Northern BC 2024/25 We Know What Smithereens Are But Are Those Guys Really Terrorists

[LHutz Esq]

I see Spider has been out dragging some old dude up and into new places already.

Shames is getting ready to Shredfest in an Uphill manner next weekend

My laps have been kid assisted so far, but delightful.

Still seems apropos - as in appropriate and pertinent and not in reference to - to start up a new thread.

I am trying to plan a McBride Valemount sled/ski trip and I keep meaning to make the pilgrimage to Shames again. But we will see what the winter will bring.

[LHutz Esq]

First pics of first laps

[LeeLau]

Well done S!!!

[sillybunt2]

That's what I'm talking about! Real snow not flurries on grass and rocks.

[XXX-er]

https://www.hudsonbaymountainweather.com/

the new time-lapse feature is cool, it was up over the rail ^^ then rain and now more snow, I'm prepared to wait a bit more

I'm hearing they did some great summer grooming instead of cutting more run, HBM was an x-mas tree farm last season

[LHutz Esq]

Thanks Lee - the youngest has been up a couple or times. I think it really helps that AP is her teacher this year and brings the stoke, so she is generally pumped to go. The oldest has been out with us once- she just loves skiing and wants to get a jump on the race season.

Xr, that was a bit of a disappointing rain event - but it was October so what are ya goin' to do eh.

Some of the ski club kids and dads shaved Cinderella and it seems to have been very effective. Had a lovely dust on crust run on Monday. Creeks still open at the bottom but easily avoidable.

[XXX-er]

Still a pretty good start IMO we really needed summer grooming mire than we needed another ski run which is harder to get done cuz cutting x-mas trees is not as sexy as falling a big Balsam

IME the guy is crazy/ very hard on equipment and yes the kids all love AP and every year want to do " the festival of faceplants "

Not sure how my Tragic hip is gona feel about touring so No skiing yet but I'm still biking, cut a lot of blowdown last week eh

[garyfromterrace]

Nice kickoff to the season Hutz! Thanks for starting a new thread you whipper snapper you. Looks like that couple of degrees cooler and a couple of feet higher you guys are is making a difference early season. Shames is certainly in need of a foot to get game properly on.

We did get a major project done up there this summer that will help things immensely early season and in times of rain events mid-season. Climate Change Resiliency Project (CCRP) saw us leverage about $250K in grant funding to a $650K grading/road building project that included:
- Base area re-grading and surface water management. Over 2,500 cubic metres of material was hauled to the base area. from two sources (Shames Access Road Bridge 4 pit & upper parking blast area). Material was levelled, compacted and permanent sub-surface drains (french drains) were installed to daylight in order to improve previous surface water/standing water issues. We raised the grade up to 2metres in height in the base area.
- The ski resort bisect road was rebuilt utilizing blast rock materials from the upper parking lot borrow area. Permanent drainage below the road was installed at numerous locations and previous problem areas regarding overland drainage and surface water management were repaired and/or improved. Our original estimate of re-building 500m of this road was substantially improved upon (approximately 640m was constructed or an additional 28% over preliminary estimates).
- Overland drainage was improved and slopes were re-graded in the area below the chairlift between Tower 4 and 7 and also below the reconstructed ski resort bisect road.
- The snowcat road leading from the bottom of Terminator/Gallaways/Juniors Jingle to the ski resort bisect road was re-constructed and underground drainage was installed at a number of locations.
- Re-grading was performed on the Python/Galloway’s intersection.
- A snowcat road was constructed between the main parking lot and the lower parking lot.
- The snowcat road was re-constructed and underground drainage was installed between the maintenance shop and the base area.
- The snowcat road was re-constructed between the upper parking lot and the base area.
- Hydroseeding was performed on all areas disturbed resulting from Climate Change Resiliency Project (CCRP) works. In addition, we were able to hydroseed all areas disturbed from a previous project – Conveyor Lift (Magic Carpet) and Tube Lane Construction.

The works will decrease the operating costs for MMC especially in the early season by drastically reducing operator, loader, snowcat and personnel hours moving snow from parking lots to the base area in order to open. Snowcat hours will be drastically lowered in constructing: the ski resort bisect road; maintenance shop to Sternwheeler road; upper parking to Sternwheeler road; main parking lot to lower lot road; black diamond exit trail; Exhibition below Tower 7; and, Sternwheeler below the ski resort bisect road. We also expect the numerous improvements to overland and surface water drainage completed during the CCRP will help conserve the snowpack during rain or warming events during the season.

The re-grading works completed will require less snowfall accumulation in the early season for us to open the resort. We've gone from requiring 80cm of snow in the base area to requiring 30cm of snow. This 60% less snow required will help guarantee a consistent number of operating days per year. The large amount of area now hydro-seeded will also assist keeping early season snowfall in place.

Very excited for the season to start so that we can see the effect on the bottom line and how the skiing is improved.

[LeeLau]

Whoa Shames gets better

[Gcooker]

Fkna Gary, Shames is lucky to have you on the team. Hope to get up that way this winter for a ski and beer.


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[garyfromterrace]

Fkna Gary, Shames is lucky to have you on the team. Hope to get up that way this winter for a ski and beer.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

You bet Lee. Thanks, and can't wait to do some turns with you this season Gcooker. I think it's going to be a good season. But hey, they're all good. Some are just a bit better than others!

[garyfromterrace]

In what is sure to be referred to as the great uphill shredfest miracle of '24, we literally went from zero to .. well not hero. But at least something and you could skin from, and ski to, the vehicle. Literally no snow up there at 3am, then 12cm by 0700 and snowing heavily. Anyway, by the end of the weekend there was probably 30cms in the base and 70cms at mid. Good, heavy, base making snow.
In the lodge, Cedar River Services played the Cherry Bowl Incident film and did an avi talk and we played some tunes. More importantly - got day one and two under the belt.



Mattias and perhaps 60 others got an uphill ski day in. Not counting a number of families with toboggans. Pretty good turnout given last minute nature of the dump.



Some lads manned an info hut at top of chair.



Maisie ripping down a portion of the rd we rebuilt last summer. To my preference, the skiing on the rd was the best on the mountain proper. I heard burnt trees and the knolls were skiing well, but I didn't get up that high. I do know fighting my way down from the top of the chair on Sat was a chore. The road on the other hand had a base and my skis survived just fine.

Anyway, appears to be game on here finally. Great feeling to put skins on and go for a rip with Maisie again for a couple of days.

edit to add the turnout sunday was much bigger. Not sure of numbers but dozens of families were ripping the toboggan hill, a half dozen buddies were touring with their kids, and I'll bet another 30 or 40 folks were out for an uphill lap. Pretty damn encouraging and good to see the lodge open, serving drinks and poutines... great training op for new staff and things are looking bitchin' for a solid lift opening Dec 7.

[LHutz Esq]

So great Gary!

[abcdethan]

I'm travelling to Prince George in late January for the Deziako Hut and I have a buffer travel day to hopefully get some local touring in. Hoping for a good snowpack by then!

[LeeLau]

I'm travelling to Prince George in late January for the Deziako Hut and I have a buffer travel day to hopefully get some local touring in. Hoping for a good snowpack by then!

Lucky! Dezaiko area and McGregors are getting pasted. Hope you get some Powder King

[LHutz Esq]

Ashman skied Ok.

If you like cold, light powder I ‘spos

Pretty busy though.

[Angle Parking]

https://www.hudsonbaymountainweather.com/

I'm hearing they did some great summer grooming instead of cutting more run, HBM was an x-mas tree farm last season

Pretty much every run at Hudson Bay Mountain (excluding the gladded areas) got some measure of brushing this summer. Some were shorn down to the ground. Others were spent quickly with only the conifers getting taken down. Either way the impact has been tremendous. Pre-season touring has been incredible.

I'm thrilled the ski hill decided to halt the cutting of new runs. Some of the glades created over the last 5 or so years are already overgrown and were basically unskiable all of last season. Time to care care of what we have instead of creating a mess out there.

[LeeLau]

Ashman skied Ok.

If you like cold, light powder I ‘spos

Pretty busy though.

Wow

[XXX-er]

Pretty much every run at Hudson Bay Mountain (excluding the gladded areas) got some measure of brushing this summer. Some were shorn down to the ground. Others were spent quickly with only the conifers getting taken down. Either way the impact has been tremendous. Pre-season touring has been incredible.

I'm thrilled the ski hill decided to halt the cutting of new runs. Some of the glades created over the last 5 or so years are already overgrown and were basically unskiable all of last season. Time to care care of what we have instead of creating a mess out there.

I did a project with the research center where we studied " Juveniles In The Understory " which are the conifers under 4M, so that top of tree to the 1st branch is one year and so on down the tree one year for each set of branchs so thats how fast they grow and light of an open ski run really makes em pop

I wana say IMO HBM had enough new runs, they got cut cuz all that falling trees is pretty sexy and a lot of fun

while brushing juveniles is not sexy/ not that much fun and its better with a real brush saw than a chainsaw

so i'm glad it got done

[Harry]

Ashman skied Ok.

If you like cold, light powder I ‘spos

Pretty busy though.

Wow

I need to move.

[garyfromterrace]

I need to move.

Yes. Yes you do.

[DanoT]

Pretty much every run at Hudson Bay Mountain (excluding the gladded areas) got some measure of brushing this summer. Some were shorn down to the ground. Others were spent quickly with only the conifers getting taken down. Either way the impact has been tremendous. Pre-season touring has been incredible.

I'm thrilled the ski hill decided to halt the cutting of new runs. Some of the glades created over the last 5 or so years are already overgrown and were basically unskiable all of last season. Time to care care of what we have instead of creating a mess out there.

When Nippon Cable bought Tod Mtn out of Receivership in the early nineties they re-named it Sun Peaks and instituted a summer grooming program that not only resulted in picking rocks and pulling almost every stump on the mountain, they put some runs on a 5 year rotation and some on a 3 year rotation for cutting weeds and small conifers.

Ask any local and they will tell you, never mind the snow making, new lifts, new runs, it is summer grooming that is the greatest single improvement done to the skiing at SP. And here is the proof: Mid mountain settled base is 69cm, alpine base is 61cm and too thin in places to run the grooming machines yet 104 runs are open and you don't need rock skis.

[XXX-er]

I'm sure Nippon cable had money especaily back in the 90's but i'm also pretty sure HBM aint got no money so they pay saw operators with seasons passes. Frank the hill manager corralled me into running the program for a couple of years and I had no good reason to say no, so when the snow got too deep to run saw the cutting was done so I would submit a report with who did what and when and they would pay us off with a seasons pass and some singles,

Frank told me don't be selling these singles on FB so i would stand 50 ft in front of the ticket office hawking day tickets

It all worked out and I'm really glad nobody got hurt on my watch

[garyfromterrace]

First I've heard Nippon bought tod off creditors. I was there at the time though I have to admit partying pretty hard during ski season... Yeah, couple of things that were good about the Tod sale - financial stability, lots of high speed lifts and groomed runs for speed training. The high end skiing is still accessed by the slow speed burf, so that hasn't changed at all (in 50 years or so).

[LHutz Esq]

[emoji638]][emoji640][emoji639]][emoji637][emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]][emoji[emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]][emoji640][emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]]][emoji[emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]][emoji640][emoji640]][emoji637][emoji[emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]][emoji640][emoji639]]]I need to move.

Yes you do - or visit.

Then there might have been five trucks in the parking lot!

Like I said it was crowded.

I mean it’s not like it’s a massive zone or anything.

Actually come to think about it, it’s pretty big!