TR: Wolf 1-10-10 "Once in 10 years"

[MikeO]

We were going to try Wolf out for the first time next weekend. We’re still working up to the black runs but enjoy the blues, Is it big enough to keep us occupied for 2 days? Also it appears the Comfort Inn @ Mars Hill is the closet hotel to the resort, is it a decent place to stay?

[CatPatrol]

Was there Sunday running a senior S&T clinic and was most impressed with the conditions and terrain open. As usual though, a lot of terrain was taken up by huge snowmaking mounds. Plus they ran only the quad and not the double and it was moving at a snails pace. Some things never change:)

[skibum]

They only open the double chair when it gets really busy. As far as the quad being slow, be thankful you didnt ride the double cause its 2x as slow..lol But then again have you ever seen a non-detachable chair move fast in NC? And I agree, I never understood why they leave those giant mounds of snow and shrink the size of the trail to a catwalk. I was told it's extra snow when the going gets warm.. I guess....







The Comfort Inn is the closest hotel that I know of.. Not sure how nice it is.. I'm going back to Wolf on the weekend of the 22nd if it does'nt rain.. Time to train the 12y how to ski...

[Tman]

I'm not sure if it's bad luck, or what. I went to Wolf both last Wednesday and today. Both times there was a ice patch on the right side of the Bowl as you come down. Most of the run on the Bowl was very hard packed and almost impossible to go down on snowboard.



Last week, I tried going down over the huge mound of snow (there's two), but those were tightly packed snow as well. Add to the fact that it is really steep behind those mounds. Getting kinda frustrated.



Flame out was kinda showing some grass but it was much more manageable with softer snow.



How's everyone going down the infamous Bowl? People's input would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Mellow Yellow]

Tman - you had to stay to the right of the whales, becasue yes they were pretty slick.... I lost my edge on the first whale... wasn't expecting it.... it was good for a laugh... once past that section it was niiiice

[Sugar Tree]

The Bowl is really only good right after a natural snowfall. This weekend it was so icy that it wasn't even worth wasting the lift ride to try it again. The right side was the only place you had anything that wasn't concrete. Still got a sore spot on my hip from falling down the icy back side of that top snow whale.



All steeper slopes at the NC resorts are hard to keep soft, it all gets scraped off so fast, so no fault of Wolf's on that. You said it right, Flame Out lasts much longer with soft cover. It has no snow making so Mother Nature is all you have. Wolf doesn't groom those so you get what you get.



After a few thaw and freeze days all of those ungroomed slopes at the top will suck. I'd wait for another snowfall if you want to try The Bowl or Flame Out again. But hey, a groomed Powder Hill/Whistling Dixie combo is still one of the best runs in NC!!!

[skibum]

I was there yesterday as well, had the red UGA hat on.. and first chair . The Bowl was a waste of time.. Major ice down the whole middle section esp behind those mounds. But even staying to your right wasn't much help.. Looked like everyone stayed off that trail. Flame Out was still good. No bare spots except when you drop in. They had the extrance to Southern Express block but you cld still get in there When you go down TimberWolf, stay way left next to Southern and a nice section there.. Also, watch out for a frozen lake (the blue section) at the bottom of TimberWolf. No problem getting around it but one helluva suprise when you forget about it.. Now to the really fun stuff!!!



At the drop in to Powder Hill (lol) they had a gun running and it was blowing nothing but water. The snow under it was like wet concrete. They had the gun turned off by the next run. But as soon as that it became an ice field all the way to the turn to go under the lift. Best run of the day was running the Ridge to Streak and down. Least amount of slick spots..



For you beginners out there, Broadway was interesting.. They had some soft wet spots that would throw you over the tips of your skis. But wait, a few sec later you then slide over a frozen section and it's like a turbo boost in a video game...lol



All in all it was a pretty good day. And as usual had to walk past the ambulance. Always feel good WALKING past it

[Tman]

Yea. I saw the ambulance yesterday when I was leaving as well. Kinda sucks seeing that. I guess it comes with any ski resort though.



Some thoughts:

I really enjoyed blasting through the Streak as well. Though it was still kinda snow packed, didn't see any chunks of ice there. Nice hump at the bottom of the hill to make some jumps. Didn't have much problem down Timber Wolf either, except they had a hose laid down the middle of the run and there were huge ice rink at right side of the hill. Howling had a huge block of ice on the right side at the end of the day. The jump from the Way out to the Broadway was pretty fun.



Broadway was kinda scary at the beginning of the day with all the crusty peak on some of the small bumps. I would have hated to be the one that caught an edge on one of those jagged ice.



All in all a good day. On hindsight, those obstacles made for a challenging and fun day. Hoping for more natural snow there!

[admin]

IMO, when you get past all the obivious critisims of wolf powderhill mo is the best slope in nc. VF-PH you get a nice long fall line and interesting terrain; ususally soft. Of course the bowl with freshies, but it's only happened twice in the last 7 years -

[Tman]

Yea Powder Hill rocked my socks off 2 weeks ago. They had all 3 guns blowing down the hill. It was man made pow pow everywhere to be had on that hill. :>) I was hoping they would continue to do that.