Dec 16
OK, I know, where are the pics man! To get pics I use my camera and it will download to my computer here at workl for some reason. I will get the issue fixed by the end of the day and post tomorrow. I have some from my cell but they are not of high [...] [...more]
OK, I know, where are the pics man! To get pics I use my camera and it will download to my computer here at workl for some reason. I will get the issue fixed by the end of the day and post tomorrow. I have some from my cell but they are not of high enough quality so I deleeted them form the site. Snowmaking is firing on Holly, Twister, Coal Chute and other areas, it is snowing lightly and overall the Valley is in fine Holiday spirits! The base on Holly should be deep, some huge whales of snow fill the slope and are beginning to be groomed in today. The natural snow mixing in could make for a nice surface come Friday. No word on if more than Holly and the beginner slope will open on day one. An operational meeting is being held tomorrow and I should have a better idea after that if any additional terrain will be ready by the weekend. At this point I see nothing that could delay a Friday opening. Again, sorry about the pics, I blew through two Cannon digitals last season of my own and the camera I picked up to do the job today just won’t speak to my computer here at work without some hardware that is at my home PC, my bad. Trust me, no one wants a web cam more than myself, although I really do like hiking around the base under the snow plum from a Ratnik on a crisp winter morning snapping some shots. Hope to be here with the Sun as it rises over opening day to get some early posts to the website to fuel the stoke. More news tomorrow… good day.
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Dec 15
Despite a warm up Sunday-Tuesday and some heavy rain at times the man made snow remained safe in large piles on Holly and Twister. With cold temps predicted for the next 5-7 days it is looking good for an opening Friday. Snowmaking has been most intense on Twister and Holly. I suspect holly and the [...] [...more]
Despite a warm up Sunday-Tuesday and some heavy rain at times the man made snow remained safe in large piles on Holly and Twister. With cold temps predicted for the next 5-7 days it is looking good for an opening Friday. Snowmaking has been most intense on Twister and Holly. I suspect holly and the beginner slope will open Friday and Twister will come online quickly there after. Twister wil be home to an early season rail park when it has enough coverage to pop open. With some lake effect rolling in this week we can hope for some more help from Old Man Winter (most of the natural snow from last week is charging down the creek in the form of muddy fast water today) and will expand terrain as conditions permit. More updates through the week.
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Dec 11
The man just stopped by my desk and said,” we will open one week form today” so Friday Dec. 18th, 2009 KB plans to open for the season. A little blip in the temperatures Mon/Tues but by Friday I expect we will have a good surface and offer up some nice conditions on day one. [...] [...more]
The man just stopped by my desk and said,” we will open one week form today” so Friday Dec. 18th, 2009 KB plans to open for the season. A little blip in the temperatures Mon/Tues but by Friday I expect we will have a good surface and offer up some nice conditions on day one. I will have photos and detailed information with a dailly or hourly report string of reports starting Wednesday the 16th. As allways, any breaking news will go up here and at the kbski home page as soon as I get it.
-acm
Published By admin -
Dec 11
OK, I imagine you have allready read the home page so it should come as no surprise that we will not be opening Saturday, or likely this weekend. We did get roughly 18 inches of snow during the lake effect event and continue to blow snow on Holly and other areas. Early this morrning management [...] [...more]
OK, I imagine you have allready read the home page so it should come as no surprise that we will not be opening Saturday, or likely this weekend. We did get roughly 18 inches of snow during the lake effect event and continue to blow snow on Holly and other areas. Early this morrning management actually seemed fairly optimistic that we may be able to turn the lift. So, while I was calling home to tell my wife I would be grabbing the kids tomorrow and heading to work looking forward to skiing with my daughter, son and the KB Jr. Team the Ops crew was hard at work hiking the slopes and putting a cat on the hill for a test at finish grooming. Tillers are still sucking up mud and the tracks are sinking through the moisture laden snow where the warm ground is melting it from the bottom up, the results are not pretty and we are in a holding pattern for the time being. I certainly expect that by next weekend
I’ve been around the track a few times and remember the days at Red Jacket, a long gone private hill with one t-bar in Eden, NY(Google NELSAP , a great site of lost New England ski areas to see a piece on Red Jacket)where I learned to ski. We flipped the switch and skied on anything that was slippery. The groomer was an old Tucker with a powder wheel and it rarely ran so most times we just broke trail on the t-bar ride and pushed and poled our way through the snow until we had a enough momentum to go through the ungroomed drifts to the bottom. At times we all got together and ski packed the main slope. Sure, we may burn down grass and mud for a turn or two, that just taught us to be light on our feet! The excellent grooming and snowmaking here at KB are a result of some talented folks with many years of experience operating millions of dollars of machinery and thier efforts are appreciated to be sure, but from time to time I miss the “natural snow and terain conditions” that I learned upon. We spent a lot more time buring the p-tex and re setting edges but we also learned to take advantage of whatever Old Man Winter delivered and thier is value in that I think. Anyway, I still have some Asolo lace up leather tele boots and skiiny tele boards sporting 3 pin bindings and think I may hike the road this weekend and drop into Red Jacket, reliving the old days for a run or two ( I would be trespassing so of course I am just kidding, or not)!
Trust that I will report any news on opening day just as soon as I get.
May your days be merry and bright…
-acm
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Dec 10
Dec. 10/09 progress update….Snowing steady, not as much a Eden and Hamburg at this point, but I imagine the Lake Effect band will swing this way soon. That is not to say we are not getting some. I would guess 6plus inches have fallen and it continues to come down at a good clip. The [...] [...more]
Dec. 10/09 progress update….Snowing steady, not as much a Eden and Hamburg at this point, but I imagine the Lake Effect band will swing this way soon. That is not to say we are not getting some. I would guess 6plus inches have fallen and it continues to come down at a good clip. The snowmaking system is live and the man made Blizzard out on Holly rivals anything Old Man Winter could throw at us. As I said before, take a foot of wet heavy lake snow and stamp it down with boot heel into the wet warm ground and you can see what happens when a groomer rolls over early season snow. Were we to pack down what we have as I type along with the man made I imagine we could produce a skiable slope with thin spots, melting from underneath and unable to take any thaw at all. I remain in agreement with management’s plan of keeping the assault on the first to open slopes (Holly and Coal Chute) going at 100% until a sustainable base is acheived. I will be pokin’ around trying to gather as much information as I can through the day and the remainder of the week and will keep you posted as news becomes available.
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Dec 09
1:30pm Thursday, Dec. 9th…
…and it is raining, but not for long. As you no doubt know we have a chance of seeing some significant snowfall over the next few days and the temperatures, wich have been marginal for snowmaking at best, are going to drop through next week. So… where does that put on us on [...] [...more]
1:30pm Thursday, Dec. 9th…
…and it is raining, but not for long. As you no doubt know we have a chance of seeing some significant snowfall over the next few days and the temperatures, wich have been marginal for snowmaking at best, are going to drop through next week. So… where does that put on us on the march toward opening day? I wouold guess about 7-8 days out. “What!” ,you say ” 7 days, no way?!” At risk of sounding like a shill for the man, here is my take on why we likely will not be opening this weekend. I’ll keep it brief, a longer statement can be found in Cornell’s Corner at kbski.com. Opening this weekend would have us sking on a mud and death cookie mixture that may or may not be covered by enough snow to hide the bad stuff underneath. The ground is warm and wet and it just makes sense to take the next several days of snow making temps and natural snowfall and blow snow, groom and layer it all up to create a quality product that will be sustainable into the holiday season. If we get a major lake snow event things may change but even a foot or more of lake snow when groomed out into the warm ground will not make a base layer of any real quality. I, like you am disapointed that KB will probably not operate this weekend, but I understand the wisdom of the policy and respect the fact that every effort is being made to open as soon as possible, but not so soon as to offer up a sub standard product. Once we open every effort will be made to remain open and taking an extra few days now may keep things going should it warm up and will surely help to create a base layer that is niether too thin nor to icy. I am back at my desk for the long haul and will be reporting at kbski.com dailly wth updates. Speaking off,it is now 1:45pm and its raining dogs and cats, but it’s getting colder:)
May your days be merry and bright,
-acm
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Nov 17
Wow, very cool weekend indeed, well Saturday for sure. I had a great time running the Cyclocross Race and when I finally rolled up the last bit of marking tape and parked my Kubota for the evening I was just in time to watch the hot air balloon go up and the rail jam competitors [...] [...more]
Wow, very cool weekend indeed, well Saturday for sure. I had a great time running the Cyclocross Race and when I finally rolled up the last bit of marking tape and parked my Kubota for the evening I was just in time to watch the hot air balloon go up and the rail jam competitors throw down. This was phase one of turning swap weekend into a festival of activity and pre season fun so look for more events next season. Your suggestions are welcome, just post them here. Onward toward the season of cold and snow I say. The guns are up on Holly and the guys from Ratnik Snow industries are here today running final systems checks on the pumps and control systems. The forecast is still pretty warm for the next ten days, but I figure that after turkey day we will pay dearly for all this “nice” weather. Old Man winter, tired of lurking in the northernmost shadows, will kick the door in and drop the temps and the snow on us like Thor weilding his hammer. Speaking of Thanksgiving… check out the website on Black Friday for some unique products offered at great prices. Some of these packages have never, and may never again be offered beyond this one day event. Anyway, I sit, growing impatient and waiting along with you for the season to take hold, until then I’ll try to drop by the blog now and again and let you know what is going on.
Aloha means goodbye,
ACM
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Nov 06
Rail comp details are available at KBski.com on the front page, more info will be coming soon as Phatman is preparing a flier for the event and I will post that asap. Snow is coming from local rinks unless something strange happens and Old Man Winter drops in to check out the pre season action. [...] [...more]
Rail comp details are available at KBski.com on the front page, more info will be coming soon as Phatman is preparing a flier for the event and I will post that asap. Snow is coming from local rinks unless something strange happens and Old Man Winter drops in to check out the pre season action. The cyclocross race is going to be tons of fun. 45min.s of fun for the masters class and 1 hour for the open classes. No CX bike, no worries, bring your MTB and race around the Central Area, some climbing but not too much and with luck a ton of mud! We ure you to register ahead of time but day of will be taken with an additional $5.00 fee. Check out kbski.com for the details. The final touches on the new snowmaking pumping system are being installed as I type and I have seen them dragging hosses up the hill, we are a way out yet, but preparations are underway! Anyway, check out the complete Schedule for the Open House, Swap, Winterfest and you will see that Saturday should be off the hook. I am hoping to turn Ski Swap Saturday in a big old party for skiers and riders to usher in the season, come on down and raise a glass to Ullr!
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Nov 03
Some things rolling up on us quickly…. The 13th, 14th and 15th of this month bring the annual Ski Swap, Open house and this year we strive to make it also more of a “Winter Fest” on Saturday. To that end we have USA Cycling Cyclocross race (KBSKI.com has the details) kicking off at 11am [...] [...more]
Some things rolling up on us quickly…. The 13th, 14th and 15th of this month bring the annual Ski Swap, Open house and this year we strive to make it also more of a “Winter Fest” on Saturday. To that end we have USA Cycling Cyclocross race (KBSKI.com has the details) kicking off at 11am with the elite men racing at 1pm. Some of the top racers from northeastern US and Canada will be on hand. Also the return of the pre season rail comp using whatever snow the boys can find will happen Sat. afternoon. ( I am awaiting details on this event, but I trust it will run much as it has the past two seasons.) The Lake Effect and Harvest Room will be open serving up a full menu including a great big ole fish fry! A vintage ski equipment museum is setting up shop in the Central Ticket Center Saturday with a nice selection of vintage and unique equipment as well as some vintage posters for sale. Of course the big draw is the savings at the swap to benefit the KB Ski Patrol. Should be a fun weekend to be sure and the Lake effect will rocking all weekend long!
What else is new… Lots more horsepower for the snowmakers, thats a good thing to be sure! Holly should be able to go form NO to SNOW in just a few days once the temps drop. And from there the snowmakers will just keep adding terain faster than ever before. The Park manager is back at it, starting today and I will be hitting him up for any news on features and plans for the coming season.
I have been told that operations is commited to opening the North Area (weather and snow permitting) on weekdays this season, starting at 10am and running through close. Weekends of course have never been an issue. If you are one of the luck few who can ski Monday-Friday the addition of the northern slopes being open prior to 4pm should add a lot to your day! We offer some great weekday packages and weekly specials through the season at “Cornell’s Corner”
Check out the specials listed now at KBski.com.
The Edge Of Never is in town this friday and is not the same old thing. Most ski porn is just that, porn. Predictable, on formula, really bad music, and boring after about 3 minutes.
this is a documentary of a son challenging the terrain that took his father and while it contains some great skiing footage the fim goes much deeper than that. Watch the trailer and learn more here.
http://www.edgeofneverfilm.com/
Friday, Nov 6th.
THE Edge of Never
Playing at the Screening Room on Sheridan Drive in Amherst. 7:30 and 9:00pm
Several ski mfgs. and ski related business are sponsors – lot’s of give-a-ways, $20. admission adults, $10. children (no profanity at all!). It should be a good time for a good cause.
The Screening Room
3131 Sheridan Drive (North-town complex)
Amherst, NY 14226
Anyway, for now thats it, more to come as I can feel the icy breath of Old man Winter breathing down my neck as he prepares to lay down a winter that harkens back to my days of youth and the epic snowfalls of the 70s and early 80s! Bring it Old Man, we are ready!
-ACM
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Nov 02
OK, back at it, I will try to add something of interest weekly or better… starting tomorrow! Things coming, Snow, Ski Swap, Rail Comp,CX Race, Black Friday Sale, Thanksgiving and opening day, and a great documentary that includes some skiing. Like I said, more on the morrow.
ACM
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OK, back at it, I will try to add something of interest weekly or better… starting tomorrow! Things coming, Snow, Ski Swap, Rail Comp,CX Race, Black Friday Sale, Thanksgiving and opening day, and a great documentary that includes some skiing. Like I said, more on the morrow.
ACM
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