Santa Claus Cancels Christmas, Heads to Okemo

Santa Claus has traded in his '67 Red Sleigh for a twin pro-tipped, dragon fly core, Burton Custom X with pressure distribution edges. Why? Because Okemo just got two and a half fucking feet of snow! That's why.









Just when I thought life couldn't get any better this happened....

Beer Beer Beer Beer Beer Beer

OK. This is a very important post dealing with one of the major elements of our New Year's Vacation....Beer. Every year we procure barrels of the best ales that the state of Vermont has to offer. And Vermont has many fine brewers offering many fine ales and other types of beer styles. The choices are bountiful so I figure we should have a little poll to see what people are interested in (See below). You can vote for as many as you would like. And you can vote once a day. But, we need to order by Monday so you can really only vote once. In fact I am going to call Singleton's tomorrow late afternoon so you should vote now or now and tomorrow morning if you want your votes to count more then once. Take your responsibility as an American seriously...Rock the Vote. P Diddy did and so should you. I have also included a brown ale on the list in honor of of big O. Ill be oredring a variety of logs (40 pints) and maybe a few quarters (62 pints). We are not obligated to buy what we order we can buy a few at a time. So no worries about over-ordering. If we sink a few too many Bizmarks we can always re-order on Monday 12/29. But I am going to order enough so we can make stops and always know there is good beer to pick up. If anyone has or can procure a tap please do so and let me know the deal. It is always a bitch putting donw a deposit for those. Without further ado, the nominees for beer for our new years gullets....
Please vote for mutliple beers. Also, before you vote, here are some links to do your own reserach with from Beer Advocate:


Otter Creek/Wolavers
Long Trail
Harpoon/UFO
Magic Hat

Please vote on the beer(s) you would like to see on draft next week....

Long Trail Ale Double Bag; Type: "Strong Ale" ABV:7.2% Otter Creek Copper Ale; Type: "Amber Ale" ABV: 5.4% Harpoon; Type: "India Pale Ale" ABV: 5.9% Magic Hat #9; Type: "Pale Ale" ABV: 4.7% Long Trail Hibernator; Type: "Scottish Ale" ABV: 6.0% Otter Creek Winter Ale; Type: "Brown Ale" ABV: 5.8% UFO; Type: "Hefeweisen" ABV: 4.8% Wolavers Farm House Ale; Type: "Belgian Style Saison Harpoon Celtic Ale; Type: "Irish Red Ale" ABV: 5.4%

Okemo's Primary Surface: POWDER!!!!

"The amount of snowfall that has accumulated on the ground since yesterday afternoon is going to make for some awesome powder action at Okemo today! We received about 10 inches of natural fluff on all our trails overnight so you’re going to want to get to the mountain right at 8 a.m. to grab first chair and claim fresh tracks on one of our 76 open trails! "

That's the word from the Okemo website.

"Cloudy with snow showers early and steady snow likely later in the day. High 24F. Winds E at 10 to 20 mph. 5 to 8 inches of snow expected. "

That's from weather.com for Sunday ONLY

Here is the link to the complete storm warning that goes through Monday afternoon

Put that in your pipe and smoke it Al Gore!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PLEASE READ: ONE MORE ANNOUNCEMENT

HEY EVERYONE,

I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE WHO HAS PAID THUS FAR, ND EVERYONE IN GENERAL FOR BEING SO ON THE BALL WITH THE PAYMENTS. IF YOU HAVE NOT PAID YET PLEASE DO SO IN THE NEXT 24 HOURS. IF YOU WILL BE UNABLE TO DO SO PLEASE SHOOT ME AN E-MAIL SO WE CAN DISCUSS WHEN I CAN EXPECT PAYMENT.

WE HAVE HAD VARIOUS COMMITMENTS FALL THROUGH FOR VARIOUS REASONS OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS. WHEN IT ONCE SEEMED THAT THE HOUSE WAS OVER BOOKED, IT IS NOW APPARENT THAT THE COMMITMENTS THAT FELL THROUGH HAVE LEFT US SHORT. I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE FOR TRYING SO HARD TO FILL THE EXTRA SPOT(S). WE ARE SHORT THE $$ FOR ONE GUEST. HOWEVER, WE HAVE ROOM FOR TWO GUESTS. I AM ASKING EVERYONE TO THINK, WHO CAN FILL THIS SPOT?

I WILL BE ABLE TO COVER THE $$$ WHEN I PAY THE FINAL PAYMENT TO THE HOUSE OWNER IF WE DON'T FIND ANOTHER GUEST. HOWEVER, IF THE GROUP ABSORBS THE COST IT WILL HELP ME OUT GREATLY AND PREVENT ME FROM TAKING A $500 HIT. IN THE EVENT WE DON'T FIND THAT EXTRA SOMEONE I ASK THAT EACH PERSON DONATE $30 TO ME SOMETIME DURING THE VACATION. THAT WOULD COVER THE $50O.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!

Attention everyone,
We are down one person. We need to fill either one or two spaces in the house. Everyone please put on your thinking caps and let me know if you have any ideas. Potential guests need to be ready to pay a down payment almost immediately. I can get creative on the nights and rooming situation. Just looking to break even...

Shea stop stealing all the gold.

This Blog sucks...

Do people even know that Ludlow, VT has a winter storm warning for tonight and tomorrow???

That means good things for us!

Going Green

Pat i love your going green initiative

Carpooling?

Since we have the house for the entire week, I'm sure not everyone will be going up at the same time this year.

The Joneses, plan on arriving on Monday, December 29th (evening) and probably depart on Friday, January 2nd. (4 nights)

If anyone would like to join us, please let me know asap. We have an MDX and can fit another two people with gear, luggage, etc.

Just thought I'd throw this out there since the site says we only have room for 5 cars at the house.

Holla,

P

New Cookbook

I just picked up a new cookbook for the trip. It is all about braising (remember those braised short ribs last year?). There will be a lot of braising going down this year. the book is written by Daniel Boloud. Does he remind you of anyone? Hint: there is a really good braised "chicken" recipe in the book...

The last Man Standing

Haws is the only person I have not heard from yet regarding payment. He must be working on his NBA three pointer....

Edit: Haws is working on his top-buckle superfly snuka Bench Press (Margo, is that a real move?) at his new gig at WWE. Pitt, sorry to put you on the spot like that, I forgot you were starting your new job today.

More Snow Overnight!!! Let me know your Status...

Hello All,
I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving. Bird is the Word. More snow at Okemo overnight, 4-5 inches. Of course the report doesn't say how many inches of rain the day before! But, all-in-all things are looking good. they have opened more trails and are up to 30+. This is a great start. We have a month to pray for a dumping or two or three. On to business. I am still waiting for payment from these people:
Mitch
Pitt
Paul & Gabrielle
If you have not paid yet please let me know your deal sometime soon...

This is pure snow! Do you have any idea what the street value of this mountain is?

EDIT: The base got 10" over the last 48 hours
Okemo Mountain 6-8" of the pure white shit last night. Dig it.

Okemo Open!!! Oaken Bucket...

EDIT: Oaken Bucket final Score: Purdue 62 - IU 10
I will be ordering a fresh Biz Bucket from Nicks

Okemo is open!!! Only 15 trails but not a bad start. 1-2" in the last 24 hours and it is freakin freezing which means they will have the guns on blowing that granular...Pray for snow and pray for the hoosiers to win the Oaken Bucket bowl (it is already 7-0 Purdue and the game hasn't even started)...And while we're on the topic of buckets you may want to start practicing for this bucket ...Bags do you have the equipment? Mine is old and rusty...

Motorola Two Way for the mountain

I think we should hook up a few of these for the mountain as it is kind of hard to ski with a group our large and not separate. I think 2 or three would be fine. I am going to inquire about cost. Post your thoughts in comments....

Singleton's

Shea, nice work including the link for Singleton's. That place is dope. I'm getting a gun this year.

I have added two pictures to get you non-singletons initiated and idea of why sometimes I have a dream that I am running naked through the isles of this places civered in slabs of bacon. Smoked meat product (done on premises), kegs of vermont beer, guns (side arms, hunting rifles, automatics, cheeeese)....

Le Poulet

Le Poulet's pink rash was due to undercooking. All poulet will be thoroughly cooked on this trip have no worries.

for the record...

there is no rash on the chicken's inner thigh as shea kindly suggested. i am the very successful, very disease free gentleman standing by the mini bar.

Nice Work

Nice work Shea!

Maybe you should start doing this sort of thing for a living.

LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The River House

The River House is where we will be lodging this New Years vacation. It is located within walking distance of Main Street, Ludlow and, according to the owner, the shuttle bus to the main lodge will pick us up at the front door of our home. This is huge becase those who have been skiing at Okemo (or anywhere for that matter) know it's a bitch to drive to the mountain. It's also great because nobody will feel stuck at the mountain. So, if your girlfriend has a "panic attack" you can show her where the shuttle stop is and be on your way. The house it's self is pretty dope. there is a large, open kitchen/living/dining area as well as a seperate "sports bar" with TV's, pool table and bar. I am also proud to say that, for the first time in three years, there is an outdoor hot tub. It is a beautifully refurbished lodge from the 1800's updated with modern amenities and beutifully finished and appointed with really nice furnishings. I think everyone is going to love it. Check it out for your self

The Crew

Below is a list of this years crew. As you will notice Dave Won and Hannah have dropped out. So, there are only 15 on the list right now. Nabel and Lauren are next on the list but Nabel has not followed up with me as of yet Nabel is in Cancun with his family. We will keep those two spots open for now until Nabel gets back. Also, there are some new additions to this years crew. Most of you know Paul but have not yet met his fiance, Gabrielle. She will be joining us this year (after a weak excuse in '07 -- can't remember exactly what) and that is awesome because she brings a lot of good things to the table including a deep knowledge of fantasy baseball. Alli is Amanda's best friend from Rockville Center and she is coming with the hubby, Larry. Larry likes to knit drink and read party and is an Eagles Giants fan, he will also kick your my ass in trivial pursuit. Randi, Amanda and Ally's good friend, will be with us as well. She is damn funny and also like hamburgers.

Mitchel T Baffa
Joey Bags
Chicken
Pitt
Go
Amy
Paul
Gabrielle
Justin
Amanda
Alli
Larry
Randi
Pat
Morgan

Payment Plan

PAID:
The Go's
The Jones'
The Goldberg's
The Chicken
Randi

NOT PAID
Nabel and Lauren
Snitchel
Bags
Pitt
Paul and Gabrielle

Here's the deal. With 17 people the house will come to $450 pp if split evenly. We will have access to the house for 7 nights, from 12/26 - 1/2. I decided this is the best deal because I assume everyone will want to stay about five nights. That would be less then $100 pp per night. A better rate then in years past. I also figured that since we have the house for 7 nights people will be able to come and leave on a more flexible basis. And, of course, anyone has the option of staying the entire week.

Room Situation

There are six bedrooms in the house. Two of those bedrooms will accommodate four people and one will accommodate three people. First, we will accept volunteer couples for the sharing rooms (singles will have to share but all arrangements will be made with each persons comfort in mind). If no couples volunteer we will pick randomly. Everyone in a sharing situation will have their cost pro-rated. In fact, each room will have a different cost (IE. the 2 person master bedroom will be the most expensive and the loft will be the least expensive)

Payment Plan

Each person will be required to make an initial $200 payment by Friday 11/28. After we determine the rooming situation, sometime in mid-December, I will ask that the final payment be made. We need the full payment before we arrive because I will be required to pay in full upon arrival. If anyone is thinking about bitching about this plan please keep in mind that I have already made a $4000 down payment so I am probably not going to really give a shit. If you have a legitimate problem in paying the initial payment by 11/28 I will try to accommodate you.

Payment Method

You can pay two ways:

Pay Pal (there is a 7$ convenience/processing fee added to this by Pay Pal)

Check

please make your check out to:

Justin Shea
110 West 69th Street
1B
New York, NY 10023

Please make sure the check arrives on or around 11/28!