A year ago today I was snowboarding on Mt. Mansfield. It’s a different story today with warmish temperatures and rain. I’m ready for the start of winter. 
Sad news and too damn early in the season for this to happen. My heart goes out to their family and friends.
Wow! Busy weekends ahead
A friend emailed me asking if I’m around in two weekends. He wants to visit me in Stowe and do a little riding together. I haven’t seen this friend in years, and it will be great to catch up ago. The problem is, I discovered I’m busy every weekend through the end of March. Turns out, when you live in a ski town, lots of people want to come for a visit.
From Trace To Slopes
Need to download your Trace Snow recordings? I did and this is how I did it so I could import the recordings into Slopes.
Snow River At Stowe
This looks like it was a lot of fun. Wish I had known about it when it happened last year.
I Should Feel Guilty But I Don't
I played hooky from work afternoon. I should feel guilty but I don’t.
Driver X
I received my new pair of Burton Driver X snowboard boots this afternoon. Damn, these puppies are stiff, but that’s a good thing. I can’t wait to hit the hill with them in the morning. It’s going to be a whole new riding experience after wearing boots that I probably should’ve replaced a couple of seasons ago.
I Feel Guilty But
Our local hill received a surprised 6-7 inches of new snow overnight. I feel a little guilty for not letting Rowan skip the first half of school this morning so he could ride the fresh powder, but at the time, he didn’t ask to skip school so he’s loss.
The Snow Was Better In 2003
During our stay in Whistler last week, I kept saying to my wife I thought the snow conditions, which weren’t the best, were about the same as the conditions we experienced in February 2003. Turns out I was wrong.
Our Return To Whistler Blackcomb
Years ago I, with help from a couple of friends, organized an annual snowboarding trip to Whistler Blackcomb. Even after the annual trips were no more, Melanie and I continued visiting Whistler once every year or two. Our last Whistler trip was in 2007, and we’ve been wanting to return for many years. But it just hasn’t worked out for us. That is until this year when we finally made our return to Whistler, and we brought Rowan with us.
Temperature Inversion
Seeing “temperature inversion” in the Stowe snow report this morning is music to my ears. It’s -20°F in town but a balmy 2°F at the summit. Time to ride.
Bad Case Of Buyer's Remorse
I’ve very disappointed in my new snowboard purchase. It’s fair to say I have a bad case of buyer’s remorse. I thought I was saving a few dollars by buying online, but at the same time I felt rushed. My gut was telling me not to do it. It told me to wait. But I didn’t listen. I’ll know better next time.
Consider The Environmental Cost
Two days ago I wrote a post about how I bought a new snowboard online because it was cheaper than buying locally, or so I thought. Turns out a local shop in Stowe was offering a 20% discount on the board I bought, but I didn’t know this at the time since that shop didn’t advertise the sale on their website. So in the end I paid a little more to buy a new snowboard from another local shop located on the other side of the country.
Hey Local Retail Stores, Update Your Website
I bought a new Burton snowboard the other day. I ordered it online from a mom and pop shop in the Oregon. I wanted to buy locally here in Stowe but the price I paid was 10% cheaper than the price listed on the websites of local shops. Combined with the fact that I didn’t have to pay sales tax and shipping was free, I felt I was getting a great deal. Still, I would have preferred to support a local shop here in Vermont, but at least I supported a local shop in Oregon.
Finally...
The Northeast has been getting slammed with a major snow storm, but unfortunately Stowe, Vermont, is too far northwest to get the full force of the storm. I had hoped for a bit of new snow overnight, but it didn’t happen. So I waited before hitting the slopes this morning in hopes the edge of the storm would inch its way into the Stowe, but it didn’t happen. So Melanie and I hit the slopes anyways, braving the -26 degrees Fahrenheit wind chill. We got in two runs before deciding today would be a good day for a lunch date. So we left the hill, and headed for lunch in town. And then the snow finally came…guess I’ll be hitting the hill first thing tomorrow morning.
Despite A Rainy Start
Despite a rainy start this morning, I was able to get in a few snowboard runs on the hill before crowd arrived. And I had great visibility top to bottom on the last two runs. I think that might be the first time this season I’ve had great visibility top to bottom.
A Tradition Comes To A Close Tonight
On December 22, 2001, I was in Whistler with my friends Dave and Joe. We spent the day snowboarding, then that night we went to see the first Lord of the Rings movie. Little did I know that night would become a tradition of sorts for me.
Still Enjoying the Snow
I refuse to accept that winter is over. For instance, today I hiked up Mt. Mansfields to do a snowboard run on Nosedive. And based on the crowd, I wasn’t the only one who thought today was a good day for a hike.
I'm Having a Bad Day
I’m having a really bad day today. First, I had to rush to get Rowan to school. He was being his normal slow self, but thankfully we made it there before the bell rang. Then I get to the hill to ride the new snow when I realized I left my snowboard gear at home. So back home I go. But I had to drive behind a plow the entire way home turning a 15 minute drive into a 25 minute drive. And now I have to drive with the stream of traffic back up the hill.
Day 25
Today marks my 25th day snowboarding this season. While this might sound awesome, it’s fewer days than I was hoping to have by mid-January. I snowboarded 21 days up through Christmas. That means I have only snowboarded 4 days since Christmas, which is why I thought I would have more days by now.
We're Moving to a Ski Town...Finally
It’s official. It’s really going to happen. We’re moving to a ski town! We’re moving to Stowe, Vermont, in August.
NSSnow 2013
Last week Melanie and I had the pleasure to join 13 others in Courchevel, France, for NSSnow 2013. NSSnow is a gathering of mostly Mac and iOS developers who love to ski and snowboard, well, mostly snowboard but skiers were welcome - Melanie was the token skier at this year’s NSSnow.
My 2006/2007 Snowboard Season Comes to an End
Monday night my wife and I made a last minute decision to make a quick trip to Killington for one last day of snowboarding. Well, skiing for her. We hit the slopes yesterday and had a blast. But our 2006/2007 season has officially come to an end.
This season turned out to be a great season for me despite the rough start. By mid-January I had far fewer days riding then I had hoped for or expected. New England wasn’t getting the early season snow it typically does. But in the end I got 32 days of riding and a few of those days included some of the best riding experiences I have ever had. Also, I can now say I have snowboarded in May and I snowboarded at least once a month for 7 consecutive months. Now if I can just get 40+ days next season…
Killington Season Ends May 1st
I was hoping to make one more trip to Killington this season before packing away the snowboard, but it doesn’t look like it going to happen. Killington announced today it will close on May 1st for the 2005-2006 season. Looking at recent pictures I’m surprised they are able to stay open that long but Killington does have its image of staying open longer than any other East Coast resort to keep.
What a crappy season the East Coast had this year. Here’s hoping there will be much more snow next season.