We got to the mountain on Friday around noon and took 5-6 runs in the mist and drizzle. Found the skiing to be remarkably good for being ungroomed all week. Then, on Saturday, we skiied until we dropped. Conditions went from firm to smooth to soft and mashed taters on a bluebird day. They had lost twister and dew drop (although it could be poached ). but we found the conditions perfect springtime. Sunday. was cold and firm again with everything having set up overnight. They should have a good bit open this upcoming weekend for the final days. Worth the trip? Why not? They knocked down the features on lower dew and have quite a base there. Was talk of holding their annual Local's Cup race there this Sunday. We'll see. There was a spot or two where grass was showing on WL and heaven will be history by Saturday leaving mostly blacks (and salamander) from the top. If you're looking for a place to take last turns, I'd recommend t-line. (no lift lines!)

Kim: We'll be there for the ski team banquet. Good to hear the skiing's still decent. My 6 year old is threatening to beat me down OTW and the Drop. They grow up so fast! 18 ski days this season and she's still not ready to hang'em up - great.

Tom

Any bumps on OTW or the Drop?

negative... at least not on Saturday

everytime it starts bumping up it rains, it frezes, it gets groomed. It's also no fun that a'way.

If Whitetail (Exhibition) & 7 Springs (Stowe & Goosebumps) and alot of the other ski areas can have bumps all season long, why can't Tline? It realy doesn't have much to do with the rain or freeze thaw cycles. It's the freaking groomers and management. Tline has advertised a bump contest during the last two Snowy Luau's and Locals Cup weekends, but there hasn't been any bumps to play on.

Lack of bumps is one of the reasons why I stopped skiing Snowshoe.

Ya Scott next season do what i do every weekend, go down to the ski school and ask to take a bump lesson actually if you talk to them they're not so happy with the way the mountain is completly groomed either but i guess there's groomers there so they gotta use em.

I agree with thoughts on the un-bumped mode of t-line. Don't know why they do it, but they do it on an increasingly frequent level. They don't understand that they lose a certain element of the skiing public by having board flat trails on a continuous mode. Why they killed the whales so early is beyond me.

Then take the lesson and ask for your money back. That may get Doc's attention.

In addition to the added challenge of bump/whale runs, they also take longer to get down. Nothing worse at T-Line than waiting 12 minutes to ride up the lift and taking 30 seconds to slide down. For every single freakin' run. Makes a slow lift seem even slower.

Too funny Jimmy, I'll have try that next season.

I'd ski Tline a whole lot more if they had some bumps.

Now I'm hoping 7 springs opens back up this weekend or I'll have to make another trip to VT. I'm starting to jones.

It's not the 12 minutes to get up that bothers me so much either, the Peruvian at Snowbird prolly takes the same 12 minutes to get up but it was taking us just as long to get back down . I was at Tline 3/24, 25, 26 spent a good part of the days doing pivot slips on the lovely, mind knumbing groomed terrains to extend the length of the run; drills are fun but ungroomed terrains are funner.





I know for a fact that lots of people feel the same way as SC WVA...

Dunno bout the 30 seconds/run. You must be pretty fast to do that. Pacesetter on lower thunder runs in low 22s. That would mean u can ski the full top in less tha 8! It WAS u doing those figure 11s last weekend!!!

jimmy,
A bit of an apple and orange there, don't you think? I do not remember the new high speed Peruvian taking that long (12 minutes) but not relevant. Your point is that it took you longer to ski down than at Tline. Obviously, since your were skiing nearly 3000 feet of vertical to return to the base. So, what's the point? Now if Tline had a high speed that took 4+ minutes to the top, and then if was a couple of minutes back down. Maybe then apples to apples.
Have a great time this weekend. Wish I could join you. Missed you at Luau.
The Colonel

You don't think you could ski a groomed White Lightning top to bottom in ~30 seconds? I wasn't considering any gates; they would slow you down a lot. Just do a bunch of Super G turns and let em rip.

Who says you have to turn at all??? While riding the lift up I've seen plenty of folks tuck it at the top and not make the slighest effort to control their speed until they make it clear to the bottom of "Upper" White Lightening.....

On upper WL, sure. But once you get to the mid station area, it's real tough to let em rip. The snow conditions really change in that transition of elevation and slope angle. With everything being perfect....??? I doubt anyone can do it, lift to lift in 30 seconds or less. However, next winter, in prime conditions, it could be the mid atlantic's version of the Chinese downhill. Better yet, it'll be good food for fodder in Pub talk on Saturday apres. Could even make it a DCSki sponsored event.... a WV Alpps first!

Doesn't Vail have an annual locals ski race from top to bottom to see who can be first to grab a free season season pass for the next year that's left dangling from a pole at the bottom? You pick the fastest way down. That would be a cool twist on the annual season's ending Local's Cup at Tline.

Tom

I'll have to take a stopwatch out to T-Line next year and time a normal fast high speed run on the groomers to see how long it takes. Not counting the very bottom base area, since that is a slow skiing zone; once I hit that area, in my mind the ski run is over.

Seems like runs on a groomed WL, The Drop, Upper/Lower Thunderstruck take about 30 seconds or so. If you've decided to ski GS turns for that run and are not skiing with a group. Don't ski every run like that since I also like to ski a lot of slalom turns or stop and check out the surroundings.

Tline's webpage says that they are offering $1 lift tickets after 12noon on Sunday.

The Drop is closed today.

Hey JohnL, kwill & i did a bit of research on this; seems there is a documented instance of a guy who did white lightning to the bottom of white out in 47 seconds, he was clocked on radar at 46 mph at mid station.

I'm a bit confused, there's no mid-station for White Lightning.

Where did they start timing, where did they end timing?

Is there any info available on the total length of White Lightning?

Yes

They set the gun up on the flat where the trail from midstation cuts across white lightning.

IIRC <was slightly UI at the time> start was beginning of WL pitch, finish was where whiteout intersects Sallymander.

Probalby

We asked quite a few folks re: the 30 seconds in the pub and it was good apres fodder. But Jimmy has the story correct and got it from a very reliable source. John, if you want to do your own timing, be my guest. Let me know when and I'll applaud if you do it, maybe even buy. Let's see... I suggest 230cm+ DH boards on a perfectly groomed WL. It just might come close. I once had a friend who would do something similar on Cupp but had to get those puppies up to around 35 MPH to get em to begin turning. I personally didn't have the, uh... "danglers" to do it myself especially at those speeds on the over/under.
We mentioned that they should have a chinese downhill for a pass and it raised a few eyebrows. Patrol wasn't too fond of the idea though.

??

I no we were in the pub longer than 30 seconds oh 30 seconds, ok. They also said the guy who did this was no secret weapon or anything......i'm not saying i could even do that in a minute and a half but i think someone could do this.

I wasn't saying we were in the pub only 30 seconds....sheeesh. I dunno if it could be done in 30 seconds. Like I said, maybe we ought to set a date, time, and get a list together of those who want to try it. sometime next season. My name won't be on it.

Doing a very rough estimate, 30 seconds even for a groomed WL is too short a period of time.

(Maybe screwing up some math here and these are some crude assumptions.)

Assume skier at 30 mph (not that fast for an empty groomed run) = 44 ft/sec

1000 ft vertical assuming a 20 degree slope = 2900 feet

It would take that skier 66 seconds.

Sure doesn't seem like over a minute. I will have to take a stopwatch to T-Line next year.

Hey, always glad to add fodder to pub talk.