Sunday MLK weekend

[Mess]

Got to mountain at 9:45.  Lodge was a little crowded but no lift lines for the first few runs on Switch and Spike.  Conditions were ok with hard packed powder and some ice spots.  Grooming was a little uneven. Trails were a little crowded since they only had 2 beginner trails and 2 intermediate trails open. We went to the lodge for a short break and it was packed(Awesome for Montage to make some money). It was a very diverse crowd.  There were Italians with thick New York accents, a large group of Jews, many asians and quite a few Indians.  I am shocked how rude people can be in the lodge.  People try to reserve tables by just leaving bags and shit everywhere.  Makes it very hard to find somewhere to sit and rest for a few minutes.

 

Our next runs were on Cannonball and Lower runway.  Both trails were fun and fast.  The headwalls were definitely a little icy. I was shocked to see lines at the Phoebe lift.  I have never waited in line here in all of my trips to Montage/Sno.  Saw some people on White lightning and it looked steep as shit.  Not sure I would go on it with the icy terrain on other trails.  I saw an adult helping a young kid down between their legs.  Not sure what the hell they were thinking.  

 

Saw a lot of funny shit today.  2 times I saw skis/snowboards sliding down the mountain with someone running after them(luckily no one got hit by them).  I also saw a few people wearing backpacks skiing.  Not sure what your thoughts are but seems funny skiing at a small resort like Montage.  it is not like you are in the backcountry of the rockies.  Seems like a unnecessary risk of getting caught up on a lift.

 

We went into lodge and got a table in Slocum Hollow Bar.  Had to go in there since no spaces were available in the main lodge. It was pretty good food for a reasonable price.  Had a good atmosphere and I will go in next time I am at mountain.

 

Overall a great day spending time with my son.

[Ski2Live Live2Ski]

I was there from 11 to 430 skiing the Northface exclusively. It was the most crowded I have ever seen it, but even at the peak period from 130 to 245 the longest I waited for a lift was 5 min. Being a single helped, but not that much as there was no dedicated single line. It was the first time I had see them actually put a person out there matching people up to try to get 4 on each chair.

 

Didn't spend much time in the lodge other than booting up and then going in when the line peeked for men's room and a slice of pizza.

 

I really didn't see anything I would describe as ice, though there was hard packed snow on the groomed Runway and Cannonball. I did those occasionally for a change of pace, but mostly stuck to the ungroomed Smoke (had nice med sized soft bumps formed on about a third of it), Boomer (soft bumps all the way down), and White Lightning (plenty of snow to dig into on the sttepest headwall in PA).

 

Rattler may have been the most challenging run as it was fairly slick, 15 feet wide, steep and with some must do turns. But didn't have any problem on this run either.

 

Got 26 runs in overall for my most productive ski day of the season so far. Day 9.

 

At least one of those guys with a backpack had it filled with beers as he offered me 3 different varieties on one lift ride. Turned them all down. I don't enjoy mixing skiing and beer, as it makes my legs get more sore. While an after ski beer can be fun if I am not doing much driving, a 2:10 drive home in the dark when I was beat seemed unlikely to be assisted by that either. Thanked him for the generous offer though.

 

My one pet peeve is that they have no water fountain and only hot water in the bathroms, so the only way to get a Sim is to ask for a cup of water at the bar. Maybe some of those backpacks were filled with bottles water.

 

Clear that they have not opened the Long Haul TTB lift even once this season as they have not even made snow on and groomed the path to it - and if not for MLK with the mountain 90% open (including all black runs) then when? Not that it it a real draw except when the trees to the skiers right of it are in play. Should probably drop it off the map to stop misleading people though.

Edited January 16, 2017 by Ski2Live Live2Ski

[Mess]

Didn't even think about beers in backpack.  Still always makes me nervous with people getting on/off lifts.  A few years ago at Pico I saw a guy get hung up and it scared the shit out of me.

 

Glad I didn't take my son down Rattler.  We were going to but he changed his mind when we got to the trail.

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

I won't ski with a backpack on..somebody at blue Saturday was wearing a sweet Jansport..

[JFskiDan]

Good to see a Montage TR.  And being posted in the correct place.