trtaylor

This happened in Maine today http://www.bomberonline.com/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=327408&postcount=9 Although we don't get wind like Maine, still a good idea to ALWAYS put the safety bar down, huh?

Gotta agree. Getting rid of 'Checkpoint Charlie' up top was a huge improvement, too. If it's the new RFID tags that made that possible, then they were worth it. There are some other things being done this year that aren't noticeable to the "seasoned skier". One of them is called the roving instructor program. Doesn't matter to any of us on PASR, but will make a big difference to some first timers. Basically, the ski school, oops, "Learning Center", sends an instructor out on Vista and Burma with some free lesson vouchers. They are looking for the noobs who can't ski 10' w/o falling down and offering a little assistance, as well as a first time lesson voucher. I have spoken with some of the instructors who've done this and the reaction by the customers has been extremely positive. Anyway, props to Blue for making an effort to grow the sport.

This ^ quoted for truth. We were there today and 15+ minute waits at the six pack and quad both, were common. And from what I can tell, the new ticket systems has noting to do with that. I did see several six pack chairs going up with less than 6 people, sometimes only three. Especially in the morning when Razors was closed for race training (lots of racers going up on less than full chairs). For as long as the wait lines were, the trails were relatively crowd free (stay off Paradise and Lazy). Made a few laps on the double-double side and waits there were tolerable. We left around 3:30 and conditions really were staying in good shape.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salting_ski_race_course#Salting Urea is Nitrogen fertilizer. But, mbike-ski is correct, chemically, it is synthetic urine.

Ski instructors were told closing is either 3/21 or 3/28. Will depend on how many people keep coming.

I'll be there. Up top will be crunchy in the morning, likely. Tonight, it was below freezing up top, based on the ice observed on trees my last lift ride up. But forecast for afternoon says going up to 45, so going to end up soft. Sure was wet there today.

FWIW, they were setting up to blow snow tonight on Challenge. At least in the bump area. Saw snowmakers hooking up the hoses around 7 pm.

Wasn't bad up until noon. After that, all the crowd had finally made their way thru the rental shop and hit the slopes. I left Summit area around 2:30 and there were no spots available. Cars were parked almost all the way down to the Blue Mountain Drive entrance.

Sibhusky has it right. Using the Fiberlene paper makes scraping easier. That's not a big deal until you start using the harder waxes, like Toko Blue. But, don't need them much here. The only other thing it does is protect your bases from direct contact with a hot iron. But,crayoning does, as well. I always crayon a layer on first, even if I follow up with dripping some wax on. Sometimes I use the Fiberlene, sometimes I don't.

Looks like the lights may finally be on at Camelback. A little hard to tell for sure, because the web cam is zoomed in on the trail map at the base. But before it was in the dark, now it's not.

NOAA forecast as of 11/29/09 Monday Night: A slight chance of snow showers after 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 25. Northwest wind between 9 and 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Tuesday: A slight chance of rain and snow showers before noon, then a slight chance of rain showers between noon and 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 40. West wind between 8 and 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 26. West wind between 5 and 8 mph becoming calm. Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 45. Wednesday Night: Periods of rain. Low around 36. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Thursday: Rain likely. Cloudy, with a high near 46. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 28. Friday: Partly sunny, with a high near 35. Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 21. Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 33. Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 20.

Pinnacle will still be running the shop at Bear Creek, FWIW.

Does Nestor's not have a decent web site? www.nestors.com is whack.

You should have left your skis with Lionel at Happy Tunes. Ask PhilPug on AlpineZone who he recommends for someone closer.

Thanks. I hope my work schedule lets me do it next year.