last winter break weekend - snow or sand?

[ua taco]

I want to go 4-wheeling either in the desert or in Big Bear on the last weekend of the winter break - 12/7-8/2005, possibly spending the night there. Anybody game?
I would prefer Big Bear, since real snow for off-roading is there only during winter. Let's test the winch!!!!! :)

[brian]

if there's snow, i'm considering utah or mammoth on 1/2 - 1/5. if no snow, then tomas's house...........and then maybe desert.

i just can't see myself paying for gas and lift tickets to big bear anymore. simply not worth it.

[RIDEitINTOtheGROUND]

i just can't see myself paying for gas and lift tickets to big bear anymore. simply not worth it.


what?? i know, i havnt gone to the big places yet, but giving up socal all together?

[6wheels]

If we are off for SoCal-Snow I definitely go. Sure, there's nothing worse for snowboarding, than man-made snow, but who gives a shit! Fuel costs are way, if not dimensions, less for Big Bear, and if we have a Taco on site we won't need lift tickets? :D? :D .

i know, i havnt gone to the big places yet, but giving up socal all together?

I have been to big places, and snow is better. But if you don't have your own ATM in the backyard, any resort will do fine for a day or two of fun. If it was for a week, I'd head for the better snow ...

Just to clear things up, if any of the above is going to happen, I'll be with it!

[jmelrose]

there's nothing wrong with socal snow. The nice thing about summit and mt high is that they incorporate jumps and shit into the long runs rather than a few terrain parks like most of the big mountains. We still need to use that mt high weekaday pass too, one more free day.

[ua taco]

alright, looks like there are people willing to go, cool!!!!!!
if you guys want to snowboard, I'll leave you at the park [unless ofcourse there are driveable roads going along the lifts, then we could try driving/winching to the top :)], and then go with anybody not interested in snowboarding 4-wheeling - it's a lot of fun in the snow! Perhaps when you guys are done riding your boards we could do some more 4 wheeling alltogether.
also, does anybody want to go for 2 days? maybe sleeping the night in the tents on the snow in the forest [I never tried this before, but I bet more than a T-shirt is recommended :) ] I think night temperatutes in Big Bear right now are like 20'-30's. just an idea...

[Chris]

That sounds awesome, I have a two person tent that's pretty nice, so whoever wants to snuggle with me is welcome.

[6wheels]

Two days should be to look for. The idea with the tent is nice, but anything below 50 degree is unbelievable freezing in a tent. You'd probably prefer two sleeping bags. While this might be doable for 4 wheeler, it's not as nice for snowboarder, cause you have no place to dry the soaked stuff.

[masta-t]

ill be either in the dez or working on my truck, have fun guys.

[volcomstone]

i would rather go to the desert, my truck and quad dont work well in snow.

[Chris]

Two days should be to look for. The idea with the tent is nice, but anything below 50 degree is unbelievable freezing in a tent. You'd probably prefer two sleeping bags. While this might be doable for 4 wheeler, it's not as nice for snowboarder, cause you have no place to dry the soaked stuff.


I agree with that. I have a super warm down sleeping bag, but unless other people have a warm bag also, they will be cold.

[ua taco]

allright then, 1 day it is, unless everybody wants to spend the night there! I would do either.
which day do you guys prefer - 7 or 8?

volcomstone,
I am sure 2wd truck will not be fun in snow, but a quad actually might be - why not try it? I could take it up there in my truck probably...

I am actually not sure if there will be natural snow, since today there was none on the mountain, just man-made snow on the ski/snowboard runs. Last year at this time there was lots of natural snow all over the mountain. The rangers ar Big Bear Lake told me that they are expecting/hoping for snow soon [as you know it hasn't rained this year yet, like last winter]. So let's hope it snows soon. I guess for snowboarders it will not matter, since they have man made snow, but I need the real one. I'll still go if it doesn't snow, since 4-wheeling there is still fun even without snow.

[6wheels]

ok, in this case I take on

The Bear-Mountain-Sleeping-Bag-Challenge
if the weather is not too bad. Should be a nice adventure. If snowboard-stuff gets a bit humid (and smelly), well we are big boys and it'd be worth trying it. This could become a real low budget trip with big value.
But I'd say, let's look what the weather and snow will be like and take overnight/two days as an option - but an option I wanna take :D

[RIDEitINTOtheGROUND]

we're all gonna die

[Chris]

Just as a reminder.....my tent holds two people. That would be freaking hilarious if everyone brought their sleeping bag and I was the only one with a tent.

Yes, we are all going to die.

[volcomstone]

i have a 2 person tent that is for freezing weather and i also have a 15 degree below zero sleeping bag, if i go i would be real nice a warm, and i also have another sleeping bag that is 5 degrees below. if i go i will let someone barrow that one.

[ua taco]

I have 2 normal [not for freezing weather] sleeping bags and 1 tend that could hold 3 maybe 4 people depending on how close they are willing to be to each other. :)
By the way the gas should be like $50-70 depending on how loaded the truck is.

[brian]

how about mammoth lakes Sun (jan 1) to tuesday or wednesday??

[Chris]

I have work.

[brian]

I have work.


ahahaha....what happened to "i'm not gonna work, i'll be working all day long after i graduate. i'm gonna live it up!"

[ua taco]

I got work too

[Chris]

I have work.


ahahaha....what happened to "i'm not gonna work, i'll be working all day long after i graduate.? i'm gonna live it up!"


It changed to "I'm tired of being broke, and I want to buy more guns as soon as possible."

[6wheels]

... I don't have a visa to work, so lets rock the snow!

and yes, I'd like to sneek into one of your tents for the challenge ;)

what's with that $50..$70 for gas? Have you upgraded your truck with a hot tub spa on the back? (while, mentioning that, would be really nice for this trip)

[ua taco]

Well my last trip to Big Bear - just driving there and back with only 2 people in the truck and pretty much no things took about $40-45. So if the truck has 4-5 people inside plus everybody's things [plus possible atv in the back], and besides normal driving you add in 4-wheeling around the mountain, makes me think the total in gas will be $50-70. Divide that between 4-5 people and you get $10-18 per person... hot tub not included.

[6wheels]

... i know, now worries, mate! I was just joking, I know that your trucks love a bit more gas ;) - thats what they are about. But I wasn't joking about that tub thing. Can u still put it in before that weekend?

And for those not working, I found some sweet lodging for Mammoth at $30-something per night, so if someone else is interested ...

[brian]

anyone want to check out mountain high? mammoth is a little expensive at the moment for just two people. all those 30 dollar/night deals are probably gone cause of the recent snow.

[ua taco]

sorry to kinda steal the post, Brian, but I wanted to start a final count on my original post, since it is getting close to the coming weekend and as we now know it started snowing in Big Bear

so who for sure wants to go to Big Bear this coming weekend and who wants to go for 1 day or two? if one day then which one? also what time does everyone want to drive out? also specify what gear you got as far as camping goes? want to drive/4-wheel your own truck [how much space available]?

I'll start,

Ilya
2 days or 1 day [anyday]
drive out at 6-7 in the morning
2 normal [not low temperature] sleeping bags and 1 tent for 2-4 people
I'll drive my truck [space for 4 passengers and lots of cargo]

[Chris]

What are you planning on doing up there Ilya? Just offroading or are you going to get lift tickets? Do you know where we could camp up there? Is there a campground open now?

[6wheels]

Me want to go snowboarding, preferably both days.
To go boarding both days it still would be better to get stuff dried in some house thing - I would still prefer that! BUT, if there is none and the weather is not too bad, there is that sleeping bag option.
My Tracker would be available, fitting two people with their stuff, or four without, but since I like to go boarding it would not exactly be worth it.
Low Temp Bag yes, tent no.
I wanted to rent my snow gear at the UCSD shop, any bad experience there??

Who else is defin. going snowboarding?
Jesse, did you check that place in Big Bear you mentioned last night?

[RIDEitINTOtheGROUND]

this all sounds well and good fun, but i'm not sure i want to afford 2days right now. anyone up for just a saturday or maybe fri night/sat trip?

[ua taco]

I would do either one: saturday + sunday, saturday only or friday night/saturday
By the way I called the rangers in Big Bear and they said that Hollcomb campground (that's nearby the city, but higher up in the mountains, I actually kinda know where) will be open and also there are some spots in the forest where we could camp without the campground, but we have to come by the Discovery Center in Big Bear [I know where that is] in order for them to show us on the map where these spots are. We can get more maps there too. Also there was snow there, but alot of it has melted, but perhaps there will be some higher up the mountain. I'll go off-roading either way. Ofcourse man made snow is always there on the runs.

[jmelrose]

I vote Saturday only. The drive is fast, no $ for accomodations, no pneumonia from sleeping in a tent, and I get to work on my truck on Sunday.

BRILLIANT!!

[RIDEitINTOtheGROUND]

I vote Saturday only. The drive is fast, no $ for accomodations, no pneumonia from sleeping in a tent, and I get to work on my truck on Sunday.

BRILLIANT!!


+1

or if there are many we can fill another vehicle and have a one day group and 2 day group

[ua taco]

ok, then so far for sure are me, Chris, Thorsten, Billy and Jesse going on Saturday morning and coming back on Saturday night, alright? We can all fit in my truck, but not anymore. If anybody else wants to go we can figure out another vehicle. So if anybody else wants to go please post here so we can figure something out. Brian, Volcomstone, Ken, Jose? I think Thornsten was saying that he might be able to bring his little tracker if needed too. Extra bonus for that option is 2 vehicles offroading instead of 1.
I can pick up Billy and Jesse at 6:00, then Thornsten at like 6:15 and then Chris like at 6:30, so that we can be in Big Bear by 9:00 a.m.. How does that sound?

Hey Jesse, I might join you in Tomas' house on Sunday to work on my truck and help you out if I can if Tomas will be ok with that. I have to call him and see what's up.

[brian]

k. i'm down. guess i'm driving too, eh?

[ua taco]

Cool that you are going too, Brian!!!!

Thornsten, sure you don't want to go 4-wheeling in your tracker after the snowboarding?

I just talked to Ken, he might go too and might bring his truck, although he doesn't want to go 4-wheeling in it, but I will wait for him to post his final decision, since he wasn't quite sure on the phone, but promised to post something by the end of Thursday the latest.

P.S.
Anybody know if it is OK to drive with a malfunctioning oxygen sensor # 1 (that is air/fuel mixture sensor that mounts in front of the catalytic converter)? Meaning my truck will not shut down on me suddenly and no really bad damage to other emmission components from this, right?
I've been driving like this for the last 2 days and no noticeable differences in performance right now. Planning to diagnose the problem more tommorrow, but almost for sure it is that air/fuel mixture sensor dying out at 74000 miles (shit is expensive).

[6wheels]

Thornsten, sure you don't want to go 4-wheeling in your tracker after the snowboarding?


hm, definitely wanna go snowboarding until i'm toast - dunno how long that takes though. It only took me 2 hours of windsurfing on Monday ;)
Snowboarding has highest priority! Might not be as much time after that for 4wheelin, but i'll see ...
One of my roommates might join in on the trip (for skiing) if there's a seat in some car left, but this is not 100% yet.

[jmelrose]

worse case driving with a bank one sensor out will put the fuel injection system in safety mode, prob putting too much fuel in. I doubt it will cause any significant problems.

[brian]

mmm....running rich. let's see some flames out the exhaust.

[RIDEitINTOtheGROUND]

we can put a little fan in your snorkel to lean out the mixture a bit :)

[RIDEitINTOtheGROUND]

chris if you need a board, i have mine from last year available for the small fee that you get the board waxed after the trip (10bucks at sport chalet)

[ua taco]

alright, since Ken didn't post anything I am assuming he isn't going
then we have: me, Chris, Billy, Brian, Jesse, Thornsten [and Thornsten's friend?]
so who is going to take another vehicle?

P.S.: I think I can just turn the snorkel to face back and there'll be less air coming in. No changes in the truck performance so far, including gas mileage.
Funny story - this morning at like 6 a.m. I was continuing wiring my lights, trying to finish it up before my work at 7 and accidentally short circuited a whole bunch of fuses, including ignition - so the truck wouldn't start, even though lights and a bunch of other sings were working. I was working on a little fuse board inside the cab, but as it turns out the power to a bunch of fuses on that board came from a bigger fuse on another fuse block that's in the engine compartment. Anyway, this took me a while to figure out, but I was very happy to hear the egnine start again.

[brian]

i'll drive. what time are we leaving?

[ua taco]

alright, since there are more people going now, let's all meet at UCSD at the parking lot near the bikeshop [old student center] at 6:30 a.m.. Then we could pile up into 2 vehicles and get going, while leaving other vehicles parked at the parking lot. UCSD parking is still freee right now, right?

[6wheels]

alright, since there are more people going now, let's all meet at UCSD at the parking lot near the bikeshop [old student center] at 6:30 a.m.. Then we could pile up into 2 vehicles and get going, while leaving other vehicles parked at the parking lot.

I like that idea!


UCSD parking is still freee right now, right?


No, it is not anymore. Any alternatives? Shoping Center near the movies?

btw. I heard that u could get the lift tickets somewhere else cheaper. Anyone any information about that?

[ua taco]

you sure it's not free on Saturday?
if so then ok, plaza where the Ralphs/Movie Theater is next choice - we'll meet behind the movie theatre, in the parking lot next to Good Guys.
You guys think they will not give you tickets for parking there all day? I know we used to do this for bike races and everything was fine.

[masta-t]

parking should be free during the weekend, unless if you have a hard-on to park in A Spot that's reserved 24 hours/7days.

[RIDEitINTOtheGROUND]

ya its always free on weekends. so meet at bikeshop lot @6:30am. good.

ilya.. make sure to bring some more fuses ;)

[jmelrose]

for now it seems I will not be able to make it. The muscle relaxers aren't doing shit, but we'll see how my neck is in the morning.

[ua taco]

damn, I hope you get better by the morning, Jesse


ucsd bikeshop at 6:30 it is, everybody

[RIDEitINTOtheGROUND]

awesome day today, i am gonna be soooo wrecked in the morning...

thanks everyone for coming out and esp. to ilya and bri for driving!

[brian]

hell yeah. can't believe i didn't fall asleep on the drive back down :D j/k.

[6wheels]

woohoo, that was fun!

http://stehbrettsegeln.myftp.org/bilder/sandiego/mov00189.jpg http://stehbrettsegeln.myftp.org/bilder/sandiego/mov00186.jpg http://stehbrettsegeln.myftp.org/bilder/sandiego/mov00185.jpg http://stehbrettsegeln.myftp.org/bilder/sandiego/mov00190.jpg

no gallery yet, really need to edit the video, so you don't get sea sick. (Looks like I was filming it from Brians truck :D ) Actually need to copy it first - Billy what about that charger-less-but-firewire-equiped-camera?
If you want good video, we definitely need to go again - especially Jesse and Brian were always dashing off too fast to film them ;) Maybe even get some decent snow later on the winter.

[jmelrose]

cool that was a fun trip aside from setting back the healing process a bit.

We will definitely go more this season and hopefully in some real snow.

[brian]

i can have my friend edit the videos, he's got my camera and he enjoy's doing it as it gives him an excuse to make a tool/APC music video. that's right cockface, i know you're reading this.

[6wheels]

... thanks to Sean to try to help me out with the camera,
BUT
(damn I totally forgot about that)
seems that the video is stuck on my tape till I get back to Europe since the video is in PAL as opposed to American NTSC format. Unless somebody knows someone who's got a European PAL-MiniDV-Video-Camera.

[brian]

you don't have a firewire connector on the camcorder?