Friday Night at Mountain Creek 1/10/13

One of the many great things about Mountain Creek is the night skiing.  They have all but one of their trails lit up for night skiing.  It makes it very easy to come out for some runs after work or school.  It also allows me to ski midweek.  This is my first night trip report.  Night photography is a new thing for me, so I apologize for the weird lighting and blurriness in some shots.

I started at Vernon Base around 5pm and took the Cab up for my first run.



Then I started the evening with a solo run down Indian Pass.



Then back up the Cab and a run down Khyber Pass.  One more ride up the Cab and I headed over to Granite.  This picture shows the view of Bear Peak from Charlie's Run.



Then I arrived at the Bottom of the Granite Peak Quad which had a huge line (not).



Doe Run as seen from the Granite Peak Quad.



At the top.



Then I headed down Southern Sojourn to Bakersfield to Cloud 9 and got on the South Peak Express.



From this picture, you can see that Jumpin Jack and Flying Fox were open.  This was the first day of the season that they were open.  Of course I had to go down.



Approaching the bottom.



Unlike many mountains, Mountain Creek actually gets a pretty sizeable crowd for night skiing in the after school hours.  However, this line at around 7pm took only five minutes max.



Bear Peak had no line at all, so I skied a few laps there and got these pictures.



Bottom of Kamikaze.



Huge base of snow on Big Bear.



Looking down Kamikaze.



After taking some runs on Bear Peak, I headed back to South Peak and then got on the Sojourn Double to go back to Granite Peak.  As the path of the Sojourn Double is not lit, it was a very dark ride.



I took a lap on Granite and then took Garden State to Vernon Peak.



Then I got on the Cab and headed down Zero G.  It is the hardest trail on the mountain besides the seldom open Pipeline.  It does not look too steep at first.



And then that changes.



I then took a run on Lower Straightaway as it was its first day open this season as well.  They are waiting for after the thaw and r*in to groom out the piles on the upper portion.



After this I took a lap on Granite and then headed back to South.  I took a run on the South Peak Express and then headed to the Bear Peak Express as it would be closing in about 20 minutes at 9pm.



Mountain Creek closes at 10pm on Friday nights, so after Bear Peak closed, I went up South Peak and took the Sojourn Double back to Granite Peak to finish out the night.  I took a lap on Granite Peak and then back to Vernon Peak.  Up the Cab and I took one last run down Garden State.  This picture shows the line of the Vernon Triple fade away into the darkenss.



The place was closed when I arrived at the bottom, so I called it a night.  As usual, Mountain Creek provides a great night skiing experience that is within easy reach from where I live.  I come out very frequently after school for runs and this was not my first and will certainly not be my last night there.

Excellent report that brings back memories of years past. The original Zero G was about 40 feet wide and a little steeper. They must have regraded it when they opened made it wider. There were always people hiking up out of it on busy weekends.

LOL:

snoloco wrote

After taking some runs on Bear Peak, I headed back to South Peak and then got on the Sojourn Double to go back to Granite Peak.  As the path of the Sojourn Double is not lit, it was a very dark ride.

snoloco wrote

Then I got on the Cab and headed down Zero G.  It is the hardest trail on the mountain besides the seldom open Pipeline.

Pipeline.  Is that the trail the drunk a-hole cop poached - and rolled - in his jeep last summer?

Adk Jeff wrote

LOL:

snoloco wrote

After taking some runs on Bear Peak, I headed back to South Peak and then got on the Sojourn Double to go back to Granite Peak.  As the path of the Sojourn Double is not lit, it was a very dark ride.

snoloco wrote

Then I got on the Cab and headed down Zero G.  It is the hardest trail on the mountain besides the seldom open Pipeline.

Pipeline.  Is that the trail the drunk a-hole cop poached - and rolled - in his jeep last summer?

Yes