h.harb wrote:Sure on a fresh new snow day; everyone can ski this terrain with wide skis, wide skis have build in braking. Once the snow is used up; the skis don't work very well and your skiing gets worst, so those people go back to the intermediate slopes, where they are a hazard.
Sometimes even the intermediate slopes overwhelm them.
Stowe. Last Spring. The base had thawed over several warm days but then re-froze hard - New England hard. Then it snowed 8-10" overnight and into the morning, with 30-40mph swirling winds blasting drifts all over the place. In the trees and sheltered spots it piled up boot top or even knee deep. But exposed patches were blown bare. On any given trail you'd encounter powder, windpack and ice repeatedly, often in mid-turn.
Early morning brought lots of people out on fatties. Guess they thought they were in for a powder day.
I've never seen a mountain empty so quickly. Before noon, about the only skiers left were:
1. A bunch of young racers there for the annual Sugar Slalom. No fat boards in that crowd. After racing they ripped up the groomers, handling the wildly variable conditions easily.
2. Stowe regulars, who dance down Goat or Starr or through the trees in any conditions. Not many fat skis on those feet either.
3. Me, beneath the gondola, linking Super Phantoms on 66mm skis with lots of active inside foot management to adjust for the constantly changing snow. What a hoot! One of my best skiing days ever. My balance was challenged on every turn and that really helped refine my movements.
I shared one gondola ride with 2 racers, a local on tele gear and a couple on very fat skis. Those were not working and they were not happy. About halfway up the man grumbled, "This is the last time we're skiing in the East."
The two racers just stared at the floor. The local and I caught each other's eye and winked. The racers noticed and, being teens, couldn't stop themselves from giggling. Their mirth spread smiles, but not to the faces of the unhappy pair - who glared at us as if we were all nuts.
I'm sure we all wanted to say, "Learn how to ski!"... but nobody did. People learn when they're ready to admit what they don't know, not when they're venting blame.