Blue Mt or Camelback tomorrow?

I was up at Montage this past weekend and from now on, I'm going to recommend that beginners go there. It's well worth the extra drive past Shawnee or Camelback.

All of the more challenging terrain is on the lower part of the mountain. From 9-12 we skied right on the lifts every run. The trails are very wide, have very low skier/rider density and very well groomed.

An update from my previous post...skied Camelback this past Saturday which was a lot of fun due to the sun and warm conditions. I was impressed with the snow conditions at Camelback, but disappointed with the terrain. Skied pretty much the whole mountain including all the blacks and the one double black. While it was fun, I felt like I would ski 3-5 minutes per run and then wait 10-15 minutes in a liftline and then do again. Not enough vertical or variability. I did like that Rocket and Lower Cleo were moguled up.

mikec142 said:

An update from my previous post...skied Camelback this past Saturday which was a lot of fun due to the sun and warm conditions. I was impressed with the snow conditions at Camelback, but disappointed with the terrain. Skied pretty much the whole mountain including all the blacks and the one double black. While it was fun, I felt like I would ski 3-5 minutes per run and then wait 10-15 minutes in a liftline and then do again. Not enough vertical or variability. I did like that Rocket and Lower Cleo were moguled up.

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Welcome to Saturdays in the Poconos.

My advice? Suck it up, drive an extra hour, and ski in the Catskills.

Massively better terrain, far better conditions, and less wait time in lift lines (typically).

BenedictGomez said:

Welcome to Saturdays in the Poconos.

My advice? Suck it up, drive an extra hour, and ski in the Catskills.

Massively better terrain, far better conditions, and less wait time in lift lines (typically).

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Not sure where your coming from but try Elk. Nice longer runs and no crowds even on Weekends, I haven't been to Hunter for some time but it was packed.
I love Hunter but I won't do a weekend

Siliconebobsquarepants said:

Not sure where your coming from but try Elk. Nice longer runs and no crowds even on Weekends, I haven't been to Hunter for some time but it was packed.
I love Hunter but I won't do a weekend

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Never been to Elk but that will change soon. Elk is only about 45 minutes closer to me than the Catskills.

The issue with crowds isnt just the line, it's the vertical. Lets say you hit Camelback and Hunter on terrible weekends with 20 minute lines, well, you'll do more skiing in the Cats than in the Poconos. I just couldnt tolerate those lines for 4 minute runs. To each their own of course.

BenedictGomez said:

Never been to Elk but that will change soon. Elk is only about 45 minutes closer to me than the Catskills.

The issue with crowds isnt just the line, it's the vertical. Lets say you hit Camelback and Hunter on terrible weekends with 20 minute lines, well, you'll do more skiing in the Cats than in the Poconos. I just couldnt tolerate those lines for 4 minute runs. To each their own of course.

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One of Elk's advertising slogans for years is "Vermont skiing in Pa."
I would say that it's not to far off. 1000' vertical is not huge , but the mountain spreads out from the top down resembling a larger mountain. plenty of Bumps, cruisers ,
Camelback and Blue are on Ridges , Elk is a peak.

BenedictGomez said:

The issue with crowds isnt just the line, it's the vertical. Lets say you hit Camelback and Hunter on terrible weekends with 20 minute lines, well, you'll do more skiing in the Cats than in the Poconos. I just couldnt tolerate those lines for 4 minute runs. To each their own of course.

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Last week I skied Camelback on Wed and Hunter on Thursday. No issues with crowds or wait time on lines either day. Both days had good conditions, though Hunter was better. It was pretty much ski down and jump on the lift. Maybe a few minute wait at Hunter in late morning/early afternoon at most.

That said, the runs at Camelback are so much shorter that you don't feel like you are skiing nearly as much, even with shorter times on the lift. If you go down a black fast you feel like you've spent no time skiing at all. It was just a far more satisflying ski day at Hunter because you feel like you get more skiing in. I'll drive the extra hour. I have to drive 2 hours no matter what anyway.

Pictures don't lie. First one is CB..Second is Hunter

Wavewheeler said:

That said, the runs at Camelback are so much shorter that you don't feel like you are skiing nearly as much, even with shorter times on the lift. If you go down a black fast you feel like you've spent no time skiing at all. It was just a far more satisflying ski day at Hunter because you feel like you get more skiing in.

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Yup, great way to describe it. For me, it's even more of a dramatic drive time. I can be at Shawnee in 50 minutes and Camelback in about an hour, yet I'll drive 2 hours and 45 minutes to Plattekill instead. Helps that we can crash in Rhinebeck about 1h and 10 minutes from there at gf's family and ski both Saturday and Sunday. It's nice that the Poconos are so close, and those mountains are awesome for young families, but truth be told I get kindof bored after 3 or 4 hours skiing there, whereas I'm not going to get bored in the Cats.

It's no surprise. Camelback has 800' of vertical while Hunter has twice that, at 1600'. Camelback makes up for it a bit by spreading terrain out along the ridge, but its still no comparison. CB is great for what it is, but Hunter wins in every category... except distance from my house.

I've really enjoyed having the Pocono's in my backyard (so to speak) for the last decade. It's 45 minutes door to door from my house to Camelback (1:05 to Blue). I could detail a laundry list of good and bad things about it, but mostly it has allowed me to ski just about anytime I want. I definitely feel I've gotten my moneys worth out of all the passes I've bought and it lead my daughter into teaching (now at Killington) and my son into racing. Length of runs and vertical (most overated stat IMO) are not what I go there for but to get out on the snow, work on my skiing (especially the bumps when they are up) and enjoy the outdoors. They do a great job of making snow and even in the crappiest years get the entire mountain open. There are 15 ways down the ridge at CBK and starting at one end and skiing them all across to the other end will take you a while to do and is entertaining. We all know that they are not the biggest mountains and that the weather can be at times challenging but to me it beats living in the flatlands with no skiing.

This is the boys final race season at Camelback so my time here could be almost done. March 1st is the team dinner and after that it will be "up north" the rest of the season. (S Vermont being my target for this spring). Both kids will be in NNE next year so traveling is going to be much more on the docket and I expect to spend much more skiing time up there. However, the wife has expressed interest in maybe renewing our passes because of the convinence factor. I haven't decided anything yet.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

BenedictGomez said:

It's nice that the Poconos are so close, and those mountains are awesome for young families, but truth be told I get kindof bored after 3 or 4 hours skiing there, whereas I'm not going to get bored in the Cats.

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It's an hour more for me to the Cats. If I'm driving 2 hours I might as well go 3. I'm used to driving long distances. Everything I like to do is far from me.

Camelback is good for a day but I couldn't see doing more. At Hunter I always want to come back the next day.

My daughter, who isn't as "daring" a skier liked Camelback for the day but taking her to Killington all these years has spoiled her. She is going to be joining for a wed trip first week in March.

Siliconebobsquarepants said:

Not sure where your coming from but try Elk. Nice longer runs and no crowds even on Weekends, I haven't been to Hunter for some time but it was packed.
I love Hunter but I won't do a weekend

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For me (from NJ), it's 1:15 to Shawnee, 1:30 to Blue and Camelback which works well for day trips. However it's about 2:25 to Elk, Hunter, Windham, and Belleayre. Think I'm gonna drive the extra hour next trip.

mikec142 said:

An update from my previous post...skied Camelback this past Saturday which was a lot of fun due to the sun and warm conditions. I was impressed with the snow conditions at Camelback, but disappointed with the terrain. Skied pretty much the whole mountain including all the blacks and the one double black. While it was fun, I felt like I would ski 3-5 minutes per run and then wait 10-15 minutes in a liftline and then do again. Not enough vertical or variability. I did like that Rocket and Lower Cleo were moguled up.

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This is why I love the VIP passes at Blue. I can get in 6 runs an hour from 8-10:30. From 11:30 onwards it's about 4-5 runs an hour.

mikec142 said:

For me (from NJ), it's 1:15 to Shawnee, 1:30 to Blue and Camelback which works well for day trips. However it's about 2:25 to Elk, Hunter, Windham, and Belleayre. Think I'm gonna drive the extra hour next trip.

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Highly recommended!

Went to Jack Forst for the first time in a few decades last weekend. Had a blast with my youngest. Fun mountain. Feels much more top to bottom than Camabelback's main face. So though the trails a short, they don't feel interrupted with all the merges etc… Also, had some bumps, and some steeps - though the steeps were short. And some trees - though shallow and very wide spaced. On the other hand, there wasn't quite enough snow to ski all the trees, and there were a few steep (but short) tree sections….

All in all, it was a fun day. I'd say Blue still has the edge on terrain, but enjoyed the smaller, mellower crowd.

Going back this weekend, or if the family bails, going to drive solo to elk.

tnt said:

And some trees - though shallow and very wide spaced. On the other hand, there wasn't quite enough snow to ski all the trees, and there were a few steep (but short) tree sections….

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Trees? Interesting. I didnt know there was any tree skiing in the Poconos.

BenedictGomez said:

Trees? Interesting. I didnt know there was any tree skiing in the Poconos.

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Yeah, don't get too excited. They basically thinned out the trees between the trails and on the far end of east mountain, and they seem not to care where you go. Problem is lack of pitch makes it kind of slow going.

There was a nice section above the elevator that is pretty fun, and I heard and saw video of a pitch tot he right of flyods folly called Risk It that looks nice - wasn't enough snow on it last week. So for sure, it's better than nothing.

And the trees are perfect for beginners and kids….


I have been avoiding jack frost for the last four or five years since I've been skiing frequently again and getting the kids into it because of the lack of vert. but, I have to say, it's well worth a shot. We had a real nice time. the fact that there is any tree skiing at all and they have a 'ski anywhere' attitude makes it different and therefore fun for the day!

Again, I'd take blue - which also has two bladed areas which, with snow, are pretty fun - in terms of vert. and terrain, but the crowds on weekends can get pretty brutal.

Off the east side of Frost there is some steep, but short, tree skiing. For what it is, I like Jack Frost. It's even smaller than Camelback, and with less steeps, but its usually crowd free, and the snow is probably some of the best in the Poconos. There is tree skiing in PA but its a rare occasion when its actually ride-able.

Wavewheeler said:

Highly recommended!

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Made it to Windham this past Saturday. Took 2:25 to get there, but as advertised the extra hour in the car was worth it. Snow was great including a lot of soft moguls. Plenty of packed powder to go along with blue skies in the AM and clouds in the PM. My only complaint was that the lift lines at the two high speed quads were really bad. Toward the end of our day, the lines got much better and we skied about 5/6 runs in the last hour we were there. It was a serious step up from Blue or Camelback and well worth the trip and the extra $$$.

For the NJ locals in this thread - Mountain Creek had some sweet powder bumps this weekend on Zero G and Upper and Lower Straightaway. Haven't been to the Creek in years, but I saw moguls on their report and decided to hit it rather than driving the extra two hours to Sundown or Hunter. I bought a twighlight ticket and shared the bumps with no more than two or three people at a time. Most of the time I was the only one skiing them. Surprisingly awesome time at MC.