Ski Season Is Finally Here

[joeychitwood]

Any TRF skiers/boarders looking forward to the season? What's your favorite day? Groomers, back country, powder, boxes and rails, heli-skiing?

You wouldn't think cold weather would be lacking in Minnesota, but only today has it gotten cold enough to start making snow at the local ski area. Twenty snow guns began pumping out snow last night, and if the cold forecast proves accurate, we will open next Saturday. I took this photo of the snow guns shooting snow onto the beginners terrain-based learning areas.



The snow guns were named "The Minions" by a local four year-old who thought they resembled the movie character. They produce artificial snow that is very close to the real thing.



Many of you know that for the past three years, I've directed the local chapter of the National Ski Patrol after a twenty five year career as an ER doc. I have to admit that I've never enjoyed a job as much as this one. Bought a pair of new Volkl RTM skis this fall. I wore out the last pair of Volkls in two years.



Some fun photos from my hill. Jumping through the terrain park in the morning before the hill opens:



One of my assistant directors. Great attitude and work ethic:



Meeting at the top of a west run:



Toboggan training last winter:



Sunset:



A Monday evening crew. Most people aren't so happy about working on a Monday, but my crew is the best. 47 people, and not a single whiner or negative person in the bunch.



And finally, an obligatory wrist shot. Blue Tudor Sub 79090:

[CamSLC]

Awesome!!

Getting out Monday her in Utah.

[520Matt]

Skiing is a great family activity. Last years trip.

[RichM]

Great shots Joey. I miss my days at Killington.

[sleddog]

Shaping up to be a fantastic season here also... Closest (sought of) favorite skiing to me currently has a 440cm base. That's close to 14.5' feet for our imperial measurement users to the south.
I'm by no means a good skier, but I do know I'll be having lots of fun in that powder!!

Still, for some reason, I want a beach and some warm sun?! Go figure!

[rolehex]

Boarder here and Mammoth Mountain pass holder who's praying for a good winter. Once I hit the 40 year mark I decided to save the knees... so I steer clear from Moguls and jumps and enjoy the carving and powder days.

[THC]

I skied Beech Mountain and Sugar Mountain in Boone, NC for many years back in late 70's and early 80's... very fond memories indeed.. all my other travels have been tropical since.. not sure why

[Abdullah71601]

Originally Posted by sleddog

Shaping up to be a fantastic season here also... Closest (sought of) favorite skiing to me currently has a 440cm base. That's close to 14.5' feet for our imperial measurement users to the south.
I'm by no means a good skier, but I do know I'll be having lots of fun in that powder!!

Still, for some reason, I want a beach and some warm sun?! Go figure!

Go to Dubai. Great beach weather right now. And indoor skiing at the Mall of the Emirates. There's a good Rolex boutique at the mall too.

What more can you ask?

[Snow-Dweller]

I live in a ski resort in the French Alps.....and we're waiting for the snow to come. The snow making machines are running at night.

This was yesterday!

[Knappo 1307]

Beautiful pics!

[Kingair]

Originally Posted by 520Matt

Skiing is a great family activity. Last years trip.

Wooow this is quite a slope !

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[GB-man]

I learned to ski some 20 years ago as a kid and it's been such a rewarding hobby. Still waiting for our snow here in Western NY. When the local resort opens, I'll be there.

[Marcela]

Beautiful pictures and ski areas :-)
This picture was taken on the last day of 2015-16 ski season on the Whiteface Mountain in Adirondacks.
About 20 minutes later I fell, and broke my tibial plateau. Oy....
I have been recovering quite well, so, hopefully, by the end of January I will be able to ski again. Really looking forward to it.
Wishing everyone very excellent new season

[The Joker]

Originally Posted by Kingair

Wooow this is quite a slope !

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[Baco Noir]

Love to ski. We live in Denver and have a place up in Winter Park. They just opened before Thanksgiving and we will go up for the first time next weekend. Still too few runs open and no mogul runs, so we might just ride the fat bikes instead.

[joeychitwood]

Originally Posted by Rich Mickol

Great shots Joey. I miss my days at Killington.

I'm watching last week's women's World Cup races from Killington on TV right now. Incredible athletes. It's a given that these racers are going to be injured during a career, yet they power back. I'm amazed that Lindsay Vonn is already back in training after destroying her upper arm bone a few weeks ago. Amazing drive.

[AJM914]

Nice pics!

[joeychitwood]

Originally Posted by Snow-Dweller

I live in a ski resort in the French Alps.....and we're waiting for the snow to come. The snow making machines are running at night.

This was yesterday!

Originally Posted by GB-man

Still waiting for our snow here in Western NY. When the local resort opens, I'll be there.

The lack of snow worldwide has been concerning. Jackson Hole just opened this week, and at best, we will have 50% of the runs open by next weekend.

[joeychitwood]

Originally Posted by Marcela

Beautiful pictures and ski areas :-)
This picture was taken on the last day of 2015-16 ski season on the Whiteface Mountain in Adirondacks.
About 20 minutes later I fell, and broke my tibial plateau. Oy....
I have been recovering quite well, so, hopefully, by the end of January I will be able to ski again. Really looking forward to it.
Wishing everyone very excellent new season

Did you have a lot of plateau collapse or was it "just" cracked? Surgery? I hope you are able to return to skiing this year.

I can't count how many times injured skiers have told me that they were making their last run when they fell or crashed. One lesson I've learned as ski patrol director is to quit while you still fell you have more runs left in your legs.

[joeychitwood]

Originally Posted by sleddog

...for some reason, I want a beach and some warm sun?! Go figure!

Originally Posted by THC

........all my other travels have been tropical since.. not sure why

When faced with the choice of mountain skiing out west or lying on a Caribbean beach, the beach seems to win every time.

[Chewbacca]

much respect for the NSP teams.

[Marcela]

Originally Posted by joeychitwood

Did you have a lot of plateau collapse or was it "just" cracked? Surgery? I hope you are able to return to skiing this year.

I can't count how many times injured skiers have told me that they were making their last run when they fell or crashed. One lesson I've learned as ski patrol director is to quit while you still fell you have more runs left in your legs.

Thank you so much for your well wishes, really appreciate them :-)
Luckily, I suffered non-displaced fracture that did not require surgery.
After I fell and rested for a bit, I actually skied down not realizing that my leg was broken...It did feel "uncomfortable", but that really was all.
Before it happened, I felt absolutely great. It was a beautiful day, and I was supposed to play golf in the afternoon, so I wanted to leave little early.
My Dad (surgeon) always says: "Never ski the "last" run. Leave before that"

[BNA/LION]

Just got new boots a few weeks ago and need to get them heat molded to my feet before our first ski trip.

We are hoping for good snow fall in the Sierra Nevada is a mountain range. A great web site for tracking the weather at Mammoth Mountain! http://mammothweather.com/

Have a Great Ski Season and be Safe!

[joeychitwood]

One of the great benefits of patrolling is the training. Each year, we spend several eight-hour days on the slopes with PSIA instructors (four instructors per ten patroller-students) and learn new techniques and improve old ones. Here we are wearing 110 cm skis and trying to keep the poles perpendicular to the fall line.





One afternoon, we spent a lot of time wearing a 110 cm ski and one of our own to become more aware of our edges. Got a lot of looks from people while riding the lifts.





The minions are working day and night until opening day:





Can't wait for the day to come:

[Cru Jones]

Originally Posted by Marcela

Beautiful pictures and ski areas :-)
This picture was taken on the last day of 2015-16 ski season on the Whiteface Mountain in Adirondacks.
About 20 minutes later I fell, and broke my tibial plateau. Oy....
I have been recovering quite well, so, hopefully, by the end of January I will be able to ski again. Really looking forward to it.
Wishing everyone very excellent new season

What a beautiful looking last day! Looks like a perfect spring day.

Your first run back is coming soon.

[830.1]

Oh do I love skiing. Can't wait to make it up to the sierras. I starting skiing at 5 years old. I was thinking about getting my 4 year old daughter on some skis this year. After a fractured femur, tibia, and ruptured acl, I've began to slow down and be able to enjoy multiple seasons in a row. That means sticking to groomed runs. I love resorts that I can take a few chairs to the top and ski for 20-30 minutes all the way down to the bottom.


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[Abdullah71601]

Originally Posted by Snow-Dweller

I live in a ski resort in the French Alps.....and we're waiting for the snow to come. The snow making machines are running at night.

This was yesterday!

Ski Hawaii.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/12/04...foot-snow.html

[Marcela]

Originally Posted by Cru Jones

What a beautiful looking last day! Looks like a perfect spring day.

Your first run back is coming soon.

Thank you SO much

[Snow-Dweller]

We're now building pistes with man-made snow....

[Snow-Dweller]

...