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Eagle Rock 1/24/16


Schif

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So I went on a limb and decided to cruise down 81 a bit and try out a new mountain today. Kind of a lazy day so I got my gear together and got on the road around noon. Picked up my friend Mike and drove to Hazleton. Nothing says nice ride to a mountain like a quick trip through an Industrial park. So I get to Eagle Rock a bit before 1 and breeze through the security gate after the guy made sure I was on the list and he took my drivers license for some reason. It was my first time to Eagle rock so I drove around a bit and followed signs for the base lodge which took me from the top of the mountain down to the bottom. There were no parking spots down there and the Lodge was closed so I figured I was in the wrong spot. Turned around and called my brother who directed me to the top lodge where I parked and booted up. Headed inside to pick up my lift tickets and I was off.

 

The story of the day was the snow. In the Wyoming Valley and at Montage we got a dusting, maybe 3 inches max, I actually cleared my sidewalks with a leafblower. Well that's not going to fly at Eagle Rock. They got 2.5 feet of snow yesterday and they left a ton of it ungroomed. First run was claw run to Screamin' Eagle. Claw run was a simple little warm up green circle and it finishes up at a spot where you can choose to either get on a double lift that will take you back to the top of the mountain or continue on down a really nice steep headwall with a turn to the right at the bottom. The snow on the right half of the trail was ungroomed and was mostly untouched. Lots of great float in there all day long. Next run was a cruise around Baldy to Screamin' Eagle. The theme of the day was to just go back and forth between all the different green circles and finish with a nice dive down Screamin' Eagle. All the other diamonds were closed. I tried to poach one, but there were clearly some ungroomed whales and icy hunks under the soft snow so I decided against it. Eagle Rock, while a decent amount of trails were closed, skis bigger than it looks. I am looking forward to going there a few more times this year.

 

The views from the slopes are pretty nice too

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There are some pretty snazzy slopeside houses/condos too. 

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So here's where things get a little crazy. I've been one of the few knuckledraggers on this site since the early days.I love snowboarding, it's truly one of the greatest things ever. But for some reason I decided to try something new. 

 

IMG_20160124_165449686_zpssf4iaoir.jpg

 

Is that what it looks like? I'm not sure what happened. I think I blacked out for a few minutes. That looks like my mitten in the picture but it surely can't be what it seems. 

 

IMG_20160124_161522080_zpsdjjla3ir.jpg

 

Oh my. That is definitely me and I'm apparently carrying two sticks and I have two tiny snowboards attached to my feet. 

 

Well long story short I spent 2 hours in this strange and unnatural state. I went about 300 feet saying "Pizza, French Fry" to myself and then decided that was pretty dumb and I felt more comfortable than I expected and I was able to almost immediately start skiing parallel and actually making/linking turns. I'm a little more comfortable turning to the left, but I'm OK to the right too. I can also hockey stop and make nice slow and deliberate turns. I tried to make nice tight side to side turns and the first time I tried that I caught an edge and fell (also I have no idea how to stand up on these things so I had to take them off) but the second time I got the hang of it and I was doing alright. I wasn't comfortable enough for Screamin' Eagle so I did all the green trails and went to the beginner lift for 2 hours but I must say I felt good and I really enjoyed it. 

 

I know it's really late in the season for my first TR but I hope to follow this up with a bunch more. 

 

Cheers,

 

Schif

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Well I guess that's out then.

 

How about this blue knob place?  Anybody been there recently?  1000 vert?  How this has flown under my radar for so long is beyond me.  Now that I'm living west of Reading though it looks like not a terrible drive.

Johnny Law will give you all the beta you need on Blue Knob

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Well I guess that's out then.

 

How about this blue knob place? Anybody been there recently? 1000 vert? How this has flown under my radar for so long is beyond me. Now that I'm living west of Reading though it looks like not a terrible drive.

Did I post a trip report on it last year?

 

Edit: I did post a trip report from 2/22/15. Very cool little mountain. Super rocky so make sure there is a good base before you head off piste. I went in a good snow year and still beat up my gear. Some very technical stuff. Weird lift setup. Old school Swiss style lodge. Crazy access road, especially if it's snowing.

Edited by Ride Delaware ?
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