# Lounge > Sports, Health & Fitness >  2022 - 2023 snowboarding and ski thread

## finboy

Starting a new one for the season.

Im hooked, and down for another season, anyone doing pre-season prep or scoping any particular gear / locations?

Ive got a Nelson trip planned over Christmas and possibly March, and am eying up a Korua for powder.

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## Twin_Cam_Turbo

I just want to get more days in, the last 5 or so years have been weak for me.

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## finboy

Beyond mountain meets?

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## infamousd

any good deals happening?

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## Brent.ff

Skiuphill has a pile of touring skis on sale.

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## BavarianBeast

Got baldface booked for cat skiing and seasons pass for big white. Might end up buying season pass for whistler too if we end up with a house there. Might try to squeeze a japow trip in there too but it’s going to be a busy winter for me

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## finboy

> Got baldface booked for cat skiing and seasons pass for big white. Might end up buying season pass for whistler too if we end up with a house there. Might try to squeeze a japow trip in there too but it’s going to be a busy winter for me



Looking forward to your review of baldface, it’s really tempting as my in-laws live right in that area

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## davidI

I'm planning to get back into Snowboarding in Spain after a 15+ year hiatus. My skis are still in Canada but I figure riding makes more sense for the Spanish terrain.

Need to find a board though... prices suck here and people expect ridiculous prices for second hand gear. At least € has recently dropped so hopefully I can find something before inflation kicks in.

Any European board brands worth looking into? They're often better value than US/Canada brands.

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## ercchry

^^ Bataleon is made in Austria… love the edge design on my evil twin, they even make bindings (haven’t tried them)

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## finboy

> ^^ Bataleon is made in Austria… love the edge design on my evil twin, they even make bindings (haven’t tried them)



Capita, rossignol, and Korua as well I think?

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## g-m

Back to Japan!

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## finboy

Went down to vortex to try some trampolines out, they’re legit, also I’m old and sore now

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## BavarianBeast

> Back to Japan!



Where about are you heading? Trying to line up a trip with Hokkaido backcountry club to shred some gnarly stuff. Heard the resorts are a bit too mellow for somebody looking for steeps but I’ve never been

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## davidI

Alright, been researching boards this morning and realized I know sweet F-All about how gear has changed in the last decade.

I started skiing at 3, snowboarding at 11, but haven't been on the mountain much for 10 years as I was traveling overseas.

I'm better at skiing but plan to pursue snowboarding now that I live in Spain. I'm probably intermediate level now but should be able to progress quickly given I'm used to challenging terrain in the Canadian Rockies and grew up doing everything on skis (steep/deep, moguls, trees, backcountry, etc.)

I'm looking for an All-Mountain Board - no interest in the park - but don't really know the terrain in Spain / Western Europe yet so I probably need something that can cruise groomers, smash through crud, and handle a bit of powder.

I'll be checking out various resorts and hopefully some off-piste/back country as well. I like the steep and deep if I can find it.

I'm 5'9" (173cm) and a muscular 183 lbs (83kg) but almost 40 years old so I won't push it like I used to.


Options I'm looking at:
Rome Warden 22 - 158cm 320€
K2 Raygun - 156/159cm 260€
K2 Raygun Pop - 156/159cm 260€
K2 Broadcast - 156/159cm 320€
Salomon Dancehaul 152cm 330€
Ride Wild Life 157cm 310€

Any suggestions/advice? I think the 156cm is the better length for me in the K2 options but I really don't know - the length/weight recommendations really seem to depend on the board these days!

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## ercchry

Is this thing on?  :ROFL!: 

Bataleon Evil Twin. I’m the same way, this was my first new tech board and it handles all mountain riding like a dream, the 3BT design with the raised edges tip and tail help promote float in powder and have saved my ass from catching many an edge blasting down groomers

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## davidI

> Is this thing on? 
> 
> Bataleon Evil Twin. I’m the same way, this was my first new tech board and it handles all mountain riding like a dream, the 3BT design with the raised edges tip and tail help promote float in powder and have saved my ass from catching many an edge blasting down groomers



That wasn't an option... I'm not dropping 550€ on a board when I haven't even seen the mountains/terrain here yet.

I went with the Salomon Dancehaul. Seems to get great reviews as a single "do anything" board and I could snag it for 30% off (330€ instead of 450€). Now to research bindings for it...

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## finboy

I like my cartel x’s  :dunno:

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## sxtasy

> I like my cartel x’s



+1 for Cartel X, great all around binding that seems quite durable.

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## davidI

> +1 for Cartel X, great all around binding that seems quite durable.



They're going for 300€ here which is more than I want to spend on bindings. I'm hoping to find something decent <150€

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## finboy

Buy used, cartel x’s only started 2 years ago

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## davidI

> Buy used, cartel x’s only started 2 years ago



Yea, I'll keep my eyes open but Spain's classifieds are nothing like Canada or the US.

People ask for ridiculous prices - sometimes more than MSRP, for shitty old beat up crap. It's so bad I don't usually even bother looking anymore.

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## cam_wmh

> Where about are you heading? Trying to line up a trip with Hokkaido backcountry club to shred some gnarly stuff. Heard the resorts are a bit too mellow for somebody looking for steeps but Ive never been



BB, i know you have much more disposable income than I, but you don't need to join a club and spend %50 over cost, to get the goods. That said, yeah if you're going to do slack/back, and don't have anyone to meet up with, there are resorts that have a Slackcountry meet room (Kiroro), where you may be able to join up. And yes, not as steep as here, but more snow. 

Rent a Honda Fit, or equivalent, and just drive. You'll want to get accommodations booked around Niseko, but other than that --- you can stay in any of the cities and find cheap accommodations. (Otaru, Sapporo, Asahikawa) etc; Or just stay at Moiwa for a couple weeks haha.
I'm likely going to skip this year, and just do a Baker trip, but feel free to PM me if you need more info.

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## cam_wmh

> Yea, I'll keep my eyes open but Spain's classifieds are nothing like Canada or the US.
> 
> People ask for ridiculous prices - sometimes more than MSRP, for shitty old beat up crap. It's so bad I don't usually even bother looking anymore.



Are you in Canada anytime soon? I'm about to liquidate my last seasons Free Thinker 162 on Cartels.

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## davidI

> Are you in Canada anytime soon? I'm about to liquidate my last seasons Free Thinker 162 on Cartels.



Sadly no but thanks for the offer. There's an "Outlet Sale" here in a couple of weeks so hope they'll have some deals on old inventory.

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## davidI

I found some Burton Missions for 150€. Reckon they'll do the trick for an Intermediate All-Mountain binding on my Dancehaul?

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## cam_wmh

> I found some Burton Missions for 150€. Reckon they'll do the trick for an Intermediate All-Mountain binding on my Dancehaul?



Make sure they are they are “Re:Flex” mounting system. If they are “EST”, they won’t fit on that Salomon or any other non-Burton.

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## davidI

> Make sure they are they are “Re:Flex” mounting system. If they are “EST”, they won’t fit on that Salomon or any other non-Burton.



Thanks - I'd thought I'd found a good deal on Cartel X's for 220€ but then realized that the EST was the channel system. I've gone ahead and ordered them as I reckon they'll do me for a while... hopefully they're stiff enough for a volume adjusted board.

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## g-m

> Where about are you heading? Trying to line up a trip with Hokkaido backcountry club to shred some gnarly stuff. Heard the resorts are a bit too mellow for somebody looking for steeps but I’ve never been



I'm going to Hokkaido. I personally like being based in Niseko and you can either hit the resort or do day trips. Niseko has some pretty good terrain as does Rusuutsu if there's lots of snow. You don't need a guide, everything is very straightforward. See something you want to ski, park, start skinning. 

That said, if you want to hit couloirs, big alpine, even big subalpine just go somewhere here like McMurdo or any of the million big lines you can access with a sled around here. Imo the best part of Japan is the unlimited lift assisted deep powder. We have better terrain than Japan as does Europe for big lines. I've been all over Japan and imo the sweet spot is Niseko/Rusuutsu. Japan Alps have better terrain but less consistent snow. 

I would get a sled here, it opens up tons of options and the lazy ass sledders can't sled the good ski lines anyway so even in the snowmobile club areas there's tons of good skiing

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## BavarianBeast

Thank you g-m & cam_wmh. 

Going to shelf Japan for this year as I have a feeling it’s going to be fucking crazy with travel just opening up. I’ll try next year when it cools off.

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## finboy

Apparently high likelihood of a la ninã winter so potentially great bc snow, might be better to book more trips in your back yard

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## g-m

Hah like last year? Don't believe the hype, la Nina sucks for us

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## finboy

Seemed to do well for Nelson, I got a seasons pass for white water to take advantage  :Big Grin: 

Looking forward to another Ab season of “5cm of pow!,” needless to say I won’t be buying a lake Louise value card, sunshine is still fun even with mediocre snow.

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## g-m

Yea la Nina isn't usually very good for Banff/Fernie/KH. It is good for Japan though!

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## finboy

New colourway coming along well for this year

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## sxtasy

Nice, I love Volcom gear. Nice to have the goretex pants that zip into the jacket too!

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## finboy

I’m selling a board that is to big for me to get some pants to go with it, I’d still love to find the yellow version but volcom isn’t nearly as popular as burton ak stuff apparently

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## Brent.ff

> Hah like last year? Don't believe the hype, la Nina sucks for us



Was a pretty solid backcountry year in K Country I thought. Didn’t buy a park pass til March!

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## finboy

You love to see it

https://www.skibanff.com/conditions

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## finboy

Taking advantage of shipping while in the US

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## cam_wmh

can you actually see through those sunglasses?

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## ExtraSlow

Sunny day in sweetgrass hey?

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## Rocket1k78

Anyone riding with the step on system? If yes, what are your thoughts?

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## JordanLotoski

> Anyone riding with the step on system? If yes, what are your thoughts?



I have been riding the step-ons for years now and have no issues, they are great

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## Rocket1k78

^^ Thanks. Ive been watching some video's on these and they look pretty great for sure.

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## finboy

Got the nephew a board, doubt he’ll do much more than get pulled around by his parents at this point (he’s two) but he seems excited



Per step one, I haven’t tried them but I’ve heard good things. That said, if burton and dc don’t fit your feet, you are SOL. Nidecker is doing a new step in binding this year that accepts all boots, might be worth checking out.

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## finboy

Day one in the books, what a beauty sunshine was. I borrowed a buddy’s rock board while I was getting my usual board a base grind at the glide factory, I didn’t see a single rock all day, so much fresh stuff everywhere.

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## finboy

New colourways for the year locked in, new Korua board in stock, let’s get some snow rolling!

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## finboy

Base is building up nice on sunshine, still some thin spots here and there but the ski out is open and I went exploring in the trees on wawa without any horrible consequences.

Thinking of doing my avy training, anyone here have recommendations for companies you went with?

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## Brent.ff

Cloudnine is who I did AST2 through, highly recommend. They do a great AST1 program as well. Highly recommend adding another day after if you have the option as AST1 is very much focused on teaching you how little you know and not much time spent skiing at all. Should have plenty of snow to go look at now up at Bow Summit now too.

Edit: looks like cloudnine does the AST+ Connect. Good deal for a day with a mountain guide.

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## 03ozwhip

Is there anyone in town that can tune up my boards same day?

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## finboy

> Cloudnine is who I did AST2 through, highly recommend. They do a great AST1 program as well. Highly recommend adding another day after if you have the option as AST1 is very much focused on teaching you how little you know and not much time spent skiing at all. Should have plenty of snow to go look at now up at Bow Summit now too.
> 
> Edit: looks like cloudnine does the AST+ Connect. Good deal for a day with a mountain guide.



One concern, I am slowly accumulating splitboarding gear. If I do the ast1 this year am I going to forget everything next year if I don’t get out there and use the skills a few times this year?




> Is there anyone in town that can tune up my boards same day?



Hit up glide factory, dude is great and might be able to square something away for same day

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## Brent.ff

> One concern, I am slowly accumulating splitboarding gear. If I do the ast1 this year am I going to forget everything next year if I don’t get out there and use the skills a few times this year?
> 
> 
> 
> Hit up glide factory, dude is great and might be able to square something away for same day



I would definitely recommend getting out a couple times after AST to keep your skills somewhat fresh. Might be worth doing it next year if you’re still collecting gear (or finding a partner to go backcountry with). Just don’t get all the gear and assume you’re good to go, I know I won’t ski with someone with AST and I think that’s the trend (I’d love to make sure at a minimum that my partners can find and dig me out)

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## finboy

> I would definitely recommend getting out a couple times after AST to keep your skills somewhat fresh. Might be worth doing it next year if you’re still collecting gear (or finding a partner to go backcountry with). Just don’t get all the gear and assume you’re good to go, I know I won’t ski with someone with AST and I think that’s the trend (I’d love to make sure at a minimum that my partners can find and dig me out)



Yea that is the scenario I’m going through now, I have lots of friends who want to learn but I’m the one who has to coordinate the training lol. Once I have the gear and training I’ll definitely look into going with some more experienced folks first, but I definitely know I can retain knowledge better if I can practice it soon after.

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## Brent.ff

If you can get enough guys together doing a custom or private course is infinitely better as you won’t have to worry about the random guy who can barely hike who really screws a course up. Made a huge difference on our AST2 but would be the same for AST1

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## 03ozwhip

> One concern, I am slowly accumulating splitboarding gear. If I do the ast1 this year am I going to forget everything next year if I don’t get out there and use the skills a few times this year?
> 
> 
> 
> Hit up glide factory, dude is great and might be able to square something away for same day



Thanks man I'll talk to him.

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## finboy

> If you can get enough guys together doing a custom or private course is infinitely better as you won’t have to worry about the random guy who can barely hike who really screws a course up. Made a huge difference on our AST2 but would be the same for AST1



Yea I figured as much, also easier to get them back out as a group later. I’m tempted to grab the snowshoes and find a mild hill somewhere after the training as that is something I could likely get them out to.

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## BavarianBeast

So much for La Niña. Is whistler the only place getting decent snow?

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## danno

My buddy said castle was awsome on Friday and empty. 
I have little kids and a Norquay pass, the snow is good but not desirable to be at.

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## ExtraSlow

I like Norquay. The far chair is a nice place.

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## Twin_Cam_Turbo

> So much for La Niña. Is whistler the only place getting decent snow?



California.

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## danno

Next time will be the first time the middle kid can ski there so it will be significantly better. The family season pass for $700-800 was to good a deal.

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## BavarianBeast

> California.



Ive been following mammoth on IG, crazy dumps!

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## finboy

Nelson is due for some good days around Christmas, still bald spots out here currently

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## finboy

Got my nephew out for the first time today at 2.5, he actually got some movement on his own but preferred assisted jumps

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## sxtasy

So where are the resorts to hit up in the next couple of weeks? I'm planning a trip around the rockies, anything from Revelstoke to Sunshine and anywhere around and in between. It looks to me like most bases are pretty light?

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## finboy

Sunshine was craaaap post Christmas but they should get 10-15cm over next week. My buddy was out in fernie over Christmas and said it was great.

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## Brent.ff

Ya you want to go south and/or west of Kicking horse.. I haven't been skiing since November but have been following the trends, and we're in one hell of a dry spell in AB..

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## BavarianBeast

Great snow in big white. More coming Weds-Sat looks like. 



Dropped off this today into a nice 20-30cm deep landing

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## Gman.45

Has anyone been to WhiteFish or Red Lodge in Montana this year?

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## sxtasy

> Great snow in big white. More coming Weds-Sat looks like. 
> 
> 
> 
> Dropped off this today into a nice 20-30cm deep landing



Nice! I've spent the season at Apex mountain and the snow has also been great so far.

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## cet

Send some of that this way please. Sunshine needs a good couple of feet just to get out of preseason conditions, let alone be great.

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## JohnnyBlaze

> Great snow in big white. More coming Weds-Sat looks like. 
> 
> 
> 
> Dropped off this today into a nice 20-30cm deep landing



Going out there this weekend for the first time. Anything areas you recommend?

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## BavarianBeast

It really depends what you’re into. Cliff area has some great steep lines but the runs are short. You can hike around the entire saddle and drop in anywhere basically. Some super gnarly stuff or mellow if you continue further down the saddle.

Great trees at Black Forest. Love the Easter glades right off to the right of the Black Forest lift. Gem lake has some awesome pockets of trees, but almost need a guide or somebody who knows what they’re doing because there are a ton of creeks, downed trees and flat spots throughout that can become hairy. 

Tons of other good spots, hard to wrong. 

Would love to get to Apex and Baldy this season.

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## finboy

> Send some of that this way please. Sunshine needs a good couple of feet just to get out of preseason conditions, let alone be great.



I had to get a good base tune after my last visit, full speed rip on groomer over a crest straight into a 10 foot strip of rocks and dirt in the middle of a run  :facepalm:

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## lasimmon

> Has anyone been to WhiteFish or Red Lodge in Montana this year?



Going to whitefish in a month. Hoping they get some snow..

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## g-m

I'm headed sled skiing to McMurdo hut this weekend to do some touring. Then Japan next week for 3 weeks, pretty stoked!

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## Brent.ff

You getting towed in or your own sleds? McMurdo is definitely on my list..play safe out there she spicy!

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## r3ccOs

> You getting towed in or your own sleds? McMurdo is definitely on my list..play safe out there she spicy!



this year has sucked for the off-piste/glade skiing... its been all front side skiing this year.

I'm helping assist coaching the kiddo's race program and am using a decade old set of Fischer GS RC4 World Cups... and boy these things are like skates, but maybe are a bit hardcore. Do any of you guys have recommendations for hard charging frontsides? 

I'm thinking Rossi Hero Masters or the Fischer Curv.

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## D'z Nutz

> Has anyone been to WhiteFish or Red Lodge in Montana this year?



I was in Whitefish over New Years. Terrible conditions. It was all slush or ice on the hill and visibility was poor. It was just too warm.

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