Veteran Slays Buller July 22, 2012

That was a good day! The fog/cloud cover rolls in on the weekend like clockwork - NASA should re-calibrate their atomic clocks with the clockwork precision of that fog (and rain). It's man made only -  a single snowflake has fallen all season.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taxman 

Good grief, I though those Stormrider XLs had died.... still using them as rock skis?

After I tore my calf, I went back to using Ol Faithful. it's psycholgical, I know.

I left the 2 sets of Blizzards at Tahoe with a ski bag of some surplus clothing gear so the XLs are all I use down here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MephitBlue 

I'd take some man made snow right now.  Thanks for posting Veteran and keeping me thinking about skiing until winter gets to the states.

 

Just pray that a Tahoe Winter doesn't mimic ours -our Buller/Squaw patrollers thing you get much the same as we do. Gulp.

This is Buller's "Kofler's Hutte", built at the base of the Summit probably in the 1930s (and rebuilt 1959) and used by hardcore people who walked through the bush for miles. It's famous for its apricot pies and  fabulous staff and owners,

Few accidents on the road at Mt. Hotham today - as the weekenders drive home en masse. I suspect ice

Hopefully this weather brings the snow that all our resorts desperately need, in a series of topups.

In 3 weeks my hill has the Interschools Week with 5000 kids and their families filling nearly 10,000 beds on-mountain. It'll be bedlam if 'its gone', or if they're all crammed onto the limited terrain, or the peasoup fog or windhold rolls in.  or if 'all of the above' come in at once.

http://aussieskier.com/snow-reports/buller-snow-reports/buller-snow-report-satsun-aug-45-2012/

Here's a tr on 'my hill' from Tony Crocker's friend and author of the Power Bible. (Our season - unless you like short groomers -  could be over in 3-4-6 weeks) unless the snowgods get their act together!. Aussieskier's pals are coming back to Tahoe, and are planning on 3 months from most resorts from Tahoe to Idaho, and Mammoth. Epic!
 

http://player.vimeo.com/video/47062077

Here's a vid on the same run in my vid.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mdf 

That's a great vid!  Really well shot and edited.

It makes a difference when it's good: and you wouldn't know they were on the same 'glacial stuff' in my vid. .

Atm there's some pretty weak snowboard vids put together by snowboard shops whch are boring boring boring. At the other end are vids of hotshots. I'd like to see Reno and other places get together and promote themselves on film to first time destnation 'mom and pop and kids'  travellers.

https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=400345320014541

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=400284836687256

After a snowgods tempted me with a decentfall , I decided to head up the hill. Checked that a perpetual trophy was returned in anticipation of the William Angliss Institute Resort Management Program Team Challenge race in 2 weeks

:

Caught up with some mates at the club for a ski around, but they dawdkled for an hour ....and then went in for coffee!

So I headed off with one of the race club dads, and the place was pretty empty.

What a difference it makes when most lifts are operating because of a lousy 10" or so of new snow in the week. Caught up with another group of friends at 11am, skied some more, dined in the club for lunch, and headed out again. Was home by 7.30pm, and now I feel sore. I think it's time for a drink.

The socialising and partying on 'our mountain' is probably one of the main reasons our resorts can hold a gun to our head when they offer exxy season pass 'deals'. But we got a Posse together to hang 'em varmint CEOs high! 

Here's a link to a Viddy link to footage of some tree skiing in Australia. If you're over 3' tall, don't try this at home.

http://aussieskier.com/weather-forecasts/snow-forecast-weather-update-16th-aug-2012/

and it loos like the snowgods weren't kind (until now) to the resort in the middle of New Zealand's north island.

Surely you have heard it by now buy just to reiterate the point………

THE SNOW HAS ARRIVED!!! And it’s about time!! We now have great snow bases at both Whakapapa and Turoa. Whakapapa is currently sitting at 125cm and Turoa is sitting at 158cm. With this extra snow we are continuing to widen and fatten up our trails. The snow has been fantastic for sking and riding over the last few days and as we write this, snow is falling at both areas.  This extra snow has allowed the Mother Terrain Park at Whakapapa to be completed by the weekend too! The grooming crew have started to look around the Nga Wai Heke at Turoa, currently, we do still require more snow at the lower end of this lift.  Watch this space as the snow falls.

. Also, a big thank you to all those who have continued with their snow dances. Your moves and optimism is certainly doing something right.

Our William Angliss ambassador 'KT' Parker is cleaning up the races in the Interschools (also sponsored by William Angliss) but blizzards have rolled in so the races are on hold for now. A lot of the little  kids in our club races are growing up and going on to great things.

The forecast is for another nice top up over the next few days so, fingers crossed, the snowgods are appeased and the lifts at Mt Buller might be still turning in early October.