New Member Intro

[JK_PA]

Hello everyone. My name is John and I currently reside in the Philadelphia area. I’m originally from NY and did not have the opportunity to ski much growing up. It was only when I moved to Bozeman, Montana, in the 90s that my skiing picked up (and the opportunity to regularly ski the Ridge at Bridger Bowl significantly improved my abilities).

I have been back on the East Coast for a couple decades now and I ski NY and New England whenever possible. I don’t really have a hill I call home. Hunter used to feel that way but not much anymore (pretty much for the same reasons outlined by others on this blog). Where I skied the most this year was actually a small local hill, Spring Mountain, with my wife as she recovers from a hip replacement. Spring Mountain reminds me of Mount Peter in that it is a great place to learn to ski (and who knew that it’s also great for recovery from a hip replacement).

Besides alpine, I also take out the cross-country skis whenever there is the thinnest of cover (still waiting for my area to get the thinnest of cover though) and, when conditions and/or location permit, I truly enjoy playing in the woods on my old backcountry set-up. I started following this blog recently and I appreciate the discussions, condition reports and the collective knowledge base of this community. I look forward to contributing when I have something to add.

 

[trackbiker]

Hello everyone. My name is John and I currently reside in the Philadelphia area. I’m originally from NY and did not have the opportunity to ski much growing up. It was only when I moved to Bozeman, Montana, in the 90s that my skiing picked up (and the opportunity to regularly ski the Ridge at Bridger Bowl significantly improved my abilities).

I have been back on the East Coast for a couple decades now and I ski NY and New England whenever possible. I don’t really have a hill I call home. Hunter used to feel that way but not much anymore (pretty much for the same reasons outlined by others on this blog). Where I skied the most this year was actually a small local hill, Spring Mountain, with my wife as she recovers from a hip replacement. Spring Mountain reminds me of Mount Peter in that it is a great place to learn to ski (and who knew that it’s also great for recovery from a hip replacement).

Besides alpine, I also take out the cross-country skis whenever there is the thinnest of cover (still waiting for my area to get the thinnest of cover though) and, when conditions and/or location permit, I truly enjoy playing in the woods on my old backcountry set-up. I started following this blog recently and I appreciate the discussions, condition reports and the collective knowledge base of this community. I look forward to contributing when I have something to add.

Welcome JK_PA. I learned to ski at Spring Mountain. I try to get there once a year just to support them. Haven't been in few years but it is a great little feeder hill. If you haven't tried Bear Creek you might want to check it out. A little bigger than Spring Mountain and has a great lodge and restaurant. When i heard years ago that someone bought Doe Mountain and was going to make it into a four season resort, I thought they crazy. But it has been very successful.

 

[Harvey]

Hello everyone. My name is John and I currently reside in the Philadelphia area. I’m originally from NY and did not have the opportunity to ski much growing up. It was only when I moved to Bozeman, Montana, in the 90s that my skiing picked up (and the opportunity to regularly ski the Ridge at Bridger Bowl significantly improved my abilities).

I have been back on the East Coast for a couple decades now and I ski NY and New England whenever possible. I don’t really have a hill I call home. Hunter used to feel that way but not much anymore (pretty much for the same reasons outlined by others on this blog). Where I skied the most this year was actually a small local hill, Spring Mountain, with my wife as she recovers from a hip replacement. Spring Mountain reminds me of Mount Peter in that it is a great place to learn to ski (and who knew that it’s also great for recovery from a hip replacement).

Besides alpine, I also take out the cross-country skis whenever there is the thinnest of cover (still waiting for my area to get the thinnest of cover though) and, when conditions and/or location permit, I truly enjoy playing in the woods on my old backcountry set-up. I started following this blog recently and I appreciate the discussions, condition reports and the collective knowledge base of this community. I look forward to contributing when I have something to add.

Great intro post. Welcome JK.

 

[toddscott]

Hello Everyone, My name is Todd. I'm new here. I've been skiing the Catskills for 20+ years. I switched over to telemark about 15 years ago, but there have been some gap years due to Covid and my son's winter sports activities. You will find me most weekends at Belleayre with my family. If you tele at Belleayre I'd love to link up and take some turns together. Cheers!

 

[gregmarx]

Hey folks - I'm a middle aged dad in the NYC area, came to skiing fairly late but I've got the bug bad the last couple years. Have found this site a great resource for getting a deeper understanding of the different mountains in our region and satisfying my craving for general ski-related content.

 

[Harvey]

Haha greg we are all middle age dads, except some of us don't have kids, and some of us are older, and a few of us are women. And we got a few snowboarders, and snoloco too. So yeah.

 

[MarzNC]

Hey folks - I'm a middle aged dad in the NYC area, came to skiing fairly late but I've got the bug bad the last couple years. Have found this site a great resource for getting a deeper understanding of the different mountains in our region and satisfying my craving for general ski-related content.

Welcome! How old are the kid(s)? How far are you willing to drive for turns on snow?

 

[gregmarx]

thanks! Kids are 12 and (about to be) 8, they are learning but not remotely as obsessed as me. We have been to Elk and Bromley this season as a family, wife and I hit all the Catskills mountains over a couple of weekend getaways this year and last. Christmas trips to Vt (Mt Snow and Sugarbush) the last couple years. The middle schooler doesn't get a long Feb break so Christmas is really the only time we can consider more than 4 hours, and even that is pushing it... I am dreaming on a Jay trip but it won't be easy.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

I am dreaming on a Jay trip but it won't be easy.

Part of what makes it worthwhile.

 

[MarzNC]

thanks! Kids are 12 and (about to be) 8, they are learning but not remotely as obsessed as me. We have been to Elk and Bromley this season as a family, wife and I hit all the Catskills mountains over a couple of weekend getaways this year and last. Christmas trips to Vt (Mt Snow and Sugarbush) the last couple years. The middle schooler doesn't get a long Feb break so Christmas is really the only time we can consider more than 4 hours, and even that is pushing it... I am dreaming on a Jay trip but it won't be easy.

Ah, at that age it helps a lot if they have a friend to ski with. Meaning anyone who isn't their parent. Can be an adult, but better if the ski buddy is around their age. My daughter and my friend's kids love to ski with "Uncle Bill" or "Uncle Chris" (my ski buddies, not related to any of us). when they were tweens.

My daughter was very social and loved ski school, so that made it easier when she was learning. Later on, we planned trips with one of her friends. Although none of them ever got past the advanced beginner stage. She was happy to be a social skier on greens and blues even after she could ski blacks at Alta. She was a better skier than I was by age 11 thanks to instructors at our home hill (Massanutten in northern VA) and Alta (spring break trips). Took me quite a few years of skiing more and taking lessons as advanced intermediate/low advanced skier to become better (after age 55).