trackbiker

Don't forget the quarry scarred hills and the trailer park. Good points on the HSQ by Brian, Schif, KCSKI, and Johnny Law. Sno needs alot of other things first. Like better LIGHTS. Just a few points on High Speed Lifts: -The chairs detach from the haul line at the loading and unloading stations. If they don't get re-attached at exacty the same speed the chairs eventually become unspaced and the lift can become unbalanced. Wind is a big factor in spacing the chairs when they reattach. That's why High Speed Lifts have more wind holds than fixed grip lifts. -It's the loading speed that is regulated not the line speed. IIRC, in PA you can load a double at 500ft/min, a triple at 450 ft./min, and a quad at 400 ft./min. The second a line forms, a fixed grip and a HSQ have the same uphill capacity. You can only load/unload the same amount of people. The difference is that you spend more time in line for a HSQ and more time on the chair on a fixed grip. -A HSQ is easier for beginners to load because of the slow loading speed and theoretically stops less often. Although I'm not sure that is true at Blue. -A loading conveyor helps beginners to load as well so theoretically the lift stops less often and they can run it at max speed but you still can't run it over the design speed. Ever notice how beginner lifts run slower. That's to help with the loading and to avoid stopping and starting the lift. Blue could use one on the Burma chair for all the newbies who make it down Burma Road. -You can get a lot of "mad steezy runs" on a HSQ but only if there isn't a line. If you're at Blue or Elk on a Saturday and there are the same amount people using their quads, you're going to get the same amount of runs in. The difference is at Blue you will be standing longer and at Elk you would be sitting longer. (Just a tip; there's less people at Elk and the terrain is better and more varied. But don't tell anyone!) -Snow doesn't need a HSQ to replace the Long Haul until they get some more trails on that side. -I'm always amazed that people will stand in line for a HSQ when there is a fixed gripped lift with no line that will get them to the top faster. I was at Snow Mountain, VT last weekend and that was the case. (Don't tell anyone that secret either. Let them stand in line while I'm getting to the top faster by sitting on a fixed grip lift while they're standing in line!) Just my two cents worth...

I was there last Saturday and the lifties all said in a pleasant manner, "Please put the bar down." everytime I got on the lift. That was different from when I was there New Years Eve when the lifty running the Iron Horse sort of pretended to hold the chair but never really did. The cute blond running the Long Haul was very pleasant last week. Even asking if the conditions were good and if we were having a good day. I don't know if it was a "training session" or just her personality but it makes a difference when the lifties are nice and actually do their job. I would write an email to management complimenting the new lifty attitude but they never respond anyway. I'm sure all their friends and people who only ski there anyway tell them everything they do is "great!" The lights still suck.....just in case anyone is listening.

You guys are missing the whole point. Blue doesn't have such a great view either. Some quaried hills and a trailer park. I actually do like the lights in the valley at night. Sno can't change the view. What can they change to entice people to drive past CB, Blue, JF/BB? Their lights and the lights in the valley aren't going to get them up for night skiing.

The last thing Sno needs is a HSQ. They need alot of other things first that are a lot less expensive to fix like LIGHTS. Maybe when they get some more TTB trails. A HSQ on 500' vertical would be overkill to say the least. I do agree that their prices are high but the conditions are good all day, not just the first two hours like at Blue or Camelback. They should advertise what they do have to the population centers (and Scanton/Wilkes Barre ain't one of 'em). Lower prices may entice some people to drive the extra half hour. But then they don't even have their specials listed on their website, so maybe their stategy is not to get more people but to get more money from the people that are coming already. $5.00 lockers??? It's Sno Mtn. not Sneaux Mtn.! And the view is of office parks, interstates, and yes, a dump; not the Alps. And no wonder there is crap all over the lodge. Nobody pays for the lockers anyway. I ski there at certain times for certain reasons and they need to figure out why and market that. I'd ski there more if the lights were better.

They had a race there Saturday and the gates were set up on Smoke.

They have more than enough terrain for the crowds that they have now. A high speed lift would be a colossal waste of money. The mountain skis like two mountains, the Upper Mountain and the North Face. People skiing the North Face don't want to go to the top to ski a flat trail just to get back to where they wanted to be in the first place. They could us a top to bottom blue cruiser which could be done by cutting a blue trail to skiers right of Fast Track. The upper part could come later. This would better utilize the Long Haul lift which isn't even open weekdays. A high speed lift could come much later after they have cut some top to bottom trails on that side. Relocating the tubing would be nice and building a separate lodge for it would be even nicer. Most of the people crowding up the lodge are Mom, Dad, Grandpa, and Grandma, taking up space while junior is out tubing. They need to make what they have first class before they expand anything. Trees and LIGHTS would be top of my list. (Why did they ever cut those trees down next to the Iron Horse lift? Wasn't it windy enough at the top of the mountain? ) They could then market their, great snow conditions, lack of crowds, and vast beginner friendly terrain to the hoards at CB and Blue on weekends and holidays. Maybe even LOWER their prices to attract them. Or at least put their specials on their website where people could find out about them.

Glad to hear they're getting busier. There were a lot of people buying tickets when I left at 12:30. Never waited in a line to speak of but never saw so many full chairs on the Long Haul either. The parks were pretty empty as well. How were the lines later in the day? I'm sure there were crowds at CB and Blue. They really need to market to that crowd. It's only about half hour farther than either and the whole upper mountain is beginner friendly. Much better than traversing the "rush hour traffic" on the greens at Blue and CB. Maybe they'll be able to afford to improve the lights!

They had signs posted in the ticket windows yesterday that season passholders from other mountains can get Sunday tickets for $15.00. I saw the College Day on the calander but nothing about price on the website. It's nice to know once you're already there But if they want to attract more people may be they should put it on the website??? Hello Sno, nice new website, but you still don't get it. You're deals are still a secret.

Did a morning session at Sno today. Met a friend from N. Jersey in the lodge at 8:15, booted up and hit the slopes. The whole upper mountain was groomed cord. The lower mountain had some small death cookies but not as bad as the typical Blue grooming. Sun came out around 9:00 and had a very enjoyable morning. Skied every trail except for Smoke (there was a race on it today), the parks, and White Lightning. White Lightning looked good like they had blown snow on it last night and the bumps looked to have good lines but my buddy wasn't up for it today. Run of the day was Cannonball. Not so many death cookies as the rest of the lower mountain. Lower Runaway was getting a little scraped when we left but just a little. Great choice for MLK weekend. No lift lines to speak of. My friend who skis all of New England, and out west every year summed Sno up this way: - Sort of like skiing two mountains. Top is all flat green trails. Bottom is all black diamonds. No real blue top to bottom cruisers. - Great snowmaking and grooming for PA. - Top trails are all pretty much the same. Very wide. They need to plant some trees and let some sections grow in. - No need for a HSQ. The experts ski the Phoebe on the bottom and beginners ski the Iron Horse on the top. They don't even run the Long Haul mid week. - Nice place for an uncrowded MLK weekend day in PA. Camelback and Blue would be mobbed and skied off by 11:00. But not too much to keep an advanced skier interested for more than half a day after they've been there once. - No real "character" to the area. The trails are surounded by medium size deciduous trees. Your view is of industrial parks and the dump on the other side of the turnpike. They need to plant some pines on the upper mountain. -Glad they have place like this in N.E. PA to help the economy and to introduce kids in the Scranton Wilkes Barre area to skiing.

I didn't see anything about $15.00 on their website. Website has $25.00 weekend nights and $22.00 weekday nights for 18 and under and college students. Vs. $28 & $26. Not a big savings. You won't even break even with tolls on the PA Tpk. if you're coming from the south.

Nice report Melissa. Glad to see you finally got out. Fast Track and Runaway are always good when the Long Haul lift isn't running as most people won't skate over to those to trails from the top of the Iron Horse lift. Unless they've made some improvements since New Years Eve the lights are better but still need A LOT of work. Instead of being totally dark, Whistler was only 2/3 dark! Now you need to get up to Elk and tell us what you think. You live in Scranton for crying out loud! Elk is close and worth the trip.

snoskier summed it up pretty well. Mainline is the beginner terrain park so you may want to warm up on one of the other runs. All of the top of the mountain has about the same pitch, so they are all easy. The Long Haul lift likely won't be running during the day but you can ski top to bottom by taking the Phoebe lift and skiing to the Iron Horse lift in about the same amount of time. You'll have to skate over to the top of Upper Runaway and Fast Track but it's worth it for the fresh snow. Be careful not to carry too much speed into the bottom of the lower part of those trails as there are drop offs and they get steeper at the bottom without a runout. That catches a lot of novices by surprise. Cannonball should be doable if you can ski the bottom of those two runs and is likely easier. Check out Buckman's for discount tickets. New Britian township also sells discount tickets at the township building but I'm not sure if they have Sno tickets.

Skied Sno with my son on New Years Eve. The place was EMPTY! The 2" of new snow was still on the trails. Some of the drop offs and center of the trails were scraped off but the conditions were still great. Started snowing around 7:00pm and kept up until we left at 9:30. I think if we stayed until 10:00 we would have been the only ones on the slopes! The lights are better but they still need some work. They need to hire a lighting expert instead of having "Joe the maintenance guy" hang lights on some poles. Seems they bought some spot lights when they should have bought flood lights and hung them higher. Oh well. My son pointed out that the place is a lot better than when it was Montage. I'm sure that Camelback and Blue would have been scraped down to ice by the time we got to Sno. A great night, great conditions, and no crowds. Ski right onto the lift. Boomer had some nice small bumps forming which were fun. If they could just get the lighting right the place would be perfect. For $28.00 and $25.00 (my son got a $3.00 discount with his college I.D.) A great night and a great deal. I noticed that they have fire pits on the deck (gas?). A nice apres ski addition. But fix the lights!

Wow! Seems like I made the right decision to go to Ski Big Bear today. I had planned to go to Elk but they aren't 100% open and I will likely go later this weekend. Wanted to check out Ski Big Bear and today seemed like a good day. Got up early. Was temped to go to Blue on the drive. Drove right past CB on the way. Got to Big Bear at 9:30 and it was all fresh groomed cord. Was the third person down Screamin' Demon. Skied fresh cord until noon. No crowds. It started getting skied off a little around 4:15 when I left. Nothing too difficult. The only real black diamond trail is Screamin' Demon. Blue cruiser paradise. No lift lines. Report to follow with pics (once I figure out hown to post pics here.)

Thanks jd. Cold I don't mind but wind is not fun. Wind should die down by tomorrow.

Thinking of heading up Wednesday. Anybody been up this week? Looks like they only have 6 ways down from the top. Does it look like they'll have any more trails opening soon?

Nice report Root. It's not always easy to stop and take the camera out when you just want to get another run in but pictures make it that much better.

You can be in Stowe,VT in the same time it takes to get to Seven Springs. If you're in the area it's OK but Blue Knob is much better and is closer. If you're not in the area, you head north not west.

Website looks MUCH better! The trail map is much more representative of the actual layout. Didn't get to click around too much. Too busy with work, Christmas shopping, and kids home from college. How are the lights? Any noticable improvements?

If you're planning on just doing a day trip VT is pretty far. Killington is more like 6 hours. Mount Snow, Stratton, or Bromley are closer to 5 but if you're going that far you want to stay overnight. Greek Peak is overpriced for what they have. OLD SLOW lifts, nominal snowmaking and grooming. It is spread out though and has good terrain. If they get some lake effect it's a good place to go. NY has some better options in the Catskills for a day trip in NY and closer than VT. Bellayre, Hunter, Windham, and Plattekill. Plattekill is my favorite if there is some natural snow. Old school type of place and not crowded even on the weekends. Only open Fri. - Sun. non holidays. If you haven't been to Elk, they have long runs for PA, great grooming, and are only about 2hrs from BC for a day trip. Elk is the best option for a day trip. Unless Greek got hit with some lake effect it isn't worth the hour farther drive and higher lift price. JMHO

Go to VT if you can. I skied Okemo Fri., Sat., and Sun. They had some snow that turned to r@!n last night but have plenty of snow. It was below freezing this morning when I left and should groom out nicely. They opened some trails on natural only Sunday and it was thin but nice and soft. No rocks. Should have some snowmaking temps this week and open more trails. No crowds.

Go to Kmart. That's where they make snow early season. Pico is closed Tues. thru Thurs. IIRC.

$27.50 + $3.75 shipping = $31.25. Not a bad deal but only $1.75 per ticket savings over the 3 for $99.00 deal.

Definitely get to Elk. Once you go to Elk you'll likely make it your day trip destination. Sno is nice for night skiing but if you are going for the day, Elk is the place to go. The ski shops have the same discount tickets as the recreation departments but are usually a dollar or two more. An OK deal if you can't get to the township building during working hours. Liftopia isn't bad either. Plattekill is a great day trip option from the Scranton area when the snow is good.

A lot of local township recreation departments sell discount tickets of all kinds including lift tickets. I don't think Sno participates in this program. Some of the deals are better than others. Elk usually has the smallest discount and weekdays are better deals than weekends. Do a google search for some of the municipalities near you. I think Camelback is doing the 3 for $99.00 ticket deal again this year. Here's a link to a township near me that sells them. A lot of the townships don't have the new prices listed yet. Discount ticket prices Scan down to the bottom for the lift ticket prices.