Best Gaper qoute of the weekend?

[Cocximus]

Sometimes I troll the gondola by mentioning the epic app locals secret code that gives better lift status and forecast. Beats the radio.

[old goat]

When my kid was on patrol at OV I would get super secret opening updates--like such and such is going to open in 30 minutes. Alas it was only for 2 years.

[paulster2626]

When my kid was on patrol at OV I would get super secret opening updates--like such and such is going to open in 30 minutes. Alas it was only for 2 years.

Skied with whipski (great guy, by the way) and his ex-patroller pals at Snowmass on a powder day once. They had the same intel; it was magnificent. I tell the story as one of them having a radio, but it was probably just a cell phone. I've told the lie so many times it's become truth to me.

[Gnar_Shralp406]

At Big Sky talking about the Challenger lift: "I hit a pinecone yesterday and that was terrifying! I can't even imagine hitting a rock!"

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[old goat]

At Big Sky talking about the Challenger lift: "I hit a pinecone yesterday and that was terrifying! I can't even imagine not hitting a rock!"

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

FIFY

[Lvovsky]

Me to the guy next to me on the chair who carries a radio for eavesdropping on ski patrol: Hey, they just opened the upper mountain chair!
Guy: Yeah, they’re probably not gonna be able to open it today because of low vis.
Me: But, they just opened it. They just updated the website to say it’s open.
Guy: Yeah, they were saying if it doesn’t happen before noon it’s probably not going to happen.
Me: I’m looking at it. Right. Now. It’s really open.
Guy: Yeah, I bet they’re still bombing up there. Probably have to wait till tomorrow. Was still closed ten minutes ago when I was over on that side of the hill. See up there at the top? It’s running but there aren’t any people on the chairs.
Me (#*^$!%@!! OMGWTF??? Gah!!!!!!): Because they just started loading it! Okay, man, have a good one. I’m heading on up!
Guy 100% non-ironically yelling after me as I get off the chair and make haste for the actually open chairlift: DON’T BOTHER! YOU’RE WASTING YOUR TIME! I WOULD KNOW IF IT WAS OPEN!


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How does one find out patrol radio frequency? Befriend a patroller?

[Alpinord]

How does one find out patrol radio frequency? Befriend a patroller?

Sounds like the guy might have been on the Troller frequency.

[lucknau]

How does one find out patrol radio frequency? Befriend a patroller?

I guess it depends. The list of reserved frequency bands is publicly available. As long as the users aren’t encrypting transmissions, anyone with a compatible two-way radio can tune in.


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[gregorys]

Me to the guy next to me on the chair who carries a radio for eavesdropping on ski patrol: Hey, they just opened the upper mountain chair!
Guy: Yeah, they’re probably not gonna be able to open it today because of low vis.
Me: But, they just opened it. They just updated the website to say it’s open.
Guy: Yeah, they were saying if it doesn’t happen before noon it’s probably not going to happen.
Me: I’m looking at it. Right. Now. It’s really open.
Guy: Yeah, I bet they’re still bombing up there. Probably have to wait till tomorrow. Was still closed ten minutes ago when I was over on that side of the hill. See up there at the top? It’s running but there aren’t any people on the chairs.
Me (#*^$!%@!! OMGWTF??? Gah!!!!!!): Because they just started loading it! Okay, man, have a good one. I’m heading on up!
Guy 100% non-ironically yelling after me as I get off the chair and make haste for the actually open chairlift: DON’T BOTHER! YOU’RE WASTING YOUR TIME! I WOULD KNOW IF IT WAS OPEN!


:::::@:::::

Funny enough this sounds like a conversation you had with me - or at least it follows the general contours of a conversation I had with someone on Wed. (At least I think it was last Wed.) Most all the high points you mention are there.

* Was Cascade open - I wasn't sure. I hadn't heard on the radio for sure.

Yes, the website may say it's open, but that's not always true. In the last couple of weeks, they had Heather as "open" on all the reader-boards, and Patrol was letting people drop into A-Zone, but Heather was 20m+ from turning yet. I heard lift-ops call Patrol on it, complaining that people were suddenly and unexpectedly hopping in line at Heather. "WTH is going on?" Since it was only going to be like ~15m more minutes till it was pre-op and fully staffed at that point, they left everything as it was.

* Was Heather open? Still not sure, but the details I'd heard were that Cascade and Heather would open now (like 10a, IIRC), provisionally, with patrol saying that if vis didn't improve markedly by noon, they'd bail. (What exactly they'd bail on wasn't clear - Heather or the whole upper mountain.)

I don't recall, at all, the call-out as we got off the lift tho.

Since I do carry a radio with patrol on one channel, and I don't know that I've ever met anyone else doing so (outside of my ski-buddies), it's hard to conclude that it's someone else. But it's interesting since I recall the details quite differently.

Perhaps it's just the imperfect communication, having difficulty hearing on the chair and trying to convey details well isn't always easy - especially when you're not entirely sure what's going on anyway...
I'm fine being the gaper - no shame there. (Well, I guess I wouldn't want to come across like "that dude" though.)
But it perhaps adds some humility/grace when I feel like other people are "dumb" and don't get what I'm trying to tell them - in whatever context. Perhaps it's not them. Perhaps it's me. Perhaps both of us.

Cheers @lucknau
Hope to get a lap with you someday.
(We traded some bindings a few years ago too. Seems like [my] Markers for [your] Attacks, IIRC.)

On other notes - having patrol and lift-ops on is quite handy - you can avoid chairs that are down, repeatedly; get good lines as they rope-drop and generally have an idea what's going on. Pretty handy. And calling out details to your buddies above or below you is icing on the cake. Way more effective than a phone, IMO.

[lucknau]

Hah. Oh shit! Yeah, I made up the last part.


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[gregorys]

How does one find out patrol radio frequency? Befriend a patroller?

It's really quite easy.
Google usually steers you in the right direction.
(Depending on the company that owns the hill, the operating company name might not match, so figure out what the corporate entity name is - it'll help you search more effectively.)

For example
https://www.google.com/search?q=mt+h...site%3Afcc.gov

The FCC hit shows all the frequencies.
If you know a bit about radio ops, you can see those frequencies are all paired. (all the 450-460mhz ones, at least)
One frequency is the "input" for the repeater. The other is the output.
If you're not going to try to transmit, (and you shouldn't unless it's an emergency) then you don't care about the input.

In this particular case, MHM has DCS or CTCSS encoding/filtering on the input (and I'm pretty sure its transmitted on the output too). Without the right DCS/CTCSS code on the input the repeater won't re-transmit your transmission on the output. I've never really spent any significant effort to track down the CTCSS/DTS codes - so even using it in an emergency won't work.

Glad to discuss in another thread if anyone is interested.

[Edit to add: Patrol, or anyone else at the mountain is super unlikely to know any significant details about their radio system. Almost certainly any, even modest, ski hill is going to pay a commercial outfit to design, setup and process all the paperwork for their radio system. Perhaps a really small outfit with a Ham-radio friend might do their own setup, but I doubt it.]

[m2711c]

[Lvovsky]

I guess it depends. The list of reserved frequency bands is publicly available. As long as the users aren’t encrypting transmissions, anyone with a compatible two-way radio can tune in.


:::::@:::::

Thanks! Frequency was an easy google search away.


My cheep motorola walkie talkie doesn’t support them frequency. Looks like I need a radio that can go to 460-461MHz and be able to tune to specific freq rather than pre assigned channel.

Baofeng pops up in searches. Good choice for a gaper?

[lucknau]

Thanks! Frequency was an easy google search away.


My cheep motorola walkie talkie doesn’t support them frequency. Looks like I need a radio that can go to 460-461MHz and be able to tune to specific freq rather than pre assigned channel.

Baofeng pops up in searches. Good choice for a gaper?

Yep. Baofeng radios are a great, cheap, entry level toy. That’s what I started on for personal use. Technically you’re supposed to have a Level 1 (HAM radio) license to use VHF/UHF for two-way communications, but if you’re not planning to be a troll you should be fine. Options abound, but there’s a set of frequencies reserved for BCA radios that you should be able to use freely for two-way comms, plus you can tune in to whatever else you want (e.g. ski patrol). I think there’s a thread on here somewhere with conversations at length about the Baofeng. It might help you decide which one to get, how to program it, and whether to accessorize.


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[Lvovsky]

It's really quite easy.

...
If you're not going to try to transmit, (and you shouldn't unless it's an emergency) then you don't care about the input.

….the CTCSS/DTS codes - so even using it in an emergency won't work.

Glad to discuss in another thread if anyone is interested.

So I can listen if I tune in to the right frequency but cannot transmit unless I have a magic code?

If create a new thread for every thread drift, it would be madness. But may be we do need one.

Any recommendations on a descent radio for a noob?

[lucknau]

So I can listen if I tune in to the right frequency but cannot transmit unless I have a magic code?

If create a new thread for every thread drift, it would be madness. But may be we do need one.

Any recommendations on a descent radio for a noob?

https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...ions-questions


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[::: :::]

I was just wondering this the other day as we cycled ssx wondering when the gates would drop. So, can’t listen in on a rocky talkie, then?

[TurxSki]

How does one find out patrol radio frequency? Befriend a patroller?

Splat got me going, *way back* in the day, at a Mammy mini.
On the 2way radio me and Cin used to use.
"This is mammoth ski patrol, you are not authorized to use this channel!
"Erm, oh, sorry, I didn't...
Maniacal laughing from Splat...

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[gregorys]

So I can listen if I tune in to the right frequency but cannot transmit unless I have a magic code?
If create a new thread for every thread drift, it would be madness. But may be we do need one.
Any recommendations on a descent radio for a noob?

Well, those are the details at one particular hill (mine). Others may not even use the same general radio spectrum. (They probably will, but this is all the "in the weeds" details that, if you want to play, you'll have to do some digging. Glad to help some, but you'll have to put in at least some effort.)

I've had Kenwood, Yeasu and other "high-end" radios.
The Baofeng's are not *great* radios, fit and finish kind of suck, but most of them actually deliver pretty well. (Especially where they're not pushed to their limit.)
But on the other hand, for people who have modest goals, they're good enough.

Here is the quickest recap I think I can give.

Buy a Baogfeng UV5R. (Or something similar. I think it ought to be $25-50.) Get a hand-mic too.
Figure out what channels/CTCSS codes you want.
Use CHIRP to program the radios. (bonus points if you block transmission on channels you don't want/shouldn't transmit on.)

If you're programming FRS/GMRS channels too (inter-party communication), you'll have more limited choices, since on a FRS radio you can pick the "channel" and the "code"
The channel is "frequency"
Code is the CTCSS.

For more info, read this: https://www.k0tfu.org/reference/frs-...0GMRS%20radios.

Generally, I'd recommend picking a CTCSS code of 1. Most all radios use the same actual tone details for code 1.
So, if you have some of your party with FRS radios and some with programmable ones, you can find channel/code combinations that interop easily.

If you want to stay in the spirit of the rules if you're using GMRS/FRS, you could also buy a GMRS license. $75, IIRC, and covers everyone in your family for 10 years. You get higher power transmission allowances, and a few other benefits. (Some of the rules for GMRS may have changed since I last looked so those are as I recall last time I checked.)

---
Finally, if you want to outfit your family or ski buddies, to talk between yourselves, the BF888S is a good choice.
Still programmable, 16 channels - but not dual-channel receive. (So you can only listen to a single channel at a time.)

[Lvovsky]

...

(They probably will, but this is all the "in the weeds" details that, if you want to play, you'll have to do some digging. Glad to help some, but you'll have to put in at least some effort.)

Appreciate the good info. Enough new words for me to google on!

[skinipenem]

This thread is, once again, amazing! Only on tgr can unbenounced mags be the gaper(s)!

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[TBS]

This didn’t occur on a weekend, doesn’t necessarily involve gapers and not many words were spoken. It was however an awesome display of skiing worthy of sharing here.

Mt Bachelor has a large park presence under their Woodward brand. The park runs are great for non-rats because there’s generally a 50’ strip of fresh pow on both sides (plus glading) that the rats never touch. We always ask anybody at top of features if they want to go first, and the lines we’re taking; never a problem.

So while rolling down said strip in 4” blower pow, a Woodward employee on twin tips passed me, immediately threw a speed check (and a wall of pow on me), turned hard away then rode a short box and almost all of a rail.

I say “almost all” because about 90% of the way across, his stance widened considerably and he performed a straddle dismount on the end of the rail.

I rolled by him slowly, said “that was awesome!” and asked if he was OK. No response but he was moving to get up so I assumed he would survive.

Wonder if there is a market for park skier gonad armor?

[baron]

At Big Sky talking about the Challenger lift: "I hit a pinecone yesterday and that was terrifying! I can't even imagine hitting a rock!"

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^sounds pretty gaper

but, any of you who mtn bike in Cali have probably seen those pinecones the size of grapefruit...never seen one skiing> though a trail covered with those huge cones can really send your front tire in some random directions/i've lost some elbow meat to those

[baron]

lmao -guy on little cloud yesterday asks to lower safety bar-sure, i reply

...well, I guess he forgot he put it down or fell asleep >I raised it just in time to get off

He ate shit on his late exit and luckily, he didn't get hurt. Usually, the person who asks to lower the bar will raise it?...guess we have to make sure they are actually awake

[romeo tango]

.

i spotted a guy rocking a TGR cap
at the 9ine today ....

60 degree slush
full on deck party ....

asked for change
he had no idea ....

poser ....

.