The Snowsports Thread - post up your adventures

[AudiTech]

Alpine skiing, cross country skiing, snowboarding, ice climbing, snowmobiling, sledding, snowshoeing, hiking, biking, etc... lets see how you play in the snow?



This year my wife and I both got Rocky Mountain Super Pass + ski passes for this season. It's good t Winter Park, Copper, Eldora, Crested Butte, and Steamboat (Colorado resorts).

Colorado ski season officially started on October 17th when A-Basin opened for the season, which was crazy because they didn't close till mid June. They have a longer on season than off season. We got our first change to make it out this past weekend. Early season is usually crowded because not many runs are open and lots of people are excited to get out. With all the recent snow it was pretty damn good for early season.

I went to Copper Saturday for my first runs of the year, lots and lots of recent snow made it pretty good for early season despite not much being open.


This first pic is the reason I just bought snow tires for the truck lol

 

[shootmymime]

Well my wife dd the truck into town for work everyday and I am dd my dirt bike with studded tires around town every day. I enjoy it!

Yes it cold and you get funny looks but this bike actually hooks up better than any cars on the street.

 

[slapdappy]

nnnnice. minty delish. that is one squared away looking scooter.

 

[slapdappy]

AT, nice thread idea.

 

[AudiTech]

No fresh today but lift lines were non existent and the snow was in great shape.

 

[MtnT4R]

Nice thread OP!

The snow's been a little rough lately but great weather and good times!

Here's a shot from the top of Vail and one of my buddy and I dropping in for our first trip past the ropes this season:

 

[AudiTech]

Knee deep today

 

[broncosi]

This may be a self explanatory question but I ski every few years and I fall non stop for the first few hours. Does this happen to anyone else? Is it just because I'm getting back in the groove of doing something I haven't done in a while? I can go years without playing tennis or other sports and pick it right back up no problem?

 

[slapdappy]

the 4R of sleds

took my new-to-me ski lift up today. Perfect conditions to figure out what this sled can and cannot do and how I need to handle it.
It is the 4Runner of sleds. Ski-Doo Skandic 600 ace, 2013. 4 stroke utility sled. Reverse; 2 forward gears; track 20" wide, 154" long; 2 person; underseat storage; rear rack. Top speed seems to be not quite 50 mph, going downhill with just me. Not a rocketship.

first tracks off trail. about 2 feet of powder. plowed through it just fine.

 

[MtnT4R]

This may be a self explanatory question but I ski every few years and I fall non stop for the first few hours. Does this happen to anyone else? Is it just because I'm getting back in the groove of doing something I haven't done in a while? I can go years without playing tennis or other sports and pick it right back up no problem?

You are basically correct; skiing ability is all tied to muscle memory- the difference here between skiing and tennis is most likely that you are more proficient playing tennis than you are at skiing.

When you get back into the groove skiing, what would you say your ability level is? Do you ski mostly greens and blues? Prefer groomed terrain? How many days do you ski per season?

The biggest difference between tennis and skiing is, your ability to move around the tennis court is directly related to other lower body movements you do every day- walking, running, shifting from side to side, etc. Skiing is totally different and uses different muscles than the average person tends to use on a daily basis. You may have heard the phrase "the only way to get in shape for skiing is to ski."

A better correlation may be noticing how your tennis serve might be lacking, or your backhand stroke isn't quite as strong as when you played last. The muscle memory is still there for both skiing and tennis, you just need to spend some time in the repetition of the act to get your body used to those specific motions again and build up the muscle strength to do it well again. its more noticeable on skis because everything on the snow is tied to lower body balance and strength.

Have you been out to the slopes this year?

 

[broncosi]

Nope I haven't been for a few years because I only get a weekend usually and spend the first day falling like a newb. This is sort of what I look like:

<iframe width="480" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/q5thIuCSTkk?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[MtnT4R]

Nope I haven't been for a few years because I only get a weekend usually and spend the first day falling like a newb. This is sort of what I look like:

haha I love that video. DO A PIZZA


But yeah, you just don't currently have enough time on snow to get around the mountain without your mind seriously overthinking everything- your balance, equipment feel, edge control, etc. When that happens to people they kind of flop around for a while on their skis until their brains calm down and their bodies aren't so tense.

If you'd like any specific pointers feel free to PM me, I've been an instructor for 8 years.

 

[AudiTech]

WP again today

Plus I got a new point and shoot camera today, an Olympus Tough TG-3. It's waterproof down to 50 feet, impact proof from a 7 foot drop onto any surface, it's crushproof to 220lbs, it will work down to 14* before the cold starts making it freak out and it still has a pretty quick F2.0 lens and a 4x optical zoom (plus you can turn digital zoom so no loss of resolution) in a pocket sized package. No more crappy cell phone pics on ski and mountain bike trips

 

[hikenbike]

Good times and great conditions with my high school and college sons at Okemo in VT yesterday and today.....

And my favorite part.....

 

[hikenbike]

Sorry double post

 

[slapdappy]

fk! fk! fk! fk! fk! fk! fk! fk! fk!
missing all the fresh.
out of state for christmas.
aarrggghh

 

[AudiTech]

Yeah Copper got 21" Sunday and 29" Monday, that's where we're spending Christmas

 

[aeroneer1]

Pow Day at Breck!

Great deep powder yesterday at Breckenridge.

Traffic is horrendous though.

 

[AudiTech]

I spent Christmas at Copper with my wife. Awesome day. No traffic, no lift lines, clear blue skies... amazing! Lifts started running at 8:30, we got 20 runs in before we left at 12:30.

 

[hikenbike]

^ Absolutely gorgeous. I must get out west next year.

Never being there before and knowing how many great places exist, if I had 6 days out there, where would you recommend we go with a higher end of moderate budget?

I've always dreamed of Whistler, Telluride, Steamboat, and Jackson Hole but I don't know if any of them make the most sense for a family of intermediate "east" skiers. Me, my wife, and 21 and 17 yo sons. Kid friendly resorts with stellar lessons programs are not important.