eaf Posted January 20, 2018 Report Posted January 20, 2018 I know you all love MC, some secretly, some so desperately that you piss on its lifts only to keep the place to yourself. I've returned to MC this Thursday again, just to finish it off. Last week I really didn't have enough time to explore because the resort is so spread out, and frankly I don't remember where all the time went... What can I say? MC is both the same, and at the same time has changed! They've figured that skiers' life on the Bear peak was too mellow, and spiced it up by converting the blue run (the only run immune from racing closures) to something with the rolls, banks and other shebangs that people of adventurous mind are bound to love. Really, give the gift of new snow to the fools, and they'll use it well! Other than that the actual snow was awesome. Of course not much remaining of the recent snowfall, it's all been compacted, but nevertheless it was a very grippy and enjoyable coverage allowing one to carve strong and w/o fear of slippage. That is unless you're on the Granite peak, where I had another Deja Vu moment of discovering plenty of icy spots and almost falling on the side. IDK, but from my memories the middle peak of MC is indeed notorious for ice. Must be the microclimate, with a resort that's so wide that the side peaks are not even visible from each other, the weather is bound to vary. You can't just look up Tannersville, PA and assume that you know how it is on the JF slopes. You have to type "Mountain Creek Granite Peak", and then the Weather Channel will tell you if there is something special going on there or not. Speaking of peak sighting, I discovered to my great surprise that Hidden Valley is back in operation. It was brightly lit in the distance. Some internet searching revealed that it's not Hidden Valley anymore, the resort was bought and is used as a non-profit venue to teach kids to ski, but it's just so cool that after installing all the upgrades they can take advantage of them this winter 100%. Back to the MC... It's never boring here. The only fun one can have at BM is the up-and-down kind of fun. You go up, you ski down, you wait in line, you go up, have an occasional forced conversation... Here it's two-dimensional, it's explorational. Since the majority of parking is at the Vernon peak, and the South one protrudes in the distance as an irresistible magnet for snowboarders, you can actually do a small study on these birds watching how they migrate south during the day, and at 8:15pm sharp start their journey back on that long and quiet lift where they can rethink all the victories of the day. After 8:15pm the South peak becomes completely deserted and is the best place to be for a skier, for he no longer fears of being knocked down by a flying board, or tripping over a sitting penguin. Regretfully, some boarders never get to see the South peak because they arrived by a bus and have strict policies of where they get to go. Then you have to listen to their sad stories of how they once were here with their parents and could venture anywhere they wanted. It was fun seeing busses to come. At BM you flee in fear at the first sight of those gapers, here you enjoy listening to their conversations, which can be quite entertaining. "Did you see the sparks that I've made??" - asked one after flying down a mountain bike course (yes, there is that much snow!). "I just love living and being here, I'm a teacher, and every time when it snows I'm off work and pretty much have the mountain to myself". A very high-end, educated and obedient crowd here. Both teachers and kids, mostly from NJ and NY... If they're told to stay at Vernon, they'll never go to the South. I just wish they chose freaking skis over the snowboards! Might be a tad less sparks, but a whole safer for everybody else. I get it why some are so pissed at the Cabriolet. If you really think for a moment, it's the most reliable lift out there. Not once has it stopped or slowed down. It's just a beast running non-stop, and it's fast. There is definitely something to be pissed about. How can a mountain in NJ have something that's so good while others have to endure up to 4 stops at a time on the way up on a gaper's day?! And yeah, it can take 8 people, and yes, salty, it has a dedicated permanent line for singles. I've been pondering about where to go this Sunday all Thursday long. If it was not for the Subaru fest, I'd most likely come back to MC. It's entertaining in some twisted way, and I still have one set of cards left. But too bad, I'm leaning toward giving those Subarus and gourmet coffee a try, so will see MC again at the end of Feb. 3 Quote
saltyant Posted January 20, 2018 Report Posted January 20, 2018 Nice trip report! MC sounds so epic. A dedicated singles line? Don't see those at many places (I'm looking at you, Blue). AND a lift that doesn't stop??? Wow! I'm getting really sick and tired of the constant stooping here at Camelback. Sounds like MC is so vast that it has multiple microclimates. Cool! Quote
SallyCat Posted January 20, 2018 Report Posted January 20, 2018 2 hours ago, eaf said: have an occasional forced conversation... My Max pass includes Mountain Creek, but my Blue season pass always wins that battle. Can't justify the drive to Vernon, but a great trip report! I feel awkward listening to music with other people on the lift (except for snowboarders). Am I just old? Quote
Shadows Posted January 20, 2018 Report Posted January 20, 2018 I agree with everything eaf said. Quote
enjoralas Posted January 20, 2018 Report Posted January 20, 2018 2 hours ago, saltyant said: Nice trip report! MC sounds so epic. A dedicated singles line? Don't see those at many places (I'm looking at you, Blue). AND a lift that doesn't stop??? Wow! I'm getting really sick and tired of the constant stooping here at Camelback. Sounds like MC is so vast that it has multiple microclimates. Cool! At first I was like, "Salty can't handle five minute lines, no way he'd be patient enough to take his skis off between every run!" But then I remembered his Montage TR and realized he's even fine with taking his skis off in the middle of the run, so no biggie! 1 Quote
GrilledSteezeSandwich Posted January 20, 2018 Report Posted January 20, 2018 Nice report. Blue also had nice conditions on Thursday and no real liftlines. Are you skiing Blue tomorrow morning??? It's sausage Sunday Quote
GrilledSteezeSandwich Posted January 20, 2018 Report Posted January 20, 2018 47 minutes ago, enjoralas said: At first I was like, "Salty can't handle five minute lines, no way he'd be patient enough to take his skis off between every run!" But then I remembered his Montage TR and realized he's even fine with taking his skis off in the middle of the run, so no biggie! Walking down a run is ok..I walked down from the snow to the bathroom when I had the runs 💩 Quote
GrilledSteezeSandwich Posted January 20, 2018 Report Posted January 20, 2018 2 hours ago, SallyCat said: My Max pass includes Mountain Creek, but my Blue season pass always wins that battle. Can't justify the drive to Vernon, but a great trip report! I feel awkward listening to music with other people on the lift (except for snowboarders). Am I just old? On the tram at Jackson hole they typically play 2-3 songs on the ride up. Think Hendrix, Pink Floyd or if I was the Tram operator a combination of DJ Jazzy Jeff and the fresh prince and DeadMau5 Quote
eaf Posted January 20, 2018 Author Report Posted January 20, 2018 1 hour ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said: Nice report. Blue also had nice conditions on Thursday and no real liftlines. Are you skiing Blue tomorrow morning??? It's sausage Sunday I'm glad you like it. My last visit to MC was controversial, I hope I was able to convey that in the report to some extent. Quote
eaf Posted January 20, 2018 Author Report Posted January 20, 2018 3 hours ago, SallyCat said: My Max pass includes Mountain Creek, but my Blue season pass always wins that battle. Can't justify the drive to Vernon, but a great trip report! It's interesting that I've been eyeballing the maxpass recently and now you bring it up. How did you end up with two passes in the first place? Maxpass can't be bought as an extension to BM pass, and of all local mountains there is only MC, Windham and Belleayre. How are you using it, if a drive to MC is hard to justify? Quote
GrilledSteezeSandwich Posted January 20, 2018 Report Posted January 20, 2018 4 minutes ago, eaf said: I'm glad you like it. My last visit to MC was controversial, I hope I was able to convey that in the report to some extent. It's on my bucket list to ski in jersey. Thanks Eaf!! 1 Quote
SallyCat Posted January 20, 2018 Report Posted January 20, 2018 Just now, eaf said: It's interesting that I've been eyeballing the maxpass recently and now you bring it up. How did you end up with two passes in the first place? Maxpass can't be bought as an extension to BM pass, and of all local mountains there is only MC, Windham and Belleayre. How are you using it, if a drive to MC is hard to justify? Fair point. I bought it because I have family in central Vermont, including an elderly mother with some mobility issues. As a result and by necessity, I've been driving up there a lot recently to help her get by and get the house on the market, etc. so she can move into an assisted-living situation, which is where she really should be (her choice, too, but we're stuck until the house sells). So I figured it would at least pay for itself the times I'm up there during ski season. Tbh, I haven't been using it as much as I'd planned, but I think February and March should see me up there more often. I'll at least get my money's worth out of it. Whether I buy it again depends on where I'm living next year. Quote
eaf Posted January 20, 2018 Author Report Posted January 20, 2018 6 minutes ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said: It's on my bucket list to ski in jersey. Thanks Eaf!! Hold on. Lemme run outside and check the phase of the Moon real quick... Oh yeah, it's the new Moon! I now remember how some kid on that mountain was marveling how he could see both the crescent and the thin round outline. Damn. Now must be the best time to approach Atomic and ask him to hand flex his Kastles w/o fear of being rejected right away. And stupid me has planned a trip to JF instead... Quote
eaf Posted January 20, 2018 Author Report Posted January 20, 2018 7 minutes ago, SallyCat said: Fair point. I bought it because I have family in central Vermont, including an elderly mother with some mobility issues. As a result and by necessity, I've been driving up there a lot recently to help her get by and get the house on the market, etc. so she can move into an assisted-living situation, which is where she really should be (her choice, too, but we're stuck until the house sells). So I figured it would at least pay for itself the times I'm up there during ski season. Tbh, I haven't been using it as much as I'd planned, but I think February and March should see me up there more often. I'll at least get my money's worth out of it. Whether I buy it again depends on where I'm living next year. Sorry about your situation. Going back and forth all the time must be a real pain. That pass and skiing in between is definitely a good way of making those trips bearable. 1 Quote
saltyant Posted January 20, 2018 Report Posted January 20, 2018 20 minutes ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said: It's on my bucket list to ski in jersey. Thanks Eaf!! Let's do a PASR Mountain Creek day. Do you Matt Edge would be interested? I'm thinking every single poster on here would go and we can all ride the standing up gondola together. Quote
GrilledSteezeSandwich Posted January 20, 2018 Report Posted January 20, 2018 5 minutes ago, saltyant said: Let's do a PASR Mountain Creek day. Do you Matt Edge would be interested? I'm thinking every single poster on here would go and we can all ride the standing up gondola together. Matt Edge would definitely be down..offering him a post skiing back rub might sweeten the deal for him.. 1 1 Quote
saltyant Posted January 20, 2018 Report Posted January 20, 2018 Just now, GrilledSteezeSandwich said: Matt Edge would definitely be down..offering him a post skiing back rub might sweeten the deal for him.. Ok start a Mountain Creek roll call thread. I won't be offering anything like that to anyone however. Quote
RootDKJ Posted January 20, 2018 Report Posted January 20, 2018 24 minutes ago, Shadows said: Let's not and say we did Ok Quote
Featured Comment JFskiDan Posted January 21, 2018 Featured Comment Report Posted January 21, 2018 Yawn. 1 Quote
SallyCat Posted January 22, 2018 Report Posted January 22, 2018 On 1/20/2018 at 10:05 AM, eaf said: I just love living and being here, I'm a teacher, and every time when it snows I'm off work and pretty much have the mountain to myself" I say that all the time, I just say it at Blue. 3 Quote
Ski2Live Live2Ski Posted January 22, 2018 Report Posted January 22, 2018 (edited) Why not be a completist and hit Campgaw too. As exciting as Homestretch would be with its own fixed grip lift. I did ski it once when I worked 10 minutes away. How many other folks can say they have skied 4 places in NJ (5 if you count Highpoint XC)? Now bring on the Xanadu snow dome. Edited January 22, 2018 by Ski2Live Live2Ski Quote
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