Buckle up for icebergs ahead

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Thunder Ridge in Patterson (MHN/Albert Neubert)

By Albert Neubert

Temperatures in the 50s and 60s and a few sprinkles seem to be the norm heading into each holiday period this season.  Then, on the Friday afternoon before the weekend, an arctic front passes on through plunging temps into the single digits and teens throughout ski country.  I’m reminded of the line from the movie “Titanic” where the ship’s spotter yells out, “Iceberg ahead!”

Ski area operators scrambled to get every available snow gun pumping out as much snow as possible over about a 12-16 hour window to resurface key terrain for the holiday turnout.  Once again, skiers and riders were faced with a mixed bag of conditions with fresh ungroomed snow on some trails and groomed frozen granular on hard pack manmade bases.  With heavy holiday skier and snowboarder traffic many slopes became “white ribbons of death by mid-afternoon.”  At least we had bluebird skies and comfortable daytime temps across the Northeast and that at somewhat made fun to ride up a chairlift.

I skied at Hunter, in the Northern Catskills earlier in the week on what turned out to be a picture perfect day with readings in the mid-40s and not a cloud in the sky and no wind at all.  I had one of my better ski days of the season in terms of conditions as a light mid-week turnout provided those who did show up with an almost private ski and snowboard experience. At this time of the season, the sun is starting to rise higher in the sky and for a longer duration meaning slopes facing into the sun tend to soften up much more quickly while those in a deep shade stay firm with little to no melting.

Hunter Mountain in Greene County

I took a couple of warm-up runs off the “B” quad chairlift, before moving over to the Kaatskill Flyer six-pack to the summit.  I took a couple of runs down the long intermediate Belt Parkway, which is mostly in the shade and then skied the trails on the Hunter North side of the complex.  If you are into doing laps and getting in a lot of vertical the Northern Express six pack that serves that side of the trail network is the way to go.  The chair has a 1,000 foot vertical rise and covers that in three minutes.  My downhill time is from two to three minutes so it’s possible to get in as many as 10-12 runs in an hour and do over 20,000 vertical feet in two hours, which is more than most people can accomplish in an entire day of skiing or snowboarding.

I headed southeast on President’s Day to a local favorite of mine, Thunder Ridge, in Patterson and right off Route 22.  Thunder Ridge is about as accessible a ski area as you will find anywhere and despite their relatively southerly location, you will find amazing snow conditions.  All of the main runs were open with deep bases and not a bare or thin spot in sight and smooth and creamy surfaces under a bright sun and April like temps hovering near 60.  There was a good holiday turnout of beginner and novice level skiers and snowboarders.  This relatively small-to-midsized area prides itself on its ski school where you’ll find by far the largest number of PSIA instructors as a percent of the total roughly 135 teaching staff.

I spent some time with Dean Ryder, one of the area’s owners and he told me some of his keys to operating in such a relatively mild location.  He said that if you’re in the ski business, you better focus not only a powerful snowmaking system but on using it.  He told me that area stayed open until April 2 last season, outlasting many larger resorts in the Northeast, and that was still with good coverage on key trails.  Ryder also said he has a laser focus on customer service and satisfaction and that lift lines, lines for tickets, rentals and food in the cafeteria make no sense if you’re asking customers to spend a good amount of money to enjoy themselves at your ski area. As a result, he manages turnout and organizes operations to eliminate lines and that was the case when I was there.

The one thing that you must do in a season with so much ice and hard pack surfaces is to make sure your equipment is in tip-top shape.  Razor sharp edges are a must to give yourself a chance on those rock hard trails.  Check your edges and bases after each outing to make sure there are no gouges in the P-Tex bottoms of your board or skis. Any severe damage to bases is like driving on bald tires with a bubble in them; they just won’t steer properly.

Next, take a rag and rub your edges with it to determine whether you have any damage from hitting rocks that seem to be hidden on almost all trails this season.  If you feel like your edges are part hacksaw blade, take them to a shop and get them sharpened.  It’s worth the tune-up price versus skidding and sliding on a slope and risking injury.

One of the most often overlooked parts of optimizing performance of your ski experience is the fit of your boots and not your skis.  If you can’t properly transmit your lower leg and ankle movement through the boot and into the ski, the ski will not be as responsive leading to skidding and a lack of precision in turning.  Besides getting a good pair of boots, which I will cover in another article, how you buckle your boots is absolutely critical along with what kind of socks you wear.

Do not wear thick socks like you might do for working out with sneakers or running shoes.  They will tend to bunch up inside the boot and cause pressure points that can lead to severe chaffing and rubbing.  Instead, purchase ski socks, which fit snuggly and even have support ribs around the ankle.  There’s a misconception that thick socks will keep your feet warmer but today’s ski boots have such good insulation that thinner is better.  Thick socks will cut off circulation to your toes when boots are buckled too tight.

Always dry your ski boots out after each usage by keeping them near a source of heat.  Never leave your boots in a car outside overnight The plastic shells will become so stiff and rigid that it will be near impossible to slide your foot into them and if they’re moist that will create more friction when trying to put them on and lead to cold feet in short order. Open up the power strap at the top of the liner and make sure all the buckles are free and use the loop strap on the top front of the liner to pull up as you step down into the boot.  Once in the boot, kick down on the heel so the heel of your foot is at the back of the boot.

There’s no rationale for which buckle to tighten first so you can start top down or bottom up.  But, the two most important buckles are the top buckle and the next one down, just above the ankle.  The ankle buckle is critical to keep tight enough so your heel isn’t able to lift inside the boot liner.  This provides for maximum edge pressure.  Then tighten the upper buckle to where you have shin pressure on the upper tongue of the liner.  This will help with maximizing control of the ski.  The last two buckles across the foot can be buckled comfortably without over tightening. You need to be able to wiggle your toes inside the shell so there’s no loss of circulation to them.  Surprisingly, where your toes are inside the boot actually tells you how you are weighting and unweighting your skis for smoother turns so clamping down on them will hinder your performance.

Make happy feet inside your boots and happy skiing and riding!

You can contact me at asneubert@aol.com or you can visit my Instagram page at asneubert




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