JohnE

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.

Photo on the front page of a section of the Denver Post on Saturday. Softboot carver at Copper making a nice toeside. Anyone know who this is?

Photo on the front of a section of the Denver Post on Saturday. Softbooter making nice toeside. Anyone know who this is?

What is the lodge situation? Does anyone go in there at all? Can't eat. So maybe just go in to change in/out and out to the lifts or what?

So Arne - this is 2x fake knees and 2x fake hips? If you keep replacing parts you'll never die!

How were conditions at Loveland the last 4 days?

Very cool. My folks took us up to Geneva Basin where we skied as a family from about 1969 - 1976 or so. I think I recognize some of the people in the old photos. I definitely remember the Burkes. I think a season pass for a family was $150. My dad would take us up every Saturday morning all season long - regardless of conditions.

Email from Loveland indicates that no more eating or drinking inside their lodges (even carry-in food). Can I assume that means that we can still go inside wearing masks and social distancing?

Parker better be careful or he could get frostbite in some really tender areas.

I'm not really educated about this but 7 degrees sounds like an extreme angle. You're talking about an included angle of 83 degrees between the base & side edge?

Is this a turbo - 4? The hp went from what to what? Have you noticed that the fuel economy suffers (if you don't push it hard)?

A real man would just grab his brand new Virus, rip down Richard's with no snow in the middle of a wildfire in the middle of a pandemic. C'mon - grow a pair!

Like the 220,000 dead Americans are part of the hoax?

If you buy a new car and keep it for a long time the financial hit isn't as big. Also, a new car has no "story".

Hey Alan - great to hear that you let you intellect override your self image. Good message for a lot of us on this forum. A lot of us are in a similar demographic - older, active and male. Maybe we can all learn something from your experience. Hope you heal quickly and completely.

People get rid of cars for all kinds of lame reasons: "I sold it before it lost any more value", "It cost too much to repair" or they get tired of a car and start to neglect or abuse it. It starts to look and run poorly and they treat it even worse. A self-fulfilling prophecy. Cars last a very long time if they are taken care of. You take care of it, it takes care of you. They depreciate at a astounding rate. One of the best car values out there is a 4+ year old used car that has been well taken care of (and maybe with low miles). Let the original owner take the lion's share of the depreciation. I bought my Legend 17 years ago for $12k. It retailed for about $42k in 1995. I've put about 100k miles on it since then. Granted, I don't drive it in bad weather. It spends much of its life in the garage (but it is not a show car). I have put very little money into it in all of those years. I do most of the maintenance and repair myself. If I encounter a job that is above my skill level or tools, I take it to a trusted repair shop and I know pretty well what is involved. When I hear a noise or see something that is concerning, I take care of it before it becomes a real issue. It hasn't been restored. That's not worth it. It is a survivor.

I have another car for the winter and snowboarding (a Volvo wagon). I know the Acura isn't worth much of anything but it is in really good condition and I think it is one of the nicest looking cars ever made. Everytime I walk up to it I think to myself "that's a good-looking car". I should sell both cars & get one that satisfies all needs but its hard to let go of a car I've had for 17 years. If I do decide to pass it along, I'll keep you in mind.

Ladia - very sorry to hear about your situation. Not being able to snowboard anymore would be a big loss. Not being able to live the other parts of your life normally is even a bigger loss. I've never collided with another rider. It really scares me that it could easily happen to me. My only (partial) solution is that I no longer ride on weekends. Way too crowded. For the last 3 years we have ridden only on weekdays. Mid-week is much less crowded and most of the others on the slopes are older intermediate skiers. They are by nature more experienced, more cautious. more aware and more in control. Often when we are on the slopes there are very few other people in sight. Riding on weekends just isn't worth it to me anymore.

I have a 1995 Acura Legend. I've owned it for 17 years. It has 190,000 on the odometer:

Wow Pat - did you just acquire that? Looks beautiful! Buying an older well-cared for used car can often be a real value. Its a '98 or '99?

I bought & used Donek riser plates for my softboot carving setup last season. I started the season without them when the snow was thin & hard. Once the snow got thicker & softer, I installed the risers. Aside from the slight additional weight, I hardly notice them except that I am less likely to boot drag at higher angles.

There are 2 grilles available on the car: the "sport" grille and the "luxury?" grille. These look quite different. Maybe neither is appealing. The car isn't "fun" to drive like a small, light car with a manual transmission but it is a pretty good compromise of utility and speed. However, if it is out of warranty, they could be frightfully expensive to repair. Also you mentioned a Volvo V60. I have a 2015 V60 front wheel drive (I put snow tires on in the winter). It isn't especially fun to drive but I can put boards in the back. It is a 2 liter 4 cylinder turbo. It has pretty good low end torque and gets about 28 mpg around town and as high as the mid 30s on the highway. It certainly has enough power to exceed the speed limit under almost all conditions.

A friend has a 2017 Mercedes E400 wagon. Tastes are all different but I think it is a very attractive wagon. It will fit several 170cm boards in the back. It is ultra luxurious (hot stone message on the way back from riding). Car & Driver did a review on one recently and all the reviewers loved it (rare). I think they are $80+k new. Used ones can be found online for the mid $40ks.

Interesting. I'm assuming that the demand will exceed the supply (maybe by a lot). If so, how will the reservation system work? First come first serve? How long in advance can one reserve? What if I reserve and don't show up? What if I reserve many of the popular days??

Our local area has put on their website their plans for the upcoming season: https://skiloveland.com/coronavirusupdate/?utm_source=newsletter_1499&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=fall-sales-blast-sp They say that people cannot ride a lift with people that they don't live with. This is going to be interesting to enforce. I assume that a lot of folks will drive up the the area with people they don't live with. If you spend an hour in a car with someone you don't live with, how are you protecting anyone by not riding a chairlift with them? It also says that they lodge capacity will be severely limited. Have other areas made statements on how they intend to handle this situation? Are they similar to this plan? It sounds like these measures will severely limit the capacity of the area. I wonder how they are going to limit the number of people who drive up? Reservations? A lottery????