going to colorado

[mpodgorski]

Hey everyone...especially the colorado gang

i am taking a vacation on february 3rd to the 10th. I am staying in fraser, are any of you close to that town? I would like to meet some of you. I plan on skiing a bunch but if anyone wants to get together, i will have wheels so I can meet somewhere other then fraser. PM me or email

thanks
martin
mpodgorski@landroverfortlaud.com

[Art Vigil]

I've heard the Colorado gang are a bunch of jerks - not very friendly.

[Art Vigil]

Plus, there's just nothing to do in Colorado, unless you like snowmobiling, horseback rides, hay rides, sleigh rides, mountain biking, dog sledding, ballooning, Colorado whitewater river rafting, kayaking, tubing, golf, camping, hiking, fishing, hunting, hot sulpher springs, panning for gold, museums, alpine skiing, nordic skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, ice climbing, rock climbing or touring ghost towns. Although I have heard that there are some off-road trails if you look hard enough.
Oh and a few nice microbreweries :toast

[mhansen]

Where are you skiing?

That will determine whether we are jerks, snobs, granola clusters or just really cool telemarker dudes.:cool:

Right Art??

[Art Vigil]

I'm guessing Winter Park since it's near to Fraser - yes?

No snobs there, at least not the last time I visited. Now Vail on the other hand...

[mpodgorski]

i am from stowe vermont, went to school at UVM and my folks live in lake placid new york. I moved down to florida in 2000, still a vermonter not a floridian.
Yeah skiing at Winter Park

[TwisteD90]

My advice is to stay away from Art PERIOD, this guy is no fun. :)

Anyway, let me know where you are staying and I'll drop by and I'll take you deep snow wheelin, snowshoeing, and such.

Call me at 303-882-6638 when you are in CO.

C ya soon :)

[mpodgorski]

thanks for the advice on Art, Yousef, I PMed you.
I wanted to ski at winter park because its low key, i have done keystone breckenridge and cooper

Thanks again Yousef

[Art Vigil]

Oh, but I know where to find the best microbrews:pimp
35 miles from Fraser, 35 minutes from Denver (unless you're driving a D90 on 37's:uhoh - then it's more): Tommy Knocker's (http://www.tommyknocker.com)
Best fresh root beer too:)

[mpodgorski]

When I lived in Stowe, I went to the Shed, they had their own microbrews, down here in florida I have had my parents ship beer to me, I like Magic Hat #9 and Shed Mountain Ale.
I am looking forward to drinking microbrews in the rockies, should hit me hard with the altitude change, haha

[tbmcneill]

martin-
If you end up hitting breck, beaver creek, vail, a-basin, or keystone, shoot me an email or call me at 303-710-2194. I ski 1-3 days a week at any of the above. Even so, I may tag along with Yousef ...

always great to put a face with 90 names.
T

[redrover]

Art - Vail -whats the problem? If it wasnt for Vail ,Landrover would be out of Bus. And by the way my truck can eat , diggest , and slip a liitle gas, your little- groccery getter. Martin , If you want to ski in Vail one day , I will help you out. Call me 970-390-9086. JP

PS , Art I know you wont be able to join us ,as you will probably be in ASPEN for gay ski week.
Oops am I to harsh

[Art Vigil]

:eek: Wow, relax JP Vailboy, I was just making a bad joke, I have nothing against 'you people'.
I can't quite completely understand what you typed,:confused but it sounds like you're hitting on me.
Sorry man, you sound nice and I don't mean to offend you or your lifestyle,:rainbow but I'm happily married - to a woman. No harm done though and just to show you I have no hard feelings, make sure you come have drink with us while Martin is here - I'll buy you a daiquiri.:grin

[DJ Menasco]

Bwhahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!! BURN!

[redrover]

strawberry?

[mpodgorski]

wow, so art you want to meet, that would be great. jp, i think that I am 4 hours from vail. we'll see how things unfold.
If any of you need bits for the d90s, dont forget that i work for land rover, free shipping

see you all soon
martin

[mhansen]

It feels as if this could turn into a D-90 ski weekend we should all get together and shred it up!

[mpodgorski]

I am all for it mike, we all need to make a decision on the hill to go to and come up with a time. I got yousef's number so the day I land (tuesday feb 3rd at 2:30 mountain time) i will give him a call.
Art will be proud, on the way up i plan on stopping at Tommy Knockers, pick up some fluids.
We should get a head count of who is in for skiing and boarding.

martin

[tbmcneill]

We should get a head count of who is in for skiing and boarding.
wait .... you mean some of you board!!! geez, my opinion just got ruined. i just assumed the only 90 owner that rode one of those fat planks was tisdale ..... & i try hard not to hold it against him!!!:grin

i'll be hitting the slopes the 4th and 5th (wed & thur) that week. maybe others depending on what's going on.
T

[mhansen]

I will be out of town untill the 6th, but would be up for Brek or Keystone (maybe even Vail or B-creek if someone is feeling snobish) the weekend of the 7th and 8th.

[mpodgorski]

i am glad you said it troy, i was unsure as to what to say:embarress. I didnt want to leave anyone out but i am a skier all the way.
I can do the 4th and 5th, where. And mike I can go again over the weekend.

we'll all work something out :grin
martin

[tbmcneill]

martin-
i'd prefer a-basin, breck, keystone, vail, or BC because that's where my season pass works. its just tough to swallow dropping $70 for a day of skiing when you've already bought a season pass.

we can nail it down as it gets closer (sometimes work has a way of doing some last minute dictating, too). my wife just informed me she's coming with me one of those days, as well .... which means we should probably just shoot for one day or the other because whichever day she goes, I'll have to pull baby duty for part of the day. of course, she's not afraid of a little double-black action, either.:grin
T

[mpodgorski]

troy
i got your number, i will give you a call on the 3rd. I am bringing my girlfriend along, she is also from vermont. Your wife and her can keep one and other company

martin

[TwisteD90]

Ahhh sounds like fun. Unfortunately I won't be able to ski this year b/c of my knee :(

[Seanh]

Martin,
I'm down for some turns either mid week or weekend. Summit/Eagle counties are preferred b/c of my season pass. I do have Copper as well. As far as who I'll will ski with I ain't got no problem with Knuckle draggers or folks with training heels so invite them all:D

Joke: How are vacuum cleaners and snowboards alike? You attach a dirtbag to both!

[mhansen]

Sean-

You can't forget the most important thing that they have in common........they both SUCK.:lol :lol :lol

[Seanh]

Mike,
I have nothing but love for all who slide on snow:rolleyes, with one exception. Those people who wear those stupid hats and snowblades.

[tbmcneill]

martin-
sounds good. i have that phone with me almost all the time. ...& that sounds good about your girlfriend. My wife is definately going to ski part of one of those days, so either way I'll need to hang at the lodge with a baby bottle until 'mommy' gets done 'banging some bumps'.:grin
T
ps- since we're kinda on the subject....if anyone is looking for a good used pair of Salomon X-Scream boots, PM me. my new ones just came in & I'm going to unload these.

[mpodgorski]

tory -
no worries with having to be mister mom, a thought came to me, with yousef having a bum knee maybe we can hire him to baby sit for the day:grin . I am just kidding yousef. I still will give you a call so we can meet up.

So i have read all the posts and figure that keystone and copper are where most of us can meet. I would like to see Jp, he says vail and mike you mentioned going there, how far are you from there.

Also we should all meet off the slopes, if that gives us the ability of meeting one and other

martin

[mhansen]

Vail is about 2:30 hrs by Disco II and 3:00 by D-90

Vail works but Kiestone / Breckenridge are closser

BTW Vail/B-creek got 5 inches last night Key/Breck got 3

[mhansen]

Sean-

I used to think the same as you. When I lived in Utah, I only skied at Alta no snowboards.

I had no real exposure to the sport. When I moved to Colorado 2 years ago that all changed.

The first day out this year at Keystone a snowboarder turning into his blind side, hit my 7 year old little girl . 2 weeks ago at Breck, my 5 year old got hit by an out-of-control snowboarder trying to stop. Getting plowed into by someone 3 times the size of you can take all the fun out of the day. I stopped counting close calls as they happen almost every run.

I think the problem with the snowboard is there is a relatively fast learning curve. Kids can hit the blue runs after a day or two on the snow, but they lack the skills to be a safe responsible snow rider.

I know they will not go away, especially since resorts ar fighting for every skier day they can get, but it makes places like Alta and Dear Valley that much more special.

Thats just my opinion, I could be wrong.

Mike

[mpodgorski]

i personally cant stand some snowboards, the ones that tend to go straight and then throw the board sideway . I have some friends back in vermont that snowboard, but, on a alpine board. You wear hard boots and angle forwards. They carve instead of slide. Its really amazing to watch.

mike, I have seen some nasty wrecks with snowboarders and skiers that were stopped. Sorry to hear that it happened to your kids. At Stowe, one year, they designated one trail for snowboarding and another for skiers only. It worked for the skiers but the snowboards felt discrimanted for not being able to ride all the trials, also not one skier potched on to the snowboard only trail, on the other hand many snowboards potched the skiers only trail. I dont have anything against snowboarding it whats attached to the board in some cases.

martin

[milli]

Stowe, home of Jake C. and the snowboard show that has helped all of your ski resorts from turning into a puff of smoke?

[mpodgorski]

I personally met jake carpenter and put corporate races together for him and burton. His people and himself I like and admire. Its the ones that come to the mountain and see how many close calls they can have with getting kicked off i have a problem with. Getting on the lift with no ticket and escaping from the ski patrol are some of the fun things they enjoy doing.

[newfD90]

Originally posted by mhansen
....really cool telemarker dudes.:cool:

There 'ya go. Great bumper sticker for the D-90 "If it were easy, it would be called snowboarding" :lol

[milli]

Jake's been a good guy to me (even though I rode with Hot back in the day). I'm sure he would be disappointed to hear of the chaos. He really loves that mountain.
Don't think we'll be needing any snowboards in Miami, but if you change your mind, we can give him a call!

[mpodgorski]

fort lauderdale not miami

[Seanh]

"If it were easy, it would be called snowboarding"


Chance,
I have a sweet K2 tele t-shirt that has that slogan.

The truth is snowboarding has made significant contributions to the sport and the ski industry. User days are up significantly( some may argue that this is a down side) and buy in from kids is way up. The down side is many more people on the mountain and snowboarding seems to attract more of the "Mountain Dew” generation. Sometimes theses folks tend not to be the most aware folks on the planet. There are some great snowboarders and some not so great snowboarders as well as some great and not so great skiers. If a certain % of the population are assholes than one would expect that same percentage represented in the snow sliding population. I've met plenty of A-hole skiers, tele heads, AT'ers and snowboarders in my day. I do think the mountain is a better place with them around(except I miss "Real Moguls") you older folks know what I mean;)

Two years ago I started skiing tele in the backcountry and the best part of it all is the folks who are willng to work their snowboards in the bc are "aware". Peace off Piste,
Sean

[mhansen]

Hey Sean-

Have you ever been in popular back-country spot and turned beacon to receive, and were amazed at how many young snowboarders, post-holling up a ridge, don't have a beacon. Better yet, ask them if they have taken an avalanche class? Its no wonder Colorado always has one of the highest death rates due to avy's.

Yes I have the bumper sticker.

Also have one that says Randonee' -French for can't Tele.

We should hit the back-country sometime.

Mike

[newfD90]

Hey Sean and Mike. That sounds good. Sean, I've got the same T-shirt! I've seen the Randonee sticker, but need to find one for myself.

You guys ever do any hut trips? A group of us having doing it for the last 7 years. We've got some shoers in the group as well. Next month, it's back to Jackal.

Every year, I'm amazed by the lack of avalanche awareness/beacons in the backcountry. A couple years ago while staying at Fowler/Hilliard, we climbed up Ptarmigan hill. There were some Gen Xers up there going off the backside of the ridge with no beacons on. And no, they didn't climb up there; they were pulled by a snowmobile.

[mhansen]

Chance-

Actually a friend of mine and myself have the Betty Bear Hut booked for March 14,15, and 16 we will tour out of there for a couple of days.

[Seanh]

Mike and Chance,
I would love to make some bc turns with you guys. I've been eyeing Pikes Peak the last few days. Little Italy couloir is filling in and the west side is looking like it may soon be skiable. If an ass wants to show up for some out of bounds with no beacon then I figure we(society)don't need em. I won't go with folks like that and wouldn't expect to be taken along either. I saw a group out on Loveland Pass Saturday p.m. skiing a line 20 meters from a slab that had slid on Friday. The were on a similar aspect and slope angle. Sweeeeeet Duuuuuude!!! I hope we can all hook up on the weekend of the 5th/6th.

BTW the tele nationals are at Copper on that weekend with all kinds of events (tele cross, big air, freeskiing...)

[newfD90]

Originally posted by mhansen
Actually a friend of mine and myself have the Betty Bear Hut booked for March 14,15, and 16 we will tour out of there for a couple of days.

We're booked into Jackal for 2/11,12 & 13. We did Skinner-->Betty Bear-->Skinner last year. Getting up to Skinner the first day from Turquoise Lake was definitely a grunt. But what a view! Betty Bear was a nice hut, but don't start the stove in the kitchen or downstairs or you'll get smoked out!

[tbmcneill]

I'd say Keystone or Vail, then. Again ... only because my pass is no good at Copper. I can get to either place inside of 2 hours (barring no run-in with Colorado's Nazi's .... err, I mean highway patrol). So, either area is great. Vail would be cool IF they have the snow. Cliff hucking to high-speed groomers to bump runs .... whatever your mood, they've got it.

Also, I've got buddy passes at either place you can buy at a discount ...& I'm certain JP could work a similiar deal (probably better) at Vail

... Warren Miller 2 years ago ... I agree with what Plake, when asked what's the one thing he would change about skiing, said, "I'd make it like it was before snowboards.":grin

Its more the 'punk' boarders I don't care for ... No respect, no class .... kinda like the 17 year old with the rice burner civic sporting the neon washer jets and under body lighting kit running 90 in the neighborhood 35 zone. .... Jeez, I sound like my Dad.:eek:

[redrover]

I have a few comp tickets and several half pricers. So if you let me know ill save them for you all. I dont know what my schedule will be like next week, but either way I will gladly pass on the tickets. We had some snow overnight and will see some additional accum over next couple of days. This morn the temps hung around -10 till early afternoon but should warm later in week. Troy is right Vail has a little of everthing. Its atleast a one day must if skiing in Colo for first time. Anyone see brian deegan fall out of the sky last weekend in Aspen? Oouch that hurts. Think snow JP

[TwisteD90]

Troy, you sound like your dad b/c you are a dad :)

Anyway, I'll meet with you guys anywhere anytime but Thursday. Let me know what ski slope you guys are doing so I can call the ski school and setup an appointment to have them teach the kids.

[tbmcneill]

i guess you're right yousef .... she's only 3 months & i've already started to give her the 'dating' talk!!:nono

anyhow, if we both end up going wednesday, we can ride together .... meet at T-Rex parking on 70? You can even drive the new BIG RIG if you want...:grin
T

[mpodgorski]

troy and yousef

sounds like a plan, i will touch base with the two of you when i get to the mile high city. Keystone, right?

martin

[mhansen]

Sorry I could not catch up to any of you last weekend. I was stuck in Memphis all week, and didn't get in till late Friday. Had just enough time for the "honey do's" Saturday, and skied with family Sunday. hope everyone had a great time....the snow was awesome.

Cheers

Mike

[mpodgorski]

After spending 4 hours at the denver airport because of "mechanical trouble", i arrived back to sunny florida last night.
I had a really good time, I met up with Troy McNeill at keystone and did some skiing. I couldnt believe what a incredibly nice guy Troy was:grin. He treated my girlfriend and I with great respect. I did talk to yousef on the phone in colorado, but never got a chance to meet:( . Then two days into the trip my nextel lost service and no one could call in and I couldnt call out, so i apologize to JP and Mike for not getting in touch. I skied at winter park three days, one at keystone and one at brek.

Art, I went to Tommy Knockers on the way up I70, i cant remember what I had to drink, something booty.

I really enjoyed colorado and its people. I did have some sighting, on the 3rd a LE with lights on top heading towards denver before the idaho falls exit. then on the 4th with troy a arles blue with a rack heading west on I70 after the tunnel. And last I saw a 94 white with a hardtop and rack at the rental offices at the airport in denver on the day that I left

[Art Vigil]

Martin, sorry I missed you.
I ended up spending my free days sick in bed with the #$%! flu.
Hope you had a good time and enjoyed the microbrew.
:toast

[tbmcneill]

I had a good time meeting up with you guys. definately give me a ring if you're ever back in town. i'm glad you guys were able to get some good days of skiing in, too. i'm still a bit envious about how fast you can rip turns ...:eek:.

now you'll have to come back & check out the summers sometime ...:grin
T

[TwisteD90]

Troy, do you mean he was faster than you?

[tbmcneill]

yousef-
you have no idea, man. the guy could almost ski down a hill taking turns as fast as i could going almost straight.

i guess that's what growing up in Lake Placid & later working out with the US Ski Team does for you:crazy
T

[mpodgorski]

awww.....shucks troy:embarress

[Art Vigil]

Dang Martin, how those knees holding up?

(us geezers worry about those things)

[TwisteD90]

Hahaha that funny!

If I was skiing with you guys that's how it would've went.
Ok guys let's do this slope.
We all go down, martin is no where to be seen, I'm still skiing on the same hill, and here comes martin, lapping me once, I go that's not right, few minutes go by, I'm still on the same slope skiing, here comes martin again, that's the second time he did that, then I go I must be dreaming, that could be someone that looks like him, and before I finish that thought, here comes Martin again, lapping for the third time. Seriously that could've happened if I was skiing with you guys, I just like to take my time going down hill. Last year, Troy, Tom Beleicki and I went skiing all the time and those two guy are FAST, they would wait 5-10 minutes for me to meet them at the bottom of the hill :)

[mpodgorski]

art - the knees are strong, i dont do bumps or powder, thats the thing about east skiing, HARD pack and ice only. It kept my knees in good order. I am jealous of colorado though, trails are wide and no lift lines

yousef - haha, i may have been skiing fast but the altitude killed me, I made five turns and then i had to stop. Troy was a speed demon, i felt bad, he was the one doing all the waiting.

It funny to talk about this when I am sitting in south florida