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July, 2025

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It's Presidents Break Week. How Are You Surviving?

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theabortionator
Posts: 52783 - Karma: 175,266
If you work at a mountain how are you surviving on this busy week? Any good stories?

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11 years ago
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snomaster
Posts: 3348 - Karma: 5,783
Luckily I ruptured my spleen on Feb 5th and after nearly dying twice and being stuck in a hospital for 8 days, I'm at home trying to get my stomach to work again... At a safe distance from the hoards of gapers flooding Jackson Hole.
11 years ago
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Alexhiglo
Posts: 260 - Karma: 1,083
It seems like all of New Jersey and their cousins are mobbing the east coast resorts right now
11 years ago
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a_burger
Posts: 5258 - Karma: 21,146
taking stupidly long adventures through the woods. it makes the 20 minute lift waits more bearable when your taking 15 minute runs on a 1,000 foot mountain
11 years ago
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theabortionator
Posts: 52783 - Karma: 175,266
Hmm, in 8 days kids will be going back to school here. How does one go about rupturing their spleen?
11 years ago
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STAUSS
Posts: 8232 - Karma: 3,311
touring
11 years ago
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cp_7
Posts: 372 - Karma: 1,301
What I like to do is give them nicknames based on the appearance or how they ski. Then play a game by watching for said gapers and counting how many times they eat shit or pull a gaper move.

3 points for a yard sale
2 points for loosing at least one ski
1 point for falling in general

2 points for using the lip for a rail as a jump
1 point for a onesie or brightly colored get-up
11 years ago
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gusestomp
Posts: 1377 - Karma: 746
I always skip skiing on Presidents Day weekend. It's either way to crowded or too many gapers in the park.
11 years ago
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gengar.
Posts: 1042 - Karma: 1,641
4 hours to keystone and breck due to traffic.

no thanks
11 years ago
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DaewonS
Posts: 717 - Karma: 104
we call em beaters here. but i used to call em gapers. anyway, touring is kind of out of the question right now due to terrible avi conditions.

there were so many beaters today. luckily, we had to shut down our lifts twice today because of lightning. so that killed some time.
11 years ago
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.Rybak.
Posts: 9017 - Karma: 9,874
i took the week off of school this week last year to go skiing in montana. The only place that was super busy was big sky. So worth it.
11 years ago
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RudyGarmisch
Posts: 25444 - Karma: 13,856
Left house at seven thirty, late. Stopped on highway below the pass, dot letting limited numbers of cars through to avoid a shitshow like mlk weekend with six lanes of traffic converging to one in the lower lots. DOT and troopers gave up after 9:30, we had been sitting for an hour. Got to the pass, all lots on summit full. Queue for another half hour to get into yodelin. Stuck in yodelin lots trying to get into a parking space, another thirty. Had to give the parking lot attendants a hand, you think it would make sense to give them shovels to help dig stuck cars out. Parked, waiting for shuttle, another 45 minutes. Arrive at resort, lift line, first turns at noon. Jesus fucking Christ, I hate skiing on holidays.
11 years ago
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SFB
Posts: 8895 - Karma: 26,366
thats rough, but last week apparently it was 6 hrs from keystone to denver sunday night.
11 years ago
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yangumane
Posts: 1816 - Karma: 3,349
I'd rather be at a place like Keystone or Breck and waiting 30 minutes for a lift than at my < 200 ft hill
11 years ago
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d00d
Posts: 2687 - Karma: 7,088
Wait were you at alta today?
11 years ago
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theabortionator
Posts: 52783 - Karma: 175,266
I made signs that said "THIS IS NOT A JUMP" complete with arrows and put them on boo next to each side of the closeout setup we have.

The dumbest thing is I opened a small jump literally right next to said takeoffs. Also the takeoffs have about a 2 foot drop off the back from where it's cut out so they're actually sketchier than the jump.

I don't get it.


But I have a park on half of a bunny hill right now. This week = billions of gapers anywhere, on the bunny hill? Good luck.

I'll post a picture of the sign at some point. Camera was dead today.
11 years ago
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BWalmer
Posts: 9141 - Karma: 12,886
I worked in rental today...rentals isn't my normal position at the mountain...way too many people (we ran out of boots...)

I want my mountain back.
11 years ago
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chronic_illness
Posts: 75 - Karma: 265
My home mountain got the biggest dump of the year right before the weekend. Swerving around gapers is strenuous in pow.
11 years ago
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ZachAndCheese
Posts: 816 - Karma: 5,116
Thanks to the saga and jiberish sales I am completely broke, it really sucks
11 years ago
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snowfinder
Posts: 2944 - Karma: 34,935
Key to avoiding holiday madness

1. Know of some good backcountry.

2. Skins/snowshoes

3. Hommies that also can't stand the large lift lines.

4. Backyard set up.
11 years ago
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Randy_Quench
Posts: 5447 - Karma: 4,348
Holy shit, I ruptured my spleen on feb 5th too. (and broken collar bone/bruised kidney). I was in the hospital for 5 days. I wouldn't wish this on anyone, I know your pain dude.
11 years ago
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BROSEIDON
Posts: 3702 - Karma: 1,495
Making bank in ski school this week at least
11 years ago
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*Michael*
Posts: 500 - Karma: 73
I must've been right behind you. That was absolutely fucked. I'm leaving much earlier tomorrow. So many kooks out driving.
11 years ago
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freestyler540
Posts: 13239 - Karma: 20,496
Calgarians and Vancouverites are fucking everywhere in the Kootenays. People from Washington are cool.

My solution was getting to the hill super early and leave when the line ups get stupid
11 years ago
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Scott0_robot0
Posts: 3291 - Karma: 212
lcukily im teaching british school kids teaching them to dodge gapers has beengreat.
11 years ago
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japanada
Posts: 13785 - Karma: 1,959
I want my walk on trams back. Please and thank you.
11 years ago
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John18_6
Posts: 7313 - Karma: 49,171
Spirit Mountain in Duluth MN was desolate saturday and sunday, It was unreal! no lines at the lift!
11 years ago
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OwenReynolds
Posts: 223 - Karma: 1,955
My hill was flooded. We ran out of rentals by 11am and had to close the gates to the resorts. I work as an instructor and had to teach beginners for 10 hours straight just to get through the day.
11 years ago
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Substitute
Posts: 1378 - Karma: 2,275
My biggest pet peve. I tell kids off about it all the time. Its not safe at all. 1 dont do it. 2 how is hitting a jump with a rail in the middle of it "easier" for your kid? 3 drop the sense of entitlement.

/rant
11 years ago
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chris_payne
Posts: 59 - Karma: 84
Today some lady lost her board from about 400 yards above the lift line and it torpedoed down going about mach 5 and almost cut some dude in half.
11 years ago
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FangleDangle
Posts: 44 - Karma: 40
Saw 2 crashes on the way to the hill (into a snowbank, everyone was fine). They didn't have winter tires so what do you expect.

Funniest shit was a mom who literally told everyone to stop skiing while she went though the park with her kid, followed by going off a jump with her kid on one of those fucked up leash things. They were fine cause there was a lot of snow, but jesus christ this shit is ridiculous.
11 years ago
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Substitute
Posts: 1378 - Karma: 2,275
I hope I dont have to play dodge person at oak today.
11 years ago
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swoger
Posts: 607 - Karma: 655
do schools have off all week for President's day? I don't even have off today
11 years ago
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JahLiam
Posts: 2322 - Karma: 7,831
Luckily I'm on vacation right now, but if I was home, I would probably just hike as many features as I could in the park to avoid the lift lines
11 years ago
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theabortionator
Posts: 52783 - Karma: 175,266
Some girl got "hurt" hitting the "jump" aka the takeoff to the flat box. Luckily after a minute or 2 she wasn't really hurt but jesus.

11 years ago
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theabortionator
Posts: 52783 - Karma: 175,266
Yeah. I'm not sure everywhere. I remember when I lived in NH they had one week off and mass had the week before or after off. I know at least NY is on break right now. A lot of other places at least have an extended weekend which is busy as hell.
11 years ago
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.JakeThaDug.
Posts: 757 - Karma: 4,148
Not really a story but yesterday, four asians tried getting on the lift. One had tennis shoes on with a sled, the other was holding their skis, the next one was trying to explain to the lift operator that the lights were blowing snow, and the one on the far end tried loading too soon, was smacked by the chair, and sent flying into the hut that the lift operators sit in when it's cold.
11 years ago
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GayWolf420
Posts: 38326 - Karma: 132,564
well it's about 7:30am MTN Time here in my pretty house outside of PC. there is not a single cloud in then sky, gonna be a nice day of park laps with a high of 50 and I can already smell the mass amounts of loaded east coast tourists
11 years ago
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SwaggyP
Posts: 79 - Karma: 151
It is basically all Asians at my hill. They have no idea what is going. The park is loaded with gapers and lift lines are loaded. I'm either taking ridiculously long runs or hiking the park.
11 years ago
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snomaster
Posts: 3348 - Karma: 5,783
Small avalanche pinned me to a tree with massive force. After slogging it out of the BC a few miles I thought I was good. Stopped at ER just in case for check up... Then shit hit fan.
11 years ago
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GayWolf420
Posts: 38326 - Karma: 132,564
im sure OP can stick a few m80's in the snow and cause some slides
11 years ago
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Brule.
Posts: 3988 - Karma: 6,721
Mount Jore was so crowded on Saturday that people resorted to park all the way down the access road to near the entrance to the last lot closest to the edge of the road, and not to mention that lot was empty as the edge of the universe. I nearly clipped 10 gapers within one run down the mountain from the gondola, but up top wasn't as bad as I thought. The front side of the mountain was where it was the worst, and the glades were the most quiet.

I'm not sure how busy Killington is but I'm headed there later this week for a day.
11 years ago
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Easy-E
Posts: 751 - Karma: 1,686
yesterday we had a large hoard of gapers in the park (small wisconsin one) and some kid did some damage to their spine on our 10 foot jump. took them 15 minutes to get the kid off the roller
11 years ago
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GetOnMyNeville
Posts: 63 - Karma: 184

So at my home hill They have a blue square hill right next to our park and the lift splits the two down the middle(Both pretty small areas). On your left you get to watch everyone slay, and on your right you get to watch absolute pandemonium unfold as you ride up. Yesterday was one of the busiest days of the season. I've never had so many laughs on so few lift rides. Collisions, yard sales, out of control madness everywhere. It got so bad that they had to have lift attendants or other workers stand on the run to help the people who ate shit gather up their equipment after it was scattered all over.  

Name my hill anyone?

11 years ago
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trueheads
Posts: 83 - Karma: 252
+2
+2
+2
+2
+2

Good thing thats my favorite trick!
11 years ago
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trueheads
Posts: 83 - Karma: 252
Lol was it at Little Switz? I fucked my shit up trying to 270 out of one of the long boxes on big park. My whole hip is blue and purple.
11 years ago
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~~~~~~~~
Posts: 2345 - Karma: 2,104
I've been watching house of cards.
11 years ago
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Lukegnar
Posts: 189 - Karma: 1,239
If i ask if you have been snowboarding before and you have a preference in what size board, dont say uhhhhhh...uhh... size 9. (referring to boot size) when i got a line that goes out the building -rental employee
11 years ago
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GayWolf420
Posts: 38326 - Karma: 132,564
today wasn't too bad at all. Xmas break was much worse. the lot of course was full by 9:30. got there around 9 so parking was not an issue. one of the ticket scanner things you ski through on the park lift was broken leaving us two lanes to funnel through making the park a lot more busy than it should have been. barely any park crew dudes out, landings were mostly bombed out by 11, and lift lines were a zoo so i dipped around 1ish.
11 years ago
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KravtZ
Posts: 6637 - Karma: 2,629
I love presidents day weekend / mlk weekend. Obviously the less people the better but its so fun. Thanks to a VIP pass, I dont have to wait in anyyyyyy lines regardless of how long the actual line is. So I can just lap and lap. I love carving and railing turns around gaper all day fuck what they think there so dam stupid.
11 years ago
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ny300z
Posts: 1299 - Karma: 1,708
if you think you had it bad you shoulda seen this NY mountain over the weekend.

Presidents Day Weekend + 2 feet of pow + a million gapers = carnage everywhere and rode out trails within a hour

on a up note i got to use the "im the best skier on the mountain" claim to a noob that watched me hit a drop
11 years ago
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