# Crotched Mtn. 2016-17



## joshua segal (Nov 26, 2016)

*Sat., Nov. 26, 2016*
I returned to ski country yesterday after a 2.5 week absence.

Wachusett opened and they have similar weather and less fire-power than we have!  I wondered: Why aren't we open? 

At any rate, I put on my boots and hiked Super Nova to Milky Way and finally Moon Walk to the top.  Cover on Moonwalk was excellent from the summit right to the top of the Valley Chair.  From the top of the Valley Chair, I headed down Meteor.  It was well covered and the few thin spots cold have been filled in from some of the large whales.

At the junction with Galaxy, I walked back up Galaxy including Cosmic Blast.  It too was well covered and skied nicely.  The lower part of Meteor had lots of snow, but the water bars weren't filled in and the "chicken heads" were more like stalagmites.

So now I understand.  CM's management made an economic decision not to open.  I suspect CM has as much (or more) snow than Wachusett has.  If CM had opened management could have called it 4-runs!

Mine were not the first tracks on the hill, but as far as I know, this is the first trip report on it.


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## deadheadskier (Nov 26, 2016)

Pics Joshua! Pictures please! 

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## joshua segal (Nov 26, 2016)

deadheadskier said:


> Pics Joshua! Pictures please!
> ...



Sorry about that.  Photos just aren't my thing.


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## Quietman (Nov 26, 2016)

Joshua, looks like I missed you by an hour or so.  I am probably a little less positive about the coverage, especially down low.  I'm thinking that they need another 12-24 hours to cover the bottom and the water bars, but maybe Joshua is right and they might have enough to spread around.  Still looking much better at this time than last year!


From the base



From the top, main pond is full, secondary is 70%  +/-



Moon Walk



Galaxy



Galaxy


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## Quietman (Nov 26, 2016)

Upper Meteor



Upper Moon Walk


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## joshua segal (Nov 26, 2016)

Quietman said:


> Joshua, looks like I missed you by an hour or so.  I am probably a little less positive about the coverage, especially down low.  I'm thinking that they need another 12-24 hours to cover the bottom and the water bars, but maybe Joshua is right and they might have enough to spread around.  Still looking much better at this time than last year!
> ...


Sorry I missed you!  No doubt another 12-24 hrs. of SM would help (and it would also be enough time to open Satellite Summit which just had a short bare spot).

You may be right, but IMO, there were some gigantic whales that could easily have covered all of the thin spots, although there would have been a relatively narrow lane through a few waterbars.


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## Quietman (Dec 1, 2016)

From the web cam it looks like the cover took a hit this week.  Web site is saying the 10th for a target date for opening.  Sunday and Monday nights are looking good for making some snow!!


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## joshua segal (Dec 1, 2016)

It took a bad hit.  Today, there were still many deep whales, but with large bare spots between.  The skiing is still nominally continuous from the top to the lift line (Pluto's) and there is probably 300 or so feet of continuous vertical on Meteor.  The bottom area is pretty much washed out.

The plan according to their FB page is to open on Dec. 10.


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## doublediamond (Dec 1, 2016)

joshua segal said:


> *Sat., Nov. 26, 2016*
> Wachusett opened and they have similar weather and less fire-power than we have!  I wondered: Why aren't we open?



Not anymore.  Wachuset doubled their snowmaking capacity this summer.  They can now pump 8000 gpm for 110 acres, or 72.7gpm/acre.  Crotched is 6000 gpm for 100 acres, or 60.0 gpm/acre.


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## Quietman (Dec 8, 2016)

Hiked up the hill today for the sunset and ski down and got a bonus as they had just finished grooming Moonwalk and Galaxy.  Fresh corduroy was a nice surprise.  Up top the cover is good, down low they need make more before they open. Not sure if they can get upper Meteor ready for Saturday, good luck to them!


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## joshua segal (Dec 8, 2016)

Quietman said:


> Hiked up the hill today for the sunset and ski down and got a bonus as they had just finished grooming Moonwalk and Galaxy.  Fresh corduroy was a nice surprise.  Up top the cover is good, down low they need make more before they open. Not sure if they can get upper Meteor ready for Saturday, good luck to them!


i went up in the AM and it was difficult with a thin breakable crust and cat tracks to negotiiate.  Sounds like you hit the jackpot with the corduroy.  I suspect the 36 hour snowmaking window which should begin by 8PM tonight, will offer more than enough time to fill in the thin spots to allow a Saturday opening.


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## snoseek (Dec 8, 2016)

When they open on Saturday are they planning on being open regular night schedule as well. Would love to get up there Monday night


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## joshua segal (Dec 8, 2016)

snoseek said:


> When they open on Saturday are they planning on being open regular night schedule as well. Would love to get up there Monday night


Saturday, Dec 10 and Sunday, Dec 11: 9:00 am-5:00 pm. 
Monday, Dec 12-Thursday, Dec 16 1:00 pm-9:00 pm. 
Starting Friday Dec 17 we'll begin operating on a normal schedule, 9:00 am-9:00 pm daily.

Check http://www.crotchedmtn.com/snow-report/ for Trails and pricing.


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## deadheadskier (Dec 8, 2016)

Joshua, 

What trails do you think they will work on next and how soon? Thinking of heading over Sunday morning. It would be nice to have another route down from the summit in addition to Meteor and Galaxy

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## joshua segal (Dec 8, 2016)

deadheadskier said:


> Joshua,
> 
> What trails do you think they will work on next and how soon? Thinking of heading over Sunday morning. It would be nice to have another route down from the summit in addition to Meteor and Galaxy
> 
> Sent from my XT1565 using AlpineZone mobile app


While I can't say for sure, they put some large whales on Satellite Summit before the big thaw.  Still, I don't think it would take long to bring it on line.  I would be surprised if there is more than that by this weekend. [although for trail count, they'll include Launch Pad (the Magic Carpet Hill)]


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## thebigo (Dec 10, 2016)

Got in a dozen runs today before responsibility beckoned. Meteor, moonwalk and sat summit all skied well, definitely closer to death cookies than anything soft. Skied galaxy once, there were a few features. Guns running all day on magnitude, carpet area and under the triple - all looked ready to go. Guns may have also been running on the green above the double. The quad stopped an inordinate number of times, minimum once per run, often multiple times. Hopefully, just opening day issues. Never skied Crothched opening day before but it does become monotonous without plutos, jupiter and ufo.

Did get the first draft beer of the season, mug club not ready until the new year.


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## joshua segal (Dec 10, 2016)

thebigo said:


> Got in a dozen runs today before responsibility beckoned. Meteor, moonwalk and sat summit all skied well, definitely closer to death cookies than anything soft. Skied galaxy once, there were a few features. Guns running all day on magnitude, carpet area and under the triple - all looked ready to go. Guns may have also been running on the green above the double. The quad stopped an inordinate number of times, minimum once per run, often multiple times. Hopefully, just opening day issues. Never skied Crotched opening day before but it does become monotonous without pluto's, jupiter and ufo.
> 
> Did get the first draft beer of the season, mug club not ready until the new year.



Moonwalk and Satellite Summit got pretty skied off by 2PM, but a good first day.  Looks like a reasonable start to what I hope will be a good season.

The mountain personnel were also making snow on Velocity and Super Nova and with some snow due this week and a lot of snowmaking weather, CM may reach 100% open by Christmas.


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## deadheadskier (Dec 11, 2016)

Crotched was pretty good today.  Just a quick morning session cranking out 15 laps off the Rocket. It seemed like they had every employee on the mountain training today, so there were moments where there was swarms of skiers to avoid, but overall not bad. Never more than a five chair wait for the quad.

  Looks like a couple of runs off the double and the terrain park trail should open as soon as tomorrow.  Hopefully there's enough water left in the pond to tie the main mountain over to the double.  Per usual for this time of year it was looking a bit low. 







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## Bostonian (Dec 11, 2016)

Hey DHS, I must have missed you got there around 11 for 6 runs myself and a quick lunch..


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## Edd (Dec 11, 2016)

Um, beer selection? Guys, include important details please.


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## deadheadskier (Dec 11, 2016)

Edd said:


> Um, beer selection? Guys, include important details please.


Onset pub didn't open until 11.  I banged out 11 runs, popped in at 10:15 and was told to come back at 11. Ended skiing 4 more then splitting to meet my wife and some friends in Manchester at noon.  I was eager to see this season's offering, but apparently they're not as serious about mid morning beers while skiing as I am. 

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## thebigo (Dec 11, 2016)

As the proud purchaser of this season's first draft I can report: switchback, shed brown, Sam winter, working man's porter and some rocket ipa

Mug club is $50, they partnered with henniker, mugs will be ceramic and include the first beer and a t shirt


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## deadheadskier (Dec 11, 2016)

I believe the Rocket is Hennikers Hopslinger 

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## Bostonian (Dec 11, 2016)

The long trail was rather tasty today!


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## joshua segal (Dec 12, 2016)

FYI: Because of anticipated powder day,  CM will be open 9AM to 9PM on Mon., Dec. 12, 2016.


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## thebigo (Dec 17, 2016)

Few pictures from today, spectacular day.

Shared the chair with a guy from patrol last ride, was interrupted while talking up Solstice. Informed about a guy named Joshua that spent his summer clearing rocks and stumps to make it skiable with minimal cover. Patrol suggested that we express our gratitude. 

Thanks Joshua.


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## joshua segal (Dec 18, 2016)

thebigo said:


> Few pictures from today, spectacular day.
> 
> Shared the chair with a guy from patrol last ride, was interrupted while talking up Solstice. Informed about a guy named Joshua that spent his summer clearing rocks and stumps to make it skiable with minimal cover. Patrol suggested that we express our gratitude.
> 
> Thanks Joshua.


It was great fun (and a lot cheaper exercise than joining a health club).  It was all done with a bow saw, loppers, spade, rake, a bucket (to move dirt to refill holes that once held rocks) and an 8' pry bar.  (Don't do stuff like this without checking with mountain management.)  My intent was to make it skiable with 4" of snow. Where there were rocks too big to move,  I built cairns.

When we got 2.5" on Dec. 5, I hiked up to take a run on it.  After all that work, I wanted first tracks.  While I bottomed on most turns, I hit no rocks or stumps.  A few friends who accompanied me down it with minimal snow were uniformly amazed at how well it skied.  There is one "bad spot" that I found which I'll try to fix next summer.

It's gratifying to see people enjoying it and thanks for letting me know that you did.


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## Savemeasammy (Dec 19, 2016)

Nicely done, Joshua 


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## prsboogie (Dec 21, 2016)

Went today for a couple hours with the wife.  Meteor was ROTD and UFO was the worse. The lower third was completely bulletproof, not even a scratch to the cord as I attempted to edge it. Luckily there was some blow over from the nights snow making on skiers right that I was able to jump on to gain a glimmer of hope to hold on to. The place was empty, maybe 100 total and it was great to get my first day at the home bump. I just wish I could have gotten there Saturday. 10 off the top and 4-5 off west with the wife and we headed in to grab a beer (2 for me) and headed home. Didn't really take pics except this one  always a better day than working!!


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## joshua segal (Dec 22, 2016)

prsboogie said:


> Went today for a couple hours with the wife.  Meteor was ROTD and UFO was the worse. The lower third was completely bulletproof, not even a scratch to the cord as I attempted to edge it. Luckily there was some blow over from the nights snow making on skiers right that I was able to jump on to gain a glimmer of hope to hold on to. The place was empty, maybe 100 total and it was great to get my first day at the home bump. I just wish I could have gotten there Saturday. 10 off the top and 4-5 off west with the wife and we headed in to grab a beer (2 for me) and headed home. ...  always a better day than working!!


Interesting.  I was there too (as I am pretty much every day).

I thought UFO/Equinox was rather good, but the bottom section (aka: Shooting Star) was just opened yesterday - and it was bullet proof.  I usually run the "Snow Tracks" app while I ski and in going over that stretch, it recorded my fastest speed of the season (and not because I wanted to). 

Meteor is our racing trail and is intentionally kept "fast".  That being said, it was all well groomed in the AM, but without new snow (natural or machine made), Satellite Summit and Moonwalk both get a bit fast.

Often, the snowmakers will put a skim coating of "Styrofoam snow" on Satellite Summit/Meteor and it holds up pretty well.  But if you looked at the snowmaking pond, it is precipitously low and what little snowmaking they did yesterday was focused on opening Jupiter Storm.

The glades really were unskiable following Sunday's meltdown, but 2" of snow (1" down already), should at least make Solstice Glade skiable (and pleasant) again.  The other glades will need at least 6" to 12" before they are fun again.


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## prsboogie (Dec 22, 2016)

The shooting star section is the part I was talking about. The upper parts were very good which made it even more unnerving when I hit the glacier 


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## joshua segal (Dec 22, 2016)

prsboogie said:


> The shooting star section is the part I was talking about. The upper parts were very good which made it even more unnerving when I hit the glacier &#55357;&#56837;
> 
> ...


FWIW, by today, that "glacier" will just be a bad memory, but you can also go left at the bottom of Equinox and take Lower Velocity which was just fine!


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## prsboogie (Dec 22, 2016)

I did that on another run down, actually my last yesterday. 


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## xwhaler (Dec 22, 2016)

Was at CM last night as well...skied from 4-7 before grabbing a burger/Rocket Fuel in the Onset.
UFO was nice but the glacier at the bottom was a mess as you guys have said. Jupiter's Storm was a mess as well even though we did find some decent snow far skiers right.
A good groom should hopefully improve that trail but it was clear they dropped the rope just to get it open yesterday.

Meteor was the best.
When do they start blowing on Pluto's?


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## andrec10 (Dec 22, 2016)

xwhaler said:


> Was at CM last night as well...skied from 4-7 before grabbing a burger/Rocket Fuel in the Onset.
> UFO was nice but the glacier at the bottom was a mess as you guys have said. Jupiter's Storm was a mess as well even though we did find some decent snow far skiers right.
> A good groom should hopefully improve that trail but it was clear they dropped the rope just to get it open yesterday.
> 
> ...



This is what peak does, get the trails open! They need to let the snow dry out before grooming it.


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## yeggous (Dec 22, 2016)

xwhaler said:


> Was at CM last night as well...skied from 4-7 before grabbing a burger/Rocket Fuel in the Onset.
> UFO was nice but the glacier at the bottom was a mess as you guys have said. Jupiter's Storm was a mess as well even though we did find some decent snow far skiers right.
> A good groom should hopefully improve that trail but it was clear they dropped the rope just to get it open yesterday.
> 
> ...



Maybe after the next rain storm. By this time of year water levels in the pond are a problem. By this point they are usually blowing yellow snow due to all the sediment in the bottom of the pond.


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## Edd (Dec 22, 2016)

Jeeze, I was there yesterday too. Looks like we missed an AZ mini-summit. I wear an orange jacket and brown pants with a dumb looking bushy beard.


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## prsboogie (Dec 22, 2016)

Edd said:


> Jerez, I was there yesterday too. Looks like we missed an AZ mini-summit. I wear an orange jacket and brown pants with a dumb looking bushy beard.



I'm sure I saw you! There was like ten people there . 


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## yeggous (Dec 22, 2016)

Who is going this weekend? I may go tomorrow. And am considering Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.


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## thebigo (Dec 22, 2016)

Currently enjoying a switchback in the onset, will be back tomorrow. Storm overpreformed, several inches down. Jupiter's needs a few days to set up, ufo much better then monday, sat summit to magnitude is run of the day.


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## joshua segal (Dec 22, 2016)

yeggous said:


> Who is going this weekend? I may go tomorrow. And am considering Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.


I'm here every day. Black parka, black pants, no helmet, mustache, knit hat.


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## becca m (Dec 22, 2016)

i was there also last night!!!!   Bulletproof kept us on our toes!!!!  Rocketfuel was just what was needed for some liquid courage!!!!


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## snoseek (Dec 22, 2016)

Ill be over either Saturday or Sunday.


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## hammer (Dec 22, 2016)

Will be there tomorrow trying to get my ski legs...


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## dlague (Dec 22, 2016)

andrec10 said:


> This is what peak does, get the trails open! They need to let the snow dry out before grooming it.


Well it rained too!

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## thebigo (Dec 22, 2016)

Further to my earlier report, ufo skied great in the afternoon, tried one run down soltice, it was skiable but needs a few more inches to make it enjoyable, same story with frontier.

In total crotched was in much better shape today than cannon on wednesday.

Will be back out there tomorrow morning around 10, big guy in a blue north face skiing with my elderly father, if history is any indicator we will be in the bar around noon.

Does crotched have any long term plan to add water? Either pond expansion or another source? Have to assume they are still paying for the hsq but just curious if there have ever been discussions?

One more - have they ever seeded any bumps? The steep part of Jupiter's looks perfect for seeding.


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## yeggous (Dec 22, 2016)

thebigo said:


> Further to my earlier report, ufo skied great in the afternoon, tried one run down soltice, it was skiable but needs a few more inches to make it enjoyable, same story with frontier.
> 
> In total crotched was in much better shape today than cannon on wednesday.
> 
> ...



I don't know about "seeding" but they'll let bumps develop under the chair on Pluto's and the left half of UFO.

I'll be in a red / black jacket, black pants, orange helmet. I too will surely find the bar.


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## deadheadskier (Dec 22, 2016)

The solution is to designate Jupiter's Storm as a bump run and treat it exactly as Pat's Peak does with Hurricane. Blow it open and groom out an initial base and then leave it alone for the rest of the season. Flip the fan guns on and let people ski some bumps in. When they get icy, don't groom it. Just turn the guns on again and refresh it. 

Pat's has shown over the years to be able to offer decent moguls most of the season on Hurricane.  Sometimes they're icy, often irregular and lacking consistent lines, but very respectable overall for a small feeder type hill. 

 The fact that Crotched hasn't been able to do the same to at least offer something for advanced skiers to enjoy when the trees aren't skiing well is quite simply operational incompetence.  All they need to do is model exactly what Pat's does. It would require a fraction of the effort and expense that Crotched puts into terrain parks. 

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## yeggous (Dec 22, 2016)

deadheadskier said:


> The solution is to designate Jupiter's Storm as a bump run and treat it exactly as Pat's Peak does with Hurricane. Blow it open and groom out an initial base and then leave it alone for the rest of the season. Flip the fan guns on and let people ski some bumps in. When they get icy, don't groom it. Just turn the guns on again and refresh it.
> 
> Pat's has shown over the years to be able to offer decent moguls most of the season on Hurricane.  Sometimes they're icy, often irregular and lacking consistent lines, but very respectable overall for a small feeder type hill.
> 
> ...



I forgot about that run. That would be enough to get me to go there for a night.


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## joshua segal (Dec 22, 2016)

Disclaimer: Please note that I live at Crotched Mountain and I hear a lot of good information.  I teach skiing here, but none of my comments represent Crotched Mtn. management.  My comments only are my own observations and opinions.

xwhaler asks, "When do they start blowing on Pluto's?"
A quick look at the snowmaking pond will show that in the short term, water is in short supply.  The only runs of any substance that aren't open are Comet Drop, Big Dipper and Pluto's.  So my guess is that as soon as water supplies rejuvenate themselves, Pluto's will be next.

thebigo said, "Further to my earlier report, ufo skied great in the afternoon, tried one run down solstice, it was skiable but needs a few more inches to make it enjoyable, same story with frontier."

I tried Solstice Glade Trail too and I thought it was awful; but Solstice Glade Glade wasn't great but I thought it was better.

thebigo said, "In total crotched was in much better shape today than cannon on wednesday."

No surprise here. Since Sunday, Crotched has made a lot of snow (they emptied an almost full pond) and they did some excellent grooming.  I've heard people time-and-time again come to Crotched and say, I was at XXX yesterday and can't believe how much better your conditions are.

thebigo asks, "Does crotched have any long term plan to add water? Either pond expansion or another source? Have to assume they are still paying for the hsq but just curious if there have ever been discussions?"

It has been a subject of discussion. Clearly, the horrendous 2015-16 season didn't leave much money for anything but required maintenance.  If new water supplies become a reality, I suspect we are talking at least 5-years down the road. 

thebigo asks, "One more - have they ever seeded any bumps? The steep part of Jupiter's looks perfect for seeding."

This is my 10th season at CM and only once did they try seeding bumps.  They were on skier's right going down Magnitude. 

Bumps/moguls are an annual management decision.  Last year, the snow was not deep enough and management felt the trough would break through to ground.  As a result,  they did not let moguls build up on UFO and the only moguls were under the Rocket on Pluto's.

Two years ago, they let all of the following bump up: Jupiter, UFO and under the Rocket on Pluto's

I'm guessing they will leave bumps on the left (west) side of UFO and under the Rocket on Pluto's, but I don't know that for sure.


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## deadheadskier (Dec 22, 2016)

Joshua, 

Due to your long term connection and respect with management at the mountain, I'd simply ask that you request that they look at Pat's operational plan with Hurricane and see if they'd apply a similar strategy to Jupiter's.  Choose one trail to leave alone for the whole season.  I think Jupiter's makes more sense than UFO due to a more expert pitch and UFO can be a pretty popular cruising type run of good pitch to mix things up from Pluto's and Meteor.   Even during low snow years, Pat's pulls off moguls every year on Hurricane.  Big Dipper would be a good half groomed / half moguled option for lower angle bumps.  Would ruffle fewer feathers than UFO. 

There are people who do not ski Crotched due to lack of moguls on a consistent basis. Probably lost season pass business due to no moguls.  I doubt the same could be said for folks thinking they don't offer enough groomed terrain.


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## joshua segal (Dec 23, 2016)

deadheadskier said:


> Joshua,
> 
> Due to your long term connection and respect with management at the mountain, I'd simply ask that you request that they look at Pat's operational plan with Hurricane and see if they'd apply a similar strategy to Jupiter's.  Choose one trail to leave alone for the whole season.  I think Jupiter's makes more sense than UFO due to a more expert pitch and UFO can be a pretty popular cruising type run of good pitch to mix things up from Pluto's and Meteor.   Even during low snow years, Pat's pulls off moguls every year on Hurricane.  Big Dipper would be a good half groomed / half moguled option for lower angle bumps.  Would ruffle fewer feathers than UFO.
> 
> There are people who do not ski Crotched due to lack of moguls on a consistent basis. Probably lost season pass business due to no moguls.  I doubt the same could be said for folks thinking they don't offer enough groomed terrain.


For better or worse,  CM has limited terrain and has to make prudent decisions on how to use what they got.  While CM has 25 trails, when it is 100% open, it only takes 10 runs to ski all 25 trails.  Management has discussed the issue of moguls extensively.

Jupiter is the only true steep at the mountain and after letting it mogul one season, they made a decision not to do so since.
Big Dipper is heavily used for race training.  
UFO is flanked by Pluto's and Velocity which are both excellent intermediate cruisers, so I have to agree with management that UFO is the right selection for their mogul run.

CM no longer sells a Crotched-only season pass but a variety of 7-mountain packages.  I suspect we lost more season pass business over that than from lack of bumps.

BTW, the Solstice Glade trail is ungroomed and always moguls up nicely - and, of course, the glades become natural mogul fields.


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## deadheadskier (Dec 23, 2016)

UFO would be fine.  I do ski there 10-12 times a year and can tell you that Solstice doesn't offer what most people who like moguls are looking for.  It also lacks snowmaking, which is necessary in Southern NH on a dedicated bump run as mother nature doesn't refresh things consistently enough on her own. 

The limited terrain argument doesn't really hold water.  Plenty of smaller areas offer moguls consistently and people seek them out: Pat's, Whaleback,  would be examples locally. I have little doubt Crotched loses season pass and day ticket business to those mountains because people know they are likely to find bumps.   Ski Sundown in CT has grown their business considerably with their commitment to bumps. That has been discussed for years on this forum.  

What separates Crotched from these examples is that overall they offer a much more compelling product. Better cruising terrain, parks and lifts. The decision for bump skiers to switch from Pat's or Whaleback to Crotched would be pretty simple if they made that product commitment. The commitment needs to be sustained though. You can't just haphazardly let UFO bump for one season and say, "We tried." It needs to be a year after year thing where a reputation gets built and bump skiers start talking about it on social media and with their skiing friends.  

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## joshua segal (Dec 23, 2016)

deadheadskier said:


> UFO would be fine.  I do ski there 10-12 times a year and can tell you that Solstice doesn't offer what most people who like moguls are looking for.  It also lacks snowmaking, which is necessary in Southern NH on a dedicated bump run as mother nature doesn't refresh things consistently enough on her own.
> 
> The limited terrain argument doesn't really hold water.  Plenty of smaller areas offer moguls consistently and people seek them out: Pat's, Whaleback,  would be examples locally. I have little doubt Crotched loses season pass and day ticket business to those mountains because people know they are likely to find bumps.   Ski Sundown in CT has grown their business considerably with their commitment to bumps. That has been discussed for years on this forum.
> 
> What separates Crotched from these examples is that overall they offer a much more compelling product. Better cruising terrain, parks and lifts. The decision for bump skiers to switch from Pat's or Whaleback to Crotched would be pretty simple if they made that product commitment. The commitment needs to be sustained though. You can't just haphazardly let UFO bump for one season and say, "We tried." It needs to be a year after year thing where a reputation gets built and bump skiers start talking about it on social media and with their skiing friends.


I don't disagree with you, but I am not in charge.

BTW: Last year was the only year in the last 5 that UFO was not allowed to bump up - but the choice was dictated by the worst season since 1981 and I don't think it is fair to judge mountain policy based on last season.


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## Tin (Dec 23, 2016)

joshua segal said:


> I don't disagree with you, but I am not in charge.
> 
> BTW: Last year was the only year in the last 5 that UFO was not allowed to bump up - but the choice was dictated by the worst season since 1981 and I don't think it is fair to judge mountain policy based on last season.




2012-2013 and 2013-2014 UFO was used for race training most of the year and the far left 20' was finally allowed to "bump up"in late February/early March.  Essentially for the last month of the season. That is not a "bump run". 2012-2013 they allowed skier's right of Magnitude for bumps which was great for low-angle zipping. Valentine's Day 2013 it was about 50* and we just lapped it for hours until we were exhausted. One of my better "spring bump" days.



joshua segal said:


> CM no longer sells a Crotched-only season pass but a variety of 7-mountain packages. I suspect we lost more season pass business over that than from lack of bumps.



The two years we had Peak's Passes we only skied Crotched because Wildcat was too far and we wouldn't bother with Mt. Snow. We had college then drifter passes. Crotched was a great home mountain from Providence. Last year we specifically did not buy Crotched passes because after 8-10 trips, unless they got snow and your hand cleared woods were on, there was little incentive to ski it due to a lack of interesting/more challenging terrain. If they had one consistent bump run I think we would have bought them last year. 

Being able to lap one bump run for myself and my GF truly is the difference in spending the money and driving or not going skiing. If there is not fresh snow, woods, or moguls we generally don't ski. The first winter we had passes there we were spoiled in that it was a special year for southern NE, the following year was not quite as special and it could get boring lapping the mountain after a few runs. It's not just Whale or Pat's but must small mountains (WaWa, Sundown, Jiminy, Catamount, etc.) have a bumped up run or two to keep things interesting. I believe Crotched is one of the few that does not.


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## Savemeasammy (Dec 23, 2016)

I live 20 minutes from Crotched and 55 minutes from Whaleback.  I choose to ski (and coach) at Whaleback.  I just got back into skiing 5 seasons ago after a 20 year absence.  My first 2 seasons back were as a passholder at Pats.  Hurricane is a good bump run, and I'm glad to know that Pats is committed to keeping it as a bump run even during a low-tide year like this past one.  Unfortunately Pats doesn't offer much variety in the area of off-trail skiing, so it gets a bit old after a while.  We played free-agent for a year, and then last year I got the opportunity to coach at Whaleback.  Although last year sucked, I know that Whaleback is also committed to mogul skiing, and they have a respectable amount of off-trail skiing as well.

Crotched has never been a season-pass consideration for us because of it's lack of mogul skiing.  In fact, I've only skied there 2 or 3 times.  It does have great off-trail stuff, so it's really a shame that they don't have bumps because it would otherwise be a sensible option for us.

As far as which run would be good for bumps - it really needs to be something that is fairly long.  Just looking at google earth, UFO on it's own looks to be a bit short.  Continuing down Equinox would probably make it that much better.  IIRC, Equinox is a bit flatter (but I could be wrong here), and it would give people the opportunity to enter/exit part way via Pluto's.  (Also, I'm not sure if this route runs straight down the fall-line or not, but IMO that is important for bumps).




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## joshua segal (Dec 23, 2016)

Well, I do know the GM reads Alpine Zone, so perhaps your comments will be heard!


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## Jully (Dec 23, 2016)

joshua segal said:


> Well, I do know the GM reads Alpine Zone, so perhaps your comments will be heard!



Love it when GM's read alpine zone and the industry has a presence here. 

Echoing others comments, I would definitely be drawn to Crotched for night skiing if it had a bump run. I absolutely understand the small mountain worries about losing a run to bumps as bump skiers are a minority (sadly). 

Pat's has more unique ways down than Crotched does IIRC. However, even half of a sizeable trail or two would be enough for me since I know terrain is limited. All Wachusett has for bumps is the half the trail at the top of 10th mountain (I think) and that was certainly not enough. Crotched has more sustained pitch than WaWa though so if they were properly seeded, it would be comparable to Hurricane if done correctly. Throw in the HSQ and trees and you have a great mid sized mountain product there.


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## snoseek (Dec 23, 2016)

I feel like there's as many bump enthusiastic skiers as park skiers and crotched does well with parks.....


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## dlague (Dec 23, 2016)

This was a very interesting dialog.  Crotched was a once per year deal for us.  When we were there last year it was very very firm but that was the way the season was.  However, the bumps that formed or were made under the Rocket lift in years prior and even before that lift I have enjoyed.  Then again I like to mix up my day.  I do not focus on bumps because my knees only tolerate so much.  I did like lapping Rocket with fast runs.  I would like to see more snowmaking capacity and I do like Crotched over Pats because of Rocket and it is not as crowded.  However, that being said Crotched, Pats, Whale back are places where I am good with for a couple hours then it gets repetitive.  Even Ragged gets like that in low snow years.

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## 4aprice (Dec 23, 2016)

snoseek said:


> I feel like there's as many bump enthusiastic skiers as park skiers and crotched does well with parks.....



CBK Pa. our local mountain, is about the same size as Crotched.  We've been debating the same subject for years, and to their credit they  seemed to have listened.  The fact is with these smaller areas, a good mogul trail, makes the mountain ski a little bit larger and of course areas like these are all about practice practice, practice.  Snowmaking and expansion are always their no. 1 concern but once its all down, they get it.  

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ


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## hammer (Dec 23, 2016)

Very happy with the conditions at Crotched today.  Light traffic meant that most runs didn't get scraped bits until after lunch.  Jupiter's was firm in spots (my skis could use a shop tune) but most trails were groomed out very nicely.  I did venture down Solstice trail but it was a bit sketchy in spots.  All considered with the recent weather I'm surprised it was even skiable.

With the current forecast will Pluto's be open for the holiday week?


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## snoseek (Dec 23, 2016)

4aprice said:


> CBK Pa. our local mountain, is about the same size as Crotched.  We've been debating the same subject for years, and to their credit they  seemed to have listened.  The fact is with these smaller areas, a good mogul trail, makes the mountain ski a little bit larger and of course areas like these are all about practice practice, practice.  Snowmaking and expansion are always their no. 1 concern but once its all down, they get it.
> 
> Alex
> 
> Lake Hopatcong, NJ



Overall in real happy with how its ran vs when I skied there as a kid. Its a great little place and an easy drive for a quick session


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## yeggous (Dec 23, 2016)

Was there today. I expected more coverage. A lot of areas were surprisingly thin including a few ugly rocks on Moon Walk. They need water badly.

Magnitude was my pick of the day. Meteor could have used better grooming. Snow was good but you can tell they had a slalom course on it recently and didn't do a good job leveling it out. Weather was great though.


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## xwhaler (Dec 23, 2016)

yeggous said:


> Was there today. I expected more coverage. A lot of areas were surprisingly thin including a few ugly rocks on Moon Walk. They need water badly.
> 
> Magnitude was my pick of the day. Meteor could have used better grooming. Snow was good but you can tell they had a slalom course on it recently and didn't do a good job leveling it out. Weather was great though.
> 
> ...


Did you get a Mug Club?!   Get those edges sharp.  Racing begins soon!

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## yeggous (Dec 23, 2016)

xwhaler said:


> Did you get a Mug Club?!   Get those edges sharp.  Racing begins soon!
> 
> Sent from my XT1254 using AlpineZone mobile app



I did! He let me choose #46. The same as my Wildcat mug number.


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## joshua segal (Dec 23, 2016)

Sounds like a lot of AZers were here today.  I met ski-it.

After the interchange about moguls on this thread, I ran into the GM who had already seen your comments on moguls and assured me (and by extension, you) that moguls will be on the way.  The only question is: on how many trails?  Naturally, weather or a snow drought could derail those plans. 

I thought that the AM was wonderful and the trails well groomed, but it did get fast in the afternoon.  At that time, I did switch skis to a freshly sharpened pair and it was nice to be able to grip the surface rather than side slip it. 

As to Pluto's: The pond is coming back slowly.  I don't know if there is enough water to do Pluto's.  With the dry summer, the ground water isn't replenishing the pond as fast as in past years.


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## Edd (Dec 23, 2016)

When I was there on Wednesday the tune shop was closed but a rental guy said it was open Thursday. Did it just open for the season or is it only open certain days?


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## joshua segal (Dec 23, 2016)

Edd said:


> When I was there on Wednesday the tune shop was closed but a rental guy said it was open Thursday. Did it just open for the season or is it only open certain days?


It's usually open daily - but this is still early season.  That being said, if this was night skiing, I don't recall there being anyone on duty to do tuning in the evening.


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## xwhaler (Dec 23, 2016)

Edd said:


> When I was there on Wednesday the tune shop was closed but a rental guy said it was open Thursday. Did it just open for the season or is it only open certain days?


Would be curious to know this as well as I plan to get my skis tuned before race league starts.  I got my skis tuned from CM once before and was quite happy with the results.

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## Savemeasammy (Dec 23, 2016)

joshua segal said:


> I ran into the GM who had already seen your comments on moguls and assured me (and by extension, you) that moguls will be on the way.







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## deadheadskier (Dec 23, 2016)

joshua segal said:


> After the interchange about moguls on this thread, I ran into the GM who had already seen your comments on moguls and assured me (and by extension, you) that moguls will be on the way.  The only question is: on how many trails? .



Thanks for the update Joshua.  I'll be around Crotched in the morning for a short session before departing for family holiday commitments in the afternoon.  Hopefully I run into you

And lurking Crotched GM. I hope you're reading this. I love this news.  I'll also say that us bump fans aren't greedy; especially with a smaller mountain.  While multiple trails would be great, really just one season long dedicated bump trail that's well taken care of is all we're asking for.  We want to show up at the mountain and know there's going to be bumps to ski.  Just like those who like terrain parks want to know there's going to be a park to ski/ride pretty much all season long.  Or those who want groomed slopes who want 90% of the hill groomed to perfection every morning.   Half of UFO/Equinox all the way down to Shooting Star with well maintained bumps from Xmas week through the end of the season would be so well appreciated by your advanced skiers on the mountain. thanks


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## Quietman (Dec 23, 2016)

I 2nd that, with another small request.  I realize that the fan guns don't quite reach across Pluto's to cover under the rocket.  But a little groomer pushing snow to provide coverage would be really helpful when it is allowed to bump up. There are a couple of really sharp rocks that have taken a toll on my skis.  That being said, lets hope for lots of natural so my request is moot!!  Better yet, I want enough now to open the woods, then I won't give a crap about the groomers!


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## thebigo (Dec 24, 2016)

xwhaler said:


> Would be curious to know this as well as I plan to get my skis tuned before race league starts.  I got my skis tuned from CM once before and was quite happy with the results.
> 
> Sent from my XT1254 using AlpineZone mobile app



I dropped mine at the rental desk to get tuned on thursday, said there was no one available but they could get them done overnight. Picked them up first Friday morning, cost was $30. I usually get them done at golf/ski in greenland, will say that golf/ski does a better job but they quoted a seven day turnaround when I called this week, not an option mid season.

I thought today was good, did not venture into the woods, Jupiter's was in much better shape than thursday. Brought my 70 year old dad, he was so impressed said he was going to buy a pass next year, don't think he has ever had one.

Good news on the bumps, even better to know that management is listening to their customers. Spent some time thinking about this today and despite my comments yesterday think ufo may be a better choice than Jupiter's for a bump run.


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## joshua segal (Dec 24, 2016)

deadheadskier said:


> Thanks for the update Joshua.  I'll be around Crotched in the morning for a short session before departing for family holiday commitments in the afternoon.  Hopefully I run into you
> 
> ...


I always enjoy meeting fellow AZers and I'm at CM 95% of the days they are open.  That being said,  I have an 11AM appointment in Boston, so I will try to rip 3 to 5 runs in the 40 minutes I have this AM and hope to meet you another day.

*Re: Bumps*
I must say, I am thrilled at the quantity of AZers calling for bumps.  It's good that management knows that paying guests want them and not just a handful of (non-paying) instructors.


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## Jully (Dec 24, 2016)

deadheadskier said:


> Thanks for the update Joshua.  I'll be around Crotched in the morning for a short session before departing for family holiday commitments in the afternoon.  Hopefully I run into you
> 
> And lurking Crotched GM. I hope you're reading this. I love this news.  I'll also say that us bump fans aren't greedy; especially with a smaller mountain.  While multiple trails would be great, really just one season long dedicated bump trail that's well taken care of is all we're asking for.  We want to show up at the mountain and know there's going to be bumps to ski.  Just like those who like terrain parks want to know there's going to be a park to ski/ride pretty much all season long.  Or those who want groomed slopes who want 90% of the hill groomed to perfection every morning.   Half of UFO/Equinox all the way down to Shooting Star with well maintained bumps from Xmas week through the end of the season would be so well appreciated by your advanced skiers on the mountain. thanks



Yes! All i need is half of a well maintained trail! 

That is very exciting news though.


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## yeggous (Dec 26, 2016)

The base depths are really thin. Rocks, gravel, and dirt showing all over the place. They blew a bit overnight on Plutos. I would rather have seen them reinforcing the thin areas which are pervasive.


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## Edd (Dec 26, 2016)

Curious about crowds today. I came close to going, but my hangover won the day.


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## Edd (Dec 26, 2016)

Oh yeah, if anyone is a Mexican food fan, La Cabana in New Boston (not far from Crotched) does not suck at all.


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## yeggous (Dec 26, 2016)

Edd said:


> Oh yeah, if anyone is a Mexican food fan, La Cabana in New Boston (not far from Crotched) does not suck at all.



You are the second Crotched person this week to speak highly of that place. Crowds were typical of a weekend. Minimal line and only after the lift stops for a minute.


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## joshua segal (Dec 26, 2016)

yeggous said:


> The base depths are really thin. Rocks, gravel, and dirt showing all over the place. They blew a bit overnight on Plutos. I would rather have seen them reinforcing the thin areas which are pervasive.
> ...


The rocks and gravel breakthrough is a grooming issue - not a snowmaking issue.  The whales near most of those thin abare spots are of impressive depth.


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## joshua segal (Dec 26, 2016)

Edd said:


> Curious about crowds today. I came close to going, but my hangover won the day.



Lines were short.  They ran all 5 lifts.  The Rocket might have been 2 minutes, but the line was so short, that they weren't even grouping people to see that chairs were going up full.


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## yeggous (Dec 26, 2016)

joshua segal said:


> The rocks and gravel breakthrough is a grooming issue - not a snowmaking issue.  The whales near most of those thin abare spots are of impressive depth.



I know the groomers pull up all the gravel, but it was really thin in several areas -- Blastoff, the intersection of Equinox / Shooting Star, and whatever you call the lowermost section of Plutos. There were some really bare spots in the Zero G park too. I noticed some big rocks (not gravel) poking through on Moonwalk and Velocity as things got skied off.

My wife took out her brand new Icelantic skis for their first day today, and I got to do my first p-tex repair to them tonight.


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## deadheadskier (Dec 31, 2016)

Paging Joshua - please tell management to turn off the fan gun at the bottom of the steep pitch on Jupiter's unless they want to ruin the trail for weeks. It is putting out 90% water. All other guns on the mountain are putting out nice dry snow, so I assume this is a malfunction

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## joshua segal (Dec 31, 2016)

deadheadskier said:


> Paging Joshua - please tell management to turn off the fan gun at the bottom of the steep pitch on Jupiter's unless they want to ruin the trail for weeks. It is putting out 90% water. All other guns on the mountain are putting out nice dry snow, so I assume this is a malfunction
> ...


They were told.  It's been doing that for at least 2.5 hours.  They did that to Satellite Summit last season and it was never not icy until the spring thaw.  If that's the case this year on Jupiter, it will (sadly) make the bottom seriously Black Diamond :-(


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## prsboogie (Jan 2, 2017)

The just in - CLOSED FOR OPERATION
TUESDAY, JAN 3, 2017
Due to the forecasted weather cycle on it's way and to protect the snow that we have on the ground, we will not be in operation tomorrow, Tuesday, Jan 3, 2017. Our goal is to provide the best ski conditions possible and in order to do that, we felt that closing for operation during this weather event was the best choice.

Crotched Mtn will be back to normal operation on Wednesday, Jan 4, 2017 with as high quality of a snow surface as possible. The one good thing about wet precipitation is that it will re-charge the snowmaking pond for future man-made snow efforts.

The Adult Race League Kick-off Party, hosted 7:00 pm-9:00 pm in the Onset Pub and Lounge WILL OCCUR with drinks and the pub menu available. This event is not closed to the public, so feel free to swing in and have a cold beer from 7:00 pm-9:00 pm on Tuesday night.

Thanks for understanding, as our only goal is to provide the best snow surfaces possible. 

Had a great day with my daughter today and a friend from home. Conditions were very good with an occasional icy area. That is until my 8 year old decided  to cut a new trail off Milky Way between UFO and Velocity! One second she was on my heels and the next gone! Dude on a board stopped and climbed in to help pull her out and she was completely fine. She was already out by the time I run up from the west lift to where she was. Gotta say I was scared as hell and couldn't that the guy for helping her (and me) out.  Needless to say, mom won't be hearing about this, this season at least!  on West

just off the Rocket


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## joshua segal (Jan 3, 2017)

*Jan. 3, 2017 - Tues.*

As per prsboogie's posting, Crotched Mtn. made a very smart call and opted not to open today.  The forecast was for freezing drizzle in the AM followed by heavy rain in the PM.  That being said, I was not about to give up my "skiing fix" and since I live at the mountain, I began climbing the hill.  In anticipation of the rain, the mountain was groomed to pack down and hold as much loose snow as possible when the rain starts in earnest.

I went up Super Nova to Milky Way.  As I was just below the jct. of Milky Way and Moonwalk, I saw a boarder ride by, so I wasn't the only one who needed a skiing/riding experience today.

Aside:  One of the things I like most about Jay Peak is the fact that it is the only ski area where the Tram is the only way to the top.  If one gets off the tram and waits 5-minutes, everyone has skied away and there one is alone on a mountain top.

Not quite the same as Jay Peak, but I sat on the deck of the Ski Patrol Building for a few minutes to catch my breath and to enjoy that sense of being alone on a mountain top.

The way down was frozuroy - not unpleasant but certainly not powdery fluff.  I started down Satellite Summit which was not groomed and pretty icy.  So I turned off Satellite Summit onto Retro to Moonwalk and finished up on Meteor.

Things here, should be back to normal tomorrow.


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## dlague (Jan 3, 2017)

More power to you guys who make the added effort of skinning/hiking to get some turns in.  I do not have the energy or the breath to do that here.

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## Bostonian (Jan 8, 2017)

Was at Crotched today, and they had problems spinning the rocket...   managed to get up the to the summit later when they fixed it, but had to jet at 1...  Some photos


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## xwhaler (Jan 8, 2017)

Pluto's open it looks like?  What was up with the Rocket?  

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## joshua segal (Jan 8, 2017)

*Sun.- Jan. 8,  2017*
With a massive snowmaking push today, I found conditions very variable, going from soft fluffy machine made to very icy downhill sides of whales where one or two of the fan guns were putting out mostly water.

I was told that the problem with the Rocket involved ice build-up on the haul-rope.  Nothing serious and a fairly common issue with detachables.


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## SnoDevil97 (Jan 8, 2017)

I was @ Crotched today - too good to pass up a kids-pay-their-age day.

The delay in Rocket opening was a bit frustrating, as it threw everyone on the slow fixed grip that seemed to stop every minute. Meteor was in good shape & we lapped it for a bit, but then racers took it over.

Once the Rocket opened UFO /Equinox skied nice for a while. Guns were blazing everywhere- & yes the tell-tale sign of too much water, our goggles froze over.

Once was enough for Jupiters Storm after lunch - total ice sheet.

Lapped Plutos a few times, was actually nice later in the day with the snow guns on them.

Glad I went to Crotched today, given the price. Will go again next month, hopefully some glades will be in play & the trails will be tidied up.


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## Quietman (Jan 8, 2017)

joshua segal said:


> *Sun.- Jan. 8,  2017*
> With a massive snowmaking push today, I found conditions very variable, going from soft fluffy machine made to very icy downhill sides of whales where one or two of the fan guns were putting out mostly water.
> 
> I was told that the problem with the Rocket involved ice build-up on the haul-rope.  Nothing serious and a fairly common issue with detachables.



My son who works there confirmed to ice/haul rope issue.  Glad to hear the they are taking safety seriously.


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## joshua segal (Jan 9, 2017)

SnoDevil97 said:


> ...
> 
> Glad I went to Crotched today, given the price. Will go again next month, hopefully some glades will be in play & the trails will be tidied up.


Actually, if you weren't on your best skis, Final Frontier and all its chutes and sub-glades skied nicely as did Solstice Glade (both the trail and the glade).


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## SnoDevil97 (Jan 13, 2017)

Paging @Joshua for current outlook for Crotched. Thinking of getting some turns in Sunday due to delay of Steelers vs Chiefs (now @ 8:20 due to ice storm).  How did it survive rain & high temps? Hopefully ok with all the snow blown last wkend.


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## deadheadskier (Jan 13, 2017)

I'll be there in the morning and give a heads up what to expect for Sunday

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## Quietman (Jan 13, 2017)

Wednesday night when things cooled down it was very firm, although Galaxy had some nice snow.  After yesterday's rain and warmed, and the quick freeze tonight, I can't imagine skiing until 3am tonight/tomorrow. Hopefully the pond filled up more yesterday, as it was still low on Wed.  The high traffic areas will need a refresh.


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## yeggous (Jan 13, 2017)

Quietman said:


> Wednesday night when things cooled down it was very firm, although Galaxy had some nice snow.  After yesterday's rain and warmed, and the quick freeze tonight, I can't imagine skiing until 3am tonight/tomorrow. Hopefully the pond filled up more yesterday, as it was still low on Wed.  The high traffic areas will need a refresh.



When I got home from the AlpineZone beer league I discovered a long, nasty gouge in my new race skis. I was not happy. On the plus side I discovered a new technique for base repair. Use a ptex candle, lightly scrape with a steel scraper, and flatten with a steel rotobrush. Works surprisingly well.


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## joshua segal (Jan 13, 2017)

Quietman said:


> Wednesday night when things cooled down it was very firm, although Galaxy had some nice snow.  After yesterday's rain and warmed, and the quick freeze tonight, I can't imagine skiing until 3am tonight/tomorrow. Hopefully the pond filled up more yesterday, as it was still low on Wed.  The high traffic areas will need a refresh.


Today (Fri, Jan. 13) was difficult.  Tuesday's rain was no problem, but Wednesday and Thursday's fog were.  With today's dropping temps, the grooming was pretty ineffective.

The good news: The pond looked about 3/4 full and it's already down to 25 degrees.  Expect a snowmaking bonanza to begin soon and with the weekend forecast, it should be a good weekend.

Sadly,  the woods are almost bare, so the glades will be starting from scratch again.

There seems to be a good crowd for Midnight Madness tonight based on the quantity of cars in the parking lot, but the slopes looked pretty empty.


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## xwhaler (Jan 13, 2017)

Hopefully CM refreshes as much as they can. Next week looks quite warm again.  Next Wed night looks like a repeat of the previous two ARL nights.   Sharpen those edges boys!

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## Quietman (Jan 14, 2017)

xwhaler said:


> Hopefully CM refreshes as much as they can. Next week looks quite warm again.  Next Wed night looks like a repeat of the previous two ARL nights.   Sharpen those edges boys!
> 
> Sent from my XT1254 using AlpineZone mobile app



Got my new race skis today, now I just have to remount the bindings as they are too long and not easily adjustable. Hoping that these will put me ahead of my 25 yr old son next week.


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## deadheadskier (Jan 14, 2017)

Crotched was fairly decent considering the meltdown this week.  They were blowing a bunch of snow on Meteor and UFO along with a few spot guns elsewhere.  Pluto's, Moonwalk, Milky Way and Magnitude all need some serious help. Hopefully they switch over the guns to those trails tonight. 

Jupiter's is a lost cause. The wet gun they had on it a couple of weeks back killed it as I feared would happen.

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## Quietman (Jan 15, 2017)

They really blew a lot on Meteor and it now has some very large whales.  Satelite Summit and Pluto's also skied really nice with new man made.  UFO has new snow but also a couple of icy streaches. The glacier at the bottom of Jupiter is pretty bad.  Other trails were firm but edgeable.  Joshua says that they will blow more tonight, and the pond has enough left to support it.  Overall, I enjoyed this afternoon, and singles line was just about ski on, and there was never more than a 2-3 minute wait for non singles.


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## Savemeasammy (Jan 18, 2017)

With the new snow and most/all of the trails open, will Crotched let something bump up....?

Please...


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## Tin (Jan 18, 2017)

Savemeasammy said:


> With the new snow and most/all of the trails open, will Crotched let something bump up....?
> 
> Please...
> 
> ...




What do you care? You race there LOL


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## SnoDevil97 (Jan 18, 2017)

Savemeasammy said:


> With the new snow and most/all of the trails open, will Crotched let something bump up....?
> 
> Please...
> 
> ...


From their Twitter feed this am, you may get your wish:

"7" of heavy snow in the base, with reports of 8"-9" on the summit. Limited groom."

I don't blame them at all for grooming everything often to conserve trails during low natural snow periods.


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## yeggous (Jan 18, 2017)

SnoDevil97 said:


> From their Twitter feed this am, you may get your wish:
> 
> "7" of heavy snow in the base, with reports of 8"-9" on the summit. Limited groom."
> 
> I don't blame them at all for grooming everything often to conserve trails during low natural snow periods.



What they mean is they groom one side of each trail and leave the other. Typical for them.


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## JimG. (Jan 18, 2017)

Savemeasammy said:


> With the new snow and most/all of the trails open, will Crotched let something bump up....?
> 
> Please...
> 
> ...



Good luck. I have noticed since Peaks took over Hunter that bumps are not allowed. Everything groomed flat always.

And the trails that used to be allowed to bump up and stay bumped have been cut off from snowmaking. Nothing has been done about snowmaking on Lower K27 and upper Crossover got snowmaking once and not since. Everything on the west side is flat.

I guess the plan is to make Hunter like Jack Frost and Big Boulder. Pocono north. 

Something I do not like at all about the new owners. Thank God I can ski at Belleayre on my NYS 3 in 1. I never thought I would say this but Belle is the place to ski in the Cats if you like bumps.


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## joshua segal (Jan 20, 2017)

JimG. said:


> Good luck. I have noticed since Peaks took over Hunter that bumps are not allowed. Everything groomed flat always.
> 
> And the trails that used to be allowed to bump up and stay bumped have been cut off from snowmaking. Nothing has been done about snowmaking on Lower K27 and upper Crossover got snowmaking once and not since. Everything on the west side is flat.
> 
> ...



It is not likely to be a Peak Resort policy since Wildcat, Attitash and Mt. Snow all have mogul runs.


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## Savemeasammy (Jan 20, 2017)

Did they groom everything Thursday, Joshua?


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## joshua segal (Jan 20, 2017)

Savemeasammy said:


> Did they groom everything Thursday, Joshua?


I'm in Florida, so I don't know.  Any CM regulars reading this thread who know?


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## Quietman (Jan 20, 2017)

Snow report from yesterday said that everything was groomed, and today's report says the same.  I'm not sure if they left some bumps under the rocket or anywhere else.  I may be up there on Sunday afternoon.


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## SnoDevil97 (Jan 22, 2017)

Hit Crotched for a bunch of runs early today. Conditions were decent, more coverage on the edges than my last visit a few weeks ago. Trees still looked a bit thin, which was fine because my goal was just to cruise lots of laps. Hard pack turned soft with warm-ish temps , not too much ice around. 

Didn't hit Jupiters, it may have had bumps but still had bad memories from when it was an ice sheet last time.

Ended earlier than I expected due to fatigue, had a few Henniker Rocket IPA's in the pub (very tasty) & still got home to suburban Boston in time for kickoff of Packers/Falcons. Full day indeed.


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## elks (Jan 23, 2017)

SnoDevil97 said:


> Didn't hit Jupiters, it may have had bumps but still had bad memories from when it was an ice sheet last time.



Jupiters was the best it's been all season if you like messy/mixed conditions. Seems like they fixed the ice problem at the bottom caused by the leaking snow gun.


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## Savemeasammy (Jan 26, 2017)

Credit to Crotched for starting to ski-in some moguls. 



You can see by the amount of space in between (side to side) that these won't be zipper-liners.  If they get bigger they will be good for people who are aspiring bumpers who want to work on rhythm and take it slow.  Hopefully people will take an interest and put these to use (and hopefully they get some help from the fan guns). 


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## joshua segal (Jan 26, 2017)

I was worried when I saw the snow report today (1/26/17) which indicated that 100% of the mountain had been groomed.  I'm happy to tell you,  that the mogul field shown above is still there and is improving with traffic.

BTW: Absolute hero-snow here today!


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## Jully (Jan 26, 2017)

joshua segal said:


> I was worried when I saw the snow report today (1/26/17) which indicated that 100% of the mountain had been groomed.  I'm happy to tell you,  that the mogul field shown above is still there and is improving with traffic.
> 
> BTW: Absolute hero-snow here today!



That is exciting! Is there only 1 mogul field right now? Or are they on multiple trails?


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## Savemeasammy (Jan 26, 2017)

joshua segal said:


> I was worried when I saw the snow report today (1/26/17) which indicated that 100% of the mountain had been groomed.  I'm happy to tell you,  that the mogul field shown above is still there and is improving with traffic.
> 
> BTW: Absolute hero-snow here today!



I'd love to see a pic at the end of the day for comparison 


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## Edd (Jan 26, 2017)

Hoping to check them out tomorrow.


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## joshua segal (Jan 26, 2017)

Jully said:


> That is exciting! Is there only 1 mogul field right now? Or are they on multiple trails?


For now, the only moguls are on UFO and while yesterdays photo shows two rows of moguls,  today, there are three.  I prefer the irregular natural ones, but I'm  told these are being set up for an upcoming competition.

Aside to savemesammy: Sorry.  I don't do photos.


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## Savemeasammy (Jan 26, 2017)

joshua segal said:


> For now, the only moguls are on UFO and while yesterdays photo shows two rows of moguls,  today, there are three.  I prefer the irregular natural ones, but I'm  told these are being set up for an upcoming competition.
> 
> Aside to savemesammy: Sorry.  I don't do photos.



Do you know anything about the comp?  I'm assuming it's for kids...?


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## joshua segal (Jan 26, 2017)

Savemeasammy said:


> Do you know anything about the comp?  I'm assuming it's for kids...?


Don't know for sure,  but I think it has to do with an in-house free-style program.


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## Edd (Jan 27, 2017)

Yikes it's busy as shit here today. Fox 25 news is here. Tons of kids. Buzz = killed.

They don't seem to be on the Rocket though, thank geowd.


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## joshua segal (Jan 27, 2017)

Edd said:


> Yikes it's busy as shit here today. Fox 25 news is here. Tons of kids. Buzz = killed.
> 
> They don't seem to be on the Rocket though, thank geowd.


This morning we had a few busloads of beginners + a local school that comes every Friday AM.

Also, FOX-25 gave away about 200 CM comps.  Most of the guests with whom I road this AM (who weren't CM regulars) were on that FOX-25 free-bie.  But as you point out, as long as you didn't want to ride the Magic Carpet, there were no lines.


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## puckoach (Jan 30, 2017)

I was there Friday as well, on the Fox25 promotion.  First time I have been there.

Looks to me, that they are doing a great job, servicing "their" market.  Which is as a community, not destination facility.

Great rental set-up.  Although, I almost never enter the rental area, it's well located.  Adjacent to the learning side of the hill.  Loved the boot storage racks.  Carpet an 2 person chair to service the Greens.

No lines to speak of.  Good coverage.  The cruisers pretty empty.  Only concern, is a green cross trail from Rocket, to return to Rocket.  like any crossing trail, in intersects other down hill trails.  But, in this case, they had set up a race course, with start and 2-3 gates above the crossing trail.  This was a practice course, not one with a gate/timer start area.   IMHO, should have set up start below the crossing trail.

Every staff member I talked to, was great.  Good conversations on the lifts.  To me, a great place for me, an older cruiser.

Thank you Crotched and Fox25 !


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## joshua segal (Jan 30, 2017)

puckoach said:


> I was there Friday as well, on the Fox25 promotion.  First time I have been there.
> 
> Looks to me, that they are doing a great job, servicing "their" market.  Which is as a community, not destination facility.
> 
> ...


Welcome and I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Excellent observation about the ski area - and that's probably why the Mountainside Condos (the ones along the West Double) are as inexpensive as they are.  When they were built, there were grandiose plans to interconnect the East (original Crotched) and West (originally Onset and currently called Crotched Mtn.) and to develop all the land in between.  At that size (acreage), it would have been more a competitor with Sunapee and Gunstock as a destination resort rather than a community (or day trip) area like Wachusett and Pat's.

Many of our regular customers are ones who came here by accident when they went to areas with full parking lots and came up here just to find a place to ski that had a place for them to park.  Many of those discovered an excellent hill with minimal lift lines and more and now have season passes and are counted among our regulars.


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## thebigo (Jan 30, 2017)

Finally made it back to crotched yesterday after a month in the hospital with a baby that decided to show up six weeks early. Surface was scratchy, probably the worst of the roughly dozen days I have been this year but understandable given the weather we have had and the fact that it was sunday afternoon. More a testament to the surface they offered in December than a complaint, a month of inactivity may have also contributed to my perception. 

Good to see the bumps on UFO, fairly regular if widely spaced. Would be excellent with a little natural, hopefully next week. $29 sunday afternoon deal is appreciated, got my dad to join us for a couple of hours. 

Put my four year old daughter in an afternoon lesson. I have taken her out a half dozen times over the last couple years with results ranging somewhere between utter failure and disaster. Cannot say enough good things about the session yesterday. Before the lesson she was having trouble standing on skis, after she was linking turns. Watched the instructor from a distance a few times, unlimited patience and positive encouragement. She did not want to leave after the lesson and has talked about nothing other than going back next week. A season pass for lessons or value pack of some sort would be enticing, not sure how this would work but it may get more to commit if you could spend $500 at the start of the year rather than $80 per week. With this said, $80 is an excellent value for nearly one on one instruction - it was her and another boy of similar age with a single instructor for three hours. 

If anyone from management reads this, please drop the rope on the small connector from re-entry that runs back to the lodge under west lift. As a parent with a child in lessons it is nice to be able to watch for a few minutes but without the connector you are forced to either hike out of the learning area or ride the dreadfully slow west lift.


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## drjeff (Jan 30, 2017)

Crotched was flat and fast, short of the seeded dual rows of now ice bumps on UFO.

16 mainly high speed GS runs in an hour and 35 minutes this morning, and the only time I had to even wait a single chair to board the Rocket was when an ability plus skier in a sled and escorts loaded Infront of me.

A fun, quick morning session at Crotched today

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## dlague (Jan 30, 2017)

drjeff said:


> Crotched was flat and fast, short of the seeded dual rows of now ice bumps on UFO.
> 
> 16 mainly high speed GS runs in an hour and 35 minutes this morning, and the only time I had to even wait a single chair to board the Rocket was when an ability plus skier in a sled and escorts loaded Infront of me.
> 
> ...



5.9375 per run.  not bad - 4 minute ride up and quick ride down.


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## drjeff (Jan 30, 2017)

dlague said:


> 5.9375 per run.  not bad - 4 minute ride up and quick ride down.


Good visibility, non existent crowds and smooth corduroy made it easy for me to feel like I was back in highschool and college racing days again!

Fortunately for those few other folks on the hill with me this morning I was in my snowpants and ski coat rather than the GS suit of my past racing days!!! [emoji12] 

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## Savemeasammy (Feb 8, 2017)

UFO 


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## joshua segal (Feb 9, 2017)

*Feb. 8, 2017 - Weds.*
After a lackluster January, February is off to a great start.  One of the great beauties of living on a mountain and skiing every day is just how different every day can be.  

After Tuesday's powder day, Weds. was a combination of groomed powder.  (The groomer broke the crust left by the freezing rain.)  As the day warmed up, the ungroomed started to ski well as a combination of spring snow plus soft chop.  The natural-mogul lovers will appreciate the run under the Rocket.

But today (Feb. 9), that's just history as the new storm has already started dumping.  About an inch is down and the forecasts are calling for 3" per hour snowfall rates meaning every run is a powder run!  Local forecasts are calling for more than a foot - although with our bad luck this year,  I suspect most of us will be pleased with a foot!  Stay tuned - and if you dare to drive - come on up!


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## xwhaler (Feb 9, 2017)

Josh, let us know how the glades are skiing if you venture in. We were there for ARL last night so didn't sample the woods.
The bumps on UFO continue to get better every week.

I'll be up on Sunday with my family so hoping to get a few turns in the trees.


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## yeggous (Feb 9, 2017)

xwhaler said:


> Josh, let us know how the glades are skiing if you venture in. We were there for ARL last night so didn't sample the woods.
> The bumps on UFO continue to get better every week.
> 
> I'll be up on Sunday with my family so hoping to get a few turns in the trees.



Yes, I'd like to know too.

Yesterday's conditions were a constant evolution. When we first arrived at 4pm everything was soft and spring-like. With each run things firmed up until we hit that awkward teenage phase where the uneven snow surface was frozen solid in place. It was not fun. Fortunately within an hour skier traffic scraped loose the top of it and by 8pm it was much better -- loose granular over frozen granular.

Joshua, what is the story with the lights? There are a number of bulbs out all over the mountain and it is getting to be unsafe. I've noticed this all season and it doesn't seem to be getting better although I've seen people on the towers looking at lights.


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## snoseek (Feb 9, 2017)

Trees are skiing better and better each run.


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## Savemeasammy (Feb 9, 2017)

snoseek said:


> Trees are skiing better and better each run.



We were speculating last night that if the base solidified overnight that the trees would be in good condition.  This is great to hear.  Crotched is so much better when the trees are in play!


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## joshua segal (Feb 9, 2017)

*Feb. 9, 2017 - Thurs.*
When the lifts opened this AM, it was dust-on-crust and not much fun.  By 11AM, pretty much everything was skiing nicely, but especially the glades which are all pretty much protected from the wind.  The only glade that I thought was particularly bad was Kuyper Belt.  It would have been fine had it received even minimal care last summer.

While there were short (less than half-minute) liftlines, it is most unusual to see a crowd of this magnitude on a non-holiday Thursday.
Nothing happening overnight to change condx, so tomorrow (Fri., Feb. 10) should be super also.


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## snoseek (Feb 9, 2017)

Yeah that worth the drive over. Glad I stayed south. I hit a few things in the trees today but that mostly because it fell super light blower. There's still some crust but other trees were super smooth goodness. Place skis a lot different with some snow and was surprisingly entertaining I thought. Gonna do some midnight madness tomorrow night bumps should be a blast!


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## deadheadskier (Feb 23, 2017)

Savemeasammy said:


> Credit to Crotched for starting to ski-in some moguls.
> 
> View attachment 21632
> 
> ...



I was with Savemeasammy when these bumps went in.  I thought no way they'd ever be that great.  I didn't want to complain though because it was a better effort than I'd seen in recent years.

Well, the bumps have grown well enough over the past month to offer some pretty fun zipper lines in places.  Still has some funky spots that require line adjustments, but I was very content lapping this trail most of the day today.

Great Job Crotched!  I hope this is the operating plan every year moving forward.  Only thing I'd change is that I hope you get started on bumping up UFO a bit earlier in the year next year.  It would be great to get started over Christmas vacation week when you have the traffic on the hill to ski them in.


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## snoseek (Feb 23, 2017)

There were some bumps on jupiters storm that were skiing awfully nice the other day as well.

I'm going out for a MM session tomorrow night while its all still soft. Good thing you guys got on those nice bumps before the freeze. I too appreciate the effort for moguls even though I'm not really a true bumper its been great practicing and overall makes the mtn a lot more compelling


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## Savemeasammy (Feb 23, 2017)

We didn't get much in the way of shots looking down the run, which gives a much better idea of how the bumps were, but here is DHS showing us how much fun they were today!




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## joshua segal (Feb 24, 2017)

*Feb. 24, 2017 - Fri.*
The skiing remains excellent, despite the incredibly warm weather.  

For those who check the Snow Report before coming, the published snow report has a number of errors.

1. Jupiter is labelled "Partial Groom".  It's half-moguls.
2. Magnitude is labelled "partial groom".  They full-groomed it yesterday, but that being said, the moguls never really developed and the groom probably protected the cover on that side of the trail.
3. Kuiper Belt is unskiable
4. Dark Star is still OK, but there are a few spots where you have to pick your way down.  The T-Bar line is still skiable, but a few significant bare spots have emerged.
5. Solstice Glade Trail is mostly that super icy surface that develops before the last melt-out. Solstice Glade Glade is mostly skiable with a few thin spots at the bottom that need extra care.
6. Final Frontier and most of its cuts and chutes are still OK.
7. The other glades (not on the trail map) I would not recommend.  While the entrance to the west ledges looks OK, it gets ugly as soon as you turn the corners.
8. Moguls on UFO/Equinox are superb.
9. East side  of Pluto's has a nice mogul line.


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## deadheadskier (Feb 24, 2017)

Great synopsis of the conditions.  I would add that the main problem with (7) the off map glades is not so much the thin spots, which there are plenty, but the snow quality.   Due to such a short usable season for these areas, there really isn't a packed down base to corn up. It's really manky snow that you sink on into making turning without using a jump turn really difficult. It just sucks you in. At least that was our experience yesterday skiing Popcorn

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## joshua segal (Feb 24, 2017)

deadheadskier said:


> Great synopsis of the conditions.  I would add that the main problem with (7) the off map glades is not so much the thin spots, which there are plenty, but the snow quality.   Due to such a short usable season for these areas, there really isn't a packed down base to corn up. It's really manky snow that you sink on into making turning without using a jump turn really difficult. It just sucks you in. At least that was our experience yesterday skiing Popcorn


You were braver than I was.  I took the much shorter Hellyons and which I thought would have held up better than Popcorn.  When I looked down Uranus,  I decided that "discretion was the better part of valor" and I proceeded down Milkyway. 

Your comment on quality of snow in the off-map glades" is good.  I also found a problem of rotting in areas that hadn't been packed down by traffic.


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## Cornhead (Feb 24, 2017)

joshua segal said:


> When I looked down Uranus,  I decided that "discretion was the better part of valor"






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## snoseek (Feb 24, 2017)

I got first tracks on the 920 groom tonight. Wicked soft. Massive snow melt. We ain't done yet though.


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## Savemeasammy (Feb 25, 2017)

snoseek said:


> I got first tracks on the 920 groom tonight. Wicked soft. Massive snow melt. We ain't done yet though.



Maybe we get an early start to Mt bike season down south while skiing lasts into May up north?  That'd be ok!


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## joshua segal (Feb 25, 2017)

snoseek said:


> I got first tracks on the 920 groom tonight. Wicked soft. Massive snow melt. We ain't done yet though.


Agree.  Historically, we get a good amount of snow in March.  I'm thankful for the deep base that mountain management/snowmakers have put down to allow us to get through this misery.


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## joshua segal (Feb 25, 2017)

*Feb.  25,  2017 - Sat.*
Given the weather + the forecast, be aware that CM will be closing at 5PM today.

BTW, the season is by no means over and the current plan is to make snow on Sunday night.


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## Jully (Feb 25, 2017)

joshua segal said:


> *Feb.  25,  2017 - Sat.*
> Given the weather + the forecast, be aware that CM will be closing at 5PM today.
> 
> BTW, the season is by no means over and the current plan is to make snow on Sunday night.



Woo! Glad to see Peaks okay with making snow! Very encouraging.


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## deadheadskier (Feb 25, 2017)

Good to hear. From what I saw this morning, snowmaking will be needed to patch things together if they want to extend the season   much beyond next weekend.  The meltdown progression from Tuesday to Thursday to today was quite cruel.

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## snoseek (Feb 25, 2017)

Bumps last night were some of the finest around. Bare patches growing. Yaaay snow


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## joshua segal (Feb 25, 2017)

snoseek said:


> Bumps last night were some of the finest around. Bare patches growing. Yaaay snow


The depth of snow on UFO/Equinox is such that the bumps are not bottoming out in the troughs.  They still skied well today.


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## SnoDevil97 (Mar 7, 2017)

Any update on conditions prior to this week's warm-up/rain & re-freeze - that looks like a carbon copy of last week?
Will CM plan to blow snow again Thur-Sat? Eyeing a visit this Sat/Sun (3/11 or 3/12).


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## prsboogie (Mar 7, 2017)

Was there yesterday. Groomers were fast and a little slick in spots but had a good day. 




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## elks (Mar 7, 2017)

SnoDevil97 said:


> Any update on conditions prior to this week's warm-up/rain & re-freeze - that looks like a carbon copy of last week?
> Will CM plan to blow snow again Thur-Sat? Eyeing a visit this Sat/Sun (3/11 or 3/12).



This past Sunday was scrapped off and bulletproof. Jupiters, Retro and Blast Off are done.  The water level in the pond is high so hoping they will take advantage of it. They will lose more trails quickly otherwise.


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## joshua segal (Mar 7, 2017)

SnoDevil97 said:


> Any update on conditions prior to this week's warm-up/rain & re-freeze - that looks like a carbon copy of last week?
> Will CM plan to blow snow again Thur-Sat? Eyeing a visit this Sat/Sun (3/11 or 3/12).


1. CM has removed the non-fixed snowguns from the hill. Snow making is over.
2. Moguls were plowed under last week.  Snow was breaking through to dirt. As much as I hated losing them, it was the right thing.
3. Unless there is significant fresh snow courtesy of mother nature, the following are done for the season:
- Jupiter Storm, Blastoff, Retro, Comet Drop (above where Shooting Star crosses it) and anything with the name "glade" in it.
4. The quality of the skiing especially in the AM, really depends on the groomer.  Yesterday was excellent

So, if you want cruising and no lines, CM is still the place.


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## SnoDevil97 (Mar 7, 2017)

Appreciate the honest feedback, Joshua. Would've liked to see one more batch of snowmaking effort, but I respect their business decision.


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## xwhaler (Mar 7, 2017)

Any idea when CM typically stops night skiing ops for the season?
Do they maintain a normal schedule right up until the end?

Last scheduled event is 3/19 so I wonder if CM goes beyond then (even wknds only)
Guess it probably depends on snowpack. Last yr I remember them being really aggressive and opening a final wknd by really patching things together, was a nice effort on their part.


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## joshua segal (Mar 7, 2017)

This is my 10th season at CM.  Over those years we've been open as late as the second weekend in April.  Most seasons,  we're daily thru the 3rd weekend of March and weekends for one or two weeks afterwards.

Given the snowpack, I think we're safe for the 3rd weekend, but there are serious questions beyond that.


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## snoseek (Mar 7, 2017)

Im one of a dozen at most. Come get it while its here! Couple weeks left if things dont change.


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## SnoDevil97 (Mar 10, 2017)

joshua segal said:


> 1. CM has removed the non-fixed snowguns from the hill. Snow making is over.
> 2. Moguls were plowed under last week.  Snow was breaking through to dirt. As much as I hated losing them, it was the right thing.
> 3. Unless there is significant fresh snow courtesy of mother nature, the following are done for the season:
> - Jupiter Storm, Blastoff, Retro, Comet Drop (above where Shooting Star crosses it) and anything with the name "glade" in it.
> ...



Joshua - per today's snow report snowmaking is back on. Change of heart??

http://www.crotchedmtn.com/snow-report/


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## Quietman (Mar 10, 2017)

After being there last night, they really need to blow in the base area for there tele event this weekend.  It will be interesting what else they blow as coverage on open trails is generally good. Some trail widths are getting narrower, and Super Nova and the learning hill are getting thin.

This is good news though as they have never made snow this late.  Rumor is that they are going 9-7 next week.


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## joshua segal (Mar 10, 2017)

SnoDevil97 said:


> Joshua - per today's snow report snowmaking is back on. Change of heart??
> ...


You've got to admit: Pulling the guns off the hill would give most sane people reason to believe snowmaking is done for the season, (even if it wasn't the 2nd weekend in March!)


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## joshua segal (Mar 10, 2017)

Quietman said:


> After being there last night, they really need to blow in the base area for there tele event this weekend.  It will be interesting what else they blow as coverage on open trails is generally good. Some trail widths are getting narrower, and Super Nova and the learning hill are getting thin.
> 
> This is good news though as they have never made snow this late.  Rumor is that they are going 9-7 next week.


It's getting harder to state things based on logic!  IMO, they need a lot of snow at the top of both Velocity and Super Nova.  However, that's on a separate zone and logic would suggest that those won't get the love.

If all CM wanted was to get through the tele event, the base area should be OK.  There is enough snow in the whale to the east of Valley and in the "gallery viewing area" set up for last week's block-party that an be moved around.  

The two options off the top, Satellite Summit and Moon Walk can always use snowmaking help.  Magnitude, Meteor and Plutos all can use help, but your guess is as good as mine as to what they'll do and where they'll do it!


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## deadheadskier (Mar 10, 2017)

My vote is for UFO and to get the bumps back going! 

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## Quietman (Mar 10, 2017)

From the web site:

snowmaking will resume tonight to freshen up the mountain on Sat Summit, Pluto's Plunge, Meteor, Moonwalk and the base areas.

I'm thinking that we won't see any whales, but I'm still glad that they are making an effort.


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## Savemeasammy (Mar 10, 2017)

Quietman said:


> From the web site:
> 
> snowmaking will resume tonight to freshen up the mountain on Sat Summit, Pluto's Plunge, Meteor, Moonwalk and the base areas.
> 
> I'm thinking that we won't see any whales, but I'm still glad that they are making an effort.



Yes, the base could use it for sure!


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## thebigo (Mar 11, 2017)

Quietman said:


> From the web site:
> 
> snowmaking will resume tonight to freshen up the mountain on Sat Summit, Pluto's Plunge, Meteor, Moonwalk and the base areas.
> 
> I'm thinking that we won't see any whales, but I'm still glad that they are making an effort.



For those of us skiing with kids, disappointed supernova was not on the list, there was one spot getting narrow and several boney this week. Likely wanted to use the fixed fan guns only. Hope they at least run valley for the weekend, moonwalk gets rough for kids on weekend afternoons.


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## joshua segal (Mar 11, 2017)

thebigo said:


> For those of us skiing with kids, disappointed supernova was not on the list, there was one spot getting narrow and several boney this week. Likely wanted to use the fixed fan guns only. Hope they at least run valley for the weekend, moonwalk gets rough for kids on weekend afternoons.



With the Valley Chair running on the weekend, that provides access to Galaxy without dealing with Moonwalk.  Just be sure that the kids are alerted to the exit ramp steepness (if they are used to the West Double exit ramp.


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## Bostonian (Mar 11, 2017)

Just got back from a few hours on being out on the snow this afternoon/evening.  Have to hand it to crotched for blowing snow on Meteor.  It skied really nice as the lights were coming on.  I basically lapped Meteor and Pluto's - but the cold and the wind once the sun went down just did it in for me.  Happy to have gotten a few runs and a few drinks at pub.

Lights!







Full Moon Fever!





Satellite to Meteor:





Setting Sun:


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## Jully (Mar 14, 2017)

At Crotched today. It was pretty excellent (no one went in Solstice Glade) but Rocket shut down around 2:30, West lift had some problems and shut around 3:30 and Valley closed around 4.


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## joshua segal (Mar 14, 2017)

Jully said:


> At Crotched today. It was pretty excellent (no one went in Solstice Glade) but Rocket shut down around 2:30, West lift had some problems and shut around 3:30 and Valley closed around 4.


I assure you that both Solstice Glade Trail and Solstice Glade Glade were skied today. The Glade skied better than the Trail.  I spent most of the run picking up branches that were blocking various lines.  Both should be fine tomorrow.


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## Quietman (Mar 14, 2017)

Crotched just announced that they are closed for the remainder of today.


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## Jully (Mar 14, 2017)

joshua segal said:


> I assure you that both Solstice Glade Trail and Solstice Glade Glade were skied today. The Glade skied better than the Trail.  I spent most of the run picking up branches that were blocking various lines.  Both should be fine tomorrow.



Haha what I meant was that I was in there and didn't see many other tracks.

Shame they closed,  but it was pretty bad at the summit. Heard they were worried West might have had a small deropement. People were stuck on it for 45 minutes.


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## Quietman (Mar 16, 2017)

Skied 3 hours tonight and the difference between last Thurs and tonight was amazing. Trails are back to full width with soft snow everywhere.  I could tell that they pumped out a fair amount of snow last weekend before this week's storm.  The sunset was especially nice. Also really nice to park 20' from the rocket and put the skis on at the back of the car almost every night.


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## Quietman (Mar 19, 2017)

Crotched was great today!!!  Sun came out, nice soft snow, bumps forming, skied Darkstar(little rough) and Solstice glade-the real glade(really nice) and poached Jupiter's Storm a bunch(just look out for the rocks). Generally little or no liftlines. Wanted to keep skiing when they closed at 5, almost no one there at that point.


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## xwhaler (Mar 19, 2017)

Quietman said:


> Crotched was great today!!!  Sun came out, nice soft snow, bumps forming, skied Darkstar(little rough) and Solstice glade-the real glade(really nice) and poached Jupiter's Storm a bunch(just look out for the rocks). Generally little or no liftlines. Wanted to keep skiing when they closed at 5, almost no one there at that point.


Nice!   On my radar for next wknd to pick up next yrs season passes for the family.
Seems they are going to try and stay open for 2 more wknds if possible.

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## Quietman (Mar 24, 2017)

Crotched will be open until 7pm tomorrow and will be closed mid-week next week.  They say that they will try for the 1st and 2nd, conditions permitting.


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## xwhaler (Mar 24, 2017)

Quietman said:


> Crotched will be open until 7pm tomorrow and will be closed mid-week next week.  They say that they will try for the 1st and 2nd, conditions permitting.


Makes sense they would close mid week given the cool, rainy forecast most of next week.
Will be there with my son tomorrow doing some skiing and picking up our 17-18 passes!

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## SnoDevil97 (Mar 25, 2017)

Kids pay their age day Sunday 3/26 - perfect day to use the last of my Cyber Monday 3-pack. Looking forward to lots o' laps.


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## xwhaler (Mar 25, 2017)

At CM now. Excellent spring hero snow on the groomers.  Should have no issue getting to next weekend​.  Coverage is quite good.  
Snowed all AM. We left at 1:15 and it was still coming down pretty hard. Nice smooth surfaces today.










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## Quietman (Apr 1, 2017)

I arrived at 2:30, very happy to see the rocket loading after delaying my arrival after seeing ski_it's 1st post of the day.

The glades were much better than expected, as the sleet from the 1st part of the storm provided some base, as there wasn't much before.  I bypassed uranus and Kyber belt, as everything else was so nice.  Up top was deep with drifts, down lower it was still nice.  Tried to stay fairly light on my edges due to the lack of base, and was pleasantly surprised that I have only a few new light scratches from the rocks that I did hit.  Here are some pics from my crappy cell camera.

Jupiter


Solstice


Upper Enchanted


Lower Enchanted 


Darkstar


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## Quietman (Apr 1, 2017)

A few more

Upper Popcorn?



Lower Popcorn?


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## deadheadskier (Apr 1, 2017)

I typically don't like to complain on a powder day, but it was pretty lame Crotched didn't have the Rocket ready to go for opening today.  I only was able to ski until about noon today and it never ran. I'm not sure when it finally got going.

I was told the derailer at the top station was iced up.  I rode the chair with a local retiree who skis there about 70 days a year and is friends with the former GM who said they should have left the lift running overnight given the forecast.   If not that then have someone there at 6AM to make sure the main lift is good to go. He also mentioned that the icing issue on the Rocket isn't that uncommon.

Additionally the West lift wasn't ready until 9:15 and even then they were many chairs they wouldn't let people on due to having a bunch of snow on them. Lifties were just watching those chairs go by while waiting for a cleared chair to load people.  They did open the Valley lift at about 9:30 to make up for no Rocket.

Skiing was great, but it was definitely amateur hour operationally today at Crotched. No bueno on a big powder day.  Thankfully for them there wasn't too many people there to piss off. 

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## Quietman (Apr 1, 2017)

The rumor was that they we about to open it around 12 or so when they had a chair slide back and had to do more work, could also be fake news.


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## yeggous (Apr 1, 2017)

Quietman said:


> The rumor was that they we about to open it around 12 or so when they had a chair slide back and had to do more work, could also be fake news.



Wow, glad I didn't go. I thought about it but called an audible and went to Wildcat.


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## xwhaler (Apr 2, 2017)

Incredible day at CM today. Busy by CM standards as Race Team was holding their end of yr BBQ as well as lots of day tickets for the afternoon deal.

The morning was better as it was perfect corn.  The afternoon got quite warm and turned to sticky mashed potatoes.

They seemingly aren't giving up on possibly re opening next wknd.

















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## Quietman (Apr 2, 2017)

What time did you leave?  I got there at 2:45 due to other commitments.


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## xwhaler (Apr 2, 2017)

Quietman said:


> What time did you leave?  I got there at 2:45 due to other commitments.


About 2:15.  Just missed you

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## SnoDevil97 (Apr 2, 2017)

Also hit CM today - beautiful corn in the am but too sticky post lunch. Longest wait @ the Rocket was 5 chairs at a few points - which I know is crowded for them. Bar was understaffed - which I guess was fine but they were down to 2 draft beers also. Watched the end of the B's game then split.

Good day to possibly end my season on.


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## Brad J (Apr 2, 2017)

I was there 3 weeks ago at the finial night at the adult race league and the place looked grim, mother nature turned it around for a much longer season than expected after the February melt down


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## Quietman (Apr 2, 2017)

Brad J said:


> I was there 3 weeks ago at the finial night at the adult race league and the place looked grim, mother nature turned it around for a much longer season than expected after the February melt down



I completely agree.  I got there at 2:45 today, what was cream cheese yesterday was mashed potatoes today. The woods were still great, maybe even better as the sun was shining and I could see the hazards. And the soft bumps on the groomers were really nice. Got one of the last chairs up, and took jupiters to solitude glades and for 4/2, it was great!.  They are saying that they haven't closed the book yet, but next weeks weather aint too promising.  Considering what conditions were like the weekend of 3/11, with only 1/2 coverage on Pluto's and bare spots everywhere, the conditions today were amazing!!


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## thebigo (Apr 2, 2017)

SnoDevil97 said:


> Bar was understaffed



Been a problem all year. Sat there for 15 minutes waiting for a drink today, not an isolated event. As a whole the service in the bar is lousy, they are typically understaffed but I have also been one of a handful and still waited.

In all I am a huge crotched fan but they need to fix the bar service, it is well below industry standard.


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## thebigo (Apr 2, 2017)

Not to be negative, we had a great weekend at crotched, 10 - 7 on Saturday and 9 - 3 today, hope they open next weekend but if they don't it will be remembered as the year my daughter learned to ski, looking forward to tigers next year.


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## deadheadskier (Apr 2, 2017)

In general it's just very difficult to staff F&B at ski areas. The hours and money is so inconsistent that it's hard to attract good help. That's why so many places import foreign help. Even a big resort like Sugarloaf is usually pretty understaffed on the weekends.  Places that have a college nearby usually have a bit of an advantage.  Crotched is just far enough from local schools and lacks a very compelling ski product to attract such staff.  I always find it best to break early and beat the lunch rush. 

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## Jully (Apr 2, 2017)

deadheadskier said:


> In general it's just very difficult to staff F&B at ski areas. The hours and money is so inconsistent that it's hard to attract good help. That's why so many places import foreign help. Even a big resort like Sugarloaf is usually pretty understaffed on the weekends.  Places that have a college nearby usually have a bit of an advantage.  Crotched is just far enough from local schools and lacks a very compelling ski product to attract such staff.  I always find it best to break early and beat the lunch rush.
> 
> Sent from my XT1565 using AlpineZone mobile app



Lot of high schoolers seem to work there which is cool (though not necessarily the best help). Guy who did my season pass when I picked it up at CM early last month couldn't have been older than 18.


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## xwhaler (Apr 5, 2017)

CM opening both days this wknd. 
Between Attitash going a week later and CM going 2 weeks later than normal you have to be impressed with Peaks right now.

Of course Mt Snow also going later than expected and Wildcat pushing for May

http://www.crotchedmtn.com/snow-report/


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## SnoDevil97 (Apr 5, 2017)

CM just announced on Twitter they'll be open 4/8 & 4/9. A bit surprised given the rain & warmth this week, but the mountain was pretty buried last weekend. I overheard a Manager telling someone the mountain had its most profitable season in a very long time, so perhaps they are in a charitable mood.


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## mriceyman (Apr 5, 2017)

SnoDevil97 said:


> CM just announced on Twitter they'll be open 4/8 & 4/9. A bit surprised given the rain & warmth this week, but the mountain was pretty buried last weekend. I overheard a Manager telling someone the mountain had its most profitable season in a very long time, so perhaps they are in a charitable mood.



Profitable season is a good thing to hear 


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