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My dad wants to know if during your time as a kaiser wilderness Ranger did you ever come upon a bicyclist nearing the top of kaiser peak and told him "looked like you worked really hard to get here, why don't you come to the top and never come back "Quote:
Originally Posted by ~mikey b
Nope not me.
'cmon snow!
We're gonna get buried.
Loyal China Peak Customers,
Operating a ski resort can be a tricky thing, especially to those who have a passion for skiing or snowboarding and aren't living the complexities of weather and their effects on resort operations. We totally understand this, and will always explain why things happen that appear to be simple, such as why lifts aren't open after big snowfalls, etc. In some cases our inability to operate China Peak is in fact our fault, like lift mechanical issues, or grooming machines breaking down and we don't groom enough, or we have staff issues. In other cases, like this past Friday, Mother Nature takes over and deals us a hand that neither China Peak, nor any other resort in the world, can handle easily.
Friday was the worst combination possible: heavy snow, followed by heavy rain, followed by single digit temperatures, which froze lifts, parking lots, cars, etc. Big Creek, like many creeks and rivers in the valley, is overflowing with water and creating difficulties draining our lower parking lots. By my estimation, there were well over 100 lifts frozen across California ski resorts Friday morning and it's likely half of them never opened, as the icing on the sheave assemblies (the rubber things the chair cable runs on) were more frozen than our lift mechanics with 30 years experience have ever seen.
I am more than happy to answer FaceBook questions and criticisms that make sense, ask honest questions about problems with China Peak mountain operations. Ask away, criticize when you think it's the right thing to do, and I'll do my best to always answer honestly and thoughtfully. I understand several of the complaints are towards false advertisement. I have gone back several times to most recent posts, which keep in mind were all photos and videos of current conditions, and dissected. Some things I just have to take on the chin, like going live and saying the conditions were going to be deep on the upper mountain. Unfortunately I never made it to the top of the mountain to assess conditions that day, nobody did, and I hope to never mislead our customers in such a way. Besides that one statement, I stay true to my words, yesterday was the day to come up because I knew what we had in store over the next couple days (current conditions are rain at the base, wet snow up top). If you thought yesterday was the worst skiing/snowboarding conditions ever, I completely disagree with your opinion.
My family has been in the ski business for 38 years; my dad has owned China Peak since 2010, and before that was President of one of the most challenging ski resorts in the world for 17 years, Kirkwood near Lake Tahoe. If you want to hear stories about challenging weather that will blow your mind, he's happy to share a few. It makes something like Friday look like a picnic.
I was born and raised on ski slopes, skied World Cup last winter, was a 2X NCAA All-American, North American Cup Winner, U.S. National Championship Bronze Medalist and one of the top Giant Slalom skiers in the world. I've skied over 50 resorts around the world and have lived the ski industry for all of my 28 years. I've seen it all, and heard it all, and I'm happy to share experiences with all the great China Peak supporters.
So let's have lots of good conversation this winter, and as always I'm happy to answer the good and bad. But if you're a hater, save it, go hate on someone else, China Peak won't give you the time of day.
Nick Cohee
Director of Skiing
China Peak
Dodge Ridge snow phone 5pm Saturday
Snow Phone Update @ 5:00p
Today, as expected, snow levels rose throughout the day to over 9,000 ft. Weather tomorrow will be more of the same with periods of heavy rain and high winds.
Based on the current conditions and Sunday’s forecast, some lifts may close and terrain may be limited on Sunday. Due to these challenging conditions, terrain will be un-groomed. Make sure to check the snow phone (209-536-5300) or the website for updates before heading up the mountain. We will be updating Sunday morning as we know more. #stormsarehere #staysafe
Sunday morning update:
Dodge Ridge will close today due to current conditions. Please check back for updates. The forecast calls for significant snowfall to begin falling Monday morning and continuing into midweek.
I understand why there are delays and closures sometimes due to weather and/or mechanical issues and I have the utmost respect for ski patrol and the dangerous and difficult job they do but this guy sounds like a pompous ass. He could have left out the last sentence of the the third paragraph and the last three paragraphs. The hubris displayed by ski area management and marketing toward the public is sometimes baffling.Quote:
Originally Posted by ~mikey b
I was struck by the differences between the 3 "big" Central Sierra ski areas in how information is communicated to the public.
From DR Facebook
We will remain temporarily closed today (Sun. Jan. 8th) and tomorrow (Mon. Jan. 9th). We plan on re-opening Tues. Jan. 10th. From the looks of the forecast, we could be in for some phenomenal skiing + riding this week! Get those skis and boards waxed and ready. #seeyousoon #snowyforecast #alldownhillfromhere
We spent today at DR cleaning up and digging out. Patrol room, children's center and guest services flooded. Admin had 2' of muddy water flowing through it at one point. I shoveled for 8 hours.
28" on top when we cleared the board at 4. Forecast has 12-24" overnight. We might be a bit delayed getting open tomorrow.
Patrol Director at BV buried to his neck in an avalanche while doing control work today. He's ok. Snow is super sensitive.
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From his Facebook page...
I just wanted to reach out to my friends who will eventually here this but this afternoon during AC I was buried in an Avalanche on the lower left half of Yellow Sub just above Monte Rock. I went under twice before coming to arrest and fortunately my head was able to keep an airway and I had 4 great crew members to arrive within a minute and extract me. I am unhurt and well.....happy to be unhurt and alive.
Back at it again tomorrow!
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Holy shit! It's Mattly, good people! Love that guy's ski reports. Seems like a good guy. Glad he's ok.Quote:
Originally Posted by ~mikey b
We'll be up this weekend if I can talk my poser friends into going to DR instead of BV. It's just such an easier drive to go to DR. And if the snows good, there's plenty of terrain for this old knee dropper.
We are buried today.
Big rock at top of 3.
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I should have a free ticket for you. Inside the door of my locker.
That's the rock on the face!? Holy crap! So happy to see that. :cool:
Not the Face rock. The one at the top of the chair.
One of the best days at DR in a long time. The ravens welcomed me under a full moon this morning. Opened Granite Bowl in some of the best conditions I've ever seen.
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Nice! I love that part of the Sierra.
Bear Valley skiing was awesome today. Crowds and Lift issues not so much. Koala seems to be having maintenance issues, looked like they were doing a load test on Super Cub, and Ski patrol still busy getting everything properly dug out so no avy control on Grizzly yet. Sigh.
I heard BV was having power issues which would affect lifts. Griz is tough. They'll have to bomb their way down carefully.
Support the Dodge Ridge Race Team. Buy a Big Truck hat. Goggle hats are $25, Pro hats are $30.
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Wind hold on Monday at BV until noon. Hiked it for turns until they spun and bought a half day. Found lot's of wind blown goodness. Zero people. They're shooting for a Griz opening after these storms. Maybe by this weekend.