The Echo Valley Project

Thanks for the update. It looks like a fun place.

That Poma looks neat.  If I remember from skiing at Burke, lifties for Pomas of that era had to pull a handle which released a hangar that the liftie then handed you.

The snow cat looks like overkill for the area.....like my mother behind the wheel of, well, any car.

Oh that looks like fun... Running the ski area. I bet you will have fun in that cat.  Laid back is the way to go. Keep it coming please.

D.B. Cooper wrote

If I remember from skiing at Burke, lifties for Pomas of that era had to pull a handle which released a hangar that the liftie then handed you

Yeah, I think those are technically detachables. They can run them pretty fast if they want to. There was one next to the base of the lift I worked when I was a liftie. A lot of people wiped when that first acceleration hit them

D.B. Cooper wrote

That Poma looks neat.  If I remember from skiing at Burke, lifties for Pomas of that era had to pull a handle which released a hangar that the liftie then handed you.

Yup... it's kind of like a manual detachable contraption.  The lifty has to play an active role in adjusting the throttle depending on the load that is being dragged.

D.B. Cooper wrote

The snow cat looks like overkill for the area.....like my mother behind the wheel of, well, any car.

70 acres are groomed... it takes about 4 hours.

tjf1967 wrote

Oh that looks like fun... Running the ski area. I bet you will have fun in that cat.  Laid back is the way to go. Keep it coming please.

Looks like a cool feeder mountain. Build tour ski school reputation and maybe add a kids race program if the are will support it.

I'll Echo  the place looks wicked cool

I'm interested to see how your connection to skiing changes when your passion becomes a job. I'd assume that there are big upsides and downsides. I have no idea how ski area employees deal with having to work on a powder day.

Jamesdeluxe wrote

I'm interested to see how your connection to skiing changes when your passion becomes a job. I'd assume that there are big upsides and downsides. I have no idea how ski area employees deal with having to work on a powder day.

Usually one of three ways:
1. "I get so many powder days, that I don't need another one"
2. "I have responsibilities that I have to do, but I'm going to try to fit in as much as I can around those responsibilities"
3. "I quit"

Different people have any (or all) of these thoughts at any given time.

Ski bum Rule #1, never work during the day or for the resort.

raisingarizona wrote

Ski bum Rule #1, never work during the day or for the resort.

 Doh! Gonna make a note for next time

Haha, we’ll if you don’t want to get burnt out and you just wanna ski! It’s a good rule.

I worked on the mountain one season, I never wanted to go skiing or drive there on my days off.

It’s different for different people I imagine but for myself I like to keep work and ski time separate.

+1

Jamesdeluxe wrote

I'm interested to see how your connection to skiing changes when your passion becomes a job. I'd assume that there are big upsides and downsides. I have no idea how ski area employees deal with having to work on a powder day.

I'll update this as I go because I too, am interested to see how I feel about the job at the end of the season.  

I can say that right now, 2 days before we spin the lifts, I'm high as a kite.  The work has strengthened my connection to the local community.  The ski area a non-profit organization, so I report to an 11 person board of trustees.  Most of the members learned to ski at Echo Valley.  They are all extremely dedicated to the long-term viability of the area, and I can say without a doubt, that I now share that same dedication.    

They're expecting upwards of a foot tonight over at Mission.  It'll be [hopefully] one of many Pow days that I will undoubtedly have to miss out on this season.  That said, the past few weeks of preparation has been some of the most rewarding work that I have done in a while.  

It's a short season at Echo.  We typically close at the end of February.  My plan is to take an extended road trip in March, and hit as many Powder Alliance areas as I can in 3 weeks.

Good luck NEPA  , I might make a run out your way this year, Echo looks like great fun.

2000yearoldskier wrote

Good luck NEPA  , I might make a run out your way this year, Echo looks like great fun.

I love this thread.

Johnnyonthespot wrote

I love this thread.

Thanks Johnny.... There were a few recent memes that really struck a chord with me.

 I don't understand most of that shit, but that thing with the blond and the cat really hits home for me...  I'm and Italian Jew with roots in Southern New England and Scranton PA.... I'm ashamed to admit that I really do enjoy Italian McDonalds.  Keep up the good work... you are an integral part of what makes NYSB the NYSB.  Merry Christmas!!

Here's the start of a series.... I don't know what it's called in the elitist world of "Content Creators,"... maybe a web-isode... a series of posts associated with our fascinating infrastructure at Echo.  All of the tows have some interesting history.  Our maintenance tech, Olie (O-Lee) has been in the area since the 80's.  He lives on-site.  His house deserves a reality TV show in it self.  Olie treats all of the machinery, from the groomer to the poma, as if they were his loved family members.  If he lets me take a picture of him, I'll post it.  He looks a bit like the creature from the old series Tales from the Crypt... pretty crusty.  That said... he's remarkably good with kids.  I really like him, but there are a few members of the board that find him off-putting to say the least.

Olie kind of defines the place.  He doesn't even ski... he just likes fixing things.



Let's start with a Mission Critical component of any place that serves chili and cinnamon rolls... from open to close... along with countless bags of classic junk food.  The folks who run the kitchen haven't changed the menu since Echo opened in 1955.  The food is good, but if you're vegan plan on bringing a bagged lunch.  You can get a burger and a bag of chips for $10.  



Close your eyes... visualize a bunch of people doing yoga at the she-sheist spa at an idealic mountain retreat.... picture a place where most of the people shit ice cream... and it smells like roses.

This aint there...



I don't know about you guys, but the poshest bathrooms I've ever seen are at Snowbasin.  They were so posh that I nearly shit myself before I made it to the can... the doors were so heavy... it was like I was trying to access a bank
 vault... I was tired.

For me this is a new level of luxury...



We keep them clean...Often times they really do smell like roses  IMO: that's the most important thing about any bathroom.

Merry Christmas.

Think snow... in the past week, our snowpack has really screwed the pooch.  

I'll ski at Mission tomorrow and put out a post in the conditions thread.

Merry Christmas  NYSBers