4/2 Camelback Ski TR

[vinnyv11]

Weather: Little brisk in the morning but nice by mid-afternoon we were in the upper 40's.

 

Conditions: Early Morning trails were a little slick, by mid morning the trails started to get chopped up and were in good shape by afternoon it was great spring skiing. By the time I left it was starting to get a little mushy.

 

The wife an I arrived at the mountain around 8 and were on our first lift at about 8:20. The wife is still pretty green so she won't get to adventurous so we did Honeymoon Lane and Marc Antony as our first runs. Honeymoon was in great shape with some nice snow and was handling well. Marc Antony however, was a completely different scenario as the first run down that felt like straight icy corduroy (Softened up later). After these two runs we went down to the bottom quad to hit up the other part of the mountain. I wanted to check out the Intermediate runs down the left slopes (Near East and Pocono Raceway) to see if the wife could handle them and how to get to the other green (Birches). I went down and carved my way down Pocono Raceway a nice wide intermediate that had some interesting conditions at this point but was definitely a nice run. After meeting back at the quad with the wife we headed back up and I convinced her that Near East wasn't a big deal and we could hit Birches. Going down this was a nice run she took it slow but did great the funny part was that the bottom part of Birches was closed due to thin cover so we actually had to go down the steep portion of Nile Mile which she was not so happy about but did fine. After that run we headed up and I hit Pharaoh for a nice run down to Pocono Raceway which at this point were starting to soften up and were in great shape. Figured we would work our way back over to the other side of the mountain so we did Honeymoon and Birches. Split from the wife after that for a run and hit The Hump nice steep pitch with a little bank at the bottom. That was a fun run and the conditions were definitely carvable with nice soft snow. After that run the wife wanted to hit the lodge to get a snack and a drink so we took a little break (First mistake of the day) after the break we headed back up for another run down Birches and over to Honeymoon Lane. At this point the snow was really soft and was definitely in great Spring conditions. The mistake at this point was brought back up as the wife was done for the day. You know how that goes stop and get tired so she was done.

 

After leaving the wife I headed up and started hitting some quick runs. Started at Asp which was in great condition at that point and then over to the Rocket. Then the most random meeting of the day at the top of the quad I saw a familiar jacket which just happened to be my ski instructor. After a brief chat he said his group was heading down if I wanted to join them so I did a run or two with them. After the second run they decided to hit the bumps on Lower Cleopatra so I figured what the hell i'll try the bumps.... Ya Mistake numero dos. I had no idea what the hell I was doing lol. I got about 3/4 of the way down and my ski popped off on me. Didn't fall just spun. Got down the rest of the way and decided I need a little instruction on this one before I try again. After leaving my ski instructor I headed over to the lower quad and hit up Nile Mile i'm confused how this one is an intermediate. It felt like Paradise at Blue to me. Will definitely have the wife do that next time to get her confidence up. After getting to the bottom I headed back up and hit Honeymoon to get back to the main quad so I could get my last run in. At this point I was starting to get a little wore out so I figured I would hit the other Black on the main face and call it a day as the wife was in the lodge waiting so I headed up and went down Marjie's Delight which ran nice but when you got to the very bottom where everyone was merging you could tell the snow was starting to get real choppy and mashed potatoes were starting to form.

 

All in all I have to say it was a great day. The wife did a great job and now that I was doing black terrain I was able to really experience the mountain. Thanks for being open Camelback.

 

Some Video from the Day

 

Marjie's Lane - Last Run of the Day. Great Conditions

 

The Wife and I going down Honeymoon Lane for the First run of the day. Lazy but I followed her down and she was doing well.

 

First Look at the Mountain

 

Wife at the top of the left Quad

 

Look down Pharaoh from the Lift

 

Bottom of Pharaoh and Cliffhanger to the left

[Shadows]

one thing i will never miss about cb is the fuckin yellow jackets. such a buzzkill. pun points.

 

looking good though, conditions look great.

[riderossi]

I was there also, with my girlfriend, and had a blast. The lift lines were MUCH more manageable than last weekend. Being from Sno I'm not used to any lift lines so that was a bit of a "bummer" but I still had fun last weekend also.

 

It was indeed a bit chilly early on but we were shedding layers by 10. Yesterday we were able to hit a couple diamonds (my girlfriend is still progressing) and it was more fun to actually ride the whole mountain, especially with the soft snow. Pharaoh was probably my favorite run with a nice pitch and turns. Cliffhanger was a close second, nice length run and not many people venturing onto it compared to the blues/greens. My girlfriend also made it down without issue which was awesome. Would have enjoyed it more if there were more bumps though, they were kind of spread out.

 

Towards the end of the day the snow and my tired legs started getting the better of me. At one point, when I was stopping to wait for my GF, I cut a sharp toe side and my legs gave out on me and I went flying onto my back, that was fun thanks to the soft snow. Then I ended up supermaning on the flat of Cliffhanger when I carelessly caught a toe edge in a big scoop of mashed potatoes.

 

The bump run up there was also really fun when there wasn't a bunch of kids meandering their way through. I also appreciated the groomed path on skiers right for my girlfriend to make her way down.

 

I don't like how a lot of the trails end up with merges and people carelessly shooting from one slope to another. They also lack a seriously steep trail. But those are minor complaints and we both had a real fun time.

[Glenn]

Looking at the trail map camelback increased the ratings of a couple of trails including Nile and Pharoah. Your wife looks familiar. Is her name Jen?

[vinnyv11]

Your wife looks familiar. Is her name Jen?

 

Jeannine

[RootDKJ]

Nice!