Buck Hill 20/21

[bobble]

2/3/21

went out at lunch. it was super crowded. not sure why so many kids were out skiing. the lift line was long. i got maybe 5 runs in before i had to return to work.

snow was goodly.

ran into a guy that was walking with a nitro alpineboard? i talked briefly with him. think he said his name was Aaron. he was trying it out. hadn't been on an alpineboard. i steered him to the forum. 

i would've stayed longer to help him out but my SpaceX hit the earth and was in the shop getting a speaker or something.

[MNSurfer]

The sun is out (for the first time in what seems like weeks), and if people look at the forecast, I'm guessing they might see this as the last "warm" day, for quite some time. That could bring a crowd out, for sure!

[bobble]

2/5/21

sunny. cold. around 8F. snow was very firm. at the very top of milkrun the wind scoured the snow away. once you get past the ice, the run has areas where cord is very thin and somewhat thick snow from recent snowfall. I was going from barely maintain an edge to slowing down and digging the tail.

not many people were out which was good.

wonder what will happen tomorrow. supposed to be much colder.

[bobble]

2/6/21

cold. about -2F this morning. windchill was -20F. when i got there the parking lot had very few cars. hardly any people there except ski teams. i saw maybe 2-3 regulars.

rode primarily on milkrun but did a few runs on crossroads. snow was good.

i rode for more than an hour and left. it wasn't much fun riding the chair with the cold wind from north. my toes were in pain from the cold.

at home i pulled the liner out of my boots. the heel of the liner was covered with snow. had to pour out the rest of the snow still inside the boot shell. dust infiltration amazes me every time.

[bobble]

2/7/21

damn cold. -10F with -30F windchill. i was really surprised that buck would open. duty calls.

Quote

"you don't have to like it, you just have to do it"

- some navy seal guy

got onto the chair at 8:55 AM. on way up i saw tracks i laid yesterday around the lift towers that the groomer didn't scrub. 

did first tracks. first half hour i almost had milkrun to myself. i lasted until 10:30 AM. my toes were painfully cold.

snow was squeaky at the top. slow going at the start. very firm cord. 

my goggles kept icing over. had to make a 2 trips to the chalet to clean the ice off. afterwards i rode the chair w/o goggles and then put them on at the top. seemed to work. at one point i forgot to take my goggles off and realized my they stopped fogging.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CK_6ZczADjO/

 

[Scott.Creer]

On 2/7/2021 at 11:47 AM, bobble said:

2/7/21

 toes were painfully cold

 

Boot heaters are well worth it. Especially in the hard boots.

[Corey]

5 hours ago, Scott.Creer said:

Boot heaters are well worth it.

AMEN! I've been using my Hotronics for over 10 years now. Aside from my own stupidity wrecking cables when removing liners, they've been flawless. Add boot gloves and my heels and hands are the limiting factor in -30 weather. 

Better performance than the chemical packs, adjustable, and feels less wasteful. 

[bobble]

2/13/21

-6F, but feels like a pleasant -23F.

there was ski race and training on milkrun, crossroads and olympic. 

i stayed on crossroads right up until they started setting up a course. i tried staying between the moguls and the course but the number of kids warming up on the run became an issue.

the snow was just okay on crossroads. 

i tried going over the railyard but just couldn't get into it.

and then i come to find out that buck is closed tomorrow (Sunday)

because

of the

POLAR

VORTEX!

 

[bigwavedave]

I hear ya. Been brutal cold here too. Spirit has had a delayed opening at noon all week and through tomorrow. I plan to head up to the hill soon.

I only last a couple of hours before I get thoroughly chilled and run home to my sauna. The carving has been great. The snow is hard summoning an aggressive approach. No relaxed carving. It's hard to know when to leave as the slopes are wide open and empty. I looked over my shoulder a few times to see only my own tracks. I expect it may be busier today.

The ride up the express chair has been tough as the winds, while only 5-10mph, are in your face and combine with the 12 mph speed of the chair. These are the days I miss the old chair with the wind shields.

btw, I just heard that the NorAm Race to the Cup at Buck has been rescheduled for Feb 26-28. I haven't decided if I'm coming down to help out this year. 

[bobble]

22 hours ago, bigwavedave said:

I hear ya. Been brutal cold here too. Spirit has had a delayed opening at noon all week and through tomorrow. I plan to head up to the hill soon.

I only last a couple of hours before I get thoroughly chilled and run home to my sauna. The carving has been great. The snow is hard summoning an aggressive approach. No relaxed carving. It's hard to know when to leave as the slopes are wide open and empty. I looked over my shoulder a few times to see only my own tracks. I expect it may be busier today.

The ride up the express chair has been tough as the winds, while only 5-10mph, are in your face and combine with the 12 mph speed of the chair. These are the days I miss the old chair with the wind shields.

btw, I just heard that the NorAm Race to the Cup at Buck has been rescheduled for Feb 26-28. I haven't decided if I'm coming down to help out this year. 

i just checked the buck web cams. the Milkrun webcam is disabled. when i viewed Teachers Pet camera i can see Milkrun  the chairlift is running and a guy on an ATV drove up the run. i don't see a race course yet but my guess is they are continuing with races today. 

what a shame. sunny day out too. as much as i am tempted to go i think i'll sit this one out.

its -18F in burnsville.

[bobble]

2/15/21

had day off for residents day. got there at 10am when they opened. outside temp was -6F. bluebird sky.

Milkrun already had a course set up. stayed mostly on Crossroads. snow was firm. pencil thin lines.

tried going over to Olympic and it was really difficult snow. not sure why.. second trip i chattered on heel-side and fell. it hurt. felt every bit of the cord on my hip and arm. Olympic was suddenly not my favorite run. tried Warners and it was ok.

left around 11:15amr. toes were in pain from cold and the ski racers started warming up on Crossroads.

[bobble]

2/17/21

rode in evening. buck got maybe an inch of snow during the day.

my board was sticking to the snow.

milkrun had the beer league course. the narrow lane next to towers was really rough. i only did a couple runs. 

crossroads, olympic and warners had courses.

railyard was just okay.

[bobble]

2/19/21

so... i'm working from home. i am easily distracted. have attention span of a gold fish. working on tough super-duper abstract programming project. 

at 10:50 AM. i jump onto Buck Hill webcam.

see a dark silhouette of hardbooter.

"oh. someone from G-Team. snow looks nice. maybe i'll go there over lunch."

keep watching...

interesting turns...

wait... why does that guy look familiar?

hardbooter lays out heel-side full extreme carve off the noll.

"HOLEEE FNCK!!! ITS ERIK!"

duty calls! 

early lunch break. throw my gear on quick. arrive at hill. get ticket. scan the run. watch chair. don't see erik. 

"hmmm... maybe it wasn't him. oh well"

head to chair. 

erik comes out of the chalet.

yay!

the Buck Hill social media guy recorded footage of erik. none of me. i'm just not worthy.

however, i did have a moment in the lift corral.

at the bottom i'm waiting for erik who was coming down the run with the mr facebook/insta guy.

two skiers shout to me in the line

"YOU GUYS LOOK GREAT!!! YOU LOOK LIKE YOU'RE HAVING FUN!!!"

 

[thebionicman]

Good catching up today.  Buck did a nice little post.  
https://www.instagram.com/p/CLfiP1JHl9C/?igshid=14zjt759ebynf

 

[bobble]

2/20/21

early morning. blue bird sky. 

snow was stiff. pencil thin lines but at the apex of turn the lines grew wide. couple times cord blew out.

only managed a few runs on milkrun. there was a course set up. skiers were constantly warming up. i stayed primarily on crossroads. i ventured over to railyard but there were too many kids.

main chair lift line was tolerable although i was getting peeved at the racers who ski to the front of the line. or, when they wait for a buddy to ski up to them in the line. 

met a snowboarder in lift line who expressed interest in alpine. i saw him on the run diving into toe-side turns.

in the lift line all i said to him was "you know ryan knapton?". the rider laughed and said he wanted to talk to me at the top of the run. rode separate chairs. at top we talked about gear for several minutes. he knew about donek snowboards. i mentioned alpinesnowboarder.com.
 

[Scuff]

Made one complete circuit on the backyard pump track.

[bobble]

2/21/21

sunday mornings are usually slow early in the morning.

today i was about to leave at 9:30AM. long lift lines.

flat light. very hard to see but the snow was really good.

milkrun had ski racing. crossroads was somewhat congested. i really liked olympic but the south chair had too long of lines.

left around 10:30AM.

[bobble]

2/22/21 

out at lunch. very warm. above freezing.

snow was relatively softer than yesterday but could still hold an edge. very smooth. did not hit any ice.

rode Milkrun, Crossroads and Olympic. they were all good. 

[bobble]

2/24/21

out at lunch. looked like someone else was on olympic. there were deep wide ruts.

temp is warm. around 38F. snow was soft. no ice. decent for carving. did a couple runs on olympic. stayed on milkrun. there was a course setup on crossroads.

youtube found me a snowboard build video series.  me not handy enough to attempt such a project. watched all the episodes. the guy who created the videos is a skateboard builder with no experience at snowboard builds but gave it a shot. more of a learning experience. his efforts really made me appreciate established board builders/artisans; e.g. Donek and Coiler.

in the 11th episode he tries to press the board. unfortunately, he incorrectly mixed 2-part epoxy. as he was laminating the epoxy was too warm and started setting before he had a chance to lay the core onto bottom sheet. everything ruined. he then tallied up the expenses. he spent $310 in materials not including tooling costs. ouch! you can buy new boards at tent sales for that much.

 

 

so... he starts over again with building the board with better results.

 

 

he finishes the board and takes it out. success!

 

 

Edited February 24, 2021 by bobble

[bobble]

2/25/21

out at lunch. 

place was overrun with hardbooters on milkrun preparing for RTTC.

and then there was karl.

warm. soft snow.

[Scuff]

My first day of the season was a good day. 

 

[bobble]

7 hours ago, Scuff said:

My first day of the season was a good day. 

 

by the looks of it, first tracks.

[bobble]

2/26/21

RTTC. course was setup.

soft snow under the chair. fat ruts.

 

 

[Callaway140]

We'll be there in the AM. Going to be pretty soft I bet. Thats alright, wet snow can be fast snow.

 

[bobble]

2/27/21

race to the cup... geebus! crossroads was rutted up quick! 

so many doneks.

CHAIR LIFT RAGE

standing in lift line around 10AM. i watch the lifty tell someone to wear their mask. he then slowed the chair while the person put on the mask. when he restarted the chair he yelled "104!"

when i slid up to the load area, "what's that count for?"

lifty said "its the number of times i've had to tell people to put on their mask. when it gets to 200 i get to kick some ass!"

i noticed that there were more people not wearing masks above their nose. saw a skier with no helmet, no hat, no mask cruising down the run.

about half hour later i ask the lifty what's the current count. he said he's up to 204. riding up with @BobD. we just got on the chair. just as we cleared the area the lifty started shouting at some kids in the load area...

"PUT ON YOUR MASKS!!!"

i think he was having fun.