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#1
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East Coast
It's often said that it's easier to ski from East to West than in the
opposite direction. Except in Fundyland where they're just 6000 years old, the Appalachians are an ancient range. During one time in their illustrious history, they actually rivaled the Himalayas in size. Time and elements have reduced their stature. Mountain erosion has graced the East coast with dark rich soil. As a result, all eastern skiing is below a dense tree line. In most places, the skier goes off-piste only on deer trails or on steep rocky terrain. The Gulf Stream pushes warm Caribbean waters north; in turn they pull cold Canadian air south. Warm and cold air masses fight for supremacy. Heavy snows form along those fronts. One area can be inundated with fine powder while a few miles away another received sleet or rain. Temperatures fluctuate throughout the region. A warm February can give way to an icy cold March. Fluctuations can occur in hours. A tepid morning can yield to an icy afternoon. Fresh powder will drift on the ice; the skier adjusts quickly. A yellowish tint is marks boilerplate while white indicates fresh powder. Corn snow can be a seasonal predicament but it might not be seen until spring. One never knows. Conditions vary from top to bottom and side to side. Dense eastern forests casts shadows throughout the day. Parts of a trail can be characterized by ice or packed powder depending upon sun exposure. Serious skiers know their local area inside and out. A line that feels one way in the morning can feel completely different in the afternoon. Westies tend to thumb their collective noses up at the East. Their uniformly fine seasonal powder is perhaps a two-week phenomenon on the other side of the continent. Their high altitudes poke mountaintops above the tree line; no need for chain saws avant-ski. Most noticeably, they spend very little time on boilerplate. For East coasters, a trip to the Rockies is nothing short of a treat. In the west, we become far less concerned about conditions and far more in tune with terrain. We carry skills honed under adverse conditions into that glorious western snow. The techniques we honed in crud serve us well in powder. East coast conditions may leave a lot to be desired, but they've allowed us to develop better than we might have in the Rockies. |
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#2
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It should perhaps be noted that skiing in the Western portion of the country
isn't limited to the Rockies. |
#3
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lal_truckee wrote:
Nor does it reach its zenith in the Rockies. Furthur West, Young Man. Go Furthur West. Ya but if you go too far west you might as well ski the east. The first mountain ranges along the west coast get the wettest of snowfalls. It gets drier as you move east over the 4 corner states. |
#4
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sjjohnston wrote:
It should perhaps be noted that skiing in the Western portion of the country isn't limited to the Rockies. Nor does it reach its zenith in the Rockies. Furthur West, Young Man. Go Furthur West. |
#5
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"miles" wrote in message newsGSQd.12183$Tt.420@fed1read05... lal_truckee wrote: Nor does it reach its zenith in the Rockies. Furthur West, Young Man. Go Furthur West. Ya but if you go too far west you might as well ski the east. The first mountain ranges along the west coast get the wettest of snowfalls. It gets drier as you move east over the 4 corner states. |
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