Let’s Do The Time Warp Again
Earlier this week the time-space continuum decided to hiccup and send us back into the past when it was announced that Wisconsin ski resort Granite Peak would make specific skier only terrain. Now perhaps Marty and Doc Brown messed up and took us back to another alternate 1985 where Biff Tannen now controls the Midwest ski resorts or in fact there really are relics of the snowboard vs. skier feud of the past century. Sadly good ole boy Chucky Skinner seems to be one of these relics that still lurks in our snow culture.
To catch up on what Chucky had to say about his grand idea head over to Transworld Business. So here we are going into an Olympic year where both skiing and snowboarding are represented on an international level and yet while progression is going on around us someone from Wisconsin can take two steps backwards and bring about a feeling of resentment towards the patrons of his ski resort.
“Skiers have told us that the rhythm, turn radius, and visual orientation is different for skiers and snowboarders, and that they would enjoy a few runs dedicated just to skiers. We are now responding to this request by the dedication of three runs for this purpose.”, Chuck Skinner
Hmm so because we ride sideways we can’t rail a turn like a skier and have different visual orientation? Sounds more like some bumbling old school skier wasn’t paying attention to someone coming up in his blind spot, cut across the hill, and collided with a snowboarder. Now being that said skier is old school he probably experienced the sixties and may or may not have smelled the remnants of a past/present toke of the old pipe and is now claiming that the visual acuity of the rider is in question as well.
“This year’s change is an effort to provide a better balance for all of our customers,” explains Skinner. “We have responded aggressively to the requests of snowboarders to expand terrain features over the past few years and have continuously upgraded and improved the features. Our snowboarder customers are important to us and we will continue to improve and enhance our terrain parks. This change is an experiment for this season and will be evaluated at the end of the season based on feedback from customers. This is the same process we have taken with our terrain parks which has resulted in changing locations and other modifications of terrain parks over the years.”
So evidently all snowboarders in Wisconsin migrate to terrain parks and do not like to venture off into the winter wonderland to cruise some groomers. How is it a balance Chuck? Everyone can go in the terrain park, but these runs ( Western Frontier, Overlook, Shadow Ridge, and Mission Ridge) are for skiers only? Another question and this is a highly serious one, where do mono-skiers stand on this, technically it’s a snowboard but it does have the word ski in the name, are they blacklisted as well?
Now lets look at the problem that arises from having Overlook, Shadow Ridge, and Mission Ridge as skier only terrain, it cuts off access to lower Mission Ridge, Wildwood, Sidewinder, and Bear Paw along with the trees in those respective areas. But you probably thought of this didn’t you? The Cupid lift then becomes predominately accessed by skiers. Or is that part of the master plan, slowly stranglehold one side of your resort forcing snowboarders to have to congregate in certain areas?
From an economical standpoint this is ridiculous as you’ll now have to make your patrollers do twice as much work to segregate these trails, customers (families) won’t want to go where they all can’t frolic together, and your locals are not going to be happy. Should you be surprised if extreme hating of skiers happens in the parks since you seem to believe this is snowboarder only territory? All in all it’s a dumb situation that allows us to ask the question of does the needs of the few mean the masses should suffer? For those that feel the need to weigh in on the situation you can leave a message for Granite Peak here. Or like Chucks mentality go old school and give them a ring at 715.845.2846. Let me know what you think about this.k
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very interesting
Skinner owned (might still, I don’t pay attention) Lutsen in northern Minnesota back in the day. They actually have mile long runs in MN! My family had a condo there and three of the four of us learned to snowboard. The area is split between 2 mountains with a long cat track or gondola between them. Moose Mountain was where the good, long runs were. We headed to Moose on our board via the cat track. Got to the base of the mountain and were told snowboards were not allowed on Moose Mountain. They wouldn’t even let us take the lift to the top to catch a gondola ride back. This is with my forty something dad snowboarding and us kids at like 10 and 12 or there abouts.
We basically haven’t been back and went to Breckenridge a few times a year since then.
So where are the three runs for snowboarders to avoid those bumbling “differently oriented” skiers, there is nothing about this announcement that screams equality. I foresee some very pissed off boarders at GP
If I were a skier at that resort I would worry about leaving my car. You’ll come back with giant gashes on the sides. The sheet metal on a BMW does a great job at detuning your edges.
Even if you do not board in Wisconsin, you need to tell them that this is discriminatory and wrong. Take a few minutes and let them know what you think…
I’m a Minnesota snowboarder and I’m truly shocked that Granite Peak would put such a restriction in place. As you said Angry, this is just like jumping back in time. Just when you thought the discrimination of snowboarders was over, here it comes charging back again. The three runs on the left were some of my favorite runs at Granite Peak. After living in Montana for part of my life I have an ever-lasting desire to take tree runs through the powder. This area of Granite Peak definitely was the closest thing in the Midwest to that feeling of being out west. Please everybody, make sure Granite Peak knows what they are doing wrong. Write them a quick email if you can…
Ugh this boarder/skier hatred acts are getting old, Now I’m not saying this is as serious as stuff like for example the black hatred of the 70′s or the holocaust, it in no way is, but it all stems from the same fucked up psychological mindset. I see nothing of that gives anything to snowboarders from this and when I read about how they’re always making new features in the terrain park I was thinking the same thing, not all boarders ride the terrain park numbnuts, and it’s open to ski’ers as well.