Yoopers, you know anything about resorts here?

[mca80]

I really have to agree with @connyro, it seems like the Porkies don’t get a lot of traffic. The area really lends itself to Telemark skiing as you can traverse quite a ways. I was there on a Friday and the traverse rope wasn’t running. A short climb where the rope is located offered up untouched powder. Not that there wasn’t untouched powder on Sunday where lifts were running. I was very impressed with the possibilities.

Ooh, now I am thinking about going there today instead of Minocqua. But if they groom everything it won't be as fun or easy.

[mca80]

Went to the Porkies early this morning. Nice place. Tow rope to other side and fewer people using that area, but not very much powder on easier runs, mostly groomed. Corduoroy is way different than powder for these tele turns. Not good enough yet to go through trees or the steep run that had powder. Tried Kongsvold at first--skidding on groomed part, excellent where there was powder. Switched to Nansen, edge helped with the firmer snow. Starting to get the hang of it but probably not ready to go doing steep stuff in the woods yet. Good place to practice, thanks for advice. Also, DNR said if it snows like Mon-Tues and no snow in forecast, they will likely wait till Thurs night to groom; if more snow in forecast before reopening lifts Friday, they will groom and groom again. So gotta hope for 3 or 4 inches on a Monday night with no further snow forecast to get out there and ski powder by myself.

[wabene]

Very nice right on the big lake but with northern exposure. Only about 150 miles from me but Maps says 3 hours. I'll bet that's a nice drive, hmm......

[mca80]

Very nice right on the big lake but with northern exposure. Only about 150 miles from me but Maps says 3 hours. I'll bet that's a nice drive, hmm......

It looked to me that if you are pretty skilled there's a ton of opportunities to go off the beaten path. Most of the runs are straight down except for the greens on the outside. Back when I did regular downhill gear at resorts my favorites were always those that were longest and twisty, even though those are also usually easiest. But I liked the feeling of being in a narrower turnier trail nestled tightly in the forest. Don't get me wrong, years ago when furloughed from work I was driving around in my camper van and woke up one morning in Taos to 16" fresh powder overnight and loved going down a super steep run. But I don't need that kinda thrill anymore, the longer it takes to get down the better, and the more I feel in the woods the better. Can't wait till my skill improves to the point where I feel more comfortable specifically seeking out turns in our rolling hardwood forests nearby.

[mca80]

P.S. @fisheater, glad you mentioned the backfoot hockey stop. I've had a little trouble turning right with not weighting trailing ski enough, so now I am focused on that and any time I want to stop am doing it that directiom and really focusing on my backfoot. Come to think of it when ice skating I was always better stopping to the left than to the right, so this may take a lot of constant practice to get the thing right and the muscle memory retrained.

[Bazillions]

Only place I would recommend not going to is Ski Brule. Always hated the vibe there, the employees were never cool. (Haven't been there in years will never go back)

Bessemer area hills are all nice, but would never pay the prices snow river is asking. Powderhorn has $35 local tickets last I checked, even though that place wasn't my favorite (grew up on Blackjack pretty much), that is where I'd go in the future.

Porkies has the chillest vibe for better or worse (seems to get less traffic as mentioned) haven't been there a ton but wanna go more. They also had a nice, modern lift last I went (not a high speed, just yknow, something not 50+ years old lol)

Bohemia is awesome, but as also mentioned, it's busy. If you get there during/ right after a snowstorm, you can get decent snow all day but it will be busy, though that isn't the biggest deal imo, line waits aren't absurd but every chair will be filled. If you at all doubt your ability, don't go. Main runs get icy, in the trees, there's trees.

Whitecap I remember being cool, little bit outta the way so I've only been there a couple times. They had the scariest chairlift I've ever ridden.

[mca80]

Big Powderhorn does have $35 local tickets, Sun-Thurs. May check it out someday. Whitecap looks neat, but small and also expensive. A season pass at Bohemia ($109) gets you a ticket at Ski Brule, Whitecap, and 2 at the Porkies. Sounds like a great deal to me.

[Bazillions]

Whoa, I didn't know about the free passes to other hills. I knew they did that with the Porkies early on but stopped at some point.

This is the first year I didn't get a season pass there in many years too, gonna pay more attention to that next year.

[mca80]

Yeah I didn't know either but was checking out prices and lodging and saw that (no dogs allowed at their cabins, not sure what I will do if I can get up there next year). How early do you have to buy a season pass?

[Bazillions]

There's normally a one day sale some time in December to get the pass at a good price, they've sometimes run bonus days or let the sale go on a week or something too, but it was always advertised as a single day. Tho this year it seems they did a longer sale late november to early december.

There's a bar/resort like a half mile past Bohemia called the bear belly, you could try them for lodging, not sure if they allow dogs.