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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!
 
#6,296 ·
Sweet looking ride,..! Nice strangers you got in your neighborhood!

I'm confused tho,.. :blink: You had him send you a dedicated POW stick?? Where you gonna ride that around here? :huh: :dunno:




(...I'd be willing to take it & give it a test spin in CO. next month!!!) ;) :laugh: >:)
 
#6,298 ·
I am actually debating going to Holly for their PM session on Saturday, getting there at like 3ish. It's either that or a day trip up to Cab. Haven't decided yet.
 
#6,302 ·
Cool. Just to be clear, what time,..? "Pm" covers a fairly wide time frame. Iir, Holly's evening sessions starts at 3pm, right? We talking closer to 3 or later after the lights come on?

(…still not in prime condition. Don't want the legs to flame out before everyone gets there!) >:)
 
#6,303 ·
I'm not 100% I can make yet. I'd say I'm 50/50 at this point. Will have the GF with me, but she's pretty agreeable so that shouldn't be an issue.
 
#6,312 · (Edited)
Yup! I'll be there. :D

Getting ready to do a cold crayon & iron wax job on the Proto! I'm hoping it'll be more like spring conditions out there today and not ice or the dreaded "Velcro" snow once it warms up. :huh:


-edit-
I just checked John Dee's site! The 5-10 day forecast shows a possibility of 18+ in. (...maybe even 24+!!!) for the Petoskey/Highlands area!!! Feeling like I might just have a case of Friday Flu setting in??? :laugh: ;)
 
#6,314 ·
*edit*

Yeah I'll be up next weekend too. Hope it hits hard Friday night

I'll wait & see. If by wed night the forecast is looking good? I may just start feeling that flu coming on! :D
 
#6,316 · (Edited)
.... Just spent 5 mins under a cold shower to dull the soreness. I can cut glass with these nips. :hairy:
:tmi: :blink: :laugh:

....take it from this decrepit Old Fart! A hot soak in the tub is better for loosening up dem stiff muscles! (...save the cold showers for after the hot snow bunny slams on the brakes!!!) :rofl3: ;)
 
#6,318 · (Edited)
Sorry I missed you guys Saturday, I wound up heading up to Caberfae and closing it down. Had a great night of riding up there. The snow was a tad slushy in the early afternoon, but turned out being pretty good as the evening went on. Spent a solid couple hours at South Peak and it was FAST riding.

Went to Bittersweet Friday night and that was just meh. Snow was all man-made ice crystals on top of some solid ice. Better than nothing.

I'll be up at Crystal, Cab or Schuss/Shanty this coming weekend. Highlands isn't out of the picture either, just depends on how far I feel like driving.
 
#6,319 ·
I guess I should have kept riding into the evening on Saturday, I was hoping for some speed runs but the snow was too slow during the day to top out above 40mph even straight lining.

Highlands is on all cylinders right now- all trails open, all of the parks are open, jump lines are up in a few areas (Funland, MacGully, and the Challenger park) and the half-pipe is going.

I played in the beginner line in Funland. Ride-on boxes, tiny jumps. Lori's showing curiosity there, it wouldn't surprise me if she gets in there sometime this season.

Yesterday was rain all day, but we stayed out in it because it was my daughter's first day out on the slopes without a teacher. She was awesome, it was cool to see her skiing so well. I tried riding switch while tailing them to keep it interesting for me. Finally starting to link some turns together but man it's a freaky feeling.

This week we're really busting our asses trying to get schoolwork done before the weekend so we can get up there. We're not doing so hot in Accounting because it's so much work and we've been gone every weekend (or more) since classes started up. Other classes are fine but I swear my accounting class is like 15 hours of coursework alone.
 
#6,321 ·
The Mountain was great Saturday with spring conditions.
The lines were soul crushing and long, harshed the buzz.

Sunday was soft and no lines, started pouring at 12:00.

See ya next weekend.
Yeah bro, even Highlands was stupid busy. It wasn't Cab or Mountain busy but it was bad for them. We thought about Mountain and how bad it must have been on Saturday.

Sunday was line-less too up at Highlands. Rain chased the casuals away :grin:
 
#6,323 ·
At the rate we're going with this weather, it will be something if lower Michigan hills are open 4 weeks from now.

We're in the initial stages of planning our next trip out West. It'll most likely be Big Sky because we really liked it, and stat-wise there's not much out there that can compare...but there's always the draw of strange- so we'll see.

Expectations for the dump happening up north have lowered. Petoskey went from 12-24 inches to like 4-8 inches tonight, and possibly 4+ on Thursday. Womp.

I know I keep saying how killed we're getting with school...but it's bad. We both wanna get out there bad this weekend, but we'll see. We're devoting like 5 hours a night to homework...
 
#6,330 ·
Anyone game for meet-up at Alpine Valley this weekend, Sunday day session, obviously before the Super Bowl the earlier the better. Probably get there around 1030 and ride till whenever.


Apart from that probably be at Boyne on Wednesday for Test Fest, and Schuss next weekend if I can find a fucking condo to rent...
 
#6,332 ·
What's a Test Fest?

Last Demo day I attended @ Boyne,.. was ALL Burton stuff! (Proly cuz They have a Burton outlet store now!) :rolleyes:
 
#6,341 ·
I thought with the exchange rate you could get anywhere in Canada for the cost of a Maple glazed cruller? :dunno: :lol:
 
#6,342 ·
The exchange rate was netting me a 30% discount, but things are a lot more expensive there. We had a few hundred dollar dinners and one was at a beer, wings and poutine joint. The exchange basically just makes it reasonable.

Airfare in Canada is stupid expensive, whether flying within or coming from the USA. I normally fly Delta to get to Calgary, so no exchange discount. Flying a Canadian carrier can be a pain in the butt depending on connections.
 
#6,343 ·
Highlands had some nice fresh Saturday on top of the packed powder from earlier in the week. Today was an annoying rain at the base, but snow on top. I know that sounds crazy but it's true, somewhere halfway up the hill it switched from rain to snow and then from snow to rain as you came down again.

I had a good run from January though this weekend, but I'm not able to go anywhere the next couple weekends because of some class projects. Sucks. So unless I go midweek somewhere I'm on the sidelines until end of Feb. It looks like I'm going to end around 18-20 days for the season.
 
#6,344 ·
It was great at Boyne Mountain this weekend. 3" of fresh on Saturday, got to ride with an ex K2 professional snowboarder, Morgan LaFonte. She lives in Boyne City and I rode with her for an hour. She was on skis but wicked fast. She was one of the first women sponsored in the sport and had many competition wins and video parts.
Sunday it warmed up to 40 degrees. It rained, for 5 minutes. Soft snow then the sun came out. Mogul ripping!!! Love to see the faces of the skiers as I churn past on a snowboard.

Great conditions for sure.
 
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