Snow Summit & Bear Mountain 12-9-11, etc

This was about as good as it gets in So Cal in December. Both
mountains had good coverage on the open trails and minimal crowds.
The only lift line wait was at BM in the PM when the big lift stopped
for about 15 minutes, so a line built up, which drained to nothing as
soon as the lift was running again. The only real downer was that not
everything was open.

I started at SS, getting on the lift just as the first skiers were
coming out the bottom of Log Chute. The surface was hard corduroy,
the type that gets better with a little ski wear. I skied every open
run and rode every open chair except for the bunny hill. Chairs 9 and
10 opened later in the morning, so I added them and their trails to
the list also. After lunch, I did all the good ones again. Ego Trip
leading down to 3and the runs off 10 had the best conditions today.

Approaching exhaustion, I packed up and drove over to Bear Mountain
for a few runs. The surface was still excellent, especially on Chair
4 that had little traffic, but the afternoon shadows made it tough see
the terrain changes - I had on my sunglasses instead of the amber
goggles.

On the way out, I got a call just after clearing the rockslide zone,so
I stopped on a turnout above Snow Valley (doesn't look like much open
there). Today is drive-home day for my college kids, and it was my
son - "Dad, we're stopped on teh side of I-5 and the car is making
funny noises". After a few minutes of 200-mile-remote troubleshooting
by cell phone, we decided the noise was the speedometer cable, so I
gave them a few hints. A few minutes later came another call - "The
noise stopped and now the speedometer is working again".

Now I am sitting at home waiting there arrival with a cold beer
watching the NCAA soccer semifinal in OT- UCLA v North Carolina.

On 12/09/2011 08:51 PM, Richard Henry wrote:

I started at SS, getting on the lift just as the first skiers were
coming out the bottom of Log Chute. The surface was hard corduroy,
the type that gets better with a little ski wear. I skied every open
run and rode every open chair except for the bunny hill. Chairs 9 and
10 opened later in the morning, so I added them and their trails to
the list also. After lunch, I did all the good ones again. Ego Trip
leading down to 3and the runs off 10 had the best conditions today.

I went on the 8th. Not as cold as I expected, but cold enough so that
slush didn't form. Almost everything was open. The bad part was
getting knocked down getting on the Chair 7 lift -- a combination of my
reaching back with the wrong had because I had chosen to sit on the left
side and the liftie holding the chair back just a whit too long.
Absolutely knocked the wind out of me for a minute or so, and something
in my shoulder still hurts but seems to be getting better. Mostly
humiliating, but I won't ride double in that chair again.

Got really tired by 1:00, and left at 1:15. Season pass is still a
bargain even if I can't use it for a full day. The last run is always
one too many :-(

The good news is that the 2.5 months at the gym staved off the onset of
exhaustion by a significant amount. Wipeout arrives at the same time,
but I was untired for longer. I skipped a week due to repairing the
windstorm damage, a funeral and skiing, so I have to get back into the
groove.

Drove home, making errand stops at various places, the last of which was
at Home Depot in Monrovia. Came out of the store to find my front left
tire totally flat. Mom had wheel-locks put on, and the key was nowhere
to be found. AAA tire guys couldn't get it off (surely they must
encounter this little problem often enough that it would profit them to
acquire the tool that takes the damn things off) and had to get a tow
home, and then another tow to the tire shop in the morning.

Long day yesterday. Loooooooooong. The car needed cleaning anyway, but
STILL!

New information: the better tires should go on the back. This sounds
so wrong that I argued, but I lost. Michelin trumps Ashley.

Approaching exhaustion, I packed up and drove over to Bear Mountain
for a few runs. The surface was still excellent, especially on Chair
4 that had little traffic, but the afternoon shadows made it tough see
the terrain changes - I had on my sunglasses instead of the amber
goggles.

I keep thinking I should go to Bear again. One of these days.

--
Cheers, Bev
While in high school, we were encouraged to keep a daily journal.
I never liked it, especially when early on I realized that anybody
could find it and read it. Fortunately, the jury never saw it.

The Real Bev wrote:
New information: the better tires should go on the back. This sounds
so wrong that I argued, but I lost. Michelin trumps Ashley.

That seems to be the consensus. Otherwise, the rear may skid more causing
drastic oversteer.

The Real Bev wrote:
On 12/10/2011 05:47 PM, Bob F wrote:

The Real Bev wrote:
New information: the better tires should go on the back. This
sounds so wrong that I argued, but I lost. Michelin trumps Ashley.

That seems to be the consensus. Otherwise, the rear may skid more
causing drastic oversteer.

Hmm. Previously it did indeed seem to oversteer, but the front tires
were worn more than the back. Is this standard for front-wheel drive?

Every car is different. Tire pressure can also make a lot of difference. I once
had a chevy van that wanted 28 psi front, and 50 rear to be stable( by spec, LT
tires). Kind of funny since it was so front heavy.


The rule for curves with rear-wheel drive is brake going in,
accelerate going out. How does that work with front-wheel drive? I
can't get my mind around it.

My concept is brake before the turn. Take it easy through the turn. Leadfoot,
I'm not.

If you aren't pushing the limits, there shouldn't be much problem.


I don't think I've ever had a rear-tire flat, but I've had several
front-tire blowouts -- fortunately none that caused serious problems.

I was in the backward facing back seat of an Olds station wagon as a kid that
had a rear wheel blowout somewhere in the middle of Montana. It wasn't a good
experience. Off the road, down several feet, over a fence. Both steel bumpers
were bent back hard for the right foot or so.

On 12/10/2011 08:05 PM, Bob F wrote:

The Real Bev wrote:
On 12/10/2011 05:47 PM, Bob F wrote:
The Real Bev wrote:
New information: the better tires should go on the back. This
sounds so wrong that I argued, but I lost. Michelin trumps Ashley.

That seems to be the consensus. Otherwise, the rear may skid more
causing drastic oversteer.

Hmm. Previously it did indeed seem to oversteer, but the front tires
were worn more than the back. Is this standard for front-wheel drive?

Every car is different. Tire pressure can also make a lot of difference. I once
had a chevy van that wanted 28 psi front, and 50 rear to be stable( by spec, LT
tires). Kind of funny since it was so front heavy.

I've always filled tires to the max molded into the side.

The rule for curves with rear-wheel drive is brake going in,
accelerate going out. How does that work with front-wheel drive? I
can't get my mind around it.

My concept is brake before the turn. Take it easy through the turn. Leadfoot,
I'm not.

The acceleration is to throw weight on the driving wheels, giving more
traction. I don't like slipping.

If you aren't pushing the limits, there shouldn't be much problem.

I'm not, I'm one of the slower mountain drivers (and I pull over when
somebody closes up, there are plenty of turnouts and passing lanes), but
I really hate letting all those people pass me on the way up -- they'll
get better parking places than I will. Yeah, that matters!

I don't think I've ever had a rear-tire flat, but I've had several
front-tire blowouts -- fortunately none that caused serious problems.

I was in the backward facing back seat of an Olds station wagon as a kid that
had a rear wheel blowout somewhere in the middle of Montana. It wasn't a good
experience. Off the road, down several feet, over a fence. Both steel bumpers
were bent back hard for the right foot or so.

What sucks is losing a differential bearing, allowing the axle to pull
out of the differential, taking the brake lines with it. Fortunately
there was a deep-sand parking lot to cross before bumping into the bank
-- geographical feature, not financial.

--
Cheers, Bev
================================================== =====================
"Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to hide the
bodies of the people who ****ed me off."