Busy Night

Picked up Robin and his friend Logan today and made it to Blue around 5pm.   The boys took off and I Skied single and rarely had to wait any more then a few minutes to catch a chair.      Made runs on Water Fall and Big Baby before making my way back to the North End of the resort.  Line ups at the Silver Bullet were huge so I took off the boards and walked a short distance to the Magic Carpet then Graduate and made my way to the Century Express.  One run on Happy Valley then it was up and down time in the Terrain Park.... no waits at all!    Took a break for dinner at 7 then finished up meeting the boys at the car at 9:30.

Wow Snow

 Mason, Noah, Blake and myself headed to Blue for an Evening on the slopes.  There was tons of new sn!ow ,  not too hard to find powder and the line ups were quite reasonable    Blake and Noah hung out  in the Terrain Park ,  Mason and I hot Happy Valley after it was groomed.    Stopped for dinner around 7 and headed home around 9:30.... great night

Christmas

Managed to fit in a couple of hours on the Hill last night.   Had Ryan out for his first time this season.  Parked at the top of the hill  again.   Crowds were thin and one more run was open ,  Memory Lane!   Skied mostly on Tranquility and Memory Lane ,  snow was pretty good ... icy at the top where it was narrow and steep otherwise better snow then last week.  I was happy to be able to go top to bottom without stopping.

And there was Snow!

Freezing rain and warm temps at home late this afternoon.  Braved the not so perfect Ski weather heading to Blue hoping it would be OK and were weren't dissapointed.  Arrived to -2C and Snow Making going ninety!  As a matter of fact they had been making snow all day on Smart Alec and Tranquility and it was rather deep and only a few icy spots.   They no sooner turned off the snow making and the natural stuff started to fall ,  and fall and then really fall.    Had Robin my son and his friend with me this eve.  First night for both of them and they were having a blast.  Last ride up was at 9:45 .... we were the only car parked the top of the Hill.  It was snowing hard as we left and I almost didn't make it up the Hill!    The drive back was slow , snow all the way to Priceville and by the time we hot Durham there was green lawns ... go figure.

Spring Skiing in December

Sunny Sky's and temperatures in the low single digits made for a rather pleasant day of Skiing.  Noah , Blake and I headed out just before lunch today.   Smart Alex and Tranquility we really icy ,  not at all soft like last night.   Made our way to the Badlands  chair and spent some time in the Terrain Park.  The boys had a blast on the features and I found a good line with some soft snow.

2012-2013 Ski Season Start

Tuesday December 18th ...opened the 2012-2013 Ski Season last night.

Hit the slopes around 6pm with Mason 16, Noah and Blake 12 and Moi!     Skied Smart Alec, Tranquility and Graduate    The snow was wet and heavy but everyone managed quite well and really enjoyed the start of the season.   Best part was that we had the hill to ourselves.... that will change!!!!   After 3 hours of  up/down we called it a night.  Noah and Blake are off school due to a teachers strike so we are heading back to Blue today.   They are looking forward to getting into the Terrain Park.

2012-2013

Its been awile since I posted here ,  something to do with the fact that its been Summer!  

Last week I purchased  five 5X7 passes to Blue.    Myself ,  Ryan , Robin , Mason and Noah will be hitting  the slopes.

After not getting new Skis last year I committed to picking up some before this season began.   I have been wanting shorter dual tipped Skis but I settled for the 150cm  K2 A.M.P. Force Skis instead.

The idea behind this ski is a no brianer fun time boards.  I  have been in 195-205 cm Skis last year that were 10+ years old so its about time to upgrade to something that's fun and easy and certainly more appropriate for Blue.  Below is a review for my new boards,  can't wait to check them out... bring on the snow! 

Ski not Run

Way too nice today not to take in some more Spring Skiing. Noah was keen so we packed up the Corolla and were on the Hill by 11:00 am. I was going to head out in my Ski pants but quickly realized that I was way over dressed. So it was a quick change to Shorts , and a Tech T. The following picture is that of my 12 year old expressing how he felt about my Shorts...

Noah never really got over the idea of Shorts but I was very comfortable soaking up the Sun...

With the exception of a 20 minute break for Lunch we Skied until 5pm enjoying the spring conditions.

Spring Skiing

March 13 wasn't quite Spring but the 13C temp and Sunshine sure made it feel that way. Took Robin, Mason and his friend to Blue today. Mason opted not to have a membership for Christmas and opted for a tablet instead. I told him I would put him on the hill one day so today was it. $73.00 later we had a lift ticket, snow board and boots.

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I love Spring Skiing , hands down. I like the snow ...really love the snow and to be out in the warm sunshine is simply amazing. Masons friend was pretty new so Robin and I took off for the first hour and got a bunch of runs in. There was no one on the hill and most of the time we rode up by ourselves. We got together with Mason and friend and did a few runs on the freshly groomed Happy Vally ...love the corduroy trail. We broke for dinner around 7:00 and pigged out on some Bamboozle Burgers , pretty reasonable dinner .... $41.00 to stuff 3 16 year olds and myself. Day tuned to nigh while we ate and we returned to the hill under darkness. Headed up to Water Fall then made out way back to Tranquility before calling it a night just before they shut down the hill at 10:00 pm.

Great night

Was on the hill a little after 6pm after working today. Tried to meet up with Lisa and Martin at 6:30 at the clock tower but they were a no show. I had the right skis for the right conditions on the right night! It was fast and it felt natural and I was flying and feeling good. Very few were on the hill, no waits and no traffic but that is part of what made it so good this evening. Skied my heart out to cranked tunes for a couple of hours then headed home.

Ryan at Blue

Leap Day at Blue

Its only once every 4 years that you get a chance to Ski at Blue on February 29th so I hit the slopes today. I was really excited heading out with all the fresh snow this morning. Picked Ryan up in Durham then we headed down 4 to Grey Rd 2. It was blowing and snowing so heavy I didn't jump on the Rd 19 to Blue at Ravena instead I headed on 2 until 40 then loop back around....an extra 20 minutes but I was sure if the little Corolla would have made it!

Parked beside Patrick Rose's truck at the base of Graduate ...no sign of Patrick! Headed north and hung out there for the morning

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Hit the Wing place for lunch .....

We watched a Hockey game on the pond as we enjoyed out Hot Honey Garlic Wings ...

We Skied Waterfall for a bit then headed over towards Smart Alec and Tranquility. The snow changed to ice pellets then freezing rain. A trip up the mountain was a journey into the clouds...

We soon had iced up Goggles and looked like Glazed Donuts so we decided to call it a day and headed home.

Just another great day at Blue.

Beaver Tails at Blue Mountain

Night Skiing

Robin and I almost didn't make it! Was 5min from the hill when I realized I forgot my Boots .... yup my Boots. Add 1 hour of extra driving to the eve...what a d'oh head. There was lots of snow on the hill but it was in desperate need of grooming, variable conditions for sure. Was having fun until I wiped out under the Silver Bullet Chair. I was going full tilt and caught an edge. Fell downhill breaking my fall with my left arm and then head. As I was tumbling two thoughts crossed my mind , God please don't let me get hurt and why the F are my bindings not releasing. For close to a minute after the wipe out I couldn't hear ... really freaky. I am very glad that I had my Helmet on.

Monday Night

Robin twisted my arm , sent me an email " what about Blue tonight". Well that was enough to rush home after work do this that and the other thing then hurry out to the hill!

Noah tagged along for his third outing of the year and was thoroughly in love with the corn snow when we made our first run around 5:30. We made our first appearance in the Super Pipe , Robin Blew a Ski on his way up ... his 170lbs and bindings set for a beginner was a recipe for disaster. Fortunately he didn't hurt himself ... next move was to the work bench at the Century lift. Bindings are now set more appropriately.

Most fun was in the Enchanted Forest and Waterfall jumps...




Called it a night at 8:30 pm ... in spite of going back to Blue with JDSS Snow Dogs on Tuesday Robin said " can we do one more run" . He truly is loving it!

Another day at Blue

The line ups were terrible...



It was overcrowded ...


We couldn't keep our Skis on the ground...

and the Beaver Tails were way too big....



but I did manage to get a few runs in ...




Great weather , great snow, great company and we had the place to ourselves. It was a perfect day to be on the slopes!

Snowing in all the right places...

With mids and a cold behind me last week I headed for Blue first thing this morning. Checked the radar before I left and they were getting hammered with snow. Moments after I arrived my car was covered in snow ....



Its been awhile since I Skied in powder that deep and it took a bit to adjust to but once I did it was sweet. There was almost no one on the hill so it was an up/down no wait kind of morning. Skied the North end for the first time this year. Headed back to the " L Hill" ans made my way into lots of virgin snow...

Found my grove on Big Baby , finished off the morning there then headed home at noon. May back tonight.

Sunday Jan 8 2012

After doing a 55+K 6 hour Run on Saturday I went Skiing with Robin and Landon on Sunday Eve. I must admit that I always feel a bit giddy when it comes to the run/ski combo ... like how cool is it that I ran for 6 hours yesterday and then went Skiing the next day!!!!!

Let the kids come to me this time! Left home at 3:15 and cover the 60K to the parking lit at the top of Blue arriving before 4pm. We finished our first run at 4:15 ending up at the Southern Comfort Chair. With 15 min remaining before Eve Skiing started we went in and had dinner. I had the most excellent Vegetable Pene and a small bottle of Red Wine... my Blue Mountain fav! We made our first chair up at 4:40pm . For the first hour we stuck to Water Fall ... no crowds at all .. up/down. By 5:40 we headed over to the Silver Bullet ... big crowds , 10min + to get up the hill. We the headed to Happy Valley and the Century Express , not as busy but Happy Valley was packed. We made are way back to Water Fall and made our last chair up the Silver Bullet just before 8pm....

Another great night at Blue.

I am working mid this week so I doubt I will make it out but I am quite looking forward to being off next week through the day...bring on the snow!

Ski Team

Rounded up the Ski Team and hit the slopes last night.

Getting to the Hill was a bit of a challenge. Working 6am to 4pm all week I didn't want it to be a late night so it was a rush to get on the Hill. So it was off at 4pm and home at 4:20 .... did the fire , grabbed Noah and 2 Snowboards and boots, 2 Skis and Boots , Poles , Helmets , Goggles , Passes .... and so on and so forth . Loaded up the Corolla and headed to Durham to trade cars. I can only manage 3+ gear in the Corolla , Camry is 4+ gear and the Durango is 6+ gear but I blew the rear brakes last week. So car trade was done by 5:15 then it was off to pick up Ryan and Robin. Robins Skis were at his buddy's a little West of Durham .... add another 20 minutes and we are finally heading in the right direction! Now the car is 1/4 tank .... so its a stop in Flesherton for fuel. Finally made it to the top of the Hill around 6:20pm... not bad considering what it took to get there!!!!!

We headed across the trail to hit Happy Valley for the first run. Conditions were fantastic , soft s now and little ice. Ryan had to pick up his pass so I waited for him while Robin and Noah headed back up again. Once Ryan could get on the lift we headed out Skiing towards the South end of the resort. Robin went off to meet his friends with instructions to meet back at the car at 9:00 pm. Ryan and Noah and I stuck together heading on the crossover trails to get to the Silver Bullet then South Chair. These trails were really icy and Noah had a tough go of it and was getting a little frustrated. All was well when we made it to Waterfall and eventually the Enchanted Forest where it wasn't too busy or icy and the snow was soft. Skied the South end then headed back and grabbed a bite at the Village Cafe before making out way back up to the parking lot.

Pulled out of Blue at 09:30. In keeping with the start of the day the 40min drive home turned into 90 minutes. Ryan wanted dropped off near Homestead then Robin in Durham and of course when I got home I had to unload the Ski teams equipment. After all was said and done I rolled into bed and reset the alarm from 4am to 5am for that extra hour of sleep.

Things not to do....

Untitled from Poor Boyz Productions on Vimeo.