conditions were awesome yesterday...

[tonyz]

Sat Feb 9... great ski day. Warm, sunny, the snow was perfect.
You could actually find plenty of seats in the cafeteria and eat...
Parking was full, yet lift lines were still less than 5min most everywhere, except Cub and SuperCub.
Only thing that marred the day was power going down around 2:30pm (San Andreas PGE blew a transformer, they said), and so the lift lines did build up and some lifts shut down while the rest operating off of the diesel generators. Took the crew a little longer than I would have liked to start the gens and get the lifts going, about 20min I think.

Looking forward to another great weekend coming up...

[MichaelShorts]

I want to shred something fresh.

I'm bringing my 11-year-old this weekend (the one on the BV Wiki home page). Maybe the torchlight parade will be fun.

[CABob]

Tony,
I agree, conditions are outstanding right now. I skied a long weekend, Sat. – Mon., and had a great time with my wife and family.  The West Ridge is holding some very nice snow with good cover. The trees and chutes are fantastic. In the sun exposed areas, treat it like spring – follow the sun!

Michael, I’m always ready for some more powder but with conditions as they are now, well, I can wait(a week).

Bob

[MichaelShorts]

I'll be up this weekend to ski with my 11-year-old. Hopefully we can ski in the torchlight parade Saturday night.

[CABob]

My 14 yr old daughter wants to do the torchlight parade, so we'll probably ski Saturday and stick around for the Winter Explosion.

[tonyz]

me too... I want to participate in the NASTAR race for fun...and see the fireworks....

[tonyz]

Sat/Sun Feb 17-18.... just  perfection conditions. Most runs were groomed and by 11am the ice crunchies had softened up... but not too mushy. Mokelumne and Porridge Bowl were just a dream.
I tried the lower mountain for the first time in a couple years.... wow, what an amazing part of the mountain! I keep forgetting how much more dramatic of a bowl it is down there. Conditions were not as good on Snow Valley on Presidents Day as I had to leave by noon... things were a bit icy still. But it looks as  good a place to ski as any place I've been in California, including Mammoth.

[CABob]

Tony, great skiing this past weekend. I skied Sunday and it was as crowded as I have seen in many years. BV was in full operation. Lifts running, cafeteria full, parking full, ski school full. Good revenue for local business.  

The good thing about BV is one can ski down on Grizzly all day and not have to see or hear the crowds. I ski most exclusively down on Grizzly bowl/West Ridge/Haleakala. Tony, not to get carried away or anything, but 40 years of skiing in the sierras, I've skied at every resort, and I think the bowl down in Griz is as good as it gets. I grew up skiing Squaw and it's a great mountain, but all things considered, Grizzly Bowl, when conditions are good, can't be beat.

Bob

[tonyz]

Bob,

I was also happy for the resort... see them get some ROI is great. Kudos to Martin and the whole ops gang there... from what I saw, BVMR handled the capacity crowds with professionalism and aplomb. Lift lines were still reasonable (though please train those guys to not shut down the lift everytime someone sneezes... geez!), and everyone seemed to be having a good time. The helo never made an appearance... all in all a great weekend!

What BV needs now, in addition to the quad and the new development plan (and the new water treatment plant??) is ONE more alternative place to eat in town... I am really missing the place that just closed down... how is it I already forgot the name of Kimi's place?

[Susi Lewis]

Basecamp, formerly The Red Dog Saloon, formerly Tito's Lodge.  Lots of history there, and a complete bummer it is what it is, now. Bad move.