PeterC0523

I picked up a puck of Zardoz from my local ski/snowboard shop, haven't tried it yet though. The store manager claims that it's great when you use it on top of a waxed board and also recommended using it on a clean base right before you hot wax, so that it gets deeper into the base. Think that'll work?

Think that'll work without scraping between each hot wax? Just letting the wax cool then hot waxing again?

You're right. I was just getting my hopes up when it was colder earlier this month.

I've been watching those opening dates on their sites for the past few weeks. I sent Hidden Valley, Alpine, and Shawnee emails yesterday, Nov 16. HV replied the same day, Alpine replied today, Nov 17, and Shawnee has not replied yet. I think they intended on opening Thanksgiving weekend, but unfortunately they can't deliver due to the weather.

Ugh... 0 for 3... Why God? WHY?!?!? I guess PA skiing/riding is out of the question for Thanksgiving weekend.

Alpine is out for Thanksgiving weekend too. This is a reply from one of their reps: "The long range forecast is not favorable for us to be open Thanksgiving Weekend, we are currently planning to be open early to mid December."

That's a shame... Think they would mind if we just walked up the trails?

If they have coverage on that many trails, why close early? You would think that they'd want to get as much out of their investment as possible. I know I'd probably hike up to elk late March if they're the only mountain open within reasonable driving distance.

Thanks for the info! Unfortunately, I don't think we'll be able to make it this year, but we'll look into it for post-season '05. How late does Killington's season usually go? We'd probably wanna plan for something around April, how are conditions then?

How much? Could you post a link? Thanks!

Looks like HV is out of the question for Thanksgiving. This is the reply I received from an HV rep: "Good morning, Peter. Thanks for your interest in visiting Hidden Valley during the Thanksgiving holiday. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like we'll be able to open until the first week in December. We hope that you'll visit us once we open. Thanks again, Janice"

I hear ya! My fiance and I are toying around with the idea of planning pre- and post-season (PA season) trips to satisfy our snowboarding cravings.

I see.... If we end up going to Shawnee with conditions like that, maybe I'll work on my switch riding. I've been itching to hit the sloples, just about any kind of snow will do for now...

How were the slopes during opening day? Crowded?

What was the difficulty rating (relative to their other trails) would you say the "top to bottom" slope was?

Thanks for the input! Have you ever been to HV? If so, how was it?

It would seem that way, but I've also heard that Shawnee (in the past) has opened with just 1 trail. Any truth to this? FYI - this is Hidden Valley's site if you're interested... http://www.hiddenvalleynj.com/main.html

Hidden Valley is in Northern Jersey, about 2 hours from where I am. Shawnee and Alpine are about 1.5 hours. So if Hidden Valley has better conditions or more trails open I think it'd be worth the additional 30 mins on the road.

As of now, it seems like the only mountains that are planning to open by Thanksgiving weekend (and are within a reasonable driving distance) will be Shawnee, Alpine, and Hidden Valley. Assuming the conditions and number of trails open are comparable between the three, which would you guys go to? I've never been to Hidden Valley or Alpine, and I was too young to remember how Shawnee is.

Board: 04 LibTech Dark Series (152) Bindings: 05 Flow MK4 (Large) Boots: 02 Vans Board and Bindings are new for this season, can't wait to try 'em out! EDIT: Used to ride... Board: 02 Gnu Carbon High Beam (156) Bindings: 02 Flow FL4 (Large)

That would be REALLY SWEET!! Let's hope it gets and stays cold enough!

Right... Anyway, let's hope it's Nov 30. Any insight on how many trails will be open?

Do you mean Nov 30? There is no Nov 31.