beecher

I'm with tvash. too many dicks here, spreading negativity. have fun in the circle jerk, i am done with this site. i know i know you won't miss me, i'm a useless asshole, i can be made fun of, my input isn't appreciated

What the hell is the matter with you guys? There is an entire culture and community of people who are resourceful enough to thrive on that sort of salary. Fortunately for them, they are not here on the internet 24/7 to represent themselves like us poor crotchety schmucks.

fresh snow, not meat yep, way too much caffeine today. thanks for the discussion gents, off to google maxwell's demons.

forget about equations and the semantics of whether snow is a fluid or not. give me one more chance, i promise, no fancy words like stagnation or any bullshit like that: the little flakes. the ones under the ski there. they are applying a pressure to the ski as it moves along. the snow flakes or bits (like the ones bacon are made out of) are individual lil' pieces that can stick together to form larger bits, separate from each other, or change state under pressure (who cares). These 'lil bits will seek an area of lower pressure, someplace it's real easy to go. if they are near the edge of the ski, they will run like hell, and if luck has it hit you in the face. The longer the 'wetted' (call it 'snoweded' if that helps) edge of the ski there is relative to the total wetted area, the more little bits will be able to run away instead of helping lift your smiling self above the masses of little freedom-seeking snowbits. somewhere under the front end of your ski there will be little snowbits trying to escape, but that are too close to the middle to find the side of the ski, and my where will they go? they will rally a group of resistance fighters there for a fight to the death. a lucky few may be spat out the front, the rest are smashed underfoot. little do they know, but they have only aided your cause, raising pressure in their little cell of resistance. As you go faster and faster, the pressure you're feeling down there on your skis will become greater and greater and oh my you'll soar higher and higher until fewer and fewer snowbits will be needed for you to sail proudly past the admiring onlookers. You become a stormcloud of snobits scattering fanatically spraying madly and dissolving into the mouth of a madman.. least that's how i think of it

i thought i'd keep the numbers small so you'd be able to do the math. looking forward to seeing you double eject while you show the ladies how fast you can go. ohhh wait, i bet your din's at 14, isn't it, you big mountain skier you. everyone knows all the best skiers are on the internet right now.

novascotian, i agree with 90% of what you're saying. the selection of skis has almost nothing to do with the physics of how they generate lift, there are other more important factors. all i'm saying is that powder snow flows over the bottom of skis and generates lift. and skis act a lot like a wing, or a boat, or a pair of, well, skis on the water. you change the angle of attack of a ski, you get more lift. you go faster, you get more lift. you ski through snow and it sprays off the sides of the skis from the pressure under there. i'm not saying if the duck floats you're a witch.

when comparing flotation of skis, and not snowblades or blowjobs, I have to stick with width underfoot being the most important criteria. you're gonna pick a pair of POWDER skis that's about as fat as you'd like them to be, and a length suitable to how you want to ski that particular ski. You're not going to pick a ski of a given width and say "OK, what length will give me enough area in order to stay on top of the fat pow". 174cm Bandit B100 vs. 185cm Bandit B94 B100 has 100mm underfoot, B94=94mm Which stays on top best after 12" fresh?

not sure what you're trying to say Hugh

Halifax, I've gotta disagree with your statement, and I think you might too (hence the surfboard reference). Snow is not air or liquid water. But water is not air either (air being compressible, water not so much), and yet somehow the physics of a rudder, keel, or propeller blade in water are very similar to the physics of a rudder, wing, or propeller blade in the air. I am not saying there's no difference. Is it just coincidence that the community agrees that the area underfoot is what counts? Area underfoot = Boot length x Ski width. My boot length is the same no matter what ski I'm on, so the agreement is really that the width of the ski is most important. Same conclusion the basic physical models based on fluid (or aero) dynamics would come to. We all get the same fun results no matter how (or whether) we think about it.. yeeha!

There was one in Mammoth a few years back called the Monkey Bar. You could pay a fee to be a member, each member had a key. Guests were meant to pay a $5 fee. With so many cash-poor people coming and going in that town, I think the multitude of keys and guest thing got abused. Not sure if that's the reason, but it closed down. It worked for a while there. I think it could definitely work here. As others have mentioned, key is to get a free or affordable venue. Maybe you could put up routes inside of an old silo, are there any farms near you?

walked into that one. your sense of humor is improving, haha silly elephant. not quite as hairy as me, though. then again I can't see it's back.

I know you are but what am I

typical "I am on the internet where it is safe to insult other people" response. bummer. that said... warning, speculation follows: Looks like there's a small crater about the size a single hand charge might produce top center of photo, way above the crown. maybe they tried to mitigate the hang-fire danger. wasn't there, so I can't know.

if seattle is made up of THEM, I have to wonder... who are we?

I'm pretty sure this thread is the closest I'll get to reading any contracts, but it is common knowledge the resorts are on leased USFS land. I'm also pretty sure the resorts will have an easy case that uphill traffic endangers people, as they have with sledding. All I'm saying is you can choose to have the perspective of being thankful for the access conveniences ski areas provide us in making our "dawn patrols", having easy ascent paths up cat tracks & groomed runs, by respecting a few safety-related requests from their hard-working employees. Regardless of any contract. I don't remember signing any contract.

couldn't care less about bowling, karaoke, and pull tabs. i cringed every time no one could think of anything better to do than go to sunset bowl. replacement by condos will suck bum though. hopefully the degenerate squatters who dump trash piles outside their rv's along 14th and the canal will be next to go. I'm all for having a place people can live for free, but it's gotta be done respectfully. has anyone noticed the replacement of ye olde scandinavian shoppe on market (near wafed) with that flipping 'free trade' establishment hocking their fudge and cheesy trinkets.

This is the second recent thread related to access adjacent to a ski area. Start a pissing match over this sort of access issue (related to control work and skiing as close to ski areas as possible) and no one will win. Washington resorts are quite kind in allowing people to do things like skin and snowshoe up through the resort while it's open. I believe this is because, in general, people in Washington State are able to take care of themselves. In other regions (California comes to mind), this is generally not allowed because people are too stupid and irresponsible to make sure they will not be endangered by resort operations. I realize you were going to be off the cat track and outside the boundary in this case, so it is different. All I'm saying is that the resorts offer a lot of positives for most skiers, and I am grateful they are there. While it is annoying to be told what one can and can't do, especially when "jurisdiction" is questionable, I have to sympathize with the patrollers in these situations. They really would just like to get the control work done without harming anyone. If you are near where they are doing control work, they have no way of knowing exactly where you are. As general policy, they have to keep people out of slide paths regardless of anticipated activity - eventually the unexpected will occur. The sense of friction between "b/c" users and resorts (especially dominant in the Alpental thread) is disturbing. As more of these incidents come up for discussion, I would anticipate the outcome being greater restrictions on backcountry use, and the wonderfully wild and still somewhat unruly Washington we enjoy living in becoming more and more like other places.

yep, probably about 60 words per minute

Interesting question, I've been thinking about this. A short wide ski will have more flotation (or lift) than a long skinny ski that has the same surface area. For you aerodynamic buffs, think of a ski as an airfoil (or wing) with very low aspect ratio. A wide short ski has a higher aspect ratio than a long thin one, and should therefore be more effective at generating lift. One effect is that lifting pressure will be shed along the edge of the ski. If you have equivalent area, but less edge length, less lift is shed due to this effect. Another effect has to do with stagnation pressure and the way pressure is distributed along the length of the ski. There is a pressure peak at some point along the length of the ski (depends what angle the ski is at etc.). The wider the ski, the greater contribution this pressure peak has on the total lift generated. A sort of good comparison a lot of people may be able to relate to is wake boards vs. water ski (which operate in water; more dense than snow, so the effects are exaggerated) If you've tried to get up on one ski, you know it's pretty difficult, but that once you're up you can go like hell. Whereas on a wakeboard you pop right up. I know, I know, the wakeboard probably has more area.. anyhow, I'm trying to help.

There are courteous people, people who don't give a shit, and people who don't know any better. There are different rules (or, um, protocols I guess) for each, the great part is that we each get to decide. No rules, just be yourself and decide whether that means being patient, asking politely, or being a dick.

go with leashes if you want to keep your skis near you. it doesn't matter why they came off, you just don't want to have to posthole your way back to the car, or downclimb steep hardpack after you double eject and lose your skis.

does sound fun, you will probably have to get water from as far away as the lake tho

The harsh feedback to this post is astonishing. I didn't feel the invitation to open our minds a little bit was an attack in any way. Most of us are living incredibly wasteful lifestyles, and many of us outdoor recreators are the worst offenders with the number of miles we spend on the road and in the air to get to our destinations. I have not cracked my way out of this american lifestyle and figured out how to eliminate this and satisfy all of my lifestyle desires, but I am glad there are others who think about it and inspire me to make changes by starting with me first. Thanks and have a good rant while I examine my own hypocrisy.

is that a good deal for a stroller? Holy s*@t I am not having children.

The required ability does vary from area to area and is dependent on the area's ability to retain employees and the terrain offered. The two resorts I worked for had very different patrol cultures. One wanted badass patrollers hungry for steeps, the other took the approach that they were better off hiring people with good attitudes and at least strong fundamental skiing ability. The latter realized how quickly people get up to speed on their skills when they are on their skis every day. Both wanted the best skiers they could hire, but of course did not base hiring entirely on skiing. They are looking for skiers who are strong, stable, able to ski variable terrain & conditions. What I'm saying is that you only need solid fundamentals to impress the patrol director. If you are able to get around everywhere on your skis, have a good level of fitness, don't seem likely to get hurt on the job, that's what they want as far as skiing ability. Ability to kick turn is desirable. Other desirable qualities: punctuality, work ethic, common sense, dependability, modesty, good attitude, ability to have fun, willingness to learn.