# Your 2011 / 2012 Ski Season Recap



## Nick (Apr 30, 2012)

Now that lift served skiing is over ... how did your season go? Did you finish strong? 

Days, quality, etc.


----------



## St. Bear (Apr 30, 2012)

Blah.

Not the most blah, but still...blah.


----------



## deadheadskier (Apr 30, 2012)

I typically write up a lengthy post in these threads about where I skied and several notably great days.  This year was so blah that I'll keep it short.

Didn't ski enough and the skiing I did do wasn't very good.

Had some good days, but they were few and far between.  Lots of time spent cruising groomers.  Glad I bought skis last summer specifically designed for those conditions.  Only major positive I can take away from the season is I was in the best shape I've been in for skiing in over ten years.


----------



## 2knees (Apr 30, 2012)

took so long to get into it that it seemed even shorter then it actually was, if that is possible.  Got a bunch of days in NH with my kids which was great.  Both my 6 and 8 yo skied off the top of loon.  that was pretty cool.  they even made me take them down blues as the family run from the top bored them.  Other then that a decent day at magic, a great spring day at killington which ended up being my last and a few great days on gunny were about it.  

too many groomers not enough bumps and trees.

next year!


----------



## Rambo (Apr 30, 2012)

Got in 28 days (most ever was 29 days).
I thought the skiing was quite good for one of the warmest, snowless - non-winters in history.
Areas did really good job at snowmaking.
Only downside was - no skiing in April at all this year. Hunter Mtn. did not go into April for like the first time ever. (would have hit Killington once in April, but didn't want to spend that much on gas... plus quite a haul for a day trip - 4.5 hours one way).

23 = Greek Peak (seasons pass)
3 = Elk Mountain (PA)
1 = Plattekill
1 = Camelback (PA)

Dec. = 2 days
Jan. = 5 days
Feb. = 8 days
March = 13 days (last day - March 22 @ Elk Mtn)


----------



## speden (Apr 30, 2012)

I had some good days, but the season felt really short.

I usually don't buy a season's pass, but this year I did, for both Wachusett and Boyne.  The Wachusett pass was well worth it, and I got in a lot of night skiing.  The Boyne pass was a loss, and it would have been cheaper to pay for the few days I got up there.  With conditions so bad, the stoke meter didn't get high enough to drive long distances.

Best day: A surprise powder day (6" or so) at Sunday River.  The River is a lot more fun than I expected, so I hope to get up there more often.

Worst day: Sitting at the base of Sugarloaf for half a day while everything was on wind hold.

No trips out west this year for me.  The rest of the family isn't that into it anymore, and conditions seemed sub par.

My goal this year was to get better at skiing bumps.  I did get a lot better at making shorter turns, but only made a little progress on the bumps.  Unfortunately there were only a couple days where I found bumps soft enough for me to practice on.

My skis took quite a beating this season.  Lots of rocks mixed in the thin cover left some deep scratches and dinged edges.  I'll need a major tune up for next season.


----------



## Warp Daddy (Apr 30, 2012)

Certainly not up to expectations, BUT that said the 15 days i got out were all  decent Conditions thanx to having retirement flexibility to go anytime .So THIS season was more about opting for Quality rather than Quantity .

We took our trips to Tremblant but bagged a few other extended  excursions due to weather or should i say lack of it .

All in all it was OK but certainly the most bizzarre  weather season in the almost 40 yrs i've been skiing -----Next yr will be better


----------



## steamboat1 (Apr 30, 2012)

Not a bad year. Only skied 28 days which is below my average but had some quality skiing. Lot's of groomers for sure with limited natural terrain early on but a good amount of bumps this spring. I seemed to be lucky with my timing catching quite a few days where they picked up a couple of few inches overnight. Seemed to be able to avoid the warm rainy days I didn't really get hit with the warm weather till March. I really enjoyed the spring skiing this year catching quite a few days where I was able to ski with just a fleece & about 4-5 days skiing in just a shirt. It's been a few years since I was able to ski in such great weather. I only had one serious powder day. I think it was Feb 29 where K picked up about a foot & a half of quality powder snow. It was a Thurs & the place wasn't crowded allowing me to break fresh tracks for several runs on wide open terrain. Everyone seemed to be heading for the trees leaving the open slopes for me, I thank them for that. Everyone showed up on Fri but they were a day late & a dollar short. Skied Sugarbush & Stowe quite a few days this year & a couple days at other VT. areas. Didn't get to NH, ME or Quebec this year but that was probably because of the lack of natural snow. Didn't go out west this year either for the same reason. Last day for me was Sat. April 21. It wasn't the best season but for me it wasn't bad either.  I'll take it but always hope for better.


----------



## snowmonster (Apr 30, 2012)

Lift-served may be over but the hiking for turns season is in full swing. I'll reserve my final recap after I say it's over (hopefully, in Tux in June). However, I'm at 31 days so far and, because of spectacular timing and luck, this will probably go down as one of my most powder-filled seasons ever (both east and west). Effin' amazin' so far!


----------



## abc (Apr 30, 2012)

Not a long season but actually a rather good one! 

Less than 20 days (too lazy to count exactly), which is a bit on the low side. But that's partly had to do with my being rather choosy, only going when condition were semi-decent. So, despite the low number of days, many of them were pretty good ones. 

The best part is getting quite a few powder days on my trips out west: 2 days at Utah and 3/4 at Tahoe! Finding an untouched powder stash at Bretton Wood when most people were staying home thinking there's no enough snow doesn't hurt either. 

The only real downer of the season is I didn't get ANY x-c skiing in near home. I joined Mohonk Preserve midway through the previous season. I thought I'd get some days in this season since the membership were good till Feb. Nope, not even 1 day they had decent snow. Good thing I got to ski my legs out the previous one.


----------



## Mpdsnowman (Apr 30, 2012)

Generally I average about 40 times a season. Last year I had 52 days, this year I had 34. It makes sense because I lost two weeks for our mountains didn't really open until the third week of December(which would have been another 12 days or so I missed.

What I thought was really interesting was the temps seemed to help with the man made snow being primary for most of the season. It wasnt freezing all the time so it did make that man made snow very rideable. The words pleasantly suprised is what I would use to describe the conditions if asked.

Also it seemed the working class (9-5, m-f) got screwed because it seemed we got our snow dumps on Sunday nights leaving Monday full of powder and that seemed to be the pattern...


But hey you take what you can get right??? I fully enjoyed it as I always do....

Overall season rating .....6


----------



## ScottySkis (Apr 30, 2012)

I waited for snow to fall this year, so I only had 6 days, but they were great days, no trip to north Vermont which i usually go up their in early March.  Plattekill wad great the 3 days i had their and Mount Snow was great 2 day midweek powder day, and one nice day of skiing their on uncrowed superbowl sunday.  Next year i will ski more for sure.


----------



## buellski (Apr 30, 2012)

28 days of mostly frozen groomers at Sunapee.

Best day was a surprise powder day at Bretton Woods in early March.  It was a great day of skiing in the trees, but it was the only tree skiing I got in this year


----------



## Zand (Apr 30, 2012)

Month-by-month:

October: 2
November: 0
December: 6
January: 5
February: 7
March: 9
April: 4

Total: 33

So hard to get motivated at all during the winter this year. A couple of those March days I didn't even really want to go... it was more out of boredom than anything. Honestly, other than the first couple weeks of March, October and April were by far the 2 best months of skiing.

Top 5 days:

1. Jay 4/10 - Thigh deep cement, very hard to ski in but fun if the pitch was right enough to float down the trail. Also extended the season by at least a week.

2. Killington 10/31 - Knee deep powder on trails like Ovation, Superstar, Downdraft, etc that early was awesome. Too bad it would be my last powder day till March.

3. Burke 3/2 - Only day close to a powder day that I got at Burke this year, and one of 2 times when it was 100% open. Woods and nats were awesome for about 10 days.

4. Jay 3/11 - Only time I got to ski Jay while the coverage was real deep... that 60" late Feb storm held over nicely for a couple weeks till the 70s hit.

5. Jay 4/13 - UN alone made this day a top 5... wall to wall bumps on a sunny 55 degree day after the 18" cement storm. Very tough to ski most of the natural trails because the snow was so dense, but tough to complain about considering the winter we had.

Managed to keep my ski season at 6+ months long for a 4th year in a row. Been a while since I've skied so few days (at least 1/3 of what I did ski were 3 hours or less). Hope we never get a winter that sucks this bad ever again. Glad summers here, but already looking forward to packing the car and heading over to Bethel in October.


----------



## Smellytele (Apr 30, 2012)

29 days in and had 4 powder days, 1 rainy but very fun day, 2 +70 degree days, 1 icy day, 15 man made groomer days and 6 man made snow bump run days. I usually get in around 35-40 days but I was lucky to ski on some pretty good days this year.


----------



## Puck it (Apr 30, 2012)

Not great but not terrilbe either.  Couple of smallish powder days at Cannon. Skied every weekend from November to end of March with a couple double dipping weekends.  CO was mediocre though.  It was better then not skiing though.


----------



## SIKSKIER (Apr 30, 2012)

Nick said:


> Now that lift served skiing is over ... how did your season go? Did you finish strong?
> 
> Days, quality, etc.



You mean lift served on the east coast cuz there is plenty left out west.


----------



## Vortex (Apr 30, 2012)

#7 out of 10.  Started in Oct. Finished Mid April.  I could not have skied any longer due to family stuff.  It would have been nice for more powder and  and Natural snow, but there were  less people on the hill. Sr made a ton of snow, Right up to the end of March. Made the best of a tough year.    I feel better about the year than most.


----------



## skiadikt (Apr 30, 2012)

this season was one of those years where timing was everything and due to family illnesses my timing sucked. 27 days and 0 for april. couple decent tree days and 4 great bump days around st patty's. my flat & fast skiing definitely improved. next season can't come soon enough.


----------



## BMac (Apr 30, 2012)

I think i got around 25 days this but managed to make the most out of it.  October pow at Killington, a couple super deep days at Jay, 18 incher at Magic, and the final snowstorm at Killington.  I guess my season was bookended by unreal days at KMart.  Some good groomer days at the Bush and Magic, along with a good New Years week at Big Sky, and I think I can say I had a kick ass year despite Ullr's neglect.  Hopefully Tux is holding some late season goods.


----------



## DJAK (Apr 30, 2012)

Stats, thoughts and pics from 16 eastern ski areas on the topic in our SKI THE EAST year in review...

http://bit.ly/KvEYmN


----------



## snoseek (Apr 30, 2012)

I had a nice long ski season.

Started @ Sunday River somewhere around halloween and skied a half dozen days on the EC while piling up the funds. 

Mid December drove across to Tahoe, getting rid of some stuff I had stored in Denver on the way.

arrived in Tahoe to virtually no snow. skied groomers everyday and played up on the rim trail  (hike/bike) in the afternoon. Some days I jst skied 9-4. Somewhere about Mid January I hit the road for Utah as they (and tahoe) were getting a decent storm. Skied lcc/bcc/pow mow for 11 days...following terrain openings for the year, snowpack was low tide but soft. 

Drove back to Tahoe for a few days and decided to return to Utah for a few more...this time I didn't drive which was a nice rest. Skied a few days on ok snow....packed down at Pow Mow. First time was much softer. 
Returned to Tahoe and skied more groomers into Mid Feb. Finally the snow was starting to fall abit at places like Kirkwood and some exploring could happen. This was the beginning of the good season for me. It came very very late. 

Late February I grew impatient once again and chased a storm that sorta busted into Utah. Had a couple fun days at Pow Mow (WJenness had the best day that week I would say), then moves even further east as the Western Slope was getting pounded. Stayed with a friend in Grand JCT and skied three EMPTY two foot cold smoke days at Powderhorn. Two areas that were going off were Steamboat and Powderhorn. Also did some Mountain Biking in Fruitta and went out a couple nights, this trip turned out to be 9 days and tons of driving. 

Returned literally the day before it went off in Tahoe. The month of march was a fucking dream! Skied till exhaustion every day....not too many lesiurely days. Somewhere around mid month  things really started ramping up and even Heavenly was skiing pretty good, Mott, Killbrew and the slack stuff. April first was a big day and we got onthat one! skied a day at Squaw in Early April and confirmed that's where I'd like to spend a good deal of time next winter, the place is hyped but there definitely is a reason. 

Was enticed into stepping back into my former job for the summer so I packed it up around mid month and stuffed my ski poles with some quality mendecino souvineers and got back a couple weeks ago. I am now in full on work mode till just before halloween when I start the cycle all over again...

Overall it was a tough year for many. I'm not gonna bitch tooo much as I did ski 100+ days and got a nice break from working. I road tripped WAYYY too much and spent too much money in doing so but what are ya gonna do when its so dry? I will pay for my sins this summer. I did manage to make things happen under the circumstances and can only imagine next year will be a drastic improvment for many. Driving back Colorado snowpack was as low as I've ever seen it in the month of april. LL pass looked like memorial day weekend so I'm not feeling any regrets about not going back to Colorado this season.


Edit-forgot to add I got home the day before closing day @ the river, so ultimately I opened and closed my season at Sunday River!


----------



## snowmonster (Apr 30, 2012)

^ Yeah! And you opened and closed the season with the same bunch of miscreants at the River!


----------



## St. Bear (Apr 30, 2012)

DJAK said:


> Stats, thoughts and pics from 16 eastern ski areas on the topic in our SKI THE EAST year in review...
> 
> http://bit.ly/KvEYmN



I mentioned this on Twitter, but I'd be interested in seeing how the totals are skewed by single large storms.  For instance, Jay Peak claims 254" for the season, but received 60"+ over Leap Day Weekend, which is almost 1/4 of their yearly total.  Magic Mountain received 18" over the same weekend, which is almost 1/3 of their claimed 65".


----------



## legalskier (Apr 30, 2012)

35, almost all in the 'Cats.  None in November or April (first time I can remember that). 
A bad day of skiing beats a good day in the office, but I'm afraid I got spoiled by the prior two epic seasons. I'm very disappointed that I never got to the northern reaches, which I was saving for the last month of the season, which- infamously- never happened. Still had a few decent days though. Best part of the season was compressed by Mother Nature to right after Presidents' Week until the first week of March. If I could've known it was destined to go poof so fast, I would have been out  much more then. But I ASSumed it would last til April. :sad:

What a strange season it was.


----------



## maineskier69 (Apr 30, 2012)

I started my season in October with a powder day (if you squinted) on 2 open trails at Sunday River.  This is the first year I did not ski outside of "The Great State of Maine", but thats just how it worked out.  I didn't keep an official tally, but I ended up in the low 40's for # of days.  Most of those days were at Sunday River which when you have a winter like this one (and hopefully never will again) is IMHO the best place to be when it comes to making snow.  I had 2 great "powder nights" at Shawnee Peak which were a couple of my best ski expiriences this season.  Made it up to Saddleback for Presidents Day Weekend (thank you Silver Pass) which I have decided is my favorite mountain to ski in Maine (when there is snow).  My biggest regret was not making it once up to Sugarloaf this year.  In my 20 years of living in Maine, this was the first season I didn't make it to The Loaf.  We had intentions, but due to high winds we were steered to Sunday River. 
So from a skiing perspective it wasn't the best season, but from the social perspective it was great because when the skiing isn't up to par you head to the bar..


----------



## aveski2000 (Apr 30, 2012)

I had a pretty good season, in spite of the lack of snow. Started at the River in October and ended the season there in April. Probably got around 30 days or so. Two days at the Loaf and one at Saddleback late in the season. Had only one powder day in the East. The highlight of the year was going to Jackson Hole in late February into March and doing the Steep and Deep Camp. We had fresh snow three out of the four days of camp. A truly amazing mountain. I got my two seconds of fame in one of the Steep & Deep clips.
I'm at 1:45 - 1:47. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRTw9ihBUk0&feature=player_detailpage


----------



## rocojerry (Apr 30, 2012)

seasons in the signature --

but best day? Probably @ Copper.

For how little mother nature cooperated, I feel like I had 1-2 bad days all season -- 

I was shooting for 32 days, so fell about 5 short......


----------



## Hawkshot99 (Apr 30, 2012)

Skied somewhere in the sixties for my yearly number.  I no longer keep track exactly, but thats close.  Past 3 years I have done in the eighties, so not bad but not definitely short.  This was doen with working 6 days a week, minimum of 60 hours a week of work, usually more (although I do work at the mtn., but not in a skiing role).

I only had 1 real powder experience all winter.  9-10 inches the last Friday night of X-mas break.  Was a real fun night of skiing.  I did quite well in advancing my racing however and was very happy with my results in my 2 leagues.

I was a bit disappointed in the # of mtns I skied(6), but did ski Stowe for the first time, although it was late spring bumps, nut I would love to try it mid winter.  The other place I went quite a bit was Bromley, had not been there since I was a little kid.  I dd not get in any earned turns this winter(thats what I get for buying AT boots!)


----------



## ScottySkis (May 1, 2012)

Hawkshot99 said:


> Skied somewhere in the sixties for my yearly number.  I no longer keep track exactly, but thats close.  Past 3 years I have done in the eighties, so not bad but not definitely short.  This was doen with working 6 days a week, minimum of 60 hours a week of work, usually more (although I do work at the mtn., but not in a skiing role).
> 
> I only had 1 real powder experience all winter.  9-10 inches the last Friday night of X-mas break.  Was a real fun night of skiing.  I did quite well in advancing my racing however and was very happy with my results in my 2 leagues.
> 
> I was a bit disappointed in the # of mtns I skied(6), but did ski Stowe for the first time, although it was late spring bumps, nut I would love to try it mid winter.  The other place I went quite a bit was Bromley, had not been there since I was a little kid.  I dd not get in any earned turns this winter(thats what I get for buying AT boots!)



That is awesome that you can ski so many days and work all those hours.


----------



## RENO (May 1, 2012)

DJAK said:


> Stats, thoughts and pics from 16 eastern ski areas on the topic in our SKI THE EAST year in review...
> 
> http://bit.ly/KvEYmN



Mad River Mountain, Ohio? :lol:


----------



## 4aprice (May 1, 2012)

Definately a sub par season for me.  Got somewhere in the area of 45 days.  Didn't get out west for the 1st time in about 20 years.  Camelback was ok.  They certainly made the most of what they were presented with weatherwise.  They were able to get the entire mountain open by mid January and rode it out till mid March but with the exception of a few days it wasn't vintage Camelback skiing.  Got to Vermont about 15 days with mixed results as well.  Some good days, some not so good days.  Had some injury problems as well with some back issues in January and a tweeked knee in February.  I'm in the camp that this was the worst year weatherwise I have ever experienced in 45+ years of skiing so I shed no tears when it ended for me March 18th about a month earlier then normal.  Glad its in the rearview mirror and really looking forward to next season already.  Got the dry land training already in progress trying to be in top shape for November.  Early prognostications from weather guru's I follow say that next year figures to be much different from this past season so the stoke factor will be rising daily during the summer months.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ


----------



## snowmonster (May 1, 2012)

DJAK said:


> Stats, thoughts and pics from 16 eastern ski areas on the topic in our SKI THE EAST year in review...
> 
> http://bit.ly/KvEYmN



Thanks for this. But, why no Sunday River?


RENO said:


> Mad River Mountain, Ohio? :lol:



The only possible explanation is that the assignment was given to a non-skiing intern who could not tell the difference between this and MRG.


aveski2000 said:


> I had a pretty good season, in spite of the lack of snow. Started at the River in October and ended the season there in April. Probably got around 30 days or so. Two days at the Loaf and one at Saddleback late in the season. Had only one powder day in the East. The highlight of the year was going to Jackson Hole in late February into March and doing the Steep and Deep Camp. We had fresh snow three out of the four days of camp. A truly amazing mountain. I got my two seconds of fame in one of the Steep & Deep clips.
> I'm at 1:45 - 1:47.
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRTw9ihBUk0&feature=player_detailpage



Nice vid! Got me stoked on Jackson Hole. I have to hit that place someday. Madpadraic mentioned the Steep and Deep camp.This vid got me thinking about that.


----------



## drjeff (May 1, 2012)

RENO said:


> Mad River Mountain, Ohio? :lol:



Yup, one of Peak Resorts properties outside of Columbus, OH.  The GM there is a friend of mine and the former marketing director at Mount Snow before was promoted about a year ago.


----------



## Hawkshot99 (May 1, 2012)

Scotty said:


> That is awesome that you can ski so many days and work all those hours.



I manage the ski shop on property.  My shop is 100 ft to the main lift.  I am in 2 race leagues a week, plus ski any night I want till 10pm(I work till 4, or 8 depending on the night).  Every day off I had but 1 was spent at a ski resort this winter.  

What makes me ski the most is that I move up there for the winter, so I dont have many friends who are not at the mtn or crazy about skiing.  So, when we hang out, it is usually on the ski slopes.


----------



## ScottySkis (May 1, 2012)

Hawkshot99 said:


> I manage the ski shop on property.  My shop is 100 ft to the main lift.  I am in 2 race leagues a week, plus ski any night I want till 10pm(I work till 4, or 8 depending on the night).  Every day off I had but 1 was spent at a ski resort this winter.
> 
> What makes me ski the most is that I move up there for the winter, so I dont have many friends who are not at the mtn or crazy about skiing.  So, when we hang out, it is usually on the ski slopes.



That pretty sweet deal you got.


----------



## Nick (May 2, 2012)

Yeah I have to be honest I really missed woods skiing this year. There just wasn't much of it on the few times I got up north except for MRG which was actually pretty decent. 

My late season was blown up by some family issues, so I missed the big storm in Feb, which was a huge bummer. 

All in all, considering the conditions, I didn't get in half of what I was hoping to. Next year should be better!


----------



## DJAK (May 2, 2012)

snowmonster said:


> Thanks for this. But, why no Sunday River?
> 
> 
> The only possible explanation is that the assignment was given to a non-skiing intern who could not tell the difference between this and MRG.



Regarding Sunday River - not every mtn responds to every request for info (esp late season).

Regarding MRM in Ohio, my goal was to get outside of New England, thus the info from NB, WV, Ohio, etc.. VT was already heavy.

Tried to include a cross section, not every mtn.


----------



## SkiFanE (May 2, 2012)

50+ days or so, all at Sunday River for me. Just no natural to entice me elsewhere weekdays. But each and every day I had a blast. We took every opty to ski woods or nat'l only trails when we could. They came and went so fast, it was so smart. One day 2 youngest (11 & 6) and I hit a few black glades inclu chutpzah, awesome day. My 6yo started ripping up sides of blue/green trails right behind me "I'm following your style mom".  What a great winter...precious memories that will last a lifetime, long after I forget about lack of snow.


----------



## gmcunni (May 3, 2012)

I wish i'd skied more and had better conditions but overall i had a fun season.  I don't think i set specific goals this year but had I done so I probably would have come up short.


21 days on the snow - down from 39 previous season 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





4 new mountains skied 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




didn't catch any big storms / pow days. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




did a bunch of demos 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




didn't buy new skis as i planned 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




skied Canada for first time 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




with son off to college next year this was our last year of family ski trips 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




don't think i broke even on my pass to local hill 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




with reduced days i really felt like it was a plateau year, didn't get any better 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




escaped season without injury 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




missed the AZ summit - 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




summary - 

*2011/12 Season -* best day -  3.2 @ magic

Ski Sundown - 12.17 12.27 1.1 1.11 1.14 1.16 1.21 2.11 2.26 3.4 3.8 3.11 3.17
Mount Snow - 12.30
Wachusett - 1.7
Magic - 2.4 3.2 
Mont Sutton -2.18
Mont Orford - 2.19
Bromont - 2.20
Okemo - 3.10


----------



## Bostonian (May 3, 2012)

While this year was not the epic year I had last, it was still fun none the less.  With many changes that took place, I am happy to have gotten out as much as I did.  Wachusett served as a good home hill for me, seeing it is only 30 minutes away.  Some memorable days were the trip up to Cannon on a blue bird day with a masonic brother of mine, a great last minute trip to K-Mart, and numerous trips to Wachusett.  Next year, with my gunstock pass, I am sure I will be spending plenty of time up there... 

Cannot wait for next year already!


----------



## Skimaine (May 7, 2012)

I would have to say that this was a somewhat below average year. The lack of snow contributed, but primarily because I broke my wrist in March and that cut short some prime skiing including a week of skiing around New England.


----------



## snowmonster (May 30, 2012)

With summer travel plans and other personal commitments coming up, it looks like the inevitable is upon me. I tried my best to keep the season going but I think it's time. Despite the interesting weather, this season was very good to me.

Highlights:

- 33 days on snow (Oct. 30-May 21) with the most number of powder days I've ever had in a season
- Finally made it to UT and skied the legends: Bird, Alta and DV (3.5 powder days)
- Returned to Whistler (3 powder days)
- Powder day (and free ticket) at Stowe
- Returned to Mad River Glen twice for free courtesy of Alpinezone (thanks, Nick!), one of which was a powder day
- Skied and surfed on the same day at Jay Peak
- Hit Sunday River on opening weekend and closing day (with naked free-skiers)
- Finally hit the the Bruce Trail at Stowe, 20th Hole at MRG and Left Gully at Tux.
- Introduced a good friend to the snowfields of Mt. Washington

Lowlights:

- Not enough days at the River and the Loaf
- No backcountry tours
- Missed the AZ Summit  

There's still some snow in Tux but I think I'll let my brother-in-arms, madpatski, have the honors of making June turns. 

Rip it up, Pat! As you say there up north: "To you from failing hands, we throw the torch. Be yours to hold it high."


----------



## MadPatSki (May 31, 2012)

snowmonster said:


> Highlights:There's still some snow in Tux but I think I'll let my brother-in-arms, madpatski, have the honors of making June turns.
> 
> Rip it up, Pat! As you say there up north: "To you from failing hands, we throw the torch. Be yours to hold it high."



Thanks for the honour snowmonster. :razz: Hoping others are encouraged by your determination.

Looking at the calendar...JUne is tomorrow.

Looking at the forecast...

Looks like some June turns are going to be pathetic like the season (personal and season)

Tomorrow might be too soon for me (the only clear forecast day). Saturday seems like a washout...Sunday, less so, but one advantage - won't need the sunscreen.

My season:

With 31 days so far :  Worst season in ski days so far since 2000-01 (I've been getting over 50 days since 2004-2005). Health issues that started in January. Daughter's broke her leg in mid-February. Plus a bunch of other stuff.

Positives:
An interesting note (not that I tried): skied on the first and the last liftserved days in the East: Sunday River on October 29 and MSS on May 6. Don't think that many that can say that this season.

Got some good work on the Ski Mad World blog - reposting some old TRs and stuff posted on various ski forums over the years. Good to visit some old TRs when this season sucked for me.


----------



## lmgrnjeep (Jun 5, 2012)

well the season wasnt a total bust. I got about 53 days in and probably 50 of them at the loaf. not many powder days but... here are my highlights. 

-Was there for opening day at Sunday River. 
-Skied opening day at the loaf
-skied the second day at the loaf when they had 6 inches of powder  
-one of the first tracks in at brackett basin during the end of Feb/beginning of March  snowstorm. It is so big in there. 
-Was the last person into brackett on March 8th. 
- Skied in 75 degree weather twice the week of March 18th
- skied last day April 16th Got first chair and was 3 to last chair. 

Cons-

- Broke my Solomon xwing 8 on March 19th when it was about 80 on the hill. Tried to ski the bumps on bubblecuffer, ski hit a soft patch sank in 2 feet and i went head over heals, snapped my ski right in half. Ended up clicking in and skiing on my tails the whole way down... had a few beers in me  

-obv not enough snow

- Backside never opened... really dissappointing. 


So not a bad year but way to many groomers.


----------



## Paul_M (Jun 18, 2012)

Made the move back to skiing after a 5 year lay off.  It was big fun as always.  Committed to Jay Peak next season, got new boots, new skis, and a determination to have the most fun possible while still taking care of business.  I'm sure it will be an adventure.

Thanks for the inspiration.


----------



## bigbog (Jun 19, 2012)

Over, it's NEVER _Over_

The next in ultimate _Extremism_....http://youtu.be/isZrhvikScw

*PS:...Not into it that seriously...but I don't dare put this on Epicski...LOL.


----------



## ERJ-145CA (Jun 19, 2012)

I got 34 days which is about average for me though mostly in marginal conditions.  The best skiing was early March at Bromley. It snowed a foot or so a couple days before I got there and was the first time Bromley was 100% open all season.  Temps were in the mid twenties to low thirties the four days I was there, it was really the only mid-winter conditions for me all season.

It started about 3 weeks later and ended about 3 weeks earlier than most seasons for me.  I still got out there and had fun but am definitely hoping next season is a lot better.


----------



## thetrailboss (Jun 22, 2012)

OK, I can say that this season is over and offer this recap:  

The season started on *November 20, 2011* at Snowbird and ended on June 2, 2012 at Alta.  I skied 35 days--33 lift served, 2 "earned turns" days.  30 days were at Snowbird, 4 at Alta, and 1 at Deer Valley, which was the only new ski area for me this season.  There was only 383 inches of snow this season at Snowbird.  

I will have to look, but there were at least 8 powder days, which is decent.  April was the biggest surprise with three weekend days that had surprise powder.  

This will be the first season for me that I did not ski in Vermont.  

Favorite areas to ski at Snowbird were Little Cloud and Mineral Basin.  New area that was a favorite was the Bookends.  I did not manage to ski much in the Cirque or off of Baldy because of the low snow.  

Deer Valley was a pleasant surprise and a lot of fun.  

And I lost my skis once in Alta's deep powder...but finally found them!  :lol:


----------



## redalienx11 (Jun 24, 2012)

still going strong.
pic from 6/2/12


----------



## MadPadraic (Aug 30, 2012)

Where was this from?


----------



## J.Spin (Aug 31, 2012)

I hadn’t noticed this 2011-2012 ski season recap thread until now, but since I just finished mine up a couple of weeks ago, I figured I’d pass it along.  It’s focused on Northern Vermont, with sections on snowfall, tree skiing, snow quality, powder, and then a summary for each month from October through May.  I think one of the more surprising aspects of the winter was that despite the low snowfall, the availability of powder seemed pretty typical.  With roughly half the usual amount of snowfall at Bolton, and only marginally better numbers at Stowe, we can’t have had as many of those big, deep days as usual, but the powder was still there.  When I worked my way through my trip reports from the season, I only found two outings in the entire stretch from October until the big warm-up in mid March where we didn’t have powder, so I’d say Mother Nature was able to do a lot with the temperatures and moisture that she was given.  Based on my 2011-2012 winter weather data, we actually had a fairly typical number of snowstorms reaching down to the mountain valleys (45 at our location), so the storms were there, but the amount of snowfall per storm was down significantly.  

The full ski season recap is quite long, so I’m just going to paste in the introduction here and then provide a link to the rest for those that are interested.  I did select a photo from each month of the season for my recap, and I’ve added those below the intro for some visuals:

With everyone having their own unique perspective on skiing, combined with the multitude of weather-related factors involved in winter recreation in general, there’s usually ample room for debate about where a ski season sits relative to average.  However, when it comes to the 2011-2012 ski season in Northern Vermont (and perhaps to an even greater extent in other parts of the Northeastern U.S.) most any metric would set it firmly in the lower half of seasons.  Some key contributing factors to the outcome of the season were temperatures, which were above average for every month from October through May (specific monthly temperature departures are available in the monthly detail section), overall precipitation, which was well below average during that period, and as expected with that combination, snowfall that was well below average.  However, the numbers don’t always tell the whole story, and indeed that was the case in Northern Vermont this past season.  If numbers aren’t everything, perhaps timing is everything, and the snow machine of the Northern Greens exhibited some impeccable timing for some of the busiest ski periods when it came down to it.  There was also a consistency and intensity in backside snows that seemed to heal just about every mixed precipitation event.  So while I don’t think that the winter of 2011-2012 can be considered anything but below average around here, the bigger story might just be how “surprisingly good” it was.  That story unfolds at the link below:

*2011-2012 Northern Vermont Ski Season Summary*

*October:*








*November:*







*December:*







*January:*







*February:*







*March:*







*April:*







*May:*


----------



## RENO (Aug 31, 2012)

A couple weeks ago!? :-? Where?


----------



## Nick (Aug 31, 2012)

J spin, great pics.... what are you shooting with?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2


----------



## J.Spin (Aug 31, 2012)

RENO said:


> A couple weeks ago!?  Where?


Oh, we haven’t actually skied since Memorial Day Weekend at Mt. Washington, it’s just that I finally finished writing up the season summary and had time to post it a couple of weeks ago.


----------



## RENO (Aug 31, 2012)

J.Spin said:


> Oh, we haven’t actually skied since Memorial Day Weekend at Mt. Washington, it’s just that I finally finished writing up the season summary and had time to post it a couple of weeks ago.


I thought you were skiing in an alternate universe! :lol: 
Cool pics...


----------



## J.Spin (Aug 31, 2012)

Nick said:


> J spin, great pics.... what are you shooting with?


Glad you liked the photos Nick; most of our shooting is done with a Canon EOS 30D, typically with a Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens, but we also use other lenses on occasion such as the Canon EF-S 10-22 mm f/3.5-4.5 USM.  Since the 30D is a digital SLR, it provides very good performance in terms of light sensitivity and speed, so we try to use it most of the time for skiing (especially when it comes to action shots).  But, SLR cameras are big, so sometimes I use our Canon PowerShot ELPH 510 HS if that’s all I’ve got on me.  It’s about the size of a deck of cards, so it fits in any pocket, and that’s useful on days when we’re coaching groups of kids in our school program at Stowe and not focusing on photography.  Actually, shot #4 above (January) was taken with the ELPH, with all the others coming from the 30D.

The ELPH can produce some very nice shots, but it still pales in comparison to the SLR and we really noticed it this summer when we had to rely on the little camera because the 30D was being serviced.  Our 30D is almost 6 years old now, and although I’m not one for getting another piece of equipment when the current one is working fine, being without it for a couple of weeks definitely brought to light the potential need for a second SLR body.  Fortunately we didn’t have any work that required the camera during that period, but it showed us that a non-SLR wasn’t going to cut it in various situations.  With the way technology progresses nowadays, our 30D is actually about 3 to 4 generations old in the Canon lineup, and numerous aspects of the cameras have been inproved.  If I had to buy a camera for our needs right now, I’d go with the Canon 7D, which is their APS-C camera optimized for sports shooters – short of spending $7,000 on one of Canon’s flagship 1-series models like the 1D-X, the 7D is one of the best around, and it’s an excellent fit for ski photography (8 fps, very fast focus, weather-sealed body, etc.).  I had a chance to use the 7D last January when a friend of mine was visiting, and it’s definitely a fast camera.  The 7D has been out for three years now, so while it’s still a top camera for sports, it’s already three-year old technology, so I’m waiting a bit to see what follows it up.

On a final note, if you ever see an image that you like on the web, and want to know what camera was used to take the photo, you may be able to find out very quickly without even having to contact the photographer.  All you have to do is download an Exif viewer.  I downloaded and installed the free program called IExif, and now whenever I right click on an image on the web, one of the options available in the list is “View Exif/GPS/IPTC with IExif”.  Sometimes the Exif information is stripped out (either intentionally or unintentionally) but oftentimes it’s there, and it contains the model of camera that was used, what settings (aperture, shutter speed, ISO, focal length, etc.) were used, sometimes what lens was used, and a whole lot more.  If a camera has a GPS unit in it, that information may even be in there.  I’ve added an example of Exif information below – first I’ve got a shot that my friend took on January 17[SUP]th[/SUP] last year at Bolton using his 7D, and then below that I’ve got the information window that pops up from IExif:


----------



## Nick (Sep 1, 2012)

I'm a big photog ..... well hobbyist ...  I have a T2i and a couple lenses... 50mm 1.4 , sigma 30mm 1.4 (great for the crop lens) ... and a 15-85mm 3.5 - 5.6. Mostly the fast lenses are on for my baby photos and videos; the zoom lens comes out during daylight outdoors. Unless  I need something fast, then I go back to the primes maybe with ND filters for the higher apertures. 

I've never had the balls to take my DSLR skiing though. I normally carry my smaller S95 for skiing. But the pics pale compared to the DSLR 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2


----------



## J.Spin (Sep 5, 2012)

Nick said:


> I'm a big photog ..... well hobbyist ... I have a T2i and a couple lenses... 50mm 1.4 , sigma 30mm 1.4 (great for the crop lens) ... and a 15-85mm 3.5 - 5.6. Mostly the fast lenses are on for my baby photos and videos; the zoom lens comes out during daylight outdoors. Unless I need something fast, then I go back to the primes maybe with ND filters for the higher apertures.
> 
> I've never had the balls to take my DSLR skiing though. I normally carry my smaller S95 for skiing. But the pics pale compared to the DSLR.


 
Your Rebel T2i would certainly take some great ski photos; Powderfreak uses a Rebel XS for his work at Stowe – I’m not sure what lens he uses (perhaps the 18-55 lens often found in the kit), but he’s always putting out great shots.  Carrying around a DSLR all day on the slopes isn’t for everyone though; you’ve got the bulk of the camera body and one or more lenses, and then there’s the fact that you may be carrying around thousands of dollars of equipment at potentially high speeds.  On lift-served days I carry my 30D in one of those Mountainsmith “Day” lumbar packs, with a Lowepro camera bag inside.  Between photo and video, I’ve been using that combination for 10-15 years on the slopes with good results.  It provides a reasonable degree of protection for the camera since the camera bag is padded, and the lumbar pack isn’t nearly as bulky as a backpack. I stick to just one lens, generally the 24-105, and that keeps things as compact as possible on those days.  For backcountry/sidecountry, I use a Dakine Sequence pack – it’s basically got all the great features of one of Dakine’s ski packs combined with a camera pack (they don't show it in the video, but it also does diagonal ski carry, etc.):



There’s always going to be some concern about carrying an expensive camera while skiing, but the great thing is that the Canon DSLRs are built to really take a lot of abuse – as one moves upward in the EOS lineup, the cameras get more expensive, but they are also built like tanks with the magnesium alloy bodies etc.  I saw a great video this summer in which DigitalRev tested the durability of a 7D.  They really sent it through the gauntlet -  knocking it over with a truck, sending it down flights of cement stairs, freezing it in a block of ice, shooting it with an air gun, lighting it on fire, etc., just the usual sort of stuff that one encounters on the slopes (perhaps the frozen part):


----------

