boblikescats Posted February 14, 2009 Report Posted February 14, 2009 (edited) The wife and I got there early (8:00 ish) to beat the crowds that never showed up. Thought "wow the trails are perfectly groomed" as we rode the lift up for the first run. We were was sadly disappointed. Almost all of the trails were like skiing on glue with a little bit of sweet n low here or there. It was a typical day of lifties concentrating on their radio's, hot chocolate/coffee, making the double line barely wide enough to fit a single, and sliding along the wood rail at F chair when your supposed to be slowing the lift when people are getting on it. I also noticed that there were several slow skiing signs all over the mountain that I had not seen before. So this pretty much makes Bear Creek a beginners mountain except for 3 or 4 very short trails off of F chair. (not including the parks) If you are thinking about going today and want to ski on glue, today will be perfect for you. It was almost like they groomed and made slow snow to keep things slow on the mountain. Who knows... Look at the trail map on the web site and the amount of cars on the map in the lodge parking lots are a pretty close count to the cars that were in the lot when we left at 10:30 ish. I was surprised to only see a few spots of solid ice with the recent weather. Maybe some other day will be better, unfortunately with a Killington trip this month and other Pocono Mountains to try this year I don't think we will be back this season to find out. There are just too many better choices out there that aren't as boredom incurring as BC for an extra gallon of gas or two. Enjoy! ps- The Hillbillie BBQ on the way back down 100 south just passed Passmore Rd. on the right was awesome. Look for the Green trailer if you like good old smokey BBQ. The beans were awesome and I'm sure to love them later too! The wife, not so much! Happy Valentines Day Honey! Edited February 14, 2009 by boblikescats Quote
phillycore Posted February 14, 2009 Report Posted February 14, 2009 Bob..... what temp wax you got on those stix of yours ?? The weird temp swings are making the snow crazy lately for sure... I want to visit BC sometime this year as I haven't been there since it was Doe Mtn. but is it really all beginner trails cause that would be enough for me not to make a trip back there... Quote
mollyskeez Posted February 14, 2009 Report Posted February 14, 2009 honestly if your a person that loves lapping steeps all day bear creek is not the place to go. id do elk or Vermont. they have 3 trails that you can rack up some speed on but they lead right into gaper city. the lodge is very nice though youd think they redid it this year not 4 years ago its very well kept. Quote
bermbuster49 Posted February 14, 2009 Report Posted February 14, 2009 i kinda feel like you hit it at a bad day. this past week has been really tough on the slopes, and although we have a lot of snow, it definitely took a hit. I think you should try to come back on a sunny morning after they have blown the night before haha Quote
EAZY-Emuntz Posted February 14, 2009 Report Posted February 14, 2009 Didn't they blow last night? supposedly, it didn't really feel like it though Quote
burton71 Posted February 15, 2009 Report Posted February 15, 2009 I was surprised to only see a few spots of solid ice with the recent weather. Really? Was is the 69 record temp the other day? Or the 44 degrees at 10am this morning that made it hard to understand that the snow would be slow? Quote
neutral Posted February 15, 2009 Report Posted February 15, 2009 perhaps you need some wax on your sticks i was gliding without any issues this afternoon, evening. Quote
boardin_nerd Posted February 15, 2009 Report Posted February 15, 2009 dontcha hate those bad days? seems like bear creek is struggling this past week. I wouldn't say that bear creek is all beginner trails.. but Its not steep vertical like "missdemeanor" said... sry to hear your experience was bad there Quote
ket19 Posted February 15, 2009 Report Posted February 15, 2009 i thought it became more decent as the evening grew colder. definitely sticky earlier in the evening. i would guess that all the 'slow' signs were for the benefit of the hot mess of a jeans-wearing crowd that presidents' day weekend usually attracts, because they haven't been there at all so far this season. Quote
mollyskeez Posted February 15, 2009 Report Posted February 15, 2009 i was shredding from 4 till like 9 and the snow was weird but not elmers. the skis i was demoing were just hot waxed though. Quote
neutral Posted February 15, 2009 Report Posted February 15, 2009 i was shredding from 4 till like 9 and the snow was weird but not elmers. the skis i was demoing were just hot waxed though. maybe that'why i was moving just fine too, hotwaxed my board before going up Quote
HouseMuzik Posted February 15, 2009 Report Posted February 15, 2009 maybe that'why i was moving just fine too, hotwaxed my board before going up The snow was okay... but what do we expect really. 4 straight days of 50 degree weathers gonna foul everything up. Should get better over the weekend. Quote
boblikescats Posted February 15, 2009 Author Report Posted February 15, 2009 Bob..... what temp wax you got on those stix of yours ??The weird temp swings are making the snow crazy lately for sure... I want to visit BC sometime this year as I haven't been there since it was Doe Mtn. but is it really all beginner trails cause that would be enough for me not to make a trip back there... Whatever the shop puts on. Same shop for the last several years with no problems. It's a tough call. honestly if your a person that loves lapping steeps all day bear creek is not the place to go. id do elk or Vermont. they have 3 trails that you can rack up some speed on but they lead right into gaper city. I just didn't like the new Slow skiing signs everywhere. Before you used to be able to casually motor down the whole slope to F Chair. Now you really can't. It's an excuse to get a whistle blown at by the ski patrollers, unless that is what you are looking for. Didn't they blow last night? There was definitely fresh blown snow. It seemed like they groomed while blowing and then let a little extra blow on top. If the would have mixed it up a bit I think the outcome would have been much better. But, then again I am not a blown snow pro... Really? Was is the 69 record temp the other day? Or the 44 degrees at 10am this morning that made it hard to understand that the snow would be slow? Hey genius...In my experiance, usually when things melt and then get cold again the conditions are consistant. You know, it melts during the day and ices up at night, repeat. I think this explains the other sweet n low that was fabulous when you weren't on the glue. When we got there it was below freezing, hence their ability to blow, maybe? Do you ride a Burton? Do you go to Bear Creek? No one else had any BBQ? I'm surprised. Quote
Mixilplix Posted February 15, 2009 Report Posted February 15, 2009 I thought conditions were pretty good today.From about 10 to 12 it was really nice.I was gone at noon cause of the crowds.I barely saw the slow signs as I blew by them at speed.In fact I did this many times and nothing was said.I hope they were just there for this weekend. Quote
Tyler Posted February 15, 2009 Report Posted February 15, 2009 (edited) ehh forget it Edited February 15, 2009 by Oakley21 Quote
mollyskeez Posted February 15, 2009 Report Posted February 15, 2009 I just didn't like the new Slow skiing signs everywhere. Before you used to be able to casually motor down the whole slope to F Chair. Now you really can't. It's an excuse to get a whistle blown at by the ski patrollers, unless that is what you are looking for. i agree that those signs are super lame. i dont think anyone flys into the lift area/base area so fast they need to put signs. the signs are super lame but super fun to duck under adn go through. Quote
boardin_nerd Posted February 16, 2009 Report Posted February 16, 2009 I've bombed it straight down cascade right to the F chair and never got a whistle... ever..... Quote
JibHonk Posted February 16, 2009 Report Posted February 16, 2009 U realize cascade is nowhere near f chair right? Quote
mollyskeez Posted February 16, 2009 Report Posted February 16, 2009 U realize cascade is nowhere near f chair right? he means down cascade and across the base area past the triple and down to f chair. this would involve a good amount of speed during the time he was traveling through the base area. Quote
burton71 Posted February 16, 2009 Report Posted February 16, 2009 Hey genius...In my experiance, usually when things melt and then get cold again the conditions are consistant. You know, it melts during the day and ices up at night, repeat. I think this explains the other sweet n low that was fabulous when you weren't on the glue. When we got there it was below freezing, hence their ability to blow, maybe? Do you ride a Burton? Do you go to Bear Creek?When it gets really warm like it did last week and then only marginally cold and then warms up again the snow is going to be slow and inconsistant. Especially in the mornings before the snow gets on the trails. You should know this from all your "experiance." A good wax job with some warm weather wax solves this problem. Quote
boardin_nerd Posted February 16, 2009 Report Posted February 16, 2009 U realize cascade is nowhere near f chair right? hahah! dang, i wasn't even paying attention.. deffinitly ment EXTREME.. haha... Quote
Tyler Posted February 16, 2009 Report Posted February 16, 2009 hahah! dang, i wasn't even paying attention.. deffinitly ment EXTREME.. haha... i'll believe it when i see it Quote
andTO86 Posted February 16, 2009 Report Posted February 16, 2009 If you are thinking about going today and want to ski on glue, today will be perfect for you. It was almost like they groomed and made slow snow to keep things slow on the mountain. Who knows... Yeah they put the slow flakes out... Seriously, I used to work in a tune shop. Base structure (the tiny grooves on the bottom) has as much to do with how fast you go as does wax formula. And way more than the snow itself. Wet snow needs deep base structure (so you don't suction down like a wet glass on a smooth table), dry snow works better with smoother structure. Cold snow - harder wax so the sharp crystals don't stick into it, warm - softer so that the wax actually lubricates. A lot of people hot wax and don't even brush the wax out of the structure, and leave a glass-smooth finish on the bottom with no structure at all. Multiply about 10 different base structure patterns (and 100's of slight variations) by the 100's of different wax formulations (and possibly a base + mid + top coat setup), and you'll understand why high performance ski tuning still isn't an exact science. In my opinion, a good tuner can make your setup universal enough to work well in about 75% of the conditions you see. Getting any better than that requires either luck, or a whole lot of time and tweaking (and $$). Blaming the snow is like wearing a speedo in january, and blaming the weather for your shrinkage . If you're going slow, it's probably your gear, not the snow. Quote
sexkitten Posted February 16, 2009 Report Posted February 16, 2009 (edited) I haven't been feeling hence the delay but here's my TR finally... Got there at 8:00 AM and found a surprisingly empty lot. Booted up and were on like the 10th chair. We were really excited for some fast, spring like, groomed runs but sadly it was not to be. I know BC has to blow whenever they can but damn the new stuff was sticky icky. Also, I don't know lots about grooming but it seemed to me that they should have groomed the new snow into the old stuff. Honestly when you would hit the snow they had just blown it was like pulling the e-brake. It totally pitched you forward so that you pretty much had to fight to keep from falling. The new snow really blended in with the existing snow too so you couldn't really anticipate where it was and adjust. Speaking of the existing snow... it was awesome spring snow but sadly it was staggered with straight up Elmer's. Oh... before any of you make comments about my abilities we saw many people struggling and falling including an instructor so take that. Haha. Anyway, we hit all of the trails except the park and Timberline which was closed for the race team multiple times. The blacks were the only decent trails but in a weird, sweet n' low sort of way. Also as Bob said there were a bunch of slow skiing signs at the bottoms which I thought was weird. I (like everyone else in this thread) hadn't seen them before this weekend and I they were out just for the Holiday weekend but who knows. As the morning went on the snow did start to feel better. I think this is because of the mixing up, melting, etc or maybe it was because we started to learn where the crappy spots were and how to avoid them. Either way we did our runs and bailed like 10:45 AM. The crowds stayed light for the whole morning which is what kept me from calling the whole day a wash. Overall an OK V-Day at BC. Ugh. Edited February 16, 2009 by sexkitten Quote
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