trackbiker

Nice report and great pics. I was there on a super windy powder day two years with two guys who had never been there. We were debating to even ski but bought our tickets and headed over to the east mountain and there was virtually no wind over there and 8" of powder. I think you found the place to be on Saturday. Virtually all of New York/New England was on wind holds.

Thanks for posting but the deal closed yesterday. I don't think Sno offers that many tickets and they sell out quick. At least that's what happened last time. I heard on the radio today that they had a JFBB deal but didn't see it on the site. I got one last time for $25.00. But you can get B1G1 coupons at Lukoil good for Sundays. Works out to the same price. $25.00 each. Good at any Peak Resorts ski area. I picked up a bunch for Mt. Snow in 2 weeks.

Friended 'em the day I signed up on Facebook. Great old school mountain with legit steeps and some nice old school narrow trails. Just hope it isn't March 3rd because I'm taking a half day off on Friday the 4th to head to VT until the 8th with my kids and some friends for their college spring break. That would be a great Plattekill Thurs, Belleayre Fri. trip if you haven't been.

I wouldn't believe it either. I took the picture so tomorrow I would know I wasn't dreaming. The second run on Nightmare/Dreamweaver looked like I was out west. Was having too much fun and going too fast to stop and take a pic. They're actually not bad if you keep your speed up and they turn nice in the pow. I've skied several powder days on them and I love them on the groomers. Dropped 'em off at Pelican for a sharpen and wax on the way home. They got a little beat up at Magic MLK weekend. Last year I rented AC30's in Utah. They got right up in the powder but I hated them on the few groomed trails. Kept banging the damn things together and I wasn't trying to ski 70's style with the skis together either.

Since GSS was absent for a Blue powder day, I'll try to fill in. Don't worry, I'll do a Reader's Digest version. Woke up to about 1.5" of wet snow. Roads were just wet up to where RT.145 narrows down to one lane where there was some slush on the road. Got behind a plow truck so it was slow going for a little bit. Started snowing again on Blue Mt. Drive. Snow didn't look too impressive on the way up. Pulled into the lower lot at 7:45. Parked second in near the lodge. Men's room, booted up, bought ticket, and skied right onto the lift a chair or two behind 3 patrollers. Must have just missed toast. Was surprised to find 4" to 6" of light fluffy snow at the top. More like 6" at the top of Razors. First run was down Razors. I was 4th or 5th down. Blasted right thru any tracks like they weren't there. Was suprised how quickly my 105/65/93 groomers began to float. Took a turn or two to get the powder feel back. Stopped to take the photo below before the last drop-off. Didn't take too many pics because powder doesn't last long at Blue. Next run was Nightmare/Deamweaver. I was 5th down then 4th when I passed the guy who was 4th on Dreamweaver. Great powder run. Then it was over to Challenge which had some tracks but plenty of fresh. Again the snow was light so it was like the tracks weren't there. Challenge was so much fun I did it again. Then back to Razors and Nightmare/Dreamweaver. 6 legit powder runs in the first hour. Then it was over to Switchback which still had some fresh on the sides and wide in the turns. Then onto Widow Maker/Midway because the little hike from the lift keeps the traffic light. The trails on the west side had been groomed before it stopped snowing so there was only about 2" of fresh on top. Could still get some float though. Next was Widow Maker/Chute. Chute wasn't groomed and had some fresh on the side. By then everything was pretty chopped up and I just lapped everthing except Burma Road and Vista. Switchback was getting a little scraped in spots. It must have been bullet proof this past weekend because it was groomer tracked boiler plate under there. Didn't do any woods because they looked pretty icy just below the snow. Skied 'till 12:25 on my morning ticket. No lift lines. They started the Quad when the 6-pack line started to build around 10:00am. $49.00 was worth it today.

Google Maps says 33 minutes but I bet you could do it in 25 min. without speeding too much. It's right up PA 220/I99 from TPK exit #148. Of course if you did it in a snow storm it would take much longer. The lodge is really at the very top of the mountain and it's a gnarly road to get there in a storm. The last time I was there there was so much snow the ski racks were buried with about a foot sticking out. Everyone just layed their skis against them anyway. Much better terrain than 7 Springs. No high speed lifts. Real glades. 2nd only to Elk in PA IMHO.

Blue Knob is the better place to go if there is some natural snow. It's not far off the TPK, has better trails, more vertical, and less crowds. $55.00 weekends all day or $45 for a 4 hr. flex. $38.00 weekdays all day or $28.00 4 hr. flex. I'd go there over 7 Springs all things being equal.

Alpine is still around and is a great place for beginners. They can ski almost all of the trails. It's uncrowded and prices are great. Not a lot of vertical but the trails are relatively long. The top to bottom lifts are quads so you can all ride together. Definitely worth checking out. The lodge is dated but it sure beats waiting in lift lines to ski one or two mobbed trails at a bigger ski area.

X2. Jackson Gore has some interesting trails as well.

There is. It's called tequila. Oh, wait. That's how a lot of people got them. Reminds me of a Jimmy Buffet song. "...how it got here I haven't a clue..." Oh well. Tequila can help you forget you have it too.

Definitely check out the deals at Mt. Snow, Okemo, and Stratton. Okemo and Stratton have deals that give you a free ski day on Monday if you stay the weekend. Check the deals out online then before you book, call them directly to see if there is a better deal. Both Mt. Snow and Stratton have less expensive lodges at the base. Avoid the high speed lifts after 10:00am and especially that thing they call a gondola at Stratton on Sat. & Sun. to avoid lift lines. Everywhere will be ski on on Monday. Have fun and let us know where you went and how it was.

Not judging. Just trying to encourage people to think before they put something permanent on their body that they may regret later. You shave your head it will grow back. You dye your hair purple it will grow out. You get a piercing you can take it out. You get a tattoo...it's forever.

Just make sure the bag matches your shoes. It's so gauche when it doesn't! P.S. Clogs look great with those jeans.

LOL. Maybe you can get a part in a light beer commercial. Just don't start carrying a manbag no matter trendy it may become.

So you think you might not have the same "rage" you have for Philly now in a few years? (Wilson who???) Maybe not, but hey, you still have another calf. Just hope you don't have more than two "rages" in the next, what? 80 years of your life. Again, it may be real meaningful right now, will it be 20 years from now? Who knows? You don't and I certainly don't. The only thing for certain is that you'll have that tattoo either way. Funny thing is, most people I've spoken to who have "meaningful" tattoos wanted the tattoo first and then tried to find something "meaningful" to get tattoed. I have a friend who has tattoos. He tries to add "meaning" to them. Like when his father died he ran out and got a tattoo. The truth is he was just trying to find something else to get tattoed. I told my kids, "If I die tomorrow, don't run out and tattoo my name on your ass." It's really more about the person with the tattoo than the person who is tattoed on their skin. (Think about that.) Sorry dude, in other cultures, tattoos have "meaning" and I even have friends in the military who have gotten tattoos for accomplishments and missions they have done. That has meaning. For the average Joe in U.S. society today it is "fashion". Hey, If something is that meaningful, get a teeshirt made with it on the chest and wear it everyday for the rest of your life. Wouldn't more people see that than your calf? Yeah, I know. You think I don't "get" it. Keep trying to convince yourself and paying that guy $125/hr. for something you'll regret. In the mean time I'm trying to find a good investment to make money from all those nice young girls who got tramp stamps and will want them removed after they have kids and gain 40 pounds. The truth is I really don't care. Get all the tattoos you want for whatever reason you want to make up. It doesn't affect my paycheck or my life. But damn, I wish GSS hadn't given up gambling! Now my taxes are going to go up.

I wouldn't pass by Elk or Sno to go to Blue on a weekend but it would be worth checking it out on a weekday or weeknight. You may want to get a morning pass on a Sunday and get there for opening. The crowds tend to ski off the snow to ice pretty quickly after 10:00am. Blue does have a nice variety of trails and you can get a lot of runs in on the high speed lifts.

Before you get a tattoo take a look at some pictures of your parents 20 or even 10 years ago. Imagine they had to wear those plaid bell bottoms, big glasses, Donny Osmond haircut, gogo boots for the rest of their lives. Tattoos might be cool now, and they might even be cool 20 years from now, but even if they are,the ones that are cool now won't be then. Tattoos are fashion and fashion changes more than you think. Just take a look at what people wear for gaper day if you don't believe me. No matter what you get, it will be the rear entry red Hansen boots of tattoos in a few years. JMHO.

I skied Magic MLK weekend. Conditons were a little thin on the nonsnowmaking trails (which is most of them) but had a blast on the soft natural snow. Banged up the skis a bit but it was worth it. At 1700 vertical I wouldn't necessarily call Magic a small mountain. They've been making steady improvements including patching up the snowmaking system all last summer. I believe them when they say they are working on the Black Chair, but even if they don't get it running by Presidents Day Weekend, they don't really need it yet. But the crowds are growing. I was there on a Monday after a big dump last year and my son, nephew, and I felt like we had our own private ski area. Didn't see another skier until we were half way up the Red Chair. Sorry to hear about your shoulder, Moe. You'll have to hit Plattekill again sometime. Great steeps with no flat runout, lots of old school narrow winding trails, and you can ski the woods on the whole mountain. Thanks for the reports.

Great report and pics. Glad you got to experience Elk. I was there on Friday; a blue sky day, great conditions and no crowds. Looks like they avoided the r@!n event Saturday. We went to ski Sno on Saturday but decided to pass due to the nonfrozen precipitation. That must have kept the crowds down at Elk. I hate the stopping all the time too. I was having too much to fun on Friday and didn't realize until I left that I didn't take one picture.

Plattekill is the best place to be on a powder day or any day they're 100% open. Website says they are opening Wednesday for a Powder Day. Wish I could be there. From the Plattekill website: Its official: "POWDER DAIZE" OPENING -- 2 days, Wednesday AND Thursday this week!!! 6" of NEW SNOW as of 12pm and 1-2 FEET is expected by storm end Wednesday night......stay tuned! FORECAST Have fun and take lots of pictures.

Nice report and pics, toast. Never skied there but I stayed at the hotel for a convention in the fall one time and rode the alpine slide. Wow, you made great time getting there! (65 all the way, right? ) Glad you had an uncrowded powder day. It is pretty far from a population center but I heard that it gets crazy busy on the weekends from the Pittsburgh and D.C. crowds. A good friend of mine skied there on a weekend once and now will only go on weekdays. Heard the apres ski scene is great though.

The "Midmountain Lodge" is a picnic lodge. There is a circular fireplace on one end and picnic tables in the main area. It's on skiers left of the West Slope. You may want to check it out but the main lodge won't be crowded on a weekday. Go to the skipa.com deals webpage and print out 4 coupons to save $5.00 each on lift tickets. Have fun and let us know what you think of Elk

I shoveled when I got home at 6:30 and it was about 6". I just got in from shoveling again and it was at least 8" not including drifts. Some snow blew back in but there is at least 12" of undrifted snow on the table on my deck here in Perkasie south of Quakertown. Everthing is covered again with another 1/2 inch.

$52.00 if you buy the ticket at a local townwship recreation department for a weekend day. $42.00 for a weekday ticket or $43.00 for a weekday if you print out the coupon on skipa.com. Well worth it when you consider VT tickets are in the mid $70's to mid $80's. Wednesdays are $20.00 for college students with an I.D. Wish I still had one!

Skied Elk today. Pulled into the lot at 8:30. Took my time getting there because the guy I was going to meet backed out when his wife wouldn't let his 6 yr. old go because she thought it would be too cold. I thought it would be uncrowded for a weekend day but it was more like a busy weekday. I didn't see many cars heading north on the PA Tpk. and I couldn't believe how empty the lot was when I pulled in. Parked in the first row by the Elk Wagon, third car in. Elk Wagon driver said it was zero degrees. Booted up in the lodge and even got one of the few cubbies on the main floor. Got on the slopes around 8:50. They were only loading one of the doubles in front of the lodge and it was ski right on. They started loading the other one around 10:00 but there were lots of singles and empty chairs on the lifts. First run was straight down Susquehanna. Plenty of fresh groomed cord left. Skied all the trails on the east side then headed over to the west side. Skied all the trails on the west side except Tunkhannock ( not a good bump skier and didn't have anyone to drive me home if I got hurt.) I did ski the bumps on Chippewa and Iroquois. All in all a great uncrowded day. Even Tioga was a lot of fun. Without the usual hoard of gapers on it you could ski it fast and turn off on Tioga Spur. Cold but more sun than clouds. Took a morning and afternoon break in addition to lunch to warm up. They never ran the double on the double-quad on the west side. No need to. They stopped running the other double in front of the lodge around 2:30. Not many pics due to the cold...my hands and the batteries in the camera dying. Skied 'till 3:30 and took I81, I380, PA33, I78, PA309 home in the same time it took to get there without the $6.95 in tolls and better roads than the PA Tpk. Not much wind today but when there is Elk is a good place to ski due to all the spruce trees they've been planting for years. Tunkhannock is their signature bump run. The last few years they let Chippewa bump up and this year they added Iroquois to the mix.