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Crotched Mountain, NH 2011-12

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jack97
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Posted: Jan 07, 2012 - 7:22 PM GMT

Had a day off to burn so I went to CM yesterday (1/6) in hopes of contributing to the bumps at UFO and equinox. haha.... those trails were just groomed and packed down so its going to take a while for bumps to form. Understandable since that would preserve the base in those trails. Overall the conditions were great!, looks like the place is close to 100 % open and they were still blowing snow till mid morning.

The place had more kids than I expected and its good to see they have a strong program for them..... and still no lift lines.

JR
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Posted: Jan 07, 2012 - 7:59 PM GMT

Was there on Friday 1/6 also. Was expecting pretty darn good conditions and as usual wasn't let down. First time I saw a mini skier cross course set up in the park. A couple small bumps and banked turns. Hope CM has a profitable weekend. Looks busy on today's web cam.

joshua segal
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Posted: Jan 08, 2012 - 1:08 AM GMT

Edited: Jan 08, 2012 - 3:55 AM GMT

Jan. 6-7, 2012 - Fri. - Sat.
While I skied on Friday the 6th and Saturday the 7th, equipment issues knocked me out for most of both days. I took 8 runs this evening to test out the repairs and my skiing should be back to normal on Sunday.

To jack97: I heard today that there is resistence to letting the moguls develop on UFO/Equinox pending the arrival of natural snow. As soon as there are bumps, I will announce it prominently on this thread. If you came up based on my recommendation expecting bumps, I apologize. I was expecting them too - and spent all day Thursday going up and down UFO/Equinox to start some texture.

To JR: What you described as a "mini skier cross course" is supposed to be regular teaching area for skiers in the terrain park. (Open to anyone, however.) Great fun!

I don't know if there was a good crowd today. Perhaps tedede (whom I saw here today) might have noticed.

BTW: Attached below is a CM ticket from 1974 and an Onset Ticket from 1976.
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Attachments:

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Joshua Segal

tedede
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Posted: Jan 08, 2012 - 10:38 AM GMT

It was pretty darn busy. At times I had to wait almost a full minute and a half to get onto the lift. No chairs running empty.

Conditions were stellar. It softened up but did not get slushy. I'm somewhat surprised they're not letting UFO bump up. They put a ton of snow on it.

Sorry to hear about your boots Joshua. Looking forward to seeing you on the slopes today.

obienick
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Posted: Jan 08, 2012 - 2:32 PM GMT

What's the reasoning behind not letting UFO bump up?

jack97
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Posted: Jan 08, 2012 - 10:06 PM GMT

Edited: Jan 08, 2012 - 10:09 PM GMT

Quote:

To jack97: I heard today that there is resistence to letting the moguls develop on UFO/Equinox pending the arrival of natural snow. As soon as there are bumps, I will announce it prominently on this thread. If you came up based on my recommendation expecting bumps, I apologize. I was expecting them too - and spent all day Thursday going up and down UFO/Equinox to start some texture.

np Joshua

I didn't expect it to bump up, I went there just to work in some 3d shape as well

BTW, I came up because I know the conditions would be great and the lines would be small.

Given this drought, only way to get any decent bumps is to seed them. And I know that there is some hesitiation to do that as well.

joshua segal
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Posted: Jan 08, 2012 - 10:10 PM GMT

obienick asked:

Quote:

What's the reasoning behind not letting UFO bump up?

Beyond my job description to explain.

Jan. 8, Sunday, was probably the worst conditions of the season. I suspect there were 3 contributing factors.
1. Heavy wear on the hill from "Mid-night Madness" which only left 6 hours between 3AM closing and 9AM opening
2. Temps remained above freezing until about 5AM so the snowmaking crew couldn't "skim coat" the icy surface
3. Not sure what happened with the groomers, but the hill is usually so well maintained, that I assume there is a logical answer.

At any rate, by tomorrow AM, it should be an historic anomaly rather than something to worry about!

As bad as it was, there was good cover and not bad skiing - just a "little fast" in too many places.

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Joshua Segal

joshua segal
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Posted: Jan 09, 2012 - 10:31 PM GMT

Edited: Jan 12, 2012 - 12:59 AM GMT

Jan. 9-10, 2012 - Mon./Tues.
Amazing what a difference a day makes. Between snowmaking and grooming, CM's snow was back up to the standards that CM's guests have come to expect.

A couple of issues: UFO was mostly death cookies - not sure why. Snowmaking all day on Comet Drop and Final Frontier. I have no idea where the water is coming from. The snow making pond could pass for an auxiliary parking lot.

Skiing on the hill, snow depths and conditions look mid-winter; but look into the woods or down in the valley and you can quickly remember what kind of non-winter we are having. BTW, the local station's weather report indicated that as a result of the Halloween storm, the record books still show this season's snow fall as above average.

Jan. 11, 2012 - Weds.
Snow held up really well today.

For those who are into parks, the "Big Park" looks impressive with some massive features.

While there are a dozen + glades at CM, there are 2 faux glades: Final Frontier and Solstice.

When Solstice was added to the trail map, it was really a glade. Now, it is just a narrow trail that is much fun to ski, probably deserving its Black Diamond due to narrowness and bumps. However, there is no snow made on it, so it is not open. Final Frontier is a very thin glade that is both groomed and on which CM makes snow, It is categorized as open and legitimately so.

Snowmaking on Big Dipper should open it in a day or two and tomorrow we are hoping for a powder day!

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Joshua Segal

abubob
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Posted: Jan 10, 2012 - 2:43 PM GMT

Quote:

BTW, the local station's weather report indicated that as a result of the Halloween storm, the record books still show this season's snow fall as above average.

Oh! So what are we complaining about? We gots lots of snow!

joshua segal
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Posted: Jan 12, 2012 - 11:19 PM GMT

Edited: Jan 17, 2012 - 10:40 PM GMT

Jan. 12, 2012 - Thurs.
Powdah. Based on what I shoveled, I'd say 7".

It was great in the AM with fresh tracks easily findable. By 1PM, the snow turned to pellets and a little freezing rain. By 3PM, it was lovely packed, but anything not worked in was a clumpy chop.

I noticed a kid coming out of Kuyper Belt, one on CM's 13 not-on-the trail-map glades. Obviously, not someone who had paid for his own equipment

Most of these glades need closer to 2 feet to be any fun (even with rock skis), between rocks and stumps.

Jan. (Fri. the) 13, 2012
Today's snow could be categorized as frozuroy where groomed; breakable crust in other places. Most frozuroy that I've experienced is when wet granular is groomed and then the temperature goes down and the ridges freeze in place. This frozuroy was yesterday's powder groomed into corduroy that was purloined by a layer of freezing rain.

It skis very loud. For those with the stomach for this kind of snow, it can be a challenge to see how quiet one can make it ski (the less skid, the less noise). The snow is not terrible, but I've reached a point in life where skiing in the rain is not something that I do with the same enthusiam as yesterday's powder.

The cross trail, "Eclipse" was opened. This connector is particularly useful on days when the Summit Chair is on wind hold (which may happen this PM if the forecast holds true) as the only non-climbing access to Plutos, Equinox and in general, the west side of the ski area.

Based on today's grooming, it appears that management is going to allow the bumps to build on the west side of UFO and the East Side of Plutos. Stay tuned to see if this remains the case or is a one-day anomaly.

The MLK weekend should offer great skiing here, although the forecast suggests it may be a bit cold.

Jan. 14, 2012 - Sat.
According to this AM's report, we are 100% open. Now technically speaking, glades are always open, so Solstice is open but I wouldn't recommend it with anything but very old rock skis!

While open on the ski report, Big Dipper had a closed sign on it and they made snow on it all day.

For the second day, the west side of UFO and the East Side of Plutos were ungroomed and there is texture although I can't call them full-fledged moguls yet.

Surfaces held up well to today's traffic.

Jan. 15, 2012 - Sun.
Snow similar to yesterday. Bitter cold in the AM; moderating and diminishing winds midday. WInd picked up again as sun began to set.

Note on UFO/Equinox and moguls: The troughs of the moguls have bottomed on a hard surface. The moguls are fun to ski, but probably won't grow too much until the mountain gets more (natural) snow.

Jan. 16, 2012 - Mon.
Snow similar to yesterday. Saw "iskima", so perhaps he can add something.

It was IMO the biggest crowd of the season, with lines on the Summit Quad actually almost 2 min. at the peak of the day! The Valley wait peaked at a few chairs. The maximum wait on the West Double I estimate at 3 to 4 minutes.

Jan. 17, 2012 - Tue.
Inch of new powder in the AM. Great skiing - great weather, until 3PM when it started to pour. It shouldn't damage either the surface or the base depth.

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Joshua Segal

tedede
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Posted: Jan 13, 2012 - 10:30 PM GMT

Crotched Snowmaking

joshua segal
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Posted: Jan 18, 2012 - 8:12 PM GMT

Jan. 18, 2012 - Weds.
If you can get to CM this evening, it should be exceptional.

The summit chair was on wind hold and they were grooming the upper mountain. The winds are diminishing and when the Summit Chair opens, there will be fresh corduroy - something of a rarity for late day or evening skiing.

The rest of the mountain was skiing well where groomed. Bumps and woods: not so much

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Joshua Segal

joshua segal
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Posted: Jan 23, 2012 - 12:31 AM GMT

Edited: Jan 23, 2012 - 10:24 PM GMT

January 19-21, 2012
A couple of inches of powder on the 19th and 21st. Not enough to call a powder day, but very pleasant none-the-less.

Very pleasant skiing, but no news to report.

January 22, 2012 - Sun.
The mountain was fine. Not much news there!

The Glades Report
I took out a pair of rock skis today and decided to explore some glades.

There are two faux glades that are on the trail reports and maps:
- Final Frontier has a machine made patch to get across it, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well the natural snow areas of it skied. As far as I know, I didn't hit any rocks
- Solstice Glade skied nicely at the top, albeit serious thin cover. On the lower part, there were two nastly water bars and a few unavoidable granite ledges.

The remainder of this report is for the hardcore CMers:
- The Fortress Glade: Apparently in the rush to open new glades this fall, this pleasant glade didn't get any love. There were a number of very large trees down across the trail and it was difficult to actually find places to turn where I wasn't worried about burying a tip underneath a tree limb.

- Uranus: Needs much more snow. There appeared to be many potentially wonderful lines in there, but with a breakable crust and not much cover, it was difficult to make turns.

- Area around "Stealth Snow Board Park": These skied amazingly well and the few outcroppings were easily avoidable
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Note that there were a number of people climbing to the top. One patroller said to me, that while this was true, he didn't see any of them making a second trip

January 23, 2012 - Mon.
The precipatation all day has been freezing rain. The mountain was fine but, freezing rain is not my favorite wx in which to ski. The surface should be able to absorb the rain; grooming and snowmaking will quickly turn it back to corduroy. It will set back the bumps and glades.

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Joshua Segal

abubob
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Posted: Jan 23, 2012 - 1:02 AM GMT

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Crotched Snowmaking

Cool vid! I gave it a "thumbs up".

joshua segal
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Posted: Jan 29, 2012 - 12:22 PM GMT

Edited: Jan 30, 2012 - 3:14 AM GMT

January 28, 2012 - Sat.
I took one of my periodic trips out of ski country. It seemed like last year, every time I did, I missed a powder day. This week, it looks like I missed some freezing rain and some "ordinary" FG and spring skiing.

I got to the mountain around 7PM. All trails were full-width and "fast", but should be fine on Sunday with a little grooming. The trees at the summit were still seriously ice covered and were (and will be) beautiful in the sunshine. The only significant change to the mountain was that the small snowboard park on Galaxy was moved to NCC-1701. While this has minimal impact on most skiers, for teaching purposes, Galaxy is far superior to NCC-1701, because it is wider and has a very consistent pitch.

January 29, 2012 - Sun.
Great groomed granular and corduroy AM. Loose granular with "fast spots" in the PM. The icing on the trees on the upper third of the mountain was visually spectacular in the bright sunshine.

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Joshua Segal

medford_mike
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Posted: Jan 29, 2012 - 2:04 PM GMT

I went to CM for the morning on Saturday the 28th. My first time there this season and my second time there in total. It was a nice morning with spring like ski conditions. FG is an accurate description. There was definitely a lot of ice on the trees and the parking lot in the morning was a bit of an ice rink too. The trails off the summit lift were nice especially considering the rain on Friday. The runs near the two seater lift by the condos were noticeably icier with some ice patches. I skied over there near the end of the morning so conditions may have been better earlier in the day. Overall though a nice warm morning with decent conditions so it was well worth a trip.

joshua segal
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Posted: Feb 01, 2012 - 12:17 AM GMT

Edited: Feb 04, 2012 - 11:10 PM GMT

January 30-31, 2012 - Mon. Tues
I am posting this rather than editing my last posting to bump it up past the spambot.

Having said that, both days were pretty much perfect groomed corduroy: more powdery than loose granular.

Glades, both on the map and off the map, remain unskiable. The bump run: UFO/Equinox is fun but a bit icy. It will take some natural snow to let the bumps grow beyond "texture".

I suspect that the SJ's CM regulars (including me) are thrilled to hear the positive reports by those of you who have been skiing here and we hope to see more of you.

Feb. 1, 2012 - Weds.
The forecast for today was warm with rain showers. However, last night there was a beautiful flaming red sunset. Following the adage, "Red sky at night, sailors take delight", I wondered: Is the forecast wrong?

This morning, I woke up to partly cloudy, but for those familiar with some of the windy places on CM, you could feel the warm air blowing in on the wind. By 10:30AM, there was a shower, 46 degrees and overcast. I guess old adages don't apply!

Meanwhile, the skiing remains superb, with PP corduroy this AM, bumps skiing nicely on UFO/Equinox and the snow becoming wetter as the temps continue to rise.

Feb. 2, 2012 - Thurs.
Warm day. Standard CM corduroy. Bumps skied nicely.

Feb. 3, 2012 - Fri.
Heavy catch-up snowmaking to replenish depleted whales. Beautiful "silk" where the snow was fresh. A combination of corduroy, PP and loose granular elsewhere. More significant was the buzz as the press release on CM's new HSQ for next year was made public.

Feb. 4, 2012 - Sat.
Big crowd with the college race, but minimal lift lines. Advertising began for:
1. The new HSQ
2. The end-of-season pass (Feb. 27 to end of season for $139)
3. Next year's season pass for $399 (which begins on Feb. 27)
Condx were standard CM corduroy.

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Joshua Segal

tedede
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Posted: Feb 01, 2012 - 7:25 PM GMT

Edited: Feb 01, 2012 - 7:25 PM GMT

Crotched added a new Summit Cam to their webcam page.

remski
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Posted: Feb 02, 2012 - 1:22 AM GMT

Well it is time for me to chime in about the conditions at my home area. Although this is the most snowless ski season in my 47 yrs of skiing I am always amazed at the top quality conditions I encounter at Crotched this and previous seasons. Since they acquired those new groomers it seems nature can't spoil the day. Always loose snow and very little ice ( you almost have to go looking for it ). So if you are tired of skiing on icy trails and slopes give Crotched a try, I'm sure it will not disappoint.
P.S. Have your edges sharpened in the ski shop and carve it up! Come on out the skiing is great at Crotched mt!
Ok, now I have to go locate the entrances to all the glades just in case we get dumped on, Remski.

JR
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Posted: Feb 05, 2012 - 12:50 AM GMT

Feb 4th, good day. Surprised no mention of the College races on the Events Section of the Website. Found this on the uconn website

The McConnell Division in the United States Collegiate Ski Association (USCSA). USCSA is the sports federation for collegiate team ski racing in America. Almost 200 colleges and universities and approximately 5000 athletes compete in USCSA competition. USCSA follows NCAA Division II rules and guidelines. The team starts 10 men and women in each collegiate race.
There are 12 races during the Division season. The top five men’s and women’s teams qualify to compete at the USCSA Eastern Regional Championships. The top five men’s and women’s team from the Regional Championships then compete at the USCSA National Championships. The McConnell Division has traditionally been the most dominate USCSA Division in the Nation.
The McConnell Division consists of ten universities and colleges from the Northeast and is in the Eastern Conference of USCSA. Babson College Brown University, Smith College, M.I.T., University of Massachusetts, Castleton, Clarkson, St. Anselms, Boston College and the University of Connecticut are all members of the McConnell Division. The Division is named after Bill McConnell who was the long time coach of the University of Massachusetts.

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