-
Welcome to AlpineZone, the largest online community of skiers and snowboarders in the Northeast!
You may have to REGISTER before you can post. Registering is FREE, gets rid of the majority of advertisements, and lets you participate in giveaways and other AlpineZone events!
Elk Mountain Website
- Thread starter St. Bear
- Start date
Rowsdower
Member
I've never gotten caught, so I don't actually know, but from what I've heard they have a zero tolerance policy. In other words, if patrol catches you in the trees your pass gets pulled.
Elk is probably the best in PA terrain and snow-wise. Well, there's Blue Knob but I've never been there so I can't speak for that. They have elevation on top of the Pocono plateau and they're farther north than other Poconos resorts which means less freeze/thaw cycles and better quality snow. They also used to be known for really good quality man-made snow, but I think other resorts have caught up with them in that regard. They've got about 1000ft of vert and a good diversity of trails as well. It's not the steepest but its not bad. Lifts are generally slow, but lines are short.
BenedictGomez
Well-known member
Sounds like the best thing that could happen to Elk Mountain is for the antiquated ownership to sell the place to a new owner who embraces skiing in the 21st century.
Between the "no trees" policy and the "set" number of ski days per year policy, there's a lot that they do awful.
Not Sure
Well-known member
The fact they're off the beaten path is a double edge sword, Shorter lift lines=less revenue. Cousin was there at the end last year and just about had the place to himself.
I endend up with a second WM pass a non skiing friend showed up last minute, Will wait and see about the weather for this weekend , 2 chances for snow this week but rain Sat? Maybe things will change.
I endend up with a second WM pass a non skiing friend showed up last minute, Will wait and see about the weather for this weekend , 2 chances for snow this week but rain Sat? Maybe things will change.
vermonter44
New member
I was there last year after they got about a foot of snow.... It was awesome, I had a blast. Overall, the mountain is great. As for the tree skiing policy, I know a few spots to ski, you have to know where to look. I've never seen anyone get their pass pulled or be approached by a patroller after exiting the woods so I'm not sure how much they really care about tree skiing
spring_mountain_high
New member
if you know the spots it can be done, but i've been told by several patrollers there that they have to be strict about it at management's direction...plus most of the time the coverage is just not there...best advice: do it on your last runs so it's nbd if you get your ticket pulled
the best thing they could do would be to cut a trail or two from the top of delaware down to lehigh...that is a nice pitch
the best thing they could do would be to cut a trail or two from the top of delaware down to lehigh...that is a nice pitch
Not Sure
Well-known member
The're are heck of alot of places to cut into the woods , a few other Youtube contraban vids
What a shame , there are alot of people who would make Elk a destination if they had some Glade skiing.
It would'nt take much to cover as the wind fills in the woods between trails anyway when the guns are going.
BenedictGomez
Well-known member
A few thoughts after watching that video:
1) That's about the bare minimum for what's necessary to call something "glades".
2) Admittedly, it still looks like fun, especially given it's Pennsylvania
3) Those guys might be the reason you cant ski "glades" at Elk. Snowplowing awfulness complete with weak falls.
1) That's about the bare minimum for what's necessary to call something "glades".
2) Admittedly, it still looks like fun, especially given it's Pennsylvania
3) Those guys might be the reason you cant ski "glades" at Elk. Snowplowing awfulness complete with weak falls.
Not Sure
Well-known member
Yes the little Pizza kid close call was ugly, The other vids I watched are from skiers right on the mountain and look a little more sustained.
the vid was made on 2011 no doubt the pines at the top have less space in between.
BeefyBoy50
New member
P_Levert, I would recommend going to Elk. Maybe I just have a favorable opinion of it because I always go there with my friends, but I enjoyed every day I skied there last year, including the day that it was like 48 degrees and raining. However, I really love skiing in trees and am quite frustrated by the amount of potential Elk isn't willing to utilize. When I skied there in February 2013, they had quite a solid base and the trees in forests of skiers left of the quad chair were really fun with about 6 inches of fresh snow. It was undoubtedly the best skiing I had that year in PA. Last year (I skied at Elk 3 times in varying conditions), the trees were not as good- I think that a lot of undergrowth seemed to grown in over the summer of 2013. Even when the snow was deep enough (last season was pretty great for the mid atlantic), there were simply too many plants to avoid. Glades are fun but not when you literally ski from tree to tree at walking speed and have to step over logs. I have a video of me doing exactly that and cursing most of the way down. A friend of mine was snowboarding that day and went off trail, immediately hurting his knee on a log in the process. He had to get out of the woods for ski patrol to come. I think they have a pretty hard policy against tree skiing- the ski patrol may not but the mountain ownership certainly does, so I would play it safe. If you are going to go off trail, try to avoid being seen.
The on-map trails at Elk are worth about a day themselves to explore- the lifts are slow and the trails are narrow and curving so each one is unique. However, if you find yourself really wanting to ski the trees (something I can totally understand) don't do it unless the snow has been quite good or you will definitely ruin the bottom of your skis. If all these things go correctly: the snow is good and deep and there are no ski patrollers around to get mad at you, I would say that a couple areas on the mountain have good trees to ski through- the trees between Delaware and Lehigh or the trees near the condo trail on the furthest skiers left side of the mountain to name a few spots.
spring_mountain_high
New member
seems like a mini summit at elk is in order
Cornhead
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2010
- Messages
- 2,840
- Points
- 48
Sounds good to me, always up to meeting fellow AZer's, all have been great so far...even Scotty! Just keep him away from dishwashers.
Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2
St. Bear
New member
Not Sure
Well-known member
Dishwashers? Being a relative noob , does it involve Mj?
Weathers looking colder up there, I think I'll shoot for the 13th for a few more trails
Last edited:
Might be a good idea, there's a lot of people that know something about Elk Mtn on this messageboard.
Thanks so much for all the interesting replies to my question about tree skiing.
Cornhead
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2010
- Messages
- 2,840
- Points
- 48
Inside joke, it happened at last year's AZ Summit, we'll let Scotty add more if he'd like. Think I Love Lucy, and yes, I'm sure MJ played a role.
Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2
ScottySkis
Well-known member
So I guess hand washing soap is not supposed to go in the dish washer ops.
Cornhead
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2010
- Messages
- 2,840
- Points
- 48
Live and learn, sorry I missed the suds escaping from around the door, we should've run a couple cycles with just water in case the owners were thw next to use it.
Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2
steamboat1
New member
Been there done that myself. Kitchen floor was never cleaner after we finished mopping it up.
spring_mountain_high
New member
add it to the list of products that should come with scotty warnings:
-candles
-vaporizors
-dishwashers
and yes, the floor was very clean
there's another winterfest at elk on 1/23 (friday), my local ski shop has discount tickets ($33, cheap!)
