legalskier
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I’d heard so many nice things about Elk that I’ve been wanting to go for quite some time; I never did because there are other Pa ski areas closer (e.g. Camelback is about an hour closer and is on the same route), and the drive time is the same for me as to the Cats. But my desire to try some place new overrode these considerations on Tuesday so I finally got myself there and found out all those things are indeed true. Yes, it does remind one of Vermont, given its remoteness, the white steepled churches along the approach road, and the mountain itself. After parking, a shuttle took me up to the main lodge, which is an A-frame structure that is clean, comfortable, nicely organized, and was expanded/updated fairly recently; it has a nice sit down restaurant on the far end called “Winter Garden” with hanging plants and a peaked roof made of glass.
From the top of Elk you can see it clearly is the highest peak in the “Endless Mountains” (not the Poconos) with beautiful views all around. Five inches of freshies under bluebird skies greeted me as I got off the East Chair, sweet. Elk skies bigger than its 1000’ vert and it has three “faces” (for lack of a better word) that also provide a bigger mountain feeling: the main face, and the eastern and western sides. What I enjoyed most was the trail variety, pitch and configuration. Some of the trails are narrower, winding through the woods with legitimate single black pitch, while others are open boulevards good for carving. Elk boasts three nice bump runs: the signature Tunkhannock trail (wall to wall bumps under the quad), the steep and narrower Iroquois, and the easier Chippewa (you bump skiers would enjoy all three). The steeps are the best I’ve encountered in Pa, and there are lots, some longer than others. Though it has no HSQ, the traditional lifts simply add to Elk's relaxed, laid back vibe. (RootDKJ posted some very good pics of the terrain in his TR dated 2-4-11, as well as his hamburger.)
My only disappointment was that Elk inexplicably prohibits tree skiing (though I saw many tracks in the woods), which is a shame as I spotted many areas where the trees and undergrowth are sparse and the base appeared deep. It would be very easy and cheap to convert them to glades and add to the official trail count of 27. (I did find a nice powder stash on an old trail that has since been abandoned, let’s call it Upper Tioga Spur.) Elk also could achieve legit double black pitch by cutting a couple of trails starting off the side of Delaware and spilling down to Lehigh (two parallel trails that wrap around the east face, one above the other- trails # 1 and 2 on the far left side of the map below, i.e the woods above the words "Stomping Grounds Terrain Park"). I stood at the edge of Delaware looking down the steep pitch towards Lehigh and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. Those two things (glades and double blacks) would put Elk far beyond the competition in eastern Pa and wouldn’t require much capital outlay to achieve. I hope they consider doing so.
All in all an enjoyable trip to a "hidden gem" that I should have made myself go to long ago.
From the top of Elk you can see it clearly is the highest peak in the “Endless Mountains” (not the Poconos) with beautiful views all around. Five inches of freshies under bluebird skies greeted me as I got off the East Chair, sweet. Elk skies bigger than its 1000’ vert and it has three “faces” (for lack of a better word) that also provide a bigger mountain feeling: the main face, and the eastern and western sides. What I enjoyed most was the trail variety, pitch and configuration. Some of the trails are narrower, winding through the woods with legitimate single black pitch, while others are open boulevards good for carving. Elk boasts three nice bump runs: the signature Tunkhannock trail (wall to wall bumps under the quad), the steep and narrower Iroquois, and the easier Chippewa (you bump skiers would enjoy all three). The steeps are the best I’ve encountered in Pa, and there are lots, some longer than others. Though it has no HSQ, the traditional lifts simply add to Elk's relaxed, laid back vibe. (RootDKJ posted some very good pics of the terrain in his TR dated 2-4-11, as well as his hamburger.)
My only disappointment was that Elk inexplicably prohibits tree skiing (though I saw many tracks in the woods), which is a shame as I spotted many areas where the trees and undergrowth are sparse and the base appeared deep. It would be very easy and cheap to convert them to glades and add to the official trail count of 27. (I did find a nice powder stash on an old trail that has since been abandoned, let’s call it Upper Tioga Spur.) Elk also could achieve legit double black pitch by cutting a couple of trails starting off the side of Delaware and spilling down to Lehigh (two parallel trails that wrap around the east face, one above the other- trails # 1 and 2 on the far left side of the map below, i.e the woods above the words "Stomping Grounds Terrain Park"). I stood at the edge of Delaware looking down the steep pitch towards Lehigh and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. Those two things (glades and double blacks) would put Elk far beyond the competition in eastern Pa and wouldn’t require much capital outlay to achieve. I hope they consider doing so.
All in all an enjoyable trip to a "hidden gem" that I should have made myself go to long ago.
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