are the things thatim hear right about expanding bear

[EAZY-Emuntz]

i heard from some people that bear might make new trails on the backside of the mountain and make a new lodge for next winter

 

tell me if what i am hearing is right

[skidude]

i heard from some people that bear might make new trails on the backside of the mountain and make a new lodge for next winter

 

tell me if what i am hearing is right

 

 

Expanding the lodge is in the plans for this summer I think. Also expanding the ski area is something they are looking into...by about 50% is what they are going for in the next few years.

 

Tho if they expand, it won't be on the backside of the mountain, it would be on the side....right side looking at the mountain to be exact.

[poconoceancity]

They own the back side of the mountain. They have Mt. bike trails there now.

[EAZY-Emuntz]

i they r trying to make trails the side near timberland are they gannoa make trials on the other side of tubing cause that moutain looks pretty big too

[skidude]

i they r trying to make trails the side near timberland are they gannoa make trials on the other side of tubing cause that moutain looks pretty big too

 

. , ; : <<you should try to use some of those, and people may be able to understand you better

 

 

From what I hear, they are only looking into the right side (as of right now). Also the backside of the moutain, is south facing, meaning it gets hit with the mid-day sun, which would melt the snow way to quickly for a PA ski resort...Which is why all resorts around here only face north. I would be very surprised to see any trails there.

[BC-Mark]

Let me begin by saying that I am the General Manager at Bear Creek and I appreciate all the ideas, compliments and constructive criticisms I have been reading on this board and I want to thank everyone for their support over the years and during this rough weather.

 

Before the rumor mill really starts rolling let me put some facts out on the table. We are trying to get permits in place to make some more improvements for the 2006-2007 season.

 

First is the expansion of the lodge. Assuming we have permits in place we should begin construction in April on 64 more rooms, another banquet facillity and an outdoor pool.

 

Second, we hope to add more terrain so we would like to add more water storage. We would like to add another 33 million gallons to our capacity which would allow us to put 6.75' of snow on the mountain without any refresh to our ponds.

 

Third, the terrain additions include:

- A gladed trail on skiers left of Grizzly.

- A gladed trail from Baby Bear down to Kodiak.

- Doubling the width of Timberline and making a normal trail (no more boarder-x) and using it on Tuesday

and Wednesday nights for a race trail.

- Rotating tubing 90 degrees to the left as you look up the mountain but still use the same runout

 

Now here is the big one for most of the people here:

- Use the current tubing park plus Cascade to create a super park. Cascade would be doubled in width from the first cutover from Black Bear all the way down to the tubing area. We would have restricted access to the park through one entrance at the top of Cascade. We will put in a staging area with a 45 degree drop in to get speed for the top flat section. The tubing section will have big hits on skiers right and a true competition super pipe on skiers left. The pipe would be serviced by a handle tow.

The Black Bear park will be turned into a beginner/intermediate park with one entry point. The current pipe would be cut down in length to create and exit from the super park and the walls would be cut down a bit and the pipe would be made a bit narrower to create a learning pipe.

 

Here is the catch, we need to get the improvements through DEP permitting before we can do any of this and we will be asking for YOUR input on the use, increased traffic, increased revenue and a few other ideas via an online survey we will post here in a few days. The owner has expressed a good deal of interest in seeing this project come to life but we need to make sure that the $1.5 million is money well spent.

 

Stay tuned for details.

 

Thanks,

Mark

[sexkitten]

Please don't change Timberline. A few weeks ago it had great burms and a jump, which is perfect for the skiers and boarders who don't want to deal with the park but still want a little action. A wider (& snowier, sorry) trail would be great, but try not to take away all of the terrain park style features from the parts of the mountain outside of the park. I like BC. It is super close and the facilities are top notch, but the mountain is a bit small can become boring for those of us outside of the terrain park. Keep Timberline and add some gladed trails and you will keep the skiers there all day and coming back. Why not try for happy boarders and happy skiers?

Edited January 11, 2006 by sexkitten

[Papasteeze]

WOW - Props Mark! Thanks for all the info. Please put me on the bid list for any dirt moving.

[toast21602]

what would make all that better is if Bear had more vert than the hill behind my house.... sounds okay though if it happens

[lurker]

That was the best description I've ever heard from an actual high up employee at a ski-mountain. That sounds like an awesome plan, I'd be super excited if I wasn't leaving the state next year. I hope it all goes through.

[BC-Mark]

Please don't change Timberline. A few weeks ago it had great burms and a jump, which is perfect for the skiers and boarders who don't want to deal with the park but still want a little action. A wider (& snowier, sorry) trail would be great, but try not to take away all of the terrain park style features from the parts of the mountain outside of the park. I like BC. It is super close and the facilities are top notch, but the mountain is a bit small can become boring for those of us outside of the terrain park. Keep Timberline and add some gladed trails and you will keep the skiers there all day and coming back. Why not try for happy boarders and happy skiers?

 

Thanks for the input, we were actually shooting to improve the skiers experience by widening and flattening out Timberline and using it for racing on Tuesday/Wednesday and not closing off Polar Bear and Broadway. I am sure we can keep the banked turns and still run Nastar.

Thanks for the input.

[swdorsey]

mark the ideas about the park sound great but please get some really nice lights through the entire big park. the lighting now is horrible so if bc is goin nuts on the park, get stadium lights all the way down the trail. prime example of good lighting= mammoth. please dont just do good lighting in the superpipe

[Justo8484]

dorsey, your lights are already like 5 million times better than what we have at blue. at least yours are all on at night... you come up to a feature at blue and the lights suddenly go out right as you are about to hit a jump. it makes things interesting, ups the difficulty factor, you know.

[swdorsey]

if we get stadium lights it will be 2000 million times better and blue will go bankrupt because there best lights are inside a flat down box

[VTmark]

Third, the terrain additions include:

- A gladed trail on skiers left of Grizzly.

- A gladed trail from Baby Bear down to Kodiak.

- Doubling the width of Timberline and making a normal trail (no more boarder-x) and using it on Tuesday

and Wednesday nights for a race trail.

- Rotating tubing 90 degrees to the left as you look up the mountain but still use the same runout

if you widen it it would be good for nastar but if your gonna do that get some snowboard gates for naster too. and keep the boarder cross. thats one of the main reson's i go to bc is for the boarder-x trail on timberline.

[toast21602]

if we get stadium lights it will be 2000 million times better and blue will go bankrupt because there best lights are inside a flat down box

 

yes, Blue will go straight out of business. good call.

[NightRider]

Mark,

 

First off, I am glad to hear of the well-rounded plans. I was already happy about you mentioning the 90' tubing-turn at the park meeting so the rest is equally great. The most important is that the owners are into it as well (they have to sign the $1.5M check, ha!). Anyhow, I just want to add my vote for additional lighting around the park. The main area tends to be around the top/middle of Cascade, near the first merge point from Black Bear. Tends to be darker in there. Other areas aren't too bad. A bit more on the Cascade side of Black Bear Park (skier right to use your term).

[Sno Mountain Skier]

Wow Montage needs a guy like BC Mark.

[Papasteeze]

Wow Montage needs a guy like BC Mark.

 

I know one of the first things I am going to do with a winning lottery ticket. I am going to have cloning perfected and plant Marks at every mountain in the US !!

 

sorry, off topic. yeah. more lighting!

[BC-Mark]

This is great input!

 

In the planning budget we have $25,000 just for lighting. We will be lighting the super park and the super pipe well enough to host national level competitions.

 

On a side note, we do have lighting on skiers right of the current Black Bear park but are having a few issues with the electrical circuit that feeds it. We should have it up soon.

 

I will talk to the electrician about possibly adding a few fixtures on cascade to improve the lighting for this year.

 

Thanks

[Adamskinick]

I think a major thing I would love to see, is possibly a high speed lift. I know it sounds ridiculous and obscene since Bear's vertical is not breaking 1000. Or even 800? But, to be honest, sometimes I choose mountains farther away from me(blue) not because of the snow conditions, but because they have high speed lifts.. I hate to complain, or offer this, because Bear has an amazing mountain from hospitality to skiing to entire vibe. thanks for reading this-Adam

[Ski]

...Bear's vertical is not breaking 1000. Or even 800?

 

Just FYI, it's 510' according to BC; 400ish on the topo maps.

[Dominant05]

No one really left an answer, does Bear own the other side of the mountain? and maybe willing to build trails there?? I heard this same stuff last season, possibly a lodge up top of the mountain and the other side have trails??

[Papasteeze]

No one really left an answer, does Bear own the other side of the mountain? and maybe willing to build trails there?? I heard this same stuff last season, possibly a lodge up top of the mountain and the other side have trails??

 

The other side is facing the wrong way for a ski slope - it will melt off!!

[Hallraker]

all of the ideas presented sound great, although i do love timberline how it is. it's great to hear these ideas from management and not just rumors going around. glades at bear, i can't wait to see it.

 

with lighting quality being planned that is up to par for holding national events, is there plans to host some kind of national event at bear in the future?