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Hobbes and Destiny talk winter sports and Olympics


Destiny Skywalker
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13 hours ago, Destiny Skywalker said:

Honestly I think I waited too long so pickings will be slim. The K2s will be easier to find, for sure. I'm stopping in at a ski shop tomorrow or Wednesday. I'm just annoyed because places are trying to put me in what they have, not what I need. I don't want 106 powder skis. I want something under 90 width, probably. So I'm just going to have to go in and say what do you have and be prepared to walk out empty handed. I'm pretty sure even the guy online at Curated put me in what they have in stock. He was kind of a douche about my lovely west coast skiing (newsflash, its normally total shit conditions in the Pacific Northwest) when I told him I needed something that can handle crust and ice because he's from the east coast.

I realized the mistake we made was going out of bounds between 2 mountains instead of between 2 runs. She literally almost skied off a cliff. Its safer doing the trees within bounds. And with it being spring, there's the potential for a lot of tree wells.

Turns out the resort is no longer open midweek, so we didn't go. I'm debating whether my husband will squawk about us going on Easter... I said we should all go and I can teach Ethan, but then I got stink eyed because Malibu Ken hates the cold.  But other than that we have too many lacrosse games at odd times and her skis are due back May 1st. I never thought we'd go this far into the season! Normally I am done at the beginning of March.

I forked out an extra $150 for "limited" passes next year so we can go up in the mornings, too. I paid $100 for one midweek day ticket, so if I play hooky once its worth it. The only limitation is no Alpental (the supposedly fancy mountain with difficult terrain on weekends), but I would have to find parking anyway, which is nearly impossible unless you get there right at 9 AM.

That local hill will be perfect for learning, especially with a magic carpet. I grew up on a tow rope, can't tell you how many gloves I shredded before my parents got me glove guards.

 

I don't know about stores there, but it is fairly common here for places to pack away their skis pretty quickly but have huge sales around labor day.  I would wait till fall. 

I always buy the full pass, I don't want to be able to go and then not go.  Buying a pass makes me go more because in my mind, the more I go the better the value! 

Go for it---to me, skiing is a religious experience!  Also, good skiing this late is rare--and it is only getting worse with global warming.  Easter comes every year. 

From what I can tell, there is some bitterness in the community about losing the rope tow because it has been seen as a right of passage for decades.  I tried a few times and it is brutal.  That hill is much steeper than it looks in the picture.  The big rope tow is staying.

 

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I hate it when old people insist on suffering in the name of tradition. I hope I am not a grouchy dinosaur when I get old. The hardest part of skiing shouldn't be getting up the hill unless you are willingly choosing to do backcountry.

For the most part, the Twilight pass worked great. But I would like to get up midweek at least once by myself, and that means leaving around 8 AM and heading back around 2 or 3. It gives Q a touch more flexibility, too, we can go a little earlier on Sundays (if we can find parking). For the most part I don't find weekend morning/early afternoon skiing to be worth the crowds.

And I think I just realized she could've gotten a free pass at Stevens next year because she will be a 5th grader (some sort of WA state perk), but they're so overrun by Vail Epic passes that I'm not sure I can go lest I pop a blood vessel. I haven't been since Q was 4 because it was a hot mess even then. I have friends who attempted to put their kid in lessons there and literally drove around for 3 hours looking for a parking spot, and missed every lesson for 5 or 6 weeks in a row. They were at Snoqualmie this year doing Friday night skiing too.

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12 hours ago, Destiny Skywalker said:

I hate it when old people insist on suffering in the name of tradition. I hope I am not a grouchy dinosaur when I get old.

I thought this was about Easter and was confused when I started to read the last line.

Most places here have free kids passes--I think Purg does it till they are 12.  Get them addicted. 

I hear you on parking.  Epic resorts are the absolute worst at providing decent free parking.  Vail doesn't even have free parking--and day parking is like $50.  So you have to find a place on the street then take city transportation so there are a ton of stops--it isn's a shuttle.  Fuck Vail and fuck the Epic pass. 

Have you looked at the IKON Pass?  Based on the level of the pass, Snoqualmie, Alpenal, and Crystal have 5-7 days there are a few nearby places that might be a good weekend road trip.    https://www.ikonpass.com/en/destinations

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I hear you on parking.  Most EPIC resorts free parking is terrible.  Vail doesn't even have free parking (parking STARTS at $40)--so if you want free parking you have to park on the street and use the Vail city bus (not a shuttle) which has a ton of stops so it takes forever. 

IKON and Epic wanted to offer days at Purgatory but the owner told them to fuck off.  The resort is not updated at all and feels stuck in the late 80's with the exception of high speed lifts.  Don't worry, it has multiple 2 person chairs which are slow and scary as shit.  So win there.  The other thing I love is the Purg overflow lot (which you can park in at anytime) is that you can walk to the beginner lifts and take lift 7 to the base area and you can actually ski to your car on the return!  https://www.purgatory.ski/the-mountain/purgatory-mountain/trail-maps/

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Snoqualmie/Alpental and Crystal have started to make lots of blackout dates for Ikon passes because they almost over-ran the mountain like the Epic Pass. The local pass holders revolted and they actually listened and pushed them out as much as they could. I remember Presidents Day weekend in 2020 was actually better than a normal weekend because they blocked out all the Ikon pass holders. It was glorious. A lot of people did it because Crystal and Snoqualmie are so close to each other. One weekend Crystal was shut down because of a landslide across the only road in, and Snoqualmie was a zoo.

Crystal has turned into a money grabbing shitshow. They announced they were building a new fancy resort area and then subsequently jacked pass prices 30% for next year. Even worse for Ikon pass holders. A single-day lift ticket is over $100. And they are going to charge $30 per day for parking next year. 

Honestly when my daughter hits middle school I think I am going to push for a long weekend at Whistler. The boys will protest but I will leave them at home if I have to. My goal for next year is to find a friend who has kids who ski so we can start planning trips. 

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Got the new skis! Goodbye pink skis (ok, really just retiring for mogul days). I ended up with Head Kore 91 W. I paid under $600 for skis and bindings that should've cost $1k. It was these or the Atomic Maven 93s. The ski shop lady said she actually owns the Heads. She didn't want to bias me but I asked her what she liked and she said they are super easy to turn. She said the Atomics wouldn't let me leisure ski, you have to be on them all the time. When I read the reviews on them, they said they were for people who want to save their knees, which I definitely do. Those suckers go and I won't be able to run, ski, or play soccer. I was going to pick the Atomics until I heard that. I'm going to have to figure out how to get out this weekend.

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On 4/15/2022 at 6:55 PM, Destiny Skywalker said:

Got the new skis! Goodbye pink skis (ok, really just retiring for mogul days). I ended up with Head Kore 91 W. I paid under $600 for skis and bindings that should've cost $1k. It was these or the Atomic Maven 93s. The ski shop lady said she actually owns the Heads. She didn't want to bias me but I asked her what she liked and she said they are super easy to turn. She said the Atomics wouldn't let me leisure ski, you have to be on them all the time. When I read the reviews on them, they said they were for people who want to save their knees, which I definitely do. Those suckers go and I won't be able to run, ski, or play soccer. I was going to pick the Atomics until I heard that. I'm going to have to figure out how to get out this weekend.

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Hell yes!  Awesome snag!  I am totally biased towards Atomics--but I think you made the best choice!

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I didn't get out this weekend because I spent 6 hours on Easter doing taxes, wah. I do have Atomic boots though haha.

Got an email from our resort yesterday about their big 2030 vision. They are paving lots this summer and replacing several lifts over the next few years, including this summer. Alpental in particular really needs more lifts to access the terrain. When I took my clinic I was stuck taking awful narrow cat tracks to get to runs. I'm excited about that and RFID passes. Stevens has been doing this for over 10 years and it's awesome. Stevens used to be awesome at line management until they got sold to Vail, and then it turned into a shitshow because Epic Pass.

Things I'm not excited about: snowmaking capabilities. This is some Midwest shit right here. They're now owned by Boyne, so this makes sense. They better fill in the damn holes, at least. But my experience is fake snow makes ice.

If you want to check it out: https://summitatsnoqualmie.com/summit-2030 If you check out the Summit Transformed page, the Triple 60 express realignment graphic shows my most-skied terrain (you can see the frigging bumps from their drone shots). Parachute (the one that almost killed me) is to the far right.

I think that turning it into more of a 4 seasons resort will help a lot with staffing and general upkeep. But that means that they need affordable housing for those people, and that's going to be the tough part.

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I just looked at the page and compared it to the trail map--oh wow--and you drop right into the beginner area!  I can see how the bumps might make people go slow before hitting the beginner area.  How long is that run?  Good luck this weekend--you are braver than me.  I would be worried of getting injured or, worse yet, hitting a hidden rock and breaking my skies. 

I agree with it being icier, but I don't mind fake snow if they only use it on the main runs which are more prone to bare spots.  Honestly, I really don't mind ice.  Learning to ski in the Midwest (snowcreek in Kansas City), ice and slush are the only two conditions.

For me, summer activities at ski resorts are overpriced afterthoughts that aren't fun.  Plus, you roll the dice in not getting a random afternoon storm that shuts everything down.  Usually there are better (and cheaper alternatives). 

A big thing in my area are hot springs that fuels a lot of summer mountain activities.  I just heard about the Ouray hot springs which is like an hour from my house--it has water slides and all that and is like $15. Pagosa hot springs (also in the article) is also near me.  Here in town are the Durango Hot springs but it isn't kid friendly and is like $40 because they really play up the luxury end.  They have like tiered Japanese garden pools and shit like that.  Too bougie for me. 

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You know, they actually don't let things get too bad before they shut it down out here. They have been playing it by ear but pretty sure this is the last weekend. It's not like all those Instagram Reels of people skiing on the half inch of snow surrounded by brown. I've never seen a season go this long before out here. I do remember once we drove by at the end of April to go wine tasting and they had some snow and a couple people (and I mean like 4 people max) on the mountain and I was shocked. But they usually shut down by mid-April if not sooner. 

According to Strava, Parachute is only 0.13 miles long and only 356 ft of elevation drop (-51% grade). But you're right, then it drops into the beginner area. Triple 60 is 0.28 mi and 503 ft of elevation drop (-33% grade). Triple 60 is definitely less steep and longer before you get that bend in the mountain to the less challenging terrain (although what's below Triple 60 is more challenging than what is below Parachute. They say it is a blue but its a pretty weak blue). There are definitely longer trails, and Strava is not including the beginner runs below. But, basically once you're past that there isn't much to the run. Alpine and Outback are significantly longer blue runs (although I would say they average out to a blue because they're half black and half green). I am debating taking Q up to Alpental on Saturday so we can do some different terrain.

I think you will primarily see mountain bikers up there in the summer and some hiking. They are doing a couple of dumb things like a kids coaster, but mountain biking and hiking makes sense.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 4/25/2022 at 11:19 PM, Destiny Skywalker said:

You know, they actually don't let things get too bad before they shut it down out here. They have been playing it by ear but pretty sure this is the last weekend. It's not like all those Instagram Reels of people skiing on the half inch of snow surrounded by brown. I've never seen a season go this long before out here. I do remember once we drove by at the end of April to go wine tasting and they had some snow and a couple people (and I mean like 4 people max) on the mountain and I was shocked. But they usually shut down by mid-April if not sooner. 

According to Strava, Parachute is only 0.13 miles long and only 356 ft of elevation drop (-51% grade). But you're right, then it drops into the beginner area. Triple 60 is 0.28 mi and 503 ft of elevation drop (-33% grade). Triple 60 is definitely less steep and longer before you get that bend in the mountain to the less challenging terrain (although what's below Triple 60 is more challenging than what is below Parachute. They say it is a blue but its a pretty weak blue). There are definitely longer trails, and Strava is not including the beginner runs below. But, basically once you're past that there isn't much to the run. Alpine and Outback are significantly longer blue runs (although I would say they average out to a blue because they're half black and half green). I am debating taking Q up to Alpental on Saturday so we can do some different terrain.

I think you will primarily see mountain bikers up there in the summer and some hiking. They are doing a couple of dumb things like a kids coaster, but mountain biking and hiking makes sense.

How did the end of season go?  Did you make it up?

I just got a message that 22-23 season pass rates go up at the end of the week.  So soon...

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No, I didn't make it up the last time. I had a 10k run on the very last day of the season and I think it was pretty warm the day before, so I figured Alpental would be a mess. So my new skis are sitting there unused. But I guess they are ready to go and I prepaid for Q's season rental (only $99 because I prepaid), so as soon as they are ready to take her I am getting her in for that gear so she gets first pick.

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15 hours ago, Destiny Skywalker said:

No, I didn't make it up the last time. I had a 10k run on the very last day of the season and I think it was pretty warm the day before, so I figured Alpental would be a mess. So my new skis are sitting there unused. But I guess they are ready to go and I prepaid for Q's season rental (only $99 because I prepaid), so as soon as they are ready to take her I am getting her in for that gear so she gets first pick.

Nice!  That's a steal!

I just bought me season passes--let's go!!

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  • 5 months later...
On 5/20/2022 at 10:54 PM, Destiny Skywalker said:

No, I didn't make it up the last time. I had a 10k run on the very last day of the season and I think it was pretty warm the day before, so I figured Alpental would be a mess. So my new skis are sitting there unused. But I guess they are ready to go and I prepaid for Q's season rental (only $99 because I prepaid), so as soon as they are ready to take her I am getting her in for that gear so she gets first pick.

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on my drive to work this morning I saw the townie mountains received a light dusting…

 

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and it looks like purgatory is starting to get snow!

im not getting new skis—I’m getting a new helmet and roofrack...pumped to buy them!!!

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 11/16/2022 at 8:52 AM, Hobbes said:

Opening day is Saturday!  I might go for a few hours on Monday. 

Are you ready to try out your new skies?  Get nay new gear for the season?

Soooo ready. That reminds me I need to pick up Q's season rentals. I should call over there when I'm not horribly sick with what I think may be RSV or the flu.

Snoqualmie has no opening date yet, they're waiting to hit 25" before they do. They have been putting down fake snow in the park, don't know how I feel about that. Feels like some amateur Midwest shit.

 Crystal is opening for limited operations this weekend.

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 11/18/2022 at 11:25 PM, Destiny Skywalker said:

Soooo ready. That reminds me I need to pick up Q's season rentals. I should call over there when I'm not horribly sick with what I think may be RSV or the flu.

Snoqualmie has no opening date yet, they're waiting to hit 25" before they do. They have been putting down fake snow in the park, don't know how I feel about that. Feels like some amateur Midwest shit.

 Crystal is opening for limited operations this weekend.

Have you been up yet?

I have been up once.  I went on Thanksgiving break.  It was a bit warm, so conditions got a bit slushy around lunch so I left.  I love living 30 minutes driveway to lift.  I can put in a few hours and leave early and not feel bad.  We are supposed to have our first decent snow storm early tomorrow morning and I am working from home the next two days because I tested positive for COVID on Thursday--so looks like I am heading up tomorrow after I drop the kids off at school!

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Snoqualmie just opened last weekend, so we picked up Q's season rentals. I was a little disappointed in the quality and let the kid helping us know that Q is not a beginner, which he never asked either way before picking out some skis for her. Fortunately the first pair didn't pass the binding test, so the owner stepped in and picked out a new pair for her and made sure the bindings passed. They're still a little beat up, but we will see how the season goes because they were like half the price of Play it Again's season rentals. I think we will try to go next weekend. I got her signed up for Friday night lessons, they start in January, but definitely planning on going a few times the next few weeks.

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On 12/11/2022 at 9:54 PM, Destiny Skywalker said:

Snoqualmie just opened last weekend, so we picked up Q's season rentals. I was a little disappointed in the quality and let the kid helping us know that Q is not a beginner, which he never asked either way before picking out some skis for her. Fortunately the first pair didn't pass the binding test, so the owner stepped in and picked out a new pair for her and made sure the bindings passed. They're still a little beat up, but we will see how the season goes because they were like half the price of Play it Again's season rentals. I think we will try to go next weekend. I got her signed up for Friday night lessons, they start in January, but definitely planning on going a few times the next few weeks.

Have you made it up yet?  I have only been up twice.  Purgatory isn’t 100% open but close enough today! 
 

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My helmet is lopsided.  I tore out the liner so my earbuds are more comfortable and it makes me look like a gaper.

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20 hours ago, Destiny Skywalker said:

I'm thinking about Wednesday. I was going to go up today but then World Cup final and Q didn't feel quite right when she woke up.

We just got a bunch of lowland snow and more expected this week. Gonna be some good pow up there soon.

This week I am off but I am watching the boys.  Their ski school starts in two weeks.  Hopefully by spring we will be doing some greens out of the beginner area.

This weekend was super busy with tourists and I have never seen so many people without helmets.  Based off of conversations on the lift, EVERYONE without a helmet was from Texas.  I rarely initiate conversations on the lift, but when I sat with a group and someone didn't have a helmet, I just started asking if they were from Texas and they were like, "how did you know?"  

 

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We got to go today. A little later than planned because I had to get all the gear pulled our and accounted for, but it worked out. We only got in 6 runs because it was stupid cold. I think it was 17F when we got there and 7F when we left. Definitely need to move the stash of hand warmers to my ski bag.

New skis took some adjusting. The first few runs were pretty rough. These are about 8 cm longer than my old ones, but my old ones were pretty short. I'm trying to make the skis do the work instead of my knees. By the last few runs I was much more comfortable. I wish I was one of those skiers who look super relaxed. I fully admit that I have a very aggressive stance and I look like I'm fighting the mountain the whole way down.

Q did not seem as comfortable today. Not sure if it is her vision or the skis. I don't think these are as nice as last year's. I think we better get her contacts in this week so she can ski with those and see if it makes a difference. 

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