Talking Pennsylvania

[highpeaksdrifter]

Before my AZ days I had a vague understanding that there where places to ski in Pennsylvania. Since I never had any intention of skiing there I never took the time to find out anything about them. From AZ I’ve learned more about them and pay more attention when they are brought up in conversation.

We get our fair share of people from Pennsylvania vacationing in Whiteface/Lake Placid and when I happen to be riding the gondi and talking to them I always ax which one is the best.

The consensus seems to be Elk followed by Cammelback. I always ax about Blue cause of GSS and the responses are luke warm. They always say its OK (with the qualifier) by Pennsylvania standards, but there are better choices.

Do those in the know think the feedback I’ve gotten is a fair assessment?

 

[Greg]

We get our fair share of people from Pennsylvania vacationing in Whiteface/Lake Placid and when I happen to be riding the gondi and talking to them I always ax which one is the best.

The consensus seems to be Elk followed by Cammelback. I always ax about Blue cause of GSS and the responses are luke warm. They always say its OK (with the qualifier) by Pennsylvania standards, but there are better choices.

What's up with the ghetto speak? :blink:

Why don't you just go full out ghetto:

http://www.ghettotranslator.com/tra...post370108&submit=Translate+Any+Url+Ta+Ghetto

:lol:

 

[andyzee]

Before my AZ days I had a vague understanding that there where places to ski in Pennsylvania. Since I never had any intention of skiing there I never took the time to find out anything about them. From AZ I’ve learned more about them and pay more attention when they are brought up in conversation.

We get our fair share of people from Pennsylvania vacationing in Whiteface/Lake Placid and when I happen to be riding the gondi and talking to them I always ax which one is the best.

The consensus seems to be Elk followed by Cammelback. I always ax about Blue cause of GSS and the responses are luke warm. They always say its OK (with the qualifier) by Pennsylvania standards, but there are better choices.

Do those in the know think the feedback I’ve gotten is a fair assessment?

Nope





(but then again, I'm not in the know) I's just know i would never ever ski Camelback, but have visted Blue on occasion. For PA, Blues not a bad mountain.

 

[RootDKJ]

I think Blue gets a bad rap because their grooming isn't the best. If you get their early, it's pretty good most of the time. There's also really only about 8 top to bottom runs, out of 33 trails where Camelback is spread out (wider), offering some different approaches to the lifts.

It's about an hour drive for me to go to Camelback, and 90 minutes to get to Blue. I prefer Blue because the runs are longer. Also, the $4.50 chilli in the Summit lodge rocks.

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

What's up with the ghetto speak? :blink:

Why don't you just go full out ghetto:

http://www.ghettotranslator.com/tra...post370108&submit=Translate+Any+Url+Ta+Ghetto

:lol:

I know a couple of friends from long island who pronounce ask as ax. It amuses me so I say it.

I've used it in this forum over a 100 times, why bring it up now? Just find ghettotranslator and looking for a chance to work it in?

What's up with hijacking a thread with the first reply?

 

[Greg]

I know a couple of friends from long island who pronounce ask as ax. It amuses me so I say it.

Okay.

I've used it in this forum over a 100 times, why bring it up now? Just find ghettotranslator and looking for a chance to work it in?

You're keeping track? Actually, your axes prompted me to search for the ghettotranslator. I figured there just had to be something like that out there... :lol:

What's up with hijacking a thread with the first reply?

Just to get a rise out of you. It worked. :razz:

HNY, HPD!

 

[andyzee]

Freaking C.L.I.T.S. always try to get a rise out of you!

 

[millerm277]

Blue- It has good vert, especially for PA, although the "Home Stretch" run-out gets annoying. Trails aren't bad,. The new trail should help though, another T2B run makes it much better, and makes up for the loss of Sidewinder a couple years ago to the parks. The 6-pack and HSQ are very nice though...6-pack (which is what runs midweek), is incredibly smooth. The biggest problem is the grooming and the direction it faces. Most of the mountain is sort of like Hunter West. Not much in direct sun.

I personally happen to like Sno Mountain (formerly Montage). Terribly slow lifts. However, the North Face pod of Cannonball, Smoke, Boomer, and White Lightening are all great trails. And White Lightening is legitimately steep. Fast Track and Runaway are also nice long runs, although that lift is painfully slow. The rest of the upper mountain is kind of boring, but I can spend all day on the North Face. Also, they installed SMI fan guns along every trail on the mountain, and have been making a TON of snow. Also, most importantly...never any crowds that I've seen there.

 

[ski9]

Hmmm...I'd say there were more sh*tty skiers at WF than at Elk on a typical weekend....maybe 7000 more? Was your point to quality or quantity? I tried to answer both. Last time we raced at WF, someone stole one of the kid's skis. Locals, I guess. But that happens here, too.

 

[ski9]

Blue- It has good vert, especially for PA, although the "Home Stretch" run-out gets annoying. Trails aren't bad,. The new trail should help though, another T2B run makes it much better, and makes up for the loss of Sidewinder a couple years ago to the parks. The 6-pack and HSQ are very nice though...6-pack (which is what runs midweek), is incredibly smooth. The biggest problem is the grooming and the direction it faces. Most of the mountain is sort of like Hunter West. Not much in direct sun.

I personally happen to like Sno Mountain (formerly Montage). Terribly slow lifts. However, the North Face pod of Cannonball, Smoke, Boomer, and White Lightening are all great trails. And White Lightening is legitimately steep. Fast Track and Runaway are also nice long runs, although that lift is painfully slow. The rest of the upper mountain is kind of boring, but I can spend all day on the North Face. Also, they installed SMI fan guns along every trail on the mountain, and have been making a TON of snow. Also, most importantly...never any crowds that I've seen there.

Ten chairs between people this afternoon at Sno...my home hill.

 

[RootDKJ]

Blue- It has good vert, especially for PA, although the "Home Stretch" run-out gets annoying. Trails aren't bad,. The new trail should help though, another T2B run makes it much better, and makes up for the loss of Sidewinder a couple years ago to the parks. The 6-pack and HSQ are very nice though...6-pack (which is what runs midweek), is incredibly smooth. The biggest problem is the grooming and the direction it faces. Most of the mountain is sort of like Hunter West. Not much in direct sun.

I personally happen to like Sno Mountain (formerly Montage). Terribly slow lifts. However, the North Face pod of Cannonball, Smoke, Boomer, and White Lightening are all great trails. And White Lightening is legitimately steep. Fast Track and Runaway are also nice long runs, although that lift is painfully slow. The rest of the upper mountain is kind of boring, but I can spend all day on the North Face. Also, they installed SMI fan guns along every trail on the mountain, and have been making a TON of snow. Also, most importantly...never any crowds that I've seen there.

Switch it up and go through the mini park.

 

[JohnGD33]

Blue- It has good vert, especially for PA, although the "Home Stretch" run-out gets annoying. Trails aren't bad,. The new trail should help though, another T2B run makes it much better, and makes up for the loss of Sidewinder a couple years ago to the parks. The 6-pack and HSQ are very nice though...6-pack (which is what runs midweek), is incredibly smooth. The biggest problem is the grooming and the direction it faces. Most of the mountain is sort of like Hunter West. Not much in direct sun.

I personally happen to like Sno Mountain (formerly Montage). Terribly slow lifts. However, the North Face pod of Cannonball, Smoke, Boomer, and White Lightening are all great trails. And White Lightening is legitimately steep. Fast Track and Runaway are also nice long runs, although that lift is painfully slow. The rest of the upper mountain is kind of boring, but I can spend all day on the North Face. Also, they installed SMI fan guns along every trail on the mountain, and have been making a TON of snow. Also, most importantly...never any crowds that I've seen there.

I ride sno mtn about 40 days a year and the north face is very fun! The place never seems to be busy!

 

[ski9]

Switch it up and go through the mini park.

I've heard Ray's daughter can't find the keys to the groomers.

 

[ski9]

I ride sno mtn about 40 days a year and the north face is very fun! The place never seems to be busy!

Eh, it's been a little too 'unbusy', though. We've enjoyed the privacy, but even the most xenophobic of us are hoping for a good finish to this holiday.

 

[trackbiker]

I don't have a "home" mountain and ski all over eastern PA. I think you hear about Elk being #1 because it is. You hear about Camelback because it likely has the most skier visits. Here's how I would rank them:

#1. Elk. Has the best terrain. Almost all of their trails are TTB with continuos pitch. While their snowmaking is not the most extensive, their grooming is always ranked near the best nationally. I don't know what their secret is, but they do a great job at grooming. They have added some snow guns this year. The lodge is small and gets crowded on busy days. They don't have any high speed lifts but run the fixed grips at max. speed.

#2. I may be a little prejudiced here because I've likely skied here the most. It would definitely be #2 if the founder was still alive. I like the HS lifts on a weekday but stay away on the weekend. With a HSQ and a HS 6-Pack serving the same trails, they get skied off really fast. I like the long trails and while there is a flat runout at the bottom of the HS lifts, it is still less overall than at Camelback. The plan was to add more trails, and if Ray Tuthill was still around, they would probably be open. His daughter seems a lot more tight fisted with the pocketbook when it comes to expanding, grooming, and improvements in general. Maybe bulking up the books for a sale? FREE ski check is really nice. Best lighting.

#3. Sno Mountain. The new owners lined the slopes with SMI snowguns. Never crowded even on a holiday weekend. The Northface has some nice black diamonds with no flat runout but are relatively short. The lifts are slow and the lodge is akin to a high school cafeteria. Lots of parents and grandparents of tubers guarding tables with junk all over them because it's $3.00 for a locker. But if you stay away from the lodge, the conditions are great even into the night due to the low crowds and excellent snowmaking. It's like two areas because most people on this thread would not be interested in the flat upper part of the mountain, except to take a break. They rarely run the Longhaul for that reason and shut it down at night. But I've change my weekend night skiing to Sno from Blue for the conditions. Hope the new owners make it. Doesn't seem like they spent a lot of money on skiing in the last year. Still need better lighting and a HS lift to compete with CB and Blue. Closest to Elk but can't compete with Elk's terrain.

#4. Camelback. Again, don't go on a weekend. Easy access to NJ and NY brings in the gapers for their annual ski weekend. They have some nice black diamonds but they are short and pretty much alll the same with longer flat runouts than blue. Cliffhanger is the execption with long sustained pitch. Many of their trails are switchbacks which would be considered connectors in N.E. or out west. I was there Tuesday and the new management seems to also be tightfisted in that on one of their busiest days they didn't have some lifts running that they used to run on busy days and shut down lifts at night that they used to keep open. Big lodge with plenty of room if you look for it. They changed the locker area in the basement to "preferred rentals" or something and added $15.00 parking to the upper lot. Seems they only want the gaper crowd. I won't be back.

Other notables:
Jack Frost: Fun place on a weekday with some nice steeps on the east side. No night skiing but the ticket is also good at Big Boulder for night skiing which is essentially a terrain park.
Blue Knob: Could challenge Elk for #1 in a good snow year but I like Elk's trails better.
Bear Creak: A few short steeps for a week night outing. BEST LODGE IN THE EAST! And I don't care about lodges.
Spring Mountain: Nice little feeder hill close to Phila. Well managed since the Buckman ski shop family took over operation.

Looking forward to seeing GSS's opinion.

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

Hmmm...I'd say there were more sh*tty skiers at WF than at Elk on a typical weekend....maybe 7000 more? Was your point to quality or quantity? I tried to answer both. Last time we raced at WF, someone stole one of the kid's skis. Locals, I guess. But that happens here, too.

Based on the hostile tone of your answer, I guess you thought my intent was to put down Pennsylvania skiing it was not.

I got a lot of my info on Pennsylvania a couple of weeks ago when the Northeast Ski Writers Association was at WF. Several of those guys live in your neck of the woods and of course they have skied all over.

I have not started a thread on AZ in awhile mainly cause I can’t think of anything new to say so I thought I’d give this a try.

We all live where we live for our own reasons. If we ski we have to make the most of what we have. I don’t make fun of ski areas because of where in the country they are located.

Hmmm...I'd say there were more sh*tty skiers at WF than at Elk on a typical weekend....maybe 7000 more? Was your point to quality or quantity? I tried to answer both. Last time we raced at WF, someone stole one of the kid's skis. Locals, I guess. But that happens here, too.

7,000 skiers on a typical weekend? Don’t think so? We get around 225,000 skier visits for a typical season.

What's with the more shitty skiers at WF take?

Why do you assume it was locals who stole your kids skis?

 

[jonhere]

I grew up skiing the Poconos and still hit them up once a year when visiting family.

Camelback and Blue are decent and have the best Dec skiing since they make the most snow. However to close to Jersey, get crowded on weekends.

Always liked skiing the blacks at Montage. Few lift lines here.

Elk is my all time PA favorite. Nothing fancy about Elk but a great mountain by PA standards.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

when the Northeast Ski Writers Association was at WF.

Did I meet you? No one identified himself as highpeaksdrifter.

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

Did I meet you? No one identified himself as highpeaksdrifter.

I was one of the Mt. Hosts on the tour. There where all good skiers in our group, I had a blast with you guys. I was in the group with Ted Blazer and Ed Krel.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Too bad, I must've missed you...I was at all of the meetings and the bobsled ride, but the wife and I were skiing by ourselves on both days. We spent all Saturday ducking ropes.
http://firsttracksonline.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7357

Oh well, I need to go back when Lookout is open, so I'll PM you before I head up.

Sorry for the hijack. I've skied Elk and Camelback a bunch of times. Both are fun as "gym workouts" -- something to keep you in shape until you get back to more challenging hills. That said, I nailed a great powder night last March, 12 inches of fresh and dumping all evening. Very cool to claim that you skied dry powder in PA