Gunstock 1/12/11 Night Turns

[xwhaler]

Left Epping at 3:45, quick stop at Wendy's and for gas and was on hill by 5:45. Longer than expected drive...on dry roads and no slow cars I can do the drive in 1:10 door to door from my house in Epping.
Lapped the Tiger all night, skied right until 9. Redhat and Cannonball were the runs of the night. Tiger was more skied off than the other two.
Did Cannonball Steeps a few times, surprisngly scratchy so I'm guessing that hasn't seen much manmade.
Tiger Steeps was not open but it looked delicious and so tempting from the lift....really not sure why that was closed.
Boot deep all night, drifts early in the night that got up past my knees.

Noticed they were blowing snow on the top of the terrain park and also further left of Redhat on Stonebar or Flintlock Extension we heard some guns going.
Should be 100% open for the wknd....unsure about the woods though....16" of dry fluff may not be quite enough to get the woods open but maybe...everything there seems to be pretty low angle.

Quick Pigs Ear in the pub and then back on the road by 9:30...home by 10:50.
Tired this AM but a very satisfying night. Wish I lived/worked closer to Gunstock...I'd definaely enjoy getting a night pass there and skiing a few nights a week after work...their night ops are fairly extensive for Southern/Central NH.

 

[deadheadskier]

nice

stoopit work kept me home. wanted to blow it off, but critical deadline on Friday, so it is what it is.

The only time I've been there was night skiing after the last storm. I made it home in an hour and ten on not that great of roads, so I could probably do it in an hour on good roads. I'll be making the pass switch to there from Ragged for next season. I'll have to deal with bigger crowds on the weekends, but being 30 minutes closer, better snowmaking and night skiing for not much more money makes sense.

Now if I could just convince them to seed bumps on Redhat so that they have a mogul program like Sundown or Pats Peak, I'll be in business.

 

[HD333]

Now if I could just convince them to seed bumps on Redhat so that they have a mogul program like Sundown or Pats Peak, I'll be in business.

Their report today indicated that Red Hat will have a bump run on one side, not sure if seeded but it is a start....

Nice report Xwhaler, nice to see Gunstock getting some positive press. Last weekend Tiger Steeps was all man made whales so they must have just pushed them around.

 

[dw2]

Lapped the Tiger all night, skied right until 9. Redhat and Cannonball were the runs of the night. Tiger was more skied off than the other two.
Did Cannonball Steeps a few times, surprisngly scratchy so I'm guessing that hasn't seen much manmade.
Tiger Steeps was not open but it looked delicious and so tempting from the lift....really not sure why that was closed.
Boot deep all night, drifts early in the night that got up past my knees.

Noticed they were blowing snow on the top of the terrain park and also further left of Redhat on Stonebar or Flintlock Extension we heard some guns going.
Should be 100% open for the wknd....unsure about the woods though....16" of dry fluff may not be quite enough to get the woods open but maybe...everything there seems to be pretty low angle.

We were there, too. But, we live pretty close. Cannonball was the run to be on - it just opened last weekend (saturday night). Cannonball steeps actually had a TON of man made on it - the piles before they pushed them were probably 15 feet tall. I think the traffic (and wind) pushed the new off mostly.

Tiger Steeps still needs some grooming, I think they pushed the piles out quickly with the storm coming so they didn't have to deal with them after.

That one techno alpin on at the top, right by ramrod race is a new trial fan gun for the season. They are making snow on skier's left of red hat on Flintlock and stonebar.

 

[dw2]

Their report today indicated that Red Hat will have a bump run on one side, not sure if seeded but it is a start....

Nice report Xwhaler, nice to see Gunstock getting some positive press. Last weekend Tiger Steeps was all man made whales so they must have just pushed them around.

I agree, they try to let one side of Red Hat bump up - the trail I'd like to see bumps on is Pistol, the snow over there is always good, and it's a great spot for intermediate and beginner bumps.

 

[deadheadskier]

okay then it's settled.

Seeded bumps on half of Redhat and seeded bumps on half of Pistol.

 

[Moe Ghoul]

Just in case Gunstockers haven't looked in the other thread.

I have 3 primetime vouchers remaining for Gunstock. I picked up a baker's dozen (13) which averages around 52/ticket. No blackouts, good on weekends, expire at the end of this season. PM if any interest in purchasing. $150 for all 3, or $52 a piece.

 

[xwhaler]

better snowmaking and night skiing for not much more money makes sense.

This to me is really the reason to choose Gunstock over Ragged...I'd argue that Ragged's terrain, trail setup, lodge, crowds, and parking all all superior to Gunstock.

But you said it, the option for night turns and consistent snowmaking you can count on makes it probably the safer bet.

Redhat definately gets bumped up on it's own from what I could see last night and this past Saturday when I was there.
Gunstock is sort of the Wachusett of Southern/Central NH I feel....they know what they are in terms of terrain, cater to the family crowd, have nice grooming/snowmaking ops. Nothing wrong with that but unsure I'd invest in anything more than a night pass there though.

 

[deadheadskier]

oh I definitely get the catering to the family crowd, but sometimes 'dad' likes to have a bit of fun and challenge as well. Having just one well maintained bump run satisfies that.

I look at a place like Sundown, there are probably 20 members of this forum alone who would not buy a pass there if they didn't offer bumps. I'm sure there are many more who are not internet geeks. :lol: I imagine it's the same with Pats Peak and Sunapee and that if they didn't have bumps, they'd lose business. I'd be willing to bet that if Gunstock had a good bump run available under the lights, they'd attract a number of night season pass and day ticket sales from the seacoast area. Folks that normally go to larger more advanced mountains on the weekends, but wouldn't mind getting a quick fix during the week.

Pat's has natural bumps on Hurricane, but Sundown and Sunapee bumps are all seeded. Seeding is pretty much necessary at low snowfall mountains. FWIW, lack of bumps is another reason I plan on moving on from Ragged.