Welcome to the my Web site, v. XII. The blog is typically published Monday - Saturday. My primary topics tend to be the Nats, Penn State (esp. football), BeltwayLand, transportation, media, photos and more. The rest of the site gets updated as warranted and is noted on the blog.
The latest snowstorm to hit BeltwayLand happened (for the most part) while I was in the Poconos skiing with my wife. We were at Camelback and it is pretty much the same as it always is except that my favorite slope, the Nile Mile has been changed to a blue square from a double green circle. That makes a lot of sense to me, the slope is not too hard, but is not easy either. I love attacking that hill, it take me about five minutes to get down when I really push myself.
Oh and we finally hit Yocco's for their hot dogs on the return trip. I'll have a review of that over the next two days.
On the way back, we hit snow at about the Mid-County interchange of the Northeast Extension (I-476) and yet saw no snow removal equipment. As we got onto I-95 the conditions were quite slushy, until we hit Maryland. Let me praise the Maryland Transportation Authority for the superior job they did on the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway section of I-95 -- the conditions were exceptional given the weather. We could comfortably go over 50 m.p.h. DelDot and PennDot, you blew it. The former I expected, despite numerous boasts about Pennsylvania's snow-readiness by expatriates when compared to BeltwayLand, to do much better. For shame PennDot, for shame. Delaware, most I-95 is a toll road in your state, so you don't have any excuses either.
Back in Northern Virginia, I did not get a chance to measure the snow. Sorry internet, I know how much you like photos of rulers in snow. I did take my son sledding at my folks house in Vienna though. That was pretty sweet. Grandee got to pull her grandson around the block in a little red sled too.
It looks like we're in for more snow later this week (Capital Weather Gang), so I'll be better about the ruler everybody.
Time to think about skiing, here are some exercises - William World News
Friday, October 23, 2009
Time to think about skiing, here are some exercises
It all goes downhill, nicely, for fit skiers - USA Today Why yes, all of that snow in Happy Valley last week did get me thinking about skiing already. While we are months away from hitting the slopes, the time to prepare is now. I have previously linked to these article and found the exercises really made a difference. Fun fact: the model in the article is one of my flag football teammates.
TANNERSVILLE, Pa. -- For an early birthday present, my brother and his family gave me a day of skiing. For the first time in forever, we skied together. It was also his first time skiing on the east coast in a long time. The conditions at Camelback would be described as "packed powder." Christopher, who only skis in Colorado, described them as ice. It was also about 25° and sunny -- perfect skiing weather.
I had a good day, no falls and lots of good runs. Doing "wall-sit" exercises daily made a big difference in my leg strength – I have not skied this well in a few years. As always, The Nile Mile was my favorite run, mostly because it is the longest run in the Poconos. It does not disappoint. I’ll have to give a nod to The Pharoh as well. Once past the first part of the run, King Tut is a pretty good hill too. We also had some good runs in the middle of the mountain, though I cannot recall the specifics as they were not especially memorable.
I was king of the mountain on this day too, a title I am eager to defend. Being in the Poconos I had a big home-slope advantage over Christopher. I'm eager to win it on the "road" sometime when we all get out to Colorado. We'll see if his "home" advantage is as big as mine.
All in all, a good day. On the way back we thought about stopping at Yocco's hot dogs in Allentown, but were not very hungry yet, so we went to Jim's Steaks in Springfield (Baltimore Pike, off of I-476). One of these years I'll check Yocco's out, but Jim's is always enjoyable.
That probably does it for me this winter, but if I get on the slopes again, I won't be disappointed. Thanks for the early birthday gift, Christopher & family!
I'm getting stoked, though I'm probably two months away from hitting the slopes. Family/friends/acquittances be warned -- I'm going to be asking you if you are ready for some skiing a lot once the calendar turns over.
It is already snowing in the Poconos - William World News
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
It is already snowing in the Poconos
Even though it will not last long enough to become part of this upcoming season's base, I am pleased to learn that Camelback ski resort in the Poconos, my favorite, has been blanketed by snow (might pop open Windows Media player). Over the weekend, I was telling my wife I already have skiing on the mind and a Camelback gift card on my Christmas list.
Pocono Skiing 2008: Camelback - William World News
Monday, February 18, 2008
Pocono Skiing 2008: Camelback
TANNERSVILLE, Pa. -- Family and friends can breathe a sigh of relief -- I finally went to Camelback Ski Area in the Poconos for my annual ski trip. I won't be complaining I haven't hit the slopes yet or asking them to come with me anymore!
Saturday morning, I woke up at regular time and left for Camelback, widely regarded as the best ski area in the Poconos. I arrived a little later than I had planned, but still had a full day ahead of me. Camelback was packed and I had to park along side the unpaved road far from the main lodge. This proved to be advantageous for me since I was near the Glen Lodge, a smaller lodge located on the east side of the mountain. I had to wait almost 90 seconds in line for my lift ticket. Since I had rented my skis from off-site, I was ready for the slopes. I started off on the beginner run, Sun Bowl and then proceeded to longer slopes like Upper Moore's Ramble and Mark Anthony, all enjoyable runs. I probably took a run down Lower Cleopatra as well. After getting nice and loose, I headed for the Sullivan Express lift to take me up the eastern side of the mountain to reach my favorite slope, the Nile Mile. I believe that Nile Mile is the longest slope in the Poconos. I like it for that reason and also the comfortable degrees of steepness that allow for lots of speed when I want it and not too much when I do not. Additionally, the snow is always quite plentiful on the slope, so ice doesn't tend to be a big deal.
After taking Nile Mile a few times, I figured I ought to get some lunch. I stopped at the Glen Lodge and ordered the ribs combo ($12.76 with tax) from the cafeteria. This was a major departure from the typical fare offered at most resorts and actually a decent deal, all things considered. The ribs, while quite fatty, were pretty good as were the seasoned waffle fries. It was actually more food than I probably needed.
After filing up, I headed back up the mountain and took another Nile Mile run. I followed that up with The Pharaoh which fed into The Bactrian. Skiing down The Pharaoh proved quite tricky because it was quite icy and I am not in as good a shape as last year when I still went to a gym.
After some more fun on the east side of mountain, I moved over to the Cleopatra triple lift and headed down Mark Anthony again but took Home Again down to the Sullivan Express quad lift. The lines were pretty heavy here and the frequent need for the lift to stop didn't help matters. Once I did get to the top, I enjoyed heading The Birches, the western-most slope, several times. It is a lot like the Nile Mile, only shorter. It feeds The Meadows and John Bailey.
After buying a Pepsi from the main lodge, I returned to slopes with a trip down Near East (via the Mark Anthony lift) which fed me into Upper Moore's Ramble and Turkey Trot, each a pretty good run, though Near East starts kind of flat. Seeing that I didn't have much energy left, I headed to the Nile Mile for the rest of the afternoon and took a few final runs. It worked out that I once I finished my last run of the day< i had about a tree minute walk to my car. That was convenient, but there was a minor drawback to parking on the side of the unpaved road.
I spent almost all of my time on green circles this year, a major departure from last year's trip, but in fairness many of Camelback's double greens are more challenging than Jack Frost and Big Boulder's blue squares. Also, without an enabler around, I was less motivated to really push myself too much.
Weather-wise it was warmer than forecast with temperatures well into the 30s. With the beautiful, cloudless blue sky and ample sun, the snow was a little mushy. I got a little warm wearing seven layers too.
Using the ski conditions scale, I give it a . Had it been a little colder, I think it would have been double blue, but that is just the way this winter has worked out.
Over the years, I have been skiing about thirty times in three different states. Here is a quick rundown of places I have been and my ratings for them. The scale increases from green circle to black diamond .
COLORADO
Eldora (1) - Easily the best I've skied because it is in Colorado.
MARYLAND
Wisp (1) -- Maryland's only ski resort was pretty good when I went in middle school.
PENNSYLVANIA
Big Boulder (17) - My home ski area through two semesters of skiing at Penn State Hazleton. Unfortunately, a lot of the best slopes have been turned into snowboard slopes :(, but it is still pretty good for an intermediate skiier like myself.
Jack Frost (1) - A surprisingly good little ski area. The lodge is at the top of the mountain.
Camelback (2) - My favorite Poconos resort, large and full of some great runs. I especially like the Nile Mile run.
Snö Mountainnee Montage (1) - I went there once, only once while in college. They had $10 lift tickets on Friday nights for students. What was I thinking only going once?
Liberty Mountainnee Ski Liberty (2) -- A little better than Roundtop; at least it is in the mountains, though only the Catoctins, the front range of the Blue Ridge.
Ski Roundtop (2) - Seemingly only suitable for kids learning to ski or people who live within a 20 mile radius. Not worth the drive from here.
Whitetail (3) -- The best resort I've been to that is close to D.C. Not bad for a spur of the moment trip.
Hopefully, I get to one of these, ideally Camelback, a week from Saturday.
You've never been to Seven Springs or Hidden Valley (the resorts of record for those in Western Pa?) Of the two, Seven Springs has way more trails, but of course, is more expensive.
# posted by The Maryland Bureau Chief :
Wednesday, January 23, 2008 12:53:00 PM
I'm also a big fan of Eldora. It has a special place in my heart (and always will) because it is the closest skiing from Boulder (I drove up there 3+ times a week over winter break my senior year of college), it's where I learned to snowboard, and has the 2nd best cheeseburgers in the state (the best being of course Arrowhead's Blinky Burger!).
# posted by tc :
Wednesday, January 23, 2008 2:02:00 PM
TMBC: I'd be curious as to how those western Pa. resorts compare with the northeastern ones. I admit to a preference for skiing farther north, but it may not matter that much.
TC: Sadly, I did not have any burgers during my trip to Eldora. Here in the mid-Atlantic, the cafeterias are all exactly the same.
Skiing in the Northeast - The Sun Baltimore's paper of record has a pretty good guide to skiing throughout the Northeast with lots of information about featured resorts.
Now that the weather is getting more seasonable, thoughts of skiing have returned. I might be hitting the slopes in eight days w00t!
<i>Pocono Record</i> snow section up - William World News
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Pocono Record snow section up
The Web site for the Pocono Record now has a snow sports section. No RSS feed yet, but I contacted them about it and they replied they would get on it.
This year's Postski guide mostly focuses on resorts within 200 miles of D.C. There is a Google Maps feature that is somewhat helpful. There is a chat at 2 p.m. too.
I'll keep my eyes out for other ski guides.
A quick tour around many ski resorts Web sites yesterday indicated they have all begun making snow. Big Boulder in the Poconos even opened up earlier this month, though it was apparently mostly a publicity stunt.
Snowmaking started in Poconos - William World News
Monday, November 19, 2007
Snowmaking started in Poconos
Never too soon for snow as Camelback begins making flakes - Pocono Record What delightful news! Once Thanksgiving (not too mention Thanksgiving II next Sunday and last night's pre-Thanksgiving with Christopher and Sarah ) is over, my thoughts are going to turn to skiing. Learning that the base at my favorite Pocono resort is already being built, in addition to some natural stuff falling today, warms my heart and chills my fingers and toes. Hopefully, the season will begin before mid-January this year. Maybe I'll go crazy and go twice this winter.
Big Boulder (Jan. 11, 2003) with Erica Camelback (Jan. 17, 2004) with Erica Camelback (Feb. 18, 2005) with Wiley Whitetail (Feb. 12, 2006) with Erica Jack Frost/Big Boulder (Feb. 9, 2007) with Wiley
I wish I had saved all the ones from college too. I need to get more of these.
Pocono Skiing II: Big Boulder - William World News
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Pocono Skiing II: Big Boulder
LAKE HARMONY, Pa. -- After spending the afternoon on Jack Frost Mountain, Wiley and I headed for Big Boulder. We drove the private toll road (25¢) connecting the two ski areas, winding through Split Rock, a pleasant resort community on Lake Harmony, over to Big Boulder. We arrived just after opening and bypassed the lodge and headed straight to the slopes.
It was parka weather at Big Boulder
My ski classes in college were at Big Boulder, so I am more familiar with it than any other ski resort. I have been there at least fifteen times, mostly at night, so this is my "home" for skiing. However, as I had mentioned in my Pocono Skiing I, Big Boulder had transformed itself into a very snowboard friendly resort, so I should say that I was familiar with it rather than I am. In total, there are four snowboard parks on the mountain, one of which replaced my second favorite slope ever, Merry Widow. So, with this in mind, my attitude towards Big Boulder was not as positive as it otherwise would have been. However, since it was our second resort of the day, Wiley and I were still pretty upbeat.
Wiley on Upper Sitzmark, I think.
Our first ride up the lift quickly reminded us that Big Boulder is a bigger, colder mountain. I threw my royal blue parka on over my hockey sweater for the rest of the afternoon. Wiley remained in his stylish Channel 69 (Family Zone TV) parka. The winds were also stronger. We started off on Upper Sitzmark which fed into Lower Sitzmark. This proved to be a bad idea since we quickly got stuck in the area. After two trips up short lifts, we drifted back over to the middle of the mountain. I cannot recall the exact order, but we took a ride down Mittl-Weg and a few rides down Bunny's Elbow. Mittl-Weg's conditions were typical of Big Boulder, overgroomed to the point of being crunchy in spots. It had forgotten how Big Boulder tended to be icy, though that is likely in part to the fact that I skied it during the day no more than twice and had not seen the sun during either of those visits.
Skiing down Bunny Schuss
Thankfully, Bunny's Elbow still had pretty good conditions. In what is likely the only improvement of the move to greater snowboard friendliness, the top of the run is fashioned as a border-cross. The three or four additional dips make the run a lot of fun, despite its rating. I spent the rest of the evening on this slope, since my legs were just too tired for trails. I took a run or two along Bunny Schuss, essentially a shortcut off of Bunny's Elbow, but found it a little less enjoyable since it was slightly shorter. For one thing, Bunny's Elbow had a view of the Pocono Speedway and Delaware Water Gap.
So much for the Golden Hour. Wiley with Pocono Raceway in the background.
As the sun set, we started getting cold again and finished off the second part of our snow day. We returned my skis, stopped at the Pocono Interchange McDonald's, and headed back to York.
I'll give Big Boulder a rating of , a demotion due to the increase of snowboard parks.
BLAKESLEE, Pa. -- While the drive up I-81 was an interesting trip up memory lane, Friday's main event was a day of skiing in the Pocono Mountains. I first became acquainted with the region during my first two years of college at Penn State Hazleton. One of campus' biggest pluses was being less than 40 miles away from most Pocono ski resorts, and I took advantage of that by taking skiing classes both winters I was there. It was a pretty good way to fulfill my ESACT requirement. Big Boulder Ski Resort was the site of the 7-week class, so I got to know it quite well.
Since we were driving from York and wanted to maximize our time on the slopes, Wiley and I choose Big Boulder over Camelback, which was farther away. We were quite pleased to see a little bit of natural snow on the drive up, starting near Tower City. By the time we passed Hazleton, snow covered the entire ground. This held true along I-80, even though the elevation is significantly lower than I-81.
Before we arrived at the resort, we stopped at County Line Ski Rentals on PA 903. It was there that we learned Big Boulder did not open until 4 p.m. on weekdays, d'oh! Thankfully, Jack Frost Mountain, Big Boulder's brother, was open during the day and not too far away. I was not too disappointed in this development because I got to try out a new resort. Also, I had seen that Big Boulder had become a more snowboard-friendly resort at the cost of some excellent runs, like Merry Widow.
I'm tall
After a circuitous journey from Big Boulder to Jack Frost (note, the signing is poor on PA 115, make sure you turn onto PA 940 WEST) we arrived. Jack Frost is the first resort that I have been to that has the lodge/parking at the top of the mountain. That turned out to be rather convenient, since after buying lift tickets, all we had to do was put our skis on and go downhill. We took a run or two down Snowflake and made our way Over to the intermediate slopes. First we skied Lehigh, followed by Exhibition and then Dematte's Demise. I enjoyed all three runs, but probably preferred Dematte's Demise the most. Wiley, a more experienced skier, was ready for something more demanding, so we took The Challenge. After The Challenge, we attacked attempted Thunderbolt, an ungroomed run with moguls. If I recall correctly, Wiley took it first and had a little trouble. I got farther down the mountain before doing a face plant coming off a mogul. Wiley was quite amused and remarked that it looked like a skier exploded. Having lost the following: ski hat, both poles, a ski, and my sunglasses, he may have been on to something. I think I also bounced at least one ski on my kneecap. Eventually, I got myself back together again and finished the run without further incident.
Before I knew better
Having been reminded of our limitations, we moved back over to Dematte's Demise and attacked it with gusto. Those runs make the 's seem quite easy.
Wiley handled it better
We enjoyed several more trips down the mountain before heading into the lodge to warm up and get a snack. Inside, we found the exact same fare we had seen at every ski slope we had been to in our lives. Since it was a school day, the lines were non-existent and tables were plentiful. It was a nice change of pace from what we were used to on the weekends. The prices were also not particularly unreasonable; my order of fries and hot chocolate came in at $5.
After warming up inside, we went back outside to the best conditions of the day. The partly cloudy skies of the early afternoon had switched to mostly sunny with a temperature of about 25° which was just about ideal with the sun out -- cold enough to keep the snow from melting, but sunny enough to keep us from getting really cold. The wind was occasionally gusting, particularly on Sno-Chute, a run that feeds The Challenge. I was quite comfortable wearing five layers on my upper body (and looking sharp in my Penn State hockey sweater) and three layers on my legs (including sweat pants and wool Army pants on the top). The snow was packed powder for the most part with little ice and not too much grooming. I don't think you could hope for much better conditions on man-made snow.
After a couple of quick rides, we attempted Thunderbolt again. Having learned from our previous errors, we stayed to the left side of the slope. Wiley (who it must be said has a much lower center of gravity) was able to make it down unscathed, while I had some unspectacular falls on my trips down. I did make it down without incident once.
Wiley's St. Bernard
Having had our fill of moguls, we went over to the far side of the mountain and tried out 's over there. Telstar, Lightning and Solitude all fed Floyd's Folly to the bottom. I preferred Telstar, a longer run that overlooked the Lehigh River. It had the best view from the resort (is it just me or is the scenery in the Poconos generally underwhelming?) and a good descent before leveling off a little too much. It is an impressive ride nonetheless. We enjoyed it several times, but as the afternoon grew late, we headed back to the center of the mountain, riding down Sno-Chute (the windiest part of the mountain) before taking a final ride down The Challenge and Dematte's Demise. We rode the lift back to the top, took our skis off and walked to Wiley's Jeep. It was time to head over to Big Boulder and take advantage for the transferable lift tickets for some more skiing.
Hi Mom!
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with Jack Frost. Though it was small and apparently has less of a snow base than other Pocono resorts, I was quite pleased with what it had to offer. For an intermediate level skier like me (with no aspirations of being an expert) it was a solid ski area. I would not recommend it above Camelback, which is my favorite resort, but it is a good choice if Camelback is not an option. Using the ski conditions scale, I give it a . Tomorrow: Pocono Skiing II: Big Boulder
The cold air finally showed up! The 10 day forecast for the Poconos looks promising -- no lows over freezing for the foreseeable future. None of them are above 26° in fact.
Weather prompts ski resorts to scale back operations - AP/CDT I was hoping to go skiing tomorrow in hte Poconos, but there is no snow. One resort is going to throw skis on a bonfire in an attempt to "appease the snow gods." I hope it works.
Did I ever mention that I hate my brother? - William World News
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Did I ever mention that I hate my brother?
I am hoping to go skiing a week from today. I have been looking at the conditions at some of the Pocono resorts and I am seeing things like "loose, granular." Meanwhile, my brother is at Steamboat.
Also, in searching those Pocono sites, I discovered what became of Hazleton's 97.9 -- The Mountain/98 Rock/The Bear. It is now 97.9X and no longer located in Hazleton. At least they still have a contrived name. They probably don't play the Badlees any more though.
Well, up to a foot of snow fell in some parts of the region, but at WWN headquarters there was about five on the tops of cars and four on the grass -- in other words a cataclysmic Washington snowstorm. Had we gotten what the Ombudsman got up in New York, well let's just say the federal government would not open until Wednesday or so. There is probably a downside too.
A snowy military-industrial complex
Some official WWN snowfall totals
Pentagon City 5" West Alexandria 6" Vienna 11"
Being brave, Erica and I decided to tempt fate and dared to venture out onto the roads, which were largely okay. We found our way to Whitetail for a little bit of skiing. I had not been there in over ten years. It is a nice resort, the cafeteria for one thing is better than most and a number of other little things reflect the relative newness of the resort. Still, it's not the Poconos, but not bad for a spontaneous trip.
Despite what some are reporting about Columbia, I estimate that we only got 10 or 11" of snow. I'm not sure who in Columbia got 21", or why its even being reported as fact. But I find it hard to believe that a narrow band of snow affecting about 1/4 mile radius dropped 21" of snow in these parts.....
# posted by Sam B :
Monday, February 13, 2006 7:14:00 PM
CEMENTON, Penna. -- Yes it is true, I spending the night in a village named after cement. Apparently, they are trying to get an ancient cement furnace made a national landmark. But, anyhow, that is neither here or there. I am crashing at the WWNOmbudsman's place and he is currently making a heroic effort to play a guitar. Tomorrow, I am getting together with another friend in the Lehigh Valley (for the uninitiated, greater Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton) and we are going to head up to Camelback for a day on the slopes.
So, the upshot of all of this is I don't know if I will be posting tomorrow morning (I'm on dial-up here) or Saturday morning for that matter, though by Saturday afternoon, I should be back. See you then.One piece of news though, the radio station has been chosen, so I guess Dave Hughes of DCRTV can finally chill out. I heard the announcement while listening to WGMS on I-95 between the Beltways that Z-104 will be doing the evening/night games and WFED 1050 AM will be doing the day games. So, that is resolved and we can now make sure that the presets in our cars are up to date.
William - Don't bother presetting any buttons to 1050 am. I tried listening to this station yesterday from Canal Road (about a mere four miles from where the station broadcasts) and I could barely hear anything.
I found out later the station is a 1,000 measly watts. If I'm not mistaken, I believe most college radio stations are more powerful than that.
As one Nats blogger said before, you better hope you have tickets to all the day games, because you surely won't be listening to them!
-- Adubs
# posted by Anthony :
Friday, February 18, 2005 2:27:00 PM
The latest snowstorm to hit BeltwayLand happened (for the most part) while I was in the Poconos skiing with my wife. We were at Camelback and it is pretty much the same as it always is except that my favorite slope, the Nile Mile has been changed to a blue square from a double green circle. That makes a lot of sense to me, the slope is not too hard, but is not easy either. I love attacking that hill, it take me about five minutes to get down when I really push myself.
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and then proceeded to longer slopes like 
.
