SS announced that Upper Shays s/b open by Sat then they will start on Lower Shays.
They have a cam at Arbuckles that they do not share on their website. I see the snow gun running in the distance on Lower Shays
wgo wrote:
Bookmarked!
Not sure it is reliable. One day I looked and it was pointng up in the sky .....
We just got CityNet cable installed at our condo in Snowshoe, and they have 5-6 channels with webcams. Besides the usual Boathouse/Ballhooter, Lake/Basin, Silver Creek lifts, Skidder, there were also cams at Western Territory base (the one linked to in this thread), Powder Monkey lift line, Grabhammer lift line, and couple on slopes that were closed with no snow, one which was labeled 'Terrain Park'. It was great at lunch to take a peek at the relative crowd size at each lift (except Soaring Eagle) to help decide where to start the afternoon.
I skied 5 days last week (Wed- Sun). Every day at Slivercreek except the last day on Shays and Cupp. The snow on Shays is in such great shape. Large whales on lower Shays, and they were still blowing on Monday, so I expect it will open before this weekend.
eggraid wrote:
We just got CityNet cable installed at our condo in Snowshoe, and they have 5-6 channels with webcams. Besides the usual Boathouse/Ballhooter, Lake/Basin, Silver Creek lifts, Skidder, there were also cams at Western Territory base (the one linked to in this thread), Powder Monkey lift line, Grabhammer lift line, and couple on slopes that were closed with no snow, one which was labeled 'Terrain Park'. It was great at lunch to take a peek at the relative crowd size at each lift (except Soaring Eagle) to help decide where to start the afternoon.
I found that cam you mentioned near Powder Monkey
Blue Don 1982 wrote:
eggraid wrote:
We just got CityNet cable installed at our condo in Snowshoe, and they have 5-6 channels with webcams. Besides the usual Boathouse/Ballhooter, Lake/Basin, Silver Creek lifts, Skidder, there were also cams at Western Territory base (the one linked to in this thread), Powder Monkey lift line, Grabhammer lift line, and couple on slopes that were closed with no snow, one which was labeled 'Terrain Park'. It was great at lunch to take a peek at the relative crowd size at each lift (except Soaring Eagle) to help decide where to start the afternoon.
I found that cam you mentioned near Powder Monkey
Looks like nice conditions today
Bonzski wrote:
... Large whales on lower Shays, and they were still blowing on Monday, so I expect it will open before this weekend.
Was not open as of today
Blue Don 1982 wrote:
They have a cam at Arbuckles that they do not share on their website. I see the snow gun running in the distance on Lower Shays
I had some mindless clerical work to do today so I was creeping on the SS webcams at my desk. I had that Arbuckles Cam open from 2:45 - 3:00 today and did not see a single skier or boarder go to the lift. The poor lift guy was putzing around sweeping / shoveling snow near the loading zone.
I need to retire soon so I can ski on Tuesdays and have the place to myself. FWIW - it's snowing at a decent clip at the shoe today.
Blue Don 1982 wrote:
Blue Don 1982 wrote:
They have a cam at Arbuckles that they do not share on their website. I see the snow gun running in the distance on Lower Shays
I had some mindless clerical work to do today so I was creeping on the SS webcams at my desk. I had that Arbuckles Cam open from 2:45 - 3:00 today and did not see a single skier or boarder go to the lift. The poor lift guy was putzing around sweeping / shoveling snow near the loading zone.
I need to retire soon so I can ski on Tuesdays and have the place to myself. FWIW - it's snowing at a decent clip at the shoe today.
I only ski Snowshoe mid-week, Tuesday or Wednesday if possible. The mid-week crowds are great, a very different group. Although I was once there midweek in March during some college spring break. That trip was a bust.
Here's a tip someone shared with me. They used to get up early, answer emails all morning then go skiing. Then when they got back they answered emails all evening. Said he did this for decades, kept getting promoted. His employer thought he was a work horse, always up early, always working late. Said he hit every powder storm that came through SLC.
After learning this I did it a few times when I had an employer, I'd try to spread my work and get things done earlier/later in the week. Would do emails and calls early/late and skied. Never had any issues. Always had excellent reviews, so it is possible and it works.
Wasn't sure where to put this, but then this thread popped up, and it seemed the most appropriate.
My family skied Snowshoe over MLK Weekend (per the other threads) and had a great time. The 7 y/o did 2 days in the top ability group of Kid's World, and her skiing progressed back to where she finished last season, even exceeding it. The 3 y/o did pre-ski 2 days with a 1 hour lesson each day, and loved it. The wife and I skied Saturday and had a great time (for most of it), and she skied by herself on a beautiful blue bird Sunday (with several inches of fresh snow), and 4 hours with our daught on Monday (also beautiful).
Unfortunately, we skied Lower Shay's on our last run Saturday afternoon before picking our daughter up from Kid's World. It was ungroomed, but there were no bumps. I skied it fast with GS turns, but near the bottom of the steep part (right before it flattens out), my right binding pre-released at speed while I was in the middle of a carved turn and leaned way over. I went down, and skidded off the skier's right side of the run, off the snowmaking, through some blackberry bushes (got pretty cut up, even through a thick jacket), and stopped maybe 25 yards off the run. Doing the "Ok, does everything work" body check, I realized I couldn't lift my right arm.
I slowly climbed back up, got my skis and poles (with the help of a nice family), and skied down to meet my wife and friend. We rode Western Express back up, and I walked to the first aid center, where I received great care, a sling for my arm, a bag of snow, and the advice not to ski the rest of the trip, and to see an orthopedist when I returned to NOVA.
So Sunday and Monday, I worked with the 3 y/o while the rest of the fam skied, and actually had a great time. In addition to his 1 hour lesson on Sunday, I had him on the magic carpet for 90 minutes or so that afternoon, and another 2 hours mid-day Monday. He loved it, and we had a blast.
The bad news is that I just saw the ortho this morning, and was dismayed to hear that I have a broken upper arm (right near my shoulder), and a 30% chance my rotator cuff is torn. I have airfare, 5 nights non-refundable luxury hotel, and lift tickets for Vail (was supposed to leave in 9 days). Was told that can't happen under any circumstance, and the earliest I will be cleared to ski again is mid-March, after 4 weeks of healing and another 4 weeks of PT. So, I'm in the process of unwinding that stuff and salvaging what I can (I'm hoping the hotel will let me at least move the dates, but they don't have to).
I also have a season pass to Snowshoe I now can't use for the bulk of the season (I got about 4 hours total), and an advantage card to Whitetail I used twice. What's that they say about man making plans and the gods laughing? I guess the important part is I'm relatively healthy (no ACL tears or anything) with a good prognosis on the shoulder, and if get lucky, will not need surgery on the rotator cuff.
The worst part is that my wife and I spoke before this trip that the primary goal was not to get hurt before our vacation to Vail, which is why I stayed out of the park. Crazy also that it happened the exact same day I got hurt last year (Sat of MLK weekend); I think I'll sit that weekend out next year...
Best wishes for a speedy recovery. I hope you can work something out with Vail. It might be worth giving Snowshoe a call to see if they will give you some sort of credit to next year's pass. A longshot but it would not hurt to ask. When I got hurt for the season a few years ago Massanutten went ahead and refunded me the entire cost of my season pass. So you never know.
Reisen I feel for you. I had a partial tear of my rotator cuff last February which then turned into frozen shoulder. This injury still has me in PT but I'm 90% + now and have been skiing since December. Important to get as much PT over time which will get your shoulder back to full strength and functionality. MRI will determine the soft tissue ligament damage. Be patient as the shoulder is a much more complex joint than our knee. Hope you have a full recovery and have many great days of skiing in your future!
Thanks for the well wishes, all. I at least feel better that the Snowshoe pass is so cheap (ridiculous pass), and that it came with a free kid's pass (my daughter got to ski all 3 days). If all goes according to plan, we'll take another family trip in mid-March if I'm cleared to ski by my ortho and PT goes well. So we'll get a few more days out of the pass. We'll also re-up passes for next year when they go on sale late next month.
I'm fortunate that my sister-in-law is a physical therapist, and treats this kind of injury frequently. However, she's pregnant and due in a few weeks, so I'll likely wind up working with someone else at her practice. She's promised I'll get VIP treatment, though.
My lean now is to try to move the Vail trip to end-of-March, during Fairfax County spring break, and bring the kids (it was going to be a romantic trip for just me and my wife). Vail puts 3 y/o's in ski school, and my son will be 3 years and 7 months. The downside is we're adding a huge amount to the cost (adding 2 more RT airfare, $460 per day plus tax and tip for ski school for the two kids).
Speaking of ski school prices, here are a few I'm familiar with (all of these are prices without rentals):
- Snowshoe - $130 (if you have a pass for the kid)
- Whitetail - $175
- Mammoth - $200
- Whistler - $200
- Vail - $230
All are expensive, but Snowshoe seems a bargain.
Flew over the bike handlebars, landed totally on the Right shoulder = tore the rotator cuff right off the bone and tore other tissue. Had arthroscopic surgery. They screwed an anchor to the bone and sewed it back on to it. Three months in a sling (twice-a-week therapy sessions), 6 months of self therapy twice-a-day). Surgeon said I'd be back to normal in one year. He said: "Don't push it, don't start back too soon, don't chance re-injuring it, as it is really hard to sew ground meat back together!".One year later = on the bench press. Unfortunately..a year after that - tore the Left side on the bench and had to do the exact same procedure on that side!!!
Point is - don't push it to get back. All you need is a snowboarder to take you out before it is 100% healed!
So you were benchpressing a snowboarder...how much much did they weigh?
Good luck with a speedy recovery Reisen!
+1, I hope that you feel better soon, and that the trip works out Reisen!
Heal well Reisen. I’ve been there too and will be cheering for you.
I feel your pain. I had a bone spur cut through 75% of my tendon. I had rotator cuff surgery as well as removal of the spur. It took about a year of therapy and my shoulder was as good as new. In 2010, I was hit by a car, flew through the air and landed on the same arm. The shoulder held up but I shattered my elbow joint. After 2 surgerys, 10 titanium screws and a year of therapy, my arm functions. My wife broke the same bone near here shoulder joint during our Copper Mtn ski trip 2 years ago. She did not do it skiing; she fell out of the shower!!!!!!! She is fully recovered and has no rotator cuff issues.
You'll need to take less risk and perhaps ski less aggresively. Save your self to ski another day.
Thanks again, everyone, for all the well wishes! Figured I'd give a quick update now that I'm 18 days post-injury:
- We wound up moving the Vail trip to FFX County spring break, which is the last week of March. I'm a little nervous things could be slushy so late in the season, but I wanted to give my shoulder as long as possible to heal.
- The hotel (Hotel Talisa, which is the newly renovated hotel that used to be the Vail Cascade Resort & Spa) was great, and let me move my reservation even though it was supposed to be non-refundable / changeable. United will refund my change fee when I send them the letter from my ortho (which I already have).
- I'm really glad I didn't try to take the trip as planned and just ski anyway. Forget the danger of re-injury (which the doc was adamant about); I still have no strength in that arm, limited movement, and pain at times. I started running exactly a week after the injury (to try to keep my legs in shape), and even that is still difficult; I have to very carefully isolate the shoulder joint by flexing my pectoral and biceps, and using them as shock absorbers. I can do that for about 20 minutes, which lets me run about 2.5 miles. If I relax them, the impact from running hits the shoulder joint and causes pain.
- I did try calling Snowshoe about the pass, but didn't buy the insurance since the cost was so cheap. One thing I will say about SS; while I am a big fan of the hard product, their customer service has really fallen off a cliff in a massive way. I work in customer service for a massive corporation with a very upscale customer base (hint: "Don't leave home without it!"), so I have a lot of inside info into how call centers and customer care operations work. Every time I call Snowshoe with a question about anything (lodging, childcare, passes) I'm either offshored to the Philippines, or possibly sent to a local call center staffed with foreign workers. The call center agents cannot understand basic questions, and have no knowledge of Snowshoe's operations. A few examples:
- I called 6 times over something like 8 months, to try to get my ridiculous pass mailed to me. I never received it, and was asked to stand in a massive line at the Depot Sat morning of MLK weekend to pick it up. They already had my picture and info from previous passes...
- When I explained my situation to the Snowshoe employee standing outside the Depot that morning, and politely expressed my frustration that they couldn't get a pass mailed to me in 9 months, he had no sympathy, was pretty rude, and basically told me "tough, stand in line like everyone else". I got lucky because Frank DeBerry walked up and asked if he could help; he personally took care of the problem.
- I called several times with basic questions about Snowshoe's pre-ski school program (basically day care for 2-4 year old with a 1-hour lesson). Stuff like "Where do I drop off the child?", "Can I decide based on weather whether or not I want him to have the 1-hour lesson", and "Can I watch / take pictures of the lesson?". The call center workers could not even understand the questions, much less answer them.
- All this said, I'll be watching closely for pricing and info for the new Ikon pass, as I do enjoy the mountain and the hard product.
If your shoulder can handle an Airdyne or Assault bike, that will be excellent for cardio and keeping your legs in shape. Best machine for doing intervals (the erg rower is another good one but I think too stressful for the shoulder). Most gyms have one of these. Definitely a good idea not to chance re-injury. IMO most people would end up skiing defensively in your position. Good luck.
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