Skiing and Snowboarding - Page 7

Mid1 · #**121** Posted **Jan 21, 2008, 5:57 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by freeweed

Heh. Getting older for me has freed up a ton of time. No need to scrape along with multiple jobs, or avoid doing things due to lack of cash. Plus, there's a lot of things I did in my teens/early 20s that I've since "outgrown". I find I have a lot MORE free time with every passing year.

Hence, I started skiing at 32. Great way to keep the body in good shape as it ages, too.

Interesting that you started when you were 32. When I was starting years ago it was a weird time since snowboarding was the big thing and everyone was trying it. All my friends went over to snowboarding but I stayed in Skiing and really enjoyed it.
It's also Interesting no one has mentioned some more local Calgary hills (like the former ski hill wintergreen or COP). My last visit to COP ended in a bad expirence but I think they've improved somewhat in the past few years. Also does anyone know what happened to the former wintergreen ski hill?

Calgarian · #**122** Posted **Jan 21, 2008, 6:27 AM**

Wintergreen is dead. Nakiska and Norquay suck, COP is too busy for such a shitty hill (though the board park is supposed to be pretty good). That's why Sunshine, Louise and others get all the discussion.

freeweed · #**123** Posted **Jan 22, 2008, 7:48 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mid1

Interesting that you started when you were 32. When I was starting years ago it was a weird time since snowboarding was the big thing and everyone was trying it. All my friends went over to snowboarding but I stayed in Skiing and really enjoyed it.
It's also Interesting no one has mentioned some more local Calgary hills (like the former ski hill wintergreen or COP). My last visit to COP ended in a bad expirence but I think they've improved somewhat in the past few years. Also does anyone know what happened to the former wintergreen ski hill?

Well, as most of my cow-orkers and friends are under 30, I get the same thing. EVERYONE that age seems to be into boarding but honestly I much prefer skiing. Especially the not needing to try it 5-10 times before I'm any good, which is what pretty much everyone tells me about snowboarding. I've just settled into the role of "the old guy who (naturally, he's old!) likes skiing".

Is Wintergreen that hill by Bragg Creek? I ran across it on a Google search and thought "hmm, semi-interesting" but it seems to be dead.. as confirmed by JC.

COP just looks ghetto to me. Sunshine may cost a bit more, but when I ski, I wanna SKI. Not do 2 hours of runs and go home. The extra cost/driving is more than justified by the amazing mountain views you get throughout the day... in my mind, anyway.

Ayreonaut · #**124** Posted **Jan 22, 2008, 7:56 AM**

That'd be Wintergreen, one of the only two hills I ever skiid on, the other was Silver Star (Vernon).

bigcanuck · #**125** Posted **Jan 22, 2008, 4:06 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by freeweed

COP just looks ghetto to me. Sunshine may cost a bit more, but when I ski, I wanna SKI. Not do 2 hours of runs and go home. The extra cost/driving is more than justified by the amazing mountain views you get throughout the day... in my mind, anyway.

I think COP will always have a place in Calgary as it's a great learning hill for school-age kids (and first-time adults). It's within the city so schools can take a field trip there. When I was in Grade 6 we did 5 straight half days of lessons at COP (yeah - it was still called Paskapoo back then).

It'll never compare to the mountains and they definitely target different skill levels.

Calgarian · #**126** Posted **Jan 22, 2008, 4:10 PM**

When I was in School we went to wintergreen, too bad about that hill, it was perfect to learn on.

Ramsayfarian · #**127** Posted **Jan 22, 2008, 5:49 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnnyc

When I was in School we went to wintergreen, too bad about that hill, it was perfect to learn on.

You can thank Charlie Locke and the rest of those bastards at RCR. They took it over and shut it down. Same thing with Fortress. Except when they shut down Fortress they just walked away and didn't mothball a thing. ie turn the water off in the lodge.

So when new owners took over, they had quite a mess to deal with. Which put them behind the eight ball even before they started.

This is now my 3'rd day in a row with no new snow and it sucks. After 3 weeks of fresh pow everyday, groomed runs kind of lose their appeal.

Mid1 · #**128** Posted **Jan 22, 2008, 11:02 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigcanuck

I think COP will always have a place in Calgary as it's a great learning hill for school-age kids (and first-time adults). It's within the city so schools can take a field trip there. When I was in Grade 6 we did 5 straight half days of lessons at COP (yeah - it was still called Paskapoo back then).

It'll never compare to the mountains and they definitely target different skill levels.

COP was always the place to go if you were to lazy to drive out to the mountains. The last time I was there (5 years ago) I remember I was stuck on a lift for 40 minutes in the path of a snowmaking machine

Calgarian · #**129** Posted **Jan 23, 2008, 7:52 PM**

I'm off to Whitefish tomorrow, hopefully it'll be snowing the whole time.

Calgarian · #**130** Posted **Jan 29, 2008, 7:34 PM**

Just got back from the "Fish" last night. What a great place that is, sick amounts of snow (3 feet in the 4 days I was there), lift lines were almost non existent, beer is less than half the price (I got a gallon of Pabst at one bar for $12.50), and the people are extremely friendly (especially the girls, haha). I will definitely go back.

freeweed · #**131** Posted **Jan 29, 2008, 7:54 PM**

What's you guys' take on helmets?

Hard-packed snow covered with 15cm of fresh powder + freeweed being cocky = cranked the back of my head on some snow. It hurt a fair bit but nothing serious (the real damage was the massive piece of my lip that I bit off, plus an obscene amount of blood that I spit out, but that was just the cool part), but if it was a rock, I'd likely be in hospital.

I'm now re-thinking my machismo.

Any suggestions either way? Most helmets I see seem to cover the ears, which for me would almost be a bad thing as I rely a lot on hearing to keep tabs on the idiot snowboarders blasting past me from behind. Plus until recently I thought I was invulnerable.

Calgarian · #**132** Posted **Jan 29, 2008, 8:15 PM**

Helmets are useful if you like tree runs or terrain parks, otherwise you don't need one IMO.

freeweed · #**133** Posted **Jan 29, 2008, 9:16 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnnyc

Helmets are useful if you like tree runs or terrain parks, otherwise you don't need one IMO.

Which was my thought too. Until I bailed in a bad way, and ended up falling backwards towards some well-packed snow. That stuff feels solid when you hit it at a good clip.

I also think I need to learn how to fall better.

ExcaliburKid · #**134** Posted **Jan 29, 2008, 10:20 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by freeweed

What's you guys' take on helmets?

Hard-packed snow covered with 15cm of fresh powder + freeweed being cocky = cranked the back of my head on some snow. It hurt a fair bit but nothing serious (the real damage was the massive piece of my lip that I bit off, plus an obscene amount of blood that I spit out, but that was just the cool part), but if it was a rock, I'd likely be in hospital.

I'm now re-thinking my machismo.

Any suggestions either way? Most helmets I see seem to cover the ears, which for me would almost be a bad thing as I rely a lot on hearing to keep tabs on the idiot snowboarders blasting past me from behind. Plus until recently I thought I was invulnerable.

I fight with this too. I own a helmet, and used to wear it religiously when I first started boarding on the mountains, but I got to a point where I was confident enough in my ability that I just stopped wearing it altogether. I still take it with me on every trip and I always debate wearing it, but never do. I have had a number of close calls but never with any injury. For example, I was in Fernie at the beginning of Jan. and fell at a pretty good clip and went sailing into a tree well. I came out covered in snow, but no worse for wear. It wont change my helmet mentality though, and I probably wont wear one again for a long time

Champion3 · #**135** Posted **Jan 30, 2008, 12:23 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by freeweed

What's you guys' take on helmets?

Hard-packed snow covered with 15cm of fresh powder + freeweed being cocky = cranked the back of my head on some snow. It hurt a fair bit but nothing serious (the real damage was the massive piece of my lip that I bit off, plus an obscene amount of blood that I spit out, but that was just the cool part), but if it was a rock, I'd likely be in hospital.

I'm now re-thinking my machismo.

Any suggestions either way? Most helmets I see seem to cover the ears, which for me would almost be a bad thing as I rely a lot on hearing to keep tabs on the idiot snowboarders blasting past me from behind. Plus until recently I thought I was invulnerable.

I've been wearing a helmet for a few years now, and the ear coverings do not impede my hearing any more than a toque would. Personally I find that the helmet gives me a bit more confidence to ski aggressively. Not to mention that the risk of head injury is not necessarily correlated with skill.

Mid1 · #**136** Posted **Jan 30, 2008, 1:46 AM**

My view is that everyone should where helmets since no matter how good you are at skiing or snowboarding anything can happen on the slopes. When I first started skiing I didn't wear one but I later did. One interesting instance I remember is years ago I saw what happens when you don't wear a helmet. I was on the silver chair at Nakiska years ago when I noticed some snowboarder going off a jump and land with his snowboard getting imbedded in the snow with the snowboarder landing on his head (since his feet were locked in the bindings on the snowboard). Anyways the guy after that just lay in the snow and wasn't moving. So the two other guys on the chair went and got the medics? after they got the lift. I went down the hill and got back on the silver. When the chair went past the accident scene, the snowboarder was being helped on by medics. Later on in the day the stars helicopter came and took him away. So it just goes to show the importance of helmets.

Ramsayfarian · #**137** Posted **Jan 30, 2008, 2:29 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by freeweed

What's you guys' take on helmets?

I'm now re-thinking my machismo.

Any suggestions either way? Most helmets I see seem to cover the ears, which for me would almost be a bad thing as I rely a lot on hearing to keep tabs on the idiot snowboarders blasting past me from behind. Plus until recently I thought I was invulnerable.

I never used one when I was a two planker, but friends talked me into getting one when I switched to snowboarding. Good thing, as I cracked my first one in half. I seldom wipe out, but wouldn't ride without one. Mind you I spend a lot of time in the trees.

As far as idiot snowboarders blasting past you. Try pointing your tips downhill.

bigcanuck · #**138** Posted **Jan 30, 2008, 2:31 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mid1

My view is that everyone should where helmets since no matter how good you are at skiing or snowboarding anything can happen on the slopes.

Helmets should be viewed like seatbelts in a car. Even though you may claim to be an excellent driver, sometimes things happen that are simply out of your control. Same on the slopes. It's better to be safe...