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Hey All, I’m back from another fun morning session at Blue mountain. I arrived at the lower lot around 830 and it was sunny with the temperature of 19 in the valley and 25 at the upper entrance..and inversion Yo!! In the house were Atomic Jeff, Justo, Slim, Bethlehem ford crew, C1er, Airhead, Rose and many others. First civilian quad and a pristine challenge..pretty good grooming…nightmare to dreamweaver was closed for snowmaking, Razors was closed for racing. I repeated challenge three more times then went to Main Street. Upper Main Street had the best snow and grooming on the mountain..middle had a gun or two and lower had a few marbles but still nice. Coming soon was trash..solid cookies as was lower Paradise. Back to Main Street to finish out the session with two more runs. Crowds were moderate, actually less people than I thought but the crowds were still spilling in. I peaced out at 1020 after 8 runs and on the way back there was a fire in Cherryville..delayed me a few minutes as traffic wasn’t allowed to go east on 248 but going towards Blue mountain the backup on blue mountain drive extended from 248 to the soaked winery. These are the best of times at blue and they’re setting up to have a solid base going into March…

This just popped up on the interweb. @Benm Video time

Staying at DV with my family, I may get to Alta tomorrow depending on when everyone departs. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Only an inch or so today, mostly graupel but it was super nice to get some sun and actually be able to see what I was skiing. Ran like every groomer in the place, in the morning nobody was out and you could really rack up the runs. First thing was absolutely mint but by 11 some peeps were out and after lunch the big dogs where mixed moguls/ lovely lady lumps. Still super windy but snowing now and supposed to snow all day tomorrow.

@PSUFrankenstein offers car wash services in the free lot. Just tires and maybe a little splash on the doors though.

Kind of thinking they are blowing a lot of snow on NM/DW to put features in.

Started the day with 4 or so inches on the ground, vis continued to be most excellent. It snowed like the dickens until 130/2, more pnw style but a touch drier than previous. Being reasonable and prudent above all we went exploring, the first two where pure pow pow bliss. In getting there I skied the slowest I've ever skied in the modern era, from the end of the protective cornice above Sultan to the top of Steins you couldn't see the tips of your skis. Out in the boonies we found super good windblown but out involved a mine field with enough fluff on top you couldn't tell what the was underneath. All was club super sex and then the next second your getting bucked to the moon. We escaped back into the friendly confines and the trees until I thought my legs would explode. Once the snow stopped the clouds put on a multi layer show but the wind had gotten so bad Empire and Lady Morgan closed at 3. With the other high lifts right behind them we sought refuge and chilled at the Montage. Highly recommend the hot chocolate and cookies downstairs but don't be surprised by the boot donkeys asking to take your boots off for you.

If you want a dumpster fire of a listen, and want to know why camelback sucks so much, here ya go. The GM doesn’t even know his own mountain’s policies. I’m pretty sure he ski blades in jeans. https://www.stormskiing.com/p/podcast-162-camelback-managing-director

Finally made it down to Whitegrass WV Sunday. This place is awesome. The realest of deals. 4 1/2 hr drive each way was worth it but I think I will get a hotel next time. Elevation is about 4300ft so just about as high as anything in the East and storms dump snow from the west in this spot first-nothing is taller till the Rockies. Before it was a nordic area it was a downhill area so there are some old school downhill runs you can hit in addition to the nordic trails, the trees, and some meadows. The higher you go the skinnier the trails get and the more alpine it looks. There are three summits on the trail system as well as access to trails in Dolly Sods and neighboring Canaan Valley and Timberline downhill areas. At the top is as its name Bald Knob would suggest, epic views. 25k of trails are groomed out of 50k in the immediate resort, and a number of them are fairly steep across 1200ft vertical. Tracks set on the lower trails and up the three mile run to the mid summit. Well maintained glades are all over the hill with untracked powder everywhere. At the bottom they have a system of fences set up to catch the snow blowing across the valley and keep it skiiable. The best part though is just that the vibes are absolutely unmatched. There were probably several hundred people there and everyone was having a blast - Hooting and hollering through the woods, hanging out by fires at the little huts all along the trails, chowing down on delicious food in the shack of a lodge at the bottom with all the rental boots hanging from the ceiling around the wood stove to dry off. And there were people of all ages including little kids just ripping through the woods. People were sliding on the whole spectrum of equipment: cross country, telemark, AT, splitboard, sleds, snowshoes. Everyone was so happy and friendly. Granola paradise A place that is good in every meaning of it. I havent been anywhere else quite like it.

@saltyant thanks for always being on the lookout for Tom foolery. There were complaints earlier of a threadjack in the elk forum.

Just got back from a quick threefer after a day in the big city. Really nothing much to write home about after how great this weekend was. Ran lazy, switch and main. Everything pretty much the same. Some scraped slick spots with some nice stuff in between. Overall just nice to be outside for a bit.

The pricing is definitely giving me pause. One part of my brain says," just buy it" And the other part says, "build a spreadsheet to examine the cost/benefit vs other passes". Snowboarding/skiing is absolutely my favorite activity and I would really miss it and miss the parking lot if I didn't have a pass. That being said the price is getting so high that the value proposition isn't really as appealing. Devils advocate though, the price of everything has jumped. Wages, electric, steel for pipes, replacement parts for lifts, you name it. This is a pricy business and they can't give it away for free. There really isn't a good answer. My brain still prices a ski day in the Poconos between $50-70 and that's just not true anymore. The days of getting on the snow without a pass for under $100 are over so the pass makes more sense in that context.

You know the feeling is mutual. And if I came off defensive in my replies above I apologize. This crew, who I consider friends, obviously enjoy being around and have a ton of respect for, is one major reason (if not the biggest) that one doesn't just walk away from blue; and when things are good at blue they're really good. So Blue will never not be part of the equation..at least if and until I am physically no longer here. But the consumer side of the brain says...do you continue to fork over the pass $$, no matter the cost, given the number of gripes I / we've had (that have seemingly been higher this year). whether it be lifts, bad grooming, snow, sugar, questionable decisions, poor lighting, school groups, litter, crowds, lack of line management etc? But on the flip side, CB is never going to be an option, I like montage and JF but they aren't either at this point. so my brain goes back to...is there a way to get the good that comes with Blue without having to reward them for poor decisions by purchasing a pass yet again in Feb or March. It's quite the conundrum to be honest. Or maybe I'm just overthinking it.

Some nice fast snow at the BC tonight...Rode for about an hour and a half...Not a lot of people there...I bounced at 6:15 and the parking lot looked like it was filling up....They got some good coverage from the past storms...and it looks like they are making snow...Was a fun evening session....

right, but you'd still need to buy the blue pass.

I never said I was going elsewhere. Just that, for $699, I think I'm gonna wait it out and see what the options were. What if Icon has more blue days? Or maybe I'll mix it up a bit more next year. Besides how the hell would I survive without you telling me which lift to ski to, or how I should hold my my fucking skis over my shoulder.

Wow just wow much better than Atomic Jeffs male only BMW car wash club.

Is this the Random Thought Thread??

Someone said NY kids are off school.

The fact that he was all excited about the waterpark and hotel and knew jack shit about the ski area shows what the focus is over there.

i feel like Ski resorts being sold is like the worst kept secret ever, so if it was true, we would know more. Personally i think its just a rumor. Did you guys hear that Blue Mt was going to expand the paid parking to include a free car wash?

I was there eve of 2/13 - got the $30 night ticket - didn't have time to get anywhere bigger but was nice to check out again the place the girls and I all learned to ski

Blue said on their Facebook that returning season passholders receive a $50 gift card. I like the 20% off glamping thing. I think I wanna stay at the switchback location and get a lift on one of their ATVs by Ashley to my camp spot.

Make sure you log it as 2 ski days

https://www.stormskiing.com/p/podcast-162-camelback-managing-director

The video you post the other day was rad..with a little bit of commentary. If you wanna do a follow cam of me I’ll buy you a five pack of Yoo hoo has to be on challenge.

Thanks for the shoutout. I'll keep skiing at Blue, since I don't ski with AtomicSkier I get to carry my Ripsticks however I want and don't get kicked off the 6 pack when there are 7 PASRs. Blue is the true mountain, you're my Boy Blue!!

This is getting good. We can have PASR Sugarbush Aprils all the way through after our local options close!!!

Yeah I’m prob gonna have to bite the bullet and buy ikon and would be rad if there’s some sort of discount or perk for blue passholders. For awhile they were giving Jackson hole season passholders base passes but that’s one of the flagship Ikonics. Plus if I’m on ikon I can ski with you and salty at camelback.

Just got home from a most excellent afternoon sesh at Blue The True. Was busy around noon but lines dissipated as the morning tickets left. Snow was most excellent considering the crowds. I think the only ice sketch spot I found was the landing of the 2nd rail on Come Around. Be back tomorrow for more of the same!

Don't forget about Camelback. That's another option besides Blue the True. Camelback has extra fixed grip lifts they run sometimes if it gets crowded and even gives out hot cocoa on opening day sometimes.

Looks like $699 is officially official. Gonna think about it this year. Not diving into it blindly this go round.

Why aren't they at Camelback then?

That’s a fantastic idea, I think he’d like that.

The person speaking on the podcast is the managing director. That’s a lot different than a general manager. They’re not gonna know all the technical ins and outs.

I wonder what he would say about my haters gonna hate video. Maybe I should record it on a VHS tape and airdrop it to his house via a parachute so he can see how sickbird it is

This is a half hour from my house so I thought, why not? Never been. Super old-fashioned little family ski hill. Lodge is from the 60s. Love the lodge. Smells like feet. Muddy gravel parking lot. Plus points. Their lifts are old. A fleet of 1960s Hall double chairs. It was a ten minute ride on the slower double chair to go whatever, like 300ish vertical feet. The other side of the hill has a double chair geared a little faster. More like a 3 minute ride. They don't clear the lift line properly and the trees on either side have pretty much grown over the lift which makes for a cool tunnel-like effect as you ride up. Not gonna be great when one of those weak-ass poplars splits and brings the lift down. Snow was great. Packed powder. Super grippy and fun. I grabbed a fat Japan air on the sweet jump they built. Fun day. Ski patrol man yelled at me to put the safety bar down.

Got a text message about it about an hour ago

just realized that last year the SP price was 675, so only a $24 jump. pretty good. also noticed that, in addition to the 20% off glamping thing (which is nice), they're also giving 2 tix to different summer activities which I'll almost certainly take advantage of.

Oooh lo que dijo!

What is your issue with my stats? Or do you just like to annoy me?

Blue the True was the first of many, many ski resorts I flew over today in NY, VT, MA, and NJ. Didn't see anyone in the lower lot so this explains it. Hopefully the footage from my new GoPro is so detailed you can see the mud bubbling in the PASR lot

Day 35. More crowded than yesterday, probably because it was warmer. Yesterday

Gotta work for it, get there early etc. My wife got some good ones but she tends to focus on one band member though in her pics. Lol.

Hell yea, 3 spring tr’s this year. I need to get back there. Love the old school diesel lifts

Afternoon track ski from the house some spots were deeeeeeeep! Crick crossing, nice day for a swim?! Close, but not today motherfucker! #nevertakeyourskisoff beautiful afternoon!

Woke up at 5 to find it hat snowed 8-10....Shoveled driveway/walks/deck.....Road didn't look bad though....Don't get many chances to do non resort riding so I made my way to Pulpit Rock trail/road...Arrived around 8....Maybe 4 cars in the parking lot....About 30 with a brisk breeze...Absolutely fantastic skin up...Clouds broke for some blue sky.....The ride down was super floaty....At the bottom I put the skins back on and went around the reservoir and up the blue trail to the AT...Skinned back until it the trail had some pitch and was able to ride it back to the car ....Total distance 6.3 miles....Elevation gain 1385'....Somethin about earning your turns just feels good...One of the best days....

Maybe I'll ski Tussey tomorrow night as I'm working nearby. I think they got one or two inches of perder. Get stoked!!!

Really nice day up at Montage. Probably the most crowded I have ever seen the place but 75% of the people were on the learning hill. Lots of buses. I thought they started allowing uphill but it was just gapers trying to get off of the harder trails because they got lost. Long Haul was running and I rode that for the first time in my life since it was never open every other time that I have been there. Even thought the lifts there are slow, I can't really complain about the place. The snow was great and the trails are a lot of fun there. Nice to get back there and always a good time. 8.5/10 for a PA day.

Was just about to leave but they got it running!!!1 @toastman this is getting good

Got the XC skis out along the D&L yesterday morning after a work meeting. Quite lovely and really enjoyed how peaceful it was with the quietness of the snow and nobody around.