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saltyant

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Posts posted by saltyant

  1. These idiots at CB

    in Camelback

    Posted · Edited by saltyant

    So far, here's how I rank my 4 days out from best to worst (considering crowd size, lift speed, terrain, snow quality, parking, etc)

     

    1. Opening Day at Camelback with Ski2Live (fun snow, fast speed, no lift lines at all, free cocoa)

    2. Opening Day at Blue (no lift lines, fun terrain for early season, decent snow; slower lift than CB)

    3. Camelback yesterday (got stuck on flats, Marc Antony got crowded)

    4. Blue today (long lift line is a deal breaker regardless of snow quality)

     

    I use tracfone which is $6.33 a month and have limited data. I refuse to pay $50 a month or whatever for Verizon, so I try to find free wifi whenever possible.

  2. These idiots at CB

    in Camelback

    Posted · Edited by saltyant

    6 minutes ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

    I thought most people these days get unlimited data.  I've always had unlimited data. Anyway Salty is still undecided about if he wants to switch from Camelback to blue after today's long liftlines but normally the lines aren't than long and we have VIP lines for passholders on the quad and six pack. 

    I'll wait until most terrain is open at both to make a decision, obviously. I'll pick a busy weekend (MLK Day or President's Day) to see how the crowds move, and how the VIP line compares to Camelback's singles line. To me, the most important thing by far is how long it takes between runs because I get bored if it takes too long, and anymore I just want to leave.

  4. Trip Report - 12/9/2017

    in Camelback

    Posted · Edited by saltyant

    Camelback looks pretty empty today, but they moved the webcam so you can't see the lift line. I guess everyone is getting tired of one green run and went to Blue! Can't wait to hear what Ski2Live decided to do.

  5. 12/9/17...busy..snowing..rad

    in Blue Mountain

    Posted

    4 minutes ago, toast21602 said:

    They did direct people but they couldn't get through the scanner fast enough and there wasn't enough snow to open the Burma side access. Nothing you can do about it. Just hard to handle the crowds with those who came out for the snow this early in the season.

    I agree. The only solution was more scanners, which didn't appear possible. Which is why I'll be waiting for the six pack to open.. shouldn't be too long now.

  6. 12/9/17...busy..snowing..rad

    in Blue Mountain

    Posted · Edited by saltyant

    5 minutes ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

    Most go for the Main Street chair cause it's slightly faster and they didn't get Burma side open. Only the six pack would have been able to handle today's crowd m

    The lift attendants can still direct people to Burma. Sure, people can refuse, but I think most would comply. I think this would be easier to do if the RFID reader was moved back, or if an extra reader or two were installed.

  7. 12/9/17...busy..snowing..rad

    in Blue Mountain

    Posted

    2 hours ago, enjoralas said:

    Just kidding, obvs. Your options are pretty much suck it up and wait in a liftline for the only open terrain in PA that might be worth a line, or carry your happy ass back up to Tannersville and hang out in the lodge because the skiing sucks, but, hey—high speed quad!

    Lol. Both options are equally bad, and I'm not sure which one's worse. I'm done for the week unless some mid-week skiing opens either at Blue, Bear Creek, or Spring Mountain.

    After 6 runs at Blue I complained and got a full refund, a $39 gift card. I'd rather not ski at all than stand in line for 15-20 minutes, and then ride a 6-8 minute lift. No thanks. I'll stay home the rest of the day and wait until the real skiing begins next weekend.

    The management of the lines at the Main Street and Burma chairs was a complete joke. At one point, 1/4 to 1/3 of the chairs were empty despite 100-200 people in line. The RFID reader bogged it down, and the lift attendants put absolutely no effort into managing the line, such as pairing singles and queuing people up at BOTH lifts after passing through the RFID reader. After I quit for the day, someone mentioned that they started doing more traffic management, probably due to my complaint.

    Whatever though. I had a decent time during the few minutes I actually spent skiing, and tailgated afterwards with the PASR crew. The snow was pretty decent, though Upper Main Street was horrible - the first third was nothing but death cookies. Lazy Mile was a very nice run until the left turn, and even then it wasn't too bad. I even had a good time on Midway, which was far better than it was on opening day, and not too crowded.

  11. These idiots at CB

    in Camelback

    Posted

    4 hours ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

    SaltyAnt at least with all your visits to the lodge you can meet a lodge mom. You eat anything good at Camelback? 

    No thanks. I didn't eat anything because there was no free food this time. I stopped at Burger King on the way home but they forgot not to put ketchup/mayo on my Whoppers, so that kind of ruined my dinner.

  12. Trip Report - 12/9/2017

    in Camelback

    Posted

    7 minutes ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

    Good deals on skis online. 

    A ski shop wants to sell me Volkl RTM 81's for $599. My plan is to wait until April and see if he'll give me a lower price. But if I find a deal online I'll consider it.

  13. December 9-10 roll call....

    in Blue Mountain

    Posted · Edited by saltyant

    50 minutes ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

    If you want to avoid midway with your daughter can take vista lift first and scootch over to lazy mile.  I wish the Burma side of the liftline was open as that is typically a shorter line than the Main Street lift. Both lifts are running but only one liftline..which makes it impossible for all the chairs to be filled. 

    Good idea. My plan for tomorrow is take the vista chair fist, then hit lazy mile a few times, and then both main streets. I'll get out of the way so all you experts can tackle the fresh stuff on Midway at rope drop.

    • Thanks 1

  14. Trip Report - 12/9/2017

    in Camelback

    Posted · Edited by saltyant

    36 minutes ago, RidgeRacer said:

    East Gormet is definitely a good spot for tearing up on a little Chinese buffet...I'll give him that. Salty do you start with the sushi bar? I hope you're smart and go in with a solid plan. Start with the sushi, maybe some soup then move to that massive plate you posted above. If you go all out on your first plate you'll be shitting in your drawers on the Sullivan express.

    Nope, I just wing it. I was too eager to hit the slopes today and didn't feel like spending extra time eating soup. I just ate whatever was most efficient and fast. I had a bad experience with sushi once - ate a whole spoonful of wasabi in college. Not fun.

    35 minutes ago, eaf said:

    You need to check on your skis. There was nothing slow about snow today. I saw people skiing without poles and casually conquering that hill. There were some newbies stuck there and some kids towed by their parents, but it really didn't require any significant effort to get from Marc Anthony to Honeymoon.

    I think I need new skis then. I saw other people moving across the slopes effortlessly.

  15. Trip Report - 12/9/2017

    in Camelback

    Posted

    2 minutes ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

    Longer stiffer and wider skis will be faster. Wax only lasts a day or two..I'm lazy and barely wax my skis.  I should more or at least use rub on wax I notice slow speed on unwaxed skis the most when it's fresh snow or spring snow..or new manmade followed by warmth. No issues with speed today at Blue even on easy out 

    At Blue when you turn right at the top of Main Street chair, there's a slight uphill grade. It was somewhat tiring on opening day but nothing like what I had to deal with today. Fortunately tomorrow I believe I can avoid that by turning left and hitting Lazy Mile.

  16. Trip Report - 12/9/2017

    in Camelback

    Posted

    2 minutes ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

    In slow snow you have to straight run before a flat and as momentum slows start polling and skating..be happy you weren't on a snowboard..with fresh snow steepness and speed is your friend. any liftlines???

    I tried everything today to move on the flats. It wore me down. Either I'm just not doing it right, or my skis need wax or it's my skis in general.

    Liftlines were a little longer than last week but still not bad at all.

  19. December 9-10 roll call....

    in Blue Mountain

    Posted

    22 minutes ago, Ski2Live Live2Ski said:

    Probably hit Blue tomorrow with the extra terrain added. Lazy will be a nice run for my girl.

    Same, debating whether I want to get up early or save $14 and go at 12. Don't go to Camelback unless you enjoy going really, really slow (see my brand new report)

  20. Trip Report - 12/9/2017

    in Camelback

    Posted · Edited by saltyant

    It has always been my dream to try cross-country skiing, and today my dream was finally realized at Camelback Mountain. The day had started off promising with ample freshies inbound. I headed to East Gourmet Buffet and had pepper chicken, oysters, white rice, bananas with red gel, and tap water. I tipped the waitress one dollar. Then I headed to Camelback and received the awesome news that preferred parking was free for all today. My day was just getting better and better, and I saved 72 steps (mostly uphill). Little did I know that I would need all the energy I could muster to survive cross-country skiing.

    The snow was coming down like crazy, and the mountain looked identical to Colorado. I knew crowds would be pretty heavy because other mountains (i.e. Blue) are in extreme remote Alpine tundra backcountry and only accessible by sled dog.  I called it right - Upper Marc Antony was indistinguishable from the Schuylkill Expressway at rush hour. Due to the massive undertaking earlier this season to open snowtubing before Blue, no other trails were available, and all skiers congested the narrow passage, causing major delays and several near-misses.

    At this time I discovered two new cross-country trails. The first was at the top of Upper Marc Antony, and the second was right before Honeymoon. Due to the slow snow, getting down the mountain required an incredible amount of exertion at both of these spots. I pushed and pushed and wore my arms out. I also tried using the ice skating technique, but that wore my legs out after a while. A former instructor gave me a lesson on how to ski cross-country more efficiently. I improved a little after receiving his wisdom, but by this time my energy levels were drained, and ski wax was far beyond my reach. I made 25 runs today, less than half compared to last Saturday when conditions were epic.

    To conclude, the scenery today was spectacular, and the snow was amazing. If Camelback had opened either Upper Cleo, or even James’s Way, those trails would have replaced the need to ski on ultra flat terrain, and I'd likely still be skiing for 4 more minutes. Those two trails would not have required a lot of snow, and Upper Cleo would have also alleviated much of the congestion on Upper Marc Antony. Overall, I am a little disappointed with the terrain today, which could have been much, much more fun especially with the surprise blizzard. But a Camelback official assured me that half the mountain will be open by next weekend. Hopefully by this time the gnarliness will return to Camelback.

     

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    • Like 3
    • Haha 1

  23. These idiots at CB

    in Camelback

    Posted

    1 minute ago, Shadows said:

    i dont get why you go somewhere with one trail for an entire day and then just sit in the lodge. and you dont drink lol

    Im only taking 5-10 minute breaks in the lodge. Cross country skiing is exhausting and I need frequent breaks. i'm an old man. Hell I'm almost 30. 

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