Ski2Live Live2Ski

I was not even aware it existed at Blue until I started participating in this forum 10 years ago, and I had already skied at Blue/Little Gap for 30 years before that. I am aware of very tight apres ski communities at Loon and Sunday River as I have a friend who is part of them. I get a very strong feeling at Roundtop - more than anywhere else I ski including Blue - that a large % of skiers there (especially ones who use the Ramrod triple that serves their double blacks) are locals who know each other well and are participating in a social scene that has endured for decades. It is evident in the way they greet each other in the lift line as old friends and decide to ride up together. And Plattekill and Magic has very strong communities of regulars. There are also strong local community hang feels at Spring Mountain (all either beginners from philly area or folks who live very close and have passes as it is their local hill) and at Bear Creek (which is owned by a housing declvelopment). And a couple other mountains I have been to have very strong race family communities: West and Berkshire East.

Yeah I post a bunch, mostly about skiing and weather, not always agreeing with everyone else and not making it all about Blue. I tryntonadd some value and levity. I do enjoy the ski and weather talk here, but also wish there was a PA ski forum that did not have a Blue loyalty litmus test, but there is not and - yeah - I poke some fun at that. Guess I should not have eaten some food the ~3 times I accepted the invite to drop by your tailgate the one season I was a Blue pass holder, but the point of dropping by was to say hi to you guys. Never had a mission to not be anybody's friend, but nor did I want to spend hours hanging in the lot most times I came to Blue. I generally arrived later than you guys, skied a few hours, then went home to the other stuff in my life.

Thanks, but I'd like to continue participating in a PA Skiing forum, even if I skied Shawnee, Montage and Roundtop this month rather than Blue. If someone wants to pass me a buddy pass I'll be glad to hit Blue again, otherwise I'll ski the places I get good deals and enjoy skiing.

I'll take "Caring about hanging with a group of friends in the lot after skiing more than any of the above?" for $675 Johnny Don't know what gives you the impression I am miserable or lack community. I mostly ski with my kids which is very rewarding for me and my main community activities revolve around making music and supporting my friends making music, not hanging around in a parking lot eating, drinking and smoking after skiing. I finish skiing and go spend time doing that. I get you guys enjoy your community and that is why I put it as an option. But the idea that you have a better community than anyone else or that Blue is the one true mountain because that is where your community hangs out is what I see as out of whack. And my choice to spend more on Epic and Indy passes than I would spend on a Blue pass is not to save $. It is because I and my kids value diverse high-quality ski experiences more than being part of Blue's apres ski community, which is not all that kid friendly a scene truth be told. If you all were bringing kids there too it might be different, but I have never seen anyone else with kids the times we have dropped by so mine are basically "how long do we have to stay and hang in the lot Dad?"

I like more variety of trails rather than hitting same runs over and over. I find Cliffhanger as challenging as anything at Blue and usually less skied off and without the runout that is the last bit of any Blue run. Bactrian is real cool too. But not saying Camelback is better, just that it is a toss up. And mostly I like the variety of not skiing the same Mtn every time so if I was gonna ski 2 days in PA on a weekend I would much rather hit a different one each day, or if only 1 day then alternate.between weekends. And as mentioned it is easier to avoid lift lines there with the extra slower lifts.

Yep Whitetail has been hurting this year. Their low latitude and facing South/Southeast are a real tough combo in a year like this. Roundtop does a lot better facing North. Whitetail closed midweek saying they will reopen Sat but my $ says their season is done.

If I had to pick one place to day trip to ski all winter, with drive time being a factor, it would be a toss up between Blue & Camelback. They are equal distance from me and better than any others that are closer or no more than 20 minutes further (Shawnee, Bear Creek, JFBB, Roundtop Mountain Creek, Spring, Big Snow, Campgaw). Hunter, Elk, Whitetail and (to a lesser extent) Montage are all pushing it as far as drive time for regular day trips. I think Blue/Cbk offering a combined pass is a great development for the region. But competitively priced passes that include PA, Catskills, VT and CO are too attractive for me to pass up.

Ok - why is that? Quality of snow? Variety and challenge of terrain? Speed / reliability / comfort of lifts? Lack of crowds? Typical weather? Caring about hanging with a group of friends in the lot after skiing more than any of the above?

Good point. If I preferred skiing at Blue and Camelback to skiing at Hunter, Snow, Okemo, Stowe, Wildcat, Sunapee, Jack Frost, Whitetail, Roundtop, Keystone, Vail, Breckenridge and Beaver Creek, I would consider paying a bit extra for that privilige. Do you prefer skiing at Blue to skiing at that combo of areas or are you prioritizing a shorter drive/flight over what mountains you would prefer to ski at?

I'm gonna guess their early bird price for an all ages all access pass with Blue add on is roughly $938. Or maybe less if they don't include Snowtubing with theirs.

Maybe we should rename this thread the "NE Ski Multipass" thread so we don't have to tax the servers with a redundant new one. We can compare all the deals right here.

Stay tuned for the ever exciting annual evaluation of relative ski pass options for next Skison now that Blue/Cbk have entered the first bid among the multipasses offering skiing within 3 hr drive of 08648

It depends on the relative pricing of megapasses. If Ikon, Epic, ORDA and Indy increased by enough then Blue/Cbk could be attractive. I've always found Cbk to have manageable lines at their slower lifts compared to Blue. Why I would opt for them on Sat.

It looks like the add on is actually $263. Either way that is a nice option. To me a Blue/Cbk pass for $938 is a more attractive option thN Blue only for $675. I could enjoy spending Sat at Cbk and Sun at Blue far more often than I would ski either 2 days in a row.

Yeah I mentioned the line thing - is it bad at beginners area too? With 2 kids age 4 and 6 who got on skis once so far and loved it, this is an obvious move for her. I'm not suggesting she buy a Blue pass at $675 even with getting them for her kids. They won't go enough to make that worthwhile so she is better off buying day tickets when she takes them. Does Blue sell reduced price tix to access only beginner lifts?

Is Blue offering skiing end of this season with their 9 and under passes - asking for a friend

Maybe change your name to BMskiDan

Easy Out to end the day. Only time I generally ski it. Traversing Connector bites. And usually my only Burma run is start of day.

If I was gonna get up early enough to ski at 8 at Blue I'd rather get up 20 min earlier and ski at 830 at Hunter

Pretty sure I will be spending at least $675 on a pass, but it will be good at more than one only ok mountain

Still get a mini run at the end. And end of day not on my mind when parking.

Could see skiing Blue a bunch more starting winter of 2035-36 if they keep with this pricing model and I stay in this area.

A combination of Habit - it was the only game in town when I started Ski right away rather than waiting in line first More scenic Closer to my home - no reason to drive down and up a mountain an extra time. Facilities nicer looking

Good chance my kids would rebel and tell a lifty so they would not have to spend a 2nd season waiting in ridic lines at Blue and skiing the same 1000 footer every weekend. Nice deal though - I will tell a friend who has two young kids she is starting out skiing. Recently tabulated that I have now taken each of my kids skiing 118x. Gotta find some deals to make that work.

Nah no pix - didnt ever carry a camera skiing back when phones were mounted on walls. My first skis I owned were used rentals from Little Gap and had the name printed on the poles, but those are long gone.