skierdaddy

skied sat, sun, mon, and today. New Years eve was awesome. And today was a slice of heaven in pa. Got there at 8:30 AM. already had about six inches and was still dumping. The temp was 30 and i thought the snow may be a bit sticky, but I was wrong. It was awesome. Powder skiing in pa. loved it!!!! Happy New Year to everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!What a way to start 08!

heading up tomorrow unitl tuesday. calling for some rain tonight and then some snow on sunday night. just curious how its been this week? regardless, pumped about skiing this weekend.

I'll be heading to ELk this weekend to ski sat and sunday... What a start to the season, up to eight inches today and sat and sun maybe a foot! Sunday morning is going to be awesome!!!!Hope all can get out and enjoy!!!

While I agree that BB is tiny compared to Blue, CB, Elk, etc. I am impressed that they are willing to open in pa in early november and I love it. I have only been there once in my 25 yrs of skiing and have no plans of ever returning, but you have to love the aggressive approach. I hope those who ski/ride there are taking advantage of the early season. I also hope that the bigger resorts will step up and take notice. I can't ever remember a PA resort being open in early november and staying open and blowing snow at every opportunity. Great!

Trackbiker hit the nail on the head of what I mean, And yes I have spoken to the management of Elk. The thing that can't be matched with marketing, new snowmaking big terrain parks and new lifts is the mountain itself. Elk has the best fall-line skiing in the state, hands down. If your a rider that wants big pipes etc, elk is not for you, unless you want better actual "terrain". While elk is not owned by a huge corporation, the family is not hurting and the debt load is very low. They continue to upgrade what is important to them and their loyal base which is quality. They have purchased 75 new state of the art snow guns in the past three yrs, added new tower lifts on several trails including the terrain park and purchased a new groomer. Elk has over 250 snow guns for a mountain with 140 or acres of skiing. That is pretty strong. Remember last january when all of the southern resorts had to close, Elk closed for 1 day on a monday to make snow. I am looking forward to skiing at Sno mountain in the future, I hope the resort is a success. When the new trails are all done I will definetly go there to check it out. But I will never leave ELk, because no other mountain has their terrain and atmosphere. Please understand I am not bashing other mountains, skiers or boarders etc. We all love our sport and obviously are passioniate about pa skiing and riding. Every turn is a good turn. Enjoy!

I've been reading the last few posts on Elk and I laugh and wonder if any of you have been there at all. Elk is a different animal. They don't want a hotel. they don't want big crowds etc. And when I see places like Bear Creek in the same sentence as Elk, I laugh, its like comparing Elk to Stowe or Killington. The it's like skiing in Vermont slogan is based on the remote country like feeling and terrain,and is not all that far fetched. again, its not even close to most in vermont. But, as far as OKemo or Stratton, the conditions there a better most of the time, the amont of challenge at Elk is just as good. Okemo is not challenging at all and either is Stratton.The resort mindset is to and always will be to provide its season pass holders and loyal skier base with the best conditions for pure skiing and riding in PA... The conditions at Elk are very good for a pennsylvania mountain and the trail layout and terrain is without question the best in NE pa. I have been skiing for over 20 yrs and have skiied every mountain in pa many times including seven springs, denton hill and blue knob. If you want hotels, massive terrain parks for kids, waterparks etc. Elk is not catered to you. And while Elk may not have the most snowmaking, the quality of snow is top notch for pa and they have over 250 snow guns and blow snow on about 4 trails a day these days. Sno mountain is really not a concern for Elk. As long a they continue to keep the quality.Elk skiers and riders don't want massive crowds and loads of people who don't really know how to ski or ride, hotels and condos etc. It's about the environment of the place and the feel of the place. You can't get that looking at scranton all day.

10 times the snowmaking capacity of Elk??????????? No not at all. They may have a bit more, but Elk has 250 snow guns and purchased 50 new fan guns just this fall. Elk also blows snow as much as any of the other mountains. I have been to ELk in late March and they are still blowing at night to ensure good snow. CB, Blue, & Sno all have great snowmaking capacity, you have to in Pa and Elk does as well. But again, the difference is snow quality is simple, less crowds, higher elevation, further north, more natural snowfall, and knowing how and when to groom.

Not in the top 3 for skiing?????????????? oh maybe you meant shortest slopes or shortest season or least amount of challenging terrain or poor grooming or too crowded?? HA HA, just bustin, whatever pa resort you call home of course is the best. It's all about what you enjoy and that is all that matters. Lets all hope for a cold start this yr!!!!!!!

Elk is magical, best skiing in pa hands down, can't wait until winter..

When I said Ice, I meant "boilerplate" ice that I used to ski on at camelback and blue etc. Yes, there is always going to be icy spots and some marginal conditions, even out west. I But what I meant was as far as pa goes, Elk's conditions always seem to be the enjoyable even when the weather doesn't cooperate. I was there on Valentines day as well, and yes it wasn't great powder, but it also was sleet and freezing rain for several hours that really hurt the conditions. Some resorts just know how and when to groom, blow snow etc. and Elk has it down. Sorry blue mt guys, but the grooming and snowmaking decisions there are not very good. Camelback is just too crowded, although the grooming has improved greatly over yrs ago. (I'll give you an example of what I am talking about, Blue will blow snow whenever possible, which sounds like the optimal thing to do, but it is not, blowing snow in marginal temperatures with the wrong humidity levels creates a wetter snow, which during that day after it is blown will not groom nicely and it usually is tough after that., again just an example, and I'm not talking about trying to open the resort, I mean during the season.)

I've been reading ski magazine for many yrs, The rankings always have to be taken in context. Tremblant finishes first overall every yr, but not because of the skiiing, It always ranks up there in service, lifts, village, on mountain food etc.. I would go to jay peak in a minute before tremblant, but that is purely for the skiing, not for the vacation aspect or amenites etc. As far as Elk goes, It is nice that a Pa moutain is ranked every yr in some categories. As far as Snow quality and grooming, folks ,Elk is top notch. I have had a season pass for the past 3 yrs and probably have skiied about 30 days each winter and can honestly say that I never skied on "ice".. Even on rainy days or cold fronts after rain, they do such a nice job grooming and the fact that the lifts are slower and the resort just isn't that crowded definitely is part of the reason. If your looking for nightlife, massive terrain parks, jumps and stuff, Elk is not the place, but if you want quality skiing or riding on actual trails that have enough steeps, bumps, cruisers, and continuous vertical, nothing in pa is close.

I agree on most things I have read except for I like Blue and Camelbacks expert steeps better? I started skiing at camelback 25 yrs ago. It is in no way an expert mountain. Now, marjies and the rocket are nice and steep at the top, but for only 50 yds then become gradually flat. Cliffhanger is not really a black diamond imho.. Now blue has 2 runs that are legit pa blacks, challenge and razors. nice runs for pa, but in no way steeper than anything at elk. Sno mtn has the steepest blacks by far, but too short and only 3 runs. Elk has 8 or 9 legit blacks and nice steeps on the left side of the mtn, mohawk, iroqoius etc. and they are narrow like old ne classic runs. The mountains I have mentioned are all my favorite in pa. I skied blue as much as possible before I could afford to buy a cabin up at elk..All of the other ski mountains are family areas with the now popular terrain parks for the kids, not a true ski or ride experience. Just my opinion. the bottom line is if you truly enjoy where you ski or ride, then my hats off to you!

I'm glad everyone is enjoying the elk experience. It is truly about pure skiing or riding. no gimmicks or slick or misleading advertising and the terrain is wonderful for pa. I've been skiing in pa for 25 yrs and bought a cabin at elk because after skiing everywhere else I found myself not satisfied unless I was there! And I''ll be there again this weekend, hope to see you there.

Just got back from 2 days of skiing at Elk. Conditions are excellent. no ice, all powder and packed powder. Bump run was sweet.

Based on the number of skier visits as of last yr, it would be 7 spirngs followed by camelback..Jfbb had a little more than half of skier visits that camelback had..

Yes, I was there today. I skied after the rain moved out. Conditions were decent considering. The trails that they currently have open have a very nice base, and they have some nice mounds on upper tunkhannock that they made with the recent cold. Even with the rain tomorrow and monday, the forecast is for temps to stay in the 40's and tomorrow they may drop into the 30's, with a mix of precip and then a changeover monday late. I have no inside info, but with the base they have on the open terrain and the snow mounds on other trails, by late next week I would be shocked if some more expert terrain is not open. I also think they are planning on opening more terrain on the east side including the terrain park asap.

Yes, I was there today. I skied after the rain moved out. Conditions were decent considering. The trails that they currently have open have a very nice base, and they have some nice mounds on upper tunkhannock that they made with the recent cold. Even with the rain tomorrow and monday, the forecast is for temps to stay in the 40's and tomorrow they may drop into the 30's, with a mix of precip and then a changeover monday late. I have no inside info, but with the base they have on the open terrain and the snow mounds on other trails, by late next week I would be shocked if some more expert terrain is not open. I also think they are planning on opening more terrain on the east side including the terrain park asap.

I have been carefully watching the weather, and the consensus is a moderate shot of colder air mid-week for a few days, followed by a brief warm-up with rain. After the warm-up the first shot or Arctic air will move south and east. How long it will stay is too far off, but I think we will finally have a ski season. This week will allow the resorts to replace all the snow gone from this warm spell, and then next week more terrain will open quickly.. This season obviously has been awful so far, but relief is on the way and who knows, February and March could be great.

There is absolutely no evidence that so called "warming" is caused by the burning of fossil fuels!!! None, it is a theory that has not been proven at all. Remember that the earth's climate is not static and never will be. Humans have only been keeping accurate weather records since the late 1800s! A period of time that short in the billions of yrs that earth has been around. The earth will warm and it will cool again. In fact if you do your research you will find that another ice age is more likely than a much warmer earth. Scientific evidence of the past shows that we have had more than one ice age. The only evidence of a much warmer earth was during the dinosaur age and that an ige age was one of the key factors in their extinction. So please, no bs on the weather please. And if you think we have not had warm winters in the past 50 yrs, go and look up climate data for scranton pa, and you can see that to say that the past decade is much warmer is total BS....

elk has upgraded snowmaking by adding more powerful and efficient tower mount guns on 2 trails including the terrain park. they also regraded the terrain park at the top for a better start. as usual they planted more trees, re-paved the lot and put a brand new roof on the entire lodge. Hope they started making snow last night, hope to start skiing by mid-december. best skiable terrain in pa.

Elk will be staying open until April 2nd. Skied the last 3 days and it was excellent. It snowed off and on all day today and they received several inches. Felt like january not march.. They also made snow on several trails this past week.. With the cold forecast, the skiing and riding will be nice for the next 2 weeks!!!!!!!

The mountains visible to the northeast are as follows. Closet is Mount Ararat and Sugarloaf Mtn on the Susquehanna, Wayne County border. On Clear days you can see the beginnings of the Castskill range in NY. A beautiful view...You cannot see as far as Hunter Mtn etc..Hunter is in the northern Catskills..Greek Peek is not visible, too far north of Binghamton...

Elk has sufficently upgraded their snowmaking capacity in the last few yrs. They do have a couple of trails that do not have any snowmaking at all, but those trails are great when there is sufficient natural snow. They currently have 21 trails open, and as anyone who has been there knows that their 21 trails are longer and really are trails. I always laugh when I see places like Blue (which I do like) claiming they have 30 trails!! Not even close to the size of Elk. Even Camelback which has 33 trails, but not really. The terrain park is much better than in the past. I personally know the guy who is in charge of designing the park. He has some great plans, and he is just getting started!