Massachusetts V. Pennsylvania Skiing

[highpeaksdrifter]

Mass vs PA???

CT vs NJ...???

RI vs WV??

Nonsensicle thread.....

Ding Ding Ding, we have a winner!

Next question

I just wanted to see how PA (which I don't know) compares to MA (which I do a little), but you guys are right it is a nonsensicle thread. We do need some more creative threads in here in the off season.

So why don't you 2 come up with some? I'm looking forward to reading them.

 

[tjf67]

Mass vs Penn.

Kinday like comparing a pinto to a vega. I have to go with the pinto. MA

 

[Greg]

Mass vs PA???

CT vs NJ...???

RI vs WV??

Nonsensicle thread.....

Ding Ding Ding, we have a winner!

Next question

Mass vs Penn.

Kinday like comparing a pinto to a vega. I have to go with the pinto. MA

Easy for the guys that own property/live near bigger hills to say. Some of us hack jobs in the flat lands have to take what we can get...

I just wanted to see how PA (which I don't know) compares to MA (which I do a little), but you guys are right it is a nonsensicle thread. We do need some more creative threads in here in the off season.

So why don't you 2 come up with some? I'm looking forward to reading them.

+1 Keep on keepin' on, HPD... :beer:

 

[4aprice]

I might actually argue that Sundown is better for the skiing I like to do than anything in Mass aside from BEast on a powder day. So it looks like CT might even trump PA.

Sorry Greg gotta disagree with you here. I'm an Eastern PA skier due to my location here in North Jersey. I believe from reading your posts that you love the bumps and PA has got a few bump runs I think you would enjoy. If you look closely at a map I think you would find that the 2 PA ski areas I frequent (Camelback and Elk Mt ) are close to the same latitude as Mohawk and Sundown. The verticals are slightly larger in PA but in reality they are the same type of mountains. Both states rely on snowmaking and they certainly have good arsenals at Camelback and Elk. If there's any advantage PA has over CT it is in elevation which can be key in marginal events and helpful in snow making (Elk tops out close to 3000 ft. Camelback 2100 ft)

I don't want to make this an argument as to whats better then what. Niether CT or PA have areas that can compare to Jiminy or Berkshire East or any of the Catskill areas, however, they both have decent, what I would call, medium size resorts. The bottom line is that these areas (in my case Camelback, your case Sundown) allow us to get out as much as possible and (in my case) help me get in condition to go out west and Northern New England.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

 

[Marc]

Dog shite sandwich or a cow shite sandwich?

 

[eastcoastpowderhound]

someone wake me up when things become more interesting...

 

[Greg]

Sorry Greg gotta disagree with you here. I'm an Eastern PA skier due to my location here in North Jersey. I believe from reading your posts that you love the bumps and PA has got a few bump runs I think you would enjoy. If you look closely at a map I think you would find that the 2 PA ski areas I frequent (Camelback and Elk Mt ) are close to the same latitude as Mohawk and Sundown. The verticals are slightly larger in PA but in reality they are the same type of mountains. Both states rely on snowmaking and they certainly have good arsenals at Camelback and Elk. If there's any advantage PA has over CT it is in elevation which can be key in marginal events and helpful in snow making (Elk tops out close to 3000 ft. Camelback 2100 ft)

I don't want to make this an argument as to whats better then what. Niether CT or PA have areas that can compare to Jiminy or Berkshire East or any of the Catskill areas, however, they both have decent, what I would call, medium size resorts. The bottom line is that these areas (in my case Camelback, your case Sundown) allow us to get out as much as possible and (in my case) help me get in condition to go out west and Northern New England.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

My post was made sorta tongue-in-cheek. I've never skied in PA so I'm basing my comment of CT > PA on the opinions of many in this thread that MA is better than PA. I do recall seeing some video from someone on the mogulskiing.net forum of a bump run somewhere in PA. It looked pretty rad.

Jiminy has a lot more vert and steeper terrain than Sundown. No denying that, but it has nothing like the bumps Sundown does. "The Mogul Thing" is a joke and Cutter with its sweeping push piles is like an ungroomed Temptor. Sundown takes seeding and maintaining its bumps very seriously. What other mountain is willing to send terrain guys up the hill with shovels to patch burned out troughs? None that I know of. Most mountains would simply mow the run down. When the bumps at Sundown are good, I would take it over Jiminy any day of the week. Again, that's just my terrain preference and coming from the perspective of a mogul nut.

With Gunbarrel getting seeded top to bottom this season, there is very little in SNE, aside from maybe Flying Cloud at the BEast that can compare, at least when discussing moguls. Again, BEast on a good day trumps anything else in SNE. No argument there.

In any event, I agree a million percent with you that it's important to have something local to keep you primed between trips to "real" mountains.

 

[powderman]

My post was made sorta tongue-in-cheek. I've never skied in PA so I'm basing my comment of CT > PA on the opinions of many in this thread that MA is better than PA. I do recall seeing some video from someone on the mogulskiing.net forum of a bump run somewhere in PA. It looked pretty rad.

Jiminy has a lot more vert and steeper terrain than Sundown. No denying that, but it has nothing like the bumps Sundown does. "The Mogul Thing" is a joke and Cutter with its sweeping push piles is like an ungroomed Temptor. Sundown takes seeding and maintaining its bumps very seriously. What other mountain is willing to send terrain guys up the hill with shovels to patch burned out troughs? None that I know of. Most mountains would simply mow the run down. When the bumps at Sundown are good, I would take it over Jiminy any day of the week. Again, that's just my terrain preference and coming from the perspective of a mogul nut.

With Gunbarrel getting seeded top to bottom this season, there is very little in SNE, aside from maybe Flying Cloud at the BEast that can compare, at least when discussing moguls. Again, BEast on a good day trumps anything else in SNE. No argument there.

In any event, I agree a million percent with you that it's important to have something local to keep you primed between trips to "real" mountains.

You realize Flying Cloud has snowmaking and is steeper than Gunny, so I'd have to disagree about Sundown being better than BEast most days. Don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against Sundown, but there's nothing in SNE as good as BEast.

 

[Greg]

You realize Flying Cloud has snowmaking and is steeper than Gunny, so I'd have to disagree about Sundown being better than BEast most days. Don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against Sundown, but there's nothing in SNE as good as BEast.

Of course, overall BEast is a much better mountain. Steeper, more vert, cool layout, more natural snow, glades, etc. I'm strictly making a comparison from a mogul perspective. The bumps that do form under the double on Flying Cloud are your typical spaced out sweeping skier generated push piles. I'm willing to bet that the seeded bumps on Gunny this season will be way better than the bumps on Flying Cloud. Like seeded bumps or not, they're almost a necessity in SNE unless you're willing to settle for crappy lines. For the most part, people at the feeder hills don't ski in such a way that results in good natural bumps. We don't get a lot natural snow either so the snowmaking trails that constantly have to battle thaw-freeze cycles are also not good foundations for bumps, unless they are seeded. This is something that Sundown understands thankfully.

 

[powderman]

The bumps that do form under the double on Flying Cloud are your typical spaced out sweeping skier generated push piles. I'm willing to bet that the seeded bumps on Gunny this season will be way better than the bumps on Flying Cloud.

Granted, Berkshire East is in SNE, where the clientèle is mostly intermediate, but the clientèle at BEast is more advanced, and so they know how to properly form a bump line.

 

[PA Ridge Racer]

I just wanted to see how PA (which I don't know) compares to MA (which I do a little), but you guys are right it is a nonsensicle thread. We do need some more creative threads in here in the off season.

So why don't you 2 come up with some? I'm looking forward to reading them.

I like the thread HPD especially since my post prompted it...

 

[PA Ridge Racer]

I have heard the same. Hear they have a legit 1000 vert with good steeps and quite a few glades. I guess the challenge with Blue Knob is location. It's basically right in the middle of the State off the turnpike. Folks in Philly can be almost in the Catskills by the time it would take to get there. Folks in Pittsburgh aren't willing to put in the extra 2-3 hours when they have 7 Springs less than an hour away. If for only not having much skier traffic, the knob might be a great place to ski on a powder day.

I could be in VT quicker so unfortunately I've never hit the knob but the only negative you really hear about the place is that the access road can be a pain.

 

[ski63]

Blue Knob is some of the best skiing in the East and by far the best in the Mid-Atlantic after a storm. We were there for an 18" storm, late season a few years ago. I had fun and my perpetual novice wife really enjoyed skiing powder for the first time. The numerous glades, bowl (Stembogen)(sp) and bump run (Extrovert) are very nice.

One oddity is that the they have two side by side doubles and one triple and they cross over each other at the top of the hill.

As for the access road, consider it a small price to pay to get to some great skiing. The road can be a real challenge.

They have some great ski and stay deals, late season.

Biggest problem they have is limited water rights for snowmaking. It takes a while to open the hill and they have about 40% natural coverage only.