Spring Skiing

As the season winds down, I realize how much I like the sun and corn snow. This time of year brings the Sundecks, Cold Beer and Good Music, which can be as exciting and good for the soul as 12" of new snow in January.
Isn't all about hangin' with friends and enjoying the day what it's about anyway?
Daylight until 5 pm and no crowds make this my favorite time of year to ski.
Get out and rip it up before lawn mowing season starts!

Its been to long.....sorry

So as we roll into the second week of January 2010, its amazing to think about the ups and downs of this winter. Weeks of bitter cold, nothing but rain, excessive amounts of snow, there is nothing mother nature has not thrown our way to this point. Having tried to get out as much as possible this year, I have seen almost every type of condition that New England has to shell out. Packed powder, insane ice, the very rare powder day, or even days so cold that the snow could probably be confused with concrete; i have seen it all this winter.

But as I look back at it all, the best days have not really been affected by the weather. I think it is because to really truly enjoy skiing you have to try to enjoy the coldest days and the worse conditions. If you go out on the days that seem tough, it just makes the days with the best conditions even better. So next time you think its to cold, or the snow is to hard, or there is to much ice, buck up and go take a few turns.....i promise if you try to do this you will learn to enjoy skiing even more! Trust me , there is always fresh untracked snow to be found.....groomers to be carverd, and jibs to be shred....it just may not always be easy to find....

Its worth looking!

Sorry, But i Couldn't Help It!!!

Sorry folks, its been a while since the last post, but with the Christmas Season in full swing and the lifts at my favorite areas spinning, I have been so busy its been tough to even sit at the computer for a few seconds without passing out or thinking of something else I have neglected to do.....

Anyways, when I first took over this blog, i made a promise to myself that I would never plug a certain product....personally I find it hard to wanna hear about a plug for a certain product on a blog which is supposed to be about skiing, but I promise this is my one exception and it will be worth it a promise.

After months and months of searching this year, I decided on buying an all-mountain ski that most are even scared to look at. This beast in 97mm underfoot and a huge 130mm in the tip, full woodcore ski, that looks and feels to most like a race ski on steroids.....let me tell you what, not only are they wrong, but if the Ski Gods could have ever imagined the perfect all mountain ski for a new englander, this would be it. The Nordica Enforcer is my favorite ski ever.....and no i do not say that about every new ski......

With the amazing amount of side cut, this ski rips on hard snow and groomers, providing enough edge hold for even the most aggressive of skiers. I think the biggest thing about the ski is that it scares people because of its width, but let me tell you embrass the ski, wider is better. What is better than having a ski that rips on groomers all day long, but is wide enough that you can ski it in 14 inches of snow..... I promise for you skiers who want a ski that can do it all, float in the soft stuff, but rip turns of any shape on the hard stuff....this ski can do it all.

I put my personal stamp on this ski and promise you cannot go wrong with the ski.....the best part is this ski won't break the bank......check out proctorjones.com for a great deal.....

A few reviews:

Freeskier Magazine Writes:

The wood-core Enforcer is the most versatile offering in Nordica’s Supercharger lineup. It’s a stable ski at high speeds and would be great for those looking for an every day ski. While you “might want something a bit fatter for the really deep days,” the Enforcer “chews up crud” and “can even handle tight trees.” Testers especially liked the 185 length, which they felt was “one of the better skis of the year.”

Backcountry.com Writes

"The Nordica Enforcer is a multi-season best-seller for a reason. Built with speed and stability in mind, the Enforcer has two sheets of metal and a traditional sandwich core to take on hardpack and crud like a bullet train. Never afraid to open up on a groomer, the Enforcer handles high speeds with confidence-inspiring dampness, yet a short-radius sidecut makes the Enforcer more nimble in tight spots than its name would suggest. A soft tip and mid-fat dimensions give you some added float in soft snow, just in case you get lucky in the trees after a storm. This is a ski that will play all day in most conditions, and it's even light enough to rig up for touring if that's your thing. A truly great one-ski quiver for the advanced all-mountain charger."

A buddy sent me this picture yesterday as a joke. His caption contained the following "Sand Dune Skiing, Global Warming is here. " After laughing a little bit at the picture, it kinda struck me the today in Nashua, New Hampshire it was a balmy 60 degrees and maybe this is not so funny after all.

Now i am not saying the this local weather is due to a global climate shift towards a warmer enviroment, i personally think global warmer is a hoax, but with temps like we have seen latley, its hard to find a reason to doubt it sometimes. Look at this guy tho, he is making the best of a pretty shitty situation.

Unfortunatley for us, trying to go out our back door and find a steep enough slope slope to carve a few sandy turns on it not that easy. I dont know about you, but i dont really feel like hiking up some of the rock covered slopes in the presidental range in hopes of finding something that resembles skiing. Personally i value my bones a little to much for that. So i guess ill just head back to the ice rink here and town and fill up the dodge with shaving from the ice and ski a little urbans in the backyard.

Cold weather is right around the corner though.... atleast according to the weather channel. So again, lets all pray.

Bretton Woods Spring Skiing In November

So late Sunday night i woke up and could not take it anymore. I needed to satisfy my ski fix. So i set the alarm and woke up about 6AM battling the urge to hit the snooze button i got outta bed and through on some long underwear and the ski pants. After packing my bag and loading up the truck, I again began to question my sanity. Was the two hour drive to ski on what i knew would probably be less snow then most mountains out west have in their parkings lots gonna be worth it?

Can you say eastcoast bluebird day..... Battling the constant clouds until i passed the always ugly Franconia Notch, the day seemed like nothing special. Yet, once i got through the notch, the skies opened up and it was absolutley beautiful. I will be the first to admit there was not a ton of terrain, but enough to work of the rust and get back into skiing for the year. The skiing was definetly not the star of the day, despite awesome snow and even groomed terrain. With temps in the 50s and no more then 15 people on the mountain it was a nice relaxing day. Skiing in nothing but a t-shirt and a hoodie, and having a beer on the sun soaked deck, what more could one ask for early November in NH.

I would love to have had a little more challenging terrain to ski on, but i cannot be to picky. With still higher than average temps, it was just nice to be on snow again. They had a few features like a 6 foot down rail, and a 8 foot flat rail, that offered a little area a practice the rail features for those of us who like that sort of stuff....but honestly the snow was awesome. If your looking for something to do over the next few days other then drink to much and stuff yourself with turkey and potatoes, go up and take a few runs....even if its just for the morning, trust me its worth it......i had a blast!

Tons of Snow, just not Here!!

As of November 20th, Whistler/Blackcomb in BC has passed the halfway mark for the annual snowfall they recieve on average each year. Let me say that one more time incase it did not sink in, as of November 20th they have recieved as much snow as half the annual average per year. At about 200 total inches of snowfall already this year, they have recieved the most snow ever in the month of November. With expectations of anywhere from another 40 to 60 inches falling through the beginning of the week, the snow seems to show no signs of stopping. Keep in mind the mountain has only been open since the 14th of the month and originally was not expected to open until the 20th; today! It seems as though the snow gods have graced the stage for our upcoming winter olympics, lets just hope the snow eventually will find its way to the back bowls of some of those gigantic NH mountains we call home.


On a more serious note however, this record breaking snowfall could cause some serious problems in the near future at the mountain. With large amounts of early snowfall the increase of avalanche danger in the future is drastically increased as colder temps may not be a constant as of yet. Large temperature variations, and large quantities of snow can lead to runoff and some snow being prone to releasing as the base is not quiet strong enough. But lets not worry to much......lets just enjoy what they have go so far.


With the Olympics quickly approaching there may be little time to enjoy the copious amounts of snowfall. Yet, if you have the time and more importantly the finances there are some great deals to be had until right before Xmas time. So book a flight, and enjoy the snow until we can find the white stuff around here... and with 60 degree temps in the area between now and time the carve the turkey, things are beginning to look a little glim in the near future.

With the said, be optomistic. There is snow somewhere even if it is not here, so hopefully it is on the way....forget hopefully, i know it is. My skis are waxed and my boots have been fine tuned. I put them on everyday. A couple of the guys around the shop have already planned some urban stuff around town to post on here...so just know the skiing is happening and it soon will be in the area. Until then, get ready, eat to much turkey and stuffing so you cannot move and prepare yourself for what will shape up to and epic winter....i know it will!!

Ski Time

So i just heard a rumor that it supposed to be somewhere in the 50 degree range for about the next 10 days or so...wicked depressing if you ask me. Especially because our friend out in the rockies have gotten above aveage snowfall amounts so far this year, but what can you do at this point, being upset is only going to make the days longer until you can strap on the gear and rip a few turns and enjoy the awesome frigid below zero temps of east coast skiing. (i

Instead of being sad, i guess there is only one thing to do, and its not play golf....if your still playing golf at this point you might be part of the problem, golf is a summer sport, i repeat it is a summer sport. Put down the clubs, stick em in the attic and go hiking or something, show the mountains some love and hopefully we can see some in return....im desperate at this point and this is my last resort so please help.....its worth a shot ya never know!

A few more years i should be out in colorado, living and enjoy the riches of the rocky mountain life.....Until then here is a phrase to think about:

- skiing conditions like life are uncertain, yet it is not the condition that defines the skier.....instead it is how the skier take the conditions says screw it, keep in mind out west there may be snow and people who call themselves skiers, but we all know where real skier come from -