Well, figured while I am on a break (I can't ski this weekend), I'd write some impressions on how things are going so far this season at "North."

I will say that I have seen a lot of promotional ads and deals for 'Ellen. City Market is running the "Lookin' Good" deal while there are ads in newspapers and even at the movie theater in Williston. The January $39 ticket deal was a good idea. I hope it is paying off.

So far I have seen solid crowds at the mountain on the weekends. Finding a seat at lunch can be a challenge. MLK Weekend was the busiest I have seen it in a while. On this past Sunday, while crowds at LP were moderate to light, I rode SBX over to find that the lot at ME was quite full...probably due to the race. From what I have seen, the locals are coming in droves to the mountain. Lots of green plates and lots of happy folks. I talked with one guy on the lift Sunday who has a corporate pass and said he may do the straight ME pass. Still, some other folks who are a new family and came down from one of Mount Ellen's nearby competitors had mixed reviews. I spoke with them in early January and they asked, "gee, where is the snowmaking?" I told them that we lost all of November. Certainly last season the trails had a more solid base thanks to the head start. Other than that, they had mixed reviews and said that the deal they got was good, but they were not sure if they would be back.

Overall, we have been lacking in the snow department. I think that the crew has done a good job with what they have. Runs such as Elbow, Rim Run, and Cruiser have been reliable. Grooming has been good. Inverness is now in good shape. The resurfacing of FIS in early January has worked wonders. On MLK weekend I have never seen as many folks on that run. The snow on it has been good overall. Exterminator and Which Way however have not seen any snowmaking, which confuses me. And though last season a lot of us were skeptical of the 50/50 plan for Lookin' Good and other runs, I will say that I miss those bumps and hope we will see them.

Cliffs is another trail that has not seen any snowmaking, but the bump lines look very good and it is fun to see the freestylers hitting the jump. The terrain park is impressive and the crowds waiting for the Sunny D lift last weekend showed that there is much interest.

Kudos to the mountain ops for getting the Lower FIS runout in good shape thanks to a culvert or two. The new woods areas are also tops. Semi-tough woods is probably a favorite with a certain other undisclosed “new area” a very close second. Bravo Woods also is quite nice as is Moose Run Woods, which delivers a nice long frolic through the woods to Lower FIS via the SB liftline and a narrow old logging road. For those who say that ‘Ellen “is too small,” my buddy and I spent an entire day just scoping out the wooded areas, on and off the map. It was a good way to escape the crowds on MLK Weekend.

The lifts have been reliable. North Ridge has delivered with little trouble. There is never a line for Inverness as always and the crew at GMX move the lines along.

I hope that we get more snow. The waterbars on Walt’s Way have been treacherous, but the snow on Brambles has been very good. The cliff band on Bravo needs some cover (no snowmaking I guess). I’d also hope that the tree crew will finish Exterminator Woods next summer—my buddy and I were skiing along when our line “suddenly” disappeared. We followed the ribbons out.

I also hope that SB takes my advice regarding closing Main Stream. On Saturday I was riding up NRX and saw that ski patrol was tending to a serious accident on Cruiser/Main Stream where it appeared a skier collided with another skier who was standing below Main Stream. Let’s say that a backboard was involved…not good. I suggested in the AZ Challenge last year that the trail be closed so that skiers continue skiing down the fall line rather than cutting across on Main Stream, creating some bad intersections.
So very positive reviews so far. Hope that the goal of increasing interest is working out.

The post was kind of screwy because of its length...but I also wanted to say thanks to the lifties for being extra friendly and keeping the "North" vibe very cool.

Nice review! I was surprised at the crowds on MLK weekend also. But you were right, there was alot of locals I talked to who come over for the day.

I also hope that in the offseason they are able to repair/replace sections of the piping from German Flats to the pond so that snowmaking can go non-stop next year.

FWIW, I think the Exterminator always skis better with no snowmaking. I'm crossing my fingers that they don't blow on it all year. Same goes for Cliffs.

Nice review.... I'm not sure I agree with you regarding closing mainstream. A lot of beginner skiers rely on that trail to get down. My personal experience at Bolton Valley is that they don't make any more snow than at Ellen (can't say for sure though because I have not skied there lately).

summitchallenger wrote:

I also hope that SB takes my advice regarding closing Main Stream. On Saturday I was riding up NRX and saw that ski patrol was tending to a serious accident on Cruiser/Main Stream where it appeared a skier collided with another skier who was standing below Main Stream. Let’s say that a backboard was involved…not good. I suggested in the AZ Challenge last year that the trail be closed so that skiers continue skiing down the fall line rather than cutting across on Main Stream, creating some bad intersections. So very positive reviews so far. Hope that the goal of increasing interest is working out.

My suggestion is to close Mainstream so that those going down Cruiser and Which Way can have a solid run. There is "Lower Cruiser" which is bisected by Mainstream, so if MS is closed, Cruiser will get a nice solid run. Keep MS going for Which Way and Encore only. As for Northstar and beginners needing MS, there is Lower Northstar, which dumps you out at a point right near the base of NRX. Those coming over from the IPOD via Northridge Exp'y can just stick with Lower Northstar. I think this idea would better disperse the crowd and make things a lot safer. Lower Northstar rarely gets any traffic so directing all beginners there separates them from the "cruisers" coming down Cruiser, Which Way, and Encore.

NU88 wrote:

Nice review.... I'm not sure I agree with you regarding closing mainstream. A lot of beginner skiers rely on that trail to get down. My personal experience at Bolton Valley is that they don't make any more snow than at Ellen (can't say for sure though because I have not skied there lately).

True, but some points:

(1) True beginners should not be riding GMX and be able to ski down blues before skiing that lift;
(2) Northstar is a nice green, and to be honest Lower Northstar is not steep and sees little traffic in my experience, so there is no need for Mainstream;
(3) In my experience, Mainstream becomes an icy sluiceway and is more dangerous; and
(3) Any beginner coming from Inverness can bear left onto Lower Northstar and end up at "Times Square."

I guess I am balancing out the pros of having versus the cons of closing off that cut through. I'd have to say that it crosses the three main arteries for that part of the mountain and creates blind spot/drop offs for each trail. I'm not a trail engineer, but it just seems to screw things up...especially when folks go across it, down other sections, and you have people flying from multiple directions instead of just going down the fall line in three separate channels.



You can see that the lower part of Northstar pretty much runs side-by-side to Mainstream anyway....

The only time I take Mainstream is last run when I want all the speed I can get to Crackerjack! It is nuts through there! I always stay skiers left to lower Northstar or take first left onto lower Cruiser. I agree with closing it off! at least the section below Which Way!. and maybe a snow fence or something to direct traffic from it. or to slow the folks on mainstream down. Some bigger Merge signs might help to! But nothing worse than coming out of which way and having to slam the breaks to cross Mainstream.

I agree that posting better merge signs will help.....

I was just looking at the trail map on my wall and Northstar and Mainstream are both hash marked witht the slow skiing and Riding zone so better signage would be smart to indicate slow skiing and merges. Except on first and last runs of course!