Mmmmm - Chewy
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Denis - DCSki Supporter 
November 28, 2009
Member since 07/12/2004 🔗
2,349 posts
It's the best description I can think of for the heavy dense snow at Bolton today. Bolton has 2 base areas, the main base is about 500 vertical feet above the Timberline base. The difference between the two was startling, perhaps the greatest orographic enhancement I have ever seen over just over just a few hundred vertical feet. The Timberline base had 0-1" and the main base had 6-8. By the time we skinned from there to midstation it was a foot and drifted much deeper in places. The wind was fierce, it was full on winter up there. The wind crust was sturdy, but looking carefully for active sifting drifting snow paid off with a little heavy powder on top of the crust. It skied like cream cheese in those places. The wide waisted Junkboards were the right choice for the day's conditions. The inside edges cut through but the outside edges stayed on top. Yee - Finally - Ha.
fishnski
November 28, 2009
Member since 03/27/2005 🔗
3,530 posts
Altitude was everything this storm..My Brothers hotel up at Killington was up at about 1500' with nothing sticking, but you go up killington road & up above 2000' they had a half foot!

The only thing that messed ya up was the wind I bet..My Bro said it was fierce up there today.Keep on gettin it Denis!
Denis - DCSki Supporter 
November 30, 2009
Member since 07/12/2004 🔗
2,349 posts
We went to Bolton knowing that the big mountain (Mansfield) would have dozens of people and less opportunity for first tracks. Our tracks were the only ones on Bolton above midstation.

Here's a link with pics of what took place on Mansfield;
http://list.uvm.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0911E&L=SKIVT-L&D=1&T=0&O=D&P=874 It gives a good idea of how thick & heavy the snow was.
David
December 10, 2009
Member since 06/28/2004 🔗
2,444 posts
Denis, just some FYI. I googled "junkboards skiing". The 1st thing that comes up are 4 of your threads on here. You're famous!
Denis - DCSki Supporter 
December 10, 2009
Member since 07/12/2004 🔗
2,349 posts
Thanks David but it's undeserved. I just copied what VT friends were doing. I saw my first J-board about 6 yrs. ago when 4 off us skinned Mad River in a foot of new snow on Thanksgiving morning. One of the 4 was Justin Woods (His real first name and internet last name; he likes tree skiing - get it?) All 4 in our group were on regular skis but we were intrigued by a guy we met on short very fat skis with sharp pointed tips. They were covered with powder so we couldn't see them very well but we could see that much. "What the hell are those things you're skiing on?" Answer - "It's a snowboard that wanted to be a pair of skis." So credit the first one to that nameless guy at Mad River, or perhaps he learned it from someone else. Last year Justin made a short video of himself and friends and someone entered it in a film festival. I guess that is how Columbia Sports found out and they made this video,
http://www.columbia.com/Junkboarders/People_Pioneer_Junkboarders,default,pg.html
This has popularized it quite a bit. I made mine last year but then I only skied them on the conditions for which they were intended, an inch or 2 of snow over bare ground. I have 3 days of skiing so far this season all on J-boards. They are a very nice tool and a lot more versatile than I thought. They ski powder very well (expected) and will handle wind crust. It makes one wonder whether innovation in ski design has gone far enough with respect to short, fat, soft. I did put a sidecut on the raw edge. I clamped the two halves together and used the steel edge of one to guide the jigsaw on the other.

Ski and Tell

Snowcat got your tongue?

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