indiggio

Right on! Although that can get expensive (see next point) Hit up the pre-season tent sales. Other year, picked up a pair of Fischer racers for like $70 that looked like they were used once, if that! Lots of people with money ski and they want the latest and greatest and are willing to give away their old stuff for practically nothing.

Guy at work got deathly ill over in Japan, some kind of heart issue. Was on disability for almost a year. I think I'd take my chances to ski that powder!

Spot on! I have a pair of Line Prophet 100 and love them for long radius, all mountain carving on either hard ice, groomed and afternoon piles. Very fun ski! The metal laminate is great for cruising, especially noticeable at high speeds, where it dampens the chatter and makes the ski feel more stable. Forget them for bumps, too wide, too stiff! 90's would probably work better, but even they're too wide and the twin tips are annoying.

Definitely! No substitute for experience! When they can control their speed, introduce them into the bumps! Start them early enough and they'll be zipper-lining them in no time!

No argument! Agree 100%, if they don't want people sliding it, rope it off! Damn! The entire place would be strung with orange tape! There are no signs that say you can't ski off piste, so they need to deal with it if they don't rope it off. The mountain is also being hypocritical by providing glades, enticing people to ski the trees.

SP just doesn't want to be bothered (or can't..) with going down and pulling someone that's hurt, out.

Patrollers were whistling at kids from chairs on Sunday, making them get off the "runs" under the lifts. Can't have any fun...

They all have walkie-talkies. Why they don't just call it open so that both places let people go at the same time is beyond me...

Way cool!

Definitely what the guys are saying, you're still fighting the mountain. Fear of speed, steep, whatever is the biggest cause of this, with the lack of experience thrown in. Learn to attack the mountain, don't react to it. See where you want to go and ignore what's under your feet (look further down the mountain). Your brain will remember what you see up ahead. Don't be looking down at your ski tips, you shouldn't see them in your field of view at all. Eventually, with more experience, your moves will become effortless, you'll surf the mountain and flow with the snow. Skiing will become very effortless and you won't be near as wiped out after a day, unless you're skiing the bumps! :-) When waiting in the lift lines, learn to lean on your boot tongues to get the feeling of leaning forward, then bend at the knees to put yourself into a stacked position.

Put in a half day at Blue yesterday, since full days on weekends leave lots of sh!t to get done... At opening it was 10 at the summit to squeaky, fast snow. Titty sparkles could be seen on each lift ride. Razors was groomed to perfection and very fast, as was Challenge and Dreamweaver. Best trail still was Switchback with it's mix of natural and man-made and few skiers, made for an excellent carving extravaganza. Chute bumps were big with lots of ice between. Barney's were hard, but fun and lappable. Crowds were moderate, with early lines, but VIP was virtually empty. Doubles were packed. Hopefully the warm-up this week won't do too much to spoil the conditions.

Definitely, someone's pockets were properly lined...

Can't understand why they'd pick Sochi for a site in the first place??

The Internet makes the world one big time zone...

White doesn't even medal..

I've been noticing the lack of crowds as the lift ticket counters as well. Going out to grab snack around noon, there's hardly anybody in the ticket lines. However, some of this may be due to the ability to purchase tickets online at a discount. Also think that the mountains are pricing out many through the cost of a ticket. The price may be justifiable through the mountain's budget, but the same accounting doesn't apply to people's stagnant income levels and their budgets.

Indeed, we're quite spoiled by high-speed detachables. Start getting torqued if the wait in the VIP line is more than a couple of minutes... Forgot how bad it used to be when there were only the double doubles.

Then why the F are the lift lines so damn long? http://qz.com/175664/the-descending-popularity-of-downhill-skiing-in-america/

Looks like Deneen is done. Can't keep up with the young guns.

Think the kicker at the top of the final headwall will be open?

Flying down Razor's... Oh wait, no, it's the Sochi downhill. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNXAIj0sP6I

Mother used to regale us with stories about using old corncobs and pages from Sears catalog for toilet paper when she grew up during depression...

And plenty of warm weather... Ugh! Hang in there!

That sucks! Any threat of pipes freezing without any heat??

Not sure if it was commonplace at other areas, but I remember being warned about catching air off moguls/lips back then at Blue. I recall a few years back, that inverted aerials were a no-no as well...