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Hold on. Lemme run outside and check the phase of the Moon real quick... Oh yeah, it's the new Moon! I now remember how some kid on that mountain was marveling how he could see both the crescent and the thin round outline. Damn. Now must be the best time to approach Atomic and ask him to hand flex his Kastles w/o fear of being rejected right away. And stupid me has planned a trip to JF instead...

It's interesting that I've been eyeballing the maxpass recently and now you bring it up. How did you end up with two passes in the first place? Maxpass can't be bought as an extension to BM pass, and of all local mountains there is only MC, Windham and Belleayre. How are you using it, if a drive to MC is hard to justify?

I'm glad you like it. My last visit to MC was controversial, I hope I was able to convey that in the report to some extent.

I know you all love MC, some secretly, some so desperately that you piss on its lifts only to keep the place to yourself. I've returned to MC this Thursday again, just to finish it off. Last week I really didn't have enough time to explore because the resort is so spread out, and frankly I don't remember where all the time went... What can I say? MC is both the same, and at the same time has changed! They've figured that skiers' life on the Bear peak was too mellow, and spiced it up by converting the blue run (the only run immune from racing closures) to something with the rolls, banks and other shebangs that people of adventurous mind are bound to love. Really, give the gift of new snow to the fools, and they'll use it well! Other than that the actual snow was awesome. Of course not much remaining of the recent snowfall, it's all been compacted, but nevertheless it was a very grippy and enjoyable coverage allowing one to carve strong and w/o fear of slippage. That is unless you're on the Granite peak, where I had another Deja Vu moment of discovering plenty of icy spots and almost falling on the side. IDK, but from my memories the middle peak of MC is indeed notorious for ice. Must be the microclimate, with a resort that's so wide that the side peaks are not even visible from each other, the weather is bound to vary. You can't just look up Tannersville, PA and assume that you know how it is on the JF slopes. You have to type "Mountain Creek Granite Peak", and then the Weather Channel will tell you if there is something special going on there or not. Speaking of peak sighting, I discovered to my great surprise that Hidden Valley is back in operation. It was brightly lit in the distance. Some internet searching revealed that it's not Hidden Valley anymore, the resort was bought and is used as a non-profit venue to teach kids to ski, but it's just so cool that after installing all the upgrades they can take advantage of them this winter 100%. Back to the MC... It's never boring here. The only fun one can have at BM is the up-and-down kind of fun. You go up, you ski down, you wait in line, you go up, have an occasional forced conversation... Here it's two-dimensional, it's explorational. Since the majority of parking is at the Vernon peak, and the South one protrudes in the distance as an irresistible magnet for snowboarders, you can actually do a small study on these birds watching how they migrate south during the day, and at 8:15pm sharp start their journey back on that long and quiet lift where they can rethink all the victories of the day. After 8:15pm the South peak becomes completely deserted and is the best place to be for a skier, for he no longer fears of being knocked down by a flying board, or tripping over a sitting penguin. Regretfully, some boarders never get to see the South peak because they arrived by a bus and have strict policies of where they get to go. Then you have to listen to their sad stories of how they once were here with their parents and could venture anywhere they wanted. It was fun seeing busses to come. At BM you flee in fear at the first sight of those gapers, here you enjoy listening to their conversations, which can be quite entertaining. "Did you see the sparks that I've made??" - asked one after flying down a mountain bike course (yes, there is that much snow!). "I just love living and being here, I'm a teacher, and every time when it snows I'm off work and pretty much have the mountain to myself". A very high-end, educated and obedient crowd here. Both teachers and kids, mostly from NJ and NY... If they're told to stay at Vernon, they'll never go to the South. I just wish they chose freaking skis over the snowboards! Might be a tad less sparks, but a whole safer for everybody else. I get it why some are so pissed at the Cabriolet. If you really think for a moment, it's the most reliable lift out there. Not once has it stopped or slowed down. It's just a beast running non-stop, and it's fast. There is definitely something to be pissed about. How can a mountain in NJ have something that's so good while others have to endure up to 4 stops at a time on the way up on a gaper's day?! And yeah, it can take 8 people, and yes, salty, it has a dedicated permanent line for singles. I've been pondering about where to go this Sunday all Thursday long. If it was not for the Subaru fest, I'd most likely come back to MC. It's entertaining in some twisted way, and I still have one set of cards left. But too bad, I'm leaning toward giving those Subarus and gourmet coffee a try, so will see MC again at the end of Feb.

Yeah, JF will apparently have only Nordica to try, so unless you already have a cheap ticket to JF, it may definitely not be worth going there just to demo.

What's wrong with today? Is it the fresh snow to blame? Salty gets a pat on the back for good choice of equipment, people are planning to head out to JF and Montage, and even skinny skis get some love in the other thread. I feel like I'm still dreaming, and whatever I have done in the office today will have to be redone once I wake up.

Well, your quote comes from the very bottom of the first article, so one golden star for you.

Now, don't throw anything at me, I just ran into this by accident, and I'm not a researcher in Montana University either. The title of the article is in contradiction with what's said in it, but for what it's worth, here ya go: http://www.montanakaimin.com/news/your-fat-skis-are-killing-your-knees/article_b73f0f3a-b0ba-11e4-9f66-fb3b2e4b192c.html http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2016/feb/10/jennings-thin-is-in-once-again-for-skis/

Yeah, it's like you get to a completely different world after making the initial ascent. There are lifts and restaurants sprinkled all over the slopes, but you rarely have to go down to the villages' level. All day long you just roam on the huge map trying to memorize your way back and checking time periodically. Because if you make the wrong turn or don't make it to the initial point before the closing, you'll be in the wrong village, and then let's hope there is a bus system there.

And not only that, there will also be a Subaru winter fest next weekend with ski demoing possibilities! https://www.jfbb.com/event/new-event-23/

Are you serious? Someone in financial sector makes only a tiny bit more money than a teacher?

Forgot to say Amen at the end.

Oh that's for sure. Will never forgive him for ditching me that night

Well, there are girls in bikinis there too I once went to the CB hotel in search of Starbucks. Didn't find coffee, but the view of surfers there was spectacular.

No, but he has a tendency of waiting for something or someone. You on the bench, lift in the hotel. I feel like the hotel offers a better waiting area.

I can't wait to see which pass Salty buys for the next year. I think he's soo comfy at CB... The hotel beats that bench on top of the six pack all the way.

Did you find your Shiros?

Nah, that varies. But hey, your snow is coming as rain here, so plenty of reasons for being a pessimist.

I'm just thinking straight here. Both things have certain negatives. But you're right, I should take it easier. It's still morning, and some have reading assignments to finish.

It can provoke all sorts of complications though. But frankly, doesn't trivia require a clear head too?

Twisted logic. It would be ok to "reserve" a table on a quiet day because it wouldn't inconvenience anybody - plenty of other spots to choose from. It wouldn't even be "reserving" - just leaving your stuff there, and it's ok because again, nobody would care. On a busy day such stunts are a no-no because there is simply not enough space to accommodate all.

People are lazy. Plus some want to reserve the best spot for themselves. Plus some have so much stuff that no bag check will accept it. They bring backpacks, coolers of food. At JF a Chinese family reserved an entire looooong table with their stuff, left a grandma to look after it and took off skiing. We got tired of searching for a spot, and just sat there despite all the protests.

Ha, I've been riding with a medical today, his chatterbox wouldn't stop transmitting about strangled people at Paradise. Some are afraid to move, some have broken bindings. They've been calling for a sled to be evacuated. The guy said that Paradise is actually a pretty steep trail. Go figure. Just shows what kind of people the mountain was full of in the afternoon. Grrrrr.

Hmmmm, what did I expect... I dunno, I guess same as I saw yesterday at JF, but even better? You know, Monday is not exactly a day off for everybody. And yesterday, on the first skiable "warm" weekend at JF it was nice all day long, line-wise, snow-wise... Only lodge was a mess, but who cares. Here on the following day, the day when schools may be out, but most of parents still work, I get 2-3 hours of skiing followed up by a zoo across the board. Am I surprised? That depends. Peak winter weekends are always a zoo at BM. I've never skied on MLK or President's weekends wisely avoiding them, especially since they're a blackout anyway. Here I guess I got overexcited and a little bit too optimistic. Anyway, I'm done skiing BM on weekends until the end of Feb or even March.

Haha. Today someone was trying to interrogate my daughter about how she dared to move all the stuff that used to be at the table where she sat. After some back and forthing it turned out that someone else has moved the bags before we came. Poor dude left looking for them. Anyway, that served him well. There is plenty of storage in the Summit lodge, and it's a crime to reserve a table on such a busy weekend.