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The Commute to France Friday: 2:30pm ET we drove from Philly to Newark. The flight took off around 7pm. Saturday: Arrived at the airbnb around 6pm france time (about 1pm ET). The group stopped at a grocery store and bought an absurd amount of food. We also spotted this vending machine of cheese in Moutiers, France. We hit lots of traffic so we had to take some side roads to avoid the traffic. We later learned that there's a ton of Saturday traffic because more rentals go from Sat-Sat. Thought the humor of PASR might like this destination sign. The Airbnb The house was lovely but had European quirks. • Pro: It was the penthouse with a gorg view, walking distance to the town & slopes, and also on a bus route • Con: a weird bathtub/shower situation, slopped roofs that made some of the rooms feel small We went to dinner for pizza and wine. We headed to bed with the goal to be on the snow as early as possible.

hate when that happens!!

What a fun day! Conditions were much better than expected. Parking lot was a blast, eagle show spectacular. Plenty of food, drinks, and all out silliness in the lot. Thanks @indiggio for helping me get my skis back on after I landed in the woods. I maybe back Friday,Saturday is definitely out, leaving for Maine on Sunday.

Ski Day 1 - @Schif and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day 7:15am: Woke up! Grabbed some fruit and granola bars and strolled to the lifts. 8:30am: We scan the QR code and grabbed our ski passes 9:00am: We're in the first 5 gondola cabins heading up to the mountain. We took the Saulire 1+2 gondola up. The rest of the group was slooooow moving so it was just @Schif and I. So we talked about meeting up later for apres. While at the top, we dipped towards Corchevelle. The runs were looooong and the grooming was beautiful. It was mostly cloudy with the sun peaking out occasionally. I think we took Creux or Marmottes down to Roc Mugnier. At the top of Roc Mugnier lift, we decided to do that area again because it was so fun. The trails were for the most part empty. I got one of the Insta360 camera. I'm not sharing to show off my sick medoicre skiing ability but really posting the video to show how empty the trails were. This all sounds amazing. Why is this such a negative nancy title? [dunnnn dunnnnn dunnnn] Mike caught an edge and fell hard. He sat there for a moment then slowly got up. As he was just starting to move going hella slow, a small 8-year-old French girl hit his snowboard from behind and brought him to his knees. I was behind him so I skied down to the chaos. Side Note: I'm not sure how he manages to avoid the PA ski resort chaos, but somehow in the French alps with 4 other people on a ski trail - there was a collison. @Schif had crazy pain in his wrist. So we tried to find some sort of ski patrol. We went up the Roc Mugnier lift again and then skied to the bottom hoping to find a medic center. We didn’t find it. Instead, we luckily shared a gondola with an Italian doctor. Mike was just going to push through it but the Italian doctor suggested it might be fractured. I speak French - kind of - so we stopped at patrol near the top of Signal and they told us where the medic center is. We ended up taking about 5 lifts to to get back to Meribel and skiied down the front. But wait - THERES MORE We skied down Mauduit and it was lovely at the top. The trail got more slushly as our eleivation decreased though. Then all of the sudden - it got very thin. Like east coast thin. Like closing day at Bleu thin. Then it became a dirt trail and we had to take off our skis. There was not a single sign closing the trail. We watched a few people do the same thing. I took off my atomic skis and started to stroll down. I stumble a bit. My ski goes flying. I butt-slide through mud and slush trying to dig in my heels to stop. Mike fortunately watched my ski as if it was a golf ball going the distance. Mike’s wrist is starting to swell very large. His fingers were swelling and there was a ping pong size ball on his wrist -- so he’s going slower. We retrieve my ski. Laugh it off and head to the medic center inside the Parc d'Olympic at the base. Mike gets an xray and a cast. Turns out it’s fractured. He was advised to not snowboard and gets a prescription for some medicine. We’re exhausted by all the hoopla so we get on the bus hoping it takes us back to the airbnb. But WAIT THERES MORE the bus goes the wrong way and stops at a bus depot. So we end up back to where we found my ski and trudge through the snow. Bad things happen in a series of 3, right? We say F it. Let’s get food at the base. It was quite the first 4 hours... Mike goes back to the Airbnb to rest and told me to go find the gang…..

Got there late today for a few runs. Was suprised how good the cover was, rock skis/boards not required anywhere open. Awesome we get 2 more days at Blue The True. They done good with their efforts this year considering the weather.

In December, @Schif and I were at a friend’s house and got invited to a planned ski trip. There were 8 people total (including us) on this trip. The dates, airbnb, and the bulk of the trip were already planned so we really just went with the flow for the most part. This was our first time traveling with so many people - we had to fold into what the majority of the group was doing. We had a great time (with a few blips). But if we were to do it again - we would do 5-6 ski days and ski longer. It was awesome. THE SIZE OF THE 3 VALLEES The 3 Vallees claims to be larger than the top 5 largest resorts in North America — combined. The mountain’s main resorts are Meribel, Val Thorens, and Corchevelle. There are something like 151 ski lifts and 364 trails. It was bonkers. There were so many different types of gondolas and chairs. SKIING IN THE FRENCH ALPS SOUNDS BOUGIE. WAS IT EXPENSIVE? I’ve seen some videos about how skiing in Europe is cheaper, so I’ll drop our major expenses below in case anyone else is considering. All prices are per person. 4 ski days at 3 Valleys: $142 Flight from EWR with 1 checked bag: $760 Shared car rental in France: $93 Airbnb with the group, in town (5 days/4 nights): $308 / $77 per person per night Brides-les-Bain Hotel for 1 night: $52 I left off things like airport parking and food because they would vary by person and exist whether you fly to Jackson Hole or France. Generally, I thought the on-mountain drinks were cheaper than in the US. Shots, champagne, and pitchers of beer did seem cheaper in France though. A pitcher of beer was about $20-35 depending on the bar. I remember paying $16-20 for a beer in the back bowl of Vail. So yes - ski tickets, lodging, and booze were cheaper but the transportation costs made it about on par with skiing in the US. Optional expense. More on this later…. • Emergency medical visit for a broken wrist. It included x-ray, custom cast, opium, and anti-inflammatory: approx $350

Hey All, I’m back from another fun day at Blue mountain the true mountain. I arrived at the lower lot at 818am and it was around 30 degrees out under mostly sunny skys. In the house were Atomic Jeff, JFDan, BenM, Indiggio, Slim, PARidge, Mute, Boo Bear, Becky Boo, Johnny Law, Harold, Oz, Rodney, Dirtwolf and many others. My expectations were extremely low with 2” of rain yesterday and overnight lows well below freezing. I was pleasantly surprised with Razors being super smooth and pleasant almost packed powder. I skied that ten runs in a row and conditions stayed the same and all but 2-3 runs there were only a few people on the trail. I didn’t ski nightmare dreamweaver as I really don’t enjoy that run when there are features. No real liftlines today with only the quad running. I ended the session with a run down burma which has nice coverage still and even took a schuss down Yeti. Fun parking lot with some beers and sunshine. While today seemed like closing day just like last Saturday, Blue has not made any closing day announcement and many think they’ll reopen for Friday and Saturday. JADIP

I do like the forest…

Rode up with a lot of alien pass visitors taking advantage of the discount. Many were asking if we had a season pass and remarked at how much better the trails are at Blue compared to Cameltoe. There seemed to be a ton more park rats too, some of them were quite good off the jumps. There were also far more shit-missiles coming down Razors, one ate it spectacularly by clipping a bump with his left ski, spinning backwards into full-on yard sale and then body slamming his way to a stop in the bump line. That was the about the time we decided to call last run.

Take it to the bird thread!

Today was a total mind fuck from the get go. 31’ in the lot on March 24, a 9am open, gates open early, then not opening at all, then opening late, some screaming going on at the lift at the open, absolutely unexpected wonderful conditions after an absolute deluge the day before to full-on Spring conditions and unexpected bump line, digging @momskeeztoo outta the woods and getting her skis back on and late day parking lot session with a low-level eagles passover all made for a spectacular late season day and possibly another one next weekend. Fingers crossed for some more fun.

Day 53. Another storm. Nice, silky conditions.

Sounds good. Or a Wildlife thread?

Only pic I took today...my daughter was pretty excited she got a basket full of marshmallows but I was hoping for some free stuff from Blue

Should we open up a birding thread? bb.mp4

For those that are interested in bird watching, saw these two guys as I parked at the golf course the other night.

This morning was super fun...Blue pulled off some kinda black magic today...Mostly unrestricted runs down Razors..NM/DW was really nice too..Was a great way to spend Sunday morning...

I had looked earlier in the week and saw some snow, but it looked like it was mostly northern VT I was planning to just go to Blue on Sunday, but made a late switch Saturday night and never looked back at the weather.

Today was so much fun. Lapped razors basically and it held nicely...at least for that little over an hour I was there. Major props to blue. I don't think anyone expected how good today would actually be after yesterdays rain

Conditions were way better than expected for today after yesterday’s storm. Managed every run plus NM/DW twice with the fam before the Easter Egg hunt up top. Didn’t see anyone in the lot since we arrived late and left early for the top lot. Enjo had the beta for VIP lot(second row) being free and also skipping the stupid line for egg hunt registration(see photo). Line initially was from the top lodge entrance to the first row parked cars, but no one was using the second table to sign in. Hanging out on the veranda for a bit with @enjoralasand @PSUFrankensteinwas a great way to finish the season. Kudos to Blue for blowing snow this week ps random photo of @Boo Bear watching the egg hunt

@saltyant this is getting good and I like reports in segments like this..builds up anticipation..and he’s schif to us not mike. Already a mike lol but no Ike

Once things got going. But, the lower, south-facing slopes are already closing. They never really got bushes covered and those bushes are re-emerging. I had to do "falling leaf" down one today when I rounded a hidden corner and was presented with a mess. Surprize!!! Day 54. -

Nope, but interesting. I guess they don't want people piece-mealing together spare goggles.

have a great time!

No problem! Just glad you weren't any the worse for wear after your forest adventure. 😉

IDK, one second I was attempting the bumps, next thing I knew, I was on my back, head facing down the hill, and my skis were in a pine tree. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Tell us about your wipeout?

Scarlet Tanager. Occasionally visit the yard. Haven’t been to the wildlife sanctuary, have to stop in sometime.

We were discussing lift speeds earlier. The high speeds at Blue can max out at around 1,000 feet per minute but they run them closer to 800 fps while the fastest high speed detachable are running up to 1200 fps and most fixed grips are in the 400-500 range.

Today was exponentially better than i thought it was gonna be. I almost had myself talked into not going hearing the wind overnight thinking it would be a hill full of ice. i cant figure blue mountain out at all. The one day they knew it was gonna be max occupancy, they run one lift. Then they blow a whole bunch of snow 2 days before it monsoons, at the end of the season, and then they announce another weekend. I hope they wont make the lift mistake again, but i certainly do enjoy the extended season.

I'm out for sat. Fri i will really try to make it. Can't see anything other than Vista after that. No thanks

Lolo , Just took my skis out of my vehicle , putting them back . I’ll do base repairs later.

Awesome...unfortunately we're away next weekend but if it was a 9am opening Friday I would be there

You would think a brewery in Orefield would be empty but the place is packed every weekend. They don't just allow dogs, they're encouraged. My daughter kept asking me to go get more beer so we could pet some dogs

Ridge did you see Oz get in the chair with patrol and then he was told they weren’t loading the public yet and his buddies had to back it up and skipped a couple chairs and I kept yelling Go Go Go and the one told me to shut up and then I was asking Oz why he’s standing on the wood. I loved the fuckery. I forgot the guys name but the Maryland liftee made a buddy last week and he came over to the row and was trying to buy a beer for $3 and I just gave him one and he drove up from Virginia and just started riding in 2021 in Colorado while working for the civilian corps. He said he has like 24 days lifetime and was at Blue 4 times this season. He might join PASR so another snowboarder and he was talking about his wrecks and shit…and he has some padding but sheesh Razors was beautiful earlier. Only topped by the fresh pow on it a month ago but that was only for one run. Im pretty stoked Blue is gonna have yet another opening day Friday..and then Saturday I might even put down the $69 or whatever for the down payment on next years season pass. The clock is ticking on Jackson hole sponsoring me.

Nice day here Sunday. Conditions held up well after the rain. Pretty firm but nicely groomed first thing. It softened up a little after noontime, but that just made it more grippy. 31 runs, top speed of 40.9, and Carv Ski:IQ of 130 (the highest I’ve hit). Sunny. Windy to start off, but it died down. A lot of kids on the slopes, but easy to avoid. Never more than a 1 or 2 chair line. Midway and Draufganger getting narrow with some skid marks, but Boulder trail was still nice and wide with no ruts. A little surprised that I liked Boulder better than Frost. Frost East Mtn has a 7 minute 45 second lift ride for 540 vertical feet. Boulder has 6 minutes for 400 feet, and a more consistent slope. Plus it doesn’t have that long runout at the bottom.

I’ll find a different kicking horse video where the traverse is like this knife edge thing but I don’t like exposure. Lucas got three free days of heli skiing for being a content creator.

WOW!!

Blue confirmed on fb open this fri and sat

I saw a McLaren on the drive back.

Great hanging with @mute1080, @Boo Bear, and @enjoralasat the easter egg hunt. Would've liked to have stopped at the lower lot and hung out a bit but we ended up getting chicken tenders to go and went to retriever brewing for lobster rolls and a few beers.

I drove up this morning.. honestly had no idea they got as much snow as reported. MT is reporting 28".... Boy I wish is had a different board with me, my powder boards are at home. The first couple runs were a blast, but oohh soo much work!

Well today I totally sucked and only made it one mile up Tiehack before I decided to transition and come back down. The temps were low 40’s when I arrived and brilliant sunshine beating down on me. Still got in a solid hour of good cardio so I am satisfied. Buttermilk closes 3/31 and it’s getting quite mushy. All mashed potatoes on the way down.