Hunter Mtn on an XC Bike?

Glancing Aft

Active Member
I'm considering heading up to Hunter this weekend for their Oktoberfest with some friends. We're thinking of bringing bikes along and are either going for a ride at Hunter or in the nearby area before hand. I'd like to check out hunter though, but dono how ridable it is on an XC bike. Has anyone ridden up there much that could give me some insight? We're all riding FS rigs with between 90mm- 110mm of travel. Will we enjoy ourselves or will it be a sufferfest?

By a comparison I've ridden Killington before and had a blast, but Plattekill made me cry. Never ridden Diablo...
 

BlackBean

Member
I rode Hunter about 5 years ago. Nothing too crazy back then - even a HT would be fine, so a FS with 90-110mm travel should be just fine.
 

jbogner

NYCMTB: President
JORBA.ORG
Reports from friends say that it's still lift-served XC, for the most part. A far cry from the outright insanity of Plattekill...
 

Sircrashalot

New Member
I have ridden Whiteface, which after skiing that and Hunter is much bigger steeper, etc. on a hardtail several times, as well as Diablo (although at Diablo people kept asking if I was OK and I think they ment mentally), and still had a blast so you'll be totally in the fun on any fs rig that isnt from Walmart:cool: .
 

elzoller

El Guac-Oh
You'll be fine....
I've also done Whiteface in a hard tail and in my XC FS. So unless you plan on doing big drops (which I don't know if they have any in Hunter) you should be able to manage on your XC-FS.

I wanted to drive up this weekend too, but I am doing babysitting duties so my wife can enjoy a "day with the girls", so if I figure out how to strap my kid on my camelback I might give it a shot. :D
 

Glancing Aft

Active Member
So I did end up hitting up hunter with a few friends on Sunday. Despite some painful crashes we managed to have a fun time. The mountain itself seems to be in a bit of a transition at this point. They are attempting to go from lift serviced xc to be another Downhill/Freeride mountain. The problem is that it doesn't fully excel at either at this point. The old xc single track is good but isn't getting the use that it once did and looks like in a few seasons will start to over grow. And there just doesn't seem to be enough of the downhill at this point (although they are building more trails). We did hit a few fun runs though, one with some great (although rather easy) ladder bridges and berms rapping through a tight pine forest, and another fun trail with some nice berms running down one of the ski trails (see video). They also had a pump track which I had never done before and although I sucked at it I enjoyed it. I think we're going to make on eat my friends cabin in PA as a result. In the end, I would recommend checking out hunter, it doesn't seem to be as difficult at this point as many of the other downhill mountains so it's a good place for an xc rider who's looking to switch things up a bit. There just aren't a ton of trails at this point to ride. Here's a short video I put together from it, don't expect to be amazed, we kind of suck...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISkidOIoZLQ
 

Glancing Aft

Active Member
I believe the inn is still there (last winter was the last time I noticed it). I think next year we'll make our way up there again so I'll stop by. It would be nice to find some of the local xc spots.

I actually have a viosport helmet camera which I use mostly for taking skiing footage. Just forgot to bring it up with me, here's an example of it that I shot last winter,
http://blip.tv/file/154839
 
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monkey boy

Self-Imposed Exile
WOW, Jackson. nice there is only one problem.... you are on skis. pow and snowboards perfect together.:D :D Nothing like floating like you are on the clouds.
My first powder day on a snowboard was my last day on skis ever.
Pray for snow!
 

pinkshirtphotos

Active Member
yeah you will be fine from what i hear its nothing like diablo and i did just fine with almost a full year of xc hardtail there.
 

Glancing Aft

Active Member
WOW, Jackson. nice there is only one problem.... you are on skis. pow and snowboards perfect together.:D :D Nothing like floating like you are on the clouds.
My first powder day on a snowboard was my last day on skis ever.
Pray for snow!

ill fully admit, floating in some pow pow on a board is one of the greatest feelings. but for steeps, bumps, trees, or the park i,d rather take skis any day. =)
As for praying for snow, im off to ABasin right now as we speak for some early season ridding! =)
Big suprise here, once again i managed to hijack my own thread off topic...
 
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