Miguel Naughton [[log in to unmask]] writes: > If the video was showing a typical "run", I would say it *was* skiing. >Didn't you feel that your turning skills sharpened up a little bit? Uhhh... no- should it have? (I admit my turning skills could always _use_ some sharpenin'...) Those goofy 145cm XC skis are pretty shapely- 102/68/94mm if the specs are to be believed. While that might not be a super-shaper for a 190cm ski, it feels like ~18-20m on those stubby li'l guys. The low-durometer touring binding bumper and basketball-shoe boots keep it "interesting", but they turn pretty easily. > I have been thinking about all of these melting halfpipes. Wouldn't >it make sense for Mt. Wawa and others to make an effort to maintain >the lifetime of the snow? What, for the benefit of their hard-corps season's pass holders? >If a ski hill threw up a tent over the halfpipe, they could keep it >going for a long while. It would be great publicity and the hill >could even make a few bucks by charging for walk-up snowpipe access. It's really tough to keep an audience at ski areas in the summertime. I seem to remember one summer in the early-mid '80s the Crowleys tried a Teflon-bristle carpet approach on one run at WaWa and it was a flop. Seems they get more bang-for-buck-invested out of 1-way lift rides for lazy summiteers. Running compressors and keeping ski patrol & grooming staff around to run 100 yards of half-pipe is pricey when most of the clientele is at the Cape. We'll see if Tenney makes snow again this summer. (It doesn't seem to be the case- nothing on their events page but mt. biking events right now: http://www.tenneymtn.com/events.html ) If they make snow this summer and make money at it, I'm sure others will take note. And if they make snow and it's a money-loser (like last season)... well... maybe there's a reason they're not makin' big plans this year. dana _____________ ________ __ __ /________ ________ ___ __( Tele till you drop ___\ ________ ________ __ ____) ______ __________ _ ___/ ______ ___________ _ __( o ____ __________ __ __ \(|\.____ _______ ____ ___`\>/______ ____ ______ ____ \` ______ __ _______ ______`________ _ _______ _______________ __ ______ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - SkiVt-L is brought to you by the University of Vermont. To unsubscribe, visit http://list.uvm.edu/archives/skivt-l.html