Guest Posted November 21, 2013 Report Share Posted November 21, 2013 Ok I've contained my excitement long enough - with Camelback's website saying tentative opening Dec 6:D, and Blue Mt just sent me an email saying they are pushing for November 29th:D (!) I'm allowed to be excited now. Same deal for me this year - I will be riding Camelback with the value pass most saturday nights this year. I definitely want to hit Blue two or three times this year during the week. I'm curious about Mt Creek, as well, from where I live it's almost the exact same drive as going to Camelback. I bought my first custom board from Bruce this year - it should be arriving soon:D. Oh and apparently the media is drumming up some story about a nor'easter coming next week:D? We shall see.... Way too much excitement. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyLo Posted November 22, 2013 Report Share Posted November 22, 2013 Nickg Wow. This season is coming up super fast.....going to stratton the day before thanksgiving !!!!! And hunter the day after. Just put td3 on my MADD 170. Going to see how this works out. I get season passes to mt creek just because it is closer to my house but I always make trips to camelback and blue. Hope to rip some turns with you this year. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piusthedrcarve Posted November 22, 2013 Report Share Posted November 22, 2013 I got a timeshare traded for Shawnee for the second week of January (1/5-11). The trip is just for my kids to learn snowsports at mellow trails. Anyhow, Camelback is +20 miiles from there so..I will come visit early morning for few weekdays. I am juggling between CamelCard and TripleTicket. Hopefully see you NJ/PA crews on the slopes. Will post when the time is near. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teach Posted November 24, 2013 Report Share Posted November 24, 2013 NickG, looking forward to see that new Coiler! What are the details? JohnnyLo, hope to see you and your crew at Camelback, or maybe Blue. Pius, Camelback has some pretty nice beginner runs -- very wide with long runouts, no worries about going "over the edge". Hope to see you there -- let me know when you're going! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 26, 2013 Report Share Posted November 26, 2013 Coiler is due at my house tomorrow, I'll post pics in the board porn thread but I'm sure you'll see it. Stats are: Extreme carving shape, 170cm, 22waist, 13/14 sidecut, I think he used "variable camber" (?) but I'm not sure, I have to look back at the email. IIRC he said the variable camber boards were ideal for cranking over hard (which is good). I went with the EC style because Bruce said that this shape can double as all-mountain duty, plus I wanted to be able to relax my angles. I have tight sidecut boards for just playing around and figured that a big (big for the east coast, at least) sidecut would be really fun on the wide trails when there's noone around. I'll be at camelback early saturday to pick up my pass and fight the melee of people trying to get down turkey trot. I'm expecting it to suck haha. I'm going to share this because I think hopefully some of you can relate. This is, at least for me, what this sport is all about: I have a snapshot in my mind's eye from last season. It's early spring, middle of the week, first thing in the morning, 33* and very foggy/cloudy. I head to rhododendron glen (very wide, even-graded slope, blue trail) and I get to the top. I'm the only person there and the first person on the run. There are no cuts in the groom, just perfect, untouched courdoroy. I check equipment and start heading down. First I edge left -a light toe side, then right, a slightly harder heelside, just to gain some speed. Then I set up for a big toe side: board is pointed towards the trees, I bend into a crouch, tip over and slowly rotate as I extend over the snow. I'm hovering just above the surface; the grip is incredible; I can totally focus on my body and my form because there aren't any danger spots in the snow I need to worry about dodging or absorbing. I hold the carve for what feels like ages; I can FEEL the individual grooves in the courdoroy through my gloves - my fingers moving up and down the ridges in slow motion. I look down the slope and because of the fog I can't see the bottom. No noise exists other than the sounds of my board slicing through the groom and the wind hitting my helmet. For a moment I'm completely alone and in my own, personal carving world. No fears, no troubles, no worries. I simply exist. Just the snow, just the board, just the groom... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teach Posted November 30, 2013 Report Share Posted November 30, 2013 Nick, that's it. I actually had a few of those last season. Except for this part: there aren't any danger spots in the snow I need to worry about dodging or absorbing. This is related to the foggy/cloudy conditions -- that run in the morning seems to set the standard for flat light. Either that, or my depth perception is totally gone. I always take quite a few reconnaissance runs down it before I'm comfortable opening it up. I may try Blue Mt Sunday morning, or Camelback Sunday afternoon. Let us know how it was today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 2, 2013 Report Share Posted December 2, 2013 teach, I guess my assessment of the risk is more cursory than yours!Rather than actually verifying it was clean, I just assumed it was, based on the fact that there was fresh groom all the way at the top and I was the first person on it. I'm trying to find a flat light solution that also protects my face (my current solution is just dont use goggles) but wind and snow tend to mess me up. I'm thinking clear lenses for my goggles, but I was actually thinking of trying clear sport glasses for more peripheral vision. Anyways, we went saturday morning. Just 1 trail was open, down from the park lift. We got there first thing. The first two runs were excellent, good groom, not crowded, remembered how much fun this is :) After about an hour it really started to fill up, the ski racers showed up (death bombers) and a few other straightliners, and it became unsafe. At around 12 the line (from the park/glen lift) was back to the lodge and the slope was nothing but sugar. Horrifying. Good start, though! It was great to be out in november! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teach Posted December 14, 2013 Report Share Posted December 14, 2013 Rhododendron Glen was open today. Good coverage for this time of year. Poor grooming. If it snows tomorrow it might be nice Sunday. Marjie's was pretty good, just a few spots at the edges of the trail where coverage was thin. Camelback is now open for night riding. Anyone going tomorrow 3 PM? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 14, 2013 Report Share Posted December 14, 2013 I will be there with my normal crew after 3pm. Hoping the snow smooths out some of the crappy grooming on rhodo. sad to hear it's still pretty bad. I'm taking tuesday (12/17) off and will be there during the day. all good things Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teach Posted December 22, 2013 Report Share Posted December 22, 2013 Did anyone ride Camelback today? From the "mountain cams" view it looked like it could have been a lot better than the temperature suggests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 23, 2013 Report Share Posted December 23, 2013 My friend went, he said it was surprisingly not bad. The report was that if you went really hard you'd lose it in the soft snow, but it was actually pretty supportive. I'm going up tonight and will be there tomorrow morning until about 12. I don't know if they groomed rhodo yet (website says no) but I see that big pocono is open, which is decent. Trying to teach Mia tomorrow, so she'll have hardboots on and will be riding a board that's probably a little too big for her but w/e. I'll give an update on how bad conditions are:p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teach Posted January 2, 2014 Report Share Posted January 2, 2014 Very nice conditions today, and pretty sane until after noon. Raceway lift was running and no line at all. I rode Raceway all morning. Snow held up well -- I left for safety reasons about 12:30 (the hangover crowd?) They were making snow on Rhododendron Glen, should be good tomorrow. Anyone going? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teach Posted January 2, 2014 Report Share Posted January 2, 2014 (edited) Nice conditions again today, firm and grippy. Rhododendron Glen grooming a little rutty, and the thick fog + uber flat light made it scarier than I like. Very thin coverage on right (looking down). The usual rocks in the snow on the run leading from the top to Raceway/Glen. Rode Raceway until it got a little busy. Only a few weird bumps, and right edge of trail is to be avoided. Edited January 2, 2014 by teach enhance spelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piusthedrcarve Posted January 2, 2014 Report Share Posted January 2, 2014 Good to hear. I'm coming up to Pocono next week and will be riding Camelback one or few days. Will post up when I go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piusthedrcarve Posted January 7, 2014 Report Share Posted January 7, 2014 Will be riding Camelback tomorrow first chair. Temp. will be close to 0 F. Anyone coming? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teach Posted January 7, 2014 Report Share Posted January 7, 2014 I'm planning to be there. First chair? Maybe, if it's not slow driving. Red helmet, orange UPZs, green jacket. I will probably be going to the lift on the far left (looking up the hill) -- then down the narrow green runs to get to Pocono Raceway or Rhododendron Glen, if they still have snow. Hope to see you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piusthedrcarve Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 Rode 3 hours this morning from 9:30 am. It was 6'F when I left. I took furthest left lift few times at start but it got closed around 10. I was clueless since many lifts were not operated and some trails were closed. Then, I met Teach and followed him around. Definitely, he saved my day. He showed me where to run and not. We both hoped to ride Rododendron(?) but it remained closed. But tried alternate runs and found few rolling hill like trails that I liked. All in all, good day with a BOLer. Nice to make some lines with you Teach~. Hope I can ride with you Thursday but not sure at this point. Will post up if I can make it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teach Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 Pius, you forgot to mention it was 0 F on the hill! But at least it was windy... UPZ boots with Flo liners worked great, but a face mask would have been a good idea. I still have some windburn on my face; it's worse than a bad sunburn (but just a small area). Hope to see you tomorrow. Hope the carving runs are open! The site says Glen is open today and groomed. Fingers crossed... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teach Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 Could have been excellent conditions today but management was getting ready for the weekend (which might not happen). Most runs closed, including Rhododendron Glen, even though the grooming report said open and groomed. Due to the nice weather, there were a lot of riders/skiers. They'd go up their favorite lift only to find all the runs closed but one or two. So a lot of folks were on runs they didn't plan on, and often, shouldn't have been on. Like the guy who clocked me at the final drop-off where Cliffhanger (open double black) meets Nile Mile (closed blue). He didn't see me over the "roller" (but it's just a drop, no rise). Of course, you can't see _anything_ beyond that drop, so that's a reason to slow down or (if within skill set) make a turn to give yourself some time to see what you're dropping in to. Not this dude. If I'd had my wits about me I don't know what I'd have done. Lucky him, I was clocked. Time for a new helmet and some physical therapy. I should have gone home an hour earlier. I could see the potential for mayhem. But I was on a Coiler AM 23 cm waist board I bought in the spring as a kind of alternative to soft booting. I wasn't sure I'd like the width or the length (179) for my purpose -- it's an experiment -- but that thing was just, how you say?, dreamy. A little effort to flip from edge to edge (could be setup issue) but man does that carve and not care what it's carving! (My first alpine board was a 21 cm waist AM which also had this characteristic, but it was too stiff for me. Really nice to have that ride back AND be able to bend it!) So instead of continuing on Sunbowl to get setup dialed etc I headed for Cliffhanger. The board worked great. What really bugs me is that I wait for the run to be clear before I start, look behind all the time, and wait for others to go by when I see/hear action above. This guy must have straightlined the whole thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jp1 Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 Blue was the same. Never seen so many people in the bottom lodge @ opening! Got nuts fast, really really hard packed, got 1 good run :D on Challenge (as they just groomed it) before it marbled up. Nightmare & Dream Weaver, I have no idea what par is, but they were covered in Giant Golf Balls. 2 hrs & Hauled Azz BEFORE disaster struck................ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icebiker Posted January 22, 2014 Report Share Posted January 22, 2014 I am thinking of riding either Camelback or Mountain Creek this THursday (Jan 23)...anyone around? Teach? Would be great to meet you guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teach Posted January 23, 2014 Report Share Posted January 23, 2014 I won't be there Thursday but thinking of making a return Friday. Has anyone seen Camelback's condition report lately? Stuff like "we'll be grooming Pocono Raceway during the day to open for night riding" -- whuh? Did some of the grooming crew walk off the job? Looking more and more like I'll be going for a Blue Mt or Bear Creek pass next season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icebiker Posted January 24, 2014 Report Share Posted January 24, 2014 No worries, I went to Mtn Creek instead as a buddy threw me a free ticket. Had the place practically to myself. Lot of curious looks and questions on my board/bindings/boots. Not surprisingly, I was the only hardbooter there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keltacer Posted January 25, 2014 Report Share Posted January 25, 2014 Haven't been to Camelback yet this year. Sounds like grooming and management has deteriorated? Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thump Posted January 29, 2014 Report Share Posted January 29, 2014 just a heads up ,chalky grippy goodness and decent groom yesterday.brave the cold-its worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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