STOWE 10/11

I have a pink username on this site. I don’t have a problem being outright that I am *shocker* a female, and also a skier. But please don’t read this with a stigma towards female skiers, moreso as a call to awareness for the safety of those around us.

I’ve skied at Stowe for the better part of 4 years. I’ve always had a great time there and never really had a problem with the atmosphere until today.

I had two incidents within 30 minutes of each other, that involved my friend and I being cut off at the halfpipe. I know people cut lines and that’s just a fact of life, but there seems to be a new level of rudeness to which I’ve never experienced before. I arrived a Stowe in a great mood, but left so pissed off.

The first time we were waiting to drop-in was, admittedly, an annoying situation. There was a large group of young snowboarders whose coach brought them to the pipe. They weren’t trying to learn tricks, rather just get a feel for skidding up the walls. It was frustrating but Stowe is a resort visited by a large number of families with children. It happens and you suck it up. You were once a kid learning too.

When we were finally done waiting, we were calling our drops as we were grazed by two riders. They’re locals and should know the protocol by now. If you’re in that big of a rush then don’t hit the pipe.

I shrugged that off and wrote it off as some dumbass, but became infuriated not too long later.

We headed back over to the pipe, where there was no line this time. I dropped in first, knowing my friend would drop in not too far behind me. Granted, we know each other, and we know to give each other space in the pipe. We trust that we aren’t going to come up on each other’s tails. I was going up the left wall when I heard the scraping of ice directly behind me. A body was right up next to me, bombing the middle of the pipe and goofing around on the walls.

Sure, I’m not a pro in the pipe, but I’m not a goomba either. But how the hell am I supposed to get better when I can’t trust that my fellow Stowe-goers are going to respect my space? It’s not even about pride, but rather safety.

It’s just DUMB to come up behind people when they’re on a feature- it’s not how it works. You have no idea what someone’s going to do so to protect them, and yourself, its best to just be patient. I wasn’t snowplowing up the walls. I was working on airing out. Am I not allowed to practice on a feature just because there’s others around me who are better at it? That’s not okay.

I caught up to this kid and confronted him, to which he seemed to care less. Skiing’s a dangerous sport as it is- we don’t need to make it any worse by endangering each other. You can’t expect the younger kids- or other girls- to get better if you don’t give them the venue to. I would never enter the pipe on a day where a crowd of advanced riders were in it. I can respect that they’re in there doing something, but in the same regard, I should be able to be respected when I am working to do better.

Yes, I’m pissed off about what happened today, but there’s nothing to be done about it. I just hope that we as skiers can hold ourselves to a higher standard, and have a higher level of respect for each other. This is supposed to be a community, let’s start acting like it.

 
^ dude completely understandable, whenever i came up from Wachusett (home) to smuggs, stowe, or killy, i felt like there was a level of respect and positivity to riders around. When i went to stowe like 2 weeks ago i wdropped into the pipe and out of nowhere a kid bombed down the middle as i came down the wall. i might not be a pipe rider and i am not good in it at all, mainly because we dont have one, but like, eally? im bombing down the fucking wall and this kid blew by me and carved up the wall and spun. good rider in a skill sense, but he was a total fucking jackass.
That shit happens at my home mountain since i can remember, but stowe!? people need to get their shit straight andnot be jackasses. +k for making me realize this is a bigger issue.
 
First of all, you didn't confront me, you started yelling at christian, at which point i said i was the one who did it. and then i apologized.
sorry again. no need for the hate.
 
Not to be rude, but I watched will go down the pipe. Yes, he might have been creepin in a bit, but he really wasn't that close to you especially considering your ridiculous reaction (sorry if this isn't the same incident as I really have no idea who you are).
Yes, Stowe has an obnoxious cutting vibe, but people take way too long for the volume of kids in the parks and pipe these days. Also, no one at stowe takes half pipe seriously, except maybe the Mount Mansfield kids when they are training, so when someone is actually interested in working on their pipe skills its pretty alien to us all.
The parks are dope this year, ski defensively, respect others space, but don't take forever, and quit "training" and have some damned fun!
 
haha yeah and we don't even take it that serious pipe is relaxing and fun. and the remark about the younger kids; i know it can be frustrating at times but the little snowboarders are like 8 year olds and they don't understand park respect and they have a lot to learn. theyre just hyped on up snowboarding with their little homies and having fun.
 
working on north slope today-thursday. can we expect any new changes by friday, or just reshaping due to weather?
 
looked like they chopped the jumps in half width wise and made the lips pop. Looks like there will be some rail action down the skiers right under the triple. Maybe some rails down the left too? Really hoping to get some more rails and other features in the northslope park...dont get me wrong, both parks are sick...just thought the reason for shifting to the right side of the hill was to make it longer and right now it is the same set up it has been for 4 years.....
 
northslope would have been awesome if the speed was there but i could only clear the first jump. today was really fun though
 
no problem with speed in the morning got a lil slow in the afternoon, but taking tyro jumps deep all day. Digging the rail line, specially the cannon at the end.
 
Warm temps and rain kinda messed me up when trying to put the finish to the park, we'll get it dialed once the weather gets back to normal. Hope you dig it.
 
new rail line is sick, friday both parks were so awesome. The rainbow at the beginning of the new rails could use a bigger lip, otherwise money
 
super fun flow...just a bummer that that warm weather combo'd with the freezing weather made shit bulletproof
 
im going to stowe for the day on wednesday, i wanna ride some park, but mostly steeps/trees/powder/etc... any tips?
 
Pro Tips for skiing at stowe

make sure there is snow.

bring food unless you have lots of money

borrow a points card from a passsholder for a day ticket

just explore off the quad there is alot of fun stuff but like i said might not be enough snow
 
hows the snow been? (im assuming stowe is your home mtn?)

and im going on a bus trip so its like 65 bucks for a ride and ticket (stoked).

and ok, ill look around the quad
 
well there was a little melt and then it got cold and firm so crusty and thin cover in the woods im guessing?
 
didn't make it to mansfield but on a couple surrounding mountains that few inches of snow this weekend and wind has certain aspects skiing really nice leaving the windward sides almost bare
 
today was tighttttt. hayride woods, bypass, and the bench were all soooo prime Gettin them powder fillers in yoooo. yall missin out if u aint hit that shit up.
 
Anybody gonna' be there tomorrow. If so I'll have the TJ Schiller Green and Yellow Orage with black pants and First Drop underneath. I'm looking to hit up some park and definatly some of the fresh powder that dropped today.
 
If I think I see you I'm going to ask you one very simple question. I'm sure you already know what it is.
 
Yesterday was good but why did you stay in the woods that got tracked up so quickly? The kitchen walls and hellbrook glades had a few tracks around 4 and they were all probably me and my friends
 
i mean why wouldnt u stay in the woods? Sick pow lines all day. I skied kitchen wall but it wasnt as fresh as other places.
 
the stuff below the kitchen wall is just a snake run. nothing there really, maybe two turns of fresh snow before a hot snake track through the woods. maybe if you hike above it its legit, but then i dont know.
 
is that what they are called? I need to find the entrance from the quad. I agree that the woods below the walls are flat and boring. I will check out the bypass woods next time im at stowe
 
Friday afternoon/Saturday morning were great freaking days, which makes me slightly less depressed ice is falling from the sky this morning.

Was seeing some small slide activity on back side of spruce on saturday. My buddy went for a 20' ride after a slab went after i went across it. Pretty wind loaded on spruce side of notch but manny side was great and didn't see any of that. Just be aware kids
 
definitely saw a bit of slabbing on the spruce side of the notch too. a lot of it ripped off all the way to the base layer of ice and dirt. nothing too serious where we were but if you were in the wrong spot at the wrong time you could go for a nice ride.
 
Word on the street is that liability rolled through and was far from ok with the massive drop on the side of the jump.
It looked like they flattened the landing of the third out a ton and will put the canon in perhaps?
There is also an uncomfortably large looking step down where the canon was. Top two looked the same. Kind of a bummer because that was the first time a decently sized jump existed this far north.
Whats the word kurt?
 
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