditions were very similar to Lollapalooza. Those trails were basically groomed wall to wall because they are generally less wide than Lolla. There were so few people that I never had to dodge anyone and only had to pass a single person on all 11 runs. Since the parking lot isn’t at the base of the Jordan Bowl, the last run of the day has to be Lollapalooza so that you can take the side trail over to the parking lot and avoid hiking uphill. The only food at the Jordan Hotel is the Northern Lights Cafe (assuming it hasn’t been renamed since I worked there), so to avoid getting swamped, there were a couple food trucks they brought in just outside the hotel to feed the early season crowds, and I was told from someone on the lift (9 of my lift rides were solo), that this weekend was a madhouse. Apparently there were a lot of upset patrons because the hotel isn’t setup as a lodge, so they weren’t allowing people to boot up inside. Doesn’t affect me since I always boot up in the parking lot, but I can see the downside to starting the season in Jordan. However, I can say that the early season offering there was absolutely stellar. I don’t think I could have had much better of a first day. When I got back to the parking lot at 3 PM, there were only 6 or 7 cars left. My legs were tired and I was getting cold. I warmed up in the car and headed back towards the in-laws. The roads were clear until the last 15 minutes. Overall, I logged 11 runs in 2 hours. That’s about 11 minutes a run round trip. Each run was about 1,250 feet of nice consistent vertical. The drive was easy and the snow was incredible. Well worth using one of my 5 Sunday River Ikon Pass days for the year. It was good to finally get out.

Looks like the snow is blowing on Burma, Vista, midway, lower main, coming soon, p diz, and maybe lazy...

Hey All, I’m back from a fun morning session at Blue mountain the true mountain. I arrived at the lower lot at 825am and it was 33 degrees under mostly cloudy sky’s. In the house were Atomic Jeff, Mute, PARidge, C1, Dirtwolf, Toast, Bethlehem ford crew, Rodney’s crew and Airhead. Leisurely start and maybe the 6th civilian super summit safari six pack. Easy out and vista had pleasant almost packed powder conditions, the beginning of midway wasnt bad, firm but some grip and lower down was uneven and slick, kind of rolly Polly on lower main. Leading into Barbs way was also pretty slick and the move was doing a Tokyo drift. Almost every run skied the same route and it got progressively busier…coverage was fine, I skied burma once and was decent and a little slick in the corners..just so many people on it. Lots of beginners, boomers and snowboarders out today. It felt downright warm and the temperature rose to the 40s real fast. After skiing had a beer in the lot with Mute and back at work now…best thing is my office manager sold a $5800 tombstone while I was skiing…that’s always the best. Ski some of you tomorrow JADIP

Crappy shot but ran into a mama bear and 3 cubs today

Hey All, I’m back from another session at Blue mountain the true mountain. I arrived at the lower lot at like 715am and Johnny Law was already in the house. Also in attendance were Dirtwolf, JFDan, Atomic Jeff, Mute, GSSucks, Justo, Indiggio, Schifdawg, Salty, BenM, Bethlehem Ford guy, Harold, Kumar, Nastar Glenn, MBike Mike, Mrs. Snowbunski and probably more I forgot. Upon arrival the temperature was in the low 40s with pea soup fog. Second civilian super summit safari six pack and easy out to vista was nice hero snow..first run in midway to lower main was semi smooth. The next few runs it got busier and the snow got choppier. I did run ride up the Quad just to check out paradise again and a little peace and quiet up on tuts lane. Skied burma which just like yesterday better than a lot of times mid season as there wasn’t any ice. Today I definitely spent about double as long in the parking lot which was ok because it was a fun parking lot with beers and snacks. Tomorrow Blue is closed for rain and they reopen on Friday at 9am. Will be interesting to see how the snow holds up to the next few days weather. Anyway it was bonus skiing and it was good. JADIP

This is so fucking true....I was one of the first SB instructors at Doe Mt...We basically got a season pass for wearing a jacket and screwin off..You taught like three or four lessons all year cause nobody snowboarded in the early 90's...Then the muther effin X games came along and it was a swift kick in the bean bag...Every kid wanted to snowboard..You would be havin fun dickin around ..then get call for a lesson with somebodies crotch goblin and you'd be like FUUUUUUUUCK!!!!!

At BC to get my pass....

I’ve been occasionally waking my kids up by farting really loud. If I have to fart, I go in one of their rooms right by the bed and blast off super loud. We both crack up and starting the day with a big laugh is the best way to set up a great day.

Some of the local ladies said there was just enough snow to XC at the Marble Mill site Park. They used their HOK skis but I was anxious to try out my Madshus. They have so much glide to them! In the first 5 minutes we went down a very small hill, and down I went. lol. By the next small hill I figured out how to descend without falling. Not graceful, but I got down it. The park is where they used to process Marble. There are a lot of random pieces carved and the old marble foundation pieces. 15 degrees and brilliant sunshine! Snow moving in this weekend. What a great spot that is a 10 min drive from my house to get some quick cardio in! These 2 ladies are in their 70’s but getting out there in a regular basis. I hope to be this active at their age. Plus they have such great stories.

Had my first alpine ski day of the season at Aspen. The logistics are definitely more of a pain then skiing Crested Butte. Have to drive to the commuter lot near Snowmass then take the free bus into town. Parking in Aspen is a huge pain in the ass. So by the time you gets to the base of the gondola from my house it’s probably between 1 hour 30 and 1 hour 45. Went in to get my fancy premier pass printed. Got to gondola and pass wouldn’t scan in my jacket, had to take it out. I will have to play with that next time. Didn’t have to scan it the rest of the day from mid mountain. We did get snow over the weekend but surprisingly it was scraped off and icy in spots. The bumps looked treacherous especially for day one. One side was a bit better conditions then the other. Don’t really know trail names yet. No lines, hardly any people, bright sunshine and warm. The last run down to the base was very icy. I remember now that when we did our bump class last Dec, they had us download each day. The reason being that December sun doesn’t hit the bottom half of the mountain and it gets pretty icy, especially on tired legs. Aspen girls gonna Aspen. Note the pink twins.

Abandoned gondola in New Hampshire. 1300 feet of vert. Legit steeps. Gorgeous views north to the White Mtns. They never had any chairlifts, just the gondola to access the summit and three t-bars on the bottom mountain. The last owner ran an Italian restaurant in Conway, NH.

Fucking soooo boring with no skiing ......its like we got all dolled up, went out, shit it was even in and then bam the roommate is home......

I might get killed if I come up for Saturday. The wife scheduled Thing 2's birthday party at Skyzone for Saturday morning, and I have a feeling it'll be a bad time for me if I tell her I'm going skiing that morning. So, see you guys Saturday.

Let’s see those Christmas ornaments.. My coworker made me this last year! And a couple more.

Went to Beltzville this warm day and I can confirm the buoys are out for the season! Docks still in.

Hey All, Im back from another fun session at Blue mountain the true mountain. I arrived at the lower lot at 720am and it was in the low 40s under cloudy sky’s with pea soup fog on the upper mountain. In the house were Atomic Jeff, BenM, NMSki, PARidge, enjorales, MBike mike, Mrs Snowbunski, Bethlehem Ford crew. Dirtwolf, Matt Edge, PSUFly, JFDan, Mute, Becky Boo and many more. Second civilian super summit safari six pack into the fog. CSS can’t see shit conditions on easy out and vista and the fog lifted on midway. The snow was soft and pleasent until lower Main Street which was that rolly Polly conditions. Crowds increased a bit every run..really not a lot of people out just limited terrain. I did one burma road and sort of caught an edge but recovered..there are snow snakes lurking out there. Also skied over to homestretch twice for a little peace and quiet and smooth snow. Fun parking lot today with beers and snacks and nice comfortable temperatures. The second thaw of the season is officially on with warmth and rain for the next two days..I think Blue will survive this but again they’ll be back to resurfacing existing terrain midweek. Let’s hope for a prolonged cold spell soon. JADIP

Rode the night shift with Dirty and Edge, Mute and little boo were also in the house, killing it. 50% gorillas in the mist but it was shockingly good. Midway was a soft field of large lady lumps and the apron had nice smoothness to get the wiggle on. One of the best openings I think, just a super good night and my lord is the world a better place with skiing. The beer fairy even left me a ice cold beverage, as good as it gets for December 1st. Cannot wait to do it again tomorrow

I admit it’s a little lame of me that I haven’t been downhill skiing yet. But today we woke up to about 6” of powdery snow. On my morning dog walk the neighborhood roads had not been plowed yet. So I immediately went home and got my new XC skis and skied from my front door all around my neighborhood on untracked snow. Some fun sustained “downhill”. Took it slow, still getting used to going downhill on XC skis. Husband had his own fun fooling around with the snowblower.

Got delayed by traffic by Parlkand High school and learned some wisdom from graffiti . I parked up top and made the rope drop, only hitch was leaving my extra goggles at home . Spent most of the morning skiing with @indiggio and the bump crew. Bailed when the rain started. All in all great first day. Big thanks to Blue!

saw you on the facegram!

I'm going to have to ride in the rain due to work must be the most stoked to ever ride in the rain.

Give me a few minutes and I will drive over... Stay tuned.

Tried out the HOK skis today! We got about 4+ inches overnight and it was snowy all morning. There were 5 of us today and we went to the same park but went in the trees more. The HOK skis are definitely good for that, walking over logs etc. Descending the small hills is so much easier. With the permanent skin on the middle third it really slows you down. It fees much different then trying to descend with full skins on my touring skis. These don’t grab as much. Overall we just tooled around looking for little hills do go down. Some look like they will be fun when they get filled in more.

So do I! I need a pair of gaiters too!

I couldn’t resist. I still wanted a pair of backcountry XC skis. Picked up these Madshus Panorama 78’s

got about 4” of very wet heavy snow so far. It was dumping earlier. My power has gone off and on about 6 times so far today. My well pump didn’t reset and I had to dig out the manual and reset it. First time I have had to do that. But I do have 15 gallons of emergency “prepper” water in the closet just in case.

Scored some longship variant corvus's last night, not only are they my long coveted midnight in Cairo graphics they were once owned by a legit pro. Historical provenance is often thought of with fine cars or such but legend has it mute himself once rode these down the icy slopes of Palmerton.

Flagstaff booked. January. Hopefully that won't be my first ski days of the season

Worthington glacier at Thompson Pass above Valdez this summer. They just got 65 inches of snow in 24 hours.

Hey All, It’s almost another weekend, is anybody planning on skiing Blue mountain the true mountain this weekend. I’ll be there tomorrow morning and Saturday morning. Saturday night I have an Xmas party and if it’s raining Sunday morning or my head is foggy I’m sleeping in. Looks like a snowmaking miracle could make for decent skiing this weekend!!!

After the lot hangout I headed back inside to try to get Thing 2's 9 and under pass activated. Took a look at the line at Guest Services and noped outta there. On the way out figured, "I'm here, let's pop in and see what the lineblooks like at the top lodge." Was pretty shocked at the number of cars up there, even with the whole second row blocked off while they do the paid parking conversion I didn't expect the top lot to be that full compared to the bottom lot. Went in and there was about 10 people in line with 3 windows open, not bad so stuck it out. About 25 minutes and got it taken care of no problem, also got them to put my entitlements back on my 40th anniversary pass after I forgot it last week and had to get a new card. Popped out to the courtyard to check out the menu for Wood Fired Pizza, amd pricing is right on where we figured it would be at $15 for a plain, but 12 inch pies instead of the 10 I thought it would be: I was hungry, so figured what the hell amd bought a Dreamweaver: It was ready in about 5 minutes, it wasnt busy at all. It was quite good, plenty of toppings and didn't skimp on the sausage/pepperoni. Good tasting sauce and nice crispy crust but still soft dough. Value wise was it a $19 worth pizza? Probably not, but factoring in entertainment venue pricing I think it was a good value, certainly better than what you would walk out of the cafeteria with for $19.

Today was a lot of fun. Decent conditions that got a bit better as the morning wore on.

Had good fun yesterday doing 17 runs with the twins on soft but full coverage conditions on Minya Hellgate Belt and Overlook. Best conditions were Overlook (surprisingly) and it was nice that it was served by an express lift as Flyer went down for day at 10ambig turns. Widening out to 7th Ave was fun for big turns. Lovin that my teens are speeding down blacks at Hunter all day long skiing as hard as I am. A great reward for all invested over 10 years getting them to this level as we start their 1qth skison.

Ha! You can thank me as well, I think. Was coming down Vista and spotted a set of keys in the snow, but couldn't stop quick enough, but stopped below them. I flagged the next guy coming down who stopped just beyond them and picked them up. Guy: "Yours?" Me: "Nope" Guy: "They're for a Honda, guess I should turn them in" Me: "Yup, someone's gonna be a bummin' dude when they go to open their car. They'll be happy someone turned them in" Also watched a couple of guys try to change a flat in the parking lot. Took them almost an hour to figure out how to use a car jack. How to use a car jack should be a mandatory test on the driver's exam.

Definitely not a bad opening day. Upper mountain snow was far better than lower due to the inversion. Midway by 11:30 was showing signs of major thinness as rocks and grass were poking through in the middle. Both sides of Midway bumped up for some early season fun. Right side of Vista outside the grooming berm was the ROTD as only a few daring souls went in there to get the goods. You had to dodge a couple of drainage ditches, but the snow there was worth it. Checked out Coming Soon and it had a fair amount of snow up top. Unfortunately lower Paradise is way too thin to open.

No game. Dropped my oldest at the airport then took my middle and her friend into the city. Just visited the 911 memorial which is pretty intense

Representing the skiers…

Pair of these on the way…

Way to do you, for realz. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Black Friday would have been one of the earliest starts I can recall. I'm not talking about anyone here but mad peeps clamoring for them to open will ride like 8 days all season. The answer is always the same, they will open when it's cold and right now the cold is just trying to get a free drink from us. Give it a bit and she'll be back and hungry.

Dropped skis off to get mounted and they have the lights on. I saw Blue posted they wouldn’t turn on the lights until they blow and the True Blue shopped confirmed they are blowing tonight.

From a hike up there Tuesday