Yes, I went snowboarding on April 2. Yes, I spent 8 hours driving to/from and only got 4+ hours on the slopes. Yes, it was like 80 degrees. Yes, I know that sounds crazy. No, I don’t expect you to understand. Here’s a short review of Nub’s Nob, and I’ve been promising maybe a few more pictures and a short video clip in the next few days, too.
Date: April 2, 2010
Temperature: 81 degrees F / 27 degrees C
Conditions: Bluebird skies, mashed-potatoe slopes, sticky and wet.
Resort Website: Nub’s Nob Ski Area
All things considered, the conditions were favorable, and the crowds were sparse. The lodge was empty and it was apparent that things were no longer “winding down,” they had already been wound all the way down and the resort was operating on a skeleton crew: a few lifties, a few cashiers, a few patrollers and a bartender or two. But they had snow, or some sort of snow-like substance that was still covering a pretty good portion of the mountain — which is more than I could say for Boyne Mountain, arguably still “open” but was totally bare when we drove past it at 4pm. Nub’s was running three chairlifts servicing 20 trails, as well as the j-bar/tow rope which serviced the superpipe.
Although the first few weeks of spring have been totally dry (a week of rain can destroy any amount of base), this year we had a pretty dry winter, too, so I’m surprised that any of those resorts have been able to stick it out as long as this. I really have to give them an A++ for effort, their groomers did a heck of a job ensuring that the 20 open runs really were open: none of those 6 foot wide strips of brown “snow”, the trails were legitimately open from side to side, top to bottom (although some very thin spots towards the bottom and high-traffic areas).
Wouldn’t it easier to close up shop and say, “See you next year!” Wouldn’t that be cheaper, too? So I have to thank the management who decided to stay open this late in to spring time. For those of us who really wanted to get a few more turns, that sort of goodwill is priceless. I’ll be back next year, hopefully before the end of the season, but I’ll be back for sure.
My only complaint is that the Terrain Park was closed. Not closed for the season, just closed for the day in attempt to preserve it for Saturday’s competition/event. When you close your TP for a day in prep for a comp, you should post that notice in advance on the website. We drove 4 hours (and talked to other people who drove a similar distance) specifically so we could do some park laps, so it was kind of a bummer to see all those features crossed off, just sitting there begging to be shredded.
Overall, Nub’s Nob wins in my book. I’ll be back next winter to give it a proper review in (hopefully) better conditions.
About Nub’s Nob:
Map & Directions via Google
Located in Harbor Springs, Michigan, Nub’s Nob Ski Area is about a 4-hour drive from metro-Detroit, mostly a straight shot up Interstate 75, with a few 2-lane roads for the final stretch. A Michigan staple for fifty-three years, Nub’s operates 9 chairlifts servicing 53 trails spread across three peaks. Their grooming and snowmaking crew has helped Nub’s win numerous accolades, the most recent of which the Transworld Snowboarding reader’s poll from 2009 placed Nub’s among the Top 5 halfpipes on the “east cost” (which I presume means “east of the Rockies”).
