WinterPark 4/11 (with pics)

[CO_knuckle_dragger]

OMFG!* That was good!

pics:
Worth Looking At

Got up to WP at about 11 today. Headed straight to Panorama Express. We lapped that 4 or 5 times heading off skier's left into the open bowls and then into the trees where there was a bonanza of thigh deep untracked. I think we were probably on Fireberry Glade.

I'm not really sure what we did for the rest of the day. It was all a blurr of bratwurst, beer, and beautifully spaced trees. I am pretty sure we stayed on Mary Jane as there was nary a groomer in site.

 

[EMSC]

The new 6 pack up top has got to make the whole bowl/upper mtn ski very differently than before. The question being, how much different?

Odd year, in a way, for me this year in that I usually get a day or two at WP, but not this particular year...

 

[q]

Opened it up to all and sundry, sorry, but for me it is a bad thing as far as I can see.

 

[CO_knuckle_dragger]

I'm sure it would have been a lot less tracked without the 6-pack, but I'd never been there before that. I do question the wisdom of building a high-speed six seater. Seems totally assinine (sp?) to me. The only reason I can think of for that is to be able to claim the world's highest 6-seater... Which, to me, seems akin to the world's longest 4-par or something equally ridiculous and stupid.

All that said, on weekdays it doesn't seem to get very crowded at all... And I wouldn't go to WP on a weekend if you paid me.

 

[TRam]

Remember that WP has opened up a fair amount of new terrian with these lifts the back side of Parsenns (Vasquez circue) was nearly no acsess with out the new eagles nest lift, I say the terrian nearly doubled with that and gave better acess to gnar terrian off of the cirque. They also opened the glades under the new lift that where not used to much of due to lack of acsees out of. Mary Jayne is hugly underrated ,the snow there can be really good, some of the best riding in Northern CO. Take the ski train.

 

[ChrisC]

I do question the wisdom of building a high-speed six seater. Seems totally assinine (sp?) to me.

And I wouldn't go to WP on a weekend if you paid me.

Nice catch on the powder day - as I understand it, best dump of the spring.

Six-seaters are becoming a 'solution' to the problem of running a very exposed lift in windy/stormy conditions - especially in the Sierra. Alpine/Squaw Valley (4 of them)/Heavenly/Mammoth have all installed them. My understanding - the chairs are heavier and hence do not sway as much in the wind as much. Given this logic, I think it was a wise choice for Winter Park to replace there most exposed lift with a six-pack.

Capacity? You can determine capacity as you see fit. It is no longer standard to think double=1200 riders per hour, triple=1800, quad=2400....some HS Quads run at 1500.

Lift lines.
Unfortunately, I have experienced Winter Park on a weekend in February. You're right. There were many many long waits for even marginal terrain. Timberline was one of the worst bottlenecks. Typically 20 min+ -- for the only alpine terrain. I rode it 2x - to check out the bowl and the Cirque. Otherwise, it was a too much of a line to be a reasonable option - rendering all of WP's alpine useless. And with the traverse/effort to reach a decent line in the Cirque with a long, long run-out + lift riding - just not a winning combination. I think it was a good choice to upgrade the chair.

 

[EMSC]

wise choice for Winter Park to replace there most exposed lift with a six-pack

some HS Quads run at 1500

I have experienced Winter Park on a weekend in February. You're right. There were many many long waits for even marginal terrain. Timberline was one of the worst bottlenecks.

Yeah, I understand the need for the heavy chair up there for both wind and the insanity lift lines the double used to have. Not sure that the 6pack ought to really make much difference in who is trying to ski the bowl though.

But instead of a simple replacement, they did a very different alignment of the new chair; dropping it much lower down, and to skiers right, etc... That is part of what I meant by making things ski very differently from the double.

I'll be curious to see if WP can re-open for race camps anymore given the lower base and more east facing lift alignment (They used to open for 2-3 weeks starting memorial weekend for race teams only. Superb venue for the race crowd up there on top).

Example of capacity lowering on a HSQ - Imperial Express at Breck. Roughly every other chair is physically on the cable - so a longer than normal wait between each chair.

 

[TRam]

I dind't realize they changed the location of the drop of the timberline lift. That stinks

 

[ChrisC]

But instead of a simple replacement, they did a very different alignment of the new chair; dropping it much lower down, and to skiers right, etc... That is part of what I meant by making things ski very differently from the double.

I generally thought the new alignment looked like a good thing overall - opening new gladed terrain on skiers right.

I had no idea they used to reopen for camps in May.