teach Posted February 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2012 Not bad today. A more or less uniform 1" layer of sugar over softened ice/frozen hardpack. I rode Raceway but too many out-of-control skiers and snowboarders... you know, big guys with skis 3 feet apart, each ski weaving in and out independently of the other, going 30+ mph, boarders going so fast they're scared to turn or even twist the board to hit the brakes. Also the left side was cordoned off for race training. But Rocket was pretty good and almost free of straightliners (quite a few beginners getting stranded, but that's much easier to deal with). Cliffhanger also seemed pretty good, but the runout onto the end of Nile Mile was scary. Keltacer, do you ride weekdays? Sharples, Voytazbrna, didn't see any other carvers except for Camelback's team practicing on Marjie's or Rocket. Where were you riding? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keltacer Posted February 26, 2012 Report Share Posted February 26, 2012 Weekdays are hard for me unless I play hooky from work, which is difficult because something always seems to come up when I'm planning to be "sick." Wish I lived closer to camelback, I'm about 1.5 hours away and my work is in the opposite direction (Brooklyn). I did manage to get there on the monday after the superbowl and had a blast. I had to hide from the Giants fans at work . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharples Posted February 26, 2012 Report Share Posted February 26, 2012 i started off late morning on the right side of the mountain (as you're looking at it), did a few runs on Rocket, as it was fairly open and led to a nice open area on the bottom, perfect for carving wide turns. then went to the other side early in the afternoon, but got too packed so spent a good hour or two on Pocono Raceway, practicing my carving turns. Also those kids on the Camelback snowboard racing team were amazing, I caught a few glimpses of them carving turns, the youngest must've been only 10 but they ripped! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voytazbrna Posted February 27, 2012 Report Share Posted February 27, 2012 I also had a late start since I was there with three of my friends. I saw one guy on hard boots, but always from a lift or too far away. Red helmet and orange boots - board looked red as well. Anyway, buddy of mine (soft boots) and I spent most of the day on the Lower Cleopatra and Pocono Raceway. Never made it to the right side since the lift there was just way too crowded. But we had a great time. I would've spent more time looking for you guys, but it was hard with three of my friends in tow. Conditions were really not that bad so I'm hoping it's not the end of the season yet. I feel a sick day coming up soon...might end up at Mt. Creek though since it's much closer for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teach Posted February 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2012 Red helmet, orange boots--that was me. The red board went back to the car when it got crowded and I went to the other side of the mountain with something smaller. First time on the red board, had to get it out to match the new red helmet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voytazbrna Posted February 27, 2012 Report Share Posted February 27, 2012 I'll make sure to hunt you down next time, teach :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teach Posted March 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2012 Excellent conditions today, believe it or not! The rain Friday was minor, I'm told. Anyway, snow was great and was still great when I reluctantly left 3 pm or so. Raceway was almost empty; I stayed on it the whole time with the big red board (Ogasaka 185 from Excelsior the Fathead). I bet tomorrow morning will be good until afternoon--anyone going? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 7, 2012 Report Share Posted March 7, 2012 no wonder i never see you guys, always there during the day. I might be there at night, from like 4pm on. how's riding the 185? i imagine super stable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keltacer Posted March 7, 2012 Report Share Posted March 7, 2012 Work owes me a day off so I'll most likely be there in the AM on Friday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keltacer Posted March 7, 2012 Report Share Posted March 7, 2012 That's if there's any snow left. Mid 60's today in NYC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teach Posted March 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2012 Really nice again this morning. Not quite up to yesterday, and got soft a little faster, but still good when I left at noon. Raceway, that is... never got off it. Marjie's was reported to be great by an alpinist I see frequently but don't know... NickG, the 185 is really fun. Very stable at speeds I don't even want to be going. Much easier to maneuver than I'd expect... I'm getting to the point I don't require the entire Raceway! Easy to thread down the narrow little runs, but not what I'd like to be on if it's narrow and crowded. Keltacer, if you can switch tomorrow for Friday you might get better conditions... but who knows? I will be there both mornings, maybe with soft boots in reserve. They actually made snow last night. A lot went to the runout of Raceway to Sunbowl... as the sun beat on it it got slower and slower, to the point where at noon it was like hitting a rubber traction mat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jp1 Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 Glenn, Greg and I rode BM yesterday (Wed), ran into Chubz at the end of the day (woa, 4 'piners, guess that was BMES 2012 :) .... It was without a doubt the best carving I've had there this season from 9-11 am when it started getting 'fluky', too soft and slow. Pretty sure I'm going to get a Weekday Only Season Pass for CB next year. Just can't justify BM double the cost of CB any longer, and CB allows Early Access to pass holders, correct ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 Glenn, Greg and I rode BM yesterday (Wed), ran into Chubz at the end of the day (woa, 4 'piners, guess that was BMES 2012 :) ....It was without a doubt the best carving I've had there this season from 9-11 am when it started getting 'fluky', too soft and slow. Pretty sure I'm going to get a Weekday Only Season Pass for CB next year. Just can't justify BM double the cost of CB any longer, and CB allows Early Access to pass holders, correct ?? Sounds fun :) I wish i could get up there during the week like old times... John, the CB value pass at $200 is VERY worth it. Despite any claims to the contrary by CB, you don't really get any perks with it, though. The only downside is being limited to post-3pm riding on the weekends. But, you'd be surprised how much it clears out on a saturday night - and if you know the right runs, you never have to look over your shoulder or wait in line for a chair. Sadly, I don't think I'll go back to blue...CB has some excellent carving runs (granted...not as good as lazy mile or paradise on an empty day) but still very high quality. I also think their snowmaking and grooming is slightly better. And most importantly, we might get the chance to ride together! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teach Posted March 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 JP1, you only get early access (and that on weekends) with the deluxe pass, which I think is maybe as much or more than Blue. But weekday mornings are great, and as NickG said, it often clears out around 6 pm, even weekdays. I think the thing to do is alternate: get the CB value pass and ride Blue/CB this year till close, then CB next year and in the spring, get Blue's weekday-only deal and ride CB and Blue for the remainder of the year... but I was so disappointed with Blue last year and the one time I went this year that I think I'll do CB again and maybe also a Bear Creek pass for evening (CB is too far to have any time left for evening for me with my current schedule) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jp1 Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 Thanks guys, I was under the impression that any season pass holder had 1/2 hour early access daily. I need to re-evaluate my options now.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teach Posted March 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 $549 for the pass that gets you "First Trax" status, 7:30 - 8:30 AM Sat & Sun. The value pass does give free equipment check and 10% off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teach Posted March 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 Friday was pretty good. Keltacer was there as well. The pace of softening up was fast enough to tell the difference from one run to the next. I guess we left around 2. Still rideable but a little scary on the lower, softer parts, and more people. Saturday started well; nice firm conditions on the right side (viewed from the lifts) but got busy fast (partly because of the Tele-Fest). Keltacer and I moved to the Nile Mile side but it was not really carveworty: loose stuff over bumpy ice. Rode Marc Antony (I think that's it), pretty good conditions but wasn't working for me. Packed it in before noon. Ran into NickG and crew; they had been riding Rhododendron Glen--they said no one was using the jumps and they just carved around them. Perfect! I bet this morning was nice. Still upset I couldn't make it--did anyone go? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keltacer Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 Camelback is closed from Monday to Thursday, open Friday to Sunday. What a bummer. I'm scared to see what the mountain looks like by this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.oldsnowboards.com Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 (Ogasaka 185 from Excelsior the Fathead). Hey Teach, you ended up with the Ogasaka? How do you like it? I thought it was really well made and an interesting shape. Curious what your take is. I am too heavy for it. I sold it to Fathead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teach Posted March 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 Yes, it's a nice board. I'm about 190-200 lbs w/o gear and it's about right, I think. I had it out two good days last week and it worked great--I was starting to get the turns small enough to not take up the whole of our one wide run. Got nice compliments from ski patrollers on it (and a lot of people asking about it). Very good grip on icy stuff, but without much locked-in feeling. It took a while getting the toeside-to-heelside transition right... maybe stance or maybe just me being too tentative. It is easy to ride on narrow runs, skidding when necessary etc. Just not the board for carving on the runs we have left, or riding in weekend crowds, so it's getting storage waxed unless I can get out west soon or we get some winter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.oldsnowboards.com Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 Cool teach, glad it found a good home. Originally that boards retail price was 1300$ in Japan!!!! It was pretty close to new when I sold it to Fathead. I don't think he road it much. Happy to see it put to use. Ride on!! (I am afraid I am around 245lbs) I only road it briefly with a Donek Plate on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teach Posted March 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 It was in perfect shape when I got it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keltacer Posted March 16, 2012 Report Share Posted March 16, 2012 Anybody going to give CB a shot this weekend? Or is it a wrap for the season? Forecast calls for mid 60's and sunny. Webcams are looking pretty dreadful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teach Posted March 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2012 Yes, not expecting much, though. I'll bring a soft-boot board and maybe skis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jp1 Posted April 9, 2012 Report Share Posted April 9, 2012 (edited) Congratulations to Kubo, Emily and the rest of the 'Camelback Snowboard Team' on your awesome finishes at the 2012 USASA Nationals Edited April 15, 2012 by jp1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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