Gecko Posted December 4, 2004 Report Share Posted December 4, 2004 It's a funny thing, at no time in my carreer have I ever known where I was going next over a year in advance...but I know where my last 3 years in the Navy are going to be...Groton CT...so I get to spend winter 06 finding a resort to call home (most likely Loon as I loved it 20 years ago) and a yard to build a private skatepool (28foot rt. kidney)... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hangten247 Posted December 4, 2004 Report Share Posted December 4, 2004 I think its been 20 years since I've been to Loon also, and I don't plan on going back. I think you'd be happier carving somwhere else. I don't know if you are lucky enough to be able to ride midweek, cause if you have no choice but to be a weekend warrior, those 'SKI 93' mountains are ALWAYS packed on the weekends. If you can stand an extra hr's drive, I'd say head to the Northeast Kingdom instead, (Burke Jay, etc), or some of the other Northern VT and NH mountains which are less travelled with smaller lines and better conditions, not to mention more room to carve without banging into anyone else, and posibly cheaper lift tickets too. I'd say Maine too, but Sunday River is usually packed. The Loaf would not be a wise daytrip, but would be nice if you had 2 days to go, not to mention waiting til later in the season when it is not so bitter cold up there. The less advertised the place is, the better the chance I'd want to ride there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gecko Posted December 4, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2004 I've had a fondness for those three mountains for years...though I love Stowe the Northwest Kingdom is further than I plan on for regular carving. Crowds don't bother me...I ride to work in worse that anything New England dishes out...for certain I will be staying away from southern Vermont Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy D Posted December 4, 2004 Report Share Posted December 4, 2004 So you play with something long and hard and full of seamen? :D Sorry, I knew this guy who was a submariner stationed in Groton. Oh, those submariners have filthy minds! Welcome to CT!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gecko Posted December 4, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2004 Originally posted by Tommy D So you play with something long and hard and full of seamen? :D Sorry, I knew this guy who was a submariner stationed in Groton. Oh, those submariners have filthy minds! Welcome to CT!!! Yes I'm returning to a job that I enjoy (fixxing Submarine Periscopes) that is close to home with options for travel. Yes it's a strange job but I I'm good at it and just for general info I am not a bubblehead...I'm an airdale and a photographer:D...this is my first time in CONUS in over a decade...I can't wait to come home (R.I.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hangten247 Posted December 4, 2004 Report Share Posted December 4, 2004 Well, working in the Ski/Snowboard industry off and on (mostly on) since the age of 14 (23 years now) has me a little jaded, I try to avoid the crowds as well as lift tickets I have to pay for (or at least fulll price tickets), which is what I based my 2 cents on. Certainly from Groton you likely have about a 3.5 to 4 hr drive to 'threedom' land, probably about the same drive I have from Cape Cod. I understand the 'soft spot' for those areas, not every mountain allowed snowboarding back then, so WV was one of my favorites at the time, first experience on a snowboard was at WV in 88, and I learned to carve during day trips to either WV or Stratton (ugh, a L-O-N-G day, esp in a Suzuki Samuri) back in 89. but if in '93 land', IMO, if I spent another 1/2 hr in the car, I could avoid most crowds, as it seemed the avg Bostonian S.P.O.R.E. didn't wanna drive more than 2 hrs for snow slidin'. Nowa days I take 1/2 as many trips but ride 2 days back to back. I gotta friend in Williston VT, Hey, his house is free to stay at (I buy the beer, his wife cooks breakfast, pretty good trade off) so I visit him once or twice a month and carve it up at (laugh if you want) Bolton Valley. Pretty cheap tix, and they got night riding too. Their season pass is pretty cheap, even for out of state flatlanders. If we feel adventurous, we head to Jay. As a VT resident, even he doesn't bother with Stowe at their prices, but I'd like to get there at least once. Another bud of mine makes weekday trips to Burke, and says its the best bang for the buck. My memory of Loon consists of waiting a 1/2 hr for a Gondy ride while trying to figure out what the message said over the fireplace. (If the Gr8 B MT, .........) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy D Posted December 4, 2004 Report Share Posted December 4, 2004 Originally posted by hangten247 My memory of Loon consists of waiting a 1/2 hr for a Gondy ride while trying to figure out what the message said over the fireplace. (If the Gr8 B MT, .........) The message...that darned message. :( I never did figure it out, even looking at the answer. Yeah, those lines at the Loon gondi are ridiculous, so I usually took the chairs. Good carving at loon! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo Posted December 4, 2004 Report Share Posted December 4, 2004 Originally posted by Tommy D The message...that darned message. :( I never did figure it out, even looking at the answer. Yeah, those lines at the Loon gondi are ridiculous, so I usually took the chairs. Good carving at loon! :) That's funny that you guys mention that sign above the fireplace in the gondola shack. I was up at Loon this morning. I typically never ride the gondi, but I did today and it was the first time that I saw the riddle. I was scratching my head, thinking WTF does that say??? Loon and WV are average mountains. Yet, I frequent them b/c I live less than 30 min away and they are ridiculously inexpensive with a Threedom Pass. Some trails are narrow and not ideal for carving, but generally on any given day you can find a few trails that have decent conditions and are wide enough & adequate for laying out carves. Like most New England resorts, weekends are usually packed after 10AM and snow conditions rapidly deteriorate. Today was one of those days when you say..."I'm never coming back here on a Saturday ever again!!". The lift lines weren't too bad, but they only had a couple of trails open which were jam packed with people to the point where I felt unsafe. Bear Claw from the top of the mountain was very flat & uneventful, but it had great packed powder conditions and was crowd free. I spent a lot of time cruising this run getting my legs back into the groove. Several trails then merged onto Lower Picked Rock which was the one and only trail that took you down to the Quad or Gondola. Most of the snow got skied off of Lower Picked Rock early. The trail was a mob scene!!! There were packs of racers, kids, and adults getting ski lessons on the trail. There was a narrow 100 yd long Jib Park roped off on the side of the trail that was packed with a hundred or so jibbers . Every couple of runs, I saw someone in the park being wrapped up in body bag and carted down the mountain in a sled. The trail itself was so crowded that I felt clostrophobic....almost like a cyclist riding in a pack of 150 other riders in the Tour de France. There was no room at all to lay down a carve or even deviate from your line. I felt like I had less than 10 feet of personal space on the trail. Anyways, as much as it sucked, I still had a fun day--it's just great to be back on snow. The snowguns were blowing so as more terrain opens up the crowds should dissipate. I'll probably go up again tomorrow and next weekend as well. Another mountain to think about is Bretton Woods. I went there as a kid when BW was somewhat rinky dink and had a mediocre experience. Now, after their expansion and various upgrades, a lot of people have mentioned that it's a great carving hill with lots of great cruising terrain. I'd like to check it out this winter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hangten247 Posted December 4, 2004 Report Share Posted December 4, 2004 I think the message loosly translated means this: "If the fire is about to go out, grab a SPORE from the lift line and throw him on the fire. You'll get warmer and the line will move faster." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Pushee Posted December 6, 2004 Report Share Posted December 6, 2004 The message...that darned message. I never did figure it out, even looking at the answer. Amaze your friends. Here's the translation: If the grate be empty put coal on. If the grate be full stop putting coal on, you'd be an ass to risk it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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