NightRider

I just woke up (Thurs) and it is way foggy out. Fog eats snow for breakfast... The temps look like they are ready to head back south so hopefully starting tomorrow night, the lows should be in the lower 20's which should work for the snow crew. God knows we've got water in the ponds now!

Yeah, that's just a weeeeee different that here in wonderful eastern PA! Ha!

Anyone lurking here from the park crew that can add anything here?

Do these things have that crazy plastic on them? Seems easier to get the hang on that type vs. round or box pipe... Here's a link (http://www.planetsnowdesign.com/) but is there any picture of the new rail designs?

This is kinda off-topic but how do they split the divisions. I've often wondered what consitutes a "novice", "intermediate" and "expert"? What are the capability dividing-lines? Can an intermediate pull 3's? Can a beginner slide a rail? Do experts have to whip 5's and flips?

It all comes down to informing the general population what "right" and "wrong" is with reference to the park. They have put up signs, people have talked about the Ride Smart (?) program, the parks are marked with signs that explain what we've all said here... Yet there are still stories like Schifdawg's about little kids flailing about in the park... Been there brother. I was at BC on Mon. morning at open and saw two guys ripping off the top booter pulling flips (solid). With people stepping to the plate with these moves, something needs to be done to continue to permit it, but without fear of making a crater out of some micro-kiddie wedging through the park. I don't think anyone really has an answer, unfortunately I believe it will come back on all of us. We either have to tell people what the story is (i.e. "hey, not a good place to stand around", etc) and/or limit the amplitude of the park during peak hours to avoid problems. Rails are much more immune, however, than the booters. I am not a big rail guy, and I can't pull all the fancy moves, but hit all the big stuff. Often without someone serving as a spotter, which has indeed become more risky. PS> I also agree with the few who mention that "they let anyone on a black diamond" -- been witness to some of that mayhem myself.

I had fun with the down rail over by tubing the other day. No one wanted to hit it since it was a bit intimidating (having to olly onto it vs. just sliding up to it like many of the other rails). The unloading zone wasn't all cupped and bombed out like a lot of the other rails. I think we're kinda screwed until mother nature opens her calendar and realizes it's winter.....

Indeed, this was what management agreed would be the best thing for us to do -- if someone is in the wrong, take the time to say something to them (non-confrontationally -- not 'hey get the F out of the way'). As for getting cut off at that jump, that tends to be the #2 beef I have. Improper drop-in signalling. #1 of course is people parking their bums on the landings so you can't even see them. Some days if it is too crowded, I won't hit the bigger stuff without a spotter. I've seen people get landed on and it rarely comes out good...

Park Passes were discussed but the issues are mainly that there are too many entrances to the park area. They also require some amount of policing, people checking the passes, etc. Seems the best answer is to create areas that are aimed at different skill levels... If there is a smaller park, then the lesser-skilled won't be as tempted/forced into the big-gun territory where they can get worked.

I was there... It was a good start, let's say that. Basically the management was there which consisted of the GM, head of snowmaking, head of grooming (snowcat), park manager, and park crew. About 12 or so in total. The attitude was real good in that they really want to know what the masses want to see up on the hill. Truth be told a lot of the conversation revolved around trying to address some serious safety concerns with people parking behind hits, on hits, on rail approaches, etc. Everyone saw this as something that needed fixing and will be key to making the park a happier place. Time was not spent discussing 'progressive features' as much as some there would have preferred. Though it is kinda hard to really have a constructive conversation about various box/rail setups, trannys to jumps, etc... They passed out sheets with the parks on them for layout suggestions and a blank sheet (everyone's favorite) for 'feature' suggestions. I stayed until the very end (around 10p) and saw that there were at least 10-12 sheets submitted. A few from one person that were quite detailed that he brought in with him. Another big thing was that the big air park in the tubing area was a litmus test for things to (possibly) come. Supposedly the land is available to turn tubing 90' freeing up that run for the booter-park we saw last week before it got mowed into a tubing run. The other option for that area could be a superpipe. Personally I was hoping to discuss it more but time ran low fast. The biggest thing I can contribute is that any new pipe, to be an improvement, MUST be located according to sun exposure. As we all know, the current pipe suffers from schizophrenia -- hard ice on the one side and caved out soft-serve on the other -- all due to the sun hitting one side more than the other. To maintain an even bigger pipe, this needs to be figured out. All this being said, my impression from the reactions of the staff and their feedback was the following: - The General Manager (GM) clearly stated that he'd like to compose a plan to approach the ownership with for further funding of terrain park development. There are no commitments as of yet, but the sentiment seemed that it could happen. This would be critical for the land-moving required for such things as turning tubing, building a bigger pipe, etc. - Head of Snowmaking addressed the popular opinion that there 'is no water' (untrue, esp. after the rain and warmth) and also explained how the water replenishes into the ponds for reuse and their goal of adding another 35 million gallon reservoir. Ideal is moving from maintaining a 20" base to a 5' one... I guess we still need Mother Nature's help with the cold on this one though... - Head of Grooming liked the feedback on some of the jump trannys and such as it is he who can adjust these things. He also explained that it has been tough (clearly) to gather snow lately to build any more tabletops, etc. - Head of Park/Park Crew are a committed bunch. They spend a lot (A LOT) of time tweaking the hits between cat groomings. Earlier that night I know I saw a pack of 4 of them with rakes and shovels trying to combat the effects of high-traffic on a warm day. All in all it was a good start to creating a dialog with those-who-make-it-happen. They want our feedback and recommend we continue to discuss our thoughts here (forums) as well as contribute via email (skibearcreek@skibearcreek.com). The goal, weather permitting, is to change up the park every couple of weeks. Our feedback will guide that -- did something suck? Why? The big thing is 'why' -- they'll work to fix it. Seen something cool at another mountain, write them and send them a picture -- maybe they'll build it. Bottom line is BC wants to progress the park. They want to do it right, they want to do it safely, and they want our help.

I'm ringing in at 29, 30 in March so me and my buddies (of same age) must just be the old fogies in the park.....

This is good and bad all at the same time... Good for those who like peace, bad for the management ($$$).

I just saw that. I will be there. Sounds like there is really (finally) a true active interest in getting the park to be what the people that ride it want it to be. I heard that management is indeed interested in keeping things progressive. I know my personal input has (and will continue to be) to request more tabletops and more of the old-school kickers and spines (the one in the park now is pretty nice -- or was before the rain perhaps). Seems the new school is all the rails and that's cool I enjoy learning, but for someone like me who didn't learn on rails (I'm 29, what do you want?) I've always been partial to setups like that which was put in the tubing area (thank you God). Too bad it will be whisked into the ever popular tubing run... The unfortunate part as was discussed in another one of these discussions is that the ponds apparently bottomed out, not to mention the rain. I guess once the temps drop they'll blow more, but I think the best setups show up after a natural storm that gives one big dump all at once to pile into gaps, tables, spines, etc... On a side note, something I'd be interested in hearing about with the crowd here... The other problem I see and would really help would be build smaller versions of the big setups for people to learn on. Pulling a 3 is nice, but one's first time should not require huge luck on a 40'-50' booter -- but rather smaller "happier" (safer) hits maybe on an adjacent trail like Kodiak. This would also create an area that would help keep the inexperienced out of harm in the big park setups. Just my $0.02...

I'd be interested to know how things faired after the rains. Probably going to have to bring out the chains to beat up the crust once the temp drops, but it looks like it is going to be kinda warm over the next few days.

I spoke with someone on the lifts that apparently works on the park crew (sorry I never got your name)... He said the ponds were pretty low and that they were hoping the rain/runoff would let them get snow built back up where they needed it (read: 'to build tabletops', etc...) once the temps dropped. I guess that jives with most opinions...