Bellayre
Skidbump I did Bellayre yesterday (Thursday) with my 21 year old daughter. I haven't been there in at least 15 years, but I had a freebie from a ski expo and bought a second freebie voucher from someone in the lodge who had an extra (for $20). Two people for $20 is a WINNER. It was cold and windy until about noon, but the sky was gloriously blue and there were still some untracked lines near the edges and as much as 12 to 18 inches across some of the wooded areas. They had only groomed half of the Double Black next to the top of that long lift to the east of the upper/main lodge and none of the other doubles. It was fantastic. The bumps were soft and deep and a rip to work. I kind of like the fact that the average "advanced" skier dreads more than a couple of inches of powder. It leaves more of the deep stuff for me! Skidders need to realize that they have to get in shape in order to actually enjoy the stuff that makes skiing possible; I mean real snow! Check out the thread on the Edge Machine, beat someone to the deal that somebody is offering, and then use it. You don't actually need something as fancy as that, but you do need to seriously work at conditioning. You won't complain about "deep" and will start to look for "steep" after you get into shape. Groomers will then become runs that you ski to rest and cool down on while looking for more of the above. BTW, "overturning your tails" is a problem that I have had to deal with too at times. The solution (as nearly always) is to "get out of the back seat" and keep your weight forward just as if you were on the groomed. I know it seems counter intuitive, but it works?
