mastershake

seriously? I had one of the worst snowboarding experiences ever. I was going to write a separate thread and bitch and rant and whine about camelback, but I'll just put it here.

first the conditions, well I guess I can't really blame the mountain for the ice bowl with sandsnow on the sides, my gf is a beginner and this was her first time being out on conditions like these and...well it felt like this was a high school field trip. I am usually the first one to defend snowboarders, but last night I uttered "fuck, now I know why people hate snowboarders" a couple of times .

let me share with you the ego driven cock measuring spectacle that goes on, on this herpes infested mountain.

my gf and I are fairly laid back people, we don't start trouble, we ride, we laugh and we make friends with anyone, even people who run into us (by accident). last night, my gf was having a pretty rough time handling the ice considering it was her first time out in these conditions. We stuck to NOVICE trails ONLY, I emphasize that because apparently "novice" doesn't mean shit to anyone anymore. As my gf is trying to navigate around the countless of "cliques" sitting around in the middle of the trail, one dude decides to throw a snowball at her...hey I am all for fun and games, but if you see that a GIRL is already frustrated and having a hard time, I don't really think she is in the mood to have an impromptu snowball fight with you and your highschool class. The snowball hit my gf, she lost concentration, slipped on the ice, caught her toe edge and face planted into the snow complete with a scorpion. Obviously this was very funny..mission accomplished. While sitting on the ice and counting her teeth, what seemed like a full blown high school stampede went flying by her at 20mph over the speed limit of a bunny hill. I am not really sure if this is a new trend in snowboarding, but I am definitely a fan of whizzing by people dangerously close while they are sitting down, seems like this should be a new sport all together considering how many people excel at this.

further down the trail, completely irritated at this point, a what seemed to me a guerrilla fighter jumped out of nowhere and literally slammed into my gf, his attack clearly disoriented him as well as he used my gf as a balancing pole to gain leverage so he can ride away cleanly in style. is this considered a "grope and run" should I have filed an investigation with the mountain ski patrol (which btw was nowhere to be found). Considering this guy was wearing camouflage he disappeared into the trees or the countless of other people wearing camouflage. Now I finally understand the point of "camouflage", this is so I can't pick you out of the herd or maybe these guys are just preparing to invade France through the slopes of Graian Alps.

this forced us to go on what probably was the slowest lift on the mountain (L-6 Double..for those who know) in an attempt to escape the crowd. I was literally afraid that the next time I go up there I will be attacked by 5 bananas in my anus, from dudes wearing bright yellow jackets and lime green pants. This trail (the rightmost "novice" trail there is) was much much calmer, until of course we got to that all important "SLOW SKI ZONE"..you know the one that's not just GREEN but actually GREEN WITH STRIPES and has an actual sign to "SLOW DOWN", this is of course just snowboard code for "go as fast as you can". There should have been speed traps and state troopers stationed behind every tree, that would make the state some money. Let me tell you, these guys were SHREDDING ASS...on a bunny slope. Must feel so good about your shredding skills, that double diamonds just don't do it for you anymore. Gotta get on that bunny slope and show all those ladies trying to learn how its really done. Since we all know snowboarding rhymes with showboating. It's practically in the same family.

On a serious note, I love speed and I love going fast, if this were happening on blacks or blues I wouldn't be so irritated, HELL even if it were sometimes happening on the green. There will always be "those guys", but on a beginner area? I am sorry, but grow the fuck up. I don't care that you can rip the bunny slope and quite frankly nobody else cares. You have the whole fucking mountain to do your shit and probably a lot more impressionable people on those trails anyway. This sort of attitude just promotes other people to "get even" and then reasonable people who just come to enjoy themselves on the mountain get caught in the middle and it's completely unacceptable, and where the fuck is the ski patrol? At least try to keep the beginners area safe, at least give it a shot and see what happens...

I am staying out of camelback mountain and if you're above the age of 17 you probably would want to as well (although there were some kids that looked to be older than 18 and were still being douchebags).

P.S.: just wanted to mention, that in the end we did have fun. Once the sun set and there were less people we managed to have a lot of fun. Remember its all about riding and don't let any mountain etiquette or lack there of ruin it for you. Make the best of everything and have fun.

EatRideSleep

^^ Which is why I don't go on weekend days. And if I do, it's after 3pm.

The mountain is way too small for the weekend traffic it draws. Shitty conditions this season only make it worse.

Sorry to hear your gf had a bad time. Try going during the week if you can. She might have a better time.

mastershake

Actually, my gf had an amazing time. Like I said, we are laid back people and we laughed at it, rather than get angry or completely irritated. I am not going to lie but I was pretty irritated and she just told me to let it go and have fun.

So at the end we did have fun and she is still talking to me about her "air time". Unfortunately we both work full time and can't make it out on a weekday, we did go after 3pm last night and it was still pretty crowded. Also those express lifts are like roller coasters.

Of course I give props to all the snowboarder dudes that are just riding and chilling, I have a lot more respect for a relaxed rider who is just enjoying himself.

SnowRock

When the "mountain" is basically an 80 mile straight shot from NYC and even closer to the throngs who live in the most densely populated state in the union it is going to be a proverbial schit show, especially the weekend before the Superbowl which traditionally gets a ton of traffic.

As an old dude (33 now) I follow a game plan with most of the "local" hills (from Camelback to Hunter)... sneak in a week day when work allows for it (even if its only a few hours) and when it doesn't, get there early enough to be on the mountain before most are even there/headed there. Lap as much as I can before 11, break for an early quick lunch and get back out while most are heading in. Once the crowd starts to get back out from lunch I will squeeze in a few more laps and then around 2 I'm usually ready to grab a beer and head home. I have been able to get in 20+ runs using that approach, even on MLK day at Camelback.

Saturday I had a skier buddy up from Philly who wanted to get on the snow ahead of a trip west we have coming up in Marc... we hit up Mt Creek assuming it would be a circus. We were pleasantly surprised that it wasn't as crowded as I anticipated and enjoyed a "spring" day (with less snow). We even went back out after our 2pm beer break for a few runs as it was kind of fun.

The other key to these hills is staying on our "blacks" if you are capable enough to enjoy riding them... the herd is really thinned on those runs. You will very often be the only one on a trail when other parts of the mountain looks like a Tokyo subway station at rush hour.

mastershake

yep, you're absolutely right about the "blacks", unfortunately I couldn't go on them since my gf is a beginner and I don't mind hanging around with her, just wish people were more considerate, but I understand this is how it is in the tri-state area and I am not "complaining" per-se, just wanted to get my irritation out, like i said in the end we did have fun, once you block everything out.

CheeseForSteeze

This is pretty much what you have to do if you go to any of these mountains. Camelback was a clusterfuck on Saturday, as was to be expected. Unfortunately, even with a solid plan, there's just no escaping some of the lift lines. I do hate the fact that CBK is the one mountain that charges for board checks and to use their parks. I've never seen that at any other resort. Utter bullshit.

At least the bar is pretty nice for a small mountain...

SnowRock

understood... the things we put up with for the love of the sport, but yeah with a beginner its a tough situation around these parts. good on you making the best of it despite the nonsense

Yeah its not a bad spot.. they do seem to be squeezing people with the whole park set-up there but fortunately/unfortunately I don't venture into those much anymore.

I have to say Mt Creek's new lodge was pretty amazing... my first trip there this season in part to check that out and I felt like I was in a scaled down version of somewhere like stowe. They did a very good job with it from my one trip experience.

mastershake

do you guys think that Windham would be better? Any other mountains around that are a bit less populated?

CheeseForSteeze

Nice. I was hoping to head out to Mountain Creek because their park is the ish and maybe I'll take a run out during Superbowl Sunday. Don't care to see the Manning/Brady duel anyway and I think the Giants will run all over the Pats D so be a good time to get some short life lines (hopefully).

SnowRock

Windham is probably a better alternative to Hunter but still gets a good crowd. Full disclaimer.. been about 4 years since I have ridden there, but I used to go often as a friend had a family house slopeside. I just always found it a bit boring of a mountain.

Elk is an option.. not sure where you are coming from, but its basically an hour north/northwest of Camelback. Nice little mountain, different vibe versus the others in the area.