Flashby

This was my first stop in Vermont on the dash-and-crash tour (4 resorts in 3 days). Awesome first morning but then it rained so I tried to make the most of it. Got some pics and videos. Had a good time though was disappointed that so many of the slopes were closed and so many places (restaurants, shops, etc.) were either not open or not open past 5 PM. Still a nice location and a great start to my 'real slopes' adventure.

I updated my schedule over in your thread. I'll end this one since the trip is late-Jan and not mid-Jan and I'm getting a few other things organized. Will probably make a thread for each resort I plan to hit like I did in Vermont 2 weeks back.

chadx - Good news, my plans for the Montana trip might make me hit Big Sky/Moonlight Basin on Sun-Tue (01/23-25) and then head up to Bridger Bowl during the week rather than the reverse. Also, my friend is an Instructor/Guide there and I'm hoping to get an hour or two of her time that Sun or Mon as that would be sweet. I'll have to let you know what the final plans are but I'm trying to get in Sat night and then have 2 solid days and then another half day to full day as an option (depending on how much the place beats me up). Do you have a smartphone btw?

Hey Camber -- do you hit Seven Springs often? Do you observe the sign "Mandatory: Remove all backpacks" ? I use a Dakine pack that I bought more for use out in Montana next month so it is mostly empty except for the 3 Liter Camelbak bag inside it but they still make you remove it no matter how little is in it and how much it compresses when you sit down. I'm sure I don't stick out as far as some of those chubby ski folks they have. I have seen some folks wear a small Camelbak bag (1 Liter maybe) and aren't required to remove it. I'm thinking of wearing the pack under my coat next time so they don't balk and I don't have to keep removing it. Part of the thrill of hard boots is I don't have to stop at the top of the lift but putting the backpack back on makes me stop and prep -- argh.

Great to hear some folks hitting Seven Springs. They had some specials but as noted they were not for during the Holiday time (same with Hidden Valley). It is still hit or miss on weather. I had a friend there Tuesday who said it was stellar though I was there just the Friday before and it was 75% ice on the North Slope. I did Hidden Valley the Sunday between those days and there was zero ice, mainly packed powder, and some Advanced slopes with ungroomed powder. I had a much better time but it is obviously a smaller location. I'm still looking for my first hard boot boarder this season out on the slopes.

Has anyone else installed this app on their smartphone? They are adding some more features to it as the users report back suggestions and their forums are getting filled with pertinent info as well. They are a great group of folks. If anyone uses this feel free to indicate in the app that I referred you. My userid there is 'dschilberg.'

I realize it is small and 'nothing' there but my friend who started when I did turns 25 and is using his parents' timeshare option to snag a place for a week and chill with his brother (who hits Wintergreen in VA). I'll take half a week and relax there or hit the indoor water park or whatever. Maybe I'll take the time to work on my binding setup and switch fee and ride right foot forward just to try things out or go to some more severe angles than I have been.

:) Yep, it is still there but they re-numbered the exits. They just opened on Monday of this week and offer free lift tickets every Tuesday throughout the season. Some of us are thinking of heading out after work one day just to have some fun on the slopes since it is right there (maybe 20-25 min including after work traffic from me). I'm hoping another co-worker comes through on her idea of wanting to learn Snowboarding so that will be fun to teach someone since I just learned the sport (though it would be like the blind leading the blind).

I have used this app a little more and it rocks. I've been on their Forum a little bit also and they are very helpful with diagnosing issues with the app on your specific phone or will bump up the priority of digitizing a resort that is not in the list yet simply because someone is asking about it. Great folks. I used it successfully on my slopes in Vermont last week until my phone ran out of battery power (GPS tracking plus single digit temps doesn't make the battery last very long). That might have been an issue on my phone as well but the app does work and is very handy once you get to know it. I ran it at my local slopes, then ran to Vermont for a few days, then ran it again at my local slopes and could tell that I had improved. Two thumbs up for this app.

If I have a moment while at Jay's then I'll definitely give that a shot. I'm aiming to be there on Tuesday, Dec 14 so I will miss you if you are there on the 15th, AHilshey.

I'm planning on hitting Smugglers' Notch on Wednesday, Dec 15.

It looks like I will be at Sugarbush on Monday, Dec 13.

Firmed up the schedule and I will be at Stowe on Sunday, Dec 12.

I'm new to using Camelbak and wanted to ask others how they use them (or Osprey or other varieties) effectively. I'm using a Dakine Heli Pro 20L backpack which is integrated to use a hydration pack and added a Camelbak 3-liter pouch. I will hopefully have the leaking mouthpiece solved for this weekend as well as the tube freezing issue. My main question was how do you insulate yourself against a liter or two of cold water? The pouch is in the backpack and there is another 1/2" sturdy padding between the pack and my back and then my winter coat, and an Under Armour layer or two. I felt like my mid and lower back were colder than the rest of my body and this is where the water pouch sits in the backpack. I can put the pouch in the main compartment rather than the pouch-specific location and just put a folded wool vest in there to provide another 1-2" of wool 'spacer.' Are there other ideas? I don't like the 'hunchback' feeling either as it tends to pitch me forward on the chair lift and not everybody uses the bar and I don't want to fall off the front so sit a little sideways at times when possible.

I accidentally used it yesterday on a drive around town and it seemed to work flawlessly so I enabled the "Ask before tracking" option so it won't run endlessly. I'm signed up as "dschilberg" in case anyone on here adds me. 10 referrals gets some stickers and a bit more will garner a t-shirt. I'll finally be hitting some of the slopes soon where other members ride (Vermont and Montana this season) and it would be interesting to possibly keep in touch that way. I looked at some of the other tracks for Sugarbush and Stowe since I'm heading there in a few days. It tracks which lift you were on, how much time you spent waiting, time on the trail, which trail, its difficulty level. Nice. My friend in Montana is going to put me through the paces with some 10,000 ft vertical days and a little more if my body can handle it. I'll be interested to see if I can hit 2,500 and 5,000 days in Vermont but this will track that for me so I can't wait to give it a shot and report back later. It also updates to my Facebook status but am not linked to anyone on the board via Facebook ... yet.

Has anyone seen, heard, or tried Phresheez yet? It is an app that lets your phone track your runs and can replay them or be shared on Twitter and Facebook. I'll try my hand at it next week when I'm in Vermont.

Gotcha. I'm still trying to firm up my plans but will now be bringing out a friend so will feel much safer having a riding partner with me at these places for when my friend in Bozeman can't accompany me to the slopes. Tentative plans are now Jan 22-30 but tomorrow it might change again. My friend is actually busy Jan 22-24 with guests so I might start out at Big Sky and Moonlight basin on Jan 22-24 and then head up to Bridger Bowl with him and then out to Red Lodge to see other friends. That should give me the best chance to meet someone as it is a weekend but will keep you posted.

Update - my trip will now be Jan 15-23 to Big Sky, Moonlight Basin, Bridger Bowl, and Red Lodge. Not sure what days will be where at this point but can't wait.

Agreed. I'm learning both Snowboarding and carving so it is a double-edged sword and I'm just picking up as much as I can. Hey, I see you hail from Harpers Ferry. Good stuff. Took a Boy Scout trip there years ago and have a friend who lives there now. In the summer I will occasionally hit the Summit Point track with some friends (I'll Pit Crew for them).

I'll check your reviews at some point. I'm excited to get out but started at Boyce Park (County Park) and then Seven Springs for 3 weekends and then Snowshoe. Those were all progressive up each time. I'm stoked to hit Stowe next weekend but know that I'll be disappointed coming back home to this stuff so I'm trying to not let that affect how I view Seven Springs. Oh, and in January is a trip to Montana (Bridger Bowl, Red Lodge, Big Sky, Moonlight Basin and if I'm not dead yet maybe Jackson Hole). Those will put the Vermont places to shame let alone Seven Springs. Oh well -- I don't live in Montana.

Oh, and at Snowshoe, only the slopes on the lake side were open and not the backside of the mountain. I think Silver Creek was closed as was the Western Territory (back).

Hello again. If you've never been to Seven Springs then don't get your hopes up. 750 ft vertical on the 'back' (more like the right portion) and 360 ft vertical on the 'front' (more like the left portion). It is only 90 minutes from me so the closest spot and enough variation for a novice to keep me happy. Once the Halfpipe gets built it is the longest on the East Coast (I think it was 600' long last year). I've only been there starting late Feb 2010 so saw it in late season conditions which are not ideal but it was still ridable. I hope full-on Winter is even better. I can share pics and some video but let me know when/if you head there as I'm planning to be there every weekend for a while for as much practice as possible. I rode Snowshoe on April 4 this year and they STILL had about a foot of snow but not all areas were open. I liked the vertical drop better than Seven Springs, scenery is better, WV is my homestate for the first 13 yrs so a soft spot for me, like starting at the top of the hill for the resort, do NOT like the fact there is zero cell coverage for Verizon, do not like that it is about an hour from the nearest civilization and about 2 hrs to the nearest Interstate (for me) so a 5-5.5 hr trip and I think I might enjoy several other areas within a 5-hr drive better. This also might be because I did the trip in one day (5-hr drive in the AM, ride for about 5 hrs, and a 5-hr drive home). The next trip will be an overnight one but I liked Snowshoe initially. Yes it was a little narrow but there were not as many people there late in the season so I think it worked out for me.

Thanks, Scott. I'll let you know how it bodes for Winter. Weekdays on the slopes so we are hoping it is fairly empty and multiple runs on the same trail would be no problem (no waiting). It is a few days away from work so who cares. I see Whitetail. It is on our list of places to visit but so is Timberline, Canaan Valley, Wisp, Peak 'n Peek, Holiday Valley, Blue Knob ... but I'll get around to some of them to visit. I'm still new to carving so doing more general Snowboarding to get my 'snow legs' and dabble with carving here and there. Opening Season for Seven Springs is tomorrow so I can finally get out and on the slopes.

Well, my wife and I have already done the Ben & Jerry's tour as well as the Vermont Teddy Bear tour. I'm sure we'll find something. Blue Knob currently lists 0" of snow everywhere but that 68% of the trails are open and pics of the place show it completely snow-covered as of Nov 26. Grrr. Don't they realize how much we depend on webpage updates before taking a multi-hour drive somewhere?

It is officially on the list. Thanks for the review. I doubt I will ever get to anything mid-week but will try to let you know. There is a chance that I'll be free on Dec 17 and can take a stab at it. I see that it is 2-1/2 hrs from me (without traffic out the nasty Rt 22 east of town so maybe I'll take 28 to 422). I'll see what I can do.