Okemo Intel?

[kingslug]

Hope not.

 

[dblskifanatic]

It is groomer skiers hill! I think Okemo is well liked because they have over 600 acres and any decent skier can ski all of it. For those that are intermediate - well they can ski the black trails for the most part. I find Mountain Road to be a bit strange, lots of beginners ski it from the top, then traffic from Jackson Gore side comeback on it and it cuts across a bunch of trails. Sachem gets loaded up like that too. some of the annoying aspects where many types of skiers converge.

Otherwise boring!

 

[LiveEastSoSkiEast]

I was sorry to see that I had to get all the way to the end of this thread for constructive opinions on Okemo. Thanks to those that have contributed. And since this is the Okemo Intel thread... Let me add a couple notes:

I have been skiing Okemo for years because it is a good mountain for mixed groups. On my own or with other advanced skiers I would likely prefer Killington or certainly Jay if I was driving further - but let's talk about Okemo.

Skiing/ Riding
The place is mostly dedicated to blue groomers. This is true. That said, there are definitely more challenging runs to be found on either northern or southern side of the hill. Jackson Gore has some good runs, and the South Face even more.

On a less crowded day the Sunburst Six can offer access to good top to bottom runs. Solitude can also be a good fast lift.

It is not a like a super steep hill, but calling it flat overall is totally an exaggeration. I do wish there were more glades, for sure, but there is fun to be found. And with the conditions we have had in 2021... It has been pretty great. One can have a two or three great days in Okemo and not get bored.

Lines/ Crowds
They key for anyone skiing there on any even slightly busy day is to use the Epic App and check lift lines. It is possible to traverse the mountain with relative ease to access a less-crowded area. One can ski from the top of the South Face peak all the way to Jackson Gore chair without taking a single lift.

On busy days the lines can get nutty. I have stood at Sunburst and Jackson for over 30 mins each. This is less the case during Covid... But monitoring lines is important. Like any Eastern resort, things do get crowded. Just be smart about avoiding the lines and go towards the edges and you'll be fine.

Parking/ Bases
There are no secrets here unfortunately. Or at least none I will post! But keep in mind parking is not terribly different than many other area mountains.

The ClockTower base is shabby though functional. Jackson Gore is nicer, but requires ascending via the Jackson Gore lift. Access at either base requires using short bunny lifts. So suggest dropping off gear and peeps and having one brave driver make the walk with boots. I would not park at the remote bus lots during Covid... Instead would do whatever necessary to jam into a spot near the Tom's Loft lot and walk.

Other
I wish Vail was a better manager. Communications are terrible. This is super-frustrating as getting current info re wind holds etc has been very bad. I use the app, but sometimes even that is not updated, which is inexcusable in my mind. The Okemo Conditions Twitter account is usually the best source as I imagine it is managed locally and not from Colorado. https://twitter.com/OkemoConditions

Also, it seems they are understaffed this year as snowmaking was lacking even though the temp has been low. And sometimes it feels like "wind hold" is called on lifts when it should really say "not enough lifties available." I wonder if better treatment/ compensation of staff would yield the results Stratton delivers.

I understand maybe Vail will be making improvements (to the ClockTower area, and they had pre-Covid plans for moving the Jackson Gore lift), but I hope they are concerned about keeping their current clientele loyal. As many have noted, Killington and others are just up the road.

So... This is not MRG... It is not a place for the purest of skiers and riders... But it is totally a fun hill with varied terrain and a nice town below.

 

[big_vert]

love your post because its spot on. you can probably write the same post about stratton, which i tolerate sometimes early and late season only bc it is free and close-ish to home.

also, a friend with kids serves them wonder bread and our group text has a running joke about how he's a terrible father for that. so really, spot on.

Flatton certainly has its own issues, and I remember skiing one of their "double diamonds" switch just to show the absurdity of their ratings. One of my proudest moments many years ago was in the Flatton gonjola where some cheerleader said "so where's the best ski area in VT", and my (probably) 10yo screamed Magic!, and he was right of course, at least for south VT.

Flatton has ONE redeeming value, and that's the glades, which are OK for practice until you go to the real thing. Apart from that, there's really very little of value.

I was blessed with kids that abhorred Nokemo, barely tolerated Flatton and outright refused Bromley. Mt Snow was OK, and Magic with snow was a treat. We had a friend with ski-on/off house at Bear, so we spent a lot of time traversing K-Mart, and yeah, the Julio trees were a favorite.

One kid is still relegated to the least coast (and even sometime boards, so he's the questionable kid), but the other one is in Santa Fe NM, and I'll visit and we'll go to Taos. We have the same bsl, so good times are had. Many of my hand-me-downs live with him now, and there's nothing that isn't VERY desirable. Last year he got my Kastle MX108's, one of the ultimate big boy pants, BIG mountain bomber skis. He loves them. Can you imagine those at Nokemo. They'd probably just refuse to move due to boredom.

When he was an instructor at Aspen 2 years ago, we had 8 pairs in the back of the car for 2 of us when we did a road show. Nothing smaller than 95 waist, up to 120. Life was good

 

[KustyTheKlown]

Flatton certainly has its own issues, and I remember skiing one of their "double diamonds" switch just to show the absurdity of their ratings. One of my proudest moments many years ago was in the Flatton gonjola where some cheerleader said "so where's the best ski area in VT", and my (probably) 10yo screamed Magic!, and he was right of course, at least for south VT.

Flatton has ONE redeeming value, and that's the glades, which are OK for practice until you go to the real thing. Apart from that, there's really very little of value.

I was blessed with kids that abhorred Nokemo, barely tolerated Flatton and outright refused Bromley. Mt Snow was OK, and Magic with snow was a treat. We had a friend with ski-on/off house at Bear, so we spent a lot of time traversing K-Mart, and yeah, the Julio trees were a favorite.

One kid is still relegated to the least coast (and even sometime boards, so he's the questionable kid), but the other one is in Santa Fe NM, and I'll visit and we'll go to Taos. We have the same bsl, so good times are had. Many of my hand-me-downs live with him now, and there's nothing that isn't VERY desirable. Last year he got my Kastle MX108's, one of the ultimate big boy pants, BIG mountain bomber skis. He loves them. Can you imagine those at Nokemo. They'd probably just refuse to move due to boredom.

When he was an instructor at Aspen 2 years ago, we had 8 pairs in the back of the car for 2 of us when we did a road show. Nothing smaller than 95 waist, up to 120. Life was good

lol nice. i can imagine, because i have kastle bmx118s, the pink ones, which dont often make appearances in the east, but they have. in fact, they came out at a 20" day at okemo a few years ago when group dynamics forced my hand into skiing there. ive always regretted not being at magic that day. and ive never been a passenger in anyone else's car since.

 

[deadheadskier]

You guys are like the Donald Trumps of skiing.

It's tremendously, bigly entertaining

If this were a surfing forum you'd sound a bit like this:

 

[JimG.]

Anyone remember Ted the Shred?

 

[reefer]

Okemo sucks. These pictures from an April trip prove it. Don't park at Jackson Gore, especially in the valet area midweek

 

[MikeW]

Gonna make the drive up from Mt Snow Wednesday. Have an Epic Pass, Vax, etc. Is the Main Base Lodge accessible? Can you boot up in the Lodge? Bag storage? How about the Jackson Gore Lodge? Thanks for any info.

 

[urungus]

opening this Saturday the 19th according to Facebook post 1 hour ago