Jump to content

Skiing of the Seas - Still Another Not a Cruise Live Blog


Matt

Recommended Posts

1 hour ago, teddy said:

I bet when you gain some altitude on the mountain you'll get more frozen precipitation.  5500' is pretty high for the east coast. 

To teddy's point weather at the base can be different compared to the summit.  It also varies hour by hour.  When the sun goes down it's cold in them there hills.

I wouldn't focus on Boone so much, mountain weather varies wildly.  Over at On the Snow the forecast doesn't look so bad for Beech.  If anything your timing may coincide with a nice dip in temps compared to Friday.  

https://www.onthesnow.com/north-carolina/ski-beech-mountain-resort/weather.html

2006621228_ScreenShot2021-02-11at6_53_25PM.thumb.png.fe2cb0c140ca6953d78929ff0e6c8c39.png

Low of 28° Saturday at the base with a high of 33°.  Looks like some flurries are possible.  Warms up a bit on Sunday but that high of 39° will likely be later in the day if a warm front is moving into the area.  

Hourly forecast shows morning temps below freezing so it's not looking bad really.  

https://www.onthesnow.com/north-carolina/ski-beech-mountain-resort/longterm-weather.html

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good points on temps! Just hoping it all goes well, and as we know, @twangsteris the voice of reason (unless he sided with @Lovetocruise2002 against me).

Today we hit the road!

After Gabby got back from school, we began the drive. 

EEFA5337-B053-4503-A5B3-BDF3A5C5BFA8.jpeg

It’s a 10 hour drive, and for the drive up, we split it up. 
 

Aside from an accident in Orlando, traffic moved well and we made good time with one stop for dinner and gas. 
 

We rolled into the metropolis that is Walterboro, SC a little before 9pm. I booked a room at a Holiday Inn Express, which I paid for in points I accrued in the “old world” days of travel pre-COVID. 
 

Hotel is nice, but they are remodeling so there’s parts walled off and front desk warned us construction noise begins at 8am. Fine for us, we have to get back on the road!

The room is great and up to Holiday Inn standards. 
48BF86B6-9344-4926-A905-CAF2A252A6C6.jpeg

I was satisfied with the COVID protocols of the hotel. Plexiglass at front desk, places to stand, room clean, etc. 

Time for a good night’s sleep so we can get to the mountain tomorrow!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What a day!

We got an early start on the day, waking up at 6:45 so we could be at the mountain by 8. 
 

We rolled in right on time and there was already a giant line for private lessons.  My daughter claimed she didn’t need lessons and so I decided to call her bluff and took her out for a few runs. 
 

Her first run down might have set a land speed record, but she definitely has the upright stance down.  
 

I could see her issue was forming the right “pizza” shape with her skis, and I had bought before the trip clips for the front of the skis to keep them together without letting the tips cross.  
 

The clips make shuffling your feet tough, but on the mountain she’s a pro.  She can stop and sort of turn (assuming she remembers her right from left). 
 

I regained my form almost immediately and it was like riding a bike. Didn’t fall over once, although getting off the lift once I did leap frog my daughter when she tumbled. 

 

46E8243E-924E-4192-8E43-B0A8D6F6C8BD.jpeg

we skied for about 3.5 hours and it was pretty crappy day. Temps in low 40s and constant drizzle. It wasn’t so bad on the slopes but everything gets wet and my daughters gloves got too wet so her hands were freezing. 
 

ED2DE161-495A-46E7-9D0E-5A35C164D3B2.jpeg

Truth be told, I started feeling the lack of sleep, loss of energy, and distinct lack of coffee. 
 

at 12:30 we decided to call it and headed back to the condo. 
 

The worst part of skiing is the Sherpa part where you have to lug all the equipment to/from the car.  She isn’t strong enough to carry all of her own equipment and one adult means you have to split the trips up. 
 

When we got back to the condo, I put up the clothes to dry and immediately napped.  This was a deep and hard nap, like after a red eye where you don’t sleep.  
 

I woke up and felt still awful.  Was I sick? COVID?  Turns out I just needed coffee.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, josepena12 said:

Loving this skiing blog. Thank you.

No one in my family has ever skied before and we are curious (especially since we are stuck at home in The Bronx in NYC) to learn more. My 3 yr old saw the periscope yesterday and today, got my wife interested, and it grew from there.

It’s a good mountain to learn. A lot of beginners on the slopes. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Our final day of skiing and we had great weather. Still warmish (low 40s) but no precipitation and the sun came out for about 5 minutes. 
 

Our strategy of waking up early paid off again. At the mountain at 8:30 and on the slopes a few minutes before 9.
 

The first two hours has barely a wait for for the lifts but the crowds start pouring in after that.
 

203F3F2C-5219-4984-BDED-A8EDA2752B89.jpeg

After an early lunch (another good strategy is eat lunch before the masses), we got a few runs in and called it at noon. 
 

I probably would have gone up a few more times but the wait for lifts was getting ridiculous. 20-30 minute wait on the ground, plus the 5-10 minute ride up, then a fun 2 minute ski down. I don’t mind lines but it just got way too crowded and we got a lot of rides in in those first couple of hours. 

We returned our equipment and drove back to the chalet to relax for the afternoon. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

After a needed nap, we went for a drive and ran across this fun looking bar. 
FCB89FE3-7815-4318-A617-F4C82E4C028E.jpeg

They had outdoor swings, fireplace and yes, chickens. 

I sampled some local beer the bar owner recommended and enjoyed a beer by the fire. This would be a great place to spend a few hours drinking. 
8EC6EC3C-5187-4556-AB57-9B50702C76CF.jpeg9081F642-FBCB-4F6B-9FC5-DAC33812F92D.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

While it's fresh in my head, a couple of thoughts if I were to do the trip over again.

  • I'm willing to bet I could have rented ski equipment from a bunch of places outside the mountain for less cost and less waiting. I'd like to try that next time.
  • If there was one thing I would absolutely change is trying to find a chalet right on the mountain. There are some houses so darn close and the difference between dealing with parking or not is tremendous.
  • If you go on a weekend, plan to arrive right at opening because crowds arrive after 10am.
  • Crowds seem to dissipate after 5pm on the slopes.
  • No food delivery. In this age of DoorDash and Uber Eats, it was really odd to have to go back to picking up the food myself. 
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Matt said:

I'm willing to bet I could have rented ski equipment from a bunch of places outside the mountain for less cost and less waiting. I'd like to try that next time.

It's definitely that way in CO.  Everything on the mountain costs more.  Kind of like the price of a glass of wine on a cruise ship?  What you gonna do?  Captive audience by the time you are there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, Matt said:

No food delivery. In this age of DoorDash and Uber Eats, it was really odd to have to go back to picking up the food myself. 

 

14 hours ago, Matt said:

When I told my daughter we had to drive to pick up dinner and there was no delivery, it was like telling her electricity didn’t exist anymore. 

"Back in my day, we had to pick up our food by walking in 4ft. of snow for 10 miles, UPHILL! BOTH WAYS!" ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, KathyC said:

Are you sore yet?  How are those legs doing?

Actually, no. My knees started hurting when I took turns or stopped on the second day towards the end of a run. But I wasn't sore at all.

My daughter, on the other hand, says her whole body hurts ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, twangster said:

It's definitely that way in CO.  Everything on the mountain costs more.  Kind of like the price of a glass of wine on a cruise ship?  What you gonna do?  Captive audience by the time you are there.

Didn't even occur to me that was a thing. More than the money saved, it's the time. We waited in a super long line to pick up the rental equipment.

Plus, I bet rental equipment from other places might either be better quality and/or have less wear.

That being said, an hour before we wrapped up our day, someone stole one (not both, just one) of my poles. When I returned the equipment, the staff could not have cared less that I brought back one pole.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/14/2021 at 6:58 PM, twangster said:

It's definitely that way in CO.  Everything on the mountain costs more. 

For the last 3 years, renting ski/snowboard equipment on Mammoth Mountain property here in CA was only $75 for a 2-day! and to me that was worth the cost to not have to find room in the car for the gear on the 7-8 hour drive there.. this year it's up to $99! Definitely will think of renting in SD and hauling it next year. 

On 2/14/2021 at 4:39 PM, Matt said:

If you go on a weekend, plan to arrive right at opening because crowds arrive after 10am.

Lovvve this tip! We started going on Thursday/Fridays after waiting in a 45 min lift line on a Saturday morning! ? We are heading up next week on a Tuesday mid-day to be able to ski all day Wednesday and Thursday, hopppefully avoiding COVID crowds! We'll see how the plan works out.

Glad you got some runs in before people started showing up, cruising on an open run is so much fun. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...