jamesdeluxe
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2020
This could only happen in the East. Wake up to 15 inches of blower in your yard and drive 100 miles north to ski somewhere that received nothing, zilch. Yep, did it. Harvey and I arrived at Hunter a little after 8:30, quickly got on the lifts, and headed straight over to Hunter West, just as they dropped the rope on "Way Out" -- giving us first dibs on fresh, rock-hard corduroy.
I'm not sure if the "Snowmaking Capitol of the World" title is true anymore (is it the number of guns? the acreage covered? the amount of snow pumped out?), but the display of firepower is pretty impressive. It's amazing to see that they had 95% of the terrain open and in good shape with very little natural snow. Here's one of the technicians, hard hat and all, tending to his cache:
We spent the first hour doing laps on a top-to-bottom Claire's Way, Colonel's Alternate, and Taylor's Run, all of which were being pummeled by snowmaking, resulting in irregular minivan-size bumps. Here's Harvey doing some of that free-heel voodoo:
Me on Colonel's Alternate
While there was some ugly styrofoam up top, most of the terrain was in really nice shape: chalky and edgeable.
Harvey on K27
Kind of a shock to the system after my exquisite powder day at Mary Jane five days earlier, but you have to admire Hunter's ability to defy nature. It's fascinating to ski on trails that were literally blasted into the mountain like an interstate. No surprise that most of the trail names are taken from real-life streets and highways. Still, once we transitioned into "it is what it is" mode, Hunter was a good time. Harvey was impressed by the steep terrain on the west side. I wore my neoprene face gator to ward off the gunpowder blasting sideways on many runs.
I'm not sure if the "Snowmaking Capitol of the World" title is true anymore (is it the number of guns? the acreage covered? the amount of snow pumped out?), but the display of firepower is pretty impressive. It's amazing to see that they had 95% of the terrain open and in good shape with very little natural snow. Here's one of the technicians, hard hat and all, tending to his cache:
We spent the first hour doing laps on a top-to-bottom Claire's Way, Colonel's Alternate, and Taylor's Run, all of which were being pummeled by snowmaking, resulting in irregular minivan-size bumps. Here's Harvey doing some of that free-heel voodoo:
Me on Colonel's Alternate
While there was some ugly styrofoam up top, most of the terrain was in really nice shape: chalky and edgeable.
Harvey on K27
Kind of a shock to the system after my exquisite powder day at Mary Jane five days earlier, but you have to admire Hunter's ability to defy nature. It's fascinating to ski on trails that were literally blasted into the mountain like an interstate. No surprise that most of the trail names are taken from real-life streets and highways. Still, once we transitioned into "it is what it is" mode, Hunter was a good time. Harvey was impressed by the steep terrain on the west side. I wore my neoprene face gator to ward off the gunpowder blasting sideways on many runs.
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