Mountain Creek - 3/2/2009

[St. Bear]

Resort: Mountain Creek
Date: 3/2/2009 (evening)
Conditions: Windy, breezy, blustery. Most trails were loose granular/frozen granular with patches of exposed ice. Devils Bit and Pipeline were mounds of windblown powder between vast sheets of solid bulletproof ice.

I left work early and got to MC a little after 4pm. The Cab was closed due to wind, so we took the Triple up to top of Vernon. Skied over to Granite and the conditions were about what I expected. Frozen scraped granular in the middle of the trails, but lots of windblown snow on the sides. Went to the top of Granite and went down Devils Bit. Standing at the top of the trail, there wasn't any snow for at least 30 feet. No exaggeration, I had to slide sideways down the trail until I found the some windblown powder. From there on, the trail got better the further down you went and it was protected from the wind. By the end of the run, I was actually had a good time skiing from one snow patch across the ice to the other.

We decided to try Pipeline, knowing what we were getting ourselves into. On the chairlift up, you can see people hiking back up the trail after seeing what kind of condition it was in, and going down it we passed 3 more people who were hiking back. Conditions were the same as Devils Bit, just steeper. We scraped down about 20 feet, found snow, and from there on it was fine bouncing from one snow pile to another. It almost felt like the video game Frogger or Q-Bert where you had to bounce from one safe spot to another.

We skied Devils Bit again, and then on the next ride up, Ski Patrol was closing Pipeline. I was a little disappointed because I really enjoyed the technical aspect of picking out my line and then being forced to turn on a 2 foot patch of snow or else go off into the woods.

The rest of the mountain was typical frozen groomed conditions.

 

[jaywbigred]

So the snow that fell was truly blower? All wound up in the woods/not much on the trails?

 

[St. Bear]

So the snow that fell was truly blower? All wound up in the woods/not much on the trails?

Absolutely. The winds were brutal and nothing could stay on the trails.

 

[ZYDECORICH]

Resort: Mountain Creek
Date: 3/2/2009 (evening)
Conditions: Windy, breezy, blustery. Most trails were loose granular/frozen granular with patches of exposed ice. Devils Bit and Pipeline were mounds of windblown powder between vast sheets of solid bulletproof ice.

I left work early and got to MC a little after 4pm. The Cab was closed due to wind, so we took the Triple up to top of Vernon. Skied over to Granite and the conditions were about what I expected. Frozen scraped granular in the middle of the trails, but lots of windblown snow on the sides. Went to the top of Granite and went down Devils Bit. Standing at the top of the trail, there wasn't any snow for at least 30 feet. No exaggeration, I had to slide sideways down the trail until I found the some windblown powder. From there on, the trail got better the further down you went and it was protected from the wind. By the end of the run, I was actually had a good time skiing from one snow patch across the ice to the other.

We decided to try Pipeline, knowing what we were getting ourselves into. On the chairlift up, you can see people hiking back up the trail after seeing what kind of condition it was in, and going down it we passed 3 more people who were hiking back. Conditions were the same as Devils Bit, just steeper. We scraped down about 20 feet, found snow, and from there on it was fine bouncing from one snow pile to another. It almost felt like the video game Frogger or Q-Bert where you had to bounce from one safe spot to another.

We skied Devils Bit again, and then on the next ride up, Ski Patrol was closing Pipeline. I was a little disappointed because I really enjoyed the technical aspect of picking out my line and then being forced to turn on a 2 foot patch of snow or else go off into the woods.

The rest of the mountain was typical frozen groomed conditions.

yeah, i agree. i was there from 10:30 - 2:30. in the morning devils bit and pipe had a little bit more snow but not much. i had to do that hop skip jump routine from patch to patch also. your right, the sides were better, all the snow had blown there. I only did one run on vernon side due to no gondola. as much as i hate doing the striptease everytime I get on that thing ,at least it gets you up the mountain. the triple chair is a joke, they gotta start handing out newspapers or something to do while you wait. slowest chair in the northeast. they gotta put a high speed quad there for an alternative. i got over to south via the sojourn trail which they didn't open at 12:30 more like 1pm. more snow on south and bear, much better. lapped bear a couple of times and south also before all the kids showed up. everyone was out of school and it showed. took the sojourn chair back to granite,set my alarm and took a nap on the way.hopscotched my way down devils and pipe one more time and bolted back over to vernon. one more triple chair, once down the northside, which held some snow and outta there. would like to have stayed longer but that triple makes it impossilble.

 

[mitchmac]

These posts bring up an interesting question. If the "expert" trails are boilerplate, is it OK to move down in class and ski intermediates? Great Northern/Khyber/Indian, Fox Run, Red Rock and Eagle were all about as good as they're gonna get yesterday - and they all had plenty of fresh natural snow on them. I took my obligatory run on Devils Bit, got to the bottom and said to myself "Why?". Skied the above-named trails the rest of the day/night and had a blast.

 

[St. Bear]

I guess it all depends on what you're looking for in a ski run. I like the technical challenge of hopscotching my way down an icy trail, as long as there is snow to turn on, which there was. Just like I like skiing in the woods a lot more than my wife does. I know in both cases she would prefer to cruise down a groomer with better snow.

 

[ZYDECORICH]

These posts bring up an interesting question. If the "expert" trails are boilerplate, is it OK to move down in class and ski intermediates? Great Northern/Khyber/Indian, Fox Run, Red Rock and Eagle were all about as good as they're gonna get yesterday - and they all had plenty of fresh natural snow on them. I took my obligatory run on Devils Bit, got to the bottom and said to myself "Why?". Skied the above-named trails the rest of the day/night and had a blast.

of course its ok to ski those! this isn't an ego contest. that will get you hurt. those runs are some of my favorites when there a new snowfall. i really like to get a little speed and carry it through " bridge run" when its open and then down through cab. i also like to do that with kyber and sneek onto the sugar slope for a change of pace, often theirs no one on there during the week and you can carry a little speed get to the gondola the back way. change it up i say. ski everything.

 

[Jrock247]

Almost stayed home because Mt. Creek and Hidden Valley were reporting no new snow on 3/2, but had the day off, so took the drive.

Fun day. Anything that was exposed to the wind was Icy, and the gusts were strong enough to bring me to a dead halt trying to hit some of the jumps. But there was some powder to be found and the landings were soft. Wish I could've riden Vernon but the triple was slow and trail down to it was shoulder to shoulder people.

Only real complaint was that both bars with food were closed! We worked our way from South back to Vernon to get some burgers and beers and found the Hex Bar closed! Then went back to South and Found the Kink Bar closed! So dissapointing, but probably saved me $30.

 

[St. Bear]

Only real complaint was that both bars with food were closed! We worked our way from South back to Vernon to get some burgers and beers and found the Hex Bar closed! Then went back to South and Found the Kink Bar closed! So dissapointing, but probably saved me $30.

Yeah, the Hex Bar being closed caught me off guard. The only sit down service available was the new Discovery Deck at Vernon. It's really nice, but it's tiny and they only serve soups and sandwiches. Our sandwiches were really good, but we had to wait 15 minutes for a table.

 

[tekweezle]

so where'd all the snow that got blown off the trails go? any tree opportunities at MC?

 

[Jrock247]

Trees at mc

:blink:

As far as know the tree there are completely unrideable. Before this snowfall, the ground was more or less bare. I have ridden the lift line under the cabriolet, but that is a mountain bike trail in the off season.

From my observations it would seem that the mountain itself is too rocky and the area recieves too little snow for any glades. Theres one closed trail leading to the triple on vernon that appears rideable.

If anyone knows any rideable trees there or within 1.5 hours of NYC it would be appreciated.

 

[hardline]

wow glad i stayed up here in vt instead of comming home. the cab has been down way too much. the triple being the only means getting up can just kill a session. i wont ride vernon when the cab is down. some mornings there is no reason it sould not be running other than they cant or dont want to.

 

[mitchmac]

The thing I don't understand is why they don't open that other trail that leads to the triple. The only open "trail" leading there is maybe 10 feet wide and so flat most snowboarders choose to walk it. And then you have those on skis who insist on stopping halfway to make a phone call with their skis across the "trail". Not good.....

 

[ZYDECORICH]

that trail is opossum. it hasn't been open all year. i don't know why, there was plenty of snow. you got me thinking so i looked at the trail report and it's not even listed as a trail anymore although the interactive trail map (if you can read it) still has it. that is a nice way to get to that hellish triple chair. i wonder if they have done away with it as a trail? did the condo people get pissed?

 

[hardline]

nope ski patrol does not want it open becaue there where too many accidents on it.

 

[ZYDECORICH]

nope ski patrol does not want it open becaue there where too many accidents on it.

too many accidents? thats a mamby pamby little slope and not very long. really? i would think there would be more accidents on "triple bound" since its so narrow and with all the people stopping and what have you. where did you hear that.

 

[hardline]

too many accidents? thats a mamby pamby little slope and not very long. really? i would think there would be more accidents on "triple bound" since its so narrow and with all the people stopping and what have you. where did you hear that.

from the patrol director. people would come across from zero and hit people comming from fox.

 

[ZYDECORICH]

from the patrol director. people would come across from zero and hit people comming from fox.

wow, thats a drag. i seen that same thing happen a lot on eagle hunt into lower horizon. i guess you can't shut all the trails. oh well, blinkers on.

 

[mitchmac]

Wow, I never even considered that opossum wasn't even a trail anymore....thought it was just MC being MC. LOL, couldn't they just put a "No Left Turn" sign at the bottom of zero? Or how about one of those snow fences like they have at the bottom of eagle? I don't know how often that cab is closed on weekends, but when it is the trip to the triple must be a DISASTER!!

 

[hardline]

Wow, I never even considered that opossum wasn't even a trail anymore....thought it was just MC being MC. LOL, couldn't they just put a "No Left Turn" sign at the bottom of zero? Or how about one of those snow fences like they have at the bottom of eagle? I don't know how often that cab is closed on weekends, but when it is the trip to the triple must be a DISASTER!!

i really have not got the skinny on whats up with the cab but it has not been running regular. some week days they dont open it till 1 or 2. people bitch about it but it sure does get you up the hill in a hurry. next time im up ill try to get some beta on what the deal is. we have a decent amount of people on here that have been goin to the creek. we should have a meet up day.