MLK Weekend 2025

[asher2789]

Shaping up to be one of the best MLK Weekends in years with lots of open terrain, great conditions, and great weather. Should be a great holiday weekend for the mountain and local businesses. Great to see.

Will be heading up tomorrow evening and hitting Stratton on Friday with K4Woman and her bum knee, then logging some miles on the VAST trails on Saturday with my Plymouth neighborhood riding buddies and hopefully taking the first sled ride of the season down to the Long Trail Brewery. The Bush is on tap for Sunday with K4W and her bum knee for the first time this season. Hoping the Castlerock and Slide Brook lifts will be spinning which they should be. They've picked up over a foot in the past 2 days and are 99% open.

K4Woman has been fighting through her bum knee but it looks like the time has come for a knee replacement after this season. Anyone have any experience with a knee replacement?

my mom just got hers done on long island - peconic bay hospital, i can get you the drs name if youd like. she was happy with the outcome and fully healed and is now relearning how to walk better after 20 years of hobbling and making it work. due to major PTSD for both of us regarding my dad who died of medical malpractice, we decided to forgo inpatient rehab (where he died) and had a visiting post op PT person who worked directly with the doctor come to the home to work with my mom 3x a week for 3 weeks. and then i was drill sergeant making sure she did her PT exercises multiple times a day daily and corrected her form when she was initially cheating them.

my biggest piece of advice is rent the ice/compression knee wrap machine! rent it for like 3 weeks! seriously, best money ever spent. really helped her healing. we also replaced her recliner with one that lifts and fully reclines flat - theres gonna be 3 weeks of frequent reclining to get the swelling out. also, idk if K4W is in the same boat as my mom but my mom is borderline diabetic. for the two weeks post surgery she was mostly eating the asher2789 vegetarian diet but with very little bread/carbs (i love carbs) as i was preparing food for her. she lost 20lbs in the matter of a few weeks after the surgery compared to her pre surgery weight. diabetics are at an increased risk of complications post surgery so gotta have a very strict diet for a couple weeks after and then one can go back to normal. when we would go out to eat she would usually get a fish dish - salmon.

also idk if K4W is like my mom but my mom is obese - i wish she got on the ozempic bandwagon for at least half a year before her surgery as prior weight loss would of helped her healing as theres less force on the joint due to reduced weight. and with weight loss she might of lost the diabetes too making complications less likely. but her doctors were inexplicably against it?

and a final note - be careful with the opiates. its not just addiction thats a risk. my mom and i havent fought since i was an annoying teenager but we had a pretty big blowout fight a few days post surgery (to be fair i hadnt lived with her in a decade and tensions were high). the meds just dont make you think too good. and i almost quit working for her when she sent out an invoice with a 75% discount to one of her main clients - when that mistake was caught i went over every single invoice so long as she was on drugs and i made sure she didnt make any major decisions since her thinking was very impaired but the impairment is so subtle its almost invisible. make sure K4W has all their ducks in a row and doesnt need to make any major decisions for a few weeks post surgery as opiates greatly impair judgement.

if youre local, rutland does great orthopedic work. i had a traumatic leg injury (unrelated to skiing) that they sewed up and the hospital staff was incredible. my ex's father and a friend of mine both got hips replaced at rutland and were happy with the outcomes. what i love about rutland is its an independent hospital... i think the conglomerates provide worse care.

Thanks, I appreciate the insight. She is really on the fence about it. She's in great shape otherwise, she was a competitive swimmer in college and still works out aggressively at the gym at least 5 days a week and has always been that way. For the most part, it doesn't bother her any other time except for when she skis which is why she is so hesitant to have such major surgery.

But when she skis, it's been bad, and then it messes up her workout routine which really throws her off. This will be her first time out this year, so we'll see how it goes but if it's like it was last year, she is seriously thinking about taking the plunge because otherwise her skiing days are over which is unthinkable for both of us. She's tried the cortisone shots which she thinks made it worse and the jell shots which did nothing and has had every kind of knee brace known to man. I'm not overly optimistic about tomorrow but we'll see. We plan to take it easy.

One thing about NJ is that I think it has some really great hospitals and doctors. I had a nasty break years ago and ended up with 21 screws and two plates in my tib/fib and ankle that eventually came out. The doctor was amazing and is known for being the surgeon that all the other surgeons in the area go to. I'll never forget as they were wheeling me into the operating room, he said to me "don't worry, we've performed hundreds of these sex change operations." Funny guy.

damn thats a tough call if the only time her knee bugs her is during skiing. my mom was in bad shape when she finally had hers done. if she wants to put it off for longer and still wants to be out on snow but not on skis, snowboarding is a lot easier on the knees once you get past the beginning stage. and during the beginning stage volleyball kneepads do wonders. i found when i ski it kills my knees and other than a minor MCL tear from snowboarding when i was younger my knees are fine and never bother me. but im also a low intermediate at best and im probably doing something wrong.

[Bubba]

I don’t think it’s a tough call at all. If the joint is bone on bone and the pain interferes with the life you want to lead, do the replacement. If the joint isn’t bone on bone, replacement isn’t generally called for. I’ve had hyaluronic acid shots in both knees and they’ve helped a lot. Neither knee is yet bone on bone and I don’t think either will deteriorate to that point since I gave up bumps for fun years ago when problems (and pain) first appeared. Anyway, I’d get multiple opinions before making any decisions. VOC is one place I’d definitely recommend.

[reganized]

Anyone worried about the wind on Saturday? Think we are going to have wind hold issues? Driving up with my 10 yr old for a day trip so making the call tomorrow night.

[asher2789]

Anyone worried about the wind on Saturday? Think we are going to have wind hold issues? Driving up with my 10 yr old for a day trip so making the call tomorrow night.

i havent looked at the forecast but the great thing about k is theres always some lift running somewhere. k excels at having backup lifts going and if they need to theyll run fixed grips (which can usually handle worse weather) in place of the detachables. also theres so many aspects to the mountain, if one side is windy the other side is shielded from the wind and relatively calm, etc.

[newpylong1]

I don't see anything abnormal wind wise for the weekend.

[Stormchaser]

Very windy, with a south wind 41 to 48 mph, with gusts as high as 60 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

[newpylong1]

Yeah I retract my statement there yipes. Quite a different forecast from mountain-forecast to wxunderground.

[ozzy]

I’ve had hyaluronic acid shots in both knees and they’ve helped a lot.

Same. Got my second round of three of euflexxa yesterday. I get it every four months. Lucky me I guess. You can never beat genetics.
I'm into my third year. Never gets any easier. That needle is so big I expect it to see it come through the other side of my knee.
Whatever it is, it's way better than not having it.
Insurace agreed to pay for it every four months, but i foolishy cancelled my August sessions and man am I paying the price now.

[reganized]

Yeah, if it's a consistent 40 MPH wind with higher gusts, I am concerned a lot of lifts will be closed and with the MLK crowds, that could be a mess. If I were solo, less of a gamble.

Very windy, with a south wind 41 to 48 mph, with gusts as high as 60 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

[Stormchaser]

Yeah, if it's a consistent 40 MPH wind with higher gusts, I am concerned a lot of lifts will be closed and with the MLK crowds, that could be a mess. If I were solo, less of a gamble.

Very windy, with a south wind 41 to 48 mph, with gusts as high as 60 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

There's a chance there will be some windholds, but due to the many aspects that different lifts face, it's a good bet you'll still be able to make your way around the mountain. IMO, 50 mph is the tripping point for many lifts, but it really depends on the direction...

[reganized]

It says a Southwest Wind so coming from the backside/Bear side of the mounain. Who knows where is best to park. I'll be watching the reports tonight.

[Mister Moose]

Anyone worried about the wind on Saturday? Think we are going to have wind hold issues? Driving up with my 10 yr old for a day trip so making the call tomorrow night.

It says a Southwest Wind so coming from the backside/Bear side of the mounain. Who knows where is best to park. I'll be watching the reports tonight.

The reasons you shouldn't go:
It could be crazy busy.
Lift lines could get huge if multiple upper lifts go on wind hold.
NOAA is forecasting Gale force winds mid mountain, worst in am and lessening throughout the day to 'only' 48mph. That's steady wind, not gusts. High Peaks forecast calling for 45-55 mph.
It will be overcast and flat light all day.
Mountain peaks and ridge tops will be scoured and the wind will be impressive.

The reasons you should go:
If you don't go it's one ski day you'll never get back.
It's been dribbling snow all week, and conditions are pretty good based on historical averages. (Not epic, pretty good)
Sunday should be better, less wind, somewhat less crowds. Monday even better.

If you get here early, park anywhere. If you get here late, Upper Snowshed or Bear.

[reganized]

Car is packed for a 4:45am departure. The kick in the nuts is that I have to drive back to Boston to pick up my younger daughter who has hockey tomorrow and drop off my older one off so she can play hockey Sunday. Then I'm off to Loon tomorrow night with her. Some solid driving for me tomorrow. It's been a few years since I have been up to K but looking forward to it!!!

[Low Rider]

Car is packed for a 4:45am departure. The kick in the nuts is that I have to drive back to Boston to pick up my younger daughter who has hockey tomorrow and drop off my older one off so she can play hockey Sunday. Then I'm off to Loon tomorrow night with her. Some solid driving for me tomorrow. It's been a few years since I have been up to K but looking forward to it!!!

Hockey families are not ski families. Ski families are not hockey families.

[skiadikt]

Car is packed for a 4:45am departure. The kick in the nuts is that I have to drive back to Boston to pick up my younger daughter who has hockey tomorrow and drop off my older one off so she can play hockey Sunday. Then I'm off to Loon tomorrow night with her. Some solid driving for me tomorrow. It's been a few years since I have been up to K but looking forward to it!!!

that's a lot of driving. if you're coming up from boston, then it probably makes sense to park at skyeship or bear. skyeship is closest. for me, bear on weekends is the most user friendly lot. and if there's wind issues, the bear chair will be a lift most likely to run. enjoy!!