GolfingOwl

JF was pretty nice today. Challenge glade was the best run by a long shot. Lots of soft snow and bumps. East mountain skied nice. First time on the Elevator - pretty icy at the top. Moguls on Exhibition were fun. They need more ungroomed areas like that (maybe one side of Challenge or T-Bolt). There was a middle school ski trip today (I was there as a chaperone), which added to the crowds. I actually had to wait for 3 minutes in a lift line! Not sure about the gapers as they weren't with our group (but I did notice some interesting one pieces).

I'll be there. My 8 year-old son is skiing with the race team for the day and we drove up last night from Jenkintown to avoid getting snowed in (12+" called for in Jenkintown). As long as I can make it to Blue from the Four Points on Airport Road I'll be there. Skiing solo in the morning and with him in the afternoon. Lime green jacket, black pants, silver helmet.

I'd like to see more glade skiing. JF is the only mountain in NE PA that really is open to glade skiing and they have been expanding the available terrain. Sno has a lot of possibilities and they could use that as a further selling point. I generally like Sno and how it is set up. High speed lifts are silly for a mountain under 1500' of vertical. All they do is crowd the slopes on smaller mountains. Sno rarely has lift lines anyway.

Hit Sno today with the kids. Similar to last year when we skied MLK day, hardly any crowds, though the rain last night probably had something to do with the fact that it was virtually empty the whole day. Conditions were better than I thought they would be considering the rain last night. Snow was wet but not overly slushy until later in the afternoon. Fast, but soft. Felt like spring skiing. Skied the entire mountain other than the greens and terrain parks. Skied White Lightening twice and it had big, soft bumps. Most of the mountain was ice-free except a few spots such as Rattler. Boomer skied well too and ended up being the group's favorite run. Another fun day at Sno. BTW, the people we brought with us were first timers at Sno and loved it. Everytime we bring people with us, they are sold. Sno needs to do more to get people to the mountain who have never been before and they will come back. For instance, they should do some demo/customer appreciation days with some of the Philly area stores.

Sounds like a great day. Too bad I can't make it. Plake is a legend - would love to meet him.

Meatheads films are great. I own them all and they are my 8 year-old son's favorites. I like that they film almost exclusively in the East and have a more home-grown vibe. I get bored with the other ski films that all seem to look the same (same players, same shots, same locations, etc..). You should check out some of their earlier films. Epoch is a about climbing and skiing the highest peaks in New England. Part documentary/part history video/part ski movie. Born From Ice is probably my favorite then Wanderland. Also agree about the music. Their earlier films have a lot of stuff from a lot of indie groups. I usually end up seeking out a few on iTunes and adding them to my Ski Tunes playlist I listen to while I ski.

Have only been there once this year and there were no bumps. And the times I've been there the last couple years, no bumps. If this is a change, great. Maybe I've just been there at the wrong times. Other mountains seem to have trails that are consistent bump trails like Tunkhannock at Elk.

This is why Jack Frost is one of my favorite PA mountains despite it's limited terrain and vert. They get the most out of their limited terrain with great snowmaking, and a liberal tree policy. Just another example of how they put skiers first. Now all they need is a bump run (or half a run).

The information from you and others on Sno helped me and my family (as well as another family I brought with me) try Sno for the first time. We subsequently returned for a second trip this year and we will be back again (if not this year, next year for sure). So if your goal is to get people to come to Sno, it worked. I have been passing the word as well and I know of a few other families I have convinced to drive the extra 15-45 minutes past where they usually go to get better skiing and less crowds. No one has come back disappointed.

I only saw it from the lift. We didn't go into the advanced park but I did see someone go off of it as a jump. Guess I can see now that it was for a feature.

They should let one trail bump up. I like JF (my third favorite PA mountain behind Elk and Sno), especially because of their liberal tree policy. All they need is a run that always has bumps, or even better, let half of a run bump up. Then they would get the most out of their limited terrain.

Just wanted to say that I was up at Sno about a month ago and had posted they needed more beginner features in the beginner's park. We were up on President's day and it was a big improvement. Many more features that can hit by park newbies. My one suggestion is that they have a small jump in the middle of the bigger park - they should put something like that in the beginner park. Half pipe was fun too.

President's Day at Sno was as anticipated. Not very crowded by Pocono standards. Never waited in a lift line other than when Long Haul was down for about 5 minutes. Conditions were very good. Boomer was the best trail with small bumps forming from the ungroomed terrain. Didn't try White Lightening as I had kids with me and they took someone out in an ambulance who had skied off that run into the trees. Only bummer from the thaw was that all the snow in the trees melted. Sno has some nice tree skiing for a PA mountain.

Conditions were pretty good at Elk on Tuesday, much better than aniticipated. More crowded than exppected but never waited more than a couple minutes at any lift. Conditions were firm, but not icy and well groomed. Only a little ice late afternoon on some of the busier trails. Bumps were very firm with lots of ice in the troughs. Overall, though, great day at Elk. There is really no question that it is best mountain in PA.

Any one been to Elk in the past couple days? Heading up Tuesday and wondering how the conditions are. I know most PA mountains are icy due to last weeks weather.

Anyone been up to Sno in the past day or two? Heading up tomorrow and wonder what the conditions are like. Most PA mountains seem to be icy.

Kind of what I was hoping to hear, which would make the additional day worth it. I won't hold you to your prediction.

Thinking of taking the kids up to Sno on President's Day. How are the crowds at Sno that day? I was up at Sno on MLK day and they were pretty light (which is why I'm thinking of hitting Sno). Know it is typically one of the busiest days of the year. My kids actually have off Tuesday as well and we are hitting Elk but was thinking of making it a two day trip with Sno Monday and Elk Tuesday. Thanks

Plus, my kid's old man doesn't want to look like a fool when he goes into the park with him (like the first time I tried to ride a box sideways and almost separated my shoulder). The rainbow isn't too bad (I actually hit that succesfully 50/50) but just as an example, that is the fourth feature in Boulder's beginner park (first they have a super low wide flat box, then a higher wide flat box, then a skinier box, then a rainbow). Sorry if my terminology is way off, I'm no park rat.

Has Sno done a beginner park in the past? The one thing I (and my son) was disappointed with in my first visit to Sno was the lack of beginner features. My 7 year old is trying to learn to ride boxes, etc. but it's hard unless their are beginner features. Boulder has nice progression parks where the features get a little harder down the run and Bear Creek sets up a few beginner features on some beginner trails. Might be something for Sno to consider.

Long Haul was definitely running as we took it most of the day. Got off the mountain around 4 so can't speak to when it closed after that. Lodge seemed full at lunch and day-end but you could find a spot. If that place ever gets busy, I could see that lodge being a nightmare. Melissa - we were a combination of two families. I was wearing a bright green jacket, silver helmet, black pants. I have a 7 year old boy who was bombing down most runs, and a 10 year old girl. Also had a snowboarder with us (10 year old).

Me, wife and two kids (7 and 10) hit snow today for the first time. Met another family up there who had never been to Sno either. Conditions were fantastic - great groomed corderoy and light fluffy powder on undgroomed portions. We were on the mountain by 9 and skiing untouched cord for the first two hours virtually by ourselves (mostly hit Whistler/Upper Fast Track/Upper Runaway up top and Lower Runaway/Lower Fastrack down below). The powder on the sides of the trails and in the trees off Upper Fast Track were super fun and the kids (and I) had a blast playing in them the whole day. We eventually hit Smoke and Boomer (which the kids liked) and I hit White Lightning on my own which was big bumps with a little ice between the moguls (though ice was soft so it was managable). Conditions stayed pretty prime most of the day - only a couple icy spots late in the day. Crowds were very light all day. Never waited at any lift. Only gripe was setting up race training on Lower Runaway. Trail is too narrow to take half of the slope away considering it is the easiest way down to the bottom. The consensus from our group was that everyone was super-impressed with Sno. We will definitely be back this year. P.S. Thanks everyone for the advice on the mountain, it was very helpful and spot on.

Thanks for the advice. Trail maps never seem to tell the story.

I noticed on the conditions report the Long Haul Lift is not open. Since we are heading up this weekend for the first time, can you get from the bottom of the mountain to the top without excessive walking? Say you wanted to ski Upper Runway to Lower Runway? From the trail map, it doesn't look like taking the Phoebe Snow lift to Iron Horse lift works without a lot of walking. Also, what Eastern PA mountains is the terrain comparable in regards to difficulty? My kids can ski any blue and many blacks in the Pocs (mostly JF and Camelback). They also ski in Vermont a lot but mostly ski blues in Vermont.

We may stay over nearby. Any recommendations? Cheap, clean and kid friendly. I checked Sno's website and see there are a bunch of chain hotel/motels close bye. Pool would be nice for the kids.