EdBacon

Wow did Blue Mtn get snow today? Looks gr8.

Love you.

Weather probably isn't going to let them do more than operate on weekends before then anyway.

JF doesn't do tubing anymore. It isn't family friendly enough.

Jack Frost is opening Dec 1

Camelback's base is about the same elevation as the top of Blue Mountain.

Camelback is older and more comfortable with where they are. They're less motivated to make big changes. Which I can sort of appreciate. They have a stable of old fixed grip lifts still while Blue is all high speed now. They did build out the hotel and waterpark thing in 2015 but otherwise I can't think of any major improvements on the mountain recently. Their new high speed lift is only going in because the lift it replaced had a major accident.

I couldn't hang around Cortina Valley too much. Somebody tried to turn the lodge and base area into a hotel resort in 2020, right in time for the pandemic. I don't think it lasted more than a year. Even though its closed I think somebody lives there now. But I did walk up to the top.

Recently learned its actually pronounced "El K" Which is Spanish for "The K"

Not a Prince fan?

Come spend the night inside my sugar walls

Then its really pink.

Why is frost pink?

I'm stoked. Gonna score me a funnel cake at the Camelback cafeteria.

I would.

No brainer for me. Blue + Camelback as local mountains and the vacation covered beats the pants off JF/BB. I won't end up using more than the 14 days locally + a couple vacations anyway. And abandoned areas are always free when it snows.

The Biggest Little Mountain in the Catskills! Somebody tried to run a hotel out of the lodge but that folded a few years ago. I think somebody might be living in the lodge now.

Anyone want to guess for the next one?

Been a while since I've been up to this. Also I've visited pretty much everything in a day's driving distance. Got up to MA last fall and checked out what remains of Mt. Tom.

The main problem with siting the trails on the east side of the mountain is that the bottom is mostly floodplain. The original ski area had issues where the ground at the base of the tows wouldn't freeze and you'd be stuck walking through a swamp. It's a big reason why they moved the operations further west down the mountain. Also, on the occasion there's adequate snowfall: skiers right of Nile Mile, right around the first left switchback turn if you duck into the woods you'll come out onto a woods trail that proceeds steeply down towards the old railroad grade. This wasn't a Big Pocono ski trail but it does cross into the old ski area. From there you have to skin or hike back to Nile Mile. No water slide, but imo something better. Check this out:

The old trails would have been skiers right of Nile Mile. The longest tow went about 2/3rds of the way up the mountain. The top of the Stevenson quad would be in the top right of this old photo. I don't think this is part of the state park. At least not all of it. The top of the mountain is state park land but it doesn't extend all the way to the bottom on the north side.

No. Fiancee and I are moving into a new place so I'm looking for a dining room table this weekend.

There was also a ski area operating on Camelback Mountain before the extant Camelback was opened in the 60s. Big Pocono Ski area opened for the 1950/51 season and closed in 1955 before ski operations moved slightly west down the mountain and the ski area's investors opened the current Camelback. The old pickup truck used to power the original rope tow is still in the woods off Nile Mile. I know they're not counting that in the date but you gave me an opening to talk about ski area history.

The beginner lift broke down last week at JF. So they will only be offering whatever advanced and intermediate terrain they have remaining at JF until closing. I think their last accessible beginner terrain was at BB which closed over the weekend. There hasn't been an announcement on closing yet but I can't imagine they'll push things beyond this weekend without a working beginner lift.

Switching to a Blue pass. I tried Indy this year but the distance of Montage or Shawnee as local hills didn't make sense. It's a shame because it's probably the only multi pass I'd ever use.