Ride Delaware ?

I know most of the ski patrollers in our area are volunteers... Farther North, say Killington, Stowe, Sugarbush, Mount Snow etc etc, are there paid ski patrollers? I'm pretty sure there are, I just want to check since I was thinking of possibly living up north in the 2010-2011 season and wanted to know if that was a possibility...

I'm just going to chalk this one up to Elk being Elk... Don't read too much into this... I am sure there is nothing going on except for a few down to earth local employees have not been able to put the flyers together yet... It will happen in due time...

Does anybody wear a jacket that DOES NOT have a removable hood? Is it an absolute pain in the ass?

I've always wondered how scarce the water supply is at Elk and whether or not that is the reason that early season output is so much slower there than at other area resorts despite their temperature advantage. I know that their trails are wider and "longer", but they usually start making snow before everyone else but only open their solid 4-5 trails. Im always hoping that they can increase output... Maybe this is the first step...

Im going to bet its before then... They only need 2 nights of snowmaking in a row, and Im guessing they will have it the beginning of November...

What is the process and tools needed to refinish your base?

Since I went to school at Lehigh, and a friend of mine lives right off the turn off from 145, I don't have this problem at Blue, but if I were going to sleep in the car overnight, I would do it without thinking twice. Especially if you have an SUV or Mini Van that you can pull the seats down and get a decent sleep... A car would kinda suck... Either way, if you want to ride or ski, just throw the sleeping bag in the back and a couple handwarmers and go to town...

Those are some pretty legit prices. If we had this option at Blue Mountain or Camelback with the same relative price discounts, I would nab a season pass too... This will be my first year in 5 years without one...

Depending on conditions and open terrain, I'll probably be coming up that weekend and Dec 10... I usually stay away on weekends, but my guess is that there will be no crowds that early in the season... I'll probably go to Lehigh to visit with some friends and then drive up in the morning... Hoping for a cold start...

I wouldn't use a Nalgene. They are damn good bottles you should be using to drink out of, and regardless of what you say, it is a little disconcerting to drink out of a bottle you just pissed in. Use a gatorade bottle... Cheaper and disposable...

I was looking for a new jacket and I was looking at something like the Burton Arctic Jacket... It DOES NOT have to be a Burton, but I would like a warm winter jacket since I do most of my riding nowadays north of PA. I would prefer something without a hood. Any ideas?

I love Elk, so I am stoked to hear it... I'm guessing that opening day will be the same as years past with East Slope, West Slope, Susquehanna, Delaware, and Beginner Slope open... Unfortunately, even with good weather, the opening won't be any earlier...

Oh, I would never go on a weekend up North... I would definitely keep it in PA, maybe southern New York...

I'm hoping to have a little more disposable income this year, so I may try and hit up some early season weekends before the crowds... I'm not too much on crowds...

I'm down in Delaware, but I have a friend who lives right beside Nestors in Whitehall. Could anyone that is going tonight tell me if they have any good/cheap snowboard boot bags?

P-Architect, maybe you can give us some insight on this, but last year Camelback had some great early season snowmaking and we believe could have easily opened lift serviced for the weekend after T-Day. However, they only opened a hike park. What was the logic behind this? I'm pretty sure turnout woulda been pretty good over the 3 day weekend. Was there not enough staff? Whats the deal?

I've been trolling alpinezone, and they have a thread that asks this, but I was wondering if we actually have any WRODs. I know that Big Boulder has a WROD, and when Shawnee opens early, they link 4 trails together for an impressive WROD, but overall, would you even say Blue or Camelback have WRODs? They don't open early enough and usually have enough trails with a good base. I know that Elk opens with 4 trails, but their trails are usually legit with like a 30 inch base with side to side coverage. Expecting any WRODs this year, or is PA just not into opening as early as possible?

I also got a new helmet... I picked it up at the end of last year on clearance, so I kinda forgot...

I got a new Burton Custom 08', Burton Custom 09' bindings, and Spy Targa II goggles. Im still hoping to pick up a new boot bag too... I've been using a Transpack the last 7 years or so... It holds my boots, helmet, and goggles. Anybody have any suggestions, or should I stick with the same?

I'm guessing this means that there are none around here?

I guess the silence answers that question...

Well, the amount of Mountains in the Adirondacks is limited. You best choices are the obvious 2, Gore and Whiteface. I haven't been to Whiteface, but Gore is about as legit as it gets, and I went before they added Burnt Ridge. If you luck out and hit it on a powder day, there are tons of trees. Plus, they really don't mind you going off piste. When I was there 3 years ago there were signs off the side of random trails that said "Caution, Ski Patrol Boundary, Ski at your Own Risk" So, from that standpoint, the mountain had good lift service and great cruisers. Twister is still my favorite trail in the Northeast.

I ended up getting an 08 custom 158 and 09 custom bindings for $300. I had 06 bindings, but the baseplate broke and they were covered by the lifetime warranty. Pretty sweet deal, and now I have a legit rock board. I'm ready for the season baby!!!

While I was at Elk Mountain in late Feb/Early March exploring some off piste powder, I had my edge of the base pushed in, the metal edge split, and the bottom pushed out . The elk repair guy said he could replace the edge and fix the base in a day for $28. I went to Happy Tunes in Sugarloaf, ME and they only repair and tune, and he said the same fix would take him a week and $150. I got the base beat down, sidewall epoxied, and the entire base resurfaced and flattened for $55. It was as good as new except for the crack in the metal edge which I just need to keep an eye on in case it pulls out. Is there any shop that specifically tunes and is excellent at it? I mean, I loved the job so much in Maine that I want to go there every other year to get my boards fully tuned. Any ideas?

Anybody have any updates on how the second half of the summer is going at the Cove?