trent Posted December 16, 2009 Report Share Posted December 16, 2009 hit afton this morning from 9:30 to 1. awesome! blue skies, 0 degrees, about 20 people there, most of them not where we were. grooming: b+. we played most under chair 2. skiers left was great. skiers right was uneven between passes. but no worries as we were the only ones there, we just stayed on the good stuff. chair 7 was junk at the top, but great for the bottom 2/3. greg and doug were preaching about their metal toys and how grooming doesn't matter to them, and blah, blah, blah. (yeah, i'm jealous, and need to get something metal, then i'll pay more attention to the conversation.) i also didn't see greg working on his pilot license, so he may have a different take on the grooming. lifties: b+ to d. guys at chair 2, nice job! some others, typical afton. stick their hand out, and oh so lightly, give the chair a 5 as it passes. seriously, do they train people to be this bad? i had to yell at a few last year over on the bunny hill who wouldn't even touch the chair, while i'm picking up my 3 year old to help her on the lift. overall, great to be out! bummed i had to leave at 1; could've stayed out for a lot longer. i forget how addicted i am to this sport. here comes 4 months of no projects getting done. ;) -trent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobD Posted December 16, 2009 Report Share Posted December 16, 2009 hit afton this morning from 9:30 to 1. awesome! blue skies, 0 degrees, about 20 people there, most of them not where we were.grooming: b+. we played most under chair 2. skiers left was great. skiers right was uneven between passes. but no worries as we were the only ones there, we just stayed on the good stuff. chair 7 was junk at the top, but great for the bottom 2/3. greg and doug were preaching about their metal toys and how grooming doesn't matter to them, and blah, blah, blah. (yeah, i'm jealous, and need to get something metal, then i'll pay more attention to the conversation.) i also didn't see greg working on his pilot license, so he may have a different take on the grooming. lifties: b+ to d. guys at chair 2, nice job! some others, typical afton. stick their hand out, and oh so lightly, give the chair a 5 as it passes. seriously, do they train people to be this bad? i had to yell at a few last year over on the bunny hill who wouldn't even touch the chair, while i'm picking up my 3 year old to help her on the lift. overall, great to be out! bummed i had to leave at 1; could've stayed out for a lot longer. i forget how addicted i am to this sport. here comes 4 months of no projects getting done. ;) -trent I've heard in Europe, lifties don't bump the chairs at all. Thank God for good old American customer service. Is Hyland in Europe per chance ? BobD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trent Posted December 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 snow was a little softer today. a few sections you could bury the nose if you got too far forward. grooming was pretty good except under chair 3 and 16 - more later. it was good for about an hour, then the ski racers took over under chair 2 with midwest masters, nastar, and ussa. so i traveled to other runs. chair 7 was fun, but once the d-team started, i headed elsewhere. oh, yeah.... lifties. nice job today! the chairs were actually being bumped. i had to look around to check and see if i was really at afton. then i went over to chair 15 or 16 (the one that unloads right by the chalet). i think the same person who groomed, was also bumping the chair; they both sucked! holy crap was that run f-ed up. looked like they lost control of the blade on the groomer, and it randomly was digging into the snow. the liftie had lost control of his chair-bumping ability. while i was riding chair 3, the groomer was coming down the steep section at the top. below and to the side were a bunch of afton skiers trying to sideslip / stomp out some rough looking snow. i think they were also standing there so people wouldn't try to go through this area, because it was a mess and hazardous. but then i saw why they were trying to smooth it with their skis.... because the person running the groomer had died or passed out, and the groomer was running down the hill out of control!! the blade was up, but it was going so fast, that when it came over a ridge, the blade bounced down and almost augered into the snow, then back up in the air again. of course the grooming attachment was doing the opposite bounce routine. it reminded me of the scenes from dukes of hazard when the car would do some ridiculous jump, pile drive the nose of the car into the ground, break the axle, and bounce around aimlessly until the cut in a non-broken car speeding away from rosco p. coltrane. wish i could've heard a "YEE-HAW" from the groomer. i really need to get one of those flip videos or something to keep in my pocket for the antics i see the (un)groomers doing here sometimes. oh yeah. saw some sweet, sweet ski carvers today too. that guy that was ripping at the last mes was there. then i saw a kid on twin tips, dressed like he should be in the park or pipe, ripping some wicked turns on chair 9. i think his butt was hitting the snow. if he's anything like that in the park, he's someone to watch! -trent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Call me jack Posted December 20, 2009 Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 i'm a great lifty at afton! lol i was working their today, and i though (just by walking on it) the snow seemed sub par. too soft for my liking. is MES gonna be there this year, too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Call me jack Posted December 20, 2009 Report Share Posted December 20, 2009 and btw i was working with around chair 16 today, and yeah, that hill is retarded idk why but afton has lot of those random bumps this year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trent Posted December 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2009 sorry for the delayed report... was up too late being a nerd and seeing "avatar". (it was awesome). was out 12/21 for 4 hours on skis! took our oldest for the first time this year. i actually had to get her to leave. she was having a blast. so i can't comment on many runs. but the meadows bunny hills were great. so were the lifties! crowds were small too, which was also nice. but there sure were a lot of instructors with nothing to do. hopefully they had as much fun playing as my daughter did. saw 3 other carvers too! chris and del were teaching steve?, who was on plates for the first time. hopefully they've converted another to the clan. :) chris, great to see you again. hopefully i'll catch you guys when i'm on a board this year. call me jack - yes, mes will be at afton. some wednesday in january. i'll figure it out in the next week or so and post something here. -trent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trent Posted December 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2009 took the 3 year old out today. spent an hour on the alps bunny hill and magic carpet. so i can't comment much on conditions, although my daughter loved it! of course at this age, a lot of the "fun" of skiing is getting a treat/bribe/sugar. ;) it was pretty crowded too. looks like some schools are on break already. and i saw a sweet vest. luckily i remembered i had a camera, so y'all could enjoy the threads too. -trent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobD Posted December 22, 2009 Report Share Posted December 22, 2009 Trent, get used to it. Claire is now thirteen, and I still get "can we go to the chalet now?" On the other hand hand, it's still nice that she condescends to ski with me. BobD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trent Posted December 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2009 not too crowded for a holiday weekend, too bad the snow wasn't better. i'd call it "soft and crunchy". great for candy (snickers, twix), not so great for carving. it was fine if i didn't carve too hard, and stayed off the snow. but once i dug in, it got rough. there's some bumpy ice under the surface thanks to all the rain we got out here on xmas day. thanks santa! oh, and it was super fast! another reason it was good it wasn't too crowded. i played under chair 2 and 3 for a while, until the racers started showing up, then i explored the rest of the hill. chair 7 was fun, although the ski patrol was doing training, and blocking the whole hill. so i ventured to the highlands. chair 16 had a nice ridge down the middle. got some nice air transitions (probably 1/2 to 1 inch in height. heh.), although not the smartest thing to be doing given the conditions. so i went back to chair 7. watched a ski carver lay down some tracks right in front of a group of patrollers. it was awesome! waited at the bottom to tell him so, and rode up with him. (it was the same guy from last years mes). lifties are doing a much better job this year! i only got whacked in the leg once today. now i bump my own chair when this guy's working. calling all cars! calling all cars! this is an apb! be on the lookout for people riding carving snowboards! so remember i said there were a lot of ski patrol training? well, one of them was in hard boots. does welch know about this? ;) hopefully he'll get his red jacket soon, and i can get a picture of him, or better, with him! i can send it as a postcard to all my fans at welch. talked to my buddie who runs the nastar at afton. he said they won't be making snow this week due to it being a holiday week, but that they'd be firing up the guns again next week. -trent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powell1.8 Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 Made it out for a bit this morning. The holiday crowds were definately out. There were race courses set up under lifts 2,3,and 7. I think I got the numbers right. Basically all the best runs were shut down for racing or rutted up. The snow was fair. They had blown snow in some areas which made for some soft spots. The rest was really hard, not ice, but not really snow, e.g. packed power. The sun was out which was nice. Without the sun things would have been interesting. I had a good time, but I didn't stay very long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobble Posted December 31, 2009 Report Share Posted December 31, 2009 <table><th width="125"></th><tr><td><b>Date</b></td><td>12/31/2009</td></tr><tr><td><b>Temp</b></td><td>10F with a nasty windchill</td></tr><tr><td><b>Visibility</b></td><td>sun</td></tr><tr><td><b>Conditions</b></td><td>trent says its the best he's seen it</td></tr><tr><td><b>Hardbooters</b></td><td> 3 (me, trent, ben)</td></tr></table> Morning according to trent, today's conditions were the best he's seen at afton. i admit that today was challenging for me. not sure what it was... i guess i need to get out there more often and get out of my comfort zone. the highlights... ingus run and turdys: there were some minor irregularities in the groom; seams, pock marks, etc. on the run i found that snow was fast and difficult. guess i've been spoiled or lazy from buck. first couple turns then fall down from chatter. i think it was all mental as it was fast and early in the morning everything was in shadows. trent was charging down the run. ben was carving tight turns but confided he was having problems with the speed. race course was set up and we went looking elsewhere. the bowl: a groomer made a swath right down the center of the bowl so the snow was soft. the walls are too far apart to be a true bowl. trent kept going down skiers right because the cord was decent. i tried, didn't like it as it felt too narrow. i stayed in the bowl. problem was everyone seems drawn to it. you had to be really careful and looking over your shoulder. ben made a new friend in the bowl. de's dive: the snow was probably the same as trudy but the speed was manageable. we spent the majority of our time there. this is the run where we took pictures at MES. we were literally turning heads on the chair. whenever ben would head down i'd approach the transition and see heads turning to watch him. it kinda made me want to get aggressive. trent was getting airborn. i lofted a couple heel-side to toe-side transitions myself. at one point trent lapped us on the chair. sonjas slope: next to de's dive on skiers right. it was a nice mellow run. we went down it instead of de's to avoid some skiers in matching yellow jackets. later we find that they followed us down the run. now i'm starting to notice yellow jackets everywhere. rosies run: don't understand it. it was groomed but must be a training hill for new groomers. there were seams up and down the entire run. craptastic. i thought trent was kidding about going down but there we were... going down this crappy run. really narrow. heather's highlands: snow was good right up to the first transition. after that it was hard for me to carve. ben had isues too. of course, trent had no problems. i asked him what his secret is. he said it was because he's stupid and doesn't think, just does it. makes sense. we did some of the other highland runs. nothing too remarkable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trent Posted January 1, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2010 thanks for the ego boost bob, but i wasn't alone carving up the hills! i don't think people even saw me there today. every time i looked at a chairlift, they were all practically falling out trying to watch bob and ben carving down the hills. you guys were killing it! a little clarification. today's conditions were the best this year at afton; not the best ever. and it was pretty selective too. like bob said, there were a few good runs. the rest of the place was either a sheet of ice, or ice under snowcone. ben found that the cinnamon rolls have medicinal properties. one run he's , one cinnamon roll later he's good for 5 more hours. hope you're feeling well enough to play again tomorrow. great day to be out playing! -trent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trent Posted January 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2010 our thermometer at home said -18 this morning... yet our oldest daughter still wanted to go skiing. "all day! so you better pack a lunch, dad.". now how can i say no to that? the place was empty of people, except for a collegiate ski race on inga's. (since bob's using the trail names, maybe i should learn them too.) we spent all our time in the meadows to stay close to a chalet. i think we took no more than 4 runs before we went in to warm up. even though she'd say we were going to do 10. or 100! by the 3rd run, it'd be time to go in for a few minutes. we lasted from 9:30 - 12:30. close enough to "all day" for me when it's -10. :) the snow was nice. a little sticky due to the cold, but i didn't feel any ice like on thursday. but i was only on paula's, sonja's, susie's, and daisy's. this weather can't be good for the books though. saw all the instructors congregate a few times for the lesson times. then i'd see them all shuffle back inside. i don't think there was a single lesson going on at meadows. hopefully the crowds will be light at welch tomorrow. -trent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Call me jack Posted January 3, 2010 Report Share Posted January 3, 2010 Hey guys, were one of you out at afton on the 28th? i saw a fellow in soft boots who had both feet forward, and said he usually rode hard boots. who was it any one on here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott.Creer Posted January 3, 2010 Report Share Posted January 3, 2010 I ride hard boots and soft at afton (depending on conditions). I am on patrol so I stand out a bit with my patrol vest on. I normally am digging trenches on chair 2. But I was not there on the 28th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Call me jack Posted January 4, 2010 Report Share Posted January 4, 2010 I ride hard boots and soft at afton (depending on conditions). I am on patrol so I stand out a bit with my patrol vest on. I normally am digging trenches on chair 2. But I was not there on the 28th. i think i did see you today, though. i we both had blue doneks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trent Posted January 9, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2010 if you didn't go to afton this morning! holy perfect day batman! blue skies, awesome groom, and NOBODY there! seriously, i had chair 2 to myself for 2 hours. probably could've been longer, but i wanted to see if everything else was as good as chair 2. went over to chair 7 for a while. it was awesome too! saw a ski school instructor carve a 360. i gave her a big whoo-hoo from the chair. (on skis, and not an afton instructor). on my way to check on chair 16, saw that chair 12 was running, so stopped over there. took a run down andrea's, and thought... i'm gonna stay here for a while. then on the ride up 12, i remember greg trying to carve down sally's on wednesday. today was the day! perfect conditions for that run. snow was smooth and grippy, and i never found any ice. you've got to be on to make that run as it's pretty narrow. luckily i was on the 162 today. i finally made it over to 16, and it wasn't worth the effort. first, all the lesson groups seemed to converge on that run (which was also ok since everywhere else was empty). second, the snow was chunky and icy. i think they must've missed that one last night, because everywhere else was pristine! did buck hill send over their groomers? there weren't ridges between grooming passes, or chunks anywhere. i think i'm going to call today the mes. too bad you all missed it, because it was awesome! as i was about to leave, i saw another hardbooter. good to meet you scott! we also saw cody there too (clay's son). he said clay has been out snowboarding, metal plates and all. hopefully we'll see both of them at the mes. i bought the boot gloves too. they seemed to work pretty well. my toes didn't get cold, but my hands did. hoping tomorrow is more of the same. i'll be there from 10 - 4 while my daughter is in ski lessons. -trent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powell1.8 Posted January 10, 2010 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 How can I not check these conditions out for myself. Trent, are you sure Afton didn't hire you as head of propaganda. I'll be there bright and early. I'll stick to chair two until you get Parker situated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Call me jack Posted January 10, 2010 Report Share Posted January 10, 2010 I'll be at afton tomorrow morning as well, actually. Holla if you see a lifty coat carving. edit: carving, but doing it poorly on heel sides Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trent Posted January 11, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2010 2 kids said "WEIRD!" when looking at my board today. i was also told i was a bad omen. where's the love for hardbooters? 5 hardbooters out today, me, greg, call me jack, aaron pidde, and the mystery ski patroller. greg told me i missed the best conditions under 2. oh well, it was still pretty good everywhere. except after 3pm, because then people were everywhere! holy crap did it become a zoo a little before 3. the whole morning crowds were light and lift lines were non existent. that changed once the sun came out. it was dangerous on some runs. i started to look for empty chairs to see where i should head to avoid the crowds. spent the last hour on chair 12, which nobody seemed to see was running. good to make some turns with others today. thanks for coming out to play. :) -trent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Call me jack Posted January 11, 2010 Report Share Posted January 11, 2010 yeah, i'm not quite so sure you were a bad omen, anymore; i was having a pretty off day; i fell 2 more times, after we departed. but yeah. i was watching the cars pour in, from char 2. i got the heck out of there when i was done playin' on the nastar course (which i got a bronze medal in!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trent Posted January 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2010 powell1.8 and i played at afton today. it started cloudy, but turned into blue skies by 11. nat was also out killin it on skis. we're starting to think that guy has double jointed knees and hips. i finally put on some beefier binding on my volkl cross, thinking that'd make it ride better. it didn't! i was having a lot of problems holding an edge on that board on any kind of pitch. on mellow runs, i could ride it fine. but if it got steep, my heelsides would chatter. a lot. i tried it for about 30 minutes, then gave up. i'm not cool like powell1.8 and mud on their uber wide boards. :( switch to the short board, and was much happier after my body adjusted again. the snow on trudy's was pretty sweet. inga's had ridges everywhere. not very rideable. we spent a lot of time over on de's, which was also in great shape. powell1.8 thought it was the best he's ever seen it. there was someone with a professional looking camera and tripod filming a ski patrol. after a run or two, i noticed he was also filming powell1.8. he probably filmed 5 runs. never talked to us though, so don't know if we'll ever see it. maybe it was to send to our buddies at welch. "see, carvers and ski patrol on the same run can co-exist". heather's was good too, but only when we weren't tired. after lunch, we both had spectacular falls. and i thought i'd be able to carve sally's on the big board. not! i felt like it was a sideview mirror. "the trees and fences are closer than they appear". disaster avoided by straightlining the run. twice. :rolleyes: -trent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powell1.8 Posted January 15, 2010 Report Share Posted January 15, 2010 Trent is like the energizer bunny. He just keeps on going and going and going and going and going and going. and going and going and going. I was seriously worked by the end of the day. Goods times though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trent Posted January 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2010 only had 2 hours to play today. i played on trudy's (2) until 10, when the second course went up. the snow was firm and fast. i was holding well until they set the other gs course. then i was always worried if i'd be seeing a wide / late skier pop-up in front of me. decided to travel. played over on de's (7) for a while. d-team was set up over there, but i had plenty of room to play. plus the kids over there thought i was "really good at that skiing boarding thing". also took a few runs on tucker's (16) too. the snow was soft over there, like it was groomed recently. all in all, it was great! racers had a lot of the good stuff taken, but where i could find a line, the snow was good. mr t and i found out it can be really hard to find someone at afton. we searched for a hour, but never saw one another. although i did see some ugly green and orange poles, thought it was mr t, but it was somebody else who thinks retro is cool. out for more tomorrow from 10-4. -trent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powell1.8 Posted January 17, 2010 Report Share Posted January 17, 2010 I'm planning on being there tomorrow as well, but only until noon or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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