trackbiker

Don't hold your breath on that one. Robert Nutting who owns Seven Springs and Hidden Valley holds the lease to the ski area. He has been dragging his feet to get it open. Why would he want to sink major money into Laurel and then siphon business from his other two resorts? The lodge needs major repairs that he is responsible for. My bet is you will not see this open as long as he holds the lease or at least until he is about to lose it for being nonresponsive to getting it open.

Thanks for posting. Can you give us some details on this card? Is it also blacked out for MLK and Presidents weekends?

A cogen plant is different than a wind farm. A cogen plant generates steam to turn a turbine to make electricity. The steam would then be used to heat the water in the waterpark. But then we don't have real reporters anymore who actually check or verify anything so who knows what the grant is for?

http://www.skipa.com/plan-a-trip/media-center-press-room/ski-area-press-releases/609-blue-mountain-awarded-500-000-grant-from-pennsylvania-energy-development-authority

At least up until 2009 the World Quarterpipe Championships were held there. Guys son is a professional snowboarder. http://snowboardsecretsblog.blogspot.com/2008/03/world-quarter-pipe-championship-2008.html They also host the The Friendly Gathering in the summer. http://www.frendlygathering.com/#about They also were featured on Building Wild last January on the National Geographic Channel. http://tvblogs.nationalgeographic.com/2014/03/21/what-you-missed-on-building-wild-top-of-the-world/ Seems like quite the party place. I don't think the guy minds if you hike it or access it from Magic though.

Timber Ridge is now privately owned. The owner has a snowcat to groom the slopes and to use as a lift.

Magic is the place to be in southern VT. But there has to be enough natural snow. They have limited snowmaking.

VIP line doesn't make the trails any less crowded. Trails get skied off very quickly. That's why all the Blue PASR passholders leave by 10:00am. I remember when they used to do the 4:00 groom.

No. Get on two boards. They do everything better.

Of course Elk is not like skiing at the bigger mountains in Vermont but it does have some of the best and longest black diamonds in PA with a much shorter runout than anything at CB or Blue, the best bump run in Tunkhannock, several long blue cruisers, and two long green runs from the top. The lifts are not high speed detachables but they are not "slow" by fixed grip lift standards. They could greatly benefit from offering some glades. They get more snow than the Pocono's and the glades would be open more than other areas. Hey, everybody has their preferences. I hate crowds and wouldn't go near Blue or CB on a weekend. I don't do park so I couldn't care less about their park. In fact I like that their lack of a big park keeps the park rats away.

Alpine is a great alternative for beginners and novices as opposed to dealing with the crowds at Camelback. There is only one very short steep run near the bottom. Did they ever replace the bridge on the way in?

Elk is the best mountain in PA for skiers but it does not have the best park.

I think that is weekdays. Last year it was 8:30 on weekends.

Thanks for the info. Not so easy to navigate to the daily ticket page on the website but I bought one of the weekend 9:00 to 1:00 tickets. Not a bad deal for $23.20 good on a holiday when all the other deals are blacked out and other places are mobbed.

I prefer quality over quantity when it comes to skiing, beer, and women. Not necessarily in that order. Plus I hate crowds which helps for delaying gratification.

Funny how most places are mobbed on opening day on a WROD and then empty on closing day with nice weather and usually most of the terrain open.

When the WNEP Ski Card comes out buy one. It includes one time each at about 8 ski areas. Usual areas are Sawmill, Denton, Big Boulder, Jack Frost, Montage, Shawnee, Gore, and Mountain Creek. I always use it twice at JF since JF & BB are interchangeable. You likely won't use it at Mountain Creek but Swain should be within day trip range for you. Price last year was $129.00. I'm sure someone will post here when it is available.

It was sold to Mt. Peter, NY. It had the double-double towers but only one double on one side was ever installed.

Here's a link to great film about community ski areas in case you haven't seen it. United We Ski http://www.t-barfilms.com/projects Can't beat it for only $10.00

Spring Mountain was it for me. Parents could drop me off and pick me up at the end of the day or night before I could drive. In college I could ski there for $5.00 on Friday nights on my Drexel I.D. Sometimes went to Doe Mountain.

The tickets can only be used once at any resort. There are three or five stubs on the bottom. Some resorts make you sign the stub and check off their area on the top part of the pass. Others don't bother and just take the stub. Okemo is one of the resorts that usually checks off the area so you couldn't use it there again. They are also blacked out holidays and Presidents week. I've been using this for at least 6 years. It went up $5 this year but it's still a great deal. I will also get the Fox44 and WNEP cards again this year. I'm thinking that the WNEP card will likely include Montage this year. It wasn't included last year I guess due to the ownership transition.

That is an eastern garter snake. Snakes, bats, and spiders are all good. Don't kill them. None of them want to bite you and they eat pests that we like even less like flies, mice, and mosquitoes.

Plattekill announced they may open this Sunday if they sell 100 tickets online for $20 each. http://plattekill.com/home-trio/spring-rates

Didn't intend to start a controversy. The ADKs are beautiful in their own right and offer as much vertical as most places out west. Personally I think the ADKs and the Whites of NH are much more scenic than the mountains in VT. Not comparing skiing here, just scenery. I know the Greens get more snow and you can't compare the skiing in the east to the skiing in the west. I can say that I prefer Gore to Whiteface (it lived up to it's pseudonym every time I've been there; Iceface). Gore is comparable to almost any place in NE when comparing terrain and glade skiing with less crowds. I hope the WNEP card keeps Gore on it next year.

Thanks for the report. Gore is a great mountain and doesn't get as crowded as places in VT. Heading up there this weekend. Twister is a great cruiser but it's not in New England.