Trip Report - 12/16/2017

[saltyant]

Hey All,

I'm back from a fun Saturday at Camelback mountain the true mountain. I arrived at the lot around 728AM and also in the house were many others.

I woke up around 606AM, and as I made my way eastward on I-80, I experienced a legit defcon level one crisis. I realized I would not make FirstTrax(tm)(c)(r) on time, and would miss out on all that fresh cord. Unfortunately, I had miscalculated my wake-up time and ended up a whopping 8 minutes late for FirstTrax. The saving grace, however, was that fellow elites (Camelback season passholders) were kind enough to save some fresh cord for old saltyant, so I didn't miss out entirely. But it was still a truly devastating blow. The walk from car to lift was also agonizingly long and brutal after being spoiled from Blue's short walking distance.

Early morning skiing conditions were top notch. They remembered to groom all 6 trails. The snow wasn't exactly the fluffy powder that I was expecting, but it was nice to finally ski on packed powder. I decided to see how fast I could go after blazing down Blue's trails on Wednesday evening with actual slalom skiers. I broke my personal record on Marjie's and hit 49.9 mph. Wow! I'm not sure I can break the 50 mph barrier, but I came damn close to my lifetime goal with that run. I also tried speeding in the slow zone on Meadows to see if I would get a ticket from the cops, like everyone claimed I would. Despite several lightning fast runs down Tuts and into Meadows, I did not get pulled over even once, therefore concluding that this claim is definitely an old wives tale and urban legend.

As the day progressed, the crowd grew but never got overwhelmingly large. The lift line was almost always a short wait, and I figured out how to maximize run efficiency by going in the singles line on the far left of the queue area. However, every single trail turned to a sheet of ice by late afternoon, especially Marjie's. My poor Elon skis just could not get any traction, and I ended up skidding down Marjie's most of the day. I also got to ski some glades (between 2 trees) and literally became an expert skier. I decided to call it a day around 327PM after a prolonged lift stop because the lift got tired and needed to nap for about 15 minutes. I made a total of 47 runs today and 26,687 feet of vertical descent.

The weekend ahead looks truly promising. Rumors were circulating all day long that they might get another trail open next week. A worker told me that the water supply for snowmaking is dwindling, so once they find some water they will be able to get another trail open. This wonderful news amplified stoke levels across the mountain by over 9000. I will likely head back to Camelback tomorrow morning to hit some more FirstTrax early on before conditions get slick again.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 17, 2017 by saltyant

[Shadows]

Nice salty. like your trs. 

[RootDKJ]

I stopped reading at CB the true.  I did look at the pics tho

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

22 minutes ago, RootDKJ said:

I stopped reading at CB the true.  I did look at the pics tho

Theres only one true mountain and that's Blue mountain which is often imitated but never duplicated.  

 

Nice report salty..I read every word then ran your report through google translated and read it in hieroglyphics 

[saltyant]

2 minutes ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

Theres only one true mountain and that's Blue mountain which is often imitated but never duplicated.  

Nice report salty..I read every word then ran your report through google translated and read it in hieroglyphics 

Do you know if Blue can pipeline some water to Camelback so we can get another trail open? I can't believe Blue has 22 trails open and CB only has 6 !

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

24 minutes ago, RootDKJ said:

I stopped reading at CB the true.  I did look at the pics tho

Theres only one true mountain and that's Blue mountain which is often imitated but never duplicated.  

 

Nice report salty..I read every word then ran your report through google translated and read it in hieroglyphics 

 

how do you like skiing the glades? When you go to Stowe I'll direct you to some easier glades. 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Just now, saltyant said:

Do you know if Blue can pipeline some water to Camelback so we can get another trail open? I can't believe Blue has 22 trails open and CB only has 6 !

Camelback really only has 6 runs open??   Target has cases of bottled water for only $2.89 I'll help dump them in the snowmaking pond.  Blue should be darn close to 100% open by midweek. 

[saltyant]

5 minutes ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

how do you like skiing the glades? When you go to Stowe I'll direct you to some easier glades. 

Glades are so rad. I'll be going to Stowe the first week of February, so your directions will be much appreciated.

 

4 minutes ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

Camelback really only has 6 runs open??   Target has cases of bottled water for only $2.89 I'll help dump them in the snowmaking pond.  Blue should be darn close to 100% open by midweek. 

There are essentially 4 separate top-to-bottom runs... Marc Antony/Honeymoon, Marjie/Sullivan Trail, Tuts/Meadows, and they just opened Rhododendron Glen which is accessible only by the slow lift and is just as bad with the death cookies as Upper Main was last Sunday.

Any bottled water PASR can donate will be accepted by Camelback management. Also if you can help them plant some grass because that's another reason for their delayed snowmaking.

Edited December 17, 2017 by saltyant

[RootDKJ]

1 hour ago, saltyant said:

Glades are so rad. I'll be going to Stowe the first week of February, so your directions will be much appreciated.

 

There are essentially 4 separate top-to-bottom runs... Marc Antony/Honeymoon, Marjie/Sullivan Trail, Tuts/Meadows, and they just opened Rhododendron Glen which is accessible only by the slow lift and is just as bad with the death cookies as Upper Main was last Sunday.

Any bottled water PASR can donate will be accepted by Camelback management. Also if you can help them plant some grass because that's another reason for their delayed snowmaking.

What kinda grass?

[saltyant]

7 minutes ago, RootDKJ said:

What kinda grass?

[tarponhead]

Hey All,
I'm back from a fun Saturday at Camelback mountain the true mountain. I arrived at the lot around 728AM and also in the house were many others.
I woke up around 606AM, and as I made my way eastward on I-80, I experienced a legit defcon level one crisis. I realized I would not make FirstTrax™©® on time, and would miss out on all that fresh cord. Unfortunately, I had miscalculated my wake-up time and ended up a whopping 8 minutes late for FirstTrax. The saving grace, however, was that fellow elites (Camelback season passholders) were kind enough to save some fresh cord for old saltyant, so I didn't miss out entirely. But it was still a truly devastating blow. The walk from car to lift was also agonizingly long and brutal after being spoiled from Blue's short walking distance.
Early morning skiing conditions were top notch. They remembered to groom all 6 trails. The snow wasn't exactly the fluffy powder that I was expecting, but it was nice to finally ski on packed powder. I decided to see how fast I could go after blazing down Blue's trails on Wednesday evening with actual slalom skiers. I broke my personal record on Marjie's and hit 49.9 mph. Wow! I'm not sure I can break the 50 mph barrier, but I came damn close to my lifetime goal with that run. I also tried speeding in the slow zone on Meadows to see if I would get a ticket from the cops, like everyone claimed I would. Despite several lightning fast runs down Tuts and into Meadows, I did not get pulled over even once, therefore concluding that this claim is definitely an old wives tale and urban legend.
As the day progressed, the crowd grew but never got overwhelmingly large. The lift line was almost always a short wait, and I figured out how to maximize run efficiency by going in the singles line on the far left of the queue area. However, every single trail turned to a sheet of ice by late afternoon, especially Marjie's. My poor Elon skis just could not get any traction, and I ended up skidding down Marjie's most of the day. I also got to ski some glades (between 2 trees) and literally became an expert skier. I decided to call it a day around 327PM after a prolonged lift stop because the lift got tired and needed to nap for about 15 minutes. I made a total of 47 runs today and 26,687 feet of vertical descent.
The weekend ahead looks truly promising. Rumors were circulating all day long that they might get another trail open next week. A worker told me that the water supply for snowmaking is dwindling, so once they find some water they will be able to get another trail open. This wonderful news amplified stoke levels across the mountain by over 9000. I will likely head back to Camelback tomorrow morning to hit some more FirstTrax early on before conditions get slick again.
 
 

 
 

GSS should sue you for copyright infringement

[saltyant]

3 minutes ago, tarponhead said:

GSS should sue you for copyright infringement

Whatd'ya mean???

Edited December 17, 2017 by saltyant

[Barb]

I know right!?  We already have a Doug. 

[saltyant]

I don't know what you're talking about. Everything in my report is original..

[eaf]

Camel mountain, the thirsty mountain...

Is the water situation really that bad, or are you exaggerating as usual?

[saltyant]

4 minutes ago, eaf said:

 exaggerating as usual?

A worker told me they are running out of water. No, this is not an exaggeration. They were blowing on Nile Mile and the terrain park, but there were no guns blowing on any Sullivan lift trails that I recall. I make it a point to never exaggerate critical details that may influence people's decisions whether or not to ski at Camelback, and report all facts objectively.

Edited December 17, 2017 by saltyant

[RootDKJ]

21 minutes ago, saltyant said:

That’s because they covered the grass with all sorts fugly stuff. #MakingExcuses

[Barb]

54 minutes ago, saltyant said:

Whatd'ya mean???

 

[RidgeRacer]

That’s because they covered the grass with all sorts fugly stuff. #MakingExcuses

Like that rotting 1980s mountain toboggan thing.