Most Gaperific eastern ski mountain?

[MadMadWorld]

Fixed it for you...

Thanks!

 

[spring_mountain_high]

An hour? Pushing 90 on the northeast express.... lol. Have to agree with the analogy, and the trash issues drives me nuts at Blue. But in all fairness, if you head up early on a Saturday or Sunday morning, and only ski for a couple of hours, its not that bad. If you are lucky enough to ski during the week, you will have Blue all to yourself. I will give credit to Elk, its the gem in PA with the least crowds, bed runs and snow.

i am exactly 1 hour from blue and exactly 2 hours from elk...i get on the NE extension at Q-town, set the cruise on 78, drink my coffee and watch the sun rise...before i know it, i'm there

 

[steamboat1]

It's easy to install automated snowmaking when your ski area is smaller than a golf course, and about the same pitch.

Spruce Peak at Stowe has a fully automated snowmaking system.

 

[mbedle]

They are these huge wooden dumpsters they build under the lifts so people can throw their beer cans in when heading up the lift. Half the time they miss and the other half just throw their crap anywhere. Its looks like South Street in Philly moved in under the lift lines....

What's this dumpster that is being spoken of? Is it like the trash barrels that are stuck directly under the lift at big bear?

 

[steamboat1]

What's this dumpster that is being spoken of? Is it like the trash barrels that are stuck directly under the lift at big bear?

I remember years ago Vernon Valley had a large square metal cage under the main chair for throwing garbage into. Haven't been there in years so I don't know if they still have it.

 

[mbedle]

I get a season pass at Blue and typically only ski an hour or two when I'm there. Elk is so much better, but driving 4 hours to ski only one or two hours is tough. I ski there on Fridays a couple times a year, and its like having the place to yourself.

i am exactly 1 hour from blue and exactly 2 hours from elk...i get on the NE extension at Q-town, set the cruise on 78, drink my coffee and watch the sun rise...before i know it, i'm there

 

[Highway Star]

Spruce Peak at Stowe has a fully automated snowmaking system.

I was there the first year it was in. Have they learned how to use it yet? AFAIK, it's on one trail over there, mainly a marketing gimmick.

 

[spring_mountain_high]

I get a season pass at Blue and typically only ski an hour or two when I'm there. Elk is so much better, but driving 4 hours to ski only one or two hours is tough. I ski there on Fridays a couple times a year, and its like having the place to yourself.

for being as close as it is, i like blue's terrain and it's great on a weekday for a couple hours or until school lets out, but i've been relegated to mostly sunday mornings the past couple seasons, so elk has been my 'home hill'...when i've been able to swing it, a weekday at elk is like skiing your own private mountain

 

[mbedle]

for being as close as it is, i like blue's terrain and it's great on a weekday for a couple hours or until school lets out, but i've been relegated to mostly sunday mornings the past couple seasons, so elk has been my 'home hill'...when i've been able to swing it, a weekday at elk is like skiing your own private mountain

You are correct with the weekday skiing at Elk. It is amazing.

 

[dlague]

They are these huge wooden dumpsters they build under the lifts so people can throw their beer cans in when heading up the lift. Half the time they miss and the other half just throw their crap anywhere. Its looks like South Street in Philly moved in under the lift lines....

Largest number of beer cans are probably PBR!

 

[catskillman]

Except belt parkway......its like roller derby on skis for me

Ski Patrollers call it the Bowling Alley

 

[Newpylong]

Wachusett, enough said.

 

[Rowsdower]

You can still have fun at some gaper mountains, don't get me wrong.

Stay away from the "easiest way down" trails and the high speed lifts and you're usually good to go, even during the busiest days.

 

[Highway Star]

The vertical potential at this place is beyond me. Wold kick snowshoe's butt if they could get down to Route 751

Solid 2500ft from the peak down to 751 to the west, steeps too......

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Wint...esort,+Nelson+County,+Virginia&gl=us&t=p&z=15

Post it up as a ski area design contest on NELSAP forums. Probably not cold enough for consistent snowmaking, right?

 

[deadheadskier]

I was there the first year it was in. Have they learned how to use it yet? AFAIK, it's on one trail over there, mainly a marketing gimmick.

I believe it is on Main Street only. I don't think it's a marketing gimmick though. The trail was regraded to accommodate collegiate racing. The advanced snowmaking system was installed to ensure optimum conditions. The old Main Street didn't have snowmaking at all.

Not that anybody cares about Wisp, but they've had a mountain wide fully automated snowmaking system since at least 2001-2002. When I worked there during the 2003-2004 season I got to check out the control center. It wasn't the touch screen system they have now, but you could literally mouse click on a trail map on a computer screen and the guns would fire up for that trail. This was before their big expansion outlined below. Really cool technology. It was a crappy place to ski, but man could they churn out the snow. It was about 100 acres of terrain back then and they opened the whole place in 72 hours to start the season.

http://www.snowmakers.com/wisp.html

 

[Highway Star]

I believe it is on Main Street only. I don't think it's a marketing gimmick though. The trail was regraded to accommodate collegiate racing. The advanced snowmaking system was installed to ensure optimum conditions. The old Main Street didn't have snowmaking at all.

Snow conditions were always the worst on the mountain on Main Street when I was there, but it did build a base. Like nobody was observing to see the (lack of) quality snow they were making. I don't see how they would race on that trail, aside from a juniors super-G. Though I recall the fencing in the lower half under the lift.

 

[deadheadskier]

The trail has plenty enough pitch and vertical to host collegiate GS events; especially when you think about it compared to Middlebury and Dartmouth's venues. Actually both St. Mike's venue over at Smuggs and Bate's venue at Sunday River probably don't afford more pitch and vertical than Main Street as well. There's a brief flats section in the middle, but the top and bottom of the course are fine. It's not Hayride, but a trail like Hayride isn't needed for such events. It also has an extensive and exclusive racing base lodge right next to a lift that rarely has much of a lift line. Perfect set up. Much better than using Hayride and having the racers base out of the MBL and deal with the Forerunner lift lines.

 

[jimk]

Solid 2500ft from the peak down to 751 to the west, steeps too......

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Wint...esort,+Nelson+County,+Virginia&gl=us&t=p&z=15

Post it up as a ski area design contest on NELSAP forums. Probably not cold enough for consistent snowmaking, right?

If you think it's a challenge to keep snow on Wintergreen now, it would be even much tougher if they ran trails down to the valley floor, big temperature drop in that 2000 extra feet of vertical. But nice idea that many of us have pondered. Here's a picture from April (fantastic amount of man-made snow base still on closing day) that shows the direction they have to go if they put in lower trails:

Not that anybody cares about Wisp, but they've had a mountain wide fully automated snowmaking system since at least 2001-2002. When I worked there during the 2003-2004 season I got to check out the control center. It wasn't the touch screen system they have now, but you could literally mouse click on a trail map on a computer screen and the guns would fire up for that trail. This was before their big expansion outlined below. Really cool technology. It was a crappy place to ski, but man could they churn out the snow. It was about 100 acres of terrain back then and they opened the whole place in 72 hours to start the season.

http://www.snowmakers.com/wisp.html

Besides the great snowmaking system, Wisp gets a decent amount of natural for our region. I've have many good ski days there. They have a few runs with solid upper intermediate pitch that are fun for about 600 vertical.
They were noted for an avalanche a few years back on The Face trail when super deep and wet man-made snow pack slide. No one was hurt, but it could have been serious if someone was on the run at the time of the slide, about 50 yrds of snow, 6 feet deep slid down the hill. There was even a mini debris field at bottom of hill. Here's a picture from a few days after slide, see left side of steep part of run in background, run cleaned up a bit by this point:

 

[RENO]

Camelback !

I've been to Camelback on a regular weekend and it was a gaper nightmare. Never did it again. Can't imagine a major holiday there! :-o
I'll stick to midweek in the Poconos.

 

[BenedictGomez]

Anyone posting in this thread that has never skied in the Poconos, is wrong. Which is to say that most people posting in this thread, are wrong.

I assure you, you simply have no idea the horror. A long, intermediate cruiser at Shawnee, Blue Mountain, or Camelback is far more dangerous than any eastern glade (no sarcasm).