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Wisconsin or Michigan?

6K views 53 replies 17 participants last post by  BFBF 
#1 · (Edited)
I'm looking for a place to go snowboarding for a week this season. I have these Blue Green points saved and my options for a FREE stay are at Boyne Mountain, MI, or some place called "Christmas Mountain Village" in WI.
I know that Blue Green pretty much gave me a retarded choice and they don't seem to know ANYTHING about good snowboarding, but I still might as well go if I don't have to pay for it, so that's why I'm stuck with going to one of these possibly lame places.
What would be best for me? I typically like to ride powder, tree runs, all mountain and sometimes park if I feel like it, but I don't usually do park although I do like natural kickers.
Thanks.
 
#6 ·
No, we don't get to fly for free or low prices. It would be cheaper than a plane ticket for me to just drive out west, which would take about 24 hours but I've done it before and it wasn't bad.
Like I said, I may be taking this trip because it is FREE.
And, like you, I am British (your username seems to give that away pretty easily! Unless I am just mistaken and "Canucks" actually means Canadians) I have been living in America for 6 years now and actually do go out West for off-trail powder. That is what I call snowboarding, not some small, indoor dry slope that they had back when I was in the UK. Do you snowboard at those?
If you do then, err, no offense or anything but I've seen quite a few other British people on here who claim they are "real" snowboarders but don't actually seem to know much about it. They commonly ask about ordering REALLY EXPENSIVE gear from the US just so they can show it off at their... little indoor dry slope? :laugh:
Anyway thanks for the advise, I guess.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Never been to Boyne but Christmas Mountain is very small. Why did you consider that one???
** I re-read you post must be a free trip my points are still true just GP won't be free**

Close to that is Devils Head or Cascade. A bit farther is Granite Peak and that is where I suggest you go especially if you like park, some chutes (small by western stardards but chutes none the less) lots of trees a little of everything and super easy to get to.
 
#5 ·
Plus where are you coming from?? I can't see driving 6 hours or more for Christmas Mountain, UNLESS you are able to stay at a nice water park in the Dells !!!! Water Park capital of the world, still hard to enjoy both...
 
#8 ·
Embarrassingly, I'm coming from northern Indiana (yeah this place sucks for snowboarding...and socializing.)
When it comes to snowboarding though, I never stick around and usually go somewhere out West or more up North. I don't mind driving to Wisconsin, done it before (about 8-9 hours) and it didn't take too long compared to what I've done before.
Boyne would take about 7-8 hours, so there's not much difference in time. I did some research and found that apparently, Boyne is mostly just terrain parks and groomers:( and has crap room service don't know if that's true though...
But in the end, WHERE THERE'S POWDER IS WHERE I GO!
If there's more pow in WI, then I'm in!
 
#10 ·
U.P.? Sorry I've never actually heard that before. Don't do the high school point-and-laugh-because-he-doesn't-know-what-an-acronym-stands-for-even-though-80%-of-the-calss-don't-know-either-but-they-laugh-too-just-for-the-hell-of-it thing, please let me know what that stands for!
Thanks for the advice.
 
#15 ·
Between Boyne and Xmas Mtn. Boyne wins hands down. It's way bigger and has better facilities. You won't find pow at either unless a storm rolls while you are there. You might find pow in the UP but I find it's easier to fly to Colorado than drive to the UP.

Someone mentioned Granite Peak. That hill is good by Midwest standards.

Either way if you like to ride you will have fun regardless
 
#16 ·
OK, so I did some research and found that Christmas Mountain, Santa's Workshop, Water Park Land, whatever the hell you call this place is just ridiculously small.
It looks like a load of crap, and looks really out-dated.
I've decided that it wouldn't be worth going there, and I'm close to Michigan so I'll just go to Boyne.
I swear, BlueGreen is simply the lamest, most dumbest vacation cooperation on the face of this planet. I see the other guy's choices: There are many, including Copper Mountain, CO for example- these are REAL places.
Oh well, I'm pretty close so I'll go ahead and go.
Thanks for the advice guys!:)
 
#18 ·
I've been to boyne and can say that it is big by Midwest standards. You probably won't find pow unless it dumps some snow, but they have several terrain parks, a snowboarder x course ( that doesnt sound like the right name). They have lots of groomed runs. I stayed with a group of guys at the village at disciples ridge. No trouble there, although I have heard bad reviews about the one place they have, I think its called Edlewies or something.
Plus they have an indoor water park!!
 
#21 ·
Hey! You're from MI, right? I recognize some of the places in your signature. Pine Knob was where I learned to snowboard back in 2007-2008, when I lived in MI after moving to the US from the UK.I didn't like their patch program...literally took me 5 attempts on the 2nd lesson to get my freakin brown patch!
I've also been to Mount Holly.
The best place I've been to in MI is Bittersweet. It's a completely natural hill, bigger than Knob and Holly, and gets a crap load of lake effect snow from Lake Michigan. That place is awesome, bar far my favorite local place to snowboard at the weekends! You should go there some time!:cool:
 
#24 ·
Bittersweet is normally where I go the most, but I would like to try timber ridge and swiss valley sometime. Does anyone have a report on them? Only thing I don't like about bittersweet is their park is a bit narrow in places and the place is PACKED on most weekends, so much so that you have to wait at least fifteen minutes on some lifts. :(
 
#30 · (Edited)
Bittersweet is normally where I go the most, but I would like to try timber ridge and swiss valley sometime. Does anyone have a report on them? Only thing I don't like about bittersweet is their park is a bit narrow in places and the place is PACKED on most weekends, so much so that you have to wait at least fifteen minutes on some lifts.(
I've been to all 3 several times. Here is my fully-detailed review of Swiss Valley:
DO NOT go to Swiss Valley! That place is literally the smallest ski and snowboard place in existence. It's just a lame little valley with 3 lifts. It's ran by a bunch of skiers who think they know EVERYTHING about snowboarding, but they don't really know much at all. They over-groom all of their slopes to the point where it feels like you're riding on ice.(And I know what that's like- cold day, ice from the summit of Winter Park, CO, bombing it all the way down at balls-out speed onto rock-hard frozen moguls on the Mary Jane run. Yeah, that was really fun I guess...)
Swiss Valley has 2 terrain parks: a small main park with one 3- 5 ft kicker. Everything else are literally just boxes but they're so cramped together in that small space that it's kind of difficult to transition from one feature to the next. The other park is an even smaller beginner park, but it has narrow but short rails everywhere that are actually more difficult to hit than some of the boxes in the other park. Both parks are parallel and lead down to...brace yourself... THE WORLD'S SLOWEST CHAIRLIFT! so you can forget fast park laps if that's your thing.
One of the biggest complaints of me and several other people I know is that in the cafeteria they overcharge way too much for everything because they know that there's no where else to go for food, unless you bring your own like I did:D!
Want new gear? Their store is ran by skiers who think they have the best snowboard gear... Flow bindings are an example, which are known to break easily. One of those guys tried to sell me (6'4") a 140cm bargain brand board before last season, and claimed he knew everything about camber, length-to-height ratio, etc. He was talking absolute gibberish. He didn't know that I'm pretty much a snowboard gear nut due to an obsession with gear that I'll admit I've developed :cool:. When I started correcting him on everything he was saying, he went off and just started talking about the Whistler backcountry or something like that which had nothing to do with the board he was trying to sell me!
My point is that they have no idea what their doing or talking about there. For the same lift ticket price go to Bitter Sweet instead. Those guys are awesome!
See their website and check out their trials map to get an idea of how jokingly small the place is
*This review was not intended to offend anyone who may work at Swiss Valley. It is simply a review expressing my opinion toward the place. So don't try to come after me!
I'll give you a much shorter review of Timber Ridge next (which is much better) Sorry this was so long, I'm just sick of hearing people around my area say how good and "big" Swiss Valley is. They have no idea:laugh:.
 
#32 ·
Here's my review of Timber Ridge:
Pretty good. If you're a park dude, this is the best place out of Bittersweet, and err... Swiss Valley.
There are 2 parks. One is smaller and more for beginners to intermediate, and has a wide variety of features including a few 3ft kickers which are fun; and basic jibs all in different shapes, sizes and difficulty levels.
The other park is bigger and has more advanced features including a variety of jibs and several medium kickers (which I saw people back flipping off). Both parks have rope tows. This is good because you instantly get back up and get fast laps. Make sure you have a pair of gloves with a leather palm or something that won't wear or rip on the ropes if you go.
When we went on a Saturday, the parks were not as crowded as they were at the other places, especially in the beginner park.
The main slopes are not as long or as good as Bittersweet, and were a little icier when we went.
The food prices are expensive, but not as bad as Swiss Valley.
I didn't spent much time in the shop, but I know they at least sell decent brands such as K2 and Dakine.
I remember the lift tickets costing the same as at Bittersweet and Swiss Valley(that place where you get yelled at for strapping in on the lift, which I do sometimes...)
Overall, Bittersweet is much better for all mountain, but if park is your thing then definitely check this place out! You'll have fun in the park there, that's for sure! :)
 
#35 ·
Here's my review of Timber Ridge:
Pretty good. If you're a park dude, this is the best place out of Bittersweet, and err... Swiss Valley.
There are 2 parks. One is smaller and more for beginners to intermediate, and has a wide variety of features including a few 3ft kickers which are fun; and basic jibs all in different shapes, sizes and difficulty levels.
The other park is bigger and has more advanced features including a variety of jibs and several medium kickers (which I saw people back flipping off). Both parks have rope tows. This is good because you instantly get back up and get fast laps. Make sure you have a pair of gloves with a leather palm or something that won't wear or rip on the ropes if you go.
When we went on a Saturday, the parks were not as crowded as they were at the other places, especially in the beginner park.
The main slopes are not as long or as good as Bittersweet, and were a little icier when we went.
The food prices are expensive, but not as bad as Swiss Valley.
I didn't spent much time in the shop, but I know they at least sell decent brands such as K2 and Dakine.
I remember the lift tickets costing the same as at Bittersweet and Swiss Valley(that place where you get yelled at for strapping in on the lift, which I do sometimes...)
Overall, Bittersweet is much better for all mountain, but if park is your thing then definitely check this place out! You'll have fun in the park there, that's for sure! :)[/QUOTE
Thanks for the help I really appreciate it, I'll have to check it out as park is what I do the most.:thumbsup:
 
#34 ·
@chomps1211
Yep, I'm going to Boyne!:) Isn't the Highlands pretty much a terrain park place? That's how their website made it look last time I checked.
Also, do you know if there are any off-trail areas at any of the 3 hills you mentioned? That's usually where I like to ride wherever I go, both locally and when out West.
Thanks.
 
#36 · (Edited)
@chomps1211
Yep, I'm going to Boyne!:) Isn't the Highlands pretty much a terrain park place? That's how their website made it look last time I checked.
I think Highlands has "more" in the way of park than Boyne does. DaveZ & Sabatoa would know more about the terrain park features at Boyne, but no,.. Highlands isn't ALL park. Last year they had some sort of pipe feature, but they are mostly regular green / blue / black runs. (...at this point in my riding I wouldn't have any reason to go to Highlands if they were a "park" resort!)

...Also, do you know if there are any off-trail areas at any of the 3 hills you mentioned? That's usually where I like to ride wherever I go, both locally and when out West.
Thanks.
I have only been riding less than 1 1/2 seasons so I don't have the skills to venture much into gladed areas myself, so that wasn't anything I looked into too much.

Having said that, I don't really know how much of that is available @ Boyne, I know they have it, but I just haven't any idea if it's set aside for that purpose or if folks there just head into the trees between the runs or whatnot! I know Highlands does have some glade runs. But again, I can't speak to how good or extensive they are. Nub's Nob has a much more extensive glades area. It's been thinned & maintained for that purpose, but early in the season,..? I don't know. I't may not have enough snow to be open. I do know that area is closed to night riding. So if you want to check it out,.. go early in the day. If you don't like it, you can always cross the street to Highlands & ride till 9! :D
 
#39 ·
I haven't been to Highlands in probably 15 years, I've been to Boyne Mountain maybe 6 days in the last 2 seasons though. I don't recall much in the way of off-piste or gladed terrain. Nubs has more, IIRC. (Crystal Mountain which is about 2hrs West has probably the most *dedicated* gladed terrain, none of it is really "off-piste" since it's between groomed trails and within resort boundary, but it's still kinda nice if not all that steep)

Remember that in the midwest we are dealing with much smaller acreage and a lot more private land so although it may be appealing to look over the resort boundary, that practice is severely frowned upon here and also FWIW there just isn't really the type of terrain you might be thinking of finding in Utah or CO sidecountry.
 
#40 ·
Just to drive home what Chomps said, Highlands is in no way a "mostly park" resort. It's a large resort with a wide variety of trails from mellow to steep, narrow to wide and everything in between.

They have a super solid park areas including a half pipe but if that's not your thing it's likely you won't even see where they are.

Highlands has gladed areas like David_Z mentioned but I don't do glades (yet) so I can't speak of them.
 
#41 ·
I've been in some of the glades at Nubs, but I'm not much of a tree/glade rider at all. The areas I've been in (between some groomed trails, and you know, that one section off to rider's left) were pretty tame and manicured. There could very well be more serious stuff than what I was in -- I just didn't seek that out. (I've taken my then 5-1/2-year-old son into the marked glades between trails at Nubs. (He also has done a run on their snowcross course with me.))
 
#42 ·
Ok, good to hear what you guys know about the place. I didn't mean actually going out of bounds and never expect anything here like it is out west. When I'm at local hills -due to stuff like the property thing you mentioned- I was referring to what are usually just smaller areas between trails that no one else seems to go through because they're not groomed or shoveled. That's usually because the groomers can' fit through them. They're quite basic but are usually where I at least find some decent powder. Of course, it's nothing in comparison to what I experienced in the west, but I still enjoy riding through them at small local hills such as Bittersweet. But I'm an all terrain guy, I like variety and I usually have fun no matter what the conditions are. So I don't really care about it, that would just be a little something extra being a a place in MI.
 
#47 · (Edited)
True,.. but no harm in letting him know it's there. Especially if he's driving 24 hours to head west for that type of terrain. Probably take what,.. half that to drive it from were he lives?

Seemed like an appropriate, helpful addition. OP seems to have settled on Boyne for his freebie!!!

I know I definitely want to hear your report on BoHo if you end up going there this season!! ;)

p.s. ...any update on Cab? Did all that snow they made melt away?? Just wunderin' if they would b opening this weekend!
 
#50 ·
Come on,..?? Seriously???? Might b worth it just to see that!! :)
 
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