Jump to content

EdBacon

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    431

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by EdBacon

  3. Coming Soon Just Came. 2/1/21.

    in Blue Mountain

    Posted · Edited by EdBacon

    7 minutes ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

    Where in Berks is he??  Depends when the snow stops falling.  The main roads will be snowpacked but passable and neighborhood subdivisions and secondary roads will be a mess.  From where I live I’d have no issues cause I’m basically on a frontage road that leads to a main road but I don’t know if I’ll have the same motivation to get the perder tomorrow AM as I did today.  I doubt I’ll go into work until Wednesday AM. 

    Out nearish Bear Creek. 

    I figure by the time I can get out wherever I would want to go would be a madhouse or tickets are sold out. I might try hiking something instead.

  7. Big Bear at Masthope Mtn 1/30/20

    in Other Mountains

    Posted · Edited by EdBacon

    3 hours ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

    How so?

    It's the mountains, it shouldn't feel too built up. I don't like going somewhere and feeling like im in a strip mall parking lot. 

    I mean, I know that's an exaggeration to a certain extent. I'm kinda just joking around here. Jay Peak, for instance, has a paved lot and a whole indoor water park circus thing at the bottom too. But I have to say that you can definitely get a feel for a mountain by hanging out in the parking lot. If a place is loved you see that reflected in the community of skiers, and you can find that expressed when folks are out tailgating or otherwise having a fun time. If there's a party atmosphere in the parking lot, you know the mountain is a good time. If everyone shuffles in and out like they're on a schedule, then maybe not. 

    Best lots, in my experience are at Smuggs and Plattekill. Belleayre used to have a good tailgating scene too. Not sure now though. Jack Frost has/had a good one as well. 

     

    edit: I can't speak for Blue's lot I haven't been in a while like 6 years

    • Like 1

  12. January 31st - Calm Before the Storm

    in Blue Mountain

    Posted

    1 hour ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

    Well a lot of skiers and snowboarders aren’t lifelong participants. It’s sad but not everybody is as passionate about the sport as us. 

    I feel like it hits snowboarders worse than skiers. I see a lot of skiers got started at a young age by their parents, and they stick with it as it becomes a kind of family tradition. Most snowboarders got into it because it was the cool thing to do when we were younger, not because our parents took us with on trips. Some might have skier parents who decided to snowboard instead, but for a lot of kids once they grew up a little and got into other things, or moved or had kids or whatever it just dropped by like other things do. There's not the same "its a family thing" keeping it going.

    • Like 2

  13. Snowtime Weekend in S.Central PA - Roundtop & Whitetail

    in Other Mountains

    Posted

    25 minutes ago, Ski2Live Live2Ski said:

    I'd say Upper Gun Barrel (which never opened last year) is tougher than anything at Whitetail. Whitetail has longer runs though, and it's nice that they leave Exhibition ungroomed to add some challenge.

     

    Not this trip. Don't want to add that extra drive in these road conditions. Would like to check it out one day for sure. 

    Well check it out soon because the knob is one of those places that may not be with us for too much longer. 

    • Sad 1

  16. BC 3/20

    in Bear Creek

    Posted

    Bear Creek has been posting more park content than I've seen in at least ten years. New Parks at BC Insta handle and I've noticed a bunch of BB regulars have moved other there. 

  19. Big Bear at Masthope Mtn 1/30/20

    in Other Mountains

    Posted · Edited by EdBacon

    12 minutes ago, toast21602 said:

    Nice report. Never knew anybody that skied there. I ran a marathon two years ago that went down Masthope Plank road at the base and could still see snow there and it made me curious what the place actually looked like. 

    Its a bit like JF. Upside down. Lodge on the top. Similar amount of vert on the river bluff. Same kind of short stepped headwalls where it did get steep. Nothing sustained or difficult and there's only like three or four ways down from the top, and too many merges/crossovers but I guess they do that to boost trail count. Could still be a cool spot if they put the money and care into it. 

  22. Big Bear at Masthope Mtn 1/30/20

    in Other Mountains

    Posted

    Left my bank cards at home. Had to find a bank for emergency cash to get gas. Lucky I didn't start looking around the middle of nowhere that this place is in. Big Bear still had tickets available going into the weekend and since I'm checking out Shawnee tomorrow I figured I'd get another day in somewhere. It was the only place with space available. 

    Parking lot is paved, so I wouldn't go back anyway. Place feels more like a country club than a ski area. It used to be private, I believe. It was designed by the same guy who built Shawnee and also private vacation community ski areas like Pocono Ranchlands and Winona Lakes. Anyway, advertises 650 vert. Can't be more than 500. Snow was scratchy but not too bad. Not good though. Doesn't feel like they're aggressive with snowmaking. Not all their trails were open, including their two steepest. Terrain park was very sad. Honestly just felt like things aren't kept up so well. But then they have RFID. So the basics are not great but then they spend money on things like that. Lifts are old but so what. They have a couple cool vintage 70s Borvig doubles, one with the original towers if you're into that. The one looks like it never runs anymore. Got yelled at twice by a 16 year old ski patroller. Started singing on  the lift ride for entertainment.

    Feels like their business is mostly people who still own in the community, and they're content with that. There just doesn't seem to be a ton of effort compared to other hills in the area. The lodge is very nice though, and looks like they dropped a bunch of money on it. 

    Wouldn't recommend even if you wanted a mountain to learn at as there's just nothing else going on, and the snow quality is inferior to other Poconos hills which have the added benefit of more terrain variety. And look, size isn't everything but what you do with it. They just don't do anything with what they do have. 

    Also paved parking lot which sucked. That 16 year old would probably yell at you for tailgating too. 

    2021-01-30.jpg

    174540823_2021-01-30(1).jpg

    • Like 9

  23. Opening Day Trip Report - 12/2/2017

    in Camelback

    Posted

    3 hours ago, poconoceancity said:

    Still so much better than JFBB in my opinion.

    Don't get me wrong, I have enjoyed CBK for years. When I started snowboarding again after college CBK was my home mountain for three seasons while I was living in north Jersey. It has a good lift and trail layout. I was never that bothered by shorter steep pitch because you can lap the trails easy enough, and its really degrees of hair splitting given the competition in the area in my mind. The snow is a little more consistent than Blue imo. The old terrain park setup was creative, sort of self contained with its own lift and they had that street art program for the park features which made it feel unique. 

    But after the hotel opened and I was dodging parents in sneakers with three year olds in tow walking to the mountain coaster, the crowds, the over zealous patrol and parking lot crackdowns I just had enough. To me, at least before Vail took over JF was so much better. Slower pace, no circus and less distractions. The slow lifts never bothered me. My favorite mountains like Platty and Magic are all old slow lifts. They're also laid back quiet places where you just go to ski and maybe tailgate after. That's just my speed and JF was closer to that than CBK.

    • Like 1
×
×
  • Create New...