THE MISSION: Get back on skis after a summer of climbing, make sure I still remember how to ski.
THE TRIP: Not much really to add past what brookbarrel said a couple days ago- really good coverage on open trails, really good grooming (with the exception of one death-cookie alley), few people, no lines, beautiful day. Also, HUDGE props to brookbarrel for filling me in on the Ukrops-customer-card-$15-lift-ticket deal. The deal is still good until this Friday (Dec 19), so if you can snag a card and get a $15 liftie, I highly recommend you make the trip. Definitely beat the admittedly low expectations I had, and was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the open terrain.
Got up at 5:30, detour through Fredericksburg to hit up Ukrops when they opened @ 7 am to get the card, beautiful drive through the middle of the state on 55-mph winding one-lane country roads, got there around 8:40 and managed to snag one of the first 5 or so chairs up the mountain.
Even though I lived in Blacksburg/Roanoke for 6 years, I never managed to make my way to the 'nutten, given that 20 more minutes put me at Snowshoe. Its definitely a small little mountain that caters more to the inclusive resort crowd, but Diamond Jim is a legitimately fun trail by southeast standards- a couple "steep" sections and plenty of small rollers to pop small airs made for plenty of entertainment. It was most definitely the best terrain I've ever skied on opening day- certainly better than anything the other resorts have to offer (for the time being, anyway).
Honestly, I could have been skiing a green cruiser and still been happy. I'm just really glad to be spinning chair laps and sliding on snow again, and ready for the winter to begin in earnest.
THE PICTURES:
EASTCOASTER'S FIRST LIFT SHOT OF THE 09/10 SEASON:
They have a stunning view of the Shenandoah Valley and Ridge from the top of the mountain:
The snow guns were on in full-force for the first few hours of the day, trying to capitalize on the remaining cold temps:
The bottom 1/3 or so of the Diamond Jim trail. The "steepest" bit is just below the group in the upper right of the picture, on the lookers right section of the trail. Routine lap at this point: Make two quick turns down the short steep, use your third to pop off the roller near the middle skier, then arc three or so huge GS turns out past the slow sign- a lot of fun:
This season will see me flying solo a lot out west, but I might be able to scrounge up a few photosluts in my travels. Here's hoping to another good season for all on SkiNC, with plenty of snow and cold weather. Huzzah!
The End of an Era...We are Shutting Down the Messageboard
The messageboard is now in read-only mode and no new posts or topics can be created. We will leave the messageboard up for historical purposes, but you will not be able to make new posts or comment on existing ones.
We have started a Discord server and hope that you all will join us on there. Technology has changed over the years and maintaining the messageboard has become somewhat of a pain in the butt and Discord offers many features for users, the main one being a very polished mobile app.
We really hope you all will join us on Discord and think you will like the platform. Use the invite link below to join.
https://discord.gg/skisoutheast
The messageboard is now in read-only mode and no new posts or topics can be created. We will leave the messageboard up for historical purposes, but you will not be able to make new posts or comment on existing ones.
We have started a Discord server and hope that you all will join us on there. Technology has changed over the years and maintaining the messageboard has become somewhat of a pain in the butt and Discord offers many features for users, the main one being a very polished mobile app.
We really hope you all will join us on Discord and think you will like the platform. Use the invite link below to join.
https://discord.gg/skisoutheast
Mini-TR: Mighty Massanutten Mission
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sirtalkmuch
- Beginner
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Compared to other NC resorts trails do you have any idea how long Diamond Jim is?
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EastCoaster
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@sirtalkmuch 196872 wrote:Compared to other NC resorts trails do you have any idea how long Diamond Jim is?
Ummmm...maybe twice as long as Robbin's Run or Southern Star at Beech?
Take a look at the pics above- the one that shows the skyline has about 1/3 of the run, and the last pic has the lower 1/3. The middle section has a reasonable pitch for most of it, with a really short flat before the section shown in the last pic.
Ummmm...maybe twice as long as Robbin's Run or Southern Star at Beech?
Take a look at the pics above- the one that shows the skyline has about 1/3 of the run, and the last pic has the lower 1/3. The middle section has a reasonable pitch for most of it, with a really short flat before the section shown in the last pic.
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marzski
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@sirtalkmuch 196872 wrote:Compared to other NC resorts trails do you have any idea how long Diamond Jim is?
Although I haven't skied it since last year, going from the top of Sugar down Tom Terrific to mid-station loading might be comparable to Diamond Jim. The nice part at the end of DJ you are loading onto a high-speed quad that rarely has much of a line, even on weekends.
Perhaps Southern Star, Upper and Lower together might be comparable. But I haven't skied that much.
The other black run at Mnut, ParaDice, is a little longer but not as many steep sections.
Although I haven't skied it since last year, going from the top of Sugar down Tom Terrific to mid-station loading might be comparable to Diamond Jim. The nice part at the end of DJ you are loading onto a high-speed quad that rarely has much of a line, even on weekends.
Perhaps Southern Star, Upper and Lower together might be comparable. But I haven't skied that much.
The other black run at Mnut, ParaDice, is a little longer but not as many steep sections.
2023-24: Wolf Creek in Dec, Massanutten in Jan, Feb; GT, Big Sky; Crested Butte; Alta/Snowbird in April.
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brookbarrel
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Meant to ask if you got your $15 worth. Glad I could help EC. ParaDice is worth a look as well as it's actually a little longer/steeper than diamond Jim.
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marzski
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Now you got me curious . . . the raw stats from SkiSE resort summary pages:
Beech: 95 acres, 830' vert, longest run 1.0 mile (Oz or ?)
Sugar: 115 acres, 1200' vert, longest run 1.5 mile
Massanutten: 70 acres, 1155' vert, longest run 0.77 mile
Beech: 95 acres, 830' vert, longest run 1.0 mile (Oz or ?)
Sugar: 115 acres, 1200' vert, longest run 1.5 mile
Massanutten: 70 acres, 1155' vert, longest run 0.77 mile
2023-24: Wolf Creek in Dec, Massanutten in Jan, Feb; GT, Big Sky; Crested Butte; Alta/Snowbird in April.
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dreamnofpow
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Good stuff EC!
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EastCoaster
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@KneeDeep 196925 wrote:Looks pretty similar to Loveland yesterday.
Is the steep stuff off of chair 1 even open yet?
Is the steep stuff off of chair 1 even open yet?
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KneeDeep
- Expert
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@EastCoaster 196929 wrote:Is the steep stuff off of chair 1 even open yet?
Hahahahaha.
The steep stuff under 1 still has rocks sticking out everywhere. They got 10" last night with another 3-6" today, so they might open some more blues under 6 and get 4 running, but that's about it. We need another 2 feet to open up the good stuff under 1.
One good thing is that there's finally enough snow to start hitting the BC. Look for my first '09 backcountry TR next weekend if things go well.
Hahahahaha.
The steep stuff under 1 still has rocks sticking out everywhere. They got 10" last night with another 3-6" today, so they might open some more blues under 6 and get 4 running, but that's about it. We need another 2 feet to open up the good stuff under 1.
One good thing is that there's finally enough snow to start hitting the BC. Look for my first '09 backcountry TR next weekend if things go well.