I cure the summertime blues by hauling a$$ down mountains on a mountain bike. Its alot more work and hurts one hundred times as bad when you take a digger. It does, however satisfy my need to fly down mountains at eye watering speed. Its also good exercise for the lower body and cardio system.

Other then that its a matter of waiting for the airfare to Santiago to enter the four hundred dollar range...Ive been waiting for years!

-Pig

So . .. Anyone pick up a set of grass skis yet?

Quick hand count- how many go to grass ski programs (I know of Bryce mtn's- any others?)

IMHO, what we really need is a Harb Carver race league, any old (closed) road will do.

snowcone, to add to your June/August/September list:
- Watch Caribbean hurricane forecasts for El Nino-related symptoms. Make appropriate Western reservations (or not).

Haul a snowmobile up to canaan so you can get a lift up to the solid snow cover still left on the slopes. they got another 1" last nite!!People up there have told me that its not surprising to see snow still on the slopes in june.

Every now and then I look at that big glowing orb in the sky and curse at it.

Prepped and packed the skis away -- tears in the eyes. It was like burying a friend.

Summer sux.

My hockey team is out of the playoffs -- so life is blank until next October and on. (Hockey season seem kinda tied to the ski season - at least I associate them together)

mm

I am definitely going through ski season withdrawal. I check the Killington website on a daily basis thinking of how lucky it must be to live in Vermont. I did buy some Warren Miller videos (about 5) which do help to easy the anxiety. AND, I started a ski pin collection!

I understand that sometimes the local resorts will open just for Memorial Day, does anyone know anything about this?

Vesty, if you really want to get depressed check some of the ski area sites out west. For example, Alta ski area closed today. Apparentlyly they received over 17" of powder over the last three days bringing their season total to over 585", and they are closing with a mid-mountain base of 112"...and they mean 112".
Too bad the folks quit coming. Snowbird Utah is still open with similar statistics.

What a shame. I did "ski" on the virtual skier at Busch Gardens this weekend. I am thinking of going to Killington for a 4 day weekend if I can figure out the transportation (car, train, plane). My husband thinks I'm nuts... it's just too hard to explain...

comprex, what's a carb harver? oops, harb carver.

Lo carb dryland system (not-quite-inline skates).

No connection (except Internet) to seller.

MangyMarmot,

What hockey league do you play in? I actually play more hockey here in DC in the Spring/Summer/Fall than I do in the Winter (gotta leave time for skiing.)

fly to utah. they are still getting lots and lots of snow. more powder there now than anywhere in the southeast saw all season long. so for those of you that didnt make it now would be the best days of your season. so why wait till next season. splurge and fly to slc and head to snowbird for some powder runs. dont think twice aout it just do it. pack up the stuff and drive to the airport and just leave your life behind. that will cure all symptoms of skiing withdrawl.....

Hey the mountains are still there even when the snow melts! Skiing isn't just about skiing, it's about the lifestyle of being "up there." Here's a good way to survive until next season:

April-- skis put away and do an inventory of summer outdoor gear. Take first day hikes and feel atrophied hiking muscles scream in agony. Start jogging outside to keep lungs in shape for next season.

May-- first overnight camping trip and run a 5K or 10K. Look at doing a canoe run down Smoke Hole with Chip & Co. from Whitegrass. Hit the bike trails in the DC area while the weather is still nice enough to enjoy them; Harpers Ferry day ride to Sheperdstown for a German lunch and back is a good time.

June-- play catch-up on doing trail clean-up with PATC. Do a couple day hikes on the AT to meet the through-hikers, who have to be the weirdest coolest bunch of folks this side of skidom.

July-- the mother of outdoor months. Time to hike into that high country you were ogling at from the ski slopes out west and camp up there. Lots of water and cool evenings with lllooooonnngggg days; bunny hop on the snow patches in your hiking boots thinking of turning them in the winter and throw snowballs at nine thousand feet to really watch them sail!

August-- get in contact with that friend you haven't spoken to since last August who has a boat and get out on the Bay (or go deep sea fishing with Andy in NC ). Drink beer like it's going out of style and hit the swimming pools to remember what women look like when they're not wearing four layers of ski clothes in the dead of winter.

September-- after labor day hit the Blue Ridge Parkway for a few days of cruising on a road bike. Do some late season camping at Dolly Sods to watch the first colors come across the highlands and, if you're lucky, catch the first frost of the season! Get the running going again to start getting back in shape for the upcoming ski season.

October-- do an inventory of ski gear and get your major ski vacations planned and booked (if you haven't already). Now indoor exercises for working the quads and thighs, go leaf peeping out in WV and buy fresh apples up in Washington County after a day hike in the Catoctins (which, now being October, the haze is gone and you can see the valleys around them).

November-- this month sucks. Watch football, exercise in the rain to get in shape, and generally curse the days that are too short to do anything in and not cold enough to bring snow.

December-March-- you know the drill...

The crickets are chirping, the flowers are blooming, the creeks and rivers in the mountains are full. It's time to play!

Snowbird,
Trust me, I've been watching them on the web and things look as good (if not better) than they were when I was there in Jan/Feb! Now if it wasn't for those obligations ...(life, work, etc)

-Warren-

Roger,
Good point. There are many fun things to do until next ski season. We are roller-coaster freaks during the amusement park season. Also, I'm going to get a new hybrid bike and get out on the trails with my daughter as well! (great skiing cross-training ) A little body-boarding at the beach also (only 1 week a year though ) Of course, running and lifting year-round...

-Warren-

Right on! Roger Z ..

We do a lot of biking in the off season, both road and off-road, depending on the weather (single tracking ATBs when the trails are dry, roadies when they are too wet). We ride the ATBs in the evenings after work since we live very close to Blackhills, and Seneca Parks. We are looking forward to heading up to Snowshoe for a long biking weekend sometime this summer. Looks like with the new trails and some of the programmed bike trips it could be a great weekend destination. Also noticed that Snowshoe is now offering a combination bike/lift pass for the season; $455 gives you unlimited, lift, shuttle, trail passes and Bike Park for the summer season PLUS seasons ski pass for the winter. Looks like a deal we don't want to pass up.
Season pass skiing = $359,
Season pass bike = $199,
Both = $455
What's not to like?

During the summer we also sea kayak on those miserably hot weekends when it's too hot to bike comfortably. As far as I'm concerned, the Beltway in mid summer is one of the outer rings of hell. We do day trips on the Potomac, Chesapeake and weekends to Elisabeth City /Outer Banks areas for 'yaking thru Great Dismal Swamp, OBX Conservancy areas like Alligator River, Currituck, etc. It's water after all, just not the frozen stuff. Anyone care to join us, we welcome company.

Basically, weekends mean getting outside, getting away from the house and job.

Now if I can just find some suitable activity for those weekends when it rains.

Scuba maybe?

chanting softly "fetal snow, fetal snow"
jimmy

"As far as I'm concerned, the Beltway in mid summer is one of the outer rings of hell."

lol

No, it's a ring of hell year round! In the summer the temperature catches up with the traffic though, that's true.

"As far as I'm concerned, the Beltway in mid summer is one of the outer rings of hell."

I guess I live in the center of hell. Oh well, at least the company is nice.

Tough to miss skiing with the weather we've had the past week. Plus my neighborhood is in full bloom right now - I actually enjoy parts of my commute. When July & August roll around that's another story ...

What about tubing down the river at harpers ferry rogerz?You can be lazy & pull a cooler full of beer behind you or you can fish all the holes as you pass thru.A generic version of snowing snowballs at 9000' is to go to the sods in WV at 4000' & throw snowballs! Did anybody ck out the pics on the Whitegrass web page of the huge snowdrifts still hanging on?Surf temps down here are running about 5 degrees below normal because of this cold winter.So today its still the short sleeved & shorts wetsuit as i try to stay on my surfboard a little longer than diving headfirst into the suds!Surfing is a lot harder than snowboarding especially when your starting to learn at 42.

andy i surfed last weekend in wildwood nj and it the water was 45 degrees. a month ago i surfed the weekend after roundtop closed and it was in the upper 30s.

Hey finsout,you are dedicated!! surfing in the 30's?? you must wear gloves,a hood & the whole 9 yards.I won't touch the suds untill they hit the low 60's.it was 65 in the surf sat(april 24th)in se NC but has jumped up to 72 since then.Snowing on my statue at MPC as i write!

i totaly hate gloves and the 5 mil wetsuits don't help either. as of this coming weekend we should be into 3 mm suits with no hood but still gloves and boots.

Just so you know .... yesterday April 28 @ Snowbird ... Sunny blue-bird day, highs in the upper 60's. At 10:00 AM groomers were a very hard surface, off trail was re-frozen crust. 10:30 lower trails like Bassackwards started to change over to corn, plesant crusing; Mineral basin very difficult re-frozen variable crust as was all off-trail lines. By 10:30 lower trails like chip's face were very loose and wet; bassackwards still good; Mineral basin/hidden peak/sliver fox/ off-trail loose wet but skiable and consistant. All steep skiing very good. Great Scott chute closed because of rocks. By 1:00 PM heavy wet everywhere. Mineral basin still skiable off-trail but very heavy slush ~3" deep... caution!

Today April 29 - 3" new snow. 10:30 AM snowbird; Groomed trailed very creamy but occasional ice under a uniform surface. Off-trail very difficult with 3" of powder on top of re-frozen hard surface. Mineral Basin very bumpy off-trail, variable, some powder 4" deep in select areas at 12:30 PM. Caution on all steeps skiing off Hidden Peak/Tram. Silver Fox - 3" of heavy snow on top of hard slick surface bumpy in some areas be careful on all steep skiing. Groomers were quite nice.

Good luck!

Anyone thinking about a season pass at Timberline for 04/05 don't forget to call this month!

I've just about got the depression under control. There's some good stuff in this thread.

APRIL Things to do:
Spend two weeks watching everything in the yard turn green.
Take ski racks off car.
Watch Warren Millers Freeriders six times. (First episode is in Portillo Chile, must say this didn't help much).
Spend next two weeks cutting everything I watched turn green the first two weeks.
Practiced snocone's chant, softly of course.

UPDATE - Snowbird, UT
May 6 2004 - 11:30 AM - Lower groomed trails are evaporating; many bare spots starting to appear.

Tram-only tickets now in effect ... Road to Provo now the only goomed run ... all other routes considered unmanaged/out of bounds.

All ropes and signage removed, you are on your own.

FOR EXPERTS - skiing after 11:00 AM delightful. Steep skiing off the tram somewhat moguled but in rhythm. You can ski anywhere your judgement takes you but expect no avi control/safety from sk patrol. many chutes getting narrrow and exposed due to sun/heat but surface semi-consistant and OK depth. Doing chute near Silver Fox I found good snow up to bottleneck where shade created semi-hard snow at 50 degree slope .. caution in steep skiing but good overall.

Going to ski more this weekend will update ...
Crush--