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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!
 
#3,849 ·
Good news for me. Responding well to rehab (though still undergoing it). MSU Sports Doc was happy with progress when I saw him yesterday. Said I likely won't need surgery and will be near full strength by fall.
 
#3,852 ·
eh, it's a mix of sugar and shiat.

For all intents and purposes, it's healed but apparently there's some degenerative/arthritis type thing going on. I gotta make an appointment to find out the real deal. Most of the time I feel just fine but camping for a week left it pretty sore.

Real talk here among the guys; I'm a little apprehensive about the season. I know I was gung-ho about riding this past spring but now I catch myself wondering how I'll hold up. I'm having trouble getting stoked and that really effing sucks because I was crazy about riding before this.

Leo says that once I get my first day in that it'll come back and I'm sure he's right but it sucks having doubts, you know? On the plus side, I'm saving money by not buying a shit ton of gear to get me through the off-season :laugh:
 
#3,853 ·
eh, it's a mix of sugar and shiat.

For all intents and purposes, it's healed but apparently there's some degenerative/arthritis type thing going on. I gotta make an appointment to find out the real deal. Most of the time I feel just fine but camping for a week left it pretty sore.
Hey Sab, good to hear from you again. I got the same sort of shit going on with my lower back. (No, not comparing "broken" to Jacked up!) Apparently that is fairly common after injury. It's sort of a localized, injury only caused arthritis! If it's the same thing! Sorry to hear it tho!

...Leo says that once I get my first day in that it'll come back and I'm sure he's right but it sucks having doubts, you know? On the plus side, I'm saving money by not buying a shit ton of gear to get me through the off-season :laugh:
I'm sure he's right! Hell, I was timid as hell after witnessing what happened to you, but a few really good snow dumps and I was back to trying to hurt myself again!! :D Go slow, give it time, get your feet back under you! We'll be racing down the slope @ highlands again in no time!!! ;)
 
#3,855 ·
Well Sam, you've got a while yet before November. While our injuries are quite different and yours obviously more extreme, I did get stuck in a rut for a long time thinking mine would never heal. It wasn't until a couple weeks ago that I finally started to notice real progress and when it happened it seemed to happen overnight. You'll turn that corner and be able to put it behind you. Just keep taking it easy and ask the doc about ways to get yourself strong for the upcoming season.

I'll tell you what, see if you can get a referral to MSU Sports Medicine, they really, really know their shit there. I haven't been impressed by a doctor in a long time, but Dr. Norris is good.
 
#3,860 ·
Cannonsburg promises to be stepping up their park again.

Mt. Brighton is dumping $10M into their facilities, and a bunch in to the parks specifically.

Crystal Mountain replacing the old Buck Chairlift (left-most chair when looking up from the base) with a new hi-speed quad.

Mt. Holly was talking about expanding their park area but not sure if that is going to happen, I think they say that every year...
 
#3,862 ·
On that note, I hope they figure out the issue(s) they were having with the Loki Quad last year. Fucking thing was breaking down all the time it seemed.
 
#3,867 ·
Getting Seriously Jonez'd!!!

Thought I'd pop in here and see if maybe I could commiserate with the rest of the MI guys! Just wondering if any of you were getting more and more "Antsy" as you read the posts from some of the other regions? Out West, it seem to be fast approaching their season!!! :dunno:


Anybody else going to be getting passes for PK & Holly this year? I'm thinking about getting mine for PineKnob next month and maybe adding the $150 to ride Both!

Kinda pisses me off tho, almost 6-700 dollars for a pass to those short crowded runs, and it didn't quite cost me $400 for the Boyne Silver pass!

Ah well, It should still save me some money!


Fuck!! I'll never make it another 3-3.5 months!!!!!! ;)
 
#3,869 ·
Thought I'd pop in here and see if maybe I could commiserate with the rest of the MI guys! Just wondering if any of you were getting more and more "Antsy" as you read the posts from some of the other regions? Out West, it seem to be fast approaching their season!!! :dunno:


Anybody else going to be getting passes for PK & Holly this year? I'm thinking about getting mine for PineKnob next month and maybe adding the $150 to ride Both!

Kinda pisses me off tho, almost 6-700 dollars for a pass to those short crowded runs, and it didn't quite cost me $400 for the Boyne Silver pass!

Ah well, It should still save me some money!


Fuck!! I'll never make it another 3-3.5 months!!!!!! ;)
Yeah I've always thought it was obnoxious how much the little hills down here charge for passes.

My goal is to drop about 20lbs between now and the start of season. I gotta get on that quick.
 
#3,874 ·
Not sure if it was mentioned that Caberfae was doing this, this year......

OPEN BACKCOUNTRY TERRAIN

Caberfae now offers the only backcountry terrain in the Lower Peninsula! Take warning as there is no lift access, no grooming and no snowmaking, so enter at your own risk! It’s just you and Mother Nature, plenty of untracked snow & Pure Michigan!
 
#3,879 ·
I asked Caberfae where it would be, this was the response;

" We are opening up the terrain to the east of North Peak. As you come down Smiling Irishmen, it is the area to the right. There are about 5 to 7 different runs/glades covering approximately 25 acres. There will be no snowmaking or grooming or lift access. However, the NE exposure allows the area to hold a ton of natural snow. You can access the area from the North Peak Chair and then skate or hike out to the Shelter Chair."

That's the area I was thinking of, right off smiling Irishman.
 
#3,882 · (Edited)
Yeah people ride it now, I've gone down it a couple times when there is a ton a snow. If you get good speed is not that bad of a hike. What you can also do is follow smiling Irishmen and stay right to where it turns into Shelter and there is a big hill on the side of the run that most people just go up and then down, but you can go over it and ride through some trees where it's actually pretty nice. If you stay higher on the hill as you ride through the trees you will have enough speed to make it back to the Shelter chair.

I remember this video a while back where they go down the run they now "opened up" If my link doesn't work right, start watching at the 3:30ish mark.
http://youtu.be/EAIcR2t4VqQ?t=3m26s
 
#3,883 ·
Well guys im back! i have become insane from not snowboarding i litterally dream snowboarding every night for the past two weeks... Any ways a season pass wasnt worth it for me last year due to getting bored of going on the same runs over and over again. Can you guys recommend some places in south east michigan that are big and have decent snow for michigan? thanks hopefully we can get through this struggle together.
 
#3,886 ·
You've got 4 options, maybe 5 depending on what you consider to be "Southeast".

  • Alpine Valley; this one is alright and actually seems to be not as crowded as the others. They usually have a decently fun beginner park, but the rest of their park area is fairly advanced/ bigger features & jumps. The big park lacks any semblance of "flow". The terrain is what it is; 300 vertical feet doesn't get you much, but it is split up over 2 or 3 peak areas, which is nice. The bar has a great view of the mini park.
  • Pine Knob; probably the most crowded on account of being the most central to Oakland County/etc. They do good parks for the most part but jumps can be sketchy. The terrain is small and sometimes feels even smaller than it actually is. I really only go here if I plan on riding park, or if I'm crunched for time and riding solo since it's closest to my house.
  • Mt. Holly; the larger of these areas I think, although they're all about the same vert, Mt. Holly makes better use of their acreage and spreads the terrain out nicely. Also, there are fun side hits and banks and what not if you know where to look. Their park is somewhat lacking, but they have had the best jumps consistently the last few years, of all sizes & shapes & skill levels from 2-footers to maybe 25 footers.
  • Mt. Brighton; ordinarily this is an "also-ran" but on account of being acquired by Vail Resorts this year, I'm really looking forward to a new Mt. Brighton. Vail is pumping $10MM into the place, new lift towers, re-graded terrain, awesome looking auto-cad drawings of their terrain parks, refurbished lodge/bar facilities/etc.
  • Hawk Island; this is pretty much only a terrain park. There is also a tubing hill, and a walking trail, and stuff like that but as far as terrain goes it's just one run, and all covered with park features. If you want to ride a lot of park and get good in a hurry, this is the place to go. If you don't ride park, even though it is only like $9 for a lift ticket, you won't have any fun here. But if you do ride park, you have to go here. Technically this is not "southeast" Michigan since it's in Lansing, it's more "central".

There's a place called Apple Mountain up near Saginaw or somewhere up there a short hop off of I-75 but that's well beyond what I'd consider "southeast" and even Mt. Holly is pushing the limits of being "southeast". I've never been to Apple, but I expect it to be similar to Pine Knob.
 
#3,885 ·
Agree!! But I fly! Haha.

At least 2 weeks out of the year me and some buddies both from MI and some from Colorado Springs, CO head to Jackson hole for 7 days....then a week somewhere else in Colorado....might hit whistler this year.

Only part that sucks is coming back to MI and realizing how small the hills are here! Lol.
 
#3,891 ·
#3,893 ·
Yep that's a big question for sure. But good parks are not exactly lacking -- Nubs puts on a good one, Shanty Creek is doing good stuff, Bittersweet and Cannonsburg and Hawk Island and now Mt. Brighton... there's plenty of good parks in the state. What's this one going to do differently or better?

Also the question of whether it will be run by no-talent ass-clowns, like his old hotel chain. Also the question of what's the price point? Keeping in mind that Traverse City is fairly remote -- from any point in the south 1/2 of the state, Sugar Loaf is as far away or farther, than other resorts, excepting maybe Highlands/Nubs. OTOH, proximity to Traverse City is a good thing because it gives you options for dining, nightlife, etc. and makes up for the lack of on-site lodging (150 rooms is not very many).
 
#3,894 ·
I was up there last weekend and talking with some restaurant owners they were aware of this, but not optimistic at all. The amount of money it is going to take to get it back running is ridiculous. They said the main problem is the golf course is no longer a part of sugar loaf which means there is no way currently for the resort to make money in the summer which is how the majority of places work in michigan. While Traverse City and up to Glen Arbor thrive in the summer, the winter is dead up there. Gearing it towards snowboarders sounds awesome, but they have to realize it's the parents that are planning trips/weekends up there and chances are they are not snowboarders.

I guess we'll see in year!
 
#3,896 ·
They said the main problem is the golf course is no longer a part of sugar loaf
This is not to be understated. Even in a good season that spans the entire months of December, January, February and April, that is only 1/3 of the year, and during that time there are maybe 3 "money" weeks (spring break/midwinter break, Christmas), and a few weekends where you might reasonably expect to be at full capacity. Otherwise, you only make money on the weekends: midweek turnout at these resorts up north is basically non-existent, although again proximity to TC and the recent troubles at Mt. Holiday, Sugar Loaf might fare better; but then there's the "snowboarder" angle. If you create the anti-Deer Valley, you're basically alienating 50% of your potential customers. Now maybe that's not what they're going for but creating a resort that is focused primarily on its park also alienates pretty much anyone over 25, i.e., anyone with disposable income.

The resort was listed at $5.7MM. I have no idea what the sale price was. But suffice to say it was in the several millions of dollars, Vail is pumping $10MM in to Brighton to rehab the facilities, grooming, snowmaking, equipment, etc.; Sugar Loaf is 4x as many acres and includes amenities like on-site lodging that aren't available at Brighton. Also, while Brighton was a crap-hole, at least it was operational if not outdated. Sugar Loaf's hardware has been rotting in the elements, it's unlikely that much of what's there is salvageable after a decade of neglect. Chairlifts, drainage/conveyance of H20 for the snow guns, etc., are huge costs. Etc.

TL/DR I'm still skeptical.
 
#3,897 ·
I just don't see it happening. Skiers are already pissing and moaning about the snowboard angle. It's absolutely moronic to alienate more than 50% of your potential customers, and yes, skiers outnumber us at all of the resorts up there and Dave brought up a good point, if it's going to be a park focused hill then take that 40% you had and cut that down by another 20%, with that excluded group being mainly money earners and not kids of money earners.
 
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