Mc 01.06.09

[hardline]

Date(s) Skied: 1-4-2008

Resort or Ski Area: DA Creek
Conditions:
some damn fine man made blown snow and about 2" of fresh

Trip Report:
The original plan was to get to the mountain at 9 ish but i had to do a bunch of stuff for a product launch on thursday(a breast enhancment cream. dont ask) so i had to do a bunch of revisions on equipment and graphics. which lead to me leaving at 1:30.
got to south at 2:30 wow they blew a ton of snow over the weekend. bear peak is ready to open and they must have built at least 5 new kickers, 3 new jibs, and a bunch of rails. wasn't feeling it. the light was the flatest i have ever seen it. i wasn't going to hurt myself because i couldn't see anything. so grab some food and headed over vernon/north to check out the new stuff over there.
on the ride over it started snowing. people say there is nowhere to park at north. this is the prefered lot there is never anyone there durring the week.

the hill is starting to look better.

i started laughing when i saw this.

a shot of the little village they built

a shot of the tents everbody hates

the beginner area and the hotel in the background.

snow falling on the cab ride up

looking down lower eagle hunt which was the ROTD

looking up lower eagle hunt

i laped it like 15 times. they blew a ton of snow on granit i would imagine its going to open any day as well as the trail on the backside. the snow was as good as i have ever seen it at the creek i think they must have hired someone new in mt ops because this was actually some quiality snow. there was some ice but only right in the middle of the trail. zero g was uber hard but edgable. bailed after it stoped snowing. in three hours i did a min of 18 runs. was a great session with great conditions might go up tomorrow morning for a early morning sesh before work.
a weird thin happened on the last run as the snow ended some warm air was blowing in with fog. it blew up from the righ and the left side of the mountain and i just happened to be there when the fog was about close in. kinda cool.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

nice report..wow I am going to have to hit up MC sometime for a night session just to ride the standup gondola and see the tents with my own eyes..are they near 100 percent open yet?

 

[bensonr2]

I was actually there this morning. In the morning parking on the north went almost all the way to the bottom lot when I pulled in about 10:45.

Perhaps all the boarders have been starting day at north and heading to south after 12 when they open up?

The snow was good today though. I hope the quality holds up after the rain, cause it would be nice to have this quality later this week when they open up some more of the terrain.

 

[hardline]

nice report..wow I am going to have to hit up MC sometime for a night session just to ride the standup gondola and see the tents with my own eyes..are they near 100 percent open yet?

after they open open all the stuff they blew on i would say 85% to 90%. they mt ops guys where out getting ready to blow more snow tonight.

I was actually there this morning. In the morning parking on the north went almost all the way to the bottom lot when I pulled in about 10:45.

Perhaps all the boarders have been starting day at north and heading to south after 12 when they open up?

The snow was good today though. I hope the quality holds up after the rain, cause it would be nice to have this quality later this week when they open up some more of the terrain.

ya they jibhonk boarders that show up early do but most wait till 12 for south to open. i have never had to park far at north but lately i have just been parking in the prefered lot.

 

[bensonr2]

When I pulled in I was trying to figure out if I could get away with parking in the preferred lot. I thought I saw someone sitting in the little booth, plus with the regular lot pretty full I didn't think I could get away with it.

I just wish they would open up south in the morning. It wasn't overly crowded, but it still seemed like they had enough morning business to have it open.

Hopefully the temperatures hold up for snow making. They are obviously just about ready to open granite and one run on the backside. The only major piece it looks like they have yet to blow on is the connector to south.

Maybe by early next week if conditions are right?

 

[hardline]

When I pulled in I was trying to figure out if I could get away with parking in the preferred lot. I thought I saw someone sitting in the little booth, plus with the regular lot pretty full I didn't think I could get away with it.

I just wish they would open up south in the morning. It wasn't overly crowded, but it still seemed like they had enough morning business to have it open.

Hopefully the temperatures hold up for snow making. They are obviously just about ready to open granite and one run on the backside. The only major piece it looks like they have yet to blow on is the connector to south.

Maybe by early next week if conditions are right?

there is never anyone there. just drive up and see if they guy is really there. if they say anything just say you are doing a pick up or drop off.

they better open it soon so i dont have to drive i nearly killed 4 kids on 94. i called customer service and bitched them out and said i was going to call the police if i saw it again.

 

[bensonr2]

Hopefully the rain doesn't set them back too far. I'm hoping that once they have the connector open it spreads out the boarder crowd a little. I went to South on Monday and it was a pretty decent crowd for noon on a weekday. I think with the two areas separated everyone feels trapped at one side or the other.

 

[hardline]

ya people do. i dont mind the drive all that much because i always get get parking so its take the same amount of time as the lift does. its actually nice becaue it keeps the jibhonks at south. that being said it would be nice to have one conected area again. depending what happens tonight i may go for few runs before i head into the city at 12 tomorrow.

 

[St. Bear]

I posted this on the other MC thread that somebody tried to resurrect last night. I'll just copy and paste it here.

I have a 5x7 pass and was there last weekend. It was crowded, of course, but the trails that were open weren't in bad shape. The two blacks were in surprisingly good shape, Lower Eagle especially. We only stayed half the day because you can only ski the same trail so often. I know they've been making snow on Granite all week long, so that should open up this weekend. (I just checked their website, and they opened up Granite and the blues today.) The previous poster is correct in saying that they are ahead of last year. Lower Eagle didn't open until late Jan last year, and even then there was a creek running across the bottom of the trail, so I was pleasantly surprised. I don't think I'm going to be able to make it out this weekend, but after that, I plan on being their most weekends and hopefully some weekdays as well.

 

[billski]

Ah duh, what is this ski area?
Signed,
An ignorant New Englander

 

[St. Bear]

Mountain Creek in Vernon, NJ.

 

[billski]

thanks. Looks real nice. Those tents don't give good vibes. Seen them at Stowe and Sugarbush during construction. They work, but didn't really blend in aesthetically. The only thing I was impressed with was how warm they can get them.

 

[St. Bear]

I can't disagree with you about the tents. I talked about this with my wife the last time we were there. I wonder if they're even planning on building anytime soon? From their point of view, if they're still getting revenue from meals and drinks, why pony up the cash for construction? Why else would the tents have lasted 3+ years with no end in sight?

 

[billski]

I can't disagree with you about the tents. I talked about this with my wife the last time we were there. I wonder if they're even planning on building anytime soon? From their point of view, if they're still getting revenue from meals and drinks, why pony up the cash for construction? Why else would the tents have lasted 3+ years with no end in sight?

At this point in the economy, there is probably no capital available for permanent structures. At some point they will replacement as they fall apart. But for all that, I only spend about 1/2 hour total each day inside, so I'm more concerned with the hill itself.

 

[bensonr2]

Actually, the tent lodge is approaching ten years of use. The original Vernon Valley lodge "mysteriously" burned down in October 99.

 

[hardline]

i still think they are going to use all the retail space in the bottom of the hotel for the lodge. has anyone checked out the new bar they opened right by the ski patrol building.

 

[bensonr2]

i still think they are going to use all the retail space in the bottom of the hotel for the lodge. has anyone checked out the new bar they opened right by the ski patrol building.

If they did that I think it would go a long way to solving some of their problems. Hopefully its something they are seriously considering and not just speculation by people like us.

 

[Maksim]

great trip report...

is it just me, or do the pics of the black trail, seem as if they would be blue almost anywhere else?

 

[St. Bear]

is it just me, or do the pics of the black trail, seem as if they would be blue almost anywhere else?

That's MC in a nutshell. I learned that the hard way last year when, after skiing there for a few months, I went up to Wildcat and decided to "warm-up" on a blue that ended up kicking my ass all the way down the mountain.

 

[hardline]

If they did that I think it would go a long way to solving some of their problems. Hopefully its something they are seriously considering and not just speculation by people like us.

its not like they are ever going to get a retailer in there. there is more sqft than the tents right now. they opened a new bar right by it. i will check it out.

great trip report...

is it just me, or do the pics of the black trail, seem as if they would be blue almost anywhere else?

for the most part eagle shouldnt be a black its a blue but got a nice pitch to it.