1/28/07

[n0xidee]

Went to the Knob for the 2nd time tonight. Pulled into the lot at around 6:30 due to all the snow. Took about an extra hour to get there. I didn't have a temperate read out but I would say it was in the low teens + wind chill which made it COLD. Got my ticket at 6:43 and hit the slopes. Started with a run down Jack Rabbit. The snow was excellent. We got between 3 and 5 inches of nice powedery snow today and it snowed throughout my time there. Was a real treat skiing in like 2-3 inches of natural snow other than on hard pack or ice. After JR I bombed down Upper/Lower Expressway. It wasn't crowded at all with about 80% of them being beginning boarders meaning scrapping away alll the new snow so I headed to the lower side of the mountain to try out Stembogan. It is a real bitch to get to cause they made a single trail to get to the bowl, but it is pure flatness. It keeps out a lot of the beginners but it is off of a Green so u can't get any speed to ski down so baically ur pushing the whole time. So i get to the bowl and I am the only one there. Coverage wasn't bad but there were some weeds sticking up so I tried to find a nice spot to drop in. Found a nice spot so I dropped down and continued around the first turn to find huge mounds of snow all over the trail. I dunno if they ever groom it, but it was in aweful shape. It is a tight trail and there was just large mounds all over the place. So that was my only trip down there. Also the chair lift all the way to the top is the slowest lift in the world. The rest of the time I just did runs switching between Expressway and Upper Shortway to Mambo Alley. Only did 9 runs in the hour and a half I was there. It was just to windy and cold and I also forgot heavy socks so my feet were pretty much frozen. Also on my last run I took a pretty bad spill. I was headed down Expressway and got cut off by a border and hit a small patch of ice and my leg just went out from under me. Pulled out of the lot around 8:30. I really need to get there for a day session so I can hit the glades trails that are open. Prolly be back there again next weekend.

[volklyokel]

Yep. Sounds pretty typical. You're almost certain to get a blue knob there, indeed.

 

Stembogen is groomed from time to time, but it can sometimes be a real interesting ride down. Some days I've been on it, it has seemed like a hard blue. Other days, more like double black. Lot of variability there. And yeah, getting to it can be a bit of a hustle. If you start from the top of the mountain, you have to carry a lot of steam as you ride under the lift, on the lower end of Upper Rt. 66. A better way to get there, is to drop off at the mid station on the pokey-as-hell Route 66 lift and angle over to Stembogen from there. The bowl is best after some serious natural snow dumps; its more difficult if you choose to drop-in right away, and easier if you mosey down the track further.

 

You gotta try Deer Run, whenever they're able to get that open. Its the steepest blue-rated run I know of in all of PA. Jack Rabbit is always a kick, I love the variable pitch on that run. Mambo is a nice run, but its just long and kind of boring. Expressway is a lot of fun, but the criss-crossing of trails (notably with Mambo) can be dicey, especially when predicting where the beginners are going to go. If you're good at quick turns, Lower High Hopes is really good too, but pick it up from the mid-level station.

[n0xidee]

Hey thanks for the suggestions. Yeah I found that out on the bowl that the further u go around the less steep it is. Also they have a TON of snow on deer run. Surprised they havent groomed and opened it yet.