oakapple
New member
Date(s) Skied: March 21, 2010
Resort or Ski Area: Hunter Mountain
Conditions: Spring conditions; soft snow; bumps
Trip Report: Before I get into this, I should stipulate that I am writing from the perspective of an intermediate skier, which means that 90 percent of those who post here are better than me. Also, if I criticize the mountain design or management, please do not get the impression that I am not enjoying myself: this sport is far too expensive to pursue if you don't love it.
I first visited Hunter Mountain about 25 years ago. I remember almost nothing, except that I went with friends who had a ski house. They were archetypal Hunter skiers: in their late 20s, there as much for the skiing as the partying on Friday and Saturday nights. The old joke is that if you want to have Hunter to yourself, ski on Sunday morning, as most of the guests are still hung over. Many people still think of Hunter as a party mountain. Now that I'm pushing 50, I wasn't eager to re-experience that scene, which is why I waited to visit until the end of the season.
I booked my lift ticket, rental, and a "progression lesson" over the Internet. I got a discount, and everything was waiting when I arrived. The so-called "Learning Center" (where the rentals are) appears to be one of the newer buildings. I'd call it state-of-the-art. The rental equipment was pretty good quality...for rentals. The main lodge, though a bit older, is also nice, with plenty of seating. The mountain wasn't crowded at all. I didn't wait at any chair, and most of the time rode up alone or with just one other person, even on the quads.
There is still natural snow cover at Hunter's elevation, even in town, though it is melting rapidly. The mountain remains in terrific shape, but there are probably only a couple of decent weekends left. The snow was soft, which made some runs easier to ski, but others harder. Belt Parkway was much more tiring than I imagine it would be in colder weather, as pushing through the wet snow is a lot of work. There is a huge commitment to mogul skiing. Even at the blue level, it was the rare trail that was not at least partly bumped up. I don't know if that's normal, or an artifact of the spring conditions.
There is a lot of aging infrastructure, with most of the lifts (excepting the high-speed quad) looking like they're 30 years old, or more. The on-mountain signage could be better. At one point, I found myself quite unintentionally on the double-black Racer's Edge. I survived (fell 3 times), but it wasn't fun. I felt badly for the woman I was skiing with, who had followed my lead. She had to take off her skis and walk down to where we were able to bail out onto Eisenhower Drive.
It's well known that ski resorts manipulate their trail ratings for marketing purposes. They want to give the impression of having great terrain for skiers of all abilities. At onthesnow.com, it's claimed that Hunter is 30 percent beginner, 30 percent intermediate, and 40 percent advanced/expert. That's b.s. Hunter is predominantly for upper-intermediates and above. From the summit, there is only one blue route down (Belt Parkway), other than a brief diversion (White Cloud) that some mountains would code black. Hunter's 5 longest chairlifts serve no green territory at all; 3 of the 5 longest serve no blue territory either.
So where's the manipulation? For one thing, if a trail is coded green, but you can't get there without skiing a blue first, then it's not really a beginner trail; likewise, if it's coded blue, but you have to ski a black first. What's more, the E and H lifts at Hunter One weren't operating yesterday, taking quite a bit of green and blue territory off the map. Madison Avenue (blue) was closed most of the day for racing.
Oh, about that progression lesson (mentioned above). This is new to Hunter this year: you join a group defined by a verbal description of your skiing ability ("can ski parallel, but want to be more dynamic"). This leads to quite a bit of confusion—what’s “dynamic”? Due to low demand, I had to choose between a group that would have been skiing mostly green, and another that would have been skiing mostly black. Neither was really suitable. I joined the upper group. Although I had the benefit of pushing myself onto more difficult terrain, the other person in the group, who really wanted to be on double-blacks, got very little out of it. Frankly, it was not ideal for either of us, but I really thought the other guy got a raw deal. I at least got something out of the lesson, but he got nothing at all. The instructor thought that the system in existence through last year, where you put yourself in a skill group numbered 1 to 7, was a lot clearer.
Anyhow, I had a terrific day, and skied some of the most difficult terrain I had attempted this year. It wasn't always pretty, but I learned a lot.
Resort or Ski Area: Hunter Mountain
Conditions: Spring conditions; soft snow; bumps
Trip Report: Before I get into this, I should stipulate that I am writing from the perspective of an intermediate skier, which means that 90 percent of those who post here are better than me. Also, if I criticize the mountain design or management, please do not get the impression that I am not enjoying myself: this sport is far too expensive to pursue if you don't love it.
I first visited Hunter Mountain about 25 years ago. I remember almost nothing, except that I went with friends who had a ski house. They were archetypal Hunter skiers: in their late 20s, there as much for the skiing as the partying on Friday and Saturday nights. The old joke is that if you want to have Hunter to yourself, ski on Sunday morning, as most of the guests are still hung over. Many people still think of Hunter as a party mountain. Now that I'm pushing 50, I wasn't eager to re-experience that scene, which is why I waited to visit until the end of the season.
I booked my lift ticket, rental, and a "progression lesson" over the Internet. I got a discount, and everything was waiting when I arrived. The so-called "Learning Center" (where the rentals are) appears to be one of the newer buildings. I'd call it state-of-the-art. The rental equipment was pretty good quality...for rentals. The main lodge, though a bit older, is also nice, with plenty of seating. The mountain wasn't crowded at all. I didn't wait at any chair, and most of the time rode up alone or with just one other person, even on the quads.
There is still natural snow cover at Hunter's elevation, even in town, though it is melting rapidly. The mountain remains in terrific shape, but there are probably only a couple of decent weekends left. The snow was soft, which made some runs easier to ski, but others harder. Belt Parkway was much more tiring than I imagine it would be in colder weather, as pushing through the wet snow is a lot of work. There is a huge commitment to mogul skiing. Even at the blue level, it was the rare trail that was not at least partly bumped up. I don't know if that's normal, or an artifact of the spring conditions.
There is a lot of aging infrastructure, with most of the lifts (excepting the high-speed quad) looking like they're 30 years old, or more. The on-mountain signage could be better. At one point, I found myself quite unintentionally on the double-black Racer's Edge. I survived (fell 3 times), but it wasn't fun. I felt badly for the woman I was skiing with, who had followed my lead. She had to take off her skis and walk down to where we were able to bail out onto Eisenhower Drive.
It's well known that ski resorts manipulate their trail ratings for marketing purposes. They want to give the impression of having great terrain for skiers of all abilities. At onthesnow.com, it's claimed that Hunter is 30 percent beginner, 30 percent intermediate, and 40 percent advanced/expert. That's b.s. Hunter is predominantly for upper-intermediates and above. From the summit, there is only one blue route down (Belt Parkway), other than a brief diversion (White Cloud) that some mountains would code black. Hunter's 5 longest chairlifts serve no green territory at all; 3 of the 5 longest serve no blue territory either.
So where's the manipulation? For one thing, if a trail is coded green, but you can't get there without skiing a blue first, then it's not really a beginner trail; likewise, if it's coded blue, but you have to ski a black first. What's more, the E and H lifts at Hunter One weren't operating yesterday, taking quite a bit of green and blue territory off the map. Madison Avenue (blue) was closed most of the day for racing.
Oh, about that progression lesson (mentioned above). This is new to Hunter this year: you join a group defined by a verbal description of your skiing ability ("can ski parallel, but want to be more dynamic"). This leads to quite a bit of confusion—what’s “dynamic”? Due to low demand, I had to choose between a group that would have been skiing mostly green, and another that would have been skiing mostly black. Neither was really suitable. I joined the upper group. Although I had the benefit of pushing myself onto more difficult terrain, the other person in the group, who really wanted to be on double-blacks, got very little out of it. Frankly, it was not ideal for either of us, but I really thought the other guy got a raw deal. I at least got something out of the lesson, but he got nothing at all. The instructor thought that the system in existence through last year, where you put yourself in a skill group numbered 1 to 7, was a lot clearer.
Anyhow, I had a terrific day, and skied some of the most difficult terrain I had attempted this year. It wasn't always pretty, but I learned a lot.
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