Taking the price, time travel out of the equation, you think the terrain at Montage Frost and Blue is better than Elk? Hmmm.
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Any eastern PA skiers?
- Thread starter Jason Robertson
- Start date
no question in my mind. but like i said, it all depends on what kind of skiing one likes to do. and that's OK. Elk just doesn't do it for me like other places
What I think this highlights for the OP is that one won't find it all in any one Pocono ski area. That's why I liked skiing different places through a typical season. But that time has passed, I have a season pass at Killington and travel for ski weeks and long weekends. I'm kinda done with the long daytrips. I envy anyone that lives < 30 minutes from any ski area!
The only place I definitely remember skiing granulated sugar at in the past few years here in PA was.....Elk.
Montage and Jack Frost have seriously upped their snowmaking ante.
But, really, anywhere the OP ends up skiing will be fine....and he will find Pugskiers to join him!
Montage and Jack Frost have seriously upped their snowmaking ante.
But, really, anywhere the OP ends up skiing will be fine....and he will find Pugskiers to join him!
exactly! that's also why we bounce around. variety is the spice of life, right?
Let’s be realistic here, if you ski the northeast your gonna at some point ski sugar. I’ve driven to VT and end up skiing sugar, that’s just our weather.
This I can promise Elk dose a fine job making snow, weather permitting of course. I’ve skied sugar many times there,but can say not of any fault of their own
( Mother Nature). They are quick to get the hill in good condition and of course Mother Nature permitted. About the only time I’ve seen them not take advantage of weather for snow making is close to holidays, I assume they let their employees spend time with families.
Look I enjoy Elk, I think giving weather conditions,think you’re gonna find Elk beats Montage or Blue every time. I am north of Elk right between Elk and Greek and I choose Elk for my pass. I do chase snow now and then, that’s the good thing about the northeast. There is so many options with in a 3-4 hour drive.
No ragging meant for Elk.....and it is the BEST bet for the OP. And the locals are great, even if the owner is a jerk.
There’s some bar down the road from Elk (I forget the name) that makes awesome pierogies....a great après ski stop with lots of local flavor.
For me, Montage and Jack Frost are a shorter drive by an hour.
Thread Starter
TS
Im ready for four seasons again, i know that. Not just summer and not quite as hot summer. This first year will be great, i dont care if its a 200’ vertical, im just gonna be stoked to have skiing and hockey back in my winter recreation.
No ragging meant for Elk.....and it is the BEST bet for the OP. And the locals are great, even if the owner is a jerk.
There’s some bar down the road from Elk (I forget the name) that makes awesome pierogies....a great après ski stop with lots of local flavor.
For me, Montage and Jack Frost are a shorter drive by an hour.
Bar is Chet’s.....yes, worth a stop.
Owner may be a jerk....but it’s really the on mountain GM that’s the day to day jerk....lol. He’s the guy with the cigar...driving/walking around looking to make sure you follow “his” rules.
It’s a great place to ski in NEPA. They do some great things...and some not do great things....but I’m sure that’s everywhere you go. It’s my local mountain, so I support it on my school snow days.
In the upper parking lot or quad lot, if you ever see a guy standing next to a Tundra drinking a Dale’s....that’s me, BC...say hi.
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Thread Starter
TS
Thread Starter
TS
Hunter doesnt appear to be a bad option at 2 1/2 hrs for weekenders. It took about that amount of time to get to copper from our house on the range, and we put in a ton of days there.
^^^I’m there with my buddies a lot of Sunday mornings....one of them lives in South Abington...so it’s totally doable.
We really like Hunter. We call it the Slag Heap...it’s an interesting mountain....for terrain and people watching.
I have not seen much talk about Blue Mt. it is an east PA mountain. It get well groomed, has some steep trails although they are short. I also like Camel Back but I do not get there as much as Blue. Elk is a bit far for me, not a bad place but if I am going to travel that amount of time I would just go to Hunter.
What I think this highlights for the OP is that one won't find it all in any one Pocono ski area. That's why I liked skiing different places through a typical season. But that time has passed, I have a season pass at Killington and travel for ski weeks and long weekends. I'm kinda done with the long daytrips. I envy anyone that lives < 30 minutes from any ski area!
45 minutes to Camelback for me but its a really easy 45. Blue and Elk are both over that 1 hour mark which takes them off my radar. My other choices sub 1 hour are Mountain Creek and Shawnee. I think I'll stay with Camelback as my day destination. We are weekend warriors here in the east and will do 4 to 8 weekends in either Vermont or New Hampshire (Ikon resorts and mostly dependent upon that fickle New England weather) but having a decent local connection lets us ski pretty much every weekend from December to April. 6 Hours is my tolerance for driving which is Loon NH (takes Maine off my radar too) beyond that I'd rather go the 35 minutes to Liberty International Airport for 1 or 2 trips out to Colorado/Utah (go see our son who lives out there) which makes for a nice season.
Hunter is actually a pretty kick ass mountain, probably the hardest in the Cats. IMO the funnest mountain in the Cats is Plattekill, but its out there. Used to do the Catskills quite a bit, but they are also off the radar for me now. If I'm heading in that direction up the NY Thruway its up to Vermont or New Hampshire.
Blue is an interesting place. Another place we got to ski every season when my son was racing. Has good vertical and they do a great job with their seeded bumps which makes it entertaining to ski. They do a good job of making snow however it suffers a little from a low base elevation. I don't like that they set up both their high speed lifts on the one side (which makes that side extremely busy) and its closeness to the Lehigh Valley ( and Philly) make it a very busy place.
Because if @Jason Robertson, the OP is going to be in the Clarks Summit area, Blue really isn't the best option, it is a fair distance from where he is looking to relocate to and more viable options closer.
I do find it somewhat amusing to read the various opinions about eastern Pa mountains. For sure, you can't please all the people all the time.
While he was still in the Philly region, @Philpug was a major critic of Blue Mtn. primarily due to the snow conditions caused in part by the mountains need to make snow in warmer temps which wet snow which begets ice and death cookies. He refused to ski there, much preferring Jack Frost. I, on the other hand, hate the slow chairs and blah terrain at JF, but, loved the high-speed lifts and terrain at Blue. For me, that off-set the hard snow, and, what does not kill you makes you a better skier. Classic case of totally divergent opinions that will never be compromised by either of us. Phil made one last visit there, and, was shocked there was not a "Wanted Dead" picture his smiling face in the base-lodge. @Ron had similar opinions to Phil, causing him to relocate to Steamboat, a somewhat drastic response.
While he was still in the Philly region, @Philpug was a major critic of Blue Mtn. primarily due to the snow conditions caused in part by the mountains need to make snow in warmer temps which wet snow which begets ice and death cookies. He refused to ski there, much preferring Jack Frost. I, on the other hand, hate the slow chairs and blah terrain at JF, but, loved the high-speed lifts and terrain at Blue. For me, that off-set the hard snow, and, what does not kill you makes you a better skier. Classic case of totally divergent opinions that will never be compromised by either of us. Phil made one last visit there, and, was shocked there was not a "Wanted Dead" picture his smiling face in the base-lodge. @Ron had similar opinions to Phil, causing him to relocate to Steamboat, a somewhat drastic response.
I do miss my Yuengling Lager and Rolling Rock...although we are seeing RR out...but not in the prefered 7oz pony bottles.
Thread Starter
TS
Yuengling is gonna be nice, but i do miss the beer scene of ft collins...tough to beat
Thread Starter
TS
Ill know if were headed that way at the end of the week. Im headed to houston to talk with the owner of the company that is offering me to finalize the details. So far the position is right, and theyre offering a house for 12 months(very nice place) on a big piece of property in clarks summit. Just cover utilities, so we are able to find exactly where we want to buy without any rush. Pretty nice perk. If all goes as planned we should be up and going before the end of the year. Fingers crossed. Hunt fish camp hike ski hockey...not on any particular order, lol
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