pinemind

Conditions were amazing that day! I was up for shop Demo Days and got to try about 10 pairs of skis. Packed powder everywhere (except the mogul trails). Cold though (12 degrees or so). Surprise winner in skis? K2 Obsethed, 105 mm underfoot. I am buying that ski next year as my East Coast ski (no, I'm not joking. Give it a try and read the reviews as well). Justin

I was at Elk today. It was all snow, all the time, and extremely heavy most of the time. I got there around 11:00 am and there was almost no one there. It was hard to see far in front of you at times. I knew the pine trees of Elk would help keep all that new snow on the trails with the heavy winds (it was pretty windy) and I was not disappointed. I think Elk was the right choice. I heard Blue got a mixture of sleet and freezing rain. However, onto the roads. Some of the worst driving conditions I've ever been in. Once you got past the Pocono tunnel going North, it just got heavier and heavier and very windy. And that was at around 10:00 am. On the way back (I left early to go to a Christmas party) around 1:00 pm, the local roads were atrocious with basically 1-lane open. I cringed when I saw cars coming the other way. What was most disappointing was the I-81 and Northeast Extension (North of Exit 38) snow clearing/sanding. I figured by 1:30 when I hit I-81 and eventually the Northeast Extension, they would have done something. But it was one lane mainly traveled and even that was sketchy. The left lane in some places was pretty much a death trap, even for those of us with AWD. Plus I got stuck behind 2 different plow patrols going 30 MPH. One of them was for at least 20 miles before they turned off. So, in short, a normal 2:45 hour drive to Elk took me 4:15 on the way back. All in all, a tremendous day at Elk. One of which that is very rare these days it seems. I wouldn't be surprised if they reported > 10" of snow upwards of 12". There was about 5" when I left the slopes at 12:30 and it was really coming down. Sorry no pictures. I was limited on time and wanted to get the most of my powder day. Peace, Justin

I'm in Atlanta right now on business. They won't be opening a resort anytime soon. The storm rolled through here at 60 - 65 degrees and heavy rain. I think I'll stick with PA weather :-). At least there are chances of snow. J

I haven't been to Camelback in about 8 years but I may head up there on Saturday. Are there any sort of park features currently there amidst the spring conditions? Justin

I'll be up there around 7:30. Black helmet, brown jacket, white/brown plaid pants, Head Jon Olson Pro Model skis or B2's. Justin

Sorry guys, not going to be able to make it. Supposed to get out at 2 pm for Good Friday but we all know how that goes in the corporate world ... Plus I have to be in Old City for an early concert at the Tin Angel at 6:30 pm. Should be up at Blue tomorrow.

Anyone going to be up tomorrow afternoon? Weather looks great for spring riding. High 40's and Sunny. I'll be up there around 2 or 3 at the very latest and I'll be in BB or Cascade. White/brown plaid pants, brown jacket, Head Jon Olsonn hot swedish chick skis. Justin

My fault guys. I thought I was posting in the Bear Creek forum. I will be heading up to Bear tomorrow since it's only 40 min away and I have to be in Philly by 6:30 for a concert at the Tin Angel. I'm going to try and hit Blue on Saturday though.

Well, unfortunately, I have a 9 - 5 job so I can't be out there in the morning and I know that waiting until Saturday will prove futile. Post back a report and let me know if it's just a river flowing down the mountain or if there is actually some snow left :-). Justin

All, Well, after this deluge, it looks like Friday is the last clear day left before Bear closes. Saturday is supposed to be rain/snow with 42 as a high (so rain). None of my friends ski or board the park, so I'd like to meet up with some park skiers/boarders to see what we can thrown down in the slop. I get out of work early for Good Friday (how nice of them) and should be up there between 2 and 3 pm. Anybody planning on being up there? Peace, Justin

What's the Spring Fling coupon do? I was going to go up to Bear on Saturday but I was there on Sunday afternoon and boy, was it sloppy. If it's going to be spring conditions, I'd rather be at Blue.

It was pretty sloppy last night when I was there (~6:00 pm). I checked out timberline but I think it would be tough to get speed for a majority of those jumps. I had to bomb from the top of Black Bear to clear that second hit, left side (which is a nice jump btw, very wide ramp). We'll see how the weather treats us this week. I'd like to have one more decent, sunny spring park day before the end of the year (hopefully next Saturday). Last night I tried night skiing for a bit when it got dark but the conditions with the combination of the light just didn't work out too well. Oh well, gotta love the $5 shop employee ticket. Even if I get 5 runs it's still worth it. Peace, Justin

The guy was ripping on the park crew. There's plenty of other things to do on the mountain if 2 rails aren't perfect one day. It had nothing to do with jumps vs. rails.

Then go ride the actual mountain, or god forbid hit a jump. Rails, rails, rails.

Don't try and 'Fox News' my post, hehe. Read the first part. I was referring to the PE's although I didn't put my thoughts in the proper order. The PE's are really that heavy? I mean, I take my B2's in the park and spin 3's and 5's. They're like missles on each foot. I thought they were a pretty decent park ski. Or maybe specifically better for rails? I bought the B2's because their tail was turned up as much as my old Dynastar Concepts, so I could still ride and land fakie. But if I can get B2's around in the park with not much effort, I would think the PE's would be easy. If you have trouble spinning, I'd throw a pair of all-mountain skis on and master some 3's. Guarantee you'll be able to spin like crazy on any normal park ski after that. I know the Jon Olson Pro's are a cakewalk. Peace, J

No, I actually just work on Sundays and Monday nights, so I wasn't there. Most of the younger guys there have skied on the Jon Olson Pro's and love them so I could see a good recommendation. The PE's are really that heavy? I mean, I take my B2's in the park and spin 3's and 5's. They're like missles on each foot. I thought they were a pretty decent park ski. Or maybe specifically better for rails?

Yeah, maybe this weekend I'll give a few of those plastic guys a try. Then again, maybe I won't. I'm headed to Colorado next Tuesday and the last thing I want to do is mess myself up on a rail before that trip.

Nah. We actually didn't even stock it this year. We don't sell too many twin tips there. We've got the Line Chronics and Invaders, K2 Public Enemy and Silencer, and Salomon 1080 Thrusters. The owner loved the way the Chronics rode and he's not even a park guy. I think the Jon Olson's hold an edge pretty decent on hard pack and corduroy. When you start hitting high speeds on hard pack/ice, they tend to skip a bit. But in the park, man are they great. Nice pop, really effortless swingweight, and not too obnoxiously wide under foot. Plus, I mean, God, the girls on the front. I get so many comments when I take them up to the Poconos. I did douche myself on one of the left side jumps on Black Bear (3rd set down I think). It was the product of the gapers rolling up to the lip at such a low speed, the turn their skis and boards into a teeter totter, using the lip as a fulcrum and destroying it in the process. I hit said jump, got about one foot of air and tried to pull a 360. Didn't quite come around all the way. It was the only 360 I crapped out on all day out of about 15 or so I tried and it was just on that jump.

Wick's in Exton. We have a pair of Head Jon Olson Pros, 170's in our shop arsenal. I usually try and take those up. Nothing like having a hot, voluptuous Swedish model in black and white on your skis to keep you company on the lift.

Yeah it just could've been the day. Maybe it's a space thing too. I've noticed at Elk they only have one beat ass jump but they can pack in like 15 jibs in the remaining space. Jumps (properly made) take a lot more real estate to create. J

Gotcha. Any reason why more people stick to rails/jibs? Lack of nuts? Thrill of losing their nuts?

Hey all, I was up at Bear Creek for the first time on this past Saturday. When I got there, I was quite surprised at the lack of lift lines because I've heard horror stories from the customers at our ski shop. Mainly, I was going up there to get some exercise, but after 2 runs with flat, slow greens, interconnecting nightmares, and short, icy black diamonds, I spent the next 3 hours of my 4 hour pass in Black Bear park. I'm mainly an all-mountain skier. In my younger days (20, 21, I'm 26 now), I used to hit the park much more often. Back then, we didn't have these easy, wide plastic boxes to slide on. Maybe a few handrails or double handrails, so learning them was a lot more intimidating. This actually led to me swearing off rails a few years ago due to some very close calls with mouth on metal. I liked Black Bear park a lot for their jumps. The option of having the left kicker be about 3 to 5 feet shorter than the right kicker is nice for swapping up lines. Toughest part about that park is being the center of attention to the most popular lift on the mountain! If you threw down, you got cheers. If you wiped, you got heckled by 15 year old park rats (not that I care, I can always show them up in the park the next run anyway). If you saw me up there, I was the guy throwing big 360's on my Rossi B2's (cement shoes on feet) for a good part of the day. I wasn't able to get the park skis from the shop that morning so I had to suffer with horrible swingweight. One thing I've noticed and maybe it's just me. Why do park riders and skiers prefer rails over jumps these days? I'd say I saw about 20% of those going through the park legitimately hit the jumps. Do some people actually think the rails are easier? Maybe they are but I just enjoy the thrill of getting huge amounts of air. I didn't see too many park skiers up there on Saturday, or at least many (more than 1 or 2 others) that weren't total posers. Snowboarding seems to have less of a poser/real deal rider ratio. I saw more of them hitting jumps and actually trying something more than a straight air to wipeout on tabletop air. Just some observations. I'm going to try and make it up there again next Saturday and get some more jumps in before I head to Colorado next week. Peace, Justin