Burke Dec 20, 2014

Date(s) Skied: December 20, 2014


Resort or Ski Area: Burke


Conditions: Powder, Loose Granular and Hard Pack


Trip Report: Well, I didn’t meet up with xwhaler and co. but it really was an amazing day. Not because of conditions because the cover was so-so. Where there was untracked powder it was uneven and crusty under maybe 3 or 4 inches of fresh so it looked soft but not really. But the base is in real good shape at this point. I hate to think what the coming weather is going to do. The groomers were carvable hardpack.


The really amazing thing was the view. I’ve never seen such clear, long and sharp views. It was arresting and couldn’t stop taking photos at first. So here’s some:




PC204375 by Bob Misu, on Flickr


PC204403 by Bob Misu, on Flickr


PC204406 by Bob Misu, on Flickr


PC204398 by Bob Misu, on Flickr






PC204372 by Bob Misu, on Flickr

Burke was great today! Xwhaler and two other friends skied from 9-1:30. Xwhaler and I skied hard as usual. We mostly stuck with natural snow trails and glades with a few groomers mixed in. Groomers were lightning fast and very hard, perfect for the racers. Most trails on the East Bowl side were left ungroomed and widely varied in quality. East bowl trail was pretty sweet early. Powderhorn was horribly scraped and really sucked. Sasquatch glade was pretty awesome with 3-4 inches on top of a breakable crust. The other glades were ok, seemed there was a decent rain crust under the small amount of fresh snow they had. Overall awesome first day at Burke! I'm very impressed with that mountain and I would love to get back there midwinter. Heavy rain next week will not do Burke well. Get up there now!

Hey, cutsup! Sorry I missed you an xwhaler. Thanks for adding to the report. I probably made it sound worse than it was.

Shoulda told you guys to look for the blue helmet. It's brighter than I thought it would be but it does seem to be one of a kind.

I skied Eastbowl once and was sorry I didn't get there earlier because I didn't have anything left in my legs at that point. I remember looking up what was probably Dixiland kicking myself for not getting there sooner. Definitely getting back there again soon myself.



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Awesome day just back from a long wknd road trip. Will post some Owls Head thoughts separately later. Burke was good on Saturday. As Abubob and Catsup948 said the groomers were firm and fast. They didnt groom as much as thdy normally do which caused a lot of repetition for the 2 advanced itermediates we were with. Probably just opening week getting up to speed.

Sasquatch was glade of the day with Cave Man also being nice. Throbulator was thin but workable tho hard to get into a flow given the varying consistency of the snow.
Ducked the rope and hit Dixiland which is definitely not ready. Shoulda respected the rope. Lotta snow snakes, water bars, rocks, etc. Glad to get out of there with no damage to myself or skis.
Overall a fun day. Ppl working on hotel and good food/beers at Bear Den and Tamarack. Hard to ask for much more for Dec 20th!

Sweet pics Bob. Glad you guys had a fun time. I wasn't able to get out to ski again this weekend. I was able to go on a late afternoon hike in search of a picture I've been after.

Burke and Cannon Blue Hour by Tim_NEK, on Flickr

Still not quite what I want (Cannon is partially obscured by the snow making cloud). I need to get the pictures on my good computer to see if I can cut through the haze using better editing software.
I'm also hoping Santa gets me the new lens I've been eyeing 8) and I will go back and try to get this shot again.

Wow that picture is awesome. Crazy how it makes cannon look so close.

Xwhaler, I'm looking forward to your Owl's Head report.

I skied Burke on Saturday and share in the views here. I'm bummed about the warmup that's coming. I wish I could get out today, but that's not happening.

wakenbacon said:

Wow that picture is awesome. Crazy how it makes cannon look so close.

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What he said.

from_the_NEK said:

Sweet pics Bob. Glad you guys had a fun time. I wasn't able to get out to ski again this weekend. I was able to go on a late afternoon hike in search of a picture I've been after.

Burke and Cannon Blue Hour by Tim_NEK, on Flickr

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Well Done!!

Great pics! I haven't been up there for years.