Bristol Conditions

[Andy_ROC]

Was at Bristol myself this afternoon from about 2:45-5. Cut out of work a bit early. Should have headed out even earlier Anyway was a bit disappointed with how over skied everything was and down to ice in some areas. I'm sure it was awesome early but I had a few meetings or I would have been there.

Anyway skiing today reminded me of why I don't have a season pass anymore. I've just found that unless I can ski Bristol in the morning the afternoon sloppy seconds are often not great. I guess it's just proximity to too many people for the terrain they have.

Sunday morning was awesome and I'm liking Polaris to Upper NS. Hope they resolve the power issue on lower NS as I can't wait for a top to bottom rip.

Also the new retention pond while HUGE is looking low.

 

[Johnny V.]

Anyway skiing today reminded me of why I don't have a season pass anymore. I've just found that unless I can ski Bristol in the morning the afternoon sloppy seconds are often not great. I guess it's just proximity to too many people for the terrain they have.

Late mornings/early afternoons can really vary. Some days the crowds really thin out and the place is relatively deserted until the kids get there around 3-3:30. Right now it's the "backyard snow" in Rochester plus the late start that's bringing people out during the week.

Moderate temps for our beer league race tonight (hopefully no rain!) then it gets cold again.

 

[Johnny V.]

Most full parking lots I've ever seen in 20 years of Wednesday night beer league racing. Got there about 5:00 and had to park in one of the non paved parking lots. Slopes weren't ridiculously crowded, although I stayed away from the loop and getting on the chair via the singles line wasn't too bad. Snow was starting to firm up and getting chunky as the temps dropped. Race course held up well for both runs-much better than expected. Beat the next closest guy in my age group by about a second and a half. so I was happy.....................

 

[Johnny V.]

Big difference from yesterday as might be imagined with the drastic temp change. Snow was nice and the sun was out. Firm with grippy stuff on top. Snowmaking on Lower Northstar (guess they got the problem fixed) which will be a nice addition plus resurfacing on a few other trails. Pretty windy up top otherwise we might have taken the Morningstar Quad aka the "Siberian Crawler" and skied the mellow trails on the back side for a change.

 

[Andy_ROC]

Thanks Johnny. The "Siberian Crawler" that made me laugh. So appropriate, the slowest 8+ mins. I've been riding that a lot w/my wife has she's gotten back into skiing.

Keep the reviews coming. I might go tomorrow night to watch my niece race and maybe buy a twilight pass if it's not all skied off.

 

[Johnny V.]

The "Siberian Crawler" that made me laugh. So appropriate, the slowest 8+ mins.

It's bearable if if it's not too cold and windy, but that wasn't today. Occasionally I'll hike, but I was with my wife and she refuses. After racing last night and running gates this AM, I really didn't have the energy either.

That terrain in back is nice and mellow-good for working on stuff and just a pleasant change. Too bad that chair is so slow (although it sure seems to come around the bullwheel fast then slows right down).

 

[Johnny V.]

Predicted sun made me decide to go on a Saturday and I was glad I went. Yep, below zero at the start, but no wind and bright sun made it seem warmer. Conditions were great-nice and edgeable. Snow guns on Comet and Lower Galaxy made for fun runs, but Lower Galaxy had too many people on it as the only way down to the Galaxy Chair. Guns are going on Lower Northstar and that should be open soon. Time to groom out Upper and Lower Universe (they're pretty hard and Upper has whales) and let the bumps build up again-no fun to ski right now.

Did a couple of runs on the Crawler, with no wind and sun it was fine, if slow and the terrain over there was nice.Crowds weren't bad (probably due to the cold), but cars were out the road when I left around 2:30. Good to see the place busy, but happy I get to ski during the week.

 

[Johnny V.]

Not skiing today, but according to the conditions report, Lower North Star, Challenger and Orion's Belt are all open, which means Bristol is 100% open. Amazing what good snowmaking and the willingness to turn on the guns can do. I'll have an on snow report tomorrow.

Go Bills!

 

[Andy_ROC]

Predicted sun made me decide to go on a Saturday and I was glad I went. Yep, below zero at the start, but no wind and bright sun made it seem warmer. Conditions were great-nice and edgeable. Snow guns on Comet and Lower Galaxy made for fun runs, but Lower Galaxy had too many people on it as the only way down to the Galaxy Chair. Guns are going on Lower Northstar and that should be open soon. Time to groom out Upper and Lower Universe (they're pretty hard and Upper has whales) and let the bumps build up again-no fun to ski right now.

Did a couple of runs on the Crawler, with no wind and sun it was fine, if slow and the terrain over there was nice.Crowds weren't bad (probably due to the cold), but cars were out the road when I left around 2:30. Good to see the place busy, but happy I get to ski during the week.

Hey Johnny, I was also at Bristol Saturday morning and agree it was awesome. Was on the Comet express at 8:32 and was gone by noon. Crowds were light early but was fairly busy when we left at noon.
Our first run was on comet. The freshly made powder on top of the groomed surface was amazing. The conditions overall were excellent and by far the best day yet for me there this season.

Definitely agree that universe needs attention ASAP! With the piles of snow on lower galaxy and icy moguls on lower Universe it had the makings of a disaster later in the day leaving only two bad common options to get to the galaxy lift. We actually tried something different and ripped quickly down lower Meteor and turned left at the end and cruised our way to the galaxy lift. Only a bit of hiking. One of the lifties even cut stairs in the snow bank up to the galaxy lift. It really turned out to be a much better/safer way.

So glad to hear lower north star is open.


Yeah it was cold, but no wind and sun made it feel much warmer. Way warmer than Friday night.
On my drive to the mountain my car said -17 in a couple areas we passed through. Was - 11 when I left my house at 730.

I was going to message you to see if you were there to say hello but it was too cold to take out my phone

Go Bills!

 

[Johnny V.]

Our first run was on comet. The freshly made powder on top of the groomed surface was amazing. The conditions overall were excellent and by far the best day yet for me there this season.

Sorry I missed you! I usually do a couple of runs on the loop to warm my old legs up as my first. I've never cut over from Meteor to the Galaxy chair, but I will ski Northstar and Universe back to the main chair when the Galaxy isn't running-you may have to hike a little (depending on your wax job) but it's worth it as very few are willing to risk the possible hike.

Yes, it was a great day!