# Rate your 2010-11 ski season



## polski (Apr 26, 2011)

Not that the season is necessarily over but on a scale of 0-10, what grade would you give it?

Note I ask you to rate _your_ season - so personal factors enter into it, along with snowfall/conditions/etc wherever you happened to be.

At this point I'd give it an 8+. That may be a tough grade given that I'd also consider it my best season ever, but though I skied lots of fresh powder I never did have a truly epic pow day (i.e. I did not have an opportunity to visit the white room). 

Lots of memorable skiing though - total of around 35 days out (by far a personal record) including a dozen skinning on five different local hills (first season I've gotten serious about earned turns) plus about 10 days of free skiing as a chaperone for my kids' school programs at Bradford.

A number of firsts, including my first trek up Mount Washington (no higher than Little Headwall because of avy danger but a great day, skiing from there to the car) and my personal first descent of Paradise at MRG (on April Fool's Day, though best of all I managed not to make a fool of myself on that run). Both cases involved some measure of conquering fear, which is an interesting process.

Several days involved skiing two different places the same day, including Middlebury/Whaleback and Mt Wash/Black. Great deep first tracks on Wilderness Peak at Bolton Valley, again the fruits of skinning. First visits to Middlebury, Black, Mittersill and Sugarbush. Fantastic back-to-back powder days toward the end of Presidents Week with my sons at MRG and Magic, my two favorite mountains, and hooking up with good friends at the latter. Just generally feeling I'm skiing better than ever, including in the trees, and absolutely loving my 09-10 Gotamas in all but the most firm conditions. 

As I say, I'm a tough grader - even after all that I was thinking 7+ because I hadn't had a primo spring skiing day. Logistics and weather were conspiring against me on this - until the past Friday at Sugarbush, with corn as good as it gets. So now I'm up to an 8+. Still holding out hope to hit a 9 with at least one return visit to Mt Wash.


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## Cannonball (Apr 26, 2011)

*9*

Points For: 
- Second best season total number of days at 78 and counting (93/94 season was best at over 100, but it's been awhile).  
- Happened to coincide with stellar conditions start to finish.
- Not over yet as of 4/25

Points against:
- Lack of variety.  Only 5 resorts (+BC).  Usually get many more, but it was just SO GOOD at the home hill.
- Nothing else...but there's always more to strive for...10s are hard to come by.


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## Eski (Apr 26, 2011)

only made it to four mountains this season, 121 outings to date and no injuries makes it a 10 in my book  ;-)


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## dmc (Apr 26, 2011)

Tough season for me..  Had a personal tragedy during the holidays which set me back..  Managed to make it to CO for a week..  Otherwise stayed home at Hunter.

Still a 10...


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## dmc (Apr 26, 2011)

Eski said:


> only made it to four mountains this season, 121 outings to date and no injuries makes it a 10 in my book  ;-)



You appear to have weathered this season better then last... very cool...


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## campgottagopee (Apr 26, 2011)

How could it be anything but a 10. Skiing, pizza, and sex are all similar...when it's good it's great and when it's bad it's still pretty good.


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## 2sons (Apr 26, 2011)

Snow wise I think we all had tremendous seasons. I would've given this season perfect marks, but I'm so utterly disgusted with myself in not getting any late season turns in.
Perhaps in a few months I'll rate it a 10, but as I wallow in denial and disgust- a 6.


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## Warp Daddy (Apr 26, 2011)

Snow Quality 10
Days in Pow 10

Did i get out enough  _ Never enuf ---------------but 4 th highest total so i'd give it a 6


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## hammer (Apr 26, 2011)

Better than any previous season...got out to bigger ski areas, including a week in UT.  Also enjoyed being on the Pats Peak AZ race team.


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## gmcunni (Apr 26, 2011)

9 - no doubt my best ski season ever but being in crappy physical condition left me feeling like it could have been even better.


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## Vortex (Apr 26, 2011)

They all seem the same to me. As long as I ski in Oct and May, and the months in between its good.

Probably  will end up with 63 days out.  I made 80 two years ago,  Took a much more mellow approach and enjoyed it.    I agree the AZ race team nights were great.  My trip to Winter Park was the best part of the year for me.

So "8"


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## ERJ-145CA (Apr 26, 2011)

I'll give mine a 9.  I met most of my goals.  I skied in November and April.  The only goal I didn't meet was breaking 40 days, I think I would have except that I lost a week to injury and 2 days to illness.  Other than that it was a great season with lots of great snow for most of the season.  A lot of fun days skiing with my son too.


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## Greg (Apr 26, 2011)

I'll give it an 8 overall. Not my busiest season at 38 days, and very little variety (only Killington, Sugarloaf, Hunter, Okemo and Sundown). February was tough for me, only 4 days, but I made up for it in March. Sundown spring season was short-lived on the cool side and more cloudy than not.

On the positive side, some of the best mid-winter skiing at the home hill that I've ever experienced. Lift-serviced tree skiing in CT was fun. Had a lot of fun skiing with my kids a bunch, and the Sugarloaf summit was a blast with some very good conditions. Maybe we'll get legit spring skiing for that next year...

So yeah, good season. But they all usually are one way or another.


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## bvibert (Apr 26, 2011)

*8*

Kinda weak in the number of days and variety (Sundown, Magic, Sugarloaf, Killington, and Hunter).  Some spectacular skiing at my home mountain made up for it though.  Also had a ton of fun on each of the trips I made elsewhere, including a really good time at the AZ Summit.  Also got both my kids solidly skiing this season, which is awesome!


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## 2knees (Apr 26, 2011)

Strange season for me.  Even though there were epic storms down here early, I managed to miss skiing in most of them.  for that a big thumbs down.  Got the kids out more.  otis, campton, cannon, loon, sundown.  they loved it, so for that i'm happy.  Not that its a big deal, but competitively, in terms of the 3 comps i entered, they were all complete busts.  not sure what happened but the spring sundown comp and the bmmc still eat at me.  it was like i forgot how to ski.  that's gonna bug me all summer, i can already tell.

Most importantly, it looks like my kids are hooked and i'll be spending some more time in NH with them next year.  hopefully more cannon then loon as i still cant get over how much they loved the tuckerbrook setup at cannon.

One other thing that sucked was getting skunked by weather on at least two weekend trips.  One to magic that looked so promising only 24 hours before but turned into a complete bust with icing and rain.  Cut two days off my northern totals.


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## abc (Apr 26, 2011)

9!

I'm a hard grader. I don't know what it'll take to give a 10. But this season is very very good, if not perfect.

The one main problem I had was I had a bike accident in October. The recovery period basically erased all my fitness build up through summer. So I enter the season with poor fitness and a lot of trepidation regarding falls that might re-injure parts that are still healing. And a follow up operation in January also cut in my days on snow. 

But as the season gets on, I was skiing better and better. And the worry started to recede into the back of my memory. The abundant snow well into late March and April make up for the lost time due to my injury. With the help of Winn in snowforecast.com, I was also able to nail a lot of the borderline days and got a bunch more skiing out than my usual.  So it work out to have a slightly above average days on snow. 

What makes this a season of 9's is not the number of days but the quality of it! 

I had lucked out with quite a number of powder days! Mostly small powders, a couple inches here and half a foot there. Not the mega epic dump but a lot of "hero snow"!  That, combined with my confidence growing, I ski better in general. 

Another big thing this season is my skiing itself. I took a very good clinic 2 years back. And it took this many skiing days to slowing "get" a lot of the thing I learned and for it to become part of my skiing. That increase my ski enjoyment considerably.


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## Cornhead (Apr 26, 2011)

I would have to give this year a 10. Especially April. I decided to count days this year, but gave up after 30 something. Maybe next year I'll track them on a calender. Conservative estimate is 80, mostly Greek Peak. $3.60 a pop ain't too shabby, now factor in gas...yikes, I'd rather not think about that. 

 I've been vacationing / skiing in New Mexico the previous two Winters.  I opted not to this year, even though I would have had free lodging and transportation once there.  I think they had a sub par snow year.  I decided instead to get to some places closer to home I haven't been to before.

 Plattekil
What a gem, my kind of place. l will definitely keep my eye out for "Powder Daize" next year. Easy day trip, hundred miles from home.

 Burke 
Apr. 2,  day after 16" dump, fantastic. Two years since I've skied Vermont, great to be back.  

Wildcat
 Sunny skies, warm temps, copious amounts of corn, and what a view across the road!  First time skiing in New Hampshire.

Sunday River
 Two days of skiing for $20, even skied in a snow storm Apr. 23!   I had no intention of skiing there, just happened to be passing right by while following Maquest's directions from Wildcat to Sugarloaf, unexpected fun, saved 80 bucks. Made some turns with a local Sunday, met some of his friends, made the day even better.  All part of the experience.  Second trip to ski Maine.

My only disappointment this year was being at  Whiteface for 26" of powder and one lift spinning, Bear? It would have been insane if the winds had cooperated. So the game goes, the following day was great regardless.

I pretty sure I'm done, entertained thoughts of Killington May 1st, but with the predicted weather this week, I think I'll pass.  Better to let the memories of skiing the backside of the Loaf be my last of this year.


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## ta&idaho (Apr 26, 2011)

Worst season in seven years.  Moved to DC (speaks for itself), started a new job (scarce vacation days), and got a puppy (tough to get out of town).  Still made it to double digit days, tried out A/T equipment for the first time, and got a few powder days in Idaho and two amazing spring days in Tahoe.  Overall, I'd give it a 6 (barely passing).


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## St. Bear (Apr 26, 2011)

Lowest number of ski days since I started skiing again 5 years ago (thank you very much, Son).
No powder days, although I did get some sloppy seconds at Hunter the day after a 12" dump.
Highlights include that day at Hunter, crossing three more mountains off my list (Burke, Attitash, and Sugarloaf), and some really nice spring skiing on Good Friday.

Overall, meh.  I'd give it a 6.


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## SkiFanE (Apr 26, 2011)

9.5.  Started end of October and not done yet.  Don't count days, but glancing over the calendar I have mid-60s or so.  

Left my home mountain (SR) a few times for VT and Saddleback...first time in many years since we still have lil kiddos.  Epic spring day at MRG right before it closed this year, two spring days at Sugarbush and one natural  bump day at K are standouts.  Also some great snow days at SR and a great glade day at Casablanca - Saddleback.

Also had all 3 kids in ski programs, so hubby and I could finally get back to skiing together solo...some great days together.  And with my kids, 2 just love the woods so we spent lots of time exploring.

2-3 weekends left.  Maybe by then it'll have snuck up to a 10.  Really...has been an amazing year for me.


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## deadheadskier (Apr 26, 2011)

I'll go 8.5.  Only thing keeping it from a 9 was a fairly crappy spring season.  Only got 1 great corn day in at Wildcat.  Got rained out a couple of days and had a couple others where the conditions truly sucked. To score a season a 10, I'd have to have a great season in the East and a nice trip out West.  

Positives:

Overall quality of conditions was way above average for a normal New England winter, especially in NH.

Most days on the hill in ten years.

1st time in many years I was truly happy with my skiing performance, which I attribute to spending a lot of time in the gym during the week.

I believe my best season ever in terms of variety.  I skied at 14 different resorts: Sunday River, Killington, Ragged, Gunstock, Pat's, Pico, Okemo, Stratton, Burke, Stowe, Black, Sugarloaf, Wildcat and Sugarbush.   1st earned turns in many years.  Mt. Whittier was a disaster, but still fulfilling.  Looking forward to hopefully hitting Washington in the coming weeks to make up for that mess.

Negatives:

Really just the poor finish and the friend I ski with the most missed the season due to injury.

Overall I'm very satisfied. Sad to see it ending, but it was a great season.  Looking forward to a home mountain switch to Gunstock for next season.  Doubtful I come close to skiing so many different areas next year as I did this year, but I'm very much looking forward to having a pass at a decent hill only an hour from home.


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## JerseyJoey (Apr 26, 2011)

11


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## gmcunni (Apr 26, 2011)

deadheadskier said:


> I'll go 8.5.  Only thing keeping it from a 9 was a fairly crappy spring season.



i'm revising to 8.5 as well, for same reason.


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## deadheadskier (Apr 26, 2011)

gmcunni said:


> i'm revising to 8.5 as well, for same reason.



ahh, but see, you had a nice trip out west.  In my rating scheme, that would be a 9.5


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## gmcunni (Apr 26, 2011)

deadheadskier said:


> ahh, but see, you had a nice trip out west.  In my rating scheme, that would be a 9.5



skiing mostly with my kids, tho extremely rewarding,  and some altitude sickness thrown in  knocks it down a little.


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## SkiFanE (Apr 26, 2011)

JerseyJoey said:


> 11



Yo...you're out of range.  :dunce:


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## JerseyJoey (Apr 26, 2011)

SkiFanE said:


> Yo...you're out of range.  :dunce:



You have no idea how true this is.


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## gmcunni (Apr 26, 2011)

JerseyJoey said:


> 11


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## JerseyJoey (Apr 26, 2011)

gmcunni said:


>



Ours go up to 11.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbVKWCpNFhY


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## SkiFanE (Apr 26, 2011)

JerseyJoey said:


> Ours go up to 11.
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbVKWCpNFhY



For when we need that extra push over the cliff...


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## JerseyJoey (Apr 26, 2011)

SkiFanE said:


> For when we need that extra push over the cliff...



cliff?


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## SkiFanE (Apr 26, 2011)

JerseyJoey said:


> cliff?



Yes..like that dangerous one at MRG.


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## Ridgeman (Apr 26, 2011)

*2010/2011 Season*

A 10 for the most Eastern powder & packed powder and least ice in along time.  A 10 for the number of days at 55 - a new high.  A 10 for the number of Slopes skied at 16 in 5 States with 12 new slopes visited and a finaly a 10 for skiing on seven different skis this season. 

I am going to need all summer to make my next season plans!


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## Madroch (Apr 26, 2011)

Solid 8.

Pros:

Entered the season in decent shape
Best mid-winter I have had locally since returning to the sport in 07/08.
Kids continued to enjoy and grow in  the sport
Wife became much more into it.

Cons:

no early season (November) skiing for me.
Only two trips north
Gunny bump season was short and not as sweet as years past
Season ended early for me-
didn't get enough days in- due to sparse Feb. and no late March/April skiing.
Ended the season in worse shape fitness wise than I started (instead of vice versa)


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## skidmarks (Apr 26, 2011)

My season isn't over yet but make it a 12!!


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## marcski (Apr 27, 2011)

I would say a *9*.

Had a fair amount of days going downhill...25 I believe. If I add in the days I got out on my new backcountry XC setup..I am just shy of 40.

Skied:  Jiminy, Catamount, Windham, Plattekill, Mt. Snow, Alta and Solitude.  

My girls are total ski addicts like their Dad...skied and love the woods and my little one already has told me twice  how she misses skiing and it's only been 2 weeks!  I had a couple of really good Pow  days....both east and west. Had a bunch of yummy warm, sunny corn filled spring days. 

I also think I convinced the wife to switch home hills for next year....which is a big plus. 

Some cons:  could have used another week out west and therebus always room for improvement in total number of days.  Only got upto northern vt. once to ski and weather was uncooperative (but I had a fun day out in the BC on my xc setup nonetheless).  Also would have loved to get a tux day or 2 in...but my season is over!  Busy spring coming up.  

IMHO, overall it was a very good season.


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## UVSHTSTRM (Apr 27, 2011)

Started off well, middle was very good, great pow days, I will give it a 7.  

Why no ten?  I am a huge spring fan, and well spring has underdelivered, and the day or two that could have been killer, I had to do things around the house.  Also I have had knee problems, which to this point nothing can be done to help.  I have had to face the fact that I am 31 (almost 32) and have 70 year old knees.


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## Nick (Apr 27, 2011)

I'm giving mine a 4. I got in more skiing than last year, but still not even close to what you guys put in.I don't even want to post it since it's embarrassing. 

But next year is going to be a 12. I'm determined!!!


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## Nick (Apr 27, 2011)

UVSHTSTRM said:


> Started off well, middle was very good, great pow days, I will give it a 7.
> 
> Why no ten?  I am a huge spring fan, and well spring has underdelivered, and the day or two that could have been killer, I had to do things around the house.  Also I have had knee problems, which to this point nothing can be done to help.  I have had to face the fact that I am 31 (almost 32) and have 70 year old knees.



I just turned 30 last year and it sure does go downhill fast, doesn't it? (no pun intended :dunce: )


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## Cannonball (Apr 27, 2011)

UVSHTSTRM said:


> I have had to face the fact that I am 31 (almost 32) and have 70 year old knees.



Wait till you're 40!  

I'm 41.  Over the course of the past 3 weeks I've had x-rays and MRIs on my knee.  I was convinced I had a potentially serious injury. (although I waited this long because I didn't really want to face the truth until after the season).  So after all the tests the orthopedic doc says "Well, the good news is there's no tears or injuries....the bad news is there's just significant wear-and-tear."  I'd almost rather have an injury.  At the least the solution would be clear cut.

Oh well, almost 80 days of sliding so far this season and the knee feels better at the end than at the beginning.  Getting old sucks but it beats the alternative.


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## HD333 (Apr 27, 2011)

8.25 for me.

Pros
Broke the 30 day mark for the first time since having kids
Skied/Boarded almost 50/50
Used the house up North EVERY weekend this season up until 1st week in April
Few nice POW days
Mid season conditions up until the end
Finally got some friends out again 
A few days on the snow with the old man
Snuck away with a buddy to K for a long overdue man ski trip
Tons of fun with the wife and kids
Ending one of my daughters seasons at WaWa, by far my favorite day of the season because she had so much fun trying to find and hit any jump in sight, and having her cry as they closed the chairlift at the end of the day because she knew she was done for the season (we were the only 2 in the family to actually ski in April for the record)


Cons
Didn't hit WaWa solo enough during the week
Mid season conditions up until the end (no real spring skiing)
Not sure my Mug at the mountian paid off as Apres' was limited due to new dog
Didn't get to ski with some friends I really wanted to ski with
Only hit 4 Mountians (Gunstock, WaWa,WV, Killington)

All in all great season the best part is seeing my girls having fun all winter not just skiing but living the skiing lifestyle.
It feels nice to see neighbors/non skiing friends now and have them say "we haven't seen you since Christmas" but yet we pick up right were we left off.


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## speden (Apr 27, 2011)

Probably an 8 for me.

Early season was a 2 with new boots that killed my feet.

Demoing skis was a hassle, but so worth it.

Got a lot better at carving and keeping my skis parallel, and handling steeper terrain.

Failed to get better at ungroomed and bumps. Next year...

No big injuries, just a tweaked thumb and calf muscle.  And I learned how to manage my balky ankle better.

Got to three new areas, Waterville Valley, Telluride, and Sugarloaf.  Two outta the three rock, hard.

Got over my irrational dislike for Wawa and had fun there.

Cut the cord of skiing with the family so much.  Teenagers can really tie you down if you let them.

Learned a lot from this forum, like where to go for the best horse and dog meat.


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## makimono (Apr 27, 2011)

9 - not the best ever but definitely a kick ass season...


Next year it goes to eleven!


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## UVSHTSTRM (Apr 27, 2011)

Cannonball said:


> Wait till you're 40!
> 
> I'm 41.  Over the course of the past 3 weeks I've had x-rays and MRIs on my knee.  I was convinced I had a potentially serious injury. (although I waited this long because I didn't really want to face the truth until after the season).  So after all the tests the orthopedic doc says "Well, the good news is there's no tears or injuries....the bad news is there's just significant wear-and-tear."  I'd almost rather have an injury.  At the least the solution would be clear cut.
> 
> Oh well, almost 80 days of sliding so far this season and the knee feels better at the end than at the beginning.  Getting old sucks but it beats the alternative.



At least you got an MRI/x ray......wasn't even offered, instead two years ago I got PT, which was a piece of paper (that I could have gotten off the internet), and 3 visits so the PT guy could watch me ride a bike and do some standing/balancing drills.  3 visits for 1 hour each = 1200 dollar bill.  Biggest waste of money ever, thankfully I have a HSA so it was money that didn't put a dent in fun money, riding, etc.  My left leg is fine for the most part, it hyperextends to a normal point, but my right looks like I have it bent.  It really sucks now that I am getting into running and my leg just doesn't want to do it....so frustrating.  I wish it was something that could be fixed.


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## mondeo (Apr 27, 2011)

7. Missed most of the bigger storms up north, only had one top notch day in Vermont. 3" of dust on crust was the best I got in CO. Just a consistently good mid-season, followed by a near complete lack of spring skiing.


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## gorgonzola (Apr 27, 2011)

real good season for me - alot of days for me, 45 plus a few fun xc/bc days, a few powder days, first trip out west, alot of fun trips to greek peak and some other pokey areas, whiteface always delivers, and a had a good race/drinking season. fun family time watching mrs snowbunski and jr continue to step it up big time and watching my oldest daughter boarding with her dude after losing the last two seasons to acl surgeries. whole lotta fun skiing and drinking with friends old and new. only dissapointments are no slides at the face again and my tux trip this weekend is about to implode due to family and work shit... oh yea and not making nastar nationals this year is a little dissapointing - bump up to gold division is going to make it tough for a few years until i get to the next age bracket, theres like 5 or 6 really good dudes ahead of me at both of the local hills.


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## k123 (Apr 27, 2011)

8.5

Pros: 
Had a season pass for the first time ever
Got 17 days in, up from 8 (not including 2 days at campgaw) last year
Great conditions all year long
Spring conditions on new years
Rode the last 5 weekends of the season at Belleayre
Improved my riding a lot (first year riding moguls, only second year riding since I switched from skiing)

Cons:
Didn't get anywhere north of the catskills
Only 2 days in December, due to rain on the first two weekends 

Overall, best season I've ever had


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## billski (Apr 27, 2011)

0
I never get enough days in.  Anything under 100 makes the year a zero.


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## Cannonball (Apr 28, 2011)

billski said:


> 0
> I never get enough days in.  Anything under 100 makes the year a zero.



So all those great reports you put up this year just go in the waste bin?  That's a shame.


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## abc (Apr 28, 2011)

UVSHTSTRM said:


> It really sucks now that I am getting into running and my leg just doesn't want to do it....so frustrating.  I wish it was something that could be fixed.


Don't run. BIKE!

I was ready to quit skiing in my mid-30's because my knee hurts so much. Well, I did "quit" in my mind, each summer. To get some exercise, I bike. Plus I enjoy biking even more than skiing. So I bike from March to November. Spring skiing? What spring skiing? I was just too busy biking...

It only took about 2 years. My legs got quite strong they must have taken a lot of the loads off the joints. When I went back up the hills for my once or twice a year skiing, my knee no longer hurts! Surprise, surprise. 

I got back into skiing 20-30 days a year and continue biking whenever I can. That's been more than 10 years since. Knee rarely complains these days.


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## ski stef (Apr 28, 2011)

hmm....I'd have to give this season a 7

Pros
 SO MUCH FUN!!
 Skiied new terrain and new mountains
 I skiied hard and made some improvements in my skiing that will only get better next year 

Cons
 Should have had more days on the hill...:smash:


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## billski (Apr 28, 2011)

Cannonball said:


> So all those great reports you put up this year just go in the waste bin?  That's a shame.



Examine the criteria -  

I worked more than I skied.  Epic Fail!  :--P


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## polski (May 4, 2011)

Belatedly getting back to this ...



abc said:


> What makes this a season of 9's is not the number of days but the quality of it!


Hear hear. That said, I did note in the OP that I got in more days by far this year than ever before, and part of the satisfaction comes from a spell where I made turns something like seven days straight and 12 out of 13. Quite a few of those days were skinning locally but even if those involved only a handful of runs, they often were off the charts in quality - not least because the pow turns were earned, with no other tracks on the hill. (We were blessed by an incredible snowpack down here for almost two full months.)

One thing I didn't mention was I was in better shape this year than ever before, so I was skiing better and had a lot more stamina, e.g. to climb to Little Headwall on Mt Wash and then charge hard all afternoon at Black. All that local skinning sure didn't hurt.


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## gmcunni (May 4, 2011)

billski said:


> Examine the criteria -
> 
> I worked more than I skied.  Epic Fail!  :--P



guess you won't be happy until retirement then.


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## RootDKJ (May 4, 2011)

gorgonzola said:


> real good season for me - alot of days for me, 45 plus a few fun xc/bc days, a few powder days, first trip out west, alot of fun trips to greek peak and some other pokey areas, whiteface always delivers, and a had a good race/drinking season. fun family time watching mrs snowbunski and jr continue to step it up big time and watching my oldest daughter boarding with her dude after losing the last two seasons to acl surgeries. whole lotta fun skiing and drinking with friends old and new. only dissapointments are no slides at the face again and my tux trip this weekend is about to implode due to family and work shit... oh yea and not making nastar nationals this year is a little dissapointing - bump up to gold division is going to make it tough for a few years until i get to the next age bracket, theres like 5 or 6 really good dudes ahead of me at both of the local hills.


Mrs snowbunski loves talking about her win


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## polski (May 4, 2011)

I should add two factors that cancel each other out:

- my sons continue not only improving in form and confidence but being scared by less and less. Last year the younger boy (then just 9) persuaded me (not the other way around) to ski Upper Magician and Red Line at Magic on a perfect day for that; this year they both (older boy now 13) did Fall Line as well as numerous other serious blacks at MRG, and we  might well have done Paradise if it had been open that day (as noted, on a subsequent visit I did make my first descent of that trail).

- did not get my wife on downhill skis all season. She had a bad experience as a kid and has yet to overcome her fear of losing control on skis despite a few tries (lessons) in recent years. We did have some fun on xc skis though and she also got into snowshoeing, so I'm hoping we'll still get there someday.


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## RootDKJ (May 4, 2011)

I keep trying to do a season wrap up and keep forgetting about it.

Overall, 6.5-7.5.  After a death in the family at the end of December, I had a hard time figuring out how to have fun.  Many days, I simply "forced" myself to just go make some turns.  I had a good trip to Stowe in January that delivered me 6"+ inches of fresh 4 out of 6 days.  I didn't get much use out of the GoPro as I had hoped, maybe next season. Ended the season at the end of March at Hunter again.  Picked up a bunch of new gear in the off-season so far.  I'll be looking forward to my 1st turns of '11-'12 for sure.


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## 2knees (May 4, 2011)

UVSHTSTRM said:


> Started off well, middle was very good, great pow days, I will give it a 7.
> 
> Why no ten?  I am a huge spring fan, and well spring has underdelivered, and the day or two that could have been killer, I had to do things around the house.  Also I have had knee problems, which to this point nothing can be done to help.  I have had to face the fact that I am 31 (almost 32) and have 70 year old knees.




hear you on the knee thing.  mine are awful and always hurt after skiing.  still swollen from sunday right now.  not sure how you ski, but i've changed alot in the last 10 years.  I dont get air anymore, it just isnt worth the risk.  i still ski alot of moguls but i dont charge very hard, especially if conditions are firm and the biggest thing i try to avoid is groomed out hardpack.  the chatter is worse then anything on my knees.  I'm 40 and have been dealing with this for a long time.  There are days it doesnt seem worth it, but i figure there's always snowboarding if the knees truly give out.


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## Philpug (May 4, 2011)

11

First year out west. I am confident I will hit my goal of skis days (60) that I set early on. I get to ski almost every day with my best friend along with testing new gear almost every day. I can comfortably say I am "living the dream"


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## gmcunni (May 4, 2011)

2knees said:


> There are days it doesnt seem worth it, but i figure there's always snowboarding if the knees truly give out.



it has been nice knowing you. you are dead to me.


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## andyzee (May 4, 2011)

7.5 overall really good season with amount and quality of snow, long, but not stellar.


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## SkiFanE (May 4, 2011)

2knees said:


> hear you on the knee thing.  mine are awful and always hurt after skiing.  still swollen from sunday right now.  not sure how you ski, but i've changed alot in the last 10 years.  I dont get air anymore, it just isnt worth the risk.  i still ski alot of moguls but i dont charge very hard, especially if conditions are firm and the biggest thing i try to avoid is groomed out hardpack.  the chatter is worse then anything on my knees.  I'm 40 and have been dealing with this for a long time.  There are days it doesnt seem worth it, but i figure there's always snowboarding if the knees truly give out.



I've been skiing 40 years, but I didn't start getting air until a couple years ago - but bad landings hurt my back more than my knees.  My knees took 3 days of MRG/Sugarbush spring bumps in April with no issues.  Some days they may start aching around 2-3pm, but never swollen.  I think the key was avoiding bumps until I hit my 20s.  I do body preservation too, won't ski long if it's only chattery groomers and avoid huge icey bumps.  But I suppose I didn't ski hard for much of my 30s, popping kids out instead lol, but it may have saved my knees.  I dread the days my body can't handle moguls.

My season ended up as a 9.5, skied 8 months, close to 70 days.  Not bad for a FT working mom, eh?


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## arik (May 4, 2011)

6, a few great days but a lot of the days I went out it was too cold, I think I have to move back to California


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## BackLoafRiver (May 5, 2011)

Solid 8 here.  Missed a few powder days which would have brought it up and missing last Sunday really bummed me out.  On the high side, hit some great days with unbelievable snow, got out more than any other year in the past, made some new friends, and feel like I have improved quite a bit.  Despite my efforts being shifted to mountain biking I will have thoughts of making turns on the brain.


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## JerseyJoey (May 5, 2011)

SkiFanE said:


> 9.5.  Started end of October and not done yet.  Don't count days, but glancing over the calendar I have mid-60s or so.
> 
> Left my home mountain (SR) a few times for VT and Saddleback...first time in many years since we still have lil kiddos.  Epic spring day at MRG right before it closed this year, two spring days at Sugarbush and one natural  bump day at K are standouts.  Also some great snow days at SR and a great glade day at Casablanca - Saddleback.
> 
> ...



So if I understand this correctly, your home mountain is Sunday River?


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## SkiFanE (May 5, 2011)

JerseyJoey said:


> So if I understand this correctly, your home mountain is Sunday River?



You are correct Sherlock.


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## JerseyJoey (May 5, 2011)

SkiFanE said:


> You are correct Sherlock.



"Epic spring day at MRG right before it closed this year, two spring days at Sugarbush and one natural bump day at K are standouts."

I'm obviously not Sherlock, because I cannot figure this out.


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## drewfidelic (May 5, 2011)

4. A couple of really nice days at Hunter and one great day in BC. Missed out on some intended weekends and never made it out west as I intended because of personal drama BS. I did manage to figure out that I could prolong the life of my boots at least through this past season through the use of a second pair of socks. But then I failed to use that anticipated cost savings to ski more, so my season was tempered by a big dose of unachieved potential. But then, as a Mets fan, I'm used to unflinching optimism for next season, despite standing amidst failure!


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## SkiFanE (May 5, 2011)

JerseyJoey said:


> "Epic spring day at MRG right before it closed this year, two spring days at Sugarbush and one natural bump day at K are standouts."
> 
> I'm obviously not Sherlock, because I cannot figure this out.



Visited MRG, SB and K.  Live at SR.  

You know of the ski areas for which I speak?


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## JerseyJoey (May 5, 2011)

SkiFanE said:


> Visited MRG, SB and K.  Live at SR.
> 
> You know of the ski areas for which I speak?



No, I do not, and now I'm really confused. You live in Maine (at Sunday River), I get that. You visited Mad River Glen (MRG) , Saddleback (SB) , and Kirkwood (K), I get that. I'm missing everything else and now my head hurts.


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## SkiFanE (May 5, 2011)

JerseyJoey said:


> No, I do not, and now I'm really confused. You live in Maine (at Sunday River), I get that. You visited Mad River Glen (MRG) , Saddleback (SB) , and Kirkwood (K), I get that. I'm missing everything else and now my head hurts.



K=Killington.  I had good days at Killington this year. Comprende senorita?


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## JerseyJoey (May 5, 2011)

SkiFanE said:


> K=Killington.  I had good days at Killington this year. Comprende senorita?



Yes, I understand. K=Killington. Yes, I get that now. What I don't get is your comment about the "standout" days. It does not make sense to me.


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## SkiFanE (May 5, 2011)

JerseyJoey said:


> Yes, I understand. K=Killington. Yes, I get that now. What I don't get is your comment about the "standout" days. It does not make sense to me.



Oh.  I was lucky enough to have a personal guide give me amazing tours of all that is good about these places.  Except he skis on twin-tips so I kept getting face shots.


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## JerseyJoey (May 5, 2011)

SkiFanE said:


> Oh.  I was lucky enough to have a personal guide give me amazing tours of all that is good about these places.  Except he skis on twin-tips so I kept getting face shots.



Face shots?


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## SkiFanE (May 5, 2011)

JerseyJoey said:


> Face shots?



Slush ones are the worst.


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## JerseyJoey (May 5, 2011)

SkiFanE said:


> Slush ones are the worst.



Stop talking dirty. There are kids in here.


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## SkiFanE (May 5, 2011)

JerseyJoey said:


> Stop talking dirty. There are kids in here.



Huh?  Just like a slushie coming at you at 40mph.


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## 4aprice (May 5, 2011)

For me this season was a 9.9+.  I was somewhere in the range of 55-60 days. I came into the season in a little better shape then previous years and came out unscathed.   Enjoyed everything from bumps to trees to powder to hardpack.  I can actually divide the season in three parts.  Part I was the Pocono' s from December to March.  We had cold weather, good snow and excellent conditions (even real fresh powder in the Pocono's).  While Camelback is home I got to Sno Mountain, Blue Mountain(several times) and Elk Mountain and got to meet and ski with Gorganzola and Root.  Part II was the last 2 weekends in March up in Northern New England and New York hitting Jay, Bolton, Killington and Whiteface (the day at Killington was off the charts fun).  Part III was Utah.  Simply amazing the amount of snow in the Wasatch this year.  Looking forward to more New England next year and hoping for a repeat weatherwise.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ


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## Zand (May 8, 2011)

Don't know exactly what to rate it, but most likely my best season so far. Started off pretty good... not much natural early, but cold enough for most places to get going on time. Picked up a powder day at Cannon mid December and things took off from there. Lots of snow at home in January, then the storms started making their way up here in February and March. Burke was off the hook for about 2 months straight to end the year. Didn't even get much spring skiing until into April, the end of March was insane.

Lets do it again next year.


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## riverc0il (May 8, 2011)

Well, I don't even think an Auto Road day will much change my rating, so I give the season an 8. While the season was surely consistent, it wasn't a season full of big dumps. My biggest powder days seemed to come in December when the bases were the thinnest. And I missed about four weekends total due to various minor injuries. No top to bottom on the Rock Pile (heck, I haven't even been up there yet). So from a personal perspective, the season lacked a few things that might have made it epic. What did make the season cool was all the new places I visited and all the revisits I did. I think I am down to only three areas in New England over 1200' that I have not skied now. And I finally got to Gore and Whiteface, including the Slides. So an 8, though it would have been a 7 if not for the new places and the new faces I shared many of those days with.


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## john1200c (May 10, 2011)

Very good until injury in Feb.  It was shaping up to be the best one since I got back into this a couple of years ago....

Should be healed enough to give it a go next year.


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## snowmonster (Jun 10, 2011)

Though I'm hoping for 1 or 2 more ski days, this is probably a good time to finally reflect on the 2010-11 ski season. I'd give my season a 9.0 (If I manage to ski past June 13 - the lastest I've skied - I'll bump it up by .5).

Highlights of this season include:

- The earliest ski day: October 23 at Sunday River
- Ski on my birthday
- Present at the Mittersill chair dedication and skiing the Mittersill sidecountry: January 17 at Cannon (I got a coin to prove it.)
- First time in Slidebrook at Sugarbush
- First time in Brackett Basin at Sugarloaf
- First time to ski the Balsams and Smuggler's Notch
- Lots of days in the backcountry with first time ski tours on the Thunderbolt Trail, Mt. Cardigan, Mt. Moosilauke, the Tuckerbrook Trail, the Cog Railway, Doublehead Mountain, Black Mountain and Monroe Brook.
- Backcountry skiing in the Gulf of Slides and Tuckerman Ravine.

Unfortunately, lowlights of the season include:

- Not skiing out west (being fiscally-reponsible has its price)
- Not attending the AZ Summit (life happens)
- Getting my pack stolen (To whoever filched it, just know that, depending on what you believe, either the karmic wheel comes 'round or you get back what you give out.) 

The best part of any ski season is sharing the experience with kindred spirits who have the same magnificent obsession for this sport. Whether it was skiing on a keyboard or actually making turns on the trails, thanks for accompanying me on this journey. Thank you for the inspiration and the stoke!

Special thanks go to the AZers that I shared the trail with: rivercoil, madpadraic, monkeybrook, Terry, thaller, whaller, the fearless maineskier69, the indomitable wjenness, the incomparable snoseek and, my brother-in-arms, thetrailboss. You honor me by allowing me to slide alongside you. Until next season: May your turns be many and powder-filled!


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## jimmywilson69 (Jun 10, 2011)

I got 30 days in which is average for me.  The improvement is that 7 of those Days were in Vermont and 3 of them were in Colorado.  

I'd rate it an 8.5 out of 10.  It was a great year but there is room for improvement in my technical skiing ability, Day's in the poconos that i'd ike to hit up and more days skiing out of PA!

I'm already jonesing hard for ski season, but it's atleast 6 long ass months away


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## snoseek (Jun 10, 2011)

snowmonster said:


> Though I'm hoping for 1 or 2 more ski days, this is probably a good time to finally reflect on the 2010-11 ski season. I'd give my season a 9.0 (If I manage to ski past June 13 - the lastest I've skied - I'll bump it up by .5).
> 
> Highlights of this season include:
> 
> ...



Hot damn, it's cool, you can call it now!!!!
I'll be at the River if they do Oct. turns, I think I'm shooting to gtfo of here a little earlier than mid-nov, we'll see. More importantly you got a little trip to make next year....


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## Hawkshot99 (Jun 10, 2011)

Overall I would give it a 9.  

As for days on snow, I no longer count(Makes me get burnt out quicker) but I would say somewhere around mid 70's.

Skied the most amazing powder of my life on multiple occasions.  Had 2 days where it was knee deep of true fluff.  One of the days was a hour of lift served before the lifts opened:-o "sweeping" the trails with patrol, and the other was when only season pass holders were allowed as only 1 lift was turning because of wind.

Had a very good year with my race teams.  Won first place in our division at 1 mountain(Team 4th overall, and me 10th overall) and 2nd overall at the other mtn.  

Had no injuries.

I am not a huge fan of spring conditions, so the fact that it stayed midwinter almost to the end was a plus for me.

The fact that it stayed good all year long.  No mid winter week of warm and rain.

The ski shop I run had a very good season thanks to great customers and great staff.  I am getting more opportunities to help the shop I work for when it comes to how the stores are run.  Doing demo days with the owner to plan for next year.

Unfortunately I did not get out west like I did last year, but overall I had a great year.


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## snowmonster (Jun 11, 2011)

snoseek said:


> Hot damn, it's cool, you can call it now!!!!
> I'll be at the River if they do Oct. turns, I think I'm shooting to gtfo of here a little earlier than mid-nov, we'll see. More importantly you got a little trip to make next year....



We can probably pack in two or three trips at the River before mid-November. Maybe even Loon if they get aggressive.

By the way, get a nice couch. I'm calling dibs on it!


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## Geoff (Jun 11, 2011)

I'd rate mine as awful.  Work chewed me alive.   When I wasn't doing business travel, I had conference calls all day that made it impossible for me to sneak out.   I had an awful lot of weekends I had to work and could only grab a few hours on the hill.   The spring skiing season mostly didn't happen.  Most of March & April was cold and I didn't have many sunglasses & corn snow days.


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## skidmarks (Jun 13, 2011)

*My Ski Season 2010/2011 Review Part 1*

I was lucky to have a very solid season with some fun CT backcountry thrown in too.


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## gmcunni (Aug 6, 2011)

just saving my sig from last season in case i need to look it up 



2010/2011 Season - 39 of 31

Killington -  11/11
Jiminy Peak - 12/4
Ski Sundown - 12/11 12/17 12/23 12/27 12/28 1/8 1/12 1/22 1/23 1/27 1/29 2/12 2/13 2/27 3/3 3/5 3/12 3/15 3/17 3/19
Pat's Peak - 12/30 1/16 
Crotched Mountain - 12/31
Ragged Mountain - 1/15
Mt Snow - 2/5 4/3
Okemo - 3/13 4/8
Bolton Valley - 3/25
Sugarloaf - 3/26 3/27
CO - Copper 2/20 Breck 2/21 Breck 2/22 Breck 2/23 Vail 2/24 ABasin 2/25


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## thetrailboss (Aug 6, 2011)

Well, I think that the official tally was 45 days.  Started on November 7th at Sunday River, ended on July 4th at Snowbird, Utah.  In between there were days at Alta, Loveland, Bretton Woods, lots of Sugarbush, Bolton Valley, Lyndon Outing Club, Smuggs (first time), Burke, and some earned turns day.  Lots of snow, lots of good times.  There was also an amazing groomer ride at Sugarbush in March when I rode shotgun on a grooming shift.


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## Skimaine (Aug 6, 2011)

I will give 2010/11 a solid 7.  I really had a great year - lots of days, made some new friends and had some break throughs.  Skied spring bumps competently (e.g., Ripsaw at SL) and skied the backside for the first time.  Had a great time at Saddleback and Camden Snowbowl.  I would have liked to have skied more New England resorts, returned to Quebec and skied out west.  Maybe next year.


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## Nick (Aug 6, 2011)

Not that great. My ski seasons were the best, by far, when I was in college several years ago. It's harder to come up with the same time nowadays. End whine.


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## deadheadskier (Aug 6, 2011)

Definitely the best season I've had in ten years.  Most days out since retiring from ski bum life. I was satisfied with my physical conditioning, which plays the biggest part in how well I ski these days.  I probably skied the most different areas I ever have in one season.  Only real short comings were a couple of rained out days in the spring, was too lazy to get up on Washington yet again and I really had hoped to try and check out a couple of Quebec areas.  Hopefully next season I can get to those 'to dos'. 

Sunday River 11/7, 11/21
Killington 11/28, 12/19
Ragged 12/5, 12/11, 12/26, 1/2, 1/15, 1/22, 2/12, 2/26, 4/2
Gunstock 12/27, 2/20
Pat's Peak 1/7
Pico 1/8, 2/7
Okemo 1/9
Mount Whittier 1/16
Stratton 1/29
Burke 2/5
Stowe 2/6
Black 3/25
Sugarloaf 3/26, 3/27
Wildcat 4/10
Sugarbush 4/16
Jay Peak 5/7


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## Geoff (Aug 6, 2011)

Way too much work intruded on my skiing.   I had more days in metro-Philly in some Comcast hell-hole building than I did living at the ski area.   When I was around, I had conference calls scattered through the day that made it really tough to sneak out for a few runs.


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## snoseek (Aug 6, 2011)

I can't really put a number on it. 

It was nice to spend a year back east, see family, ski with some awesome folks (many on this board along with the sr board), hit a consistent season for Maine. Took a trip out west for 10 days and chased a great storm for 1600 miles! Got to Open up at Sunday River/Closing day @ the loaf. Probably hit 55-60 days and made $$$$ at the same time.

At the same time October can't come fast enough. Fun time back east is over. I've had 4! days off since Memorail day and none in sight. Looking to take one full week here before driving back out and enjoy all the goodness that New England has to offer in Mid-October.

I'm ready to hit the road. Next season is about redemption, I'm not positive exactly where I'm going but you can sure as fuck bet it's somewhere that will make for a good time!


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## Edd (Aug 6, 2011)

Snoseek, I'm starting to envy your lifestyle.  If I make a trip out west this year or next I'll look you up.  I regret hurting myself so I couldn't ski with you this year.


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## snoseek (Aug 6, 2011)

Edd said:


> Snoseek, I'm starting to envy your lifestyle.  If I make a trip out west this year or next I'll look you up.  I regret hurting myself so I couldn't ski with you this year.



Working up through the hospitality industry is truly a bitch but really pays off if being mobile is important. There is always a decent job waiting almost everywhere and generally the cooler the place, the cooler the job.


Not much to envy this time of year

When my 85 hour weeks drop to 50 hour weeks after Labor Day we should get some beers over there in Newmarket.

Oh and trips west are always a good idea. 8)


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## deadheadskier (Aug 7, 2011)

yes

definitely swing by Newmarket for some beers before you head west. :beer:


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## bigbog (Aug 8, 2011)

Compared to what I should've had from the accumulations = not good...21days, hardly _any_ of those days included a full day stayover, particularly when other AZ members were up @SL.   Grabbed a couple more part-time system support jobs last year and ended up bound to the neighborhood...10min from my PC and phone    Really looking forward towards a better season, both time and snowtime-wise.


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## Nick (Aug 8, 2011)

skidmarks said:


> I was lucky to have a very solid season with some fun CT backcountry thrown in too.



Nice video. I particularly like the Reggae mix thrown in  ;-)


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