The Ski Life Blog

Ski Day 27: Done for the Season

Posted on by Harvey

Last Friday after I’d skied six days in a row, I got greedy and went for a seventh. I already had a great week with three powder days in that six day romp: powder at Gore on 2/25, powder at Mad River Glen on 2/26 and powder at Cannon on March 1st.

Chatiemac-Glades
Gore Mtn Feb 25 2012

I spent four of those ski days in New Hampshire at the blogger’s summit skiing Cannon/Mittersill, Attitash, Wildcat and the Sherbie on Mount Washington. We couldn’t have had better luck, with a week picked months in advance, especially when you consider the low snowfall totals recorded this year.

In New York, it snowed overnight Wednesday into Thursday, and from what I’d heard the skiing was as good at Gore as it has been all season.

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Tagged: Adirondacks, Mad River Glen, NH, Powder, Ski Life, VT33 Comments

Ode to a Plow Guy

Posted on by Harvey
plow guy
Roger plows the Valentine’s Day Storm 2007

I had a plow guy, and I have to admit I took him for granted. When it snowed, he plowed. When it snowed hard, he plowed twice.

His name was Roger. During the mega storm of February 2007, he backdragged enough of our driveway in the middle of the night to allow me to get safely off the road. Then he came back in the morning with his tractor. He dug it all out, and then came back again with the plow to clean it up — all included in his price of $35 per storm.

Once he pulled me out of a jam with his truck and a chain, and wouldn’t take a dime. He said “I’m pulling you out of the snowbank because you’re my neighbor, not because I’m your plow guy.”

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Tagged: Ski Life5 Comments

Anticipating the Start of Ski Season

Posted on by Harvey

This November has been quite warm, but that’s not all that unusual. Eastern skiers often fret about the possible postponement of opening day, scheduled for Black Friday at many mountains. I looked back through early season posts to see what I was thinking in years past.

Colder temps forecasted.
A forecast from a different year

In November of 2009, while skiers in the western US were enjoying cold temps and fresh snow, eastern skiers were sweating it out. On November 22, I posted a 6-10 day temperature outlook from the National Weather Service that promised colder air for the east.

That year opening day at Gore featured only 250 feet of vertical. As usual, I had a good time, even though pickins were slim. The next day at Whiteface also opened a single run, but in true Whiteface style, that run featured 1500 feet of vertical.

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Tagged: Ski Life, Weather6 Comments