Okemo tips for an intermediate.

[RISkier]

I know you real skiers don't like Okemo but we're just middlin' intermediates who are hooking up with some relatives at Okemo this weekend. Any especially good intermediate cruising trails (I know, the answer is it's all intermediate cruisers)? Any tips for getting away from crowds and lift lines? Thanks much!

 

[Big Game]

Get there early (well this goes for anyplace really). The place you must avoid is the Northstar exprsss quad (the main lift). Only do your first two runs there (assuming you get there early) Get over to the south face asap and hang out over there. Dreamweaver is a great green circle. I am not ashamed to say I dig it. It's just got a great feel and lots of sun. "Of the rim" will be open too. It will be relatively quiet until 10. Solitude is usually not so crowded. Jackson Gore can get tight..and the traverse form the main mountain to Jackson get bogged down with lots of newbies.

If you can't get there early, I would say drive to the Jackson Gore Base lodge and start your day there.

 

[gores95]

I agree get there early on Saturday and Sunday. My family was there a couple of weeks ago and skied on a Friday and Saturday and what a difference a day makes! Lines on Saturday all over!! Friday was GREAT!

Anyway good advice from Big Game. You'll go up the smaller beginning quads and ski down to Northstar Express to go up to the summit. Try to make it your only trip up that lift...the lines there are MONSTERS. You could go over to the South Face and take Glades Peak and South Face Express lifts but I would also ski down to Solitude and Jackson Gore. The Jackson Gore express quad was even packed. We skied from one end of the mountain to the other, only venturing back to Okemo base in the early afternoon.

I skied all day with my daughter and we eventually started going in the singles line....moves MUCH faster. If you have a small group I would suggest that. One thing Okemo does well is make sure all quads have four skiers...no wasted space.

One last thing. Have lunch either a little early (11:00) or later (2:00). Around 1:00 the slopes empty out a bit. Have fun, Okemo is a great family mountain!

Marc

 

[tekweezle]

Single line is your best bet to beat the crowds. your best bet is to get to the Northstar-F lift ASAP and then go left or right to Jackson Gore.

do not come back to the base area under any circumstances until the end of the day. their lifts at the bottom are ridiculous. there are a couple of lodges mid mountain and at the top for lunch and bathroom breaks.

if you are skiing with friends, meet at the top ef every lift.

Okemo is not a very challenging mountain and they groom very well. it;s a cruiser's heaven. don;t be intimidated of going on a black trail. they are equivalent to blue trails elsewhere.

goodluck!

 

[RISkier]

Thanks for the tips. We did our day at Okemo. Couldn't believe the crowds -- and some folks said it wasn't that bad. The base lodge was a nightmare and we heeded the advice and avoided it except on arrival and departure. We did singles lines and that helped a lot. We also pretty much stayed away from the base lodge lifts. I thought people were somewhat exagerating when they described Okemo as flat. While we certainly didn't ski all the Blacks, those we skied certainly felt like blue cruisers to me. FWIW, we tended to ski mostly blacks cause the blues were very crowded and got pretty beat up by early afternoon. Maybe my perceptions are changing as I ski more, but even the blacks at places like Gunstock seemed to have a good bit more pitch. I think it would be a terrific place for intermediates looking for lots of cruising terrain -- on a weekday.