This morning I had the surest sign that Spring is just around the corner, and that we’ll be making the last turns of the 2006-2007 season. I woke up to the sounds of birds chirping out my window – but that wasn’t it. I walked out my front door this morning with no jacket, only a long-sleeved shirt – but that wasn’t it either.
The surest sign that Spring is upon us is the fact that I received NO emails overnight! Not one! No trip reports, no photo submissions (although I have more than 30 from the day before that we’ll get posted today) and no questions from people planning a late season trip. Not one. The last time that happened was March 14th of 2006.
We’ve already posted the slope conditions for today so be certain to check those out for slope openings, base depth and surface conditions. The quick summary is that conditions are quite nice and you’re missing out if you don’t pack your equipment and get up here!
SOME HUMOR TO MAKE YOUR DAY…
Since there’s really nothing to report other than the fact that there’s plenty of snow and very nice conditions…we figured we’d share some humor with you guys. We’ve noticed on the messageboard that a few people were asking for ski jokes and humor and none seemed forthcoming, so we thought we’d share some funny quips that come from a cool, little book written by Henry Beard and Roy McKie. They compiled some old (and a few new) “definitions” of ski terms that should prompt a chuckle or two.
They define the following ski terms:
ski-ing – The art of catching cold and going broke while rapidly heading nowhere at great personal risk!
advanced skier – Anyone who can remain standing while skiing down a mountain for as long as he or she stood in line waiting to go up.
après-ski – Term for ski resort activities following a long day on the slopes, which typically include le bitch and le moan, le soaking of les tooties, la long nap, le stiff drink, le big wait at la fancy dump for le lousy meal, and le checking on le airline to see if they have la earlier flight home.
avalanche – The only thing likely to come down a mountain that is more dangerous that a slope full of skiers on a busy weekend.
bare spot – A place where, due to insufficient snowfall, the underlying earth is visible. Depending on the weather conditions, bare spots can range from a patch the size of a footprint to a patch the size of the Eastern United States!
base depth – The layer of snow on the surface of a ski slope. Also defined as the layer of plastic on the base of a ski that is no longer there because the BASE DEPTH is no longer there!
carving – The art of making precise, skidless turns with the sharp edge of a ski, so called because the maneuver leaves deeply carved grooves in the snow when performed by an expert. Also defined as ice carvings, rock carvings and tree carvings when attempted by a beginner!
destination resort – Full service ski area that offers not just lift lines, but also locker lines, front desk lines, elevator lines, shuttle bus lines, restaurant lines and more.
slope conditions – Daily account of the state of the current snow cover at a ski area, usually described by a few common terms like: packed powder (wet slush), packed powder (ice), packed powder (frozen granules), packed powder (crust), packed powder (bare earth).
race – A competition between two skiers to see who can get to the hospital first!
terrain park – Special area at a ski resort with halfpipes, mounds, and jumps sculpted by snow shaping equipment where skiers and snowboarders practice moves that are almost as hair-raising as the maneuvers they performed trying to nab a spot in a nearby parking lot.
There are tons of others that are included in their little book titles “A Snow Sliders Dictionary”.
Again, conditions are very nice out there so go enjoy!
Until Next Time…
THINK COLD AND SNOW!!!
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For more information about the ski resorts of the Southeast and Mid Atlantic visit www.SkiSoutheast.com
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