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The Official Michigan Winter Thread

490K views 8K replies 153 participants last post by  sabatoa 
#1 ·
Alright everyone since Summer is over, fall has just begun and we've already had our first rail jam of the year, it's time to start a new thread for the 10/11 winter.

Last year we had the "Southeast" michigan thread, but I think we should do all of Michigan. Sure, most of population lives in S/E michigan but we all ride the same resorts in the LP and even the UP if we get a chance, so we should have one thread to bring everyone together.

Cheers everyone we're probably only like 70 days from open resorts!
 
#1,252 ·
Leo I think Jon T and I are going to Alpine on Saturday morning.

Sabato, Seems like Nub's should be closer than 4hrs from you but maybe not. Two years ago Boardaddicktd and I drove up there on April 2 and it was 81 degrees. Still had a good time and I'd love to go back. Did you see they made #3 best park in the midwest according to TWSnow this year?
 
#1,256 ·
Would you say it's better than Crystal or Cab and worth the longer drive?
I've only been there once, and like I said conditions at 81 degrees were veeeeery far from ideal :) but it was still pretty fun and I'd love to see what their park looks like. It is quite a bit bigger (vert) than Crystal, coming in about 500' so it is comparable to Boyne in that regard. Not sure what it compares in terms of acreage, but Crystal has a good amount of terrain, they are probably comparable. All the places in MI, it's hard to say one is definitively "better" than the others, so I'd say it's definitely worth going there at least once to see if you like it.
 
#1,255 ·
Everyone pushed back their openings because it didn't get as cold as forecast...

Brighton looks like maybe a 3pm Saturday.

PK was scheduled to open today but that has been postponed. Looks like it will be cold enough tonight for them to blow. Same goes for Mt. Holly and Alpine valley both were talking about saturday opener... still a possibility I guess.
 
#1,263 ·
UPDATED PAYMENT LIST
Leo - $50

Ron - $50

David Z - $50

Jesse - $50

Sabatoa (Sam) & Lori - $100

Garrett - $30 -- $20 Due

Brad (David's friend) - $30 -- $20 Due

Lane (co-worker) - $30 -- $20 Due

Jay - $30 -- $20 Due

Ken - $50

People who don't use PayPal because they are noobs

Jenna

Crystal is blowing snow as we speak and their forecast is looking good!
 
#1,266 ·
Sabatoa we had a slightly-earlier-than-average start last year - even the podunk ski areas like Mt. Holly and Pine Knob were open Thanksgiving weekend. In a good year, these joints will open earlier than Thanksgiving and that gives the impression of a longer season.

Seems to me like the first week of December is pretty much what to expect and they target Thanksgiving optimistically, knowing it will be hit or miss. So we're a little bit late this year although Boyne was open last weekend.

Typically, the big resorts don't open until Thanksgiving either way though, because they depend so much more on overnight guests/tourism.

Keep in mind that unless we have a br00tal spring, most of the bigger places should be open through the first weekend in April.
 
#1,269 ·
Tofu, we are looking into getting another two small cabins since everyone was fine with paying $50. So far, we have 15 people confirmed. We have a couple more pending. Each of the small cabins (2) will sleep 4 people. So we are pretty booked at a comfortable level.

Ron is going to find out about the extra cabins today so I'll keep you posted. You are more than welcome, as David said, to ride with us. Heck, come party with us after riding too. Maybe you can even stay at the same cabins.

Crystal Adventures Lodging

Again, we might have room for ya. Just stay tuned.
 
#1,288 ·
I can't believe it. While I'm super stoked about it, I really wanted to get a run or two in before that trip.
I'm still thinking we'll have slopes open Friday afternoon. Or Saturday morning which would be a kick in the dick because I am out of town Saturday but at least I could ride on Sunday.
 
#1,293 ·
OK so when we first announced the meet-up we promised there would be some "surprises" and I'm not talking about the batwing or the goat. One of the surprises is this:

Josh from Marhar Snowboards in Grand Rapids will be meeting us up there on Saturday with a slew of prototype 2013 boards. Boards will be in sizes 151, 154, 156 and 158 so they should accommodate everyone. They are looking for feedback before they start production so this is kind of a twist on a "focus group" for them. We get to have fun, snowboard, and ride their new/proto stuff, and they get some feedback to make final tweaks to production models. Win-win. Of course don't feel like you're obligated to do this, but if you ever wanted to try one of their boards this is a good opportunity.

There is still another surprise too, which will be revealed later.
 
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