My Retirement Year: An Ongoing Skiing TR

[ticketchecker]

Strong work, single and I will work the loaf and saddleback shifts with you when you get here. And damn if those ranger 107’s don’t look good, have a pair in a sierra cart now


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[MyNameIsAugustWest]

I have Ranger108s with Vipecs. Very similar setup. Love the wide Rangers in 3D snow.

[yeahman]

Enjoying your thread Mr. West. A former girlfriend of mine is married to the guy in charge of snowmaking at Pat's Peak, you may even know him and/or them. Sounds like an interesting place where snowmaking is really their bread and butter. Anyway, carry on, looking forward to seeing you make it to 100 days.

[skinipenem]

This thread is cool! Keep up the good with MNIAW!

Your pics prove there is... nothing left to do but smile smile smile.


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[MyNameIsAugustWest]

Enjoying your thread Mr. West. A former girlfriend of mine is married to the guy in charge of snowmaking at Pat's Peak, you may even know him and/or them. Sounds like an interesting place where snowmaking is really their bread and butter. Anyway, carry on, looking forward to seeing you make it to 100 days.

Thanks for the feedback...I'm a newbie at Pats so don't know them but I'm seriously considering a pass there next year.

This thread is cool! Keep up the good with MNIAW!

Your pics prove there is... nothing left to do but smile smile smile.


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Right on! Skiing is fun!

Day 25: Magic Mtn., VT (Magic Pass)
The news was pretty grim yesterday (Thursday) as a new drive motor installation on one of Magic's summit lifts malfunctioned and caused speed surges which led to chair oscillations which ultimately led to an unoccupied chair on the downward trip to become detached from the haul rope. Nobody was injured and there was no need for a lift evac. All the same, it was a different vibe this morning.

On the first ride up (we made it out at the crack of 10:30) the sun tried to power through the murk


By the time we reached the top of the mid-mountain lift, things were definitely brighter


The snow was soft, the lines were mainly non-existent and many Magic families were there to bring the smilez.

Local favorite, Sammy B was playing apres in the tavern and man, that guy can pick a guitar. Sat with Jeff-with-a-G for quite a while and tried to keep him from jumping off a ledge. There's a lot of gremlins working against Magic but he definitely felt buoyed up by the support of the people that love this place.

Tonight we burned a shrine to Ullr in the hopes that it can change the weather patterns and the cloud that is hanging over Magic...




A short update on mags I skied with today...
RustyGroomer
OrangeGondola
Aldo
Speedfreak (making his annual appearance back east)
MagicSnowboard

and non-mags
BillH
Bank-mang
JFR
Otter

Fun day despite the near-miss yesterday. We'll get through this.

[slatham]

Having now missed the entire Christmas break for the first time in forever (family non-covid health issue), I am even more grateful for this thread MNIAW. One of these years (soon) I will join you on the mission for 100, with Magic as the core stomping ground.

Once again there is promise in the models for cold (looks good for early next week at least) and maybe snow (Friday storm - keep an eye on). But we've been here before only to see the cold fade and the storm push north and be warm. Maybe the sacrifice to Ullr is just what we needed to push the universe just a tad and make it snow in SoVT.

Happy and healthy New Year to all.

[MyNameIsAugustWest]

Day 26: Stratton, VT (Ikon)

To start off today's entry, let's look back at the sunset out of our kitchen window last night:

Pretty amazing.

The temps crashed after that sunset and it was 3* this morning making for a very chilly skin up and down Magic early.

Met a neighbor (Les) at Stratton at 11:00 as the temps finally climbed into the teens. Forecasters called for a south wind today but that must have been for later today as it was a NNW wind that definitely chilled things. It was also supposed to be sunny but right after I took this pic

the clouds closed in. The trails were more crowded than expected and the snow they had made over the last 36 hours was completely scraped off leaving hockey rinks all over the mountain. My knee is still sending me signals that I should be on a trip to Maui right now so we called it after only a few runs. Stratton is advertising something like 45 trails but realistically, there was only 5 ways down from the top today.

Hoping to get out early again tomorrow for a skin lap at Magic and then unsure what will follow. Supposed to be mid-30s so maybe things will be softer. Fingers crossed for some real snow on Friday although the models are saying south and east of Vermont. May have to head over to the NH basecamp for a coupla days.

[MyNameIsAugustWest]

Day 27: Okemo, VT (Epic)

Earlier in this thread, I noted how Okemo has the most fucked up lift system in the east. Today bore that out. You always have to take a beginner quad to get high enough to get to any of the chairs that service the main mountain. Today, the Sachem chair (touted as being open on the website this AM), and the Sunburst 6-pack (also touted as being open but maybe on wind hold) were shut down. Ultimately, this led to a choice:
Skis short little runs off of a slow-as-death and ancient Triple or take 3 lifts (including said triple) to get to the pseudo-summit.

I tried choice 1 and it was OK but a ton of people were opting for choice 1 so I tried choice 2. Got to the summit and headed south toward the trails serviced by the 6 pack. Nobody there and the snow was quite enjoyable


There were 3 decent trails in this pod so I endeavored to lap them...but it took forever to get a lap in. After 3.5 hours, I only had 7 laps of about 1,700 vert in. There were short lines (3-5 minutes) at each of the 3 chairs but when you added it all up, it was taking 30 minutes to get to the top...of Okemo. I decided that the juice wasn't worth the squeeze and headed home.

Tomorrow: Sunapee with an old friend from my days as a federal employee.

[MyNameIsAugustWest]

Day 28: Mount Sunapee, NH (Epic)

Disclaimer...the first 27 days of skiing in this TR were on marginal snow (if you can call it that). Today was the first day on anything resembling new snow so my report may be biased.

Holy shit was today fun! Met up with a friend from my federal service days and we were 10th chair. There was a solid 2" of real snow in the lot so we were stoked. They groomed last night before the snow fell so it was smooth and inviting on the ride up. It skied as good as expected. Soft turns over a firm but edgeable base. Very little scraping until we were 10+ runs into the day. First 2 runs, I was skiing untracked pow! Yeah, it was only 2" but it felt like Snowbird blower after the shitty start to our season here on the Ice Coast.

No pics of our earlier runs because we were trying to snap up as much of the untracked as possible. I'm sure I could have made a big sliding stop to give the over the head pow shot. Despite some of the spots looking a little shiny in this pic, I can assure you it was the low-skilled photographer and not the actual conditions.

I forgot to mention on yesterday's report that the people were way more talkative on the lifts at Okemo. I guess I gave them a bad rap. I even had several-minute conversations with women that were much younger than me. So sad when you realize that you're so old women don't think of you as somebody that's tryna put the moves on them. But I digress....

Probably going to ski at Magic tomorrow. The Red Chair is supposed to be back up and running for the weekend and the runs from the summit will feel like something new especially if that coastal storm clips us with 4-6" which is what my weather expert (FussyD) tells me is possible. Hope springs eternal.

[MyNameIsAugustWest]

Day 29: Magic Mtn, VT (Magic Pass)

The good news is, the coastal storm extended far enough into SoVT that we picked up a couple of inches here at Magic. The bad news is that COVID hit the Magic Ski Patrol so hard that they couldn''t muster enough staff to safely operate. For old-timers here at Magic, that would have meant nothing and they still would have opened. While I can't see myself ever needing Patrol's help, you never know and I won't fault the area for remaining closed today.

So we made lemonade. Doing my AIARE Level 1 on Mt Washington in a little over 2 weeks and my skinning game is not up to par. Grabbed my next door neighbor and up we went after confirming with area management that it was OK.


Easy hike to mid-mountain as there was a lot of snowmaking and grooming going on above that point. A look at the uphill route that heads over toward Timber Ridge


Neighbor BH on Vertigo


Me also on Vertigo


Should be a good day tomorrow as the snow has continued and it's still floating down at nearly 3:00pm.

[MyNameIsAugustWest]

Day 30: Magic Mtn, VT (Magic Pass)

When I walked the dog at 7am, the thermometer read 1.8*. That's going to feel warm once Tuesday hits. Just the same, neighbor BH and I decided to wait for the sun to get a little higher in the sky before venturing out. We headed over to Magic (it's about a 10-minute walk to the lifts) and happily noted the Red Chair running with skiers loaded. Up we went:


It was still cold (10-ish) but there was no wind and it was a total bluebird day


After a few laps on the great snow that DoWork and his crew laid down, we headed in for lunch. Although the lodge was uncrowded, we opted for the heated tent that Magic invested in last year.


A few more runs in the afternoon and then a beer with MMP and jgb@etree in the tavern. If you've skied at Magic, you've probably noticed the house that is trailside on the east side. It's the only trailside house at the whole place. Mrs. MNIAW is friends with the owners and they invited us over for an apres firepit session.



Another great day outdoors in Vermont...

[Brownski]

Glad everything is going well so far. Magic looks great considering the weather so far. Keep ‘em coming.

[ntblanks]

Seems like you're doing retirement right.

[MyNameIsAugustWest]

Seems like you're doing retirement right.

I'm trying.....

Day 31: Magic Mtn, VT (Magic Pass)

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away....

Not a huge Beatles fan but that just popped into my head. Today was so different than yesterday and typical of what La Nina is doing to us here on the east coast. Woke up to howling winds and a thermometer that was rapidly climbing from 11* when I went to bed last night through the 30s (ultimately peaking at 37 today). Oh, and it was raining of course.

Goniff braved the shitty roads and texted me to meet him at the Red Chair. I grabbed neighbor Bill and we headed over. The most challenging part of today (other than keeping the goggles wiped) was walking over to the lifts. We headed up on Red


The skiing was actually pretty OK despite the rain. We did a few laps but we weren't thrilled with the weather and called it an early day to watch some football. Neighbor Bill is a Jets fan and I follow the Patriots so neither of us had a great afternoon.

Not every day can be bluebird and I figure getting turns in during the shitty weather in December/January gets me in shape for pow days in February and marathon days in the sun in March and April (and May).

[kokomas]

Way to go MNIAW, Goniff, BH and crew. Inspiring stuff, keep it up! This may have been covered but you got a fitness/flexibility regimen going to help get to the finish? Btw I'm going to have to hustle to have as many days as you when you get here but I'm up to the challenge

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[MyNameIsAugustWest]

I rode a lot over the summer, did a fair amount of light weight training and stretching through the fall, focusing on core strength. Haven't done much since Thanksgiving tho....

Quality is definitely more important than quantity and based on what I'm seeing, you guys are kicking my ass in that department.

[kokomas]

Dude, go ski today. plenty of daylight!

[MyNameIsAugustWest]

Dude, go ski today. plenty of daylight!

Took a coupla days off to let a bum knee recover a bit. Back out this morning (Sunapee). Will drop a TR post later. Temps struggled to top 0* yesterday and it's currently 0.3* but s'posed to get into the 20s later.

[kokomas]

Took a coupla days off to let a bum knee recover a bit. Back out this morning (Sunapee). Will drop a TR post later. Temps struggled to top 0* yesterday and it's currently 0.3* but s'posed to get into the 20s later.

Yeah I think I was trying to motivate myself more than you. Cold here too, at least it's warmer up top though. Sorry about the bumb knee.

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[MyNameIsAugustWest]

Day 32: Mt. Sunapee, NH (Epic)

As I was leaving the house this AM, I looked up at the mountain and saw this

Snowmaking cloud as DoWork and his crew are trying to expand terrain at Magic for the upcoming holiday weekend. Some rumors flying around about a potential storm late this weekend. It would be appropriate as the last 3 MLK weekends (may be more, I can't remember) have had important storms to really kick of our season in SoVT. Think I'll get my car washed on Sunday.

On to Sunapee...got to the lot at 8:35 (9:00 first chair) and met up with a non-mag friend in the lot. Car thermometer read 9* but it was supposed to get warmer today. They were really pounding the snowmaking on Sunapee's North Peak (steeper section of the area) and it certainly looked like they had enough already to open a couple more trails for the upcoming holiday. We grabbed 8th chair and did a skiers left to right progression across the legit 6 ways down from the summit. The manmade was in great shape and the crowds were minimal. And that view...


The skiing was great for what Sunapee is...a cruiser's hill and I have no issues with skiing there. Nice staff and friendly skiers.

We decided to do a 2nd round of the progression plus 1 more for a baker's dozen runs.

Did I mention that view?

I think this pic shows the effort that Sunapee has made with their snowmaking so far this year. Many Epic resorts in the NE are struggling (I suspect due to lack of staffing) in the snowmaking department but Sunapee is not one of them.

Skied a newly opened trail today and it gave some perspective on the tree skiing at Sunapee...they have committed to it and there is a bunch of places to ski good or eat wood. Looking forward to skiing these spots once we get some real snow.

Another great day to be outside.

[MyNameIsAugustWest]

Day 33: Stratton, VT (Ikon Pass)

Woke up to a dusting of snow at Magic and headed over to meet non-mag friends Ant and JFR. Skiing was good if not great and Stratton continues to expand terrain after the uber-cold temps earlier this week. Today was downright pleasant with the car showing 25* in the lot.

Just wondering what the deal is with the "clock tower" thing. I know Vail has one in their village but no idea if they were the OG. Stratton used to be Intrawest and they have the fake village with all kinds of shops where the bankers, lawyers, and dentists try to melt down their AMEX cards with the outrageous prices they charge there. Okemo also has a Clock Tower...Pretty sure it didn't back when I skied there in the 70s.

Not really trying to bash Stratton because the skiing there has been far superior to the other SoVT spots. I boot up at the car, walk to the lifts, ski, and walk back to my car. Not interested in the other nonsense that makes the place a "destination".

Anyway, I had to cut my day short because I needed to get up to Ludlow (where Okemo is) to get some bootfitting work done. Solid shout out to Boot Pro in Ludlow. Good bootfitters and they don't try to push product unless you ask. My bootfittter today was Hannah who was knowledgeable, shared a BC secret after we got to talking about real BC skiing, and was exceptionally easy on the eyes. Of course she was easily younger than my daughters so that was just an objective observation.

Also met up with buttahflake in Ludlow at a different shop. I know many people that have never met this cat think evil thoughts but he is a solid mag and he did full tunes on my son's snowboard and a pair of my skis for some homegrown buds. Buttah asked who my fitter was and confirmed that Hannah is also a complete ripper on skis. Somebody's dream girl. Did I mention she was a red head? Man, if I was 35 years younger....

[Peruvian]

Just wait until it snows and you can ski Stratton’s side country.

[jhyatt]

Just wait until it snows

Yes I am waiting. And waiting. And waiting.
Oh well.

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[Djongo Unchained]

We are anxiously awaiting you guys' arrival out here. We have the snowz.

And clocktowers, ca. 1966

[MyNameIsAugustWest]

We are anxiously awaiting you guys' arrival out here. We have the snowz.

And clocktowers, ca. 1966

Man, we cannot wait either. Tried to grab a quick hop to either SLC or Boise to find some real snow but the airlines are so screwed right now it's virtually unpossible to grab a flight on short notice...so many flights being cancelled. Fingers crossed for a real storm toward the end of this weekend.