Goin Riding ...On the snow that is

[kwells]

it just occured to me that there are some on this board that are near me (CO) and skiers...I've been putting quite a few days in on the mtns here with my board.  I mostly do Copper and Winter Park since I have a pass for them...anyone else heading up is definitely invited..If you dont have a pass I can get discounted tickets too....so let me know.

Kevin W.

[h2olawyer]

I'm always ready to play on the snow.  However, with separate boards for each foot, I never call it 'riding'.   ;D   

No season passes for me in the last few years.  Last pass I had was in 2000 when I was teaching skiing weekends in Steamboat.

From my house, it's closer to Eldora, Snowy Range in Wyoming, Winter Park or Steamboat.  It's an hour & a half to Eldora, 1:45 to Snowy Range, 2:30 to Winter Park & 3 to Steamboat - assuming roads are in decent shape.  It's actually closer for me to get to Winter Park going up Poudre Canyon, over Cameron Pass to Gould, the cut-off to Rand then south over Willow Creek Pass to Granby & on into WP.

I'll let you know when my schedule permits a Winter Park trip.  Can you go on weekdays?  WP is much less crowded from Monday thru Friday.

H₂O

[kwells]

I do normally have work during the week unfortunately but if you like Mary Jane most people dont want to go on that side.  No lift lines.  WP does have its crowds though.   I should be up there this weekend...

Kevin W

[h2olawyer]

I'll see if I can get away.  May also see if I can get one of my friends to go along.  Looks like good conditions.  Plenty of new snow this week up there.

Last time I was at WP, the whole mountain was crowded.  It was last year at the Wells Fargo Bank Cup weekend so there was lots of stuff going on compared to a normal weekend.  Still had fun, though.

I'll let you know tomorrow if I can make it this weekend.

H₂O

[kwells]

sweet.  Of course anyone else is welcome to join

[h2olawyer]

Sorry for the late reply - No go for this weekend.  Next week looks much better.  I really need to get out & make some turns!

H₂O

[kwells]

The snow will still be there for quite some time.  I'll be up at copper sat and sund if u change ur mind.  I'll IM u my number.

kevin

[h2olawyer]

Next weekend (March 10 - 11) looks better all the time.  Just filled the truck with gas & got a 2 for 1 voucher for lift tix @ Winter Park, Copper Mountain, Monarch or Crested Butte.  Voucher has a blackout period starting March 11th for Spring Break.  Still useable on the 10th, though.  Should have made 3 trips as they give one for every 10 gallons.  Oh well - I can always drive more & top it off in a few days.

H₂O

[supervision]

  that's cool, give ticket's for gas purchace.. Probably  probably awsome places to ski too, I have skiied some, but don't feel very comfortable at it. feel's like my legs are comming off at the hips, butt other than that it's good 

[kwells]

Never done monarch or crested butte...maybe next year...

If it feels like ur legs are coming off it means u have to stop braking and go faster.

[h2olawyer]

If you're worried about stopping, aim for the trees.  The sudden deceleration injuries can be a real bitch, though.   ;D

Been skiing for 42 years.  I find it real simple.  Not quite as courageous as I used to be but I still have fun.  Stillo probably more coordinated on skis than I am even just walking.  Anyone can point 'em downhill & go.  I find making well carved turns (& lots of them) much more fun.  Better work out, too.  Not to say I don't like going fast.  I still have a pair of 215cm Head Super G skis from the early 80s.  Those things hate to turn, but are stable at high speed.  I was clocked @ 75MPH on them once.  Wasn't wearing a helmet then & I still don't while skiing.  Doubt I ever will unless those damn PI lawyers force it on me.

Ski technology has changed even more than motorcycles in the last 25 years.  Skis used to be stiff, long & skinny.  Today, they're short & fat with lots of sidecut.  Torsional stiffness is higher than ever but longitudinally they are much softer.  Overall, today's equipment is easier to ski on than the old stuff was.  The technique isn't a lot different but there are some subtleties to take advantage of the dynamics the new skis produce.  Most of today's modern skis are not nearly as stable at higher speeds.  Their width, sidecut & lack of a center groove means they tend to wander back & forth more violently - kind of like headshake.  Just a bit unnerving.

H₂O

[kwells]

I learned on skiis but now I am a boarder.  Not having poles can be a pain sometimes but I am usually with all skiiers and the just lend a pull to get me up and over.

[h2olawyer]

Tried boarding a few times in the late 80s.  Actually got to where I could make turns.  Never had as much fun with my feet locked together so I gave it up.  Skied telemark for a while, too.  Did that when I got bored with traditional alpine skiing.  Made trees & bumps challenging again.  Got lazy & went back to alpine equipment.  Telemark is a real workout!  That was the same era I did a lot of backcountry skiing.  Climbed Quandry Peak & skied down from over 14,000 ft.  That was about 10 years before "peak bagging" became a craze.  Took a couple in depth avalanche courses as well.  Dug lots of snowpits to test shear strength & examine the snowpack.  Even witnessed an avalanche.  Glad we were at a safe distance!

In the mid to late 90s, a group of us used to reserve a snowcat at Chicago Ridge Snowcat Tours.  Ten of us would meet for the day at Ski Cooper (near Leadville) and pay about $100 each.  In 1998 or so, they doubled the price & I wasn't willing to pay that much.  Anyway, it was tons of fun skiing ungroomed often bottomless powder.  Well worth paying double the price of a normal full day ticket at Steamboat or Winter Park.  Too bad it got so popular.   :'(  There are snowcat operations at Monarch, Crested Butte & near Steamboat as well.  Most of the snowcat terrain requires long traverses to get to or from the cat.  One year we had a boarder along & took turns towing him.  Not a big deal for us, but he did say he wished he brought skis instead. 

The smaller ski areas like Monarch, Ski Cooper, Crested Butte, Sunlight & Powderhorn are closer to what skiing was like in the 60s & 70s.  The best thing about them is the lack of crowds.  You don't normally get high speed lifts, but at the same time, the runs aren't filled with people & your muscles have time to recover between runs.  Lots more room to cruise as the legs tire, too.  The prices are more reasonable for everything from lift tix to food & the staff is normally much friendlier.  My favorite place to ski is Snowy Range in Wyoming, about 30 minutes West of Laramie.  Until recently, the lift operators uniforms were Carhartt insulated overalls!  Unfortunately, the log base lodge burned down a few years ago.  The new building is nice but lacks any real charm.

The only areas I haven't skied in Colorado are Wolf Creek, Silverton, Monarch, Beaver Creek, Arapaho Basin & Cuchara (when they have snow).  There used to be a ski area in Rocky Mountain National Park.  Hidden Valley was great.  Three chairlifts & a rope tow.  That was where I learned to snowboard.  They removed the lifts in the early 90s & began restoration efforts the next year.  It's hard to see exactly where the lifts & runs were, but I can still point them out.  Gets more difficult every year.  They've done a good job in the restoration.  If they were still open, I'd be teaching skiing up there.  Only about an hour from my front door.

H₂O

[kwells]

Copper Mtn has free Snowcat dropoff to their Tucker bowl or western copper bowl whichever isnt closed...did that last sunday...wow what a blast...65 degree dropins and more powder than I knew what to do... Me and some friends are going to do Silverton next year.  That should be phenomenal.

[h2olawyer]

Well, kwells & I finally got to play on the snow.  Winter Park was in good shape & received several inches of snow during the day.  Kind of a long day - I left my house @ 6 this morning, met up with Kevin around 10, skied until about 3 and came home.  Most enjoyable day sliding & talking things Vision & motorcycle.  Amazingly enough, it was my first day on boards this season.  Figured I'd be one severely whipped pup by day's end.  Not nearly as bad as I anticipated.  Especially since we found some groomed runs, bumps & even trees.  I don't normally venture into trees until I've had a few days on boards for the year.  Snow conditions were tricky but made it through without hitting any trees or limbs.  (At least not hard enough to damage either me or the tree.  :D )

That Copper Mountain snowcat skiing sounds great.  May have to try it later this month!  Haven't been cat skiing in about 8 years.

H₂O