Calling Raising Arizona....

What?  No love for your home resort's big news?  

http://azdailysun.com/news/local/snowbowl-announces-plans-for-new-chairlift/article_cbb48fe5-427b-5137-aa37-3ec45e052d4f.html

Well I wasn't sure if a NY ski forum would care to hear about it but ya, we are very excited. In another year or so the new high speed quad will be a very big improvement, our main chair is so slow and the lines can be unbearable.

The Humphreys pod where the new chair is going is south facing and I don't think it will have snowmaking yet so that's sort of been a topic of local discussion. Hopefully we just have a banner year with snow and sales so the improvements can continue. It's some very beautiful beginner terrain, the runs are rated blue but they are really greens. It has a perfect pitch for lazy cruising and there isn't anything intimidating at all. It's great for family's and the Phoenix crowd.

I'm really stoked about the thinning. Our trees can be good but have so much more potential, they have been neglected for years and with beetle kill and blow down it's pretty dangerous. I know of a lot of people that have broken their legs in our trees.

All sounds sweet. I have never skied anywhere in the SW, but I'd like to...thr dichotomy of the landscapes out there, especially in winter must be stunning. Plus, everything is better when you're skiing.

I might be the year to make the trip to the four corners region happen. The forecasts are in our favor for now at least.

A loop from Flagstaff to Telluride, Silverton, Durango, Taos, Santa Fe and back would be killer. You could throw in Wolf Creek, Monarch and even Created Butte if you were motivated. If you had enough time you could even do a couple of days mountain biking in Sedona and/or a Grand Canyon back packing trip. Your trip could include lift served skiing at some of the the US's best expert ski areas, heli skiing, cat skiing, and back country touring!

I was quoted in an article featured in Back Country Magazine about a road trip loop like that a few years ago. I'll look around for it, if I can find it I'll take a pic or scan it and put it here on this thread.

Less than 3 months for you, RA!!

November 11, 2016 opening day with a new 6-pack!  Wow, you may just start attracting the Snoloco crowd!

http://www.telemarkskier.com/arizona-snowbowl-announces-opening-day-2016-17-season/

Marcski wrote

Less than 3 months for you, RA!!

November 11, 2016 opening day with a new 6-pack!  Wow, you may just start attracting the Snoloco crowd!

http://www.telemarkskier.com/arizona-snowbowl-announces-opening-day-2016-17-season/

HAHA! Well we will see if the weather works out for them on that. I'm hoping it does. Of course I want to get dumped on but if not it will be interesting to see how they handle it with the new snowmaking and everything.

The six pack is going to be a game changer. Over the last 10 years or so there have been several winters where I barely ski at all because the conditions weren't very good and I hated sitting on the Agassiz chair all day for marginal skiing.

The thinning that they have been doing is top notch. They have really opened up some quality tree skiing the last few summers. If they can get that done to the whole upper half of the mountain it will ski so much bigger.

The new lift line. This thing looks sick. They are grading the lowest portion to create connectivity from the upper lodge to the new lift base which was really necessary to make this thing work. The upper sections are steeper and off camber/double fall line. It's going to be so much fun to do big high speed left handers on there!


This is the lowest section of the lift line from the Agassiz ski run.


This isn't mine but it's a pretty neat photo of the area before the new lift line was cut all the way through.


Here's some huevos rancheros from our favorite joint here in Flagstaff, Las Gorditas. Why? Because mexican food. And I'm really hungry. :)

Damn, RA. Now I need to go out and get some lunch!