Sunny day

I am not sure what is going on this year but it seems like we are getting a lot more sunny days than we usually do. Today was another example of that. Sure it was cold out but it has to be cold for the snow to be at its best, and it was. I was actually very surprised that the conditions we as soft as they were. With the rain last week I thought I would be skiing on the normal right coast hard pack. Right off the lift I noticed that I was wrong. As always, for my first run I gravitate to Sunnyside. My plan was to ski either True Grit, Gema or Ciao. Just by chance I decided to ski Gema. Besides getting out of bed it was the best decision I made all day. The left side of that trail was unbelievable. It was soft snow the whole way down. Needless to say I skied that trail about 5 more times before I ventured off to other parts of the mountain. That led me to Tippecanoe where the snow guns were blasting dry snow all over the trail. Once again I was not disappointed with my choice.
I skied the Northside for awhile before making my way back to Sunnyside and when I did I met up with some people that just arrived for some half day skiing. They asked if I knew any good trails, and I replied that if they were comfortable with a diamond trail they should follow me over to Gema. They did and when I saw them at the bottom they thanked me for the suggestion.
It was another sunny day with great snow conditions and if you were not able to get out and play at the mountain today due to the cold or other reasons I suggest you try to get out tomorrow. See you one the mountain.

Terrain Park Crew Interviews

Now fans of the Waterville Terrain Park can access more information than they'll ever need about the crew that makes the wheels spin in the park. Leading the way is the man, the myth, and the legend in the Valley, Dave Hardman. Without further ado let us get to know Dave a little better...

Waterville Valley: Howdy, Dave.
Dave Hardman: Hello.

WV: How long have you been working at WV?
DH: Ask someone in Human Resources.

WV: Where are you from?
DH: A couple places this side of the Mississippi.

WV: What’s on your Ipod right now?
DH: Some killer soul mix, big thanks to Mikey G. on that one.
WV: How do you eat your Oreo’s?
DH: Bite/Milk/Bite/Milk and so on...
WV: What color is your tooth brush?
DH: Blue, I think…
WV: Who is better? Tom or Jerry?
DH: The dog.
WV: If you were a WWF wrestler who would you be?
DH: Tugboat.
WV: If your refrigerator was running where would it go?
DH: Shopping for me bro.
WV: If you got season tickets to the WNBA, would you go to every game?
DH: Scalp 'em.
WV: If you were a Zookeeper, and the prairie dogs got out, how would you get them back?
DH: Criss Angel.
WV: If the moon was made out of cheese, what kind of food would you make with it?
DH: A single Cheez-It.
WV: Would you Eskimo kiss an Eskimo?
DH: This won't come back to haunt me if I say yes, will it?
WV: Tell me a joke…
DH: A guy walks into a Dr.’s office says, “I’m a teepee I’m a wigwam, I’m a teepee I’m a wigwam, what’s my problem Doc?” He responds, “You're too tents.”
WV: Would you rather go big or go home?
DH: Just have fun kids.
WV: Thanks Dave for your time, this interview is over.
DH: Thanks, see you in the park.

Fresh Air and Flurries

One of my favorite parts of my job in the winter is chaperoning the WV Elementary School's P.E. skiing class. Every Wednesday we go up to the mountain, meet the class, figure out groups and ski for a couple of hours with the kids. Lately I've been with the advanced group. These kids have so much fun and know how to have a good time, no matter the day! Today was great! We got the chance to play around and have some fun in Little Slammer.
What could better than getting out of the office for a couple of hours and getting some fresh air? There were flurries in the air and it looks like some snow in the future for Thursday night!

Good Friends, Good Skiing, Good Times!

What a great day! The sun was shining all morning, competitions and races were happening and great friends were together. Some days all I want to do is get out there, ski as hard as I can and take as many runs as possible. Not today though! Every run we took there was a familiar face to say hello to or join us for a bit. That's the nicest part about being able to get out there on a weekend, it can be as easy or hard as you make it and completely stress free!
The trails were in great condition all morning....the early skier gets the good snow! We mostly stuck to Sunny Side. It was nice and warm on the lift, we could watch the mogul Comp. and the snow was soft. Gema was a personal favorite today! I can always seem to find some great snow on the edges no matter what the day is! Have a great week and THINK SNOW!!!

What a weekend

This was another fantastic weekend of skiing. Saturday was once again warm and sunny and Sunday was sunny in the morning but clouds moved in during the afternoon. We have been spoiled these last two weekends and the snow has just been fantastic.
On Saturday I spent the majority of the time skiing sunny side. It was great because even when we were resting our legs on the triple chairlift we were able to watch the bump competition. The kids were incredible. I love skiing the bumps but these kids were throwing flips with no issues during the competition. I think if I ever tried to do what they did I would end up in the hospital.
Once again Lower Bobby’s was my run of choice because of the conditions and the fact that no one was on the trail all day. Lets all hope for another weekend like this next week. See you on the slopes.

OMG- what a beautiful day to be on the hill! The temps were perfect, the snow was fluffy, the sun was shining, the skies were blue, and everyone was happy! ...including my 2 daughters and therefore so was mom. Today we headed up Quadzilla , watching skiers and boarders launching themselves in the Exhibition Park, and straight to the glades off of Valley Run. The kids love these glades particularly because of the dips at the entrance. The glades are perfect for all ages, especially the little ones without poles. I always try to be the first one out to in order to get a glimpse of the kids hitting the jump at the end with the hugest of smiles. From there we decided to go check out the bump event on True Grit. The kids thought that it was awesome to watch the skiers "dance down the bumps to the rhythm of the music". After a few trips up Sunnyside Triple, we decided to head to the Schwendi Hutte for hot chocolate, their yummy toffee topped brownies, and the fantastic view. From there we headed down Oblivion. Even at the end of the day, there was still lots of fluff. Now my girls were on a mission... to find some tree to ski. We found the ones that all kids love off of Lower Stillness (skier's right)...tight,winding, and full of kids. We ended up at the Meadows chair and the kids were psyched to ditch mom. They love this chair not only because they can ride it alone and feel independent, but because now there is a small terrain park on Leroy's Loop. Once again a couple of hours skiing ended up being a full day of fun and exploration!

Bumps 'n Jumps in the Sun

It was one of those days at WV today! The skiing was spectacular, there were events all over the mtn. and L. Mathison opened the triple line in Exhibition. So here are some shots from today....get up here and enjoy winter!

Tomorrow is looking good

Looks like we are going to get another great day of skiing tomorrow. I may get a late start to the day due to some chores that I need to get done in the morning but as soon as I get to the mountain I am sure I will play where the sun is on sunny side. Hope to see you on the mountain tomorrow.

New Snow = Soft Turns

We woke up to 4" of fresh on Monday morning! Certainly a nice way to end a great MLK weekend! I think Rachel summed it up best as we walked back to the car, "this was my best day skiing this year!"

We weren't the luck ones to ring the bell at 8am, nor did we get first chair, but we did get the chance to make some turns down True Grit, which was buttery smooth and definitely my favorite trail of the day. Big shout out to Ryan for adding us into the daily video, that's a first for me at WV!

It's crazy how fast the year is flying by. Make sure you make the most out of every opportunity to ski or snowboard, even if it's only for a few runs, because before you know it April will be here.

Sunny Day

Today was another great day of skiing. The sun was shining and the temperatures were relatively warm for mid January. I spent most of the morning over on the Northside double because there was no one on the trails or the lift.
Around lunch time we decided that sunny side had been in the sun long enough and we made our way over there. We were not disappointed. All of the trails over there were great however Lower Bobby’s was by far the most fun. Bobby’s had an ungroomed surface that was a lot of fun to ski. I cannot wait until we get hit with a storm because Lower Bobby’s is fun. It is also just as good when it is bumped up.
I hope everyone enjoyed today as much as I did. See you on the mountain.

Long weekend fever

Well there is a long weekend coming up and I am pretty sure I am going to spend most of that time skiing. Primarily because I can not think of anything else that I want to do. Sure there is taking out the trash, shoveling the snow off the roof and putting the rest of the holiday decorations away but those are just not as fun. Sure, if I could take the snow blower on the roof that would make that chore fun. I really do not want to hear that anyone has done that or is thinking about doing that.
I am looking forward to the skiing and the ability to lounge around the house from the moment I get home until I wake up again the next day to ski. I may get some night snow shoeing in this weekend as well but until then I have 9 more hours of work which includes 4 meetings, one web presentation and about 100 emails. I think I can make it and if not, you will see me at WV Friday afternoon.

Getting your Bum out of bed on a cold & lazy Sunday....

All week I was so excited to have Saturday and Sunday off. Working over at the Recreation Dept., it is pretty unusual this time of year to have those two days off. Plans to go skiing on Saturday fell through, so Sunday it was! While watching the weather channel the night before, they talked about sub-zero temps and an arctic blast. This was making my decision about getting up early pretty tough. This seems to be the story whenever my days off fall this winter....very funny mother nature!!! When I had talked to a couple of friends on Saturday, We left it that we would catch up in the morning...keep in mind I've been car-less the past week, so making plans has been a little tougher than usual! I go to bed Saturday night and set the alarm for 7:30 hoping to get up there early, try and beat some crowds and be back in time for my boyfriend to take the car to his job! Wellll....I let the dog out first thing and came back inside an absolute icicle...to my relief, about 20 minutes later...Rach and Jeremy called and said they were headed up around 10:30 if i wanted a ride...YESSS! It warmed up a tad and we were on our way out! Believe it or not, True Grit sticks out in my mind after all the runs we took...I hit no ice and seemed to find some real nice snow off the skiers right, which made the crazy morning and fighting the desire to be lazy on a Sunday morning all worth it!! While on the lift, this was said, "Even if we only get a few runs in, it's a much better day than a day with no skiing at all." You make the best of what you have, get in some good runs and laugh with good friends! Get out there and ski...at least for a little bit....no matter what the weather may be :)

Butch's Banter

Charlie opened the lifts at Waterville Valley with me last Sunday by officially ringing the bell. That got me thinking that we could be like the NY Stock Exchange and invite guests to ring the bell all season. Of course we'll be opening the lifts and our days are a lot more fun! So, if you'd get a kick out of ringing the bell, just come see me. Did I mention that I like Reece's peanut butter cups?
See you in the front row!

1st day out with the kids

Finally, my daughters and I hit the slopes. There was nothing, not even zero degree temps, that were going to keep us from out first day out. We bundled up and as I had left the itinerary up to the girls ( ages 8 & 6), we headed straight to the Meadows chair. Took 4- 5 runs there and by the time we left, the girls were lapping me on Stemtation and Leroy's Loop. My daughters had a blast riding the chair by themselves with the littlest one getting friendly assistance from the lift attendants. After a snack, hot chocolate, and a thawing of the toes, we headed straight for Quadzilla! With mom in tow, we hit all the whoop-di-doos, the kid's adventure area for a little tree skiing, and skied the bumps forming on skiers' left of Valley Run. From there, they decided on ( yes- you know it!)the J bar. Up and down they went as happy as could be and as fast as they could go! What was only going to be 1 hour or 2 max ended up to be 4 hours! What a fantastic start to the year!

Skiing and a wedding

I decided to get a couple of hours of skiing in prior to a wedding I have to attend a 4pm. It was cold so I did dress properly to avoid any wind burn or red face. I am pretty sure that would not go over well in the pictures. I was able to ski a majority of the mountain but I settled one route that had the best snow and skied that about 5 times. From the top of the White Peak Quad I would ski Upper Bobby’s to Psyched to lower White Caps. The consistency of the snow on those trails was great. I was doing top to bottom runs without stopping on those trails to get a good work out so I could stay warm.
Around lunch time I decided to call it a day so I could make it home in time to change into the suit and go to the wedding. It was a great day.

Perfect Timing

I was excited to see 2 things when I arrived in the valley at 6:30am on Monday morning.

One, the guns were blowing all over the place, Psyched, Exhibition, Periphery, and Tyler.

Two, there was a winch cat on True Grit!

Now I love an un-groomed trail, good old man made bumps and challenging turns from your first to your last. But there's nothing like fresh corduroy, especially when it's deep, soft and perfect corduroy.

So, I was lucky enough to sneak in a few runs with my good friend and WV poster boy, and man

did I time it right. Patrol dropped the rope on Grit at 11am, and we enjoyed the amazing corduroy! So make sure you take a few runs down Grit this week, and if you still want your bumps, just scoot over to skiers left, where you'll find plenty of them!

Dropping over the True Grit headwall.

WV Poster Boy on his tele-skis!

Vacation week ends, But the good times are still rolling

Working all week during the holidays was a great time for all, from the lifties { i thought we did a great job } trying to get everyone on the lifts in a timely manner, to the skiers plowing snow from top to bottom. This was my first real "busy" time working here and i gotta say it was amazing. Everyone i talked to was having a great time. It snowed most of the days which added to the ambiance of an already exciting time on the mountain. Though vacation week ended for many of us, it's not the end to the great times awaiting skiers who trek to WatervilleValley. Its the beginning of a new year and of new memories that will not soon be forgotten. I know i cant wait till my next day off {which is tomorrow} so i can go and experience first hand what I've been hearing about all week. See you in the lift lines or on the mountain.

Happy New Year

It has been a great start to the New Year so far. It seems like it has not stopped snowing and there is more to come for tomorrow.
Today I spent most of my time on True Grit. The snow was great and ungroomed which added that extra level of fun.
I am sure that most people like me, are waiting to see what is going to happen with this storm tonight. I do know one thing; there are no friends on a powder day. Get as many runs in as you can, as early as possible. You can always meet your friends in the lodge at noon after your legs are so sore you wonder how you are going to walk up the stairs when you get home.

With all that said I would like to personally thank el Nino for a great beginning to 2010. Keep it comming.