RidgeRacer

The Terra Cottage is one of my favorite restaurants ever.

I'll agree getting a ticket sucks when you have a pass, but there rarely is a line. There is also a season pass validation kiosk at JF (I don't know about Boulder). It's really not that bad. By the way this whole comparing Blue to BB is just silly. There is no comparison. BB is fun when you havent skied in 7 months but size wise it's a molehill compared to Blue. I don't think anyone can deny that. Jack Frost on the other hand has legit terrain and snow that can compare favorably with Blue IMO.

What I like about Blue is trails like Lazy Mile, switchback, sidewinder, even Burma Road. I like winding trails that have some pitch to them. I can't think of any other trails in the area like that except for Kickapoo at Elk. Like Steeze said, CB flattens out way too quickly.

Believe it or not, that was at noon...I was salviating looking at that on the way up.

Just got back from another really fun day at JF. I thought the heavy rain this morning would have taken it's toll and I almost didn't go but that would have been a huge mistake. The snow was still great. Pretty much the same as it has been the past few days, granular really nice for arcing wide turns on T Bolt and Challenge. I got to the lot a little after 12 and the sun was peaking out which was nice to see. Did laps on T Bolt and Challenge for the most part then headed over to Exhibition and Janes Lane before I called it a day. The snow in the trees was really gluey and tough to turn on so I really didn't venture in there. Once again there was practically no one there which made it really sweet. Here are a frew pics from the day Thunderbolt Tbolt Glades The Challenge

6 or 7 top to bottom including One Park

Pulled into the lot around 11:45. It was misty / foggy and visibility wasn't the greatest. Excellent coverage everywhere. Although I think the fog and mist is doing some damage. I did notice the beginnings of some bare spots mainly on Demattes. T Bolt and Challenge was a bit better but I did notice a bare spot begin to appear on T Bolt later in the day. The fog wasn't helping. Despite all of that the snow was still very nice and fast, a little bit quicker than yesterday, once again perfect for carving and getting a little speed. The snow in the trees was really firm. As the day wore on the fog thickened and I headed out. Hopefully it will get colder tonight and they can continue to open more terrain. There were very few cars once again. I saw maybe 25 people the whole day. Overall a really fun day for carving turns on T Bolt and Challange. Weather pending I'll probably be there again tomm. See ya there..

The entire Mt. is not open. In fact the best part of the mt. isn't open (East mt.) That being said what is open is really fun. I have no idea what Hunter has open. But I'm sure the terrain there may be better than waht JF has right now. It's probably worth the 2hrs to JF, especially if you're really itching to get out. Conditions have been really good. Although if it's raining i'd probably save the gas money for another day.

Got to the lot around 12:00. Overcast skies, there was no rain / freezing rain as predicted although it was pretty cold and damp. There were very few cars in the lot. I booted up and found the place practically to myself. I did a run on Easy rider then over to Janes Lane. The snow was wet / fast and groomed very nicely. Still great coverage everywhere. Made my way over to T Bolt and Challenge. There were more people on this side of the Mt. The snow was great for carving on both Challange and T Bolt. There was still plenty of snow left in the trees but because it was wet I was sinking in it a little bit, not the best tree skiing snow. The snomaking whales were large on Exhibition and it looked the same on East Mt. Overall a fun day. I'll be back tomm probably around noon again. If anyone will be there. I have grey pants, olive green jacket, grey helmet. Give me a shout.

Absolutely... Frost is very underrated IMO.

I got there late in the afternoon. Snow was, needless to say, still great. Coverage was excellent. For the most part I did laps through the trees on the upper parts of T Bolt and Challange then to the lower portion of those trails for some carving. It was amazing how much snow is in the trees / glades. Challenge / T Bolt seemed steeper and longer than usual after skiing Boulder Park run for the past few weeks. Cant wait till East opens. All in all a great time. I may be back tomm and then again on Monday morning (hopfully the rain will hold off). So glad I got a pass there this year.

I thought that was great...I thought I was reading PASR for a second there. So cool to see that T Bolt glade will be open too!

- It's pretty cool how quickly JFBB opens terrain. Nearly 100% on opening day is amazing.

I'll probably be there mid afternoon sometime. Can't wait to hit jf. Hopefully not long before we see some East Mt. trails open too.

I usually hold off on Elk until they get Mohawk / Iriquios open.

While at Boulder tonight, I kept saying to myself that if this was Dec 2nd 2005, I'd probably be home right now wishing I was skiing in the freshly fallen snow instead of actually being out skiing in it. The 4 inches we got last night would have been wasted then. Serious props to Peak and JFBB for their agressive approach probably knowing that it would cater to the harcore skiers and riders in the beginning. But I think it's paid off. The lot has been pretty packed everytime I've been there so far. And next weekend when most if not all of the mountains in our area are just getting started, Big Boulder will likely be 100% and Jack Frost will have everything except East Mt. I can't remember a Mt. with so much open terrain this early in PA.

They've taken a lot off the map recently which I can't understand...we can still ski them, I know but it seems weird. Elevator, if they kept it as one of the "on the map" trails and blew snow on it, has potential to be one of the best runs in the area.

Drove past Blue last night. It was fully illuminated and there were a few small snow piles. I didn't see any guns on though.

Wow, with the cold temps last night and forcasted lows in the teens (or close to it) tonight, tomm, and Friday night I thought they'd easily be able to open JF by the weekend....a little disappointing but given what JFBB has done this year I'm definitely not complaining.

I know I'm not losing it. They must have just updated that today. Regardless I'll be skiing Demattes, T Bolt and The Challenge by the weekend...woo hoo

The site still says "Closed for the season.Thank You for sliding with us" which IMO at this time of year should at least be updated. Hopefully they'll begin snowmaking tonight and continue all of this week with 10 straight nights of low 20's / teens we have forecasted. I would love to be skiing at JF by this weekend. But again any update on the site would be nice.

One word to describe Big Boulder tonight....WOW. The amount of snow they layed down since last weekend is incredible. Like Matt said, the snow was perfect for racers. It was a bit skied off in the middle of the trails but still edgable (sp?). The sides of the trails especially on Boulder Park were perfect. With the forcast this week they may have most of that hill covered by next weekend. Hopefully they'll start on Jack Frost too. What they're doing is impressive for sure.

Any word on when Elk will be opening?

Thanks for the TR...I'll be heading out in about an hour. Phil, good to see you're showing a little love for a PA resort.

lol...trust me Phil, I'll be home by kickoff. I think it'll be closer than people think but the Pats still win ... Hope to see you out there when I get there.