From the staff of 1 here at shadyjay.com, to all of you:
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Best Wishes for 2011!!!
I look forward to providing commentary, photos, trip reports (snowboarding, hiking, and mountain biking), and more in the new year. So be sure to check back with us often, and I look forward to meeting many of you on the slopes of Sugarbush this season.
-Shady Jay
Greetings from the Mad River Valley and the slopes of Sugarbush Resort here in Vermont. It’s the middle of June and perfect time for the mid June report. Here’s an update on a couple of things I have going on for this summer….
Hiking
If you’ve been reading this blog lately, then you’ll know I have begun my summer hiking series. Destined to be my most ambitious hiking season to date, I have already covered 17 miles of trails this season on 2 separate hikes. My goal is to get out once a week (usually Sunday or Monday) on the trails. Included will be additional mileage on the Long Trail, the trails at Sugarbush, and other area hikes. After each trip, I post a trip report and photos right here.
Biking
After I won a PBR Beach Cruiser bike at the infamous Taco Showdown last month, I have had an urge to get out and start biking. However a Beach Cruiser is not the bike to be going up and down the mountain roads and trails of Vermont, so I am in the process of selling it and locating a mountain bike. I’m wrestling with the various options of this acquisition and its kind of getting to me. I want to start riding a bike to/from work to get good exercise and save on gas. And I want to give the lift serviced mountain biking at Sugarbush a try. Hopefully in the weeks to come (sooner than later), I will be reporting a better update on this.
Trips Down South
I will most likely be going to Connecticut for at least one weekend this summer, but haven’t decided when. It seems my family is throwing a party just about every weekend in the summer and with me being in Vermont AND working at a golf course, that makes things complicated. However I think that when I do head down south, it will be on board Amtrak’s Vermonter, going down on a Friday and returning Sunday. I’ll see how this pans out down the road.
In a grueling showdown, Jay Hogan took home the title of Hyde Away Taco Eating Champ with an impressive 27 tacos. Mr. Hogan and Shawn paced themselves early on, while Nick raced ahead. In the end, sheer determination won the day. See it as it happened!
Back to shadyjay.com original….
For those that don’t know, the Hyde Away Inn in Fayston, VT has a weekly tradition called “Taco Tuesday”. I had been attending this event pretty much every week since January. It started as a great way to relax, eat, and drink with co-workers after a day at the mountain. Then in late March, I broke the long-standing record by eating 21 tacos in less than 2 hours. This started a 9-week competition that would culminate on May 25. So on that fateful day, I was up against 4 other competitors (out of those 9 weeks, I won 4 of them, and my 4 competitors were the other weekly winners). We sat down and shortly after 6pm, began eating tacos. It was a very warm and humid night and one that was full of laughs and good times. First, Jay Holsizer bowed out, then Nick (who was in the lead for a little while), then Shawn (at 25), then Ross (at 14). I decided to keep on going and rose the bar to a new level… 27… beating my personal best of 21, and beating Shawn’s old record of 22. Since I won, I got choice of my prize, which I chose the PBR “Beach Cruiser” bike (other prizes included a PBR tent and an Adirondack chair). PBR also gave us a bunch of prizes including a t-shirt and Jagermeister was also there with free “shwag”. I had quite the crew of people there cheering me on and there for the post-party. Thanks to the following for coming: JP, Mississippi, Marius, Jess, Nathan (who travelled up from Mass. for the event). E-stills & co., Paulie, RJ, and everyone else I didn’t mention. THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT AND THE GOOD TIMES!!!
Click the link in the first half of this post to see the pics!
Greetings from the green slopes of Sugarbush… where just a few days ago, they were white! That’s right – Mother’s Day 2010 was greeted with a few inches of new snow. The mountain was covered and the snows extended about 3/4 way down the access road. I went out and took some pictures, as this was my first time ever seeing snow in May (that wasn’t confined to the highest of mountain elevations). Click the pics for the full size versions:
(see more pics at http://picasaweb.google.com/shadyjayvt)
On Tuesday May 4, I started my job at the Sugarbush Golf Course, where I am a cart attendant. I even got to enjoy a beverage at “Hogan’s Pub” at the end of my shift, my first time there. It’s been a little slow so far at the course, due to the weather and only being half open, but this weekend, we are forecasted to have all 18 holes open and with nicer days ahead, things should be picking up.
Over at the base area of Lincoln Peak, work on the Phase II redevelopment is in full swing, with the footprint for the new children’s program building in. The “44 stairs of doom” are history and all temporary buildings formerly in the “interim village” are either relocated for other use, returned to their owners, or scrapped. It’s going to look 100000x better when its all said and done come this fall. Until then, you can follow the action on http://www.sugarbush.com by viewing the “Construction Diaries” video.
In between work at the golf course and fighting ongoing issues with my truck (which I hope to have fully resolved next week), I have spent a lot of time cleaning and repairing the condo. The highlight of this was re-installing the trim work around one of the doors and two windows, the trim not being installed from when 
the windows were replaced in 2005. The work involved some searching to find the missing pieces, then having to use the saw blade on my Leatherman to cut the pieces to fit. A little more reconfiguring and cleaning and its a noticeable difference that I’m proud to say I did 100% on my own, that itself is a big accomplishment.
On Tuesday May 11, my almost two month reign of being the taco eating champion at the Hyde Away Inn came to a close as Shawn Fuschetto upped the ante and ate 22 tacos – one more than I did back in March. On May 25, the “Battle Royale” competition will decide who gets the big prizes and true bragging rights. Also after that day, I have decided I will retire from “competitive eating”. Details of the contest are at http://www.hydeawayinn.com.
So that’s where things stand at the present time. I’ve also got another project that is “in the works”, though I cannot yet disclose the details of that just yet. One thing at a time, you know. Until the next update, thanks for reading and have a great day!
Well after just about 2 weeks in Connecticut, I had had enough and was longing for the peace and solitude of my trailside condo at Sugarbush. While I contemplated staying through the weekend of May 1-2 so that I could ride the Essex Steam Train’s Goodspeed Local, I decided I needed a few days to relax before I started work again (around May 4). So my dad and I finished the work to my truck to make it run right (and put on some additional lights and re-wired a few switches), loaded my dresser and bookcase and a lot of other stuff, and headed off. I left around noon on Thursday and it was a very windy drive north along I-91 and I-89 back up to the Mad River Valley. It took me a good hour or so of making trips up and down the stairs, and some help from my boss with the big stuff, but I got it all done. I spent most of Friday rewiring the stereo system and odds-n-ends. Once again, the condo is in tip-top shape with everything hooked up, working, and unpacked and put away.
Now I can relax, as I sit on the deck with a PBR and listen to the quietness of the mountain.
I have just discovered a new way to update this blog with a free program that you can download with Windows 7…. Windows Live Writer. Previously, I had to log in to my Google Blogger account, then use an interface that wasn’t exactly user friendly, especially when adding pictures. With Live Writer, I am able to type my blog entry in a format very similar to Microsoft Word and use Windows buttons to add pictures. I can even wrap the text around the picture and use other cool picture frame effects. When I’m done, I click PUBLISH and the program automatically uploads my content directly to my blog… VERY SIMPLE! And now to view the full size picture, you can simply click the image.. for all posts after 1/31/2010
With the easier ability to add pictures within posts, expect more updates in the future. Keep checking back with shadyjay.com to find out about the conditions on the slopes, and we’ll see you at the mountain!
Earlier this week, I got the call I’ve been waiting for… the call to go back to work in Vermont! On Wednesday December 2 I am heading up to move into my winter home, a condo on the slopes of Sugarbush Resort, and will be starting work there for the 09/10 season on (hopefully) Saturday December 5 in lift operations, same as I did last season.
