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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!
 
#1,584 ·
i am strongly considering ditching work for a few hours tomorrow morning and riding a morning session at Alpine or something.

Our office is closed tomorrow (we are moving facilities and they are moving furniture tomorrow) but everyone is still required to work from home. I don't think I actually have anything urgent to work on anyways, and no conference calls, so I could just laptop it from the lodge if something came up.
 
#1,589 ·
Well, alarm didn't go off so I had to bail on the idea of driving to nubs this morning.

Ended up going to Holly for a day session....It was pretty good..only 1 run was super icy with frozen chunks. Had a good time. Also almost got ran over by a shitty skier trying to impress his kid by bombing the hill...The part that pissed me off was I was all the way to one side and maybe using a 10ft wide path keeping my turns tight. Not sure if he was trying to be a D-Bag on purpose or not...but he sure was in a hurry to get on the lift. Beyond that it was great.
 
#1,590 ·
I swear some skiers do that on purpose to us riders. Last season at PK, I was on the quarter mile tail pressing and was bent down to grab the tail when this skier flew by and knocked me around a little. The run was practically empty and I was all the way on the right. I yelled at him at the bottom and he completely ignored me. Heard him speaking German to his wife. I yelled at him again up top and still didn't acknowledge me. He did nudge me again while I was strapping in though so definitely on purpose.

I almost lost it.
 
#1,591 ·
It was funny I was talking to an instructor while on the lift about and he agreed it was bullshit. I try to keep my cool while at these places but when people are doing stuff that could hurt me for what ever reason they may have for doing it, it makes me wanna unstrap my board and beat them with it. I treat everyone with respect regardless of whether on skis or a board, new or advanced. I guess I just expect the same.
 
#1,592 ·
Cannonsburg was cool today - only had a fraction of their park features set up, but what was there was really good.

Big park out front had a donkey rail, a long down box, a street-style rail next to a wall made of snow (saw a kid hit his face on said wall, LOL), and a nasty looking flat box to acid drop that was about a 7' drop to flat. Did not see anyone hit that. There was a nice bonk that was above my skill level but kids were tapping it, bonking it, fastplant/handplanting. Also a big ass Monster can that you could slide, and the Subway bank/wall at the bottom. In between donkey rail and the street rail was a nice lip you could jump, that's all I did in this park today although I probably should've hit that donkey rail.

There was a set of rollers that were legit on the left side of the mountain and a nasty cannon that Jenny hit with not enough speed and landed on the flats (looked like it would've hurt!) and a wall ride and some crazy round tire type bonk.

There were also a few small kickers on the trail far right (from base) of the progression park that were pretty tame.

The progression park was pretty solid with 9 features, 3 lines of 3 features, all ride-ons. Left: flat box, battleship box (wide), butter box. Middle: flat bar, rainbow bar, something else. Right: flat box, flat-down box, butter box (wide). All of them funneled in to a skate-bowl type hip thingy.

You can really dial things in on that progression park: this guy nailed 3 new tricks today :D
 
#1,594 ·
loved cannonsburg! that place was legit. totally impressed all around and can't wait to get back. hoping to get back for one day this season. think its safe to say we all had a ton of fun. flow in the progression park was really good. great place to warm up for the big boy park in the centre. liked the Monster can and Subway spline/wall ride! what was more impressive were the unused features piled up near the base. this place would be killer fully functioning with a decent winter. props to the c-crew!
 
#1,595 ·
I'm going somewhere on Friday and it's fur surez diz time dudez.

But, I will not drive to Cburg if weather continues to suck. Might do Crystal, undecided needless to say. Anyone else up for a Friday AM sesh?

Fair warning, I will be testing a board so I'm going to be boring for the first few runs.
 
#1,599 · (Edited)
Hey All,

Leo suggested in reply to another post that I post a few in here in order to get to know some of the local LP & S.E. MI riders.

My vacation got put off from last week to next week. Actually it starts this coming Fri. I have reservations @ Boyne on Wed. the 1st of Feb. for 4 days, but I haven't yet decided if maybe I should leave on Mon. and go check out Crystal Mountain for a couple of days before heading over to Boyne.

Crystal has a ski & stay special right now, Stay one night, get one free. That includes all day lift tickets as well for both days. Sounds like a good deal & I've heard a few good things about Crystal. I'm not a Terrain Park guy yet, (...maybe ever!) Right now my skills have advanced to the point where I can get down the hill, pretty confidant that I can maneuver well enough to avoid most of what I can "See" coming. (Little pink toddler rockets not withstanding!!!) ;)

So right now I'm just looking for someplace with good snow, (...of course right now in MI, fair snow would be OK!!) some decent length, interesting Green & Blue runs, and maybe a black or two that doesn't look like it'll put me in traction! :)

(if anyone has any tips or advice about Crystal that would help with the "go-no go" decision, they will be much appreciated!)

Also, If it stops "RAINING" (...RAINING FOR F@#$ SAKE) :mad: ...I'll most likely head out to Pine Knob, Holly, or maybe try Alpine this coming Fri or Sat. before leaving. If anyone is interested in meeting up and sharing a chair, watching me fall down the hill etc.!! ;)

Pray for cold & snow!!!

p.s. Leo, My younger sister's daughter is older than 30!!! ;) ;D (...but I ain't lettin' that stop me from getting out and doin' lines!!!)
 
#1,600 ·
Ah, so you are older haha.

I personally love Crystal Mountain. It is in my opinion the most interesting mountain in the LP. A big variety of terrain including tree riding! They have terrain for everyone. I normally ride blue runs anyway. I get board bombing blacks. You can make a good 5 minutes out of some of Crystal's runs. If you venture into the trees, you can take even longer. The backside of Crystal has the most interesting runs. The front blue is mellow and all the back runs merge into that one anyway.

If time and money is no issue, then totally worth the trip. Especially considering that they are 100% open right now. I'll be riding Friday AM as well. Still not sure where though. Considering a day trip to Crystal, but the drive is daunting for a day. In all reality, if you and some others here want to ride, I'd be more than willing to ride with you guys locally. Crystal would probably mean I ride alone.
 
#1,601 ·
Ah, so you are older haha...
Yup,.. 51 this past Dec.

You know, I kinda figured that after my initial first couple of "...desperate fat chick lookin' for a prom date" type post's got pretty much ignored, that maybe I was too old, (or at least too big a "dork") to find any local folks to meet & ride with!

I googled a few of the local ski clubs 'n' such, The Ann Arbor Snowboard club looked promising, but upon further investigation, I would have been "The Creepy OLD Dude" (...with one eye & a van! :D ) in the bunch. Definitely did NOT want to be That Guy!!! ;) (...there were some HOT lookin' babes in that bunch tho!!!) :eek: I've noticed that I kinda get that sort of vibe occasionally from some of the folks I've tried striking up conversations with on the hills or riding the chair. LOT's of teenage boarders everywhere I've been so far, not many over 30 or with the same amount of gray in their beards that I have! (...well there was one, but MAN, was that one UGLY woman!!!) :D Hard to talk with the "Tweens" without folks thinking I'm some sort of a Perv.

Anyway, I haven't been to Mt Holly, or Alpine yet. So far In SE MI I've been to MT brighton 2-3 times last year and PK a half dozen times this year!

So Leo, If you or some of your Bud's,.. If you stay local this weekend and don't mind hangin' for a couple runs with an Old Dude, let me know where you're headed & maybe I'll see you in the lift line!

Either way, I'll likely be at some of those hills a few more times before winter's over! (...or whenever Winter actually arrives!)
 
#1,610 ·
...that's funny! I tried practicing the same thing in my front yard Sun. afternoon! (I must have some pitifully weak abs,.. I was sweatin' and huffin' and puffin' after about 10min. Need to get more "cardio" in the gym!!) ;)

I got a lot more "pop" from the nose also, but I'm riding an Arbor Roundhouse 163W. It's a directional twin so I've got more nose than tail to flex. If i'm not mistaken, the directional twin is stiffer in the tail than nose by design as well isn't it? Anyway, I fell a LOT more often when trying to pop the tail than I did the nose. but this was also ALL done from a stationary, level, non moving position. Haven't had the guts to try ollies or nollies while moving yet. Especially on all the hard icy shit we've had around here lately!

If the warm(r),.. (ish?) (...weird F#$%ing) weather softens the snow enough, maybe I'll try a few this weekend. I definitely don't want to "F" myself up before my vacation tho.!!! :eek:
 
#1,608 ·
OK, so Leo (..and anyone else) I'm off starting this Fri. I plan on hitting at least one of the local hills before I leave on my vacation, (...I'm about 80% sure right now that I'll opt for the early departure on Mon. and try two days @ Crystal before heading over to Boyne)

Right now, I'm partial to Pine Knob but that's because I've been there a bunch in the last few weeks and at least I know I am comfortable on the runs & lifts etc. The only other place I've ever been in SE MI is Brighton. (wouldn't b my second choice, but hey! It's close) But if you guys have an overwhelming desire to go elsewhere, Holly, Alpine, whatever,.. I'm game! The day doesn't really matter that much to me. Fri., Sat. Sunday I'll be getting stuff ready to go, so probably not.

Just let me know when & where you guys want to be & I'll b there!
 
#1,609 ·
I'm cool with PK. They are closer to me anyways and I've been doing Holly a bunch this season. Getting sick of Holly now lol. Besides, PK has a better park setup if it's not too crowded. Don't worry, I'm not going to force you into the park haha. I can hit it and meet you at the same lift by Pinery.
 
#1,611 · (Edited)
Cool! Actually PK on Fri. during the day would probably be pretty sweet! I imagine it's a lot less crowded compared to what I've experienced there there on a Sat. & Sun.

If that works for people, I'm there!! Last few weekends I have usually been getting out there between 10-11 am and staying until 6, 7, 8pm or later anyway!! Not as many Pink Toddler Missiles on the hill after 4 pm! :D I work evenings & nights so weekends have been the only time available for me!

But again, Just a suggestion! Sat. is fine by me too if that works better for people!


Oh, BTW. As far as the "park" goes! One good thing about bein' Old!! I can no longer be "Peer Pressured" into jumping off the Empire State, just because "Johnnie" did it!! ;) :D

Yeah,.. Good point though! None of you guys will be required or expected to hang too tight with the Old Guy if I can't keep up with you!!! You will not hurt my feelings if you head out to the jumps & rails after a bit! Ride a couple runs, scope each others skills & temperament,.. If we get along and don't annoy the shit out of ea. other. Cool! Maybe a couple carpool days n some buy one get one lift tickets to save us some money between now & the end of the season!!! If not, Well I've been riding by myself and havin' a blast since I started!

So Who's in & for When? Vote? PM? how do you usually set up a meet!
 
#1,613 ·
OK. Lets set it up here. (I'm not on Facebook) and really, for this weekend anyways, You guys should come to a consensus about what day & time works for whoevers "in"!! . As I said, I'm off work Fri. so time and day is completely flexible for me. If you guys need to go later than I was planning to,.. Well, then I'll already be there when U get there!

So get together amongst yourselves, decide and post it here! I'll make it work for me!

Thnx! Lookin' forward to it!
 
#1,616 ·
Another oldster here, from the Detroit suburbs. I'm always up to meet someone on the hill, even if it's only for a few runs. These days, I'm almost always out with my (older) son, who's 5-1/2 and on skis. If plans come together, we'll be at Nubs Nob this Sunday and Monday (he has Monday off from school). Locally, in general, we tend to go to Mt. Holly for Sunday day sessions.
 
#1,619 ·
Ok, So my plan right now is to head out to Pine Knob Friday morning. I'll get there sometime between 10 am & 11. (gonna wait for rush hour traffic to clear out!)

Depending on when anyone else who's interested can arrive there, post your ETA and I will plan on looking for you @ the Board & Ski check out in front of the rental shop.

How's that work for you Leo?

BTW, When looking for me,.. this is my "Ride"! Arbor Roundhouse 163W / Burton Cartels.

Room


...& I'll be wearing an Olive drab, Gray & Dark gray Zero Exp. Jacket, with Tan & Red Burton Pants, White Thirty Two's Boots. (...if my helmets off, I'll be sporting a White bandanna dew rag for persp. control)
 
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