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EdBacon

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  1. EdBacon
    I can think of a handful of areas that are going to be added to the lost ski area list, unfortunately... but I don't wanna harsh the vibe here this time of year. Everyone is getting their pre-season stoke on.
  2. EdBacon
    Some of them, yeah. Although the trails are usually pretty short and the pitch is easy, with a few exceptions.
  3. EdBacon
    Been a minute. I'm back and checking out our fair state's lost and lonesome ski areas. I had the opportunity to take a walk around the former Alpine Mountain ski area outside Stroudsburg a couple weeks ago. This area closed in 2015 and was auctioned in 2017 for the bargain price of $413,000. The last operating owners seemed to have sunk a bunch of money into the place before it closed, renovating the lodge and ski school and buying new rental equipment, among other things. The current owners have no interest in the area, or even in maintaining the property which is becoming vandalized and decrepit. Seemed like a good place to learn when it was open. Mellow pitch, not as small as some other closed areas but still small by today's standards (350 vertical feet on about 20 trails). Shame to see any area go, especially with the crowding at some of its neighbors.
  4. EdBacon
    I can't imagine they'll be open much longer. Whenever their next lift overhaul comes due it'll probably be the end. Either that or something major like needing to put money into the snowmaking system. It's a shame. Private areas can work but they need an ownership group that cares about skiing and who does a bunch of outreach to get the community on board with supporting their ski area. It seems to work at Saw Creek, although that is a much, much smaller operation.
  5. EdBacon

    Elk Sold

    EdBacon replied to rummy's topic in Elk

    Camelback doesn't allow tree skiing either so no benefit there.
  6. EdBacon
    Finally got around to editing video from an area I visited months ago. Kahkout Mountain was part of the Winona Lakes development near Bushkill Falls. This was one of the many private areas that popped up across the Poconos in the 1970s. This is probably one of the larger abandoned ski areas in PA, and is pretty big in general for a lost ski area. The skiable vertical drop is about 475ft, and there's about 5 ways down the mountain including two advanced trails with a good sustained steep pitch. The area was built by the same developer who was responsible for the development Shawnee Mountain and Big Bear at Masthope, as well as the private Pocono Ranchlands ski area which is actually still in operation (and features the exact same model of Borvig double chair). These private areas are a real unique feature to the Poconos, but its a shame they weren't experienced by more people before they closed.
  7. EdBacon
    Full video of the former Wolf Hollow Ski Area just outside Delaware Water Gap, PA.
  8. EdBacon
    Next time a place goes up for auction lets but a bid in.
  9. EdBacon
    $412k at auction. When they bought the place it was still essentially a functioning ski area. But they had no realistic plans for the place and its just sitting vacant.
  10. EdBacon
    They've been closed since 2015 I believe. Almost no chance they come back. The place was sold to new owners who said they don't want to offer skiing, but wanted to turn the place into a Harley Davidson themed biker hangout, complete with scenic chairlift rides. I don't think those plans went anywhere. Although even if/when they sell I don't see anyone else trying to reopen the area for skiing.
  11. EdBacon
    420 No but I counted like 250-300'. The bottom of the lift was on the other side of the golf course which adds like 100ft of vert.
  12. EdBacon
    Delaware Water Gap ski area.
  13. EdBacon
    Here is my tour of Pocono Manor ski area, which closed sometime in the 1980s. Sadly, the grand Pocono Manor hotel burned down in 2019. This was one of the last remaining grand hotels in the Poconos, and was built between 1902 and 1949. Skiing started here maybe as early as the 30s and 40s with cross country skiing, and alpine lift serviced skiing commenced in the mid 60s. There is still a j-bar standing on the site, which is a very unique example of ski infrastructure if you're into that sort of thing. It was manufactured by a company called Larchmont in 1964, and is one of a few j-bars produced by the company before they got out of the business. Interestingly, these had the drive mounted to the top, rather than bottom terminals. I believe this is the only remaining example of this type of lift remaining, although there may be some remains of one at a hill in MA. Anyway, you can check out the video below. This was one of the larger private areas with about 250 feet of vert and a surprisingly steep sustained pitch. There were about 4-5 trails and slopes, including the two main open slopes which also had snowmaking coverage. Does anyone else remember skiing here?
  14. EdBacon
    Great info! Thanks! I'd heard of both of those areas but didn't know anything about them.
  15. EdBacon
    Larchmont j-bar, which I believe might be the only such example left in the country. I have to double check that one though. Believe this area stopped operation in the 80s.
  16. EdBacon
    I bet its pretty in the spring with all the flowers. Its basically a big meadow now.
  17. EdBacon
    So this one has more non-ski history, even though it hosted a small ski area for about 30 years. Tamiment Resort started back in the 20s as a retreat for the Rand School of Social Science in NY. They needed to raise money after the state of NY accused them of "subversive activity" during the first Red Scare in 1919, and the subsequent court battles damaged them financially. The Rand School had ties to the early labor and socialist political movements. Ironically they ended up founding one of the most commercially successful vacation resorts in the Poconos, and one that had a strong reputation for attracting famous live performance acts. Almost the entirety of the resort was demolished around 2005, save for the ski lift (which caught on fire in 2012) and the clubhouse for the golf course which doubled as the lodge in the winter. Take a look:
  18. EdBacon
    Does that put COVID19 as the leading cause of death now? I remember a couple days ago it was still just behind heart disease.
  19. EdBacon
  20. EdBacon
    I wonder if they'll ever even report those numbers. I guess the govt wants to keep the number under 100k.
  21. EdBacon
    It hasn't gotten that bad in PA, even in Philly. The thing that worries me most is we never really seem to have tested that much to begin with. They shutdown the CDC testing site at the stadiums because the emergency funding for that already ran out. I can't imagine the poorer areas of the city, especially in Kensington with the huge homeless and addicted population come out of this without a lot of issues, but we might never really know about it because its not like people in those communities are even going to come forward to get tested in the first place.
  22. EdBacon
    In Philly I'd say half of everyone I see out has a mask on now. And thats in and around Penn's campus, and some of these are healthcare workers. I imagine the numbers drop off quick as you get into the rougher neighborhoods.
  23. EdBacon
    Market it for beginners and maybe it could work. I think the problem with a lot of these places was that, while they could make their day-to-day expenses, they couldn't take on the periodic capital investments you need to keep a ski area going. Every 10-20 years you need to overhaul lifts, snowmaking, etc. and that just kills these areas which are only breaking even.
  24. EdBacon
    Not if you're from Salem County, NJ.
  25. EdBacon
    Here is the full video on Holly Mountain. This was a bizarre place. The base of the hill is practically in a tidal swamp and just barely above sea level. It's really interesting finding out what lengths people went to ski local back in the day. It's sort of a shame we lost these places. Sometimes its nice just to have a place to make turns on in your back yard, even if its not much.
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