JohnE

Not true. We had a great time. I'm just recognizing aspects that are less than ideal.

Went to Loveland Friday. New snow brought out lots of end-of-season snow sliders. Roads were slick and traffic was heavy. They had about 4" new on top of nice groom. The first 3 or so runs on Firebowl / Turtle Creek were wonderful. Big arcing high-speed turns on effortless smooth, soft snow. Then the crowds hit. We move over to #8 and the crowds followed. Lift lines at the bottom of #8 were curving around both sides. Maybe 50x people or so. Going to #8 wasn't worth it. Awsome was not. Chet's was just OK. They closed Face several weeks ago so the only way to get back to the main area was the big traverse from the top of #8 over to Scrub under #4. This Suuuucked!! Worst run of the season. The cost/benefit ratio of going to #8 was about a 10. Back over to Ptarmigan and #6. Keno was very nice and the upper portion of Deuces was nice. By this time Turtle Creek was really bumpy. By 12:30 or so, I was beat and ready for a beer. For some reason, the lodge was packed and they weren't allowing any more seatings. So, we drank our beers outside. So much for the only upside of the shutdown.

Yes - I was being sarcastic. I am very fortunate if the only thing I have to complain about as a result of the pandemic is too many edge of control people on the slopes mid-week. The "get off my lawn" comment was not meant to be racist. I was just poking fun at myself for being an old crotchety guy. I really didn't intend to offend anyone except maybe old guys like myself.

We've been riding mid-week for the last 3 or 4 years to avoid the weekend chaos. I noticed in earlier years that the demographics of mid-week were much like me - an old guy. Most of the others on the slope were older - mostly men, mostly skiers. They were for the most part experienced, aware or others, and skiing in control and within their abilities. We had no problem carving in their midst. Yesterday we noticed that not only were there more people on the slopes but the demographic was much younger, inexperienced, unaware of their surroundings and more boarders. Many more straightliner skiers and boarders. Carving in this chaos is much more scary. Maybe next season when Covid is behind us and kids are back in school, weekday riding will go back to the civilized sport of yore. Any others notice a similar trend? GET OFF MY LAWN!!

I don't think it is laser cut. I believe Sean uses a "drag knife". It is a sharp knife tip that is connected to a CNC X-Y plotter mechanism. I haven't seen it but that is how it was described to me. Pretty cool eh?

I would argue that Gregory's Donek Flux has the best base graphic EVER! Quite possibly the best snowboard graphic of any kind. The Silver Surfer. Sean at Donek uses a graphic artist to assist with these graphics. This is entirely white on black p-tex.

Wednesday 3/24 was quite nice. Traffic heading up was pretty heavy and a bit slow for mid-week. Took just over 1 hour from Dino to Loveland. Arne needed to catch up on his beauty sleep so he didn't join us. We got to the lot about 8AM and went inside for some breakfast. What we don't understand is why so many people sit in their cars with the engine running for an hour waiting for the lifts to open. Don't they know the lodge is open? Snow was pretty good but a bit tricky early on - about 3" new on top of Tuesday PM groom. Difficult to carve because as you pushed on the edge, it sheared off of the firm groom below. Spring break crowds seem to be waning. Headed over to #8 about 10AM. Typical crowds swelled about 11AM such that there were about 20 - 30 people in line for about 2 runs. Then they magically disappeared. Awesome was less than awesome - pretty tracked out early. Chet's was great. We lapped it a bunch of times carving down pretty deep. They had Face closed so we had to exit out the top & over to #4 (this sucks). Back to the lodge about 1PM for a brewski. Hardly anyone there. What I will miss about the end of Covid is the "private club" atmosphere of the lodge.

When you are at the point of deciding who's fault it is, it just becomes another source of income for lawyers. Another tale that reinforces why I don't ride on weekends any more.

Anyone go to Loveland Saturday or Sunday? How was the snow, the crowds, the drive up & the drive back?

Yesterday was GREAT! In the parking lot the weather was pretty warm. By the time we got to the top of Ptarmigan it was full-on winter. Back to the car for more clothes. Then on to #4 and over to #8. Snow was great and very few people. The temps were OK below timberline but the last 4 towers or so it was snowing & blowing. We alternated soft carving on Chet's, then powder over on Awsome and some nice fresh open glades skier's far right. Awsome was Awsome!. About 7" of fairly dense new snow on top of fairly smooth and not to hard crusty. About the only tracks we saw were our own from earlier runs. We probably got in our customary 12 - 15 runs by 1:30 and packed it in (exhausted). The snow may be really great this weekend but the crowds will likely be Epic.

When The Great Recession hit in the winter of 2009, 2010 & 2011 I noticed that the highways and ski areas were much less crowded. A lot of people lost jobs and skiing was a luxury that could be eliminated. I was fortunate enough to have kept my job and traffic and lift lines were much reduced. For the last several seasons, we have been riding mid-week only. In earlier years, the highways and slopes we pretty uncrowded. However, riding mid-week this season the slopes are noticeably more crowded than recent years past. I think it's because people are "working from home" and "schooling from home" (notice the air quotes) and they are up in the mountains more mid-week. Does this agree with what others are seeing?

Was up last Wednesday. The parking lot was a frozen mud lake. I guess it was really warm on Tuesday. Warm on Wednesday but not so warm that it was turning to slush (at least not on the upper part of the mountain). The snow was better than I feared. No melt/freeze yet. They really need more snow and fewer warm days like Tuesday/Wednesday. Ventured up to Lift 9 and Rookie Road. NOT WORTH IT! Did anyone notice that westbound I-70 has fresh groom on parts between Idaho Springs and Georgetown? Nice and smooooth! Probably won't last long. Heading up again this Wednesday. Arne - let's try to meet up this time!

This points out what some might think as a descent number of "days" each season might seem like barely enough to others. If I get in 15 days per season, I think that is pretty good. Some might love to get this many and others would feel robbed.

Last Wednesday at Loveland was probably my best day ever on the slopes (in about 50 years). It had snowed several inches each day in the days preceding, was groomed the evening prior and about 2" of new dense snow on top. 10 degrees F to start with broken sunshine and very few others on the slope. The 3 of us were on soft boots and wide boards. A great mix of powder and wonderful soft carving. I had strained my back days before and each run I had to really clench my abs to support my back. Each time I got off the lift I could feel my back but my brain just kept craving more. Gregory was leaving 6" trenches at the apex of his turns. We would alternate powder runs and soft groomers. Arne opined that it was a bit on the soft side but he said it with a huge grin on his face. We could take the whole run because we knew there was nobody else above us. I'll be replaying that day in my head when I am too old to ride.

Wednesday was AWESOME!! It had snowed several inches each day for several days prior. Tuesday evening groom with about 2" of fairly dense snow over the top. 10 degrees to start. The snow was fairly slow so we didn't have to work on keeping our speeds down. Gregory, Arne & I did a couple on Firebowl / Turtle Creek. We were all on wide boards & soft boots. Very few people and amazing grip. Assume you have the run to yourself because you do. Over to #4 and then to #8 about 9:30. Powder under the lift. Awsome was AWSOME! Chet's Run was wonderful carving. On one lift ride up Arne commented that it might be a little soft (but he said it with a huge grin on his face). We kept alternating between Awsome and Chet's. Gregory was leaving 6" to 8" trenches at the apex of his turns. On one lift ride up I figured that our combined age was nearly 200 years. By 11:30 my legs and back were shot. We headed back over to the front side and I stopped about noon. Arne and Gregory kept at it on #6 and Chet's Dream. I think they got in another 3 - 4 runs by 1 PM. Arne's Ski Tracker gave out before he did. It showed 13 runs but I think they got in about 15 or 16. I've been snow sliding since about 1968. I'd have to say Wednesday could have been the best day ever for me. I've had some great powder days but they usually only last a few hours. Snow conditions on Wednesday were amazing until I couldn't take it anymore.

Yesterday was pretty mediocre. Old, scratchy snow, visibility was marginal and got worse as the day wore on. Gregory & I rode up together and met Arne in the lodge. We met up with Mr. E on Ptarmigan. Rode some on Firebowl, Dueces, Roulette, Richard's and Mambo. Visibility got pretty bad by 11:30 and we called it quits after about 2 1/2 hours. I guess if there were no mediocre days, we wouldn't appreciate the good & great ones.

Gregory & I went up Wednesday and met Arne up there. We were on softboots, Arne on hardboots. Arne was smooooth as butta'. Riding on 2 fake hips and 2 fake knees. We joked that he should be a spokesperson for (and sponsored by) the prosthetic joint manufacturer: "Before I got my Acme hips and Acme knees, I couldn't even spell snowboard. Now look at me!" We discovered that there is no reason to get up there early. They don't open the lodge until 8AM so you just have to sit in your car. No fun. Drive up no problem. Weather was nice - light breeze and passing clouds. Crowds were light but more than years previous. Snow was good but they really need more. I think we got in about 15 runs from 9AM until shortly after 1PM. Firebowl, Turtle Creek, Duces Wild, Roulette and Keno. They opened Lift #4 and it got completely tracked out by 1PM. Drive home was a breeze. Planning on next Wednesday again.

WOW! That footage of Kira Kobayshi (?) is AMAZING!. It says that he (she?) is only 13 years old!. How could anyone get any better than that? That's my problem: I'm almost 5 times his age. Now if I can only figure out how to fix that, I'm golden!

Odd that it only happens in the winter. Have you ever tried some of that bottled oxygen when you're feeling bad?

Went up to Loveland yesterday for our first outing of the season. High winds were predicted. Very windy at the Dino lots and we considered bagging it. We went ahead anyway. Drive up was fine, parked right next to the stairs. Wasn't nearly as windy up there as in the foothills. The mid-week demographic seemed different than the last 2 years: younger and more snowboarders. Crowds were light and the snow was good enough (not great, not terrible). The winds were never an issue. Visibility was bright to a bit flat but never really an issue. We did 15 runs split between Firebowl/Turtle Creek, Roulette and Duces Wild. Started about 9AM and quit a bit after 1PM. Drive home was a breeze. Hitting it hard for 4 hours really worked out legs.

In the limit: If I could ride every day would I? Probably not. Not even if it was only a short walk to the lift. It would loose it's specialness. The days that stick in my memory are the really great ones. The great days make the mediocre ones pretty forgettable. Most people think sex is pretty great but If you could every day would you? Might start to feel like brushing your teeth.

It appears that the consensus is quantity over quality. When I originally posted I purposely called them "times" and not "days" because it has been a long time since I have boarded all day. Five hours of either being on the lift or riding is about the most I can handle. We spend almost no time in the lodge and going mid-week there are no lift lines. Spending 3+ hours in the car in order to ride for 2 hours just doesn't make the cost/benefit ratio for me.

Would you prefer to ride about 30 times a year in conditions varying from bad to good or ride 10 times a year in good conditions? Often the way you get some really great days is to go regularly regardless of the conditions. However, if you could pick & choose your days and go only when you think conditions are optimal, your overall experience may be better - just less. I realize that in order to improve your skills, quantity helps a lot. Your skills are likely to improve more when conditions are bad. But, if you are like me and have begun to realize that you're at a plateau in ability, why waste your efforts going up when conditions are likely to be bad? Also, every trip you make has a hassle overhead that is likely worse on crowded days. When I describe conditions, to me it is a combination of snow quality, crowds and weather - likely in that order. A great day would be good snow, few people and nice weather. Poor conditions would be lousy snow, lots of people and poor visibility. A mediocre day would be somewhere in between. At this point in life, I'll choose quality over quantity. Other perspectives?

How are conditions lately? Snow, crowds? Improving, staying the same or getting worse? Are many going up during the week this week or next?

It hasn't effected me personally (yet). I am thankful for that. If people take the recommended precautions and still contract it, I feel for them. On the other hand, if people flaunt the guidelines (wearing masks, social distancing) and wind up contracting the virus, get admitted to the hospital and expect frontline healthcare workers to risk their lives because a patient couldn't be bothered to wear a mask - that is the ultimate injustice.