I just noticed that Blue Knob is reporting almost all of there trails as open. Including Extrovert, D Trail, Edgeset, Lower Shortway, Lower High Hopes and Route 66. I was hoping that somebody who went there this weekend could give us a trip report.

After todays snow it should be nice conditions at BK. If anyone has more info please post. Thanks!

Went to the Knob on Saturday. Excellent conditions in the morning. Seemed to be getting skied off during the day. They were blowing snow the whole day on Upper & Lower Extrovert. Made a run down it, but hard chunks of snow had formed makin the worst run of the day. Everything else was powder/packed powder with an occassional spot of ice, especially on Stembogen. the bottom of the trail was excellent. Lower Shortway should not have been open. The beginning of the trail was fine with only grass spots showing, but at the bottom there were an abundance of rocks/branches......No core shots though. They had the two glade area off of jack rabbit open, and they were enjoyable. As the day went on and everything was starting to get skied off the glades were the place to be. Overall, it was prob. the best day of the year for me.

Was everything that they claimed to be open actually open?

The only time I went there they claimed that a lot of terrain was open and in actuality very little was. I was going to go yesterday but didn't want to take the chance.

As of Sunday the coverage at Blue Knob was very good (although a bit skied-out and icy in places) with the EXCEPTION of the following slopes: Lower Route 66....was skied-out (right down to the rocks) within 4 or 5 hours after the slope was opened; Stembogan....there was poor to fair coverage on parts of the Stembogan Bowl and poor coverage on some of the turns; ALL of the glades (except the small gladed area between Jack Rabbit and Mambo Alley). The Glades, which depend on natural snow only, currently have a snow depth of only 9 inches with NO base underneath. Given that the Glades at BK are simply raw, unimproved logged areas, it's unrealistic to be skiing these areas with only 9 inches of snow. By the end of the weekend there were reports of ski and board damage in the Glades. I might add that the Ditch Glade (although still shown on the BK trail map) will never be skiable again due to erosion caused by the storms and flooding of the past 2 Summers. Also, is there anyone who actually believes that BK has 35 skiable trails as shown on their trail map?

Blue Knob is currently reporting all slopes are open, we need an update from someone that was there yesterday.

I was there today, every slope including shortway was skiable, the glades well lets just say i "skied"(if you can call it that) every glade there and they really are a joke right now the bramble is so thick it impossiable to decent turn except in short streches. High Hopes was great(best slope today) had great cover and 2-3 feet of snow on its left side and about 10inches on the right, the bowl was a challenge due ice and powder but still fun, extrovert was wind packed but no ice, and route 66 has decent coverage on it with only one bad spot, lower short way was a blast as always, you will encounter sticks and light bramble on it right now but it didnt upset my skiing to much. I will probably do a full report soon, on a side not Hidden Valley got way more snow than blue knob and it is lighter.

The reason why most of the Glades at BK are filled with brambles and brush is because they were not formed properly in the first place. When BK was logged, most of the large, healthy trees were removed and thus, the upper canopy was also removed in the process. Then, with less shade at the ground level, there has been an explosion of brush and saplings in the so called "Glades" at Blue Knob. Proper Glade formation requires keeping the upper canopy intact by leaving the large, economically valuable trees in place and removing only the small trees and brush. When the Glades were created at BK, a local logging company was hired by the owners of BK to conduct a for-profit logging operation. To my knowlege, the logging contractor had ZERO experience in Gladed ski slope creation and it does not appear that the owners of BK made ANY effort to see how Gladed ski slopes are created. Furthermore, the logging wasn't even done with a timber management plan. By the way, did you ski the Ditch Glade???

Yes the ditch believe or not would of been skiable if it had less snow in it, i there was only light bramble, and not rocks to be felt. The only problem is my skis dont go so well in 3-4 feet of windblown, the ditch was essentailly filled in with tons of snow from wind. If enough people ski it i can ski it being worth while if it get packed. Please not the only reason i was being so adventous is that i was 100 dollar skis, my skis finished the day with multiple scratches(mostly from shortway), no cores shot, and a dull edge from the bottom of bone yard. Yes MM i have read alot of your post on the glades at blue knob, i no i was tempting fate by being in there.

preaching to the converted...turning off everyone else.

I don't see how someone telling the TRUTH about the Glades at BK would turn anyone off. In fact, I would think that it could be helpful because those who might attempt the Glades at BK are more likely to bring their rock-skis and/or rock-boards.

I am returning with my retuned rock skis on the 13th, i love this place, just maybe they can let some of the sapling grow but cut the rest out over the summer. The trail alone are worth it but if the glades werent near death traps for anybody but ski bums, it might be more marketable. East Wall was really was fun, i found a good line that requied speed(scary as hell on this slope) and tight quick turns i had it nailed till i landed side ways near the bottom on a little ledge band, the guys that followed me in didnt have such a easy time with. They were in snowmass last week talk about change of pace. Yeah i hate to say it but springs or snowtime buy this place and make it the southern rich resort backed Mad River Glen.(kinda of oxymoron but you get what i mean). Hope to cya all there the 13th.

Just wondering....did you happen to ski the Ditch Glade (off of the right side of Stembogan (facing downhill))? I don't believe that it's skiable anymore.

yes i did you have to side step over a PVC pipe(or hop turn), but there is actually to much snow in there right now to ski i hit chest deep snow in there and coulnt not move the bottom was still above my knees. If it get packed it is quite narrow but could be fun.