bigdaddyk

Monday was the first I saw the new snow cat pole fans in action. I was blown away at the amount of snow that they put out, and the fact that they oscillate!! If they continue to add these to both BB and JF, they will without a doubt have the best snow bases in the Poconos. The only problem I see, if you call it a problem, would be having a lot of these running at the same time would cause white out conditions, which would mean they would have to limit when they blow snow, or close trails to do it.

I'm loyal to JF, but was at BB on Monday 6th and the conditions were excellent. They were blowing snow on almost all of the runs when I left at 9pm and their website has all of them scheduled for snowmaking. JF, on the other hand, only has two or three trails listed for snowmaking, which a lot of the times is underestimated. I was really impressed by the new polecats at BB. This is the first I've seen them blowing and they REALLY put out...it was like a blizzard when they had them all turned on . I might just end up at BB again on Tuesday.

I'm a weather buff and follow a lot of the models that forecasters use. I hate to be a party pooper, but most of the more reliable models put the storm out to sea . A few of the less reliable models hint at it coming up the coast. Also, accuweather is really bad at hyping up mythical storms that never take shape .

They need to put some of the new fans on east mountain.

I saw that Tussey Mountain is closed, due to poor coverage. Blue Marsh is also listed as being closed. Anybody know what the deal is with Blue Marsh? I couldn't find any info on that resort.

The new owners, Peak Resorts, are all about snowmaking. I was stunned at the base of boulder. I heard that there might be plans to put some of those pole cat snow fans on JF, which would be sweet. A few JF employees also told me that night skiing might be added to JF. Night skiing would be nice, but at the same time might take away the uniqueness that gives it an out west feel, having no lights.

I guess the best advice would be to contact K2. Only problem is a lot of companies won't cover damage caused by rough treatment on the owner's part, so be careful how you word it.

I'm guessing it has to due with stability, because the taller you are, the higher your center of mass is.

A lot of people say that skis should be as tall as you, but there's been a trend to go shorter and it comes down to personal preference. Starting out, shorter will be better because they are easier to turn. I'm 6'0 and use 156's, which are shoulder length for me. Some people would think that this is short, which I don't let bother me because it's what I like and I have no problems with them. I learned on 150's and didn't like longer skis, so I stayed with shorter ones. I've talked to many people, and they also seem to agree that more people are starting to favor going with shorter, shaped skis. Unless they are really cheap skis, I would recommend renting different sizes, before buying. I rented for two years, until I was comfortable with the length that I liked. Remember, it doesn't matter what others think you look like. If you go too big, you will look like more of an "idiot" if you can't control them. As a side note, everybody already looks goofy, with everything you have to wear.

JF has been blowing snow on their trails, every chance they get.

It's 236 am and it is broad daylight at Camelback.....nice recording.

Well, I knew it would happen sooner or later....I was going down Telstar on Friday morning and went over a rock, that was hard to see until you were on top of it. Needless to say, it put a nice scratch in the under side base of one of my skis. Is there anything that you can fill this in, or do you have to get them ground down? I don't think it's real bad, but I'm just curious because I know you can epoxy the top part of the skis.

I was at JF Friday morning until noon. It started out at 39 and was 50 at noon. The snow at JF doesn't get slushy, despite the warm temps, because the sun doesn't hit the slopes. I thought the conditions were excellent. The snow softened up, but didn't get slushy, like some places do. I think JF is the place to go, when it is warm.

Is anybody else having trouble with connecting to the web cam, or is it just me?

I would hope you would have the courtesy to ask first, instead of just cutting in, becasue this would reflect poorly on your mountain. From what I understand, ski patrolers are the only people entitled to priority to the lifts.

I have a season pass for JF/BB and rarely go to BB, only when I can't get to JF. If you've never been to JF, it's worth going, because you can get a whole day ticket that is good for both JF and BB. JF has a bunch of decent trails for riding, including one that has three headwalls.

Yeah, the wind is what concerns me.

Anybody know how the roads are in the Poconos? I'm heading to JF early in the am.

I go mostly during the week, I've only been to JF once or twice this year on a weekend, so the crowds that I've seen have been what you'd expect at any resort. I was there new year's day and it was crowded, but not overly crowded. This year, they have been running at least one side of all the lifts during the week. Last year they did not use all of the lifts during the week. Also, the weekends that I have been there, they had ALL the lifts going, even though they probably didn't need both sides. This is nice because it makes for no lines at all. Risk it is only open when we get natural snow, because it is mostly a glade type trail. They advertise snow making on it, but I think that's because snow from Floyd's folly blows over onto it. And yeah, the elevator's gone. Last year it didn't open either.

Speaking of opening trails. I've noticed that they took the sign down for the elevator...the sign looks like it was cut down at the base. Also, the sign for gonzo's grind, by east mt. lift, is gone. Neither of these are listed on the trail map anymore. I wonder why they got rid of them. I was sort of thinking that the elevator was taken away because it merged where two other trails merge, making it a risk factor for collisions.

Lift tickets are good at both. I just got back from JF and it was 47 when I left at noon. The snow was still in excellent condition, which is usually the case no matter how warm it gets.

I didn't doubt the accuracy...I was just curious because I haven't seen much updated info on JFBB's website. That's the one downfall about their site. I haven't been to BB yet this year, only JF. It's nice to hear updates about the local resorts .

From what I've heard, the new polecat snow makers have made a difference at BB. If they add these to East Mt. at JF, it will make for a sweet set up. I heard the new company plans on doing stuff like this and update the lifts. I don't know if faster lifts are really a good thing though, because that means that more people would be pushing the snow around. The polecats would definately make JF one of the best ski areas for snow quality, since it is one of the coldest spots, if not coldest, of all of the ski areas in the pocono area.