Welch 2011/2012

trent · December 30, 2011

12/30/11 - lessons!

bobble and i spent the morning down at welch. lookout and bakki were in great shape, just had to avoid a few thin spots. welch needs to turn on the guns! but the grooming was good.

we only took one run down dan's. it sucked. loose snow with ice underneath. jon jon was ok. the top was pretty loose, but the bottom section held pretty well.

it got too crowded for our spoiled tasted by 1:30 and we had to leave. could only make a few carved turned before being surrounded by mad bombers.

-trent

bobble had a skier ask if he could teach him to carve. the guy's wife was not keen on the idea. something about him just getting new skis this year, and he wasn't going to buy any more snow toys. probably didn't help that i told him he probably wouldn't ski anymore once carving. :biggthump

bobble · December 30, 2011

[apparently trent and i posted simultaneously]

drove to welch to meet up with trent. the drive out there was depressing. absolutely no snow.

flat light but it seemed to improve over time. i thought the weather said there'd be snow. nada.

started out on Lookout. decent grooming. somewhat soft. i'd say we were there most of the day. sucked getting off the chair. icy up on top. it occasionally got crowded with families but it wasn't nearly as bad as baki. we put up because it held up well.

on Baki the top wasn't so great. middle was okay. the flat light made it hard for me to see the transition. had a couple decent runs. we had to compete for space on the run. too many skiers dropping in. most were advanced skiers so they were more or less racing down the hill. i wiped out heelside on baki and sat there for a few seconds to catch my breath. i looked up and heard someone on the lift giving us a backhanded compliment on our technique.

dan's dive. didn't like it. only one run. trent thought it was snowcone. i thought it was crap. i maybe set my edge once. the flat light screwed me up towards the bottom.

jon jon. just okay. nothing too exciting except all the bras and panties on the trees.

overall it was okay considering the crappy weather we're having.

we left around 1:30pm. the lift lines became intolerable. i was grateful to leave with just enough energy for the drive home. i feel out of shape.

bobble · January 14, 2012

rode at afton then drove to welch. i dunno.... i guess it wasn't worth the effort. it started to snow and the light was so bad that welch started to turn on a few lights.

all the runs had new snow. not a day to drag arm/hand in the snow else you'll be pulled down. it was soft in some areas, hard in others. very inconsistent.

lookout - the top to first pitch was soft and slow. going down first pitch snow was hard and very fast. the midpoint the snow was soft again but very bumpy. only did two runs. i had serious issues with flat light. started to get vertigo.

bakki - worthless. chopped up on top. snow pushed around. huge mound on skiers right where trails merge. the uphill side had a steep pitch. looked like a jump. at the bottom there were huge mounds as well. could not, would not, did not set an edge. (@trent, you would've been WTF)

harleys - rollers were very steep. the flat light made it hard to see. only did two runs. one was to check out dan's from the chair, the other was to make it over to dykes dream. the wide open space was full of rollers.

dans dive - racers were on it

dykes dream - hugh snow pile at start of run. centerline of run was higher than the sides. not worth the effort it took to get there.

after i got down bakki i gave up and left.

bobble · January 16, 2012

trent, joe, greg, and myself. three out of four fell coming off the chair lift. guess which one didn't?

conditions at welch were a blast. :1luvu: i was already feeling fatigued when i got there. after three runs my front leg felt on fire. didn't see how i was going to make it through the day. after awhile i felt great. i think it was the sun shining on the run. powerful motivator.

lookout: fast and grippy. first run i was giggling. we spent most of the day on that run. for about a half hour or so we had it to ourselves. eventually it got busy. liked the snow mound at very the bottom on skiers right. fun to come aroud on it toe-side and lay down.

dans dive: had rollers here and there. not too bad except it was busy. i kept looking up hill on every turn. hard to do that on heel-side.

bakki: i always have problems with the way the run is perpetually in flat light. had a few decent runs. later in the day i didn't like it as much.

eye handy: there were a three guys ski/snowboarding sans jacket or shirt. we waited for the topless women but they were no shows.

dykes dream: sucked. my dream would be that it didn't suck. they should cut the trees down to widen it, regrade it so it has a bowl or pipe, and get rid of the long flat path on top. shall be Bobbles Dream.

jon jon: it was good but the lift lines were intolerable.

yeah, without a doubt we had definitely commanded the attention of the lookout chair lift. i saw more than one person point towards us. one skier asked greg and i about our boards. greg told them we were riding alpine snowboards. when i got to the bottom of the run i saw the same skier talking to a group of about 6-8 people. they were looking uphill as trent and joe were ripping it up. the skier said to the group "there called are alpine snowboards". every time trent, joe or greg started their run, people on the chair would crane their heads to get a better view. would be worth a video.

trent · January 16, 2012

what a great day today! worked my arse off trying to keep up with the other 3. couldn't do it, and i threw out my back! it was great watching bobble and joe work on their eurocarves. the crowds were dazzled! powell1.8 dazzled with big airs and fakie carving. me? i just watched the show. :biggthump

bobble doesn't need a camelbak.

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/IqoMx9KyULGzTORdsg3fxsgklddK1gPjhHgSXz5aCew?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-NmvDe9zk42s/TxN8bdh2wMI/AAAAAAAAG9w/1JZ0OAJV_VM/s640/IMG_5247.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/trentj02/HostingPicts?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCP2ZgLOer5aSKw&feat=embedwebsite">hosting picts</a></td></tr></table>

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/SOyje0oY-xBe4I3MnU4CcMgklddK1gPjhHgSXz5aCew?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-gYo_50lGZVU/TxN8aqy0EpI/AAAAAAAAG9o/0W75kuslfdM/s640/IMG_5246.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/trentj02/HostingPicts?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCP2ZgLOer5aSKw&feat=embedwebsite">hosting picts</a></td></tr></table>

i got blinded by the

shirt at lunch.

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Aziqr-BIZ1ki56tLBkCgxsgklddK1gPjhHgSXz5aCew?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-a7Kf0i21dhU/TxN8sJtfkAI/AAAAAAAAG-I/zV-HDhXY4IU/s640/IMG_5244.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/trentj02/HostingPicts?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCP2ZgLOer5aSKw&feat=embedwebsite">hosting picts</a></td></tr></table>

-trent

trent · January 19, 2012

powell1.8 and i spent the morning at welch.

lookout was pretty good, but the snow would occasionally push away.

bakki seemed ok, but was in shadow. couldn't see anything, and only took one run.

dan's was still loose snow, with some weird rollers. rode it for a while until powell1.8 got nearly clipped by a cheek-flapper in orange camo.

jon-jon was sweet! squeaky snow and solid. i got diverted into the woods on the catwalk after the chair. powell1.8 and the chair all had a good laugh; all i got was whiplash. :smashfrea

quote of the day - after our first run down dan's, we get on the chair and there's a new liftie working. he looks at powell1.8, and says "man! if this place had a commercial, you should be on it! i've never seen anyone so smooth before!". :biggthump hopefully he brings it up at the next company meeting, that'd be hilarious to see all the haters reaction, and the "re-education" they'd have to give him regarding carvers.

-trent

trent · February 1, 2012

meh. powell1.8 and i rode for a couple hours this morning. it was foggy, so the light sucked, couldn't see the snow. oh wait, there was brown showing on lookout, so you could see that. :smashfrea

snowcone / slush over ice on lookout. same on dan's, but not quite as hard underneath. the rollers are gone, so i guess that's good. top of jon-jon was great! bottom section had ice underneath. i got frustrated that it's only feb, and we've got spring conditions. pulled the plug early. hoping we get some colder weather soon.

-trent

Nicotine · February 5, 2012

Hoping to slice up Welch Monday. Looking for some sunshine as well. Eta...11:00.

trent · February 7, 2012

after the afton warm-up, i headed to welch. i was nervous on the drive down, worried that it'd be awful conditions. turned out, i had little to worry about.

lookout, bakki, and chicken were all in great shape. mostly carveable too. i made it down chicken carving 2 out of the 4 runs. the other 2, i chattered and slid down most of the bottom pitch. on bakki, i had a little better results. but i did get slammed to the ground on the bottom flat once.

dans dive was super soft, and very slushy. only took 3 runs down it. mostly just to leave my signature so nicotine would know someone else was out playing.

i got stopped by a skier who asked where / how to get gear. he apparently has a very old burton with rat trap bindings, and would like to get back into the sport. i gave him a bomber card. +50 points.

nicotine showed up! always great to ride with him. also humbling on how big he goes on every run. (i have a cell phone video of him jumping on lookout, but can't seem to get it to upload. trust me, he jumps big!)

-trent

Nicotine · February 7, 2012

Glad I ran into you Trent, that was a good time!

trent · February 11, 2012

bobble, mr. t, and i rode welch today. it rocked!

the light in the morning sucked, and the howling wind blowing uphill made it a challenge to get going, but the snow was awesome! lookout, bakki, and even dan's were great.

mr. t hadn't seen the back bowl, so we ventured over there. it sucked eggs. total ice. i tried to make 2 carves, and ripped my pants in the sliding, and sliding, and sliding, that ensued.

after lunch, the sun appeared. :biggthump lookout didn't disappoint. many carves made on that run.

we were watched a lot by one of the lifties. he wanted to see a 360 on bakki like he'd seen in a warren miller film. mr. t yelled, "this aint no movie!". liftie still enjoyed watching the show, even without hollywood magic. and a ski patrol came to give us a chat today too. something about how fun it looked doing what we were doing, and that he'd be kicked out of ski patrol if he did it. (i'm guessing that's a welch policy now. heh.)

-trent

bobble · February 11, 2012

bobble, mr. t, and i rode welch today. it rocked!
the light in the morning sucked, and the howling wind blowing uphill made it a challenge to get going, but the snow was awesome! lookout, bakki, and even dan's were great.

mr. t hadn't seen the back bowl, so we ventured over there. it sucked eggs. total ice. i tried to make 2 carves, and ripped my pants in the sliding, and sliding, and sliding, that ensued.

after lunch, the sun appeared. lookout didn't disappoint. many carves made on that run.

we were watched a lot by one of the lifties. he wanted to see a 360 on bakki like he'd seen in a warren miller film. mr. t yelled, "this aint no movie!". liftie still enjoyed watching the show, even without hollywood magic. and a ski patrol came to give us a chat today too. something about how fun it looked doing what we were doing, and that he'd be kicked out of ski patrol if he did it. (i'm guessing that's a welch policy now. heh.)

-trent

went to welch and ... WHOOOOOOOA!!!! [WARNING: not safe for work]

conditions were that good! all smiles today. fingers were freezing. glad we broke for lunch when we did.

i had brought my GoPro with a front helmet mount. the video footage is not worth posting; jittery, lens point downward, etc. next time i'll wear a bandana or something... kept making weird faces.

also tried trent's coiler. probably not the ideal set of conditions (like ice) to test a metal board but it was still fun! lookout got chopped up. rode through the chop and the board was definitely damper.

trent · February 11, 2012

there's d-team racing at welch on sunday, 2/12. might be very busy in the morning. they start inspecting at 9, racing at 10. will probably finish around 2 or 3.

-trent

bonzo · February 15, 2012

I was there for the races on Sunday. Do I ever appreciate the grooming at Afton. I had never experienced a vertical ice rink until I boarded the "double black" back bowl.

My little 2 planker must love the ice since he took home the gold.

Nicotine · February 17, 2012

Joe D. · February 17, 2012

fun pictures

bobble · February 19, 2012

:angryfire

BobD · February 19, 2012

You are such an animal Bob.

There's a lot of pull on the rear heel on toe sides.

trent · February 19, 2012

glad you weren't hurt bob! wish i was able to capture more video of bobble sliding down bakki on his arse! plus i don't have the right cable anyway for our new computer, so bobble is spared the video (for now).

powell1.8, joe d, bobble and i had a fun morning. lookout, bakki, and chicken were all fun! it did get crowded early today. we also saw chris from afton giving a lesson on hardboots. his student is much improved over last year. :biggthump didn't get a chance to talk to them, and they didn't like joe d.

after the equipment failure, we ate lunch. the consensus was that bobble needs a metal board. maybe boots too, but definitely a new board. the heel wouldn't have broken on a metal board. plus bobble would never fall. and his carving would bring world peace. all good reasons for a new board, and all true.

nicotine finally got out of bed and joined us for a little while. we made some runs down lookout. more fun and smiles had. eventually, the new lift shut down after many stoppages. once the lines started getting longer than 5 people, i lost interest. (man, we're spoiled riding early mornings!)

-trent

bobble · February 19, 2012

after the equipment failure, we ate lunch. the consensus was that bobble needs a metal board. maybe boots too, but definitely a new board. the heel wouldn't have broken on a metal board. plus bobble would never fall. and his carving would bring world peace. all good reasons for a new board, and all true.

moira is laughing :biggthump

bobble · February 19, 2012

You are such an animal Bob.
There's a lot of pull on the rear heel on toe sides.

no doubt. so far i've cracked the heels on my UPS (or UPZ) boots, then the Deeluxe Suzukas, and now this. not sure what to think.

when i rode early in the morning i felt weird on heel-side turns like somehow my knees were too close together and bunched up. i got used to it. later on when i switched boards i felt a popping sensation inside my boot but didn't think much of it. i think i rode 2+ runs afterwards. later on top of baki i took one heel-side turn and felt another popping sensation. pulled over to the side to check my binding and that was when i realized the heel tore off. joe came down to lend assistance.

my ass makes for a great sled. great show for the chairlift.

bobble · February 19, 2012

here's a photo i took of the strap i broke at Afton last weekend. same boot boot. replacing those straps are a bitch.

trent · February 20, 2012

bobble said he wished he had small hands to make boot repairs easier.

-trent

nelsonboat · February 21, 2012

Never posted before, but I guess I'm the new student. Second season on hardboots, and having a lot of fun learning. Not sure about the comment about not liking Joe D. I don't know him. Thanks for much improved comment. Had a great time with Chris, he had some good pointers. Heading out to Vermont this weekend to board at Jay Peak, Killington, and Sugarbush. We'll see if they have anymore snow than here

Dan

bigwavedave · February 21, 2012

Heading out to Vermont this weekend to board at Jay Peak, Killington, and Sugarbush. We'll see if they have anymore snow than here

Dan

You should check out Stratton while you're there--East coast Expression Session starts this weekend--should be a lot of carvers there. Look it up on the forum here.

Welch 2011/2012

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