BIRDMON'S  SKIING TRIP LOG 2000-2001

          YEAR 99/00 ARCHIVE                 YEAR 98/99 ARCHIVE

39 days of skiing this year my new record!!!!!!!!!

3/27 Ski Windham NY. LR and I got there at the opening. Most trails groomed but some were left with the powder from yesterday. Again a total weather channel ski index 9...really nice. The NASTAR course was set up so I had to run it. Picked up my first SILVER for the year. About time to get past the bronze. Lucy came up with a Bronze for team zardoz. We skied till 3:30 pm. It was a great 2 days on the mountain. Lots of fun..got the silver. Great way to end the season.

3/26 Ski Windham NY. We (me & Lucy Ricardo) arrived at noon and it had already snowed 4 inches. It snowed till the end of the day. Awesome conditions all trails open no crowds at all. We skied almost all the mountain in 4 hours. It was a powder day for sure and the temps remained below freezing. I love the K2 Merlin V. Getting used to shaped. awesome. We stayed at the Windham Arms Hotel.  Ate dinner there too.

3/18 Roundtop.(day 37) Afternoon. Actually not to bad . good coverage. some brown thin spots. all trails open. They were open to 10 pm. I skied about 2.5 hrs very hard. tried out my newest set of wood. K2 Merlin V 183cm/. Worked like everyone in the reviews said. rock solid on Ice. I found some nice ice hardpack and actually went after it. very impressed. I paid $200 for the skis and salomon s897 comp. driver.  Again the police were out in force on the interstates.  Whitetail is closed for the season. Liberty and roundtop closed weekday this week maybe reopen on the weekend. cross the toes and fingers

The snow was not wet. hardened/firmed up after sundown....

3/11 Amanda and I went up mid day. Very wet and sticky snow along with black gunk on the skis. very slow. No big waits or crowds.  Next weekend will be it I think. Police out with radar everywhere.

3/10 Ski Liberty 9 am lots of snow left on the trails. Little on the wet but still nice and firm in the AM. By 1 pm gets a little heavy and sloppy. No lines, no waits and not crowded.  I skied the whole back and white lightning. Whitnwys way was the best for High speed carving. Police out everywhere est 140 795, 695, 95.

3/7 Ski Liberty- Conditions Frozen granular. with soft FG bumps. Little ice in middle of runs. Spring ski conditions. Some dirty snow. Whitneys way, & Adventure Alley my picks for High speed carving with out the added airborne.:)  If you like moguls the eastwind field, adventure alley, and Ultra/eastwind (2Blacks) had nice soft ones. No lines, no crowds. Greg Condon got his instructor training done last weekend.  He pushed me all night.. I know hand /arm up and forward. I am so lazy at the end of the season. I also tried a heel lift for moving my weight onto the ball of my foot. Seemed to work. Day 34.

MILESTONE 33 times skiing (a new record for me)

3/4

Ski Liberty-Where is the STORM!!!!. Arrived at 7:pm No lines no cars. Just 20 cars on the lot. All trails open. really impressed with the base. Chrud, wet heavy snow. Rain, sleet and snow. I had fun . Did only 6 runs on the back. All were fun. but a lot of work. lots of bumps.

3/2

Ski Roundtop. Went up on Friday. No NASTAR. bummer.  No crowds or lines. Snow was wet packed frozen granular.  A good wax job was needed or you would get the suction from the water. ZARDOZ NOTWAX worked great.  I demo'ed it to skiers & snowboarders.  Everyone who tried it was impressed.  The rossi CUT 10.4 160cm worked great. I am big 6'1" 230lbs. I took it slow at first but by the end of the night I was crusing with high speed carves mid to long radi. I also could do very short turns.  These will work great for SL.  The snow was dirty also. Junk from the tree seed pods. Still every thing open. One big brown spot was the cut through between Ram rod and GUN barrel.

2/24

SKI Liberty..My first day of fun skiing since the races began in early January. The best run for me was Whitneys way. Packed powder/ frozen granular groomed. I could cruise all day.  The rest of the trails had moguls or soft uneven bumps. Just a little more work.  Flat light ie. white clouds and white snow make it hard to see the bumps.   Crowded on the front in the afternoon. back was fine.

2/23

Ski ROundtop: Friday Night NASTAR Racing.  No crowds, no lines less than a minute wait on lifts.  Trails were well groomed. Great coverage no dirt/ thin spots.   Race course held up nice.  greg Condon pulled in a SILVER on all his runs see www.nastar.com for results.  I pulled a Bronze on all 3 runs.  Good points for ZARDOZ.

2/18

Ski ROundtop WSI GS and NASTAR GS. WSI I came in last. Eric had a great run going but caught an edge, nasty hermanator type wreck. He dislocated his shoulder.  Thanks to the Ski Patrol and Dr. Blalog (sp) who re located his shoulderr back into the correct position. Many thanks to Lora who drove Eric's jeep back home.  Update. Eric is ok and doing fine. He is not injured too much and is starting physical thearpy. Thats what I call giving it your all.

Some members have been to whitetail this week and report mud spots, thin areas. closed trails etc.  be alert to changing conditions.  Remember Whitetail cannot make as much snow as liberty & roundtop & they have more area to cover.

Liberty & roundtop remain 100% open.

2/17

Ski Roundtop: WSI Slalom and Nastar GS.  Both I and Greg Condon raced in both WSI & NASTAR. It was Icey. solid sheet.  For those who can edge well they made the course look easy. I did get some good Video esp of Lisa Draper. She is an AWESOME skier. 1/5 th made it look easy..Bob Cates really tore it up showing us all how to do it.   In NASTAR couse was still icey..Greg Condon took a silver..the best of the weekend for team ZARDOZ. His handicap was a 29.  Don't even ask what mine was.   Minuteman blue run in the middle was really nice to ski. had plenty of powder.

2/11

Ski Liberty - Triple crown #2 race. GS fast and sweet on white lightning. I took 2nd in my class with a time of. 45.21. Greg Condon (17) pulled a real nice time of 35.40.   The same for liberty with ice chunks and unstable frozen granular.  The best runs for speed and sweet arcing turns was...White Lightning, and whitney way.

2/10

Blue Knob...Cold windy..It rained and froze over. Grooming wasn't possible or minimal. Like ice chunks. and mounds of unstable frozen granular.  The race course was the best run. hard packed. It was WSI GS straight and fast.  Eric did the best for team zardoz taking  fourth place. I came in 9th out of 10 in our age class. Good showing from all the racers. Eric best time was 14.70 mine was 17.13. Team ZArdoz is in 5th place for WSI teams.

2/4

Ski Liberty. WSI race SL setup dual gate on whitneys way. Picked up Second place..!!!!! good team points too. Greg Condon (met in race camp) had a real nice effort taking silver in the student class. His best time was 32.99/ came in 17th out of 40 racers. Nice run.

2/3

SKI LIBERTY. WSI race SL setup dual gate. Came in 7th place but not last. Eric Mosel gave a great effort and took a silver for team ZARDOZ. way to go bud!!!! No lines no crowds. One nice beautiful day.. Reports of state police heavy on rt 15 and 270 sat afternoon.

1/31

Race camp ski liberty. No lines snow corn/ snow not stable. but it has been warm this week. Worked on upper/lower body seperation.

1/28

Ski Liberty Triple Crown race. Good conditions for race on white lightning.  SL at top tight then the lip and more open GS. best time 37.xx my time 56.xx . Just along for the ride. I did manage to get 2nd place in my age group. Nice prize. Golf at river downs. Ski my butt off in the afternoon. Hung out with Eric Mosel rip'ed it up... Eric was killer in the mogul field on eastwind. Some crowds during the lunch rush.

1/24

Ski Liberty - Wed night race camp. Larry Peterson Instructor. Hard Pack good conditions. No lines no waits. Worked on upeer/lower body seperation and drills. Ran gates.

MILESTONE ---I have skied 20 days so far

1/20 - 1/21

Whitetail for some snow and WSI racing. SAt Snowed 3 inches the night before. Race was a GS. I came in last.  Course was fine a little icy on the second run. No Crowds at all no lift lines.  Pizza party sponsered by Ski Chalet. Thanks....Started snowing heavy by 3:30 pm. hard to see.  Sunday. SL slalom race with about 50 gates good rythm. Snowed 10 inches. The course was groomed. Dual sl setup. I cam in 4th. fell first run but got video of me falling. I just didn't focus enough on the basics. By 12:30- pm crowds on the lift lines more than 5 mins. Also the non groomed runs have many irregular moguls. and lots of traffic.  I did stay overnight at Super 8 in hagerstown. ponderosa steak house right next door. Ate a lot for a little.

1/17

Ski Liberty Race training night. Wet packed snow. Held up weel especially on the race course. No big lift lines most I had to wait was 3 min. only 2 times the rest no wait at all. New instructor for class. Worked on Stance, getting ahead of ski and micro movement of hip without upper body movement.  Crab drill. Marlow and Kevin went up with me. Everybody had a nice time.

1/13 & 1/14

7Springs Race weekend WSI and NASTAR. Great conditions but lines at lifts went over 5 mins after 12 pm. on both days. Warm out. 35.

WSI race GS on Avalanche  I came in last #10 Eric pulled a 5th place finish. Very good field of racers.  I also did a crown royal race for the decade. Made a bronze for NASTAR. New course next to avalance . fast. no flat spots.

SUnday WSI SL. I got a bronze. Fell on first attempt. I need to work on course inspection didn't know the ice spots were there. A great weekend of skiing.

Thanks to all the race setters & timers. Esp. WSI, Royal Crown, IPLAYOUTSIDE.COM for NASTAR Photos.

1/10

Ski Liberty  Race training night. Larry Peterson instructor.  Worked on getting stance up. Drive downhill ski forward.

No lines..Great full moon.

1/6,7/2001

Blue Knob. Nice drive up on Sat AM. It was snowing lightly all day. Powder conditions. No crowds except at lunchtime and a little waity at the lifts right after lunch time. In all a nice day of snow. I place 4th MB men's 30-39 for WSI MOD GS. Missed bronze by 2/100th of a sec. Sun - Beautiful sunny out still freash powder. I did a 30 MPH twisted backward fall. Helmet worked great. Just a little sore today. Sunday Eric mosel team member did a great job taking silver. I place 4th again.

WSI RESULTS FOR TEAM Z

SAT Mens B class  MOD GS   Bravard. 15.52 , Viganerot 18.5 , Welden 18.95, (Z)Fowler 18.97

SUN   Mod SL Bravard 17.22 ,(Z) Mosel 18.97 , Ostonsoe 22.33, (Z)Fowler 22.75

Great conditions for Blue Knob.

Team ZARDOZ is in 4th place behind the Fagowees, Renegades, & Columbia.

1/3/2001

Wed Night race Training. Ski Liberty. larry taught. we skied on the psx short carver skis. OBJ was to use that uphill ski. Good snow, no crowds or lines. Small/quick line in back.

1/1/2001

Roundtop. First time this year.  I took Amanda for some green runs and training. I did 2 runs on the NASTAR course. 1st run .14 sec off of bronze medal. fell on second run got up finished 40 seconds...nasty.  No crowds, no lines. Coverage good did have some hard ice on the headwall of exhibition. Great day in all.

12/31/2000

Whitetail  First time this year. Wow what a difference in snowmaking. Every trail had a great base.  Some with powder ono grooming. The half pipe was open (no one using it). No lines on HS quad till 1pm. Black and Dblack were real nice. No lines on that lift. Eric Mosel and I worked on racing drills. Wide angulated GS turns. We got to race buck a run off of Homerun. Eric beat me by almost 4 seconds....ouch. I was so worked up I was sweating. The traffic was great. the bridges and construction on I70 was finished.   This is the best I have seen whitetail. real fun . Nice view from the top.

12/30/2000

Ski Liberty. No wind, great sunshine. no lines , no waits. Worked on drill tray hold, one legged skiing. Skiied the double blacks on the back. 98% open Strata was open top to bottom. Skied White Lightning..

12/25/2000

Ski Liberty - free day for me. Number 6 on the advantage card.!!!! Lower strata and white lightning looked like they are ready to open soon. That will be 100Percent open for liberty by the new years. The sunshine was nice again no crowds or waits.

12/23/2000

Ski Liberty. No wind, great sunshine. no lines , no waits. Worked on drill tray hold, one legged skiing. Skiied the double blacks on the back. They openned up Lower Eastwind at 11 am. Skied on carpet. top to bottom real fast.

12/22/2000

Ski Liberty. Nice except for the wind on the front side.  On the back no wind. Not crowded good time for lessons. No lift lines. Took amanda , her mom and boyfriend along some more newbees...:)

12/15/2000

Birdmon. Went to Liberty on friday night to ski to beat the rainout forecast for the weekend.  The BLUE skidome car bit the dust during my way there. I was able to nurse it enough to get there and ski 3 hours. Hardpack, ice, fast as all get out. Good for training though. No crowds or lines.

12/9 & 10 /2000

Birdmon. Liberty both days. Saturday was awesome. Trails open on the back too. The sunshine  was beautiful. I went with Chris and did tray drills & one legged skiing. No line or crowds.  Sunday I met Eric and we did some drills again. Little cloudy with flat light. good snow great.  Some ice. Usually after a Hit...Jump where snowboarders land sideways and shave off the snow. Taneytown police had radar setup the usual spot at the north end of town at BOB's Tires. 

12/2/2000

Birdmon..well I had to drive 2.5 hrs to Blue Knob for 3 medium trail to mid station.   About 40 people on the slopes. No crowd. Quality of manmade was excellent. No ice. No rocks or bad spots that the knob is famous for.  I did hear they bought a new snow groomer.  This will only improve the snow quality.  They were making snow all day long. Looks real good for the upcoming weekend.

12/1/2000

Chuck reported 7Spring on Friday.  Front side & north face open. Little ice here aand there. Overall great quality of Manmade snow along with snow from ma nature. Good crowd in the afternoon.

11/25/2000

My first day out this season. I went to Liberty. Only had 4 runs open. 3 green 1 blue. (I only paid 12 $)   The snow quality was excellant. 10 to 20 inch base.  no bare spots or rocks. It was plenty to tune up the legs. 4 hours later I headed home. No lines, no waits, good parking. Police - no radar traps did see 5 state cops during the trip to and from.  For the money I had a blast. Other NOTE always call ahead. Most resorts are now open on the weekend. If you have an advantage card go to the guest services for them to look you up on the computer and give you a 40% voucher for a reduced cost lift ticket.  Cards should be ready by the 18th december.

11/24/200

Eric reports from seven springs ...Well, the 7 was great... the whole front side was open and Avalanch and Goosebumps were a blast! HUGE terrain rolls and drop-offs. The weather was clear and sunny, snow was a+ with tree skiing and some small bumps. I just felt like wailing that day, so speed was the order of the day for me.

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Please drive safe......See you all on the slopes

    BIRDMON

    Page last updated March 28, 2001

The opinions expressed here are just that my opinion based on NOAA trends for weather,  My 450 hours skiing in the area during the last FIVE  winters.. This site is intended to give an idea when snow making and snow conditions are good.  Please check the resort before you go.   Copyright (C) 1998-2001  William E. Fowler III