Saturday one-day ski trip from northern NJ

[gores95]

Hello all. Any suggestions on what is the best mountain in NY state for a quick one day ski trip without a stayover? I know Hunter probably has the best conditions but also would probably be most crowded. Since my home mountain is Mountain Creek in NJ (current conditions frozen grass and mud) I want to go somehwere within two hours or so for a day of good, relatively uncrowded skiing. I do not think any Pocono mountains are open yet either so NY state would be the place.

Any suggestions? I am in Sussex County (NW NJ).

Thanks,

Marc

 

[dmc]

Hunter is going to be kickin this weekend!!! Tons of snowmaking right now...

BUUUT - until Mt Creek and Camelback open and absorbs some of the "park rats" it's going to be a little crowded...

Hasn't been too bad this season...

 

[Bandit2941]

You can't go wrong at Belleayre. The conditions have been good and it hasn't been the least bit crowded either. Plus, more trails opening this week for the weekend.

 

[dmc]

You can't go wrong at Belleayre.

A little mellow - no?
But then again I always assume that people are advanced skiers...
my bad...

 

[loafer89]

For future reference, Elk Mountain in Uniondale PA is probably the best ski area in eastern PA. They are not open right now, but this place is fun to ski when the conditions are right. The mountain is quite high for pocono standards at 2,693' with 1,000' of vertical and they tend to recieve more natural snow from lake effect conditions. I have skied there 5 times and I enjoyed myself each time. Most of the drive is on interstate highways from nearly anywhere. The mountain is relatively unknown and not very crowded. My sister just moved to Milford, so I hope to combine visits to her with a trip to Elk.

Hunter was fairly decent even last week with 50F + temps and 8 trails, so this weekend should be good.

 

[JimG.]

For future reference, Elk Mountain in Uniondale PA is probably the best ski area in eastern PA. They are not open right now, but this place is fun to ski when the conditions are right. The mountain is quite high for pocono standards at 2,693' with 1,000' of vertical and they tend to recieve more natural snow from lake effect conditions. I have skied there 5 times and I enjoyed myself each time. Most of the drive is on interstate highways from nearly anywhere. The mountain is relatively unknown and not very crowded. My sister just moved to Milford, so I hope to combine visits to her with a trip to Elk.

Hunter was fairly decent even last week with 50F + temps and 8 trails, so this weekend should be good.

I've skied Elk and I agree it's probably the best ski area in that region, unless you demand off slope entertainment/activities. Other than the ski area, there's nothing else there. Hard to find a decent restaurant to eat at.

I go places to ski, so it didn't matter much to me, but you ought to know about that if you plan on going there.

 

[tirolerpeter]

Skiable Mt.?

Try Jiminy Peak. http://www.jiminypeak.com/ They seem to be doing OK despite the weather. With the current chill they should be blowing snow non-stop. In fact, they emailed me to let me know they are operating full time as of Thursday Dec 16. LOL

 

[Greg]

I skied Jiminy on Saturday afternoon. The weather before this week has been tough, but I was impressed by the coverage they did have. There were no lines (probably due to the weather that day), but even if it is busy, you'll still get a good amount of skiing off the 6. With this cold weather, they'll get a chance to resurface and will probably open some additional terrain for the weekend. Another good option, IMO.

 

[tirolerpeter]

Jiminy

I agree Greg. If Jericho and Whitetail are open, and theyrun the quad which is not detachable and they run the Berkshire Express (six pack) which they always do, you can get a heck of a lot of vertical in at max warp. The beginners and families all head for the 6 so the advance skiers get to use the quad to max advantage.

 

[Greg]

Re: Jiminy

I agree Greg. If Jericho and Whitetail are open, and theyrun the quad which is not detachable and they run the Berkshire Express (six pack) which they always do, you can get a heck of a lot of vertical in at max warp. The beginners and families all head for the 6 so the advance skiers get to use the quad to max advantage.

Absolutely! My approach to maximum vertical mid-season is to hit the Six first thing in the morning and ski the West side of the mountain - West Way/Grand Slam, the Foxes, North Glade/360, and then perhaps Whirlaway. I'll continue with variations of these runs until the line gets going at the Six; usually 10:30 AM. Then it's on to the Q1 (the fixed-grip on Whitetail) to hit Whitetail, Jericho, and Turkey. By then we're looking at 11:30 so I usually hit Christiansen's Tavern for an early lunch and the best on-slope dining value at Jiminy, IMO.

By the time I'm done with lunch, most of the crowds are heading in for theirs, so it's another ride up the Six and then on to the Widow's Quad to ski that side. The rest of the day will consist of a mix between Widow's, the Q1, and maybe the Six. I usually also ride the triple once for giggles. I typically ski Jiminy on a Sunday and this approach almost always provides a ton of vert. Can you tell I've done it a few times?

You know, Jiminy probably gets trashed more than any other ski area on Internet skiing message boards (except for maybe Loon). I personally think they do a great job and provide an infrastructure with that Six that let's you get in a TON of skiing for a mid-size mountain. It's all about knowing the crowd flow at the mountain. Same holds true for Loon...

 

[tirolerpeter]

Jiminy

I agree Greg. I live on Long Island (Smithtown) and use Jiminy, Hunter, and Windham for day trips when I don't have time or inclination to schlep up to Snow or Killington. I am retired, so I only ever ski on a week-end if I want to spend time with someone I like who has to (dirty four letter word ending in "k" here) work. The trails give you the option of making big fast turns or dancing on the edges in the residual powder, so I don't know why the place gets bad-mouthed either. When it is empty, I can run the whole place at warp speed and never get annoyed by the patrol. In fact, I have joined up with patrollers and really ripped all over the place with great abandon. I haven't been up there this season, but I talked with a rep at the SKi Expo at the Nassau Coloseum in October. He says they have "improved" the areas on the far right looking up the mountain (I'm not sure if that is east or west) with better intermediate/advance trails, an improved lift, and a terrain park. My one gripe with Jiminy (and I have seen this happen at other areas) is the "resort development" push they are making. It means that I have to hump my gear farther from the parking lot/drop-off point through their "village." Both Okemo and Stratton are a total pain in the a... in that regard, and I stay away.
I recommend Jiminy to people who are learning to ski, or are teaching children to ski. Especially, if they can get there mid-week. They have some nice ski and stay packages that are a good value, and the bunny slope is easily accessible for the advanced skiers who want to pop in and out while the novices work at their technique. Also, with the use of the 6 pack, you can take a fairly raw beginner to the top of the area for a great view. Then, you can escort them down and around without terrifying them and making them hate skiing. BTW, I did buy their VALUE CARD (even though I have an ASC season "Bronze" pass) for $29. A true "no brainer" It came with a free lift ticket for now, a free March lift ticket, and $10 off any 8 hour ticket all season. Oh yes, you still get the additional $5 off for State Days. So, Tuesday costs me $25. That is a HOME RUN.

 

[gores95]

Thanks for all the good ideas. I will look into Jiminy Peak and also Elk Mountain in PA. Elk was going to make a decision at noon tomorrow whether or not they will be open this weekend. Only issue with JP is the distance 300+ miles from my house. Long way for a day trip! BTW Elk is only 90 miles.

 

[riverc0il]

Re: Jiminy

[You know, Jiminy probably gets trashed more than any other ski area on Internet skiing message boards (except for maybe Loon). I personally think they do a great job and provide an infrastructure with that Six that let's you get in a TON of skiing for a mid-size mountain. It's all about knowing the crowd flow at the mountain. Same holds true for Loon...

i think Kmart gets trashed the most both on and off the internet. stratton is up there too, though perhaps that's a different thread topic, lol. but i completely agree that even at most busy resorts, knowing how traffic works and working the various lifts based on frequently skiing the mountain is a huge help in making for a good ski experience that others may not be getting.

 

[andyzee]

Plenty of PA "hills" :lol: planning on opening this week

http://www.snocountry.com/snowclient/srlist.php?state=PA&command=statecond&satype=NA_Alpine

 

[rjc1976]

Hunter is going to be kickin this weekend!!! Tons of snowmaking right now...

BUUUT - until Mt Creek and Camelback open and absorbs some of the "park rats" it's going to be a little crowded...

Hasn't been too bad this season...

I was up at Hunter today, and the conditions are wonderful! I was expecting good conditions, but not that good!

As far as day trips for Northern NJ, I'd say your best choice right now is Hunter. They are expecting 28 trails open (15 today). As a comparison, I believe Belleayre had 4 and Windham had 5 -- at least those were the numbers last night when I was checking online and trying to figure out where to go today.

Here are my recommendations for day trips:

Hunter -- I think it's the best day trip from NJ, but I avoid it on weekends once the season gets going full swing. If you go on a weekday, I think it's hands down the best choice for a 1 day trip. It's also the best choice for early season or if you are going after bad rain storms.

Plattekill -- It's not open yet, but this is the best place to go on weekends after recent snow -- great terrain, no lift lines, nice people.

Elk -- It's my day trip of choice on weekends when there hasn't been much snow. They do a great job at grooming.

Windham -- I don't really go here anymore, but if you like intermediate terrain (which many people do), it's a better choice than Hunter. They have a lot more cruisers to play on.

 

[dmc]

I was up at Hunter today, and the conditions are wonderful! I was expecting good conditions, but not that good!

Wish I didnt have to work today.... Lots of trails are getting opened...
The new snowmaking pumphouse is kicking a$$!!!!!

An employee told me that they can fill a swimming pool with snow in under 5 minutes...

 

[rjc1976]

You have to love their snowmaking over there!