Montage mountain PA 1-27-14

[danimals]

First trip report on these forums. I'm posting from a bus so don't mind any typos.

The original plan was to head to gore, but I slept through my first alarm. Had a free ticket to montage and made the 2 hour trek.

For those who aren't aware, montage became sno mountain a few years ago and is now montage again. It's laid out like belleayre, lodge midway up. The top is mellow and the lower part is steep. Their expert lift is a short walk from the lot.

Overall this was the best non powder day I've had in PA. No lines at the lift and the snow was perfect. The expert area which they call the north face has in my opinion the best trails in PA.




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[danimals]

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[danimals]

Sorry for multiple posts.
Another cool thing about this place is that it's right in Scranton. So you can head into the city afterwards. There are also a bunch of restaurants right down the road.




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[spring_mountain_high]

nice report...i always drive by that place on my way to elk and have always been curious, but dubious with the bankruptcy and all

 

[mriceyman]

From cnj so its a good 2.5 hrs away.. Tough to justify for poconoes .. Steeps you mention? Been to the mountain in the summer for work and i guess i only saw the top which looked tame. Will look it up now.


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[MadMadWorld]

Looks like some fun terrain. Give that liftline a trim and I'm sure it would ski really nice after a big storm.

 

[Nick]

Welcome to AlpineZone! Great report!

 

[4aprice]

From cnj so its a good 2.5 hrs away.. Tough to justify for poconoes .. Steeps you mention? Been to the mountain in the summer for work and i guess i only saw the top which looked tame. Will look it up now.


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Not a fan of Montage aka Sno aka Montage. JMO Thankful there are no more races there and I never have to go again.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

 

[danimals]

May I ask why?


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[〽❄❅]

Went there back when the place first opened. Top/Mid mountain trails are nice and wide as they should be, but also so gentle felt like a cross country ski trail, actually much more challenging runs at Garnet Hill cross county ski center! Lower half got steep but at the bottom where you dump out to the lift line. I didn't think the steeps, which although nice, were long enough to put up with what comes before it.
Can't say how things changed since that inaugural year, there did look to be some sick terrain potential at that lower section going to the base of the lift.
Admittedly i still drive past en-route to Elk and likely will continue to do so. However if i were a novice to intermediate skier and all things equal snow wise, i'd go to Montage over anywhere in the Poconos (CB, BB, JF, Blue).

 

[4aprice]

May I ask why?




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Sure, hate the layout, they actually have a decent vertical but it can only be skied on 2 trails, then in order to get back up to the top you have to take 2 lifts because the Long Haul lift is never in operating condition. Northface lift scares me. Parking,stairs and the lodge (understand that is being replaced) left a lot to be desired. Past management was interested in many things but not the ski area (conversation friends had with owner in bar). If they ever were to expand to the left of Long Haul (with at least 2 or more trails) and replace that lift with a high speed quad then I might reconsider but as of now I prefer the trio of Elk, Camelback and Blue all over Montage.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

 

[danimals]

I definitely can see what you mean. They did redo the stairs and lodge and it is super nice. Long haul only runs weekends and is pretty annoying. I usually just stay on north face.


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[trackbiker]

For those who haven't been there, they have a morning ticket from 9:00 to 1:00 for $29.00. It's worth checking out. The crowds are lower than other Pocono Mountains and the conditions usually stay good all day. The top is pretty flat but the bottom has some nice steeps. Most better skiers just stay on the North Face.