New England 2022-2023 Northeast Ski Resorts/Conditions/Meetups

[Tony S]

of course it is... Nobody wants to be the buffer friend.

Well yes, actually. That's part of it. But only part.

And for me it's not just the envy; it's the impact on my skills maintenance/development. It's really hard to keep up with the program if everyone is starting six weeks before me, and getting actual off piste skiing TEN weeks before me.

Is it a competition?

Well this little exchange stirred the pot!

Each of the responses captured a bit of what I was thinking, but none got to the core.

I said, "It's really hard to keep up with the program..." You might ask, "What's the program?" Good question!

I think the program is how I see the last ten or - if I'm very lucky - twenty years of my ski life shaking out. So yes, there is a competition. Yes, there is a race. But it's a race with time.

I have learned that if you take want to progress as a skier, you have to take cues from your models. A HUGE cue is, "You gotta ski a shit ton. In lots of conditions. On lots of terrain." So skiing three month seasons when your models are skiing five or six or even ten month seasons is not going to cut it.

 

[Tony S]

Sometimes I ski by myself because I'm anti-social... but I blame it on not wanting to hold others back.

I do find it funny that we've ended up skiing together more often than not at the last couple of gatherings, even if our reasons are different. However, I do remind people that at Killington we were told to meet at the bubble and everyone else went somewhere else after we skied off!

The lesson here, articulated many times in the past but always worth repeating, is that "The only way to stick with the group is to stick with the group."

There is NEVER, in my experience, any bad faith or negative intent when this happens. It's just the fundamental chaos of group dynamics. The person who says, "No! This way!" in a very compelling voice, causing two others and ultimately the whole posse to follow her, over the course of mere seconds, just happens to be the one person who didn't hear the discussion two minutes earlier about what the formal plan was, and then we're off to the races.

 

[dbostedo]

There is NEVER, in my experience, any bad faith or negative intent when this happens.

Well I'll just add that I dislike dilly-dallying though, and don't ski super fast... so often go ahead/first for both reasons, and need to know where to meet up. And I'm not that disappointed to get separated from the group sometimes... @TheArchitect and I, and some others, have had a great time in a smaller group!

 

[Tony S]

FYI a lot of posts from me tonight because by tomorrow I might have drowned accidentally in my own basement.

Absolutely heinous week and (especially) day at my house. High pressure at work. Wendy down suddenly with Covid. Basement taking on water for (almost) the first time. Jury rigged utility pump with lots of rubber bands and zip ties barely keeping things dry. Excavating guys came and discovered that foundation drain was not built properly and is now completely full of sand. Root cause remediation many tens of thousands. Interim sump pump solution requires jackhammers and mula and a long wait time. Power is out due to a strong wind and rain storm. Trusty ancient little generator not starting. Half cooked dinner now burning on top of wood stove.

(Update: generator now running. Wendy feeling a bit better. Dinner passable. Power still out. Water still threatening. Mula still not replicating.)

 

[Tony S]

Well I'll just add that I dislike dilly-dallying though, and don't ski super fast... so often go ahead/first for both reasons, and need to know where to meet up. And I'm not that disappointed to get separated from the group sometimes... @TheArchitect and I, and some others, have had a great time in a smaller group!

Yes, expectations are a bitch. Fortunately you're often the gathermeister and keep the rest of us more or less in line.

 

[dbostedo]

Yes, expectations are a bitch. Fortunately you're often the gathermeister and keep the rest of us more or less in line.

At least people usually show up in the right place first thing in the morning.

And... good luck with all of that other stuff! Hope everything works out.

 

[James]

The lesson here, articulated many times in the past but always worth repeating, is that "The only way to stick with the group is to stick with the group."

Well I'll just add that I dislike dilly-dallying though, and don't ski super fast... so often go ahead/first for both reasons, and need to know where to meet up.

See above. Your need to know doomed you two on that run. Because the group changed up it’s mind just after you left and it was unclear you left - or b) internal inertia took over and made that moot. I’m going with b) See video below.
Slow motion view of the group. These creatures can do weird stuff

 

[TheArchitect]

The lesson here, articulated many times in the past but always worth repeating, is that "The only way to stick with the group is to stick with the group."

There is NEVER, in my experience, any bad faith or negative intent when this happens. It's just the fundamental chaos of group dynamics. The person who says, "No! This way!" in a very compelling voice, causing two others and ultimately the whole posse to follow her, over the course of mere seconds, just happens to be the one person who didn't hear the discussion two minutes earlier about what the formal plan was, and then we're off to the races.

Jokes aside, I've never thought there was any bad faith or negative intent. I thought it was kinda funny and not at all surprising that we ended up alone looking for the rest of the group.

FYI a lot of posts from me tonight because by tomorrow I might have drowned accidentally in my own basement.

Absolutely heinous week and (especially) day at my house. High pressure at work. Wendy down suddenly with Covid. Basement taking on water for (almost) the first time. Jury rigged utility pump with lots of rubber bands and zip ties barely keeping things dry. Excavating guys came and discovered that foundation drain was not built properly and is now completely full of sand. Root cause remediation many tens of thousands. Interim sump pump solution requires jackhammers and mula and a long wait time. Power is out due to a strong wind and rain storm. Trusty ancient little generator not starting. Half cooked dinner now burning on top of wood stove.

(Update: generator now running. Wendy feeling a bit better. Dinner passable. Power still out. Water still threatening. Mula still not replicating.)

That sucks. Good luck dealing with it all.

 

[dbostedo]

Because the group changed up it’s mind just after you left

Well it was funny in retrospect...

Me: Where are we meeting?
Group: We're meeting at the gondola
Me: OK... see you there
*skis off with a couple of others*
Group, immediately: Let's go ski Skyeburst

 

[Tony S]

See above. Your need to know doomed you two on that run. Because the group changed up it’s mind just after you left and it was unclear you left - or b) internal inertia took over and made that moot. I’m going with b) See video below.
Slow motion view of the group. These creatures can do weird stuff

@dbostedo : "Someone keeps moving the slide!"

Well it was funny in retrospect...

Me: Where are we meeting?
Group: We're meeting at the gondola
Me: OK... see you there
*skis off with a couple of others*
Group, immediately: Let's go ski Skyeburst

Yup. That's exactly what happened. Chaos.

 

[TheArchitect]

See above. Your need to know doomed you two on that run. Because the group changed up it’s mind just after you left and it was unclear you left - or b) internal inertia took over and made that moot. I’m going with b) See video below.
Slow motion view of the group. These creatures can do weird stuff

We need to somehow incorporate amoeba into our group naming conventions.

 

[LiquidFeet]

FYI a lot of posts from me tonight because by tomorrow I might have drowned accidentally in my own basement.

Absolutely heinous week and (especially) day at my house. High pressure at work. Wendy down suddenly with Covid. Basement taking on water for (almost) the first time. Jury rigged utility pump with lots of rubber bands and zip ties barely keeping things dry. Excavating guys came and discovered that foundation drain was not built properly and is now completely full of sand. Root cause remediation many tens of thousands. Interim sump pump solution requires jackhammers and mula and a long wait time. Power is out due to a strong wind and rain storm. Trusty ancient little generator not starting. Half cooked dinner now burning on top of wood stove.

(Update: generator now running. Wendy feeling a bit better. Dinner passable. Power still out. Water still threatening. Mula still not replicating.)

OMG.

 

[Crank]

I've had that night with power out and generator not working and basement filling. Not fun.

Along the lines of the best place to ski in the east being the airport... My friend just texted me that he and another ski buddy are flying out to Jackson Hole Friday. Asked if I wanted to join. Yes! But I have commitments and Hot Tuna tix. Jackson will be there, not sure how many years Jourma and Jack will be touring.

 

[sparty]

@Tony S good luck with the household "fun". I feel your pain on the drainage issues, as we've got a failed basement wall apparently due to hydraulic pressure (via lack of drainage). In our case, though, it's just one of the joys of an old New England farmhouse.

 

[Erik Timmerman]

Well it’s snowing. Two ways down on Mansfield. Fast and firm but good skiing wall to wall.

 

[Truberski]

Some good signals on potential weather pattern change in the coming one to two weeks. Always stay optimistic with a healthy dose of I’ll ski regardless of weather and conditions!

I‘m sure some of you are aware of Josh Fox’s weather blog on the MGR site but it is a great read for you weather junkies. It has more of a Northern VT tilt to it but is the best source I have found for reliable, realistic longer term winter forecasting. Here is a link to a great summary of where we have been, where we are now and what may be coming:

The Single Chair Weather Blog

blog'n for powder

madriverglenweather.blogspot.com

He’s pretty good about at least one update each week during the ski season and updates when something of significance may be coming.

Stay positive and keep those rock skis handy and edges sharp!

 

[LiquidFeet]

There's another weather site focused exclusively on skiers/riders that I visit daily in winter. This guy, Skiology Matt, updates his predictions every day rather than weekly. He has a map with all the ski areas on it (VT, NH, ME, MA, CT, NY) and uses color coding to predict which areas will have wind holds, glare ice, potential for deep powder, and more. He uses lots of additional graphics. He leaves no stone unturned in his posts. It's amazing.

He posts on facebook.

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[Crank]

I‘m sure some of you are aware of Josh Fox’s weather blog on the MGR site but it is a great read for you weather junkies. It has more of a Northern VT tilt to it but is the best source I have found for reliable, realistic longer term winter forecasting. Here is a link to a great summary of where we have been, where we are now and what may be coming:

The Single Chair Weather Blog

blog'n for powder

madriverglenweather.blogspot.com

I've followed Josh Fox's Single Chair Weather Blog for years. I like him but he is often overly optimistic. Let's put it this way, I've learned not to get my hopes up or it doesn't happen until it happens.

 

[Truberski]

I've followed Josh Fox's Single Chair Weather Blog for yers. I like him but he is often overly optimistic. Let's put it this way, I've learned not to get my hopes up or it doesn't happen until it happens.

Well stated! Any MRG regular needs to be more optimistic than you average New England skier and their “weatherman” is not immune to that syndrome.

 

[James]

@Tony S nerds this-

”All these people think they’re going to ski here today??”