Its Baaaack: EC roll call version 4.0(beta)

[DoWork]

After tele-backflips Pinhead is now dadofdropkneesteeze.

Pffffffffahahahahahaahahahahahaha... Awesome.

[theskiman]

I'm having my virgin experience at the 'Loaf this weekend. I was planning on doing the straight drive from Boston to the 'Loaf on Friday, but now I'm thinking about stopping off to ski somewhere that's on the way to the 'Loaf.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a place on the way from Boston to the 'Loaf?

In looking at the map I'm thinking possibly Shawnee Peak in ME or Black Mountain in NH. Does anyone have any info on those places? Neither is a huge place, but I'm just looking for some place that's not too much of a detour where I can ride solo for a few hours, and possibly hit some leftover fresh (since I have to miss out on it on Thursday).

[BigAirSkier1580]

A little late, but better than never!

Here's some stoke photos provided courtesy of Mr. Ian Ray. I share some shots from Magic (with a Timber Ridge lifestyle shot thrown in for good measure) on 1/13/2011.

Day began with us going straight to find some fresh snow in a nice little slot. Check out those sexy pole plants and upright upper body form...


We continued to find untouched canvas' to paint with some beautiful turns down Slide of Hans with 15-20" of untouched blower.


Towards the bottom, we pulled off into a little short, but sweet section that rewarded us with numerous great turns (and a few nice nicks to our bases).


With our options on the west side of Magic dwindling, we headed east and found some slots to make a few good turns in.


With our legs torched from Magic's excellent steep 2,000' of continous vertical, we called the day around 2pm and swapped over to Magic's forgotten backside, Timber Ridge. We set out on bootpack with the skis strapped to our backs and ripped some fun turns and snagged some lifestyle photos to boot...


We nailed a strobe shot at dusk, but not sure if Ian is holding out on that one for future use, or if he was unhappy with how it turned out.

All in all, a great day! Huge thanks to Ian for documenting the shredding that occurred!

[uppernotmaster]

Great shots Ian Ray. Thanks for putting em' up BigAirSkier.

[gpcharles]

wow! two old-birds with one stone!? my aim is good. ;D

anyway, jay peak was very good yesterday. ran into angryswede a few laps into the morning, and then proceeded to shred all day. we started off the morning with a few groomer laps on can am in the sun. when Can Am went into the shade, we then went off and skied untracked hardwoods in the afternoon sun untill we ran out of daylight... the mountain was very quiet and untracked snow was really everywhere and easy to get to. I was frankly surprised how much low hanging fruit their was to be honest several days after a storm. I guess even the die hard jay folk apparently have a bottom limit to what temp they'll ski in.... that, or the place is just always like this

after a day of schuss, backcountryben, angryswede and I then got to try out the new "jay experience" by staying in the new tram haus, and enjoying all of it's amentities, and all i can say is: "good... very very good"

jay's done a good thing by expanding as they have. they've preserved their ski mountain (and it's lift ticket prices) while expanding the amenities to offer the services many of their guests were asking for... if they can make it work financially, i see no reason to be mad (especially once the parking situation finally clears itself up)...

more skiing now...pics later at the end of this whole thing up here.

[BigAirSkier1580]

Great shots Ian Ray. Thanks for putting em' up BigAirSkier.

You're welcome! Always glad to share some stoke! I only get a day or 2 at Magic each season, but it's always one of the best days of the season for sure!

[Devils Fiddle]

No it was Vt plates ford 150 but lincoln version black and it was bear creek

That was most likely one of the owners. Two former members who have homes on the the hill purchased it and ski there with friends and family regularly. They aren't known for being nice guys. Friend is a member and she mentioned the new owners were cranky about people skiing there lately.

[gpcharles]

answer this: what do you lose if lift tickets stay the same or go down?

i see why your knee jerk reaction to the place is bad. i thought it was gross at first when i walked in there. and i'll be honest: it's off putting when you walk in there, and are overwhelmed by the infrastructure. if you just want to ski it's not clear you're welcome when there's a brick wall of condos in your face...

but if you as a die-hard skier who doesn't care about that crap doesn't lose anything... what's the problem?

i think at this moment jay is doing a good job of having the mtn as it always has been for you Dave... and simultaneously having the new stuff for other folks.

and please read what i wrote. I very carefully chose to say "if they can make it work financially"... meaning "if they can make money to hire folks to do jobs, and pay tax money to the state and not leave a rotting pile of empty hotels" then it's a success.

thats a big fkn if... and i never said it was a foregone conclusion...

it'd also be a shame to see it turn into another Stowe :/

[peterslovo]

I'm having my virgin experience at the 'Loaf this weekend. I was planning on doing the straight drive from Boston to the 'Loaf on Friday, but now I'm thinking about stopping off to ski somewhere that's on the way to the 'Loaf.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a place on the way from Boston to the 'Loaf?

In looking at the map I'm thinking possibly Shawnee Peak in ME or Black Mountain in NH. Does anyone have any info on those places? Neither is a huge place, but I'm just looking for some place that's not too much of a detour where I can ride solo for a few hours, and possibly hit some leftover fresh (since I have to miss out on it on Thursday).

Shawnee is small, but can be quite fun - I've had some great midweek days there. However, it does get a bit boring after about 1/2 day unless you want to explore a bit off the mountain, as otherwise you'll basically be lapping the same few runs over and over. Glades have improved, and are quite good in fresh snow for its size. It does have very good night skiing for being an hour from Portland.

During the week, would be worth it - weekends, no - gets crowded and is not worth the cost IMO ($39 vs $56 day tix; $33 vs. $46 half day...and you can talk them into a morning 1/2 day tix if needed).

If the main lift gets crowded, head over to the Sunnyside triple.

No experience with Black.

[kingdom-tele]

answer this: what do you lose if lift tickets stay the same or go down?

when did they go down?

here I thought J wasn't mt enough for FIS standards

mid week J is the true experience IMO

[gpcharles]

when did they go down?

never said they did. the word "if" is really complex... but it implies a hypothetical.

[kingdom-tele]

I'm having my virgin experience at the 'Loaf this weekend. I was planning on doing the straight drive from Boston to the 'Loaf on Friday, but now I'm thinking about stopping off to ski somewhere that's on the way to the 'Loaf.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a place on the way from Boston to the 'Loaf?

In looking at the map I'm thinking possibly Shawnee Peak in ME or Black Mountain in NH. Does anyone have any info on those places? Neither is a huge place, but I'm just looking for some place that's not too much of a detour where I can ride solo for a few hours, and possibly hit some leftover fresh (since I have to miss out on it on Thursday).

shawnee always seemed expensive for the terrain, maybe thats different now.

black is a fun place -well worth the ticket price. but if you going that far why not just ski the kitty.

[Doremite]

when did they go down?

here I thought J wasn't mt enough for FIS standards

mid week J is the true experience IMO

I think Saturdays are where it's at. Much more action at the Tram Bar. In all seriousness as saddened as I was by the expansion at one point it really isn't getting to me all that much anymore. As long as it doesn't clog uphill travel and the skiing remains as decent as it has been over the last decade why do I really care? I buy a discounted pass, rarely spend any money at the mountain other than a couple SB's at Tram Bar apres and I'm out. I can't really see them staying financially viable off the like of my kind, so I assume someone somewhere crunched the #s on this one and perhaps it is in their long term viable interest to market to a more diversified audience. Likely hard to run that place on 4-5 months of ticket sales and fry orders at Stateside. "If" as Greg said, it really does create much needed jobs in the region and they can keep bodies in those beds to maintain those jobs, who am I to bitch because my lift "lines" just got longer (again, hoping the don't). If not, it's a monstrous waste on a number of levels. Hard to root for them to fail here. As much as I missed 2nd hand smoke in the Eagle, I'm slowly warming to the new infrastructure. So what if a breaky sandwich, espresso and bottle of water costs me $10 at the Aroma Cafe....

[kingdom-tele]

never said they did. the word "if" is really complex... but it implies a hypothetical.

oh, right. so the going down part is hypothetical. delusional might be a better choice.

enjoy the massage G

edit: saw your post Doremite. just to clarify, I am not against the development, in fact, support it. Jay makes a good effort with getting the local kids on the mountain - and now have non skiing options that have re- energized the area

that being said 49 is still a bigger number that 35. correct G?

[Doremite]

oh, right. so the going down part is hypothetical. delusional might be a better choice.

enjoy the massage G

Oh yea, and wife digs the spa given the bathrooms at our ski house leave a lot to be desired. Wife digging spa = more ski time for me. +1 for Stenger.

[dumpy]

As someone who loves Jay Peak, favorite Eastern mountain, hands down, but no longer lives close enough to ski it without an overnight stay- I like the fact that there are added lodging options. I miss skiing Jay, but a trip there has always been somewhat of a pain and expensive- unless staying at Grunt's. Not bringing the Missus there....

Granted I haven't been to Jay yet this season, so I'm not sure how the changes fit with the rest of the mountain, but I like the idea of more beds in the Jay area- assuming the snow, glades and vibe stay basically the same. I don't think a new hotel and ice rink can kill all of that, if done properly.

I do not want Jay to be another Killington, Okemo or even Stowe, but Sugarbush might be a good starting point if you're looking for a well balanced mountain.

Edit: Page top intentional irony given my pro capitalism rant tunes bitches..

[gravitylover]

Haven't been to Shawnee but Black is definitely the kind of place you can find fresh shots days after a storm. The place has a nice pitch and a good ol' New England vibe.

I'm having my virgin experience at the 'Loaf this weekend. I was planning on doing the straight drive from Boston to the 'Loaf on Friday, but now I'm thinking about stopping off to ski somewhere that's on the way to the 'Loaf.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a place on the way from Boston to the 'Loaf?

In looking at the map I'm thinking possibly Shawnee Peak in ME or Black Mountain in NH. Does anyone have any info on those places? Neither is a huge place, but I'm just looking for some place that's not too much of a detour where I can ride solo for a few hours, and possibly hit some leftover fresh (since I have to miss out on it on Thursday).

[Mark Elet]

yea, not to mention roadtripping to manchester to see if there were any bands playing anywhere (are there even any music venues/bars in m'chester - or just outlets?).

A local here chiming in on the Zippy Apres. The Perfect Wife usually has music for the skiers. Stratton and Bromley usually have some form of apres, but are all over by 6 or 7 PM. Stratton has recently implemented a late night music scene on weekends with acts such as Twiddle (local groovers) and Rustic Overtones. The Red Fox, and the Fat Spy in Bondville also host music on weekends.
There is not a lot to do after the lifts close and the sun sets. Probably the reason why I gave up the sanctioned apres and just put on me headlamp for some skinning.

[roark]

I'm having my virgin experience at the 'Loaf this weekend. I was planning on doing the straight drive from Boston to the 'Loaf on Friday, but now I'm thinking about stopping off to ski somewhere that's on the way to the 'Loaf.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a place on the way from Boston to the 'Loaf?

In looking at the map I'm thinking possibly Shawnee Peak in ME or Black Mountain in NH. Does anyone have any info on those places? Neither is a huge place, but I'm just looking for some place that's not too much of a detour where I can ride solo for a few hours, and possibly hit some leftover fresh (since I have to miss out on it on Thursday).

Also consider Mount Abrahm in ME.

[Doremite]

If the model holds true to other areas that have allready gone down this road, the vast majority of the jobs created will be seasonal, low paying (thus bring down the pay scale throughout the entire surrounding area in hospitality industry jobs) and be farmed out to south americans who come on temp visas, work for 8 bucks an hour and leave during the off season. As for the development itself, I just don't like to see it from the hill tops. In so many towns there are empty buildings, run down village centers ect. This is where I'd like to see money coming in to the housing situation in VT. Not building Condos at the base of a ski area, at the headwaters of some river I probably boat in or fish in. As for lift tickets....not my world.

I was lucky enough to be up at J the weekend of 3/17-3/18.2007. It snowed 20 inches Friday night and 20 inches Saturday night. I had such a good fucking time. Been back for some BC in the area. They get the snow. I love the mountain. Great storm. The backside delivered!
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/btv/events/S..._summary.shtml
Hate to see more development anywhere in VT away from established villages and town centers.

My understanding is that every $500K of foreign investment has to create 10 jobs for folks in the area - I don't think they can go to just anyone. Someone correct me if I'm wrong here. Also, by building the golf course, conference center, ice rink and water park they are really hoping to keep these jobs year round. My main empathy for this endeavor is the much needed boost to the local economy. If it fails to do that - again - monstrous failure. I wish they had the infrastructure of Silverton... just not sure that is economically viable. ....but I don't claim to have any knowledge of "resort" management or what it really takes to keep a ski mountain financially viable.

Just an afterthought that perhaps having a cornerstone in the region that will create a significant number sustainable jobs for the local population should trump my (our) desire to have a bare bones throw back ski hill with little skier traffic. As we've mentioned, the skiing is not going anywhere. Someone may want to book mark this to remind me of this sentiment when I'm bitching about lift lines and the death of the Jay vibe a couple seasons from now....

[lynchdogger]

The Perfect Wife

Huh? There is no such thing . . . although mine is close. Another Powder day Thursday. Love the fact she works from home. Where to go?!!!

Strawjack? - Cannon?
Rog? - Loon? Not now with all this snow! Gotta find some legit steeps n trees. But you are welcome.
Magic Fiends - are you going to get it?

Hmmm . . . ?

[gpcharles]

If the model holds true to other areas that have allready gone down this road, the vast majority of the jobs created will be seasonal, low paying (thus bring down the pay scale throughout the entire surrounding area in hospitality industry jobs) and be farmed out to south americans who come on temp visas, work for 8 bucks an hour and leave during the off season. As for the development itself, I just don't like to see it from the hill tops. In so many towns there are empty buildings, run down village centers ect. This is where I'd like to see money coming in to the housing situation in VT. Not building Condos at the base of a ski area, at the headwaters of some river I probably boat in or fish in. As for lift tickets....not my world.

I was lucky enough to be up at J the weekend of 3/17-3/18.2007. It snowed 20 inches Friday night and 20 inches Saturday night. I had such a good fucking time. Been back for some BC in the area. They get the snow. I love the mountain. Great storm. The backside delivered!
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/btv/events/S..._summary.shtml
Hate to see more development anywhere in VT away from established villages and town centers.

agreed 100%

If that is the end game at Jay, then I would be the first to say the new Jay was a complete disaster.

Right now though, I'm pretty optimistic about what's going on up there. Investment in the north country is investment in the north country. Period. Every group of 100 low paid low skill American workers needs a real manager, and it's a net gain for the dollar flow in the region. (no comment on the immigrant worker thing since i have on info) Know what' i'm saying?

But you're right... it could turn out very ugly if a few wrong decisions are made.

Nevertheless, I'm an optimist about this development, as is Doremite and many others. All I can say concretely about your concerns though is that Stenger is aware of them. And regardless, there's no stopping what's happening up there right now, so we better hope it works. Know what i'm saying?

[jgb@etree]

As someone who loves Jay Peak, favorite Eastern mountain, hands down, but no longer lives close enough to ski it without an overnight stay- I like the fact that there are added lodging options. I miss skiing Jay, but a trip there has always been somewhat of a pain and expensive- unless staying at Grunt's. Not bringing the Missus there....

I feel almost the same way. Used to ski Jay 20+ days a year until about 10 years ago when I moved from Albany & the trip became way too far. I haven't been there in the last two years.

Your comment about GG's brought back a funny memory. Back when I was dating Mrs. JGB, I made the mistake of taking her to Grandpa Grunts. Fortunately they saw the look on her face when she walked in and said, "Well, I've got a house that I rent out down the road that you can stay in for the same price". Thank god. I thought she was going to shit when she walked into the place.

[strawjack]

Strawjack? - Cannon?

i cannot go thurs. i'm off with ski club friday and the jay trip around the corner...i need to get shit done at work. i'll be up there this wkend w/ the new helmet cam. that thing will b fun w/ kids...and the knuckleheads on the jay trip

[dumpy]

Every group of 100 low paid low skill American workers needs a real manager, and it's a net gain for the dollar flow in the region. (no comment on the immigrant worker thing since i have on info) Know what' i'm saying?

All of those low paid workers, US citizens or otherwise, also need to buy food, supplies, booze, etc.

That can't hurt local shops....