AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY GAPING- GAPING STYLE

so I took a little break from the blog because of fashion week and then disease. some might say they are the same thing
anyway.......
here are some gapers doing their thing

To have proper gape style one must ski onto the pavement before removing skis.

Scottish Beetle Juice is hated by miniature pandas and is often attacked. Gaper style Fashion Week.

i could very well be part gaper......

SNOW? ARE YOU THERE.... ITS ME, RATFACE

my Sun Valley early/late pass

What have I been up to?
I'm sure you are all dying to know.
(No one cares)
Well, I better write it down; I seem to forget things as soon as they happen.








 
 
 

The Giant at Jay

I've got 14 days on the hill.....
should be more but there are a million stupid excesses, like:
(all these should be read in a super whinny voice)
I live in Brooklyn......
More people need to give me money.......
The thing that I put in my binding that is connected to my leg seems to be broken or something......
I have a job.....
I'm old and fat......
My ass hurts........

Mary and the snow-less bowls- Sun Valley

Anyway-
sorry about that
I've had some days in Sun Valley, Targhee, Killington, and Jay Peak.
The lack of snow at the places I have been privileged to frequent could be devastating to some
but I'm just beginning the season of my life.

Me & Andy- Sun Valley

Sun Valley- Idaho
My mecca. Spent eight days riding with my family
and friends.
Most of the hill was open and the trip was filled with sweet Sun Valley bluebird days.
I missed the bowls terribly. 
We discovered the horrors of doppelgapers.
and had some detonating fun.

Mary and the Grand Teton- Targhee

Targhee- Wyoming
Spent two days here with lil sis Mary and there was pow, cause it's Targhee.
but there was a lot of stuff hiding ready to bite
Yeah, I got eight core shots..... 
it was totally worth it-
Team Awesome was born

bare bunny hill- Killington

Killington- Vermont
Spent two days with the Giant
about half the massive resort was open, no stash or pipe, but they've got some new parks.
Was cool to see Killington doing well after hurricane Irene- they got hit pretty hard.
Day two the famous blue stuff came out- I believe it's called ice?
Just suck it up and go straight

Jay Peak- Vermont (they say it's VT but it's like, really Canada)
Spent four days here with The Giant, Zims, and Yuko.
I only rode two, due to my traitor of a foot.

Jay is where it is at in the east.
And the trees are where it's at, at Jay.
Thank goodness they had some snow.
It didn't get warmer than -5, and that was balmy.
Can't wait to return.

                                                 The west is getting pounded.....

                                                    in the east we wait for ours

CONTESTS YOU CANT WIN III

my lil sis- Mar

WIN A COW
Buy tickets to win a cow. If you can not fit a cow in your apt. on Grand and Berry then a farmer will give you $500. All the proceeds of this contest go to save the Vermont town of Wilmigton.  (http://www.floodstockvt.com/WinaCow.html)

y'all dont know about shady glen

FRANK151/ IRONLAK CONTEST    
Three winners will win: A set of Ironlak Strikers (20 twin-tipped markers in a quality stand-up fabric case), An Ironlak sketch book, A set of Ironlak 0.2mm Technical Drawing Pens (water resistant, pigment ink). You have to create a profile on the Frank151 site and leave a comment about your favorite article in Frank Chapter 41. (http://www.frank151.com/blog/2011/09/14/ironlak_striker_graphic_marker_giveaway?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter)


A-BASIN, BRECK, VAIL, THE BEAV, KEYSTONE, HEAVENLY, AND NORTHSTAR
If you buy an epic pass (http://elevatedlocals.blogspot.com/2011/08/discounts-heads-up-for-next-season.html) before 9/25 you could win an Epic pass for life. For life, son. (http://www.snow.com/epic-pass/info/epicpassforlife.aspx)

make her mouth really wide- that'll sell stuff

THE HAPPENINGS- SQUAW AND BURTON

Squaw contest
So if your mountain is Squaw- write a little something about what brought you to Tahoe and why you chose to rip at Squaw and maybe they will throw you $50 or maybe they will send you a hat or maybe they will laugh at you and you will be shunned on your hill and spiral into a deep depression.
(http://unofficialnetworks.com/squaw-stories-tales-olympic-valley-california-unofficial-contest-36289/)

Burton sale- Aug. 26th
The giant Burton warehouse sale is this Fri.-Sun (Aug. 26th-28th). It's in Burlington, VT. This sale is nuts- they just get ride of everything they have from last season. So it's pretty sweet- if you're into Burton. (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=140834492669407)

DISCOUNTS- HEADS UP FOR NEXT SEASON

me- Jay- Valentine's day last year   photo-The Giant

So most mountains sell discounted passes during the fall. Here are some deals and deadlines if you need to save for a bit;  I never have piles of money lying around.

Sun Valley:
So the season pass is a fortune $1,549 (you need to go 23 days to break even), but there are some sweet deals in here: http://www.sunvalley.com/tickets/passes/. I got the early/late last year, and it rocked. The best deals need to be purchased before 9/5/11.

Jackson:
Jackson's season is Nov. 26th- April 8th (135 days) so if you hit the hill 100 times it's like $12 a day with a $1,195 season pass- no working allowed (nineteen days to break even) But seriously, they have sweet college deals (Mary). http://www.jacksonhole.com/season-pass.html

Breck snow sculptures- two years age     photo- The Giant

Jay Peak:
My east coast fav. The Season Pass is $649 until Oct. 11th. Tickets are $69 so you need to go 10 times to break even. http://www.jaypeakresort.com/#/skiing_riding/rates_hours/season_passes/

Targhee:
It's $599 (9 days to break even) for a season pass before 9/11/2011. It's $249 for a college pass (Mary- four times to break even). http://www.grandtarghee.com/the-mountain/rates/season-passes.php

Killington:
Their midweek pass is $499 until 10/13/2011. Their lift tickets are $69 so you need to go 8 times during the week to break even. http://www.killington.com/winter/plan/tickets_and_cards/comparison_chart/index.html

Hunter:
A season pass is $849 before 10/15/2011 (http://www.huntermtn.com/huntermtn/tickets-passes/season-passes.aspx). That's 13 days to break even. But the midweek is $299, only five times to break even.

Pomerelle:
A season pass is $316.94 with tax. http://www.pomerelle-mtn.com/lift-rates/season-passes/index.htm
That's nine times to break even. This deal is good until Sept. 20th.

Breck, Vail, Beaver, Keystone, Heavenly, Northstar, and A-Basin:
The amazing epic pass is $649 and gives you unlimited access to all of these resorts. There isn't a deadline on the website, but I know you can't get this deal after the season starts. http://www.breckenridge.com/plan-a-trip/season-passes/season-passes-explorer.aspx?page=viewall Every time I see this deal I can't understand why I don't live there.

Ok, that's where I know I'm going next season- so that's all that matters- Ahahahahah
not really, I'll do more next Fri.

Targhee- Rach and me last March

DISCOUNTS- ROOTIN' FOR DEALS

OKEMO-
$39 tickets for March 24th, March 31st if you buy them online (http://www.okemo.com/okemowinter/ratesandrentals/specialdeals/onlinedeals.asp)
$39 tickets for Ladies on Tues.
$10 on April 1 if you bring 3 non perishable items

GRAND TARGHEE
$199 Daylight savings pass- valid March 13- April 17th
(http://www.grandtarghee.com/the-mountain/rates/daylight-savings-pass.php)
Mon. March 28th- Twofer special- register online a day before and pay $69 for two lift tickets
(http://www.grandtarghee.com/the-mountain/rates/twofer.php)

SUN VALLEY
$79 gets you a lift ticket and a stay in the fancy Sun Valley lodge until the end of the year, you need to bring someone or it's $119 for a room and a ticket (http://www.sunvalley.com/trip-planner/deals/)

HUNTER MOUNTAIN
$169 to ride as much as you like till the end of the season
(http://www.huntermtn.com/huntermtn/tickets-passes/march-into-spring.aspx)

BAGGING IT IN THE RAIN- KILLINGTON

Yuko

MARCH 5TH & 6TH 2011

me

We waited till the last minute to book a hotel in Killington and everything was full. We knew it was going to be a busy on the hill. Bleech

Then a miracle-
It rained

 On sat. The parking lots were full. The bars and lodges were full. We had the hill to ourselves.

Ryan watches for Zombies

Q's belly bag shirt

                           


 On Sunday it was a full on rain storm. We played in the slush.  In plastic bags.                                            

Yuko just kills it

JAY PEAK- MOVING ON UP

Q, doing stuff

Jay Peak is located in the Green Mountains and Jay National Forest, 5 miles from Canada in Vermont. The elevation is 3,858'. It used to be higher, but they cut off the top to make stuff. It has a vert of 2,153'.

Jay is gangsta; it can have brutal temps and wind. I only saw the sun a few times in six days. The rest of our trip was Jay gray. The weather can keep the faint of heart away, which equals more snow for me. Jay has more powder than anywhere in the east. They have gotten 248" this year! In comparison, Killington got 189" this year and stupid Vail got 346" (whatever Vail- we all know you're great). There are six lifts and an old school tram. So no rest for you on the tram- you just stand there. The tram holds 60 people and takes 8 min. to get to the top of the resort. In the morning of a powder day it can be like the 6 train, everyone jammed in a box breathing each other's air, but instead of going to stupid work, you are going for freshies.

me

We got perfect conditions. It snowed four ft in the week that we were there. We shared this powder with like 100 people. Unbelievable. It was cold with temps of 5 and 10 with the windchill blowing below zero. 
But none of that matters in the trees. You go to Jay for the trees. More than half of the mountain is glades. My second run, Jesse (who i met on the lift) took me hiking out of bounds off of the Flyer (I am bad at remembering names of runs). I fell in love with Jay at that first turn. 


We originally booked a package with Jay Peak earlier on in the year, but it was snowing so much that we decided to leave the city early. Q found this amazing place, Shéady Acres and booked the Tea House (more on Shéady Acres and the O'Sheas in future posts). The tram had been closed our first day because of high winds, so the O'sheas had hiked up the peak and got the face. Eamon told me it would behove me to be on the first tram and follow their example. The next morning I choked on Face shots in the Face Chute. Soooo good. 

Face and Tuckerman chutes

It might have been best to have a guide, though; for these chutes. Three out of the four times that I did the Face or Tuckermans I ended up fighting my way out the trees right above the flyer, which is wrong. Later on Q heard some seven year olds on the tram talking about the face and tuckman chutes, "stupid people go there"- said one while pointing to my line.

On the fifth day, the sun came out and I decided to pay someone to take me to places I couldn't find on my own. I had also been spending a lot of time in the trees by myself, which isn't the smartest thing ever. I took a lesson, it was everything I dreamed of. Calla took me to many secrets. We giggled through the stashes of powder. 

happy land

I can't even explain how epic this trip was. I cried when we left.

MT. SNOW- THE GATEWAY MOUNTAIN

The city is getting hit with storm after storm after storm. I keep leaving the city for Vermont; where we'll get an inch or so, if we're lucky. It's hilarious. 

in front of my house in Brooklyn

I went to Mt. Snow with Lil' Mo (Heather- http://www.motionetti.com), her Goshen family, and a dying cat. We stayed in a giant house with twenty beds and a view of the mountain. Big fun.

Mt Snow is in the Green Mountains of Vermont. It has 490 acres, an elevation of 3,600 ft, and a vert of 1,600 ft. It's not very steep. In the 60's Mt. Snow's founder/owner Walter Schoenknecht asked the Atomic Energy Commissions if he could have a nuclear bomb so Mt. Snow could have a bowl to ski in. They said no for some reason. Most mountains that I have ridden have a backside or something that requires hiking without lift access, but you can ride all the way around Mt. Pisgah.

Lil' Mo

Friday no one was on the hill. Mo and I played all over.


Mt. snow has a gigantic park. It takes up all of the Carinthia ski area. It used to be a seperate mountain. There are twelve park areas of different levels and two pipes. (http://carinthiaparks.com/) They like to have the X-Games there. There are some amazing riders and skiers in the park- like an unordinary amount of amazing riders and skiers. Riding the Nitro Express is crazy. You just watch head after head kill it. 

the line for the lift

Sat. Mo and I mainly stayed in the trees. The North Face of the mountain has some great trees, we managed to still get some freshies. They also don't groom much over there. It's less crowded. Sat. it was Mo, me, and 20,000 of our closest friends. Just kidding, but not really. Mt. Snow is the closest big Vermont resort to the city, so the weekends get pretty insane. The lodge was like Times Square. We had waffles and Red Bull for lunch instead of going in and dealing with all the people. We had candy for breakfast. Later on, I puked in my mouth.

mo coming out of the trees

SUGARBUSH- BE BETTER THERE

The Yeti and Lincoln Peak

I went on a romantic trip with Q to Sugarbush. We were going to spend the time antiquing and tasting maple syrup. But it was -10, so we thought we better hit the slope. Hard snow and freezing conditions are perfect for Q with his fractured ribs. We didn't have any fresh snow, but there was no one there!

no one on the chair at -15

I might have seen 60 people in the two days that we were there and most of them worked at the resort.

Sugarbush is in upstate VT. It's about six hours from the city if you do everything right. The summit of Mt. Ellen is 4,083' and the resort has a vert of 2,600'. You can start on the Lincoln Peak/Castlerock Peak side or the Mt. Ellen side. There is a lift that runs across from one side to the other, but a local told me that they rarely run it. Sugarbush seems to be all about trees, they make up half of the resort. The rest is bumps and then they groom a little bit. The runs have all sorts of natural lips, drifts, and bumps that are so fun to play on.

these mounds are giant sleeping tortoises

The second day we were there they only ran a few lifts because it was so cold, but there was still more than enough terrain to explore .

Sugarbush is in the the Green Mountain National Forest and the Mad River Valley. The closest town is Warren, VT; A small mountain town with no chains.

church in Warren

There are a series of bed and breakfasts, but we stayed at Sugarbush Inn which is 100 years old. It is giant and gorgeous. A shuttle bus runs from there to the mountain (which is only 5 min. away) Sugarbush Inn was old and creepy- which I love.

Verdict- would love to come back and have a tree guide; oh and perhaps have it warmer than -10.
ps skier girl with the steal your face sticker on your helmet, you rip and thanks for letting me be a creepy follower