Man made snow vs Natural

What a moron

Of course we all (except Snoloco) like  powder but I also strongly prefer any skiing to not skiing

Peter is a XC guy so since most XC areas don't have snowmaking and he prefers skiing to reading tediously long rants on the Internet so I get where he us coming from.

Coach Z couldn't agree more, yes a good cold snow storm dump produces the best conditions, BUT so what, even out West conditions change on a dime. I spent a week in Park City one February with rain,sleet , ice, hardpack and powder sometime all in one day. I was at Hunter last week a few days after the Christmas debacle rainstorm and they had bounced back already with decent conditions.  The other thing many East Coast critics don't acknowledge is the relative lack of humidity out West, when the snow melts much of the moisture gets absorbed in the atmosphere. Hey look I love East Coast Skiing because I love Skiing. I try and get out West at least once a year, but if you like the beach sure Hawaii is great, but the Jersey Shore still will get your ya's ya's going. I happen to be lucky and at the age where I can sneak up to an Eastern Mountain during the week. Most people view Eastern resorts thru the experience of week-end skiing . Go during the week , play hookey, you'll have an incredible experience.

JP wrote

Coach Z couldn't agree more, yes a good cold snow storm dump produces the best conditions, BUT so what, even out West conditions change on a dime. I spent a week in Park City one February with rain,sleet , ice, hardpack and powder sometime all in one day. I was at Hunter last week a few days after the Christmas debacle rainstorm and they had bounced back already with decent conditions.  The other thing many East Coast critics don't acknowledge is the relative lack of humidity out West, when the snow melts much of the moisture gets absorbed in the atmosphere. Hey look I love East Coast Skiing because I love Skiing. I try and get out West at least once a year, but if you like the beach sure Hawaii is great, but the Jersey Shore still will get your ya's ya's going. I happen to be lucky and at the age where I can sneak up to an Eastern Mountain during the week. Most people view Eastern resorts thru the experience of week-end skiing . Go during the week , play hookey, you'll have an incredible experience.

I NEVER ski the weekend unless it's bombing out. It's a joke on the weekend at the majority of ec resorts. It's also somewhat dangerous with someone running into you especially up in vermont(half of nyc metro seems to be at mt snow/okemo/killington) or the catskills. Although even mid week you could have some out of control jack ass run into you. I HATE crowds. I like skiing alone with no one around and I would never dare go to a resort where I had to wait AT ALL to get on the lift. Not even 10 seconds. Ski on ski off or you're not getting my money.  I like my ski area to be EMPTY.  Me alone on the trail the entire ride down. Not some carnival like atmoshpere that you find EVEN MID WEEK at some ski areas. Even mid week during the DAY some areas are crowded like wachusett.

 Yes one week at park city was bad, but what about the other 24 weeks? LOL. Are you seriously trying to compare the amount of good snow days out west to out east? REALLY? The effect of humidity is greatly over rated. The pacific nw is MORE humid than the east coast. It's not all colorado bone dry. Main difference is amount of snow. They get more, except for NVT which gets more snow than most colorado resorts(rolling my eyes in sarcasm) Some of the absolute WORST boiler plate conditions I've ever experienced in new england was in bone dry extremely cold air mass.

Also, I don't care about the afternoon snow getting scraped off. I ski for a few hours a couple times a week. I don't do that 8 hour ski until you're half dead and not enjoying it anymore B.S. And as any powder hound knows, I never get there after first few chairs. I'm always there before they even open on a pow day. ALso, All ski areas should sell a 2 hour ticket or charge per hour rather than forcing a all day ski day on you. Obviously I'm a season pass holder.

 Your comparison of NJ vs Hawaii is actually spot on if you're a surfer. If you're a surfer in NJ during the summer you might get 4 days a month of waist high days with good winds if you're lucky with a 2 week flat spell possible. In hawaii(on the south shore in summer/north shore in winter) you'll get almost everyday chest plus the entire summer with countless breaks to choose from. So that's a great example.

Jp. It's not just about deep powder, but good quality groomers. No one is saying you can't have fun  on the EC. I DO. The discussion is about SNOW GUNS VS REAL SNOW and how some people claim it's the same thing when it's clearly not.

I guess I didn't articulate, no one would say that powder days or skiing East Coast Skiing experience equals the West, but so what. Like I tried to say, I've had  a few bad days out West and  some great days back East.  Last year I hit almost 100% good days of skiing in the East [about 15] and 4 great  days in Colorado. At my age and skill set  deep powder is no longer fun, if it ever was.  If you are lucky enough to live in Denver or San Francisco I don't see you flying to Burlington to ski, but if you live East you are damn lucky to be able to get to Hunter for a weekday trip or Vt. or Whiteface, Gore, etc. btw I wasn't comparing surf days for Hawaii and Jersey but beach days. If you're  a 24  on his first paychecks out of college Belmar is probably a lot more fun than the Big Island on a Saturday afternoon. anyway keep bitching, I've heard this bitch for thirty-five years, I'll enjoy my Thursday mornings at Hunter, , a couple of weed ends at Gore, and a trip out west, and not really worry that somewhere some time while I'm on groomed hardpack, there's a yuppie at Aspen on Champagne Powder.

Mr. Powder Assassin. I ski xc as you may have noticed from my avatar.   While some xc areas have snowmaking, they aren't within a reasonable drive.  If I wait around for perfect conditions, if I didn't ski hardpack, I'd have like two days so far this year.  Not to mention the fact that one needs to learn ski prep for different snow types.  

Drove to Woodford VT yesterday to ski Prospect.  400 miles round trip for a  f'n day trip, on frozen granular squirrely hardback.  And believe it or not, it was fun! I  don't stay home and cry when the conditions aren't perfect. I get out and do it.

It's like he is in a perpetual argument with himself.

JP wrote

I guess I didn't articulate, no one would say that powder days or skiing East Coast Skiing experience equals the West, but so what. Like I tried to say, I've had  a few bad days out West and  some great days back East.  Last year I hit almost 100% good days of skiing in the East [about 15] and 4 great  days in Colorado. At my age and skill set  deep powder is no longer fun, if it ever was.  If you are lucky enough to live in Denver or San Francisco I don't see you flying to Burlington to ski, but if you live East you are damn lucky to be able to get to Hunter for a weekday trip or Vt. or Whiteface, Gore, etc. btw I wasn't comparing surf days for Hawaii and Jersey but beach days. If you're  a 24  on his first paychecks out of college Belmar is probably a lot more fun than the Big Island on a Saturday afternoon. anyway keep bitching, I've heard this bitch for thirty-five years, I'll enjoy my Thursday mornings at Hunter, , a couple of weed ends at Gore, and a trip out west, and not really worry that somewhere some time while I'm on groomed hardpack, there's a yuppie at Aspen on Champagne Powder.

Weed ends? Fraudian slip? I skied Hunter New Year's Day, I was impressed with the quality, and quantity, of the man made product available. Would I prefer natural powder? Hell yeah, but considering the recent thaw, I was happy to be skiing styro snow at Hunter. I told my buddy it was like Ski Dubai, only outdoors. The "snow" was such that it was nearly impossible to slip an edge once entrenched in the foam. Bump runs were a piece of cake when constructed with styro snow.Clair's was the run of the day, we lapped it many times, and returned as the front side became cloaked in shadows in the afternoon. Great weather, good friends, and styro snow were the elements of a great day in the Cats. OK, the brownies I brought may have added a tad to the enjoyment too, if you catch my styro snow drift.

Let me get this straight

PoAss only skis mid week unless it's a powder day but then he is afraid to drive on snowy roads?

He wines about crowds at his nearby area but hates to drive any distance to get better skiing?

He is as hard core as it comes but he only skis for a few hours?

He wants the whole Fing Mt to himself and then bitches about prices?

He claims to have a season pass but doesn't ever seem to ski and complains about ticket prices?

Apparently he is off his meds again.  Dude is a walking contradiction.

Sorry Coach I know you aren't laughing but that is funny!

I've stayed out of this thread because I think many are in agreement:

Snowmaking is necessary but not ideal. Even Neve gets it:



Snowmaking could be a game changer for nordic areas. It would certain cost to build but operations would not be that expensive as trails are narrow and base depth of 6-12 inches is often enough.  The key would be to find a way to keep the snow on the trail while giving it hang time.

one final thing before off to post long Christmas Holiday to work, If you were around in the 70's and 80's you'd know how far snowmaking and grooming has come. There is a noticeable difference in the quality of the snow today. The recovery time has shortened significantly. I assume progress will continue. Happy New Year,

PowderAssassin wrote

I NEVER ski.

The only part worth reading...

Coach Z wrote

Let me get this straight

PoAss only skis mid week unless it's a powder day but then he is afraid to drive on snowy roads?

He wines about crowds at his nearby area but hates to drive any distance to get better skiing?

He is as hard core as it comes but he only skis for a few hours?

He wants the whole Fing Mt to himself and then bitches about prices?

He claims to have a season pass but doesn't ever seem to ski and complains about ticket prices?

Apparently he is off his meds again.  Dude is a walking contradiction.

Hi everybody, this is the lamest thread this year! Everyone asshole has an opinion, that doesn't mean any of this is worth discussing. Conditions are Conditions. Either you accept them and ride, or don't and don't ride. I don't ride when it rains, but you don't see me posting self righteous bullshit all the time about it.  

Please people just let these threads die. One of the oldest rules of the internet is, "Don't feed the trolls". I just wonder how you have so much time to post if you are skiing all the time.

Skiing some really nice man made powder at windham right now

Some high quality man made here at Windham.   Very light and powdery.

Here is what I know about man made snow....because of it, and the hard working guys who set up the guns at night, i was able to ski Skyward seven times on Saturday.....PA, did you even try and ski this weekend?

Man made snow has its place....without it, we would all have to get on airplanes and fly west.

Yep. It's beyond a doubt absolutely necessary.

Grillman wrote

Here is what I know about man made snow....because of it, and the hard working guys who set up the guns at night, i was able to ski Skyward seven times on Saturday.

Skyward was just awesome on Saturday, as was Mountain Run.  Seven times...jealous.

Grillman wrote

Here is what I know about man made snow....because of it, and the hard working guys who set up the guns at night, i was able to ski Skyward seven times on Saturday.....PA, did you even try and ski this weekend?

Man made snow has its place....without it, we would all have to get on airplanes and fly west.

I said CLEARLY that man made snow IS absolutely necessary and sometimes it can get quite fun especially when freshly blown assuming it doesn't get too icy/firm. I was simply stating it's not as good as what falls from the sky.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if someone made a snow gun that replicated what feel from the sky and could actually create FLAKES!!!

Once again, PA fails to answer the question....

I guess he didnt ski this weekend.

He wasnt on Sky

Or Mountain Run...which was great this weekend...

But, in keeping somewhat with the topic of the thread....Upper Parkway under the guns was a lot of fun...

And I hit that on Sunday in the rain.....before the four plus hour in the rain on the unsafe highway back to Northern Jersey

Counting the hours till Friday....some beers at Lisa G's....the Gondi run on Saturday...day 19 on the hill...another test for the rebuilt hip....

Thank God for Snow Guns.