Abominable
Active member
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2013
- Messages
- 504
- Points
- 28
Had a great weekend at Berkshire East. Although they didn't quite get the totals some Cats areas reported, I'd say they had 9" at the top. Saturday morning groomers were wonderful. As it warmed up, the natural trails started to ski real well. Favorite bump runs were Jug, Flying Cloud and Lift Line. Made some forays into the trees and found some nice lines in areas that had the right combination of snow and sun. Glades on the east side, in the deciduous trees, were nice. Glades that were totally in coniferous shadow (Beast) never really softened up and were tough. Was great to be out there in a t-shirt and shell... sunglasses, no hat. Been awhile since I've skied in 60 degree weather. Everyone was out on the deck enjoying it. Nice thing about BEast is the night skiing - some of the best runs were between 4 and 6:30 / 7 as the sun was starting to set on the lower half of the mountain but the top was still sunny and soft.
Sunday morning conditions were fast, which prompted me to take advantage of another great thing BEast offers - Pure Boarding. This is hard boot 'alpine' snowboarding. The guy that runs it, Mark, is a really nice guy, and BEast attracts a pretty solid cadre of hardbooters, all of whom are happy to discuss gear and technique and make it fun. Did laps on Exhibition all morning trying to put together some turns and had a blast. Definitely something I'd recommend some of you softbooters to try, if you never have. Pretty awesome watching a crew flying down Exhibition laying big carves with their shoulders touching the snow.
As everything softened up on Sunday I switched back to the lazy man's ride and had a blast again on the soft groomers, all of the east side skied great. Grizzy was nice after it warmed up, as well as the bump runs mentioned above. Some bare spots definitely started showing late in the day. When Competition got too soft the shady groomers (Big Chief, War Dance, Minnie Dole) all were fun.
I wonder if they let more runs bump up in a big snow year. It'd be great if they let the looker's left side of Comp bump - it'd be fun sitting out on the deck watching people ski it. That's really the only thing I found lacking, looking for more sunny bump runs, but nothing to complain about. The skiing was so nice on Saturday late afternoon / early evening I was almost caught by surprise when they shut things down on Sunday... but I guess people gotta get home.
Never a wait on either day. Another thing I realized is that while there are lots of families, and lots of kids skiing, there really aren't a lot of city / beginner / rental types.... not to disparage anyone getting out on the slopes, but the absence of bus-loads of non-skiers from urban areas really makes the skiing more relaxing, and I think the conditions stay better, longer, because of it. May be just my impression.
I have a couple Loyalty Card coupons - ten bucks off per ticket, re-usable for as many times as you want and for up to five or six people per trip (neither of which I realized when I greedily grabbed a couple). They are good through the end of the season and included a discount on their summer activities (zip lines, etc). I'll send them to whoever PMs, in the order of the PM. Please be sure you're going to use them.
Sorry no pictures.
Sunday morning conditions were fast, which prompted me to take advantage of another great thing BEast offers - Pure Boarding. This is hard boot 'alpine' snowboarding. The guy that runs it, Mark, is a really nice guy, and BEast attracts a pretty solid cadre of hardbooters, all of whom are happy to discuss gear and technique and make it fun. Did laps on Exhibition all morning trying to put together some turns and had a blast. Definitely something I'd recommend some of you softbooters to try, if you never have. Pretty awesome watching a crew flying down Exhibition laying big carves with their shoulders touching the snow.
As everything softened up on Sunday I switched back to the lazy man's ride and had a blast again on the soft groomers, all of the east side skied great. Grizzy was nice after it warmed up, as well as the bump runs mentioned above. Some bare spots definitely started showing late in the day. When Competition got too soft the shady groomers (Big Chief, War Dance, Minnie Dole) all were fun.
I wonder if they let more runs bump up in a big snow year. It'd be great if they let the looker's left side of Comp bump - it'd be fun sitting out on the deck watching people ski it. That's really the only thing I found lacking, looking for more sunny bump runs, but nothing to complain about. The skiing was so nice on Saturday late afternoon / early evening I was almost caught by surprise when they shut things down on Sunday... but I guess people gotta get home.
Never a wait on either day. Another thing I realized is that while there are lots of families, and lots of kids skiing, there really aren't a lot of city / beginner / rental types.... not to disparage anyone getting out on the slopes, but the absence of bus-loads of non-skiers from urban areas really makes the skiing more relaxing, and I think the conditions stay better, longer, because of it. May be just my impression.
I have a couple Loyalty Card coupons - ten bucks off per ticket, re-usable for as many times as you want and for up to five or six people per trip (neither of which I realized when I greedily grabbed a couple). They are good through the end of the season and included a discount on their summer activities (zip lines, etc). I'll send them to whoever PMs, in the order of the PM. Please be sure you're going to use them.
Sorry no pictures.
