What Surprised You The Most?

[tjf67]

i though ghosty's post stated their (patrol) position perfectly. don't hate the patrol, they're just doing their job and sometimes they have to make unpopular decisions. it's also not fair to generalize when speaking about a group of people. some patrolers have power issues but most that i have met and know are good guys just doing their job.

adronrider - western patrol is hard work, especially as a rookie! a lot of shoveling the pads (on lift poles) out on powder days (over and over...it snows a lot!) while everyone else is rippin' by you getting faceshots. i personally wouldn't want that job, not enough time to free ski. dropping bombs would be cool though.

Oh the good old days. Pops in law got u under his thumb now. Now go take care of his little girl before he fires you.

[Phineas]

Oh the good old days. Pops in law got u under his thumb now. Now go take care of his little girl before he fires you.[/quote]

spank-a-roo on you JakieBoy!

[sleestak]

What surprised me the most this season was TJ referring to his nipples as "yummy yummy."

its beyond bizzare to say the very least.

I picked up a pair of Nordica Enforcers at the end of the year at the right price. I can't believe how these babies skied!!!! Floated right over that mushy shit and carved up the hard stuff like my Atomic B11's. Can't put them in the rack of the gondi. They're 135 tip/ 99 under foot/ 125 tail. Super light with the BD Freeride bindings. After S4L and I got lost in the woods at Vail this is the only binding I will use out west. Gets you out the flats you come across. Can't wait to ski them in Tahoe.

[Faceplant]

Surprised how much better it is than Connector. Safer and more fun.

Re: ski patrol. Sure, some are better than others but they are kinda like volunteer firemen: Dogooders that quietly go through a lot of training to do a (mostly) thankless job for little or nothing. Because somebody has to! During a lot of big (and little) most volunteers got vouchers, lunch and sometimes a gift but the patrol doesn't even get the box lunch.
What keeps them going is beyond me.

[sleestak]

Surprised how much better it is than Connector. Safer and more fun.

Re: ski patrol. Sure, some are better than others but they are kinda like volunteer firemen: Dogooders that quietly go through a lot of training to do a (mostly) thankless job for little or nothing. Because somebody has to! During a lot of big (and little) most volunteers got vouchers, lunch and sometimes a gift but the patrol doesn't even get the box lunch.
What keeps them going is beyond me.

ski patrol does get paid, so you cant really compare to someone who is volunteering. they choose to be ski patrolers because they obviously love the ski and be on the mountain. they are ski bums. if they werent ski patrolers, they would be working in another low paying job in a ski community. thats pretty much the only jobs that allow you to ski everyday. i dont think its a thankless job either. there are a lot iof really cool ski patrolers--there are also a lot of tools too. same as anywhere--thats society.

i dont see how johns bypass is safer than connector. i used connector this year more than johns bypass just because johns bypass isnt accessed by my "regular route" to get from little wface to summit chair.

[AdironRider]

Johns bypass is sweet midweek when noones there and you can fly off the left side of that last rollover.

[tjf67]

Is an accident waiting to happen. You come into that trail and the contour pushes you into the middle which is aways icey with intermitant bumps. You go over the rollers and it very hard to control your speed. I consider myself a decent skier and still have problems in there controling myself. I myself duck the connector rope a lot just because I do not feel in control on the bypass.
It has relieved the cluster that it was designed to do.

[AdironRider]

I dont have any problems really, but I suppose on crowded days it could get a little dicey in there.