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Hunter Mountain, 1-30-14

Wavewheeler

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Date: Thursday, 1/30/14
Resort: Hunter Mountain
Conditions: Packed powder

I am sure glad I listened to the advice I was given and went to Hunter today. It certainly seems to have earned the title "Snowmaking Capitol". We have more snow (unfortunately ) down at the Jersey Shore than in the Catskill Mountains and I was surprised at how sparse the natural snow cover was as I drove north on the NY Thruway. As I got deeper into the mountains and at a higher elevation the snow increased but it wasn't until I got to Hunter and started skiing that I really got an appreciation for just how well the folks at Hunter have been taking advantage of the recent cold snap to put together an impressive day of skiing despite the lack of natural snowfall in the past month.

It was a balmy 2 degrees when I left my home but by the time I hit the slopes at about 10:30 the temperature was rising into the mid 20s and 32 at the base. It was nothing short of a perfect bluebird day with the sun out and the bluest of blue skies and no wind. :thumbup:

I started off my day with a warm up lap on the Belt Parkway and Jimmie Huega and there was plenty of packed powder but it was shady so made the switch to the sunnier trails after that.

First was a run down "The Cliff". The first part was a thin with regards to powder but the bottom half was great. I switched over to Hellgate and pretty much stayed there. Hellgate was about as perfect as it gets for someone like me who loves groomers with packed powder. Lots of loose powder that was evenly distributed. It never got skied off, despite all the traffic on it.
After one run down the Blue trail, Gun Hill Road, I stayed on Eisenhower, which was full of packed and loose powder as well.


I didn't run Racer's Edge (and in hindsight I wish I had) but it seemed to be about the same, though I heard someone comment about how it was getting icy by the end of the day. Hellgate and Eisenhower stayed great for the entire day. By the last two runs (at 3:30-4) it was starting to get a tad icy but still very good.

In between Hellgate and Eisenhower I took a variety of paths, mostly down the areas that are designated as blues (Broadway, 7th Ave, 42nd Street) and also Bleeker Street. All of it was great, lots of powder, excellent conditions.

Around 2pm, I headed over to the West side, taking Colonel's Alternate to Way Out. It was ok, but not as good as the other side. A bit harder and more packed down and not as much powder. Clairs looked good, though I didn't ski it.


I have to say that I was very impressed with how great the skiing was! Hunter must be blowing snow and grooming like crazy to have everything open and in as fine a shape as it was. Most of Hunter West seemed open, including K-27 and Westway. People were commenting at how great conditions were. A few people I talked to had skied Windham and said there was no comparison to Hunter.

There was a bit of crowd at times but I stayed skiing through lunch time and by 2pm I practically had the place to myself and was literally skiing down the mountain and getting right on the lift. Even when it was crowded there was scarcely any wait times at the lift. Midweek is awesome!


In my book it was worth every minute of the 6 hours I spent on the road today getting there and back.
I never got the chance to go down back part and do Minya, East Side, etc. That just gives me a good excuse to come back, which is definitely in my game plan. If they get some natural snow up there it will make things even better!
 
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Wavewheeler

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1st pic: The Cliff
2nd pic: Clair's Way
3rd pic: Hellgate
 

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Wavewheeler

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Thank you! :) I think you are doing pretty good where you are! LOL! I'd love to live where you are. Hunter is probably the best I can get for a day trip. Today was about a perfect a day I could hope for anywhere :)
 
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ScottySkis

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Glad Hunter was great for you. I going this Sunday first time in several years. They always been awesome when it comes to making snow. They changed the snow making industry in the 196os with their technology . The fan guns they have that make the beautiful light snow and other hills like Mountain Snow have Hunter owners that both recently passed away, the owners of Hunter started that technology to make greatest light snow possible. Probably for experts best experience with out going to Mid Vermont or Gore or North of those places.
 

skirick

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Love it at hunter. The mountain and the snow conditions along with a short two hour ride for me can't be beat! Did you say Annapurna was open? That hasn't been open in years!
 

Wavewheeler

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Love it at hunter. The mountain and the snow conditions along with a short two hour ride for me can't be beat! Did you say Annapurna was open? That hasn't been open in years!

There's a pic of it. One side of it was open. I've never seen it open before. I think every trail was open to some extent. It was a great day! :thumbup:
 

JimG.

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Your pic shows 44 (Westway) which they clearly blew the snot out of!

Purna is not open, no snowmaking love there.
 

Wavewheeler

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Oops..my bad! I will edit! I thought Annapurna was natural..I just realized that Westway is the trail below the lift..I haven't seen that open for some time.
 
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mriceyman

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Hopefully these next couple storms light up the cats


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Domeskier

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A bit sad to see the Cliff groomed out like that. I haven't been to Hunter in many years, but it was one of my favorite bump runs.
 

skiking4

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A bit sad to see the Cliff groomed out like that. I haven't been to Hunter in many years, but it was one of my favorite bump runs.

The Cliff is groomed practically all the time now.
Anyways, conditions sound great and Hunter truly is the best when it comes to snowmaking.
 

skirick

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Oops..my bad! I will edit! I thought Annapurna was natural..I just realized that Westway is the trail below the lift..I haven't seen that open for some time.

Westway was open for a couple of weeks last year with the snowmaking on the right side, but a warm up/rain killed it for the season. Puna does have snowmaking but its been years since I've seen it used. When it is open it had good pitch with a great fall line. Hunter is just an outstanding 1600' vert mountain. As far as i'm concerned the snowmaking is second to none.
 

Solitude67

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Great report wave wheeler debating with Windham for Monday you make hunter very compelling. Great photos..

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