Grooming at Hickory

Xman and I skied Hickory on a Sunday in late March. High temps were at around 40 and what was groomed (the lower mountain) and what was in the sun up top (Ridge Run) skied great. Hickory's steep ungroomed terrain, softened somewhat by midday, but it wasn't enough soft for some skiers to access it. The softest was Winfall and for me it was challenging.

There were other folks skiing the steeps.  Patroller Kristin and her son were lapping Winfall. I'll tell you one thing, kids who grow up skiing Hickory, will develop into incredible skiers.  Kristin's son skied those bumps deliberately and without fear. I don't think he was 10 years old.


Winfall

Last fall when I interviewed Shawn, we discussed the new Winch Cat.  BVP the owner, and Shawn were very clear about how they would use it:

"We recently purchased a Bombardier BR350 Sherpa Winch Cat. We're looking forward to using it to improve the surface quality of our groomed beginner and intermediate trails. In addition, the winch gives us the ability to do the minimum required maintenance grooming on our legendary expert trails."

In my opinion, the underlying message here was directed at those who love Hickory the way it is: "don't worry, we aren't going to mow down the bumps on the upper mountain."

Question for Hickory fans or anyone ... when if ever, in your opinion, should Hickory use the Winch Cat to groom the upper mountain steeps? What is your definition of "maintenance grooming?"

Harvey44 wrote

Question for Hickory fans or anyone ... when if ever, in your opinion, should Hickory use the Winch Cat to groom the upper mountain steeps? What is your definition of "maintenance grooming?"

The best time to groom expert runs is just before a massive powder dump. There is nothing quite like a foot of fresh with a completely flat and non-undulating service underneath. Additionally, I am in favor of mowing down bumps when they are skiing so horrendously that it will actually take a foot of fresh to make them worth while. When very few skiers (that enjoy bumps) are skiing the bumps, it is time to knock them down. Too many areas just call a trail a bump run and never touch it. I think it is great to knock them down two or three times a year, particularly just before a big storm.

Good news for Hickory on the new groomer. Hopefully I can  get over there soon.

riverc0il wrote

The best time to groom expert runs is just before a massive powder dump. There is nothing quite like a foot of fresh with a completely flat and non-undulating service underneath. Additionally, I am in favor of mowing down bumps when they are skiing so horrendously that it will actually take a foot of fresh to make them worth while.

Yeah, a lot of mountains groom when there hasn't been snow for weeks, and the bumps are icy death.  But then you get a flat expert trail until it snows again.  And that can be icy too.  I'd almost rather they leave the icy bumps there (especially if there's good lines already), and just wait for snow to make them good again (or wait until a thaw softens them up).

I'm almost always opposed to grooming.  Unless the trail is really gnarly, totally unskiable, and getting worse, I'd rather let it be.