Ditto on the + and - at Hunter.
Skiing at Hunter on 12/24/09??? (was Belleayre)
- Thread starter jkamien
- Start date
jasoncapecod
Well-known member
My kids had a ball on those things..
It must be a real PITA to groom that run..They might even need a winch able cat..
Being able to ski the porcelain separates the men from the boys. 8)
IIRC jkamien relocated from SoCal. I would be interested in a comparison of Hunter vs. Mt. High and Big Bear.
Home computer is on the DL, so it may be a while before I get the report (and especially pics) up from yesterday at Mt. High.
Home computer is on the DL, so it may be a while before I get the report (and especially pics) up from yesterday at Mt. High.
To some extent this is true in the Gunslinger area of Mt. High West. I suspect pitch is similar on Mt. High West black groomers as Hunter West, but for less vertical (~500-700). The other big difference is that anything at Mt. High with adequate cover is groomed. Not a mogul in sight. But Mt. High West is 90+% snowboarders, so there can't be any significant demand for bump skiing there.
jkamien":2b3h3of5 said:
I relate to this 100%. Last weekend I kept EXPECTING to hit boilerplate, unedgeable surfaces, but bump after bump I just kept carving. I've never experienced this, on manmade, anywhere else.
The kicker was that after I finally let myself go ... James and I hit Claire's again ONE LAST TIME ... and it was a killing field, with bodies everywhere. Including us.
Still funner than a bear.
sheahunter
New member
Snowmaking whales are left alone to leach out. Then they groom the dry manmade snow into PP not hardpack.
jkamien
Member
Thanks for the explanation of the whales, Sheahunter.
Tony - I only skied Snow Summit in Big Bear once when I lived in SoCal. I vowed never to repeat that experience, I was so dismayed by the lack of interesting terrain and intrusive advertising, recordings played from the lift towers, etc. I never went to Mt. High, either. Hunter is much more mountain than Snow Summit - in vertical and pitch it totally outshines it.
Mt. Baldy is a totally different story. I love that mountain - very steep, sustained pitches all over the place. I wish I lived as close to a great mountain like Baldy now as I did when I lived in Sherman Oaks.
But don't get me wrong - Hunter definitely has its charms for me. I still can't believe how different it actually skied from its terrible reputation. From what Sheahunter told me, much of the crowd that gave Hunter that bad reputation now goes to Windham to be pampered and fluffed. I truly want to get to Hunter on a powder day - those woods looked sa-wheet!
Tony - I only skied Snow Summit in Big Bear once when I lived in SoCal. I vowed never to repeat that experience, I was so dismayed by the lack of interesting terrain and intrusive advertising, recordings played from the lift towers, etc. I never went to Mt. High, either. Hunter is much more mountain than Snow Summit - in vertical and pitch it totally outshines it.
Mt. Baldy is a totally different story. I love that mountain - very steep, sustained pitches all over the place. I wish I lived as close to a great mountain like Baldy now as I did when I lived in Sherman Oaks.
But don't get me wrong - Hunter definitely has its charms for me. I still can't believe how different it actually skied from its terrible reputation. From what Sheahunter told me, much of the crowd that gave Hunter that bad reputation now goes to Windham to be pampered and fluffed. I truly want to get to Hunter on a powder day - those woods looked sa-wheet!
Snow Summit has been meeting that standard for some time. But as jkamien pointed out, it's an easier task when nearly all your terrain has low intermediate pitch (5-1 length-to-vert is typical there) and is groomed smooth, not bumpy. Also rain is very rare in comparison to the Northeast.harvey44":1b1bnts0 said:
The steeper trails at Mt. High had enough hard spots that I was reluctant to "let myself go." But it was edgeable hardpack, almost nothing I would call porcelain or frozen granular.
I don't know how long you lived in SoCal, but in about half of seasons the SoCal alternative to Snow Summit before mid-January or later (and sometimes it's the whole season) is a couple of demolition derby runs at Mt. High West. 1,200 vertical over 240 acres and 75+% of it open with decent surface conditions for 4 months every year are parameters that many metro areas would be delighted to have within daytrip distance.jkamien":1b1bnts0 said:
The Catskills vs. SoCal locals make an interesting comparison. Baldy is head and shoulders above all in terrain quality but is skiable probably less than half as often as the Catskill areas. Snow Summit surely has the most consistent snow surfaces but I'm willing to admit falls short of Hunter in terrain quality. So if you combine terrain, conditions and number of usable days per season the comparison might be close. Baldy being only an hour from much of L.A. is one factor that might make us somewhat better off than the NYC skiers.
jasoncapecod
Well-known member
living just north and west of the TZ bridge. i have the best of both worlds..With out traffic i'm 45mins to Times Square and 1.5hr to Hunter
Other than an intellectual exercise, exactly what good does it do anyone to compare these two regions? :x They're 100% for local skiers (no one would travel more than daytrip distance), so what's the point?Tony Crocker":1lfsw1eg said:
Actually that was Patrick's suggestion first. I've done the exercise for the SW quadrant of the US over a year ago, will work on more eventually.
For the big metro areas it's often quite relevant where within that area. There's a big difference between jason's location and Long Island for example.
Spent New Year's Day at Hunter. The parking lots were full, but as long as you stayed off certain sections, it didn't feel Zoo-Week crowded. There's more porcelain around than the last time I was there, but if you paid attention to where you were turning, there was plenty of soft stuff. In the afternoon, the HSQ had a ten-minute line, but right next to it was the old D Lift, which was deserted. Funny how the lemmings can't do the math and figure out that they're better off taking the slower chairs.
Amazing that they've only received 25 inches of natural snow this season (how's that possible?). By the New Year, I've always had at least one, maybe two, Catskill powder days, but this is really sad. Hunter must be happy as clams because this is the kind of year (cold, but no snow) where its main market differentiator becomes clear.
Amazing that they've only received 25 inches of natural snow this season (how's that possible?). By the New Year, I've always had at least one, maybe two, Catskill powder days, but this is really sad. Hunter must be happy as clams because this is the kind of year (cold, but no snow) where its main market differentiator becomes clear.
Anna Purna is such a beautiful trail... perfect width and consistent pitch. Funny how they cut such a model EC trail in Anna Purna, yet right next to it is Westway (the only trail on the mountain that's still closed), a football field-wide monstrosity.jkamien":14qb863b said:
Yep, I spoke with several people on the lifts whose accents could peel wallpaper. But once you get talking, many seem to be nice people (who happen to have really off-putting pronunciation). Amazing to note the differences in clientele between Hunter (heavily favored by Long Islanders and people from the NYC outer boroughs) and Belleayre, which seems to draw people from NJ, Westchester, and Rockland counties. By my unscientific poll, you don't see Vinny and Joey at Hunter as much these days as Dimitri, Andrzej, and Jerzy. Every time I'm there, I hear lots of eastern euro languages. It really is the United Nations of ski areas.jkamien":14qb863b said:
If you compare the nearest resorts to NYC and Jersey, Hunter wins every time. In order: Hunter, Belleayre, Plattekill, Mt.Snow. Hunter has the steepest runs, best snowmaking, and a pretty diverse layout. Bell's runs are pretty much all the same, steep at the top, low angle for the rest of the way. They do end up with nice bump runs though, more consistant than Hunters. Plattekill needs a lot of natural snow or core shots are the norm for the day. They get the most snow and the least people so it's a nice change from the crowds. Good tree skiing as well. Mt.Snow is huge in comparison but a lot of the runs are the same, like a bowling alley. They have the best tree skiing and some steep shots like Rip Cord and Jaws but the extrs 1.5 to 2 hours to get there and the steep lift tix price keeps me at Hunter. Have to see how this storm pans out before I decide where to go Monday.
As I kid, I skied Hunter once or twice a winter from maybe 76 to 84. Haven't been there since. Back then, it really earned the "ah" at the end of its name: Bad "classic" rock blaring from bad speakers mounted on the chairlift towers. . . lots of empty beer cans and cigarette packs in the woods below the lifts. . . lots of guys in Rangers jerseys, jeans, and rental gear going straight down trails, at high velocities, hunched over in a wobbly snow plow. . . a fair amount of uninhibited intoxicant use on the chairlifts, etc. The skiing itself, however, was generally worth the drive.
jkamien
Member
I have to agree with Kingslug. Dec 24/09 was the first time I skied there (actually, my first time skiing New York, ever). I expected the worst based on the "Huntah" reputation, but really enjoyed myself. As I discussed with Sheahunter (who reports having skied Hunter for about 40 years), the reputation was deserved many years ago, but doesn't seem really deserved nowadays. I am looking forward to returning there once the Catskills pick up some natural snow.
Yogi Berra's quote may apply: "That place is so crowded, nobody goes there anymore".
Yogi Berra's quote may apply: "That place is so crowded, nobody goes there anymore".