Chinese building ski resorts

Could this be the ultimate bubble - ski real estate and China in one investment meme?

Depending on the quality of the snow, this could be like getting in to Vail in the 70's or Aspen in the 60's. I have also heard exceptional things about the quality of Japan's snow, although the resorts are not so world class in amenities.

Two Bits about Okemo, and the rest of our weekend

Some of you may have heard that Okemo was hit by a credit card fraud scheme, so if you used your card there recently, keep an eye on your charges/activity. It is vexatious to get things removed if they are false. And on a brighter note, Okemo had a fantastic season as far as attendance and sales went, the best they've had in a half dozen years. Despite the high prices and (sometimes) crowds, it is better to have a healthy profitable local ski area than a bankrupt one. Just look at property prices around Magic Mountain or Suicide Six if you still convincing on that point.

In other news, we went to the Indian enclave of Edison, NJ over the weekend to do some shopping for a family friend's upcoming wedding. The girls found a large number of shops purveying the latest in high fashion and garish colors. But most importantly they found Asok, the tailor who works in a mirrored dressing room, who will be able to make their modifications in time for the big ceremony.

While they were wrangling with the sari proprietors, I wandered around the area exploring various niche retailers. I was able to find a good Indian grocery there and stocked up on all kinds of obscure spices, chili's, and flours. We also picked up some of the tropical fruit juices that are handy to have around. (And along the way, I discovered that the ancient and honorable custom of bargaining was banned in Edison, NJ.)

While we were there, we made time to have an excellent lunch at Mughul restaurant, which is buried in the back of a mall, quite far set back from the main road. This is a picture of just a few of the dishes they had. It's more upscale than the Jackson Diner, and slightly better, although it has more eclectic dishes than one would expect. The dishes in the photo from front to back are - goat curry, tandoori chicken and vegetable pilaf.

It was a good jaunt, made even better by J. preparing the spicy southern Indian polenta like dish -- upma -- the next day from my mom's recipe with the ingredients purchased on the excursion.

The final ski day of the season

Today was the last ski day of the year for me, courtesy of Okemo's free day for FlexCard holders. It was warm, slushy and sparsely attended but I still got a couple of pleasant hours in.

I doubt the temperature was below freezing last night, because the snow felt like a slurpee, without the sticky red syrup. In conditions like that you have to lean back a little bit more than usual, because if you hit soft patches your skis suddenly start going slower and you will lose your balance if your center of gravity is too far forward.

It's unnerving to ski like that because you have less control and causes your skis to slide around. Still it was a fun day, although I would not have spent the $50 or so I saw some others laying out for the privilege.

It is difficult to do much spring skiing once it stops freezing overnight. That freeze / thaw cycle is needed so that the ice clusters can recrystallize which makes for hard/fast conditions in the morning but nice soft "corn" a little before noon.