Pico Opening Day 12/13/14

medfordmike · Dec 13, 2014

After a long hiatus from skiing Pico I went at the end of last season and fell back in love with the place. So this year I purchased a season pass. Eager to break in the pass I headed up for opening day today and skied from open to right around 1 pm. Crowds were manageable but the place was far from empty. Once you got away from the Golden Express lines were no more than a few chairs. Even later in the morning outside of the Golden Express area the mountain felt uncrowded.

Overall temps were in the high 20s and the wind was not bad at all. Visibility was poor particularly on the top half of the mountain. A lot of the mountain was open. Skiing could be had off of the summit (KA was pretty good), Outpost, and the Golden Summit area. I thought the Outpost area had the best overall conditions since the visibility was not an issue and coverage was very good. Sidewinder while short was a lot of fun today and I took several laps on it. They were making snow on 49er but with the low visibility plus the snow making made most people skip it.

Photo is looking up on Summit Glades West.

4aprice · Dec 13, 2014

Was there as well, however I did not go to the summit. Was breaking in a pair of RTM 84's and stuck to Golden Express and OutPost (think that's what the OP means by Outback). The RTM knows one speed and that's fast so it took several runs to get used to it. That and the low ceiling were a little scary. As the day went on and I got used to the skis got some great runs in the Outpost area, a short area of trees and Pipeline were my favs. Regardless of not making it up to the summit had a really fun day. For the most part the snow is a beautiful base snow and if we can get by with out a major melt down the woods should for the most part be in play for a while. Post some pics later.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

medfordmike · Dec 13, 2014

Your right about the Outpost vs. Outback (I fixed it). I ski relatively often at Berkshire East on the weekends so I mixed my areas up. Increasing age and alcohol now that I am home by the wood stove didn't help either.

The visibility was really poor up top. Giant Killer was open but I decided to avoid it given the visibility. Glad you had a good day. Folks in general seemed to be having a good time. Not a bad opening day that is for sure.

Good luck with the new skis.

4aprice said:
Was there as well, however I did not go to the summit. Was breaking in a pair of RTM 84's and stuck to Golden Express and OutPost (think that's what the OP means by Outback). The RTM knows one speed and that's fast so it took several runs to get used to it. That and the low ceiling were a little scary. As the day went on and I got used to the skis got some great runs in the Outpost area, a short area of trees and Pipeline were my favs. Regardless of not making it up to the summit had a really fun day. For the most part the snow is a beautiful base snow and if we can get by with out a major melt down the woods should for the most part be in play for a while. Post some pics later.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

4aprice · Dec 13, 2014

Couple of Pictures:

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

The Sneak · Dec 13, 2014

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1418519889.223063.jpg

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1418519906.456057.jpg

500 miles of driving (round trip) later...
It was a good day, wasn't it gents?

Agreed...Outpost area had the best snow.

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deadheadskier · Dec 13, 2014

500 miles???? Where's home sneak? Glad you gents had a good time!

The Sneak · Dec 13, 2014

Narragansett RI
Edit: to clarify - I was not skiing with the previous posters in this thread. Just also happened to be there.

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C-Rex · Dec 13, 2014

I was up there today too. Killer day. I don't know the lift and trail names, but that terrain serviced by the double was awesome. I headed over there just before they started the lift and got some great fresh tracks. Glades were amazing too. We hiked up Bushwhacker, then ripped Slope B from the top. Again, killer stuff. I hadn't been to Pico in a couple years and back then I didn't get to ride the top stuff. Today left a great impression. 4 days on the snow so far and 2 of them were powder days. The season is of to a hell of a start.

Cornhead · Dec 14, 2014

4aprice said:
Was there as well, however I did not go to the summit. Was breaking in a pair of RTM 84's and stuck to Golden Express and OutPost (think that's what the OP means by Outback). The RTM knows one speed and that's fast so it took several runs to get used to it. That and the low ceiling were a little scary. As the day went on and I got used to the skis got some great runs in the Outpost area, a short area of trees and Pipeline were my favs. Regardless of not making it up to the summit had a really fun day. For the most part the snow is a beautiful base snow and if we can get by with out a major melt down the woods should for the most part be in play for a while. Post some pics later.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

How do you like your RTM 84's? I picked up a pair this year, 181's. I've only had them out a couple times, as I've opted to ski my new rock skis, Volkl Mantras, several times as not to limit my options on the hill. I skied Elk in the rain on the RTM's and had a blast. It was a perfect place, under perfect conditions, other than visibility, to really let them run. Since there were only 13 paying customers that day, including me, there was rarely anyone else on the trails at the same time as you were. The grooming was typical Elk, immaculate, so with a little faith, high speeds weren't too unnerving. I'm looking forward to getting the RTM's in some fresh snow to see how they perform. They should be decent, 181, with full rocker, and rather large tips and tails.

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Tin · Dec 14, 2014

The Sneak said:
Narragansett RI
Edit: to clarify - I was not skiing with the previous posters in this thread. Just also happened to be there.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Amazing opening weekend pics. Just tell me when you want to go, makes the driving easier. Pico skis big and is so cheap.

4aprice · Dec 15, 2014

Try again

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

C-Rex · Dec 15, 2014

I'm still smiling after that day. This season has really started off right. I'm hoping for a little refresher snowfall this week to keep thing going. I keep saying I'm going to take the weekend off but whenever I change my mind it ends up being great.

MadMadWorld · Dec 15, 2014

Not only do the conditions look great but so do the crowds! Glad to see Pico getting some love even if it from the powder fiends.

Smellytele · Dec 15, 2014

I went Sunday and it was still great. The top was actually above the clouds for most of the day. The clouds hung about 3/4 of the way up the summit chair but were not a thick layer. The top skied well - giant killer was fun as was right under the lift and the trail all the way to skiers right. Outpost was fun - I could see a lot of people skied it Saturday as the trails did see some wear. The glades still had great coverage. I didn't hit a rock all day. lifts were practically ski on all day with not more than a 3 minute waitSkied 9:15 to about 3:30 then the kids had had enough. I hadn't been there in 25 years but will be returning much sooner than that. The whole family really enjoyed it.

skifree · Dec 15, 2014

pico sucks. please remove thread

steamboat1 · Dec 15, 2014

Glad to hear everyone had a good time at Pico. Had many a good day there myself. Very underated off the radar area that just happens to be the closest place to our lodge. It must be close to 50 years I've been skiing there.

catsup948 · Dec 15, 2014

My son and I skied pico sunday for his first day skiing this season. It was worth the 2 hour drive for the money. Icey groomers at Berkshire East didnt appeal to me. Killington/Pico is one of the only mountains in New England where he is still free(6yrs). We had a blast. Conditions were amazing. He skied mostly off the Golden Express but we also took a run from the summit all the way down. He loved the soft snow and managed to find the woods a couple times. After ten solid runs he was completely cooked. I had a very quiet ride home!

603Skier · Dec 17, 2014

We skied there sat opening day awesome tree skiing the old line was sweeeeeet

MadMadWorld · Dec 17, 2014

603Skier said:
We skied there sat opening day awesome tree skiing the old line was sweeeeeet

Wow the Poma was in play? That's a damn good base then

JoeB-Z · Dec 18, 2014

Skied there on Monday. $24 Liftopia ticket. Discovered they had a $26 over 50 years ticket also. Tons of snow. Snow was extremely dense but no scratchiness at all. Something like 55 trails open. Upper Giant Killer was fantastic. Large well shaped moguls, edge to edge. Only one run on GK as my legs were shot and I'm nursing a knee injury. I hadn't skied Pico in over 30 years!

Pico Opening Day 12/13/14

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