Indy Ski Pass

[Zand]

Isn't Granby pretty close to Winter Park? Is it any good?

 

[KustyTheKlown]

Isn't Granby pretty close to Winter Park? Is it any good?

ive never skied it but checked out their site today. its only about 1000 vert but the right side of the trail map looks fun. it is just a bit past winter park. i stayed nearby in the sketchiest airbnb ever a few years ago. my gf woke me up because she smelled gas. we had a wood fire going. the gas heater upstairs pilot blew out but the gas keep going. we almost blew up. a few years later we were looking at the area on google street view, and the shell of the house was sitting there. death trap burned down.

 

[Ski2LiveLive2Ski]

Shawnee in PA announced an 11/25 opening today - a week ahead of their target date. Expect I will start my skison there. Probably won't have a lot open - but it's not that amazing a place period, so I don't mind using up one of my 2 Indy days there to get in some low key Turkey digesting turns 85 minutes from home.

 

[2planks2coasts]

Isn't Granby pretty close to Winter Park? Is it any good?

I wouldn't make a trip west for it. It's a decent way to spend a couple days if you're out there connecting the dots. A fair number of ski in-ski out condos.

 

[4aprice]

Granby Ranch is small but in a nice location in Grand County. 25 minutes from Winter Park (with no Berthoud Pass), ok 30 mins to Challanger Lot at Mary Jane. It is also just over an hour to Steamboat and the I-70, US 6, Colo 9 interchange in Dillon. (also with no pass or tunnel). The town of Granby is not only a gateway to 3 mountain lakes but also the southwest entrance to the Rocky Mountain National Park. They are trying to keep it in the rural western mode and not like the resort towns down in Summit County. The Granby Ranch has a nice community of homes and condos, along with a golf course, lift served mountain biking, fishing, hiking and of course skiing. There was going to be a ski academy run by Bode Miller and Andy Worth but they have cancelled those plans. They still are building though and there are plans for a nice spa. They also have plans for expanding the ski area and they have upped the snow making over the past 2 years. They don't open till December 12th but have been and continue to make as much snow as they can.

The ski area while small is currently a two sided resort much like Dartmouth Skiway. The East Mountain is served by a HIgh Speed Quad. Runs are of decent length but not very steep. The base of the resort is approximately 8000 ft and they get about 225-250 inches per year so there are some fun low angle wood and fun cruisers on good snow. The West Mountain is served by a fixed grip triple and has some steeper pitches and woods, nothing super steep or hard.
Really a great resort for families and there are plenty of happy kids running around on the weekends. Weekdays of course are empty and any powder that falls is around for several days. I know all this stuff because we purchased a unit here back in June. Last picture I will show is off the Top of West Mountain but shows the condos and homes at the area.

 

[Ski2LiveLive2Ski]

Looking forward to the NY and PA announcements tomorrow, hoping they are not too far from NJ in those huge states.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

please be plattekill and not some useless shit near buffalo

 

[Ski2LiveLive2Ski]

please be plattekill and not some useless shit near buffalo

Plattekill and Elk would be completely awesome.

Would also appreciate Blue/Camelback/ORDA sites - but deem them very unlikely.

Might also make use of Bear Creek as one of the closest places to me, though it is small of stature.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

Plattekill and Elk would be completely awesome.

Would also appreciate Blue/Camelback/ORDA sites - but deem them very unlikely.

Might also make use of Bear Creek.

i'd love ORDA, but figure if they do join up it would be all 3, so it wouldn't be just one of them announced tmrw.

 

[Ski2LiveLive2Ski]

i'd love ORDA, but figure if they do join up it would be all 3, so it wouldn't be just one of them announced tmrw.

Similarly Camelback/Blue might go in together as they are now co-owned.

 

[cdskier]

please be plattekill and not some useless shit near buffalo

Plattekill and Elk would be completely awesome.

I just tried multiple variations of both Plattekill and Elk on Indy's website to see if they had a page setup for either (I've used this method to "guess" other resorts before they were formally announced). Couldn't come up with anything for either (doesn't mean it definitely won't be as there could be some variation I missed, but I'm guessing it isn't either of these two at the moment...).

 

[KustyTheKlown]

maybe hickory? i've heard its quite rad in the rare year we get good snow at low elevations.

 

[2planks2coasts]

Given the lack of hype from Indy, I'm guessing they are fairly minor resorts. KSL ownership of Blue/Camelback makes that pair rather unlikely. ORDA could eventually happen (they were on the MAX pass) but as mentioned, it would be all three. Thunder Ridge? Mt Peter? Bristol? No idea for PA.

 

[crystalmountainskier]

Similarly Camelback/Blue might go in together as they are now co-owned.

...by an affiliate of Alterra/Ikon.

 

[Ski2LiveLive2Ski]

Given the lack of hype from Indy, I'm guessing they are fairly minor resorts. KSL ownership of Blue/Camelback makes that pair rather unlikely. ORDA could eventually happen (they were on the MAX pass) but as mentioned, it would be all three. Thunder Ridge? Mt Peter? Bristol? No idea for PA.

I think the most likely PA places are
Big Bear
Sawmill
Tussey

Rationale: all three are on the WNEP ski card, which provides access to 6 areas - with the other 3 all being on Indy: Montage, Shawnee and Swain.

The only one I could see ever going to of these is Big Bear - I have been there 3-4 times before due to having free lift tickets from a PA multi mountain ski card I used to buy. One of those days was super nice as they had gotten 30" of fresh snow the night before.

 

[cdskier]

I think the most likely PA places are
Big Bear
Sawmill
Tussey

Rationale: all three are on the WNEP ski card, which provides access to 6 areas - with the other 3 all being on Indy: Montage, Shawnee and Swain.

The only one I could see ever going to of these is Big Bear - I have been there 3-4 times before due to having free lift tickets from a PA multi mountain ski card I used to buy. One of those days was super nice as they had gotten 30" of fresh snow the night before.

I doubt Big Bear due to the ownership nature there with it actually being owned by the community (Masthope).

And I just tried Tussey based on your guess and we have a winner! (Sawmill is already on Indy).

 

[Ski2LiveLive2Ski]

I doubt Big Bear due to the ownership nature there with it actually being owned by the community (Masthope).

And I just tried Tussey based on your guess and we have a winner! (Sawmill is already on Indy).

Oh well, another place I will never bother with on Indy. Nice detective work though.

 

[jimmywilson69]

Tussey is one of the most boring places to ski in PA. It would've gone out of business years ago except it's near State College. They often don't even blow enough snow to open all 7 of their trails or whatever they have.

 

[4aprice]

Similarly Camelback/Blue might go in together as they are now co-owned.

They can't even get together under the same management (KSL manages, not sure about ownership, heard many rumors). Everyone assumed they would go Ikon but they seem to not want to go that direction and haven't even offered a dual access pass. They are making improvements to both resorts.

One name for Indy no one has mentioned is Montage.

 

[Ski2LiveLive2Ski]

One name for Indy no one has mentioned is Montage.

Montage is on Indy already, as are Shawnee and Blue Knob