Perfect North

[negedeng]

Hey,

somewhen in the next 1,5 years I will move from Germany to Cincinnati.

I heard about the slopes at Perfect North.

I would be pleased if you could give me some information about that area.

How is the grooming, how steep is it, is it crowded, how long is the season, snow contitions,.....?

Thanks for all answers.

Bjoern

[Mike Blanz]

I will honestly tell you that Perfect North is not very good for hardbooting but it's better than nothing. As far as perfect groom I would say honestly this only occurs two days in the season. By perfect I mean being able to carve like you can in the West (full on, max G's, everything you've got without worry of losing the edge). I usually ride there 4hrs and then go home as the snow can turn to mashed potatoes in the afternoon. The season can start as early as Dec 10 but usually starts about Dec 16th. They last typically till March 17. There are many days with highs in the 40's and some, believe it or not, in the 60's (deg F). Rain too. I ride there every weekend that I'm not elsewhere. I commute an hour and 15 min. They just reopened to boarding about 4 or 5 years ago and are in full support of it. PN used to be on the no-snowboarding list with about 12 other resorts in the US about 5-10 years ago.

Center stage is pretty steep, then flattens out quite a bit. I mostly stay there. Tuff Enuff can be good if it is groomed well since it is narrow up top. The runs only have 400 ft of vertical. There are a couple of other runs that have a few good turns on them. This year I think I'm going to sit down with the owner or grooming manager and see if we can find a way to improve the groom on Center Stage. They typically groom with poor overlap and there are ridges parallel to the fall line that you hit as you carve across...quite unnerving.

I'm really the only hardbooter there..there are a number of good skiers/telemarkers that ride there. I have seen worse for carving. It is not crowded at all on a weekday. On some weekends it is very crowded but this doesnt happen often.

Perfect North is better than Paoli Peaks for hardbooting (about~2 hrs from PN west in Salem IN) and it is better than Ski World (Nashville IN) before Ski World closed. Will be nice to see another hardbooter there. Look me up. Or catch me at this years Session in Aspen in Feb.

[negedeng]

Hey Mike!

Thanks for the information.

Thats what i thought, "better than nothing" .

Here in Germany it takes me about 2 hours to reach a small spot and about 3.5 - 4 hours to be somewhere in the austrian alps.

PN will be about a 30 min drive for me and that looks pretty good to me.

Are there some bigger resorts close to Cinci (4-5 driving hours) worth a weekend trip?

We will see us in every case in about a year at PN.

Do you attend the SES in Feb.? I'm sory, but I'm not able to be there.

[Mike Blanz]

Yes, there is SnowShoe West Virginia which is about 5 hrs from Cincinnati. This has 1500 ft of vertical and is in the Appalacian Mtns which are at about 4500 ft. Has alot of runs. Other than that I recommend Granite Peak in Wausau Wisconsin ...much smaller than Snowshoe but it is where I frequent closer to where I grew up.

I will be in Aspen for the SES this year again. Been going since '99.