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Over the summer of 2019, I purchased a new pair of Black Crows Orb at a ski store going out of business for the ridiculous price of $200. Since I had a new pair of skis I began toying with the idea of applying DPS Phantom to the bases, so I never have to wax again or be the last one poling across the flats. But, even though I only paid $200 for the skis I wanted to do some research on the magic elixir to see if the hype of the product was true. Before I get to my findings here are the benefits of DPS Phantom that I found on their webpage.
With winter storm Jayden bearing down on the East Coast and ready to dump up to 14” of snow, it is time to choose your Powder Day excuse. Here is a list to help get your creative juices flowing – some are convincing, some are creative and some we just advise against, if staying employed is also part of the plan
Jay Peak located in the Northeast Kingdom (err...boondocks) of Northern Vermont, is know for four things which are:
Prodigious amounts of snow
Hardcore Skiing
Investment Fraud
Jay Peak, is located in an area of northern Vermont known as the Northeast Kingdom and is a short 15-minute drive from the Canadian border. Jay Peak is synonymous with snow, hardcore skiing and investment fraud. Let’s look at each separately.
Skiing is a sport of progression, no matter who you are and what you have skied, there is always a segment of the sport where your skills can be elevated. It can be venturing into the parks to learn to ride a rail, zipper lining a mogul field, hucking off a cliff or dropping into a glade to go tree skiing. Over the past 10-15 years, ski area management at areas such as Jay Peak and Mont Sutton, began to see skiers going into the woods and saw them coming out smiling, so instead of banning the activity, they embraced glade skiing and began thinning the stands of trees to create glades. Since those early days, tree skiing has become immensely popular with just about every resort and Mom and Pop area offering tree skiing. However, many folks find tree skiing intimidating because it generally involves some of the more difficult conditions found in skiing such as moguls, powder, ice, cliffs and always involves trees! In the woods, all species of trees are hardwoods, they all hurt regardless if it is one of Vermont’s famed Sugar Maples or a “soft” Balsam Fir – even saplings feel like you are involved in some sort of “Fifty Shades of Grey” whipping activity.
Many skiers have resorts such as Aspen, Whistler, Verbier, Kitzbühel and Portillo on their bucket list. However, after a recent trip to Le Massif de Charlevoix, I am convinced Massif should be, at a minimum on every East Coast skiers bucket list. In fact, the mountain is listed in Chris Santella’s book, “Fifty Places to Ski & Snowboard Before You Die”. Le Massif de Charlevoix, most commonly referred to as Le Massif (translation The Massive), is a Canadian ski resort located approximately one-hour east of Quebec City (7 hours from Boston and 9 hours from NYC via car), in the province of Quebec.
Spring doesn’t officially begin until begin until March 20, 2016, but now is the time to start thinking about one of my favorite times of the year, which is spring skiing! The longer day bring more sun, higher temperatures and soft snow, and with soft snow brings moguls, big moguls.
While the popularity of mogul skiing has dropped, since the heyday of the 80’s and 90’s, when just about every ski company made a mogul ski and just about every ski area held a bump contest in the Spring, it is still an enjoyable activity, especially when the bumps are soft and forgiving.