Not tonight but I'll be there Saturday and Sunday. Saturday morning I have a freestyle cert to pass but will be in the park for the rest of the morning/afternoon. I need to work on my park skills for Sundays cert. Sunday I have more freestyle cert, but will be freeriding Late morning. I have Dteam to run starting at noon... And I am guessing the legs will be dead after that. Friday night I might make it out to dust off the rusty skills in the park.... We'll see. Hit me up if you're going out
Was out this morning. The temp park was up and a lot of fun. Cold weather rocks because everyone stays home. -14° when we started @ 7:30 and 0° when we wrapped up the freestyle cert. We had the park to ourselves.
Yep, good day at Welch. Snow was great, no crowds and plenty of sun. Hopefully they'll knock down and spread out all the snow piles they've been making by next weekend!
Parks. I've been snowboarding since there was snowboarding essentially, and parks can be fun but in MN they get freaking rock hard and rutted out and call me a wuss, but it only takes one heelside error to make me wish I never strapped in that day. I've hit trees, busted bones, dislocated elbows on the mountains and I would rather do all of those again than bust my ass on a park landing in MN.
Sounds like someone hasn't taken full advantage of the 30 million dollars worth of snow making equiptment that has been added to Afton over the past 5 years. 20 million of that within the last two years. Has anyone see that pond for snow making... it is MASSIVE! The old one was like 1/3 the size... maybe less. Also all new pipes and more snow guns that I can count. They can't control the weather but they can control the snow and grooming. The park this year will be different then anything Afton has ever had. This includes how it is managed. They flew out 15 people from Breck and Northstar (IIRC) just to work on, create and improve the current boxes and rails this summer/fall. Flying people across the country and shacking them up for months really shows how serious Vail is about snowboard parks. On a similar note, the big park should be blown out soon. I am pushing the 1st Rock N Ride out to the night that the new park opens (it was scheduled for the 14th). I should have the dates for the new park opening sometime this week. The company that designed every Xgames park ever is flying out to MN in the next week or two and they are going to set it all up. Once I know their arrival and ETA I will set the date for the 1st Rock N Ride of the year and the grand opening of the best park in the state!
Snow machines are what cause the crap he is describing... Yes, snowmaking has improved over the years, but it is no replacement for the real thing. ...and for the record, Vail is interested in $$$$. This is just how they think they will make it.
There are those that bitch about what they don't have.... And those that enjoy the sport for what it is. Fun is on the mental level. Enjoy what you have and make the most of it.... don't try to make it something it can't be. Minnesota is not tree runs and pow like Tahoe. Enjoy it for what it is.
FYI, we're at Troll all day THIS Saturday. We'll have a camper out there for some eats, drinks and fun. A couple of friends from Chicago are coming out. Just look for the ford RV in the lot and come say hi!
Anybody got a pass to Welch? The wife and I got 'em last year because the deal was so stupidly cheap (this now-current season plus next year for $199). At that price, it'd be dumb not to. Anywho, if anybody needs a riding partner let me know. Still haven't made it out yet this year but hoping this sub-zero blast goes away one of these days... Have always hated Afton because of it's absolutely ****ty park setups. Sounds like they'll be the place to be in the near future.
I am there every Saturday. White helmet, red vest with a white cross on the back. Should be good this weekend, temps in the teens, and I would guess almost all of the front should be open. They might even have some of the back open this weekend.
I'm heading out tonight if anyone is going to be @ Afton. I hope to get out there around 4ish and freeride for 2 hours before Dteam starts. Then I'll be working till close. Looks like it should be a nice day/night to ride.
Ha, not to hate on Welch (I rode there for over 15 years)...but their park has been pretty useless for the last several years. I'll be out tonight with the gf too, but not sure what time yet...prob not until 7 or so.
If you get there after 6:30 I'll be in full uniform in the temp park that is setup... I am guessing. Either way, I'll keep an eye out for you. I'll be one of the few instructors in uniform with a walkie on.
No, the hate is completely justified. The place sucks. Figured it'd be a cheap way to at least get some turns in and it's usually fairly dead for a couple hours in the morning it seems. Perfect amount of time for the wife to get cold and me to get bored with the place for the day. Trying to ride there with a large amount of people is beyond a joke. And I've never seen another place have so many people lose their **** (aka, SKIS) or completely eject from the chair all while just getting on it.
Fun is what you make of it. It is easy to have a good time at any ski hill. I am there 2 - 4 times a week. I have a blast every time I ride. Last night was fantastic. The snow was good, the jumps were smooth, the friends were there... can't go wrong. Also the new direct to lift / EpicMix program is great. Getting on the lifts is so much faster now!
Snow was great. It is some of the best man made stuff we've had in a while! About the only benefit of the cold temps, great for snow making. Welch has the entire front open with the goal to be 100% by next weekend. (They have HUGE piles in the back bowl, little issues with one of the groomers or they would have opened this weekend)
I went out Friday. Let's just say that those landings for the larger jumps are making me pretty excited
Just saw this: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/...152453042479554.1073741850.66397314553&type=1 Combine what Buck is doing in addition to Afton, I think Welch is going to lose a serious amount of business from the younger crowd. Interestingly enough, I found this statement on Welch's website: "Welch Village will not include jumps in terrain parks as defined by the Freestyle Terrain Notebook from the National Ski Areas Association. - See more at: http://www.welchvillage.com/terrainParks.cfm#sthash.kMNy8X4d.dpuf" Again, not to rag on Welch....but seriously?! Glen, hopefully your role as a ski patrol will be a bit easier without kids breaking themselves on jumps!
We just went through a "discussion" with management. With the ungroomed snow piles a few of our patrons have decided to use those as features. There are some very good park skiers at Welch and they were going inverted, which can be a big concern for us on the Ski Patrol. Welch stated inverts were ok, unless there was a competition at the area which forbid inverts. Sometimes I just don't understand... Hey less park features means less little knuckle draggers about... I hope people realize the last statement is made purely in jest!
I'll bring you out dude. I only let Annie fall about 30 times. LOL Trollhaugen was AWESOME saturday. Rode ALL day and camped in the lot over night. RV was nice and toasty.
Ha I remember the days when they were strictly against inverts. In any case, Welch still does a pretty good job as a family resort and good spot for racers.
I remember clipping tickets for that at Afton. That was before they had a snowboard anything though...
Afton still doesn't "allow" inverts. I know in D-Team we cannot teach kids inverted tricks. I think the rules have been bent a few times on corked spins. We let is slide because they aren't fully upside down... however I think if your board or skies go above your shoulder line they call it inverted. It isn't allowed in any of the comps that we do with Wild, Buck, Troll, Highland or Elm Creek. However, we see it all the time. I haven't seen anyone (customers) get yelled at for it while riding. I have seen instructors get "talked to" about it... but no one got in trouble. Stoked for the new park! Looking forward to riding on Thursday night. BTW this Saturday is the first Rock N Ride. Sign up is Noon Comp starts around 1pm It is FREE Everything at the Landing Zone, the large park at Afton.
Oh... Also picked up/received new lenses to try out from Anon. Fire Ice Red Ice- (Night/Grey Bird Lens) And a "Darth Vader" solid black for daytime / no in uniform days!!!
Click the Anon Lens Visualizer to see what they look like while riding. You can swap the daylight options to see how the lens work under different light (Bluebird, Cloudy and Grey Bird). http://www.anonoptics.com/lens-tints Dark Smoke Lens is under Bluebird Red Ice Lens is under Greybird (i figure it is closest to night riding). I currently have Green Solex on the goggles. I wanted something for super sunny days and my days off. Also, the Green Solex are great, but there are better options for night and low-light riding. I spend 1/2 days a week riding at night so wanted a good night lens
I ride with Smith. I have the I/O Vaporator Darkness for bright days and flat light with the interchangeable Red Sensor lens. I have another pair of Smith's I found at TJ Maxx for $30.00 with I believe with the Ignitor lens. This works good in low light up to bright sunlight. Last is a pair of Zeals. I use a yellow lens in that one that I use for night skiing. I would like a clear lens, but haven't gotten around to getting one yet. I don't like changing out lenses all the time, easier to just swap out goggles.
Yeah I was going to swap goggles but the retail on the M2's I want are $199. I figured for $40 I could just swap lenses this year. I really like yellow for night time and low light. My buddy suggested trying something more clear due to the yellow lights @ afton. I figured I would give these a shot. I will know on Thursday.
Tempting, but not to ride in the comp. Unless you guys have an "old as hell and broken" class. I might come out and do some hot laps. Annie and Roxy are out of town.
I plan to show up around 9am - 10am to lap the park before I have to work. I missed riding last night due to illness. I have to start working around 10:30/11:00 until the end of the comp. Then i may ride more, depending on how burnt out I am. We do have an old guy class. We have a few people that usually show up over 25 years old. However, I am guessing you would end up in the 18+ group.
Damn, this weekend was a lot of fun. I was able to sneak out before the comp and session the jumps. I love rope tows... but my arms (having never had to use them regulary) hate rope tows. I rode until I couldn't hang on anymore... which was about the perfect amount of time because my snowboard reps started showing up after I got done riding. Her are some shots my buddy Eric posted from the event. The full album is on Facebook.
Nice photos and sounds like a fun event! I was out at Vail last Friday with the gf...dumping powder (9+ inches) and guess who injures himself? Yup, this guy. Right before lunch on the first day, I popped a 360 off of a water break...way too fast, kicked too high, and landed right on my shoulder. Long story short, I ended up in the ER all afternoon and have a sprained shoulder So I'm out for a couple weeks or so which is pretty frustrating. I think I've learned in my "older" age that it's not worth showing off and risking injury....and that I won't be the next discovered Tanner Hall. I'll still be hitting those new jumps at afton But I'll be sticking with the tricks I know and not shooting for the inverts
