What are those? CROP CIRCLES????

[Chubz]

Had to chuckle to myself on this one. Please indulge. Went to a local mountain (Camelback , PA) that is offering free lift tickets for passholders from other mountains for the remainder of their season. I havent ridden here in 6 years, but free ticket? count me in, b/c my mountain is closed. Camelback is known for their overzealous Ski Rangers, who typically chase you down for even breathing.

It is a small mountain but had one run worth dicing up, so I got about 8-10 runs leaving these deep cresent moons most of the way down. One of the runs I scootched my way to set myself up for the bottom of the hill and notice a gaggle (3) of Ski Rangers looking and pointing at the trenches, so I stopped to observe. One of the rangers was explaining to the other two what caused such rutting, but it looked like they were in the middle of a field looking at crop circles and pontificating on what made such unusual tracks in the snow.

I decide, with the knowledge that I may be asked to leave the mountain, to weave my way in their direction, but not too close, just close enough. As they stand there perplexed, in drops the Mothership and rips a big, high speed laid out toeside turn followed by a series of nuts to butt turns and off towards the lift.

The best part was the still frame shot I clicked in my mind with a quick "out of the corner of my eye" glance at them as I passed toeside to see jaws dropped and gawking like they were going to be picked up by the ship with the complimentary body cavity probe.

Knowing how big of jerks most Ski Rangers are at Camelback, it was cool to freeze them in their tracks and hear nothing from them. I expected them to be on my tail when I got down to the lift. they were nowhere. i did see them halfway back up the lift ride slowly following the last set of Crops Circles I left, confused at what they just experienced.

Thank goodness for Carving!!!!!

[Allee]

"Jeb! Did you just see what I just saw?"

"Surely did, Cletus. Better keep it under our hats. Folks'll think we're crayzeeee".

Nice!

[Furi]

"Jeb! Did you just see what I just saw?"

"Surely did, Cletus. Better keep it under our hats. Folks'll think we're crayzeeee".

Nice!

haha perfect quote lol

Nice work Chubz, sorta funny they were in too much shellshock to even chase you down. I wonder if they would have asked "how do you do that?!!!" or told you to slow down or stop destroying the run?

[queequeg]

Nuts To Butt ... you crack me up.

[NateW]

Awesome. :)

I was riding up the lift a couple weeks ago surveying my arcs and I heard someone on the chair behind me say, "was that a snowboard?"

[cafercr35]

yes yes yes - Camelback Rangers are the worst.....I've have a couple tickets with big X through the middle.

They use whistles too....which scare the **** out of ya......

Nice one......I think a Camelback is calling for the first CCES - "Crop Circle Expression Session"

[Coloradoking]

ski patrol bugs me, but yoyos that think they run the mountain bug me more, a couple weeks ago i rode by a gaper yoyo that decided to blow a whistle at everyone passing him..... unknowingly i rip a giant toeside about 30ft away from him and FWEEEET!!! i get scared out of my snowpants, my head shoots around to look at what that was and my front foot gets heavily loaded up as i leave the turn and then whiplash from the nose launches me and i do 4 or so cartwheels down the hill. anyways, ski patrol comes to get me with a sled.... the second time that day..... i was fine and they didn't have to take me but the fall must've looked pretty nasty, because eldora ski patrol generally don't bring sleds unless they know someone is hurt. I had a pretty gnarly headache for the next day or so.

So, i see this guy on another run and i chinese downhill all the way down to him (late season colorado at noon, heavy snow) and stop so fast the spray knocks him clean off his feet. REVENGE IS SO SWEET!!!

[crucible]

The local ski patrol at Grouse is very reasonable- they pulled me aside once and told me, "We usually don't let people go as fast as you do on a Green run, but we've been watching you ride for the past six runs and noticed how much control you have in slowing down to accomodate beginner skiers, so it's cool.":cool:

When's the last time you heard a ski hill official say that?

Other guys in the Vancouver carving crew have been busted for "excessive speed" at my other local hill, Cypress Mountain.

Ironically Cypress Mountain is where the 2010 Olympic Parallel Giant Slalom (PGS) and Halfpipe events will be held.

[carvedog]

The local ski patrol at Grouse is very resonable- they pulled me aside once and told me, "We usually don't let people go as fast as you do on a Green run, but we've been watching you ride for the past six runs and noticed how much control you have in slowing down to accomodate beginner skiers, so it's cool.":cool:

Way cool Crucible. I find I have no trouble either, but also have a great deal of respect for the beginners and how scared they might be. With a three yr old and six yr old learning to ski, I always see my kids when I see these other newbies.

CK - you can't control other people, only your reaction to them. The other person blew a whistle, you knocked them down with wet spring slush. Not quite the same. Your inability to focus despite outside distractions is what put you in a cartwheel.

When you can cross the fresh powder without leaving a mark you have arrived grasshopper.

And where are my socks?

[KingCrimson]

ski patrol bugs me, but yoyos that think they run the mountain bug me more, a couple weeks ago i rode by a gaper yoyo that decided to blow a whistle at everyone passing him..... unknowingly i rip a giant toeside about 30ft away from him and FWEEEET!!! i get scared out of my snowpants, my head shoots around to look at what that was and my front foot gets heavily loaded up as i leave the turn and then whiplash from the nose launches me and i do 4 or so cartwheels down the hill. anyways, ski patrol comes to get me with a sled.... the second time that day..... i was fine and they didn't have to take me but the fall must've looked pretty nasty, because eldora ski patrol generally don't bring sleds unless they know someone is hurt. I had a pretty gnarly headache for the next day or so.

So, i see this guy on another run and i chinese downhill all the way down to him (late season colorado at noon, heavy snow) and stop so fast the spray knocks him clean off his feet. REVENGE IS SO SWEET!!!

I used to do the same thing, and so you don't have to take this from an adult, I'll tell you this. This is mostly paraphrased from Oldvolvosrule.

WE represent the future of hardbooting, and if WE straightline and spray people just because we are a little frustrated, WE give the idea that bombers are just jackasses who are gender confused between skiing and snowboarding. I don't think anyone wants that as the stereotype of hardbooters, do you? Made evident by Crucible, WE can get a lot of respect, just for using our boards as they are intended; riding steel, not ptex.

If you want to spray patrollers, just know that they are doing their job. I'm going to be a patroller, and personally, if I ever saw you go that fast and fall, I'd say you broke the rule of skiing within your means. If safety personnel distract you to the point that you're falling when they are trying to communicate with you, you have to slow down in your every day riding. Do whatever the heck you want to on the slalom, but when you bring the general public into the equation, for all of our sakes, please slow down.

If you're frustrated enough to want to spray someone with snow, and feel that it is due revenge, instead of doing it, take a lift to the top of the mountain, and realize what beauty you're in. Then, when you're feeling better, realize what talent and gear you've been blessed with, and take the most epic run you ever have.

[vapor]

Think of coloradoking as karma police. the guy was just fooling around, but could of caused a serious injury. he just taught him an important lesson in life that you pay for your actions.

THe guy should consider himself lucky he didn't run into someone that taught him what it was like to have an operation to remove a whistle from his nasal passage

[KingCrimson]

No, he didn't teach him a lesson at all.

I'm not sure who the whistle blower was, whether he was a patroller or not, but if he was likely to cause an injury the best way to handle the situation would be to notify the patrol at the bottom.

If he was tweeting at everyone, he was looking for a reaction, and Coloradoking, you certainly gave him one.

[Dave*]

Just a quick clarification as to Cypress and the speed control ( note ski patrol never an issue, they re to busy actually doing things, and I think recognize controlled riding )

Most of the Cypress Speed Control guys are okay, there is exactly one woman who is a f^&*()g idiot that I think we have all had issue with.

On Cypress there are really only two places that they hang out at and they are needed there, the "Collins Corner" and "Panorama Corner" with the Panorama corner being a real scary bottleneck with it being the new entrance to Raven .

Now the raven Chair crosses right over panorama corner and you know when the speed control are sitting there, its not rocket science, go slow past them.

So up Raven chair , see the Speed Control, decide to head in for lunch which means a ride in front of the Speed Cop, so very slow we go.........

As I approach this boneheaded Speed Control woman starts jumping up and down like the proverbial organ grinders monkey waving her poles at me..

I stop thinking what the hell , I was behaving myself, I just got passed by three people in plain site of this woman,

She comes up to me wound right up , squawking about slowing down, " I've seen you guys riding over at midway" etc. ( perfectly legal place to be an idiot BTW)

Now internally I was fuming, however I have discovered in the workplace the more wound up your adversary the calmer you should stay(easier said than done, I can last about 4 minutes), so I simply asked if I was "speeding just now around this section" , this took her aback and I had to ask the question 5 times, she finally admitted that no I wasnt, so it was on to "why are you stopping me", and again with the "I have seen you ride before on other parts of the hill", my response was "are there speed controls in those sections", answer "no" , I then asked the question of "do I ever ride out of control?" her response "no"

By this time I was POed to the max and had decided enough is enough , so I told the silly b#(^h "I am no longer speaking with you , talk to me when I have actually done something" and rolled away..

Of course I always think of the best thing to do 5 minutes later, I had my camera on me , should have videoed the exchange , then hauled her ass to the mountain manager , got her canned , then worked a few perks my way for being the target of harrasment. Ahhh hindsight is 20/20.

That has been my one and only encounter this year at Cypress, I am pretty sure the same individual has gone after BlueB and some of the other crew as well.

Dave*

[vapor]

No, he didn't teach him a lesson at all.

I'm not sure who the whistle blower was, whether he was a patroller or not, but if he was likely to cause an injury the best way to handle the situation would be to notify the patrol at the bottom.

If he was tweeting at everyone, he was looking for a reaction, and Coloradoking, you certainly gave him one.

Interesting king. You can read it like that it was a patroller that caused him to lose control and crash while carveing. Hmmmmm now there is irony for you .

Initially read it as some random "gaper" out to get his jollys ***** people up trying to scare them as they go by.

If the situation warrants getting the authorities into play by all means that is what you should do. Patrollers have more important duties to do like taking care of the poor smuck that lost the battle with a tree.

Knowing the few patrollers that i do they would find his reaction to being made to take a sled run quite funny.

[KingCrimson]

Vapor, it really isn't clear who it was doing it, but patrollers aren't angels ALL the time. There's stories of Baldy patrollers drinking, but that was from a rival June patroller, so you never know what's been skewed and what hasn't.

Honestly, I don't blame CK for wanting to spray him, but being that he was a CLEAR safety hazard, it was best left to a patroller.

Again, realize where you are, and what you're doing, and you quickly realize that a jackass or two doesn't matter.

[vapor]

AAhhh grasshopper since we were both not there we can only form an opinion on the incident. Opinions should be considered grey,never black and white, i am right you are wrong.

Coming from what some people would consider a rough background and working in the trades,i tend to gravitate towards taking care of myself and not running to the nearest authority every time someone slights me.

Right or wrong thats just me and can see the humor showing that group of patrollers just what carving is all about and gettin alittle revenge.

[KingCrimson]

AAhhh grasshopper since we were both not there we can only form an opinion on the incident. Opinions should be considered grey,never black and white, i am right you are wrong.

Coming from what some people would consider a rough background and working in the trades,i tend to gravitate towards taking care of myself and not running to the nearest authority every time someone slights me.

Right or wrong thats just me and can see the humor showing that group of patrollers just what carving is all about and gettin alittle revenge.

Couldn't be better said.

Except..straightlining and spraying involves...

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[Coloradoking]

i was having a really bad day that day, like i had said ski patrol already asked me if i needed a ride down in a sled once that day, really cloudy day, not even snow, it was like mountain fog, so i was just kind of on edge (not the good kind however :() so when this guy blew this whistle at me, i just kind of lost it... i know i know it's a bit of a stupid thing to do but if you look at it from my point of view for a minute: you're not having a good day out (one of the few i've had all year luckily) you're already in pain from a pretty gnarly crash, some guy decides to take your jolly time by hurting you again, (whether or not he meant it he had to know there would be some consequence for the people riding by him) so you only see this as is some idiot pretending that he owns this mountain... now that just drives you insane... ...whether or not MY actions were justified, seeing as he didn't even so much as apolagize i belive they were in a small portion, rational.

NO MORE ARGUING!!! please... for the most part i'm a pacifist, so internet arguments just do nothing but to mess with my good day (today was nice considering my new kessler arrived :D)

[vapor]

Well said and have fun on the new kessler

[KingCrimson]

NO MORE ARGUING!!! please... for the most part i'm a pacifist, so internet arguments just do nothing but to mess with my good day (today was nice considering my new kessler arrived :D)

Haha, no arguing going on here, just letting you know that nobody signs up for the Sea World Soak Zone when they go skiing :)

[vapor]

No more feeding the trolls

[wasatchbill]

Awesome. :)

I was riding up the lift a couple weeks ago surveying my arcs and I heard someone on the chair behind me say, "was that a snowboard?"

Nice! Getting off the Snowbasin Needles gondola today (last day :(), I had a kid look at my all-mountain board with Burton race plates on it (40 degree stance, both feet), and my ski mountaineering boots, and ask,

Kid: "Is that a monoski?"

Me: "Its a snowboard."

Kid: "No its not!"

:D

Hit some great steeps today! Need to get some photos one of these days. Any Utah backcountry steeps boarders on this list?

[vapor]

I had a pretty good season this year.Never got one negetive comment on the setup and some actually knew the differece between an sl an gs board.

All bets were off with the splitboard though,that just got people confused beyond belief:o

[NateW]

I was looking at Donek's deal where you can get your name inlaid in the base, and thinking that instead of my name I might get...

not a monoski

...written on the bottom of my next board.

[Steve Prokopiw]

I think I would have my base read "Don't stop where you cannot be seen from above":)