trackbiker

I can't believe that they haven't got it yet. The website is the most important advertising venue that they have. After any other advertising catches someone's attention, the first place they are going to go before going to Sno is their website. After seeing their amateurish website....they likely won't go. So the initial TV or radio advertising was a waste. They obviously just don't get the importance of the website. Fire the nephew or whoever is doing the site and hire a professional. If they don't get the importance of their website I don't have much hope for them surviving. Hopefully, Peak Resorts or Snowtime will keep those fan guns running after they go belly up. They spent a boat load of money that someone with marketing skills will take advantage of at a fire sale price. How are those lights coming to SIGNIFICANTLY increase the night skiing experience at a RELATIVELY LOW COST?

Don't be afraid to check out the ski and stay packages on the ski area websites. They're often the best deals when you factor in lift tickets. Especially mid-week. Many even include breakfast or if you get a condo you can make your own meals.

ski definitely has some serious anger management issues. That switch flipped whenever anyone had an opinion he didn't like. My guess is he's in jail for wife beating or for cold cocking some stranger in one of his uncontrollable rages.

If you're planning on staying in WP check out this place. The Rocky Mountain Inn & Hostel Rooms are huge and if you really want to save money you can stay in the hostel. Breakfast is included. If you stay there take the free bus to the ski area. It drops you off closer than if you drive. I wouldn't stay in Denver. I70 is a parking lot on the way home after skiing. The Berthoud Pass does take a lot of time especially if there is snow but is really scenic if it is clear.

I agree that they've made a lot of positive improvements. But what's the first thing people do when thinking about checking out a new area????? That's right. They check out the website! It's your most important piece of advertising in today's world. If you have a Mickey Mouse website that isn't updated regularly what do you think people's impression of your ski area is going to be? I thought the same thing, that the owner's son or nephew must be doing the web design. It would be much more cost effective for Sno to pay him double to stay home and then hire a professional web designer who knows what they're doing and what works.

Let me be the first to tell you, just in case this post wasn't supposed to be sarcasm.....It wasn't about the hat. Sounds like the kind of girl who would be very happy sitting at the bar in the lodge at Stratton dressed in a very expensive Bogner ski suit. Don't fight it. The Bogner suit and drinks are worth it if you can ski all day and the apres ski is good.

Robert2, You missed the whole point. You may be the best, most patient ski instructor in the world. And teaching the wife to snowboard may work out. Like Glenn and nick malozzi pointed out, there are a lot of variables. Does she really want to learn or does she just want do it because you do? Or is she just too insecure to say, "Go ahead and have a good time. I'm not into it." (It doesn't matter what she says about why she wants to learn. What's the truth?) A wise old man once told me, " The best barber in the world doesn't cut his own hair and the best golfer in the world doesn't teach his wife how to golf. They hire professionals. Why would you try to do it yourself?" Find a good instructor from recommendations, referrals, etc. and the money will be well spent. She'll be with peers and won't be pushing herself to "catch up" with you. She'll feel good about her progress. It takes time to aquire the skills. If you teach her, are you willing to have her glued to you for several seasons until she catches up? I sent both of my kids to ski lessons. They had fun learning with their peers and moving up.

I thought they would try to keep it to 5% or less. While I'm sure they have a contract for electric, it must be hard to try to guess what your expenses for gas and diesel are going to be 6 months out. And whether skier visits will be up or down and what is the weather going to be like? I'll gladly pay for Elk as well as long as they keep the quality of the experienc up. It's a well run ski area. Anyone know why they though they had to widen Susquehanna?

7% increase over last year. That's a pretty hefty increase in these economic times. Most of the VT areas haven't posted their new day ticket rates. I think they're all waiting for one of them to lead and the rest will follow.

You can get to Rutland via Amtrak and Killington has free shuttles from there. I don't think a lot of people other than visiting Europeans take advantage of it because you can get to Rutland a lot faster by car than by Amtrak. I would set it up with wherever you are staying so that they are expecting you. Once you get to Killington you can get everywhere on their free shuttle buses. Do NOT try to teach your wife to snowboard! Super-G Racer has it right, it will only end in disaster. Sign her up for lessons at Blue. They have a separate slope for lessons. Let her take at least three and build up her confidence before you ride with her. You'll BOTH be better off!

Good lighting for night skiing at Sno.....if they last long and can still afford to make good snow.

Great to hear about the lights! I love skiing at night but hate skiing in the dark. You'll likely see me a few more times this winter with the new lights. Pine trees on the upper mountain along Switch would not only block the wind but add to the view as well. Thanks for the updates!!! It's great to hear from insiders. It makes us feel that the owners are listening and actually care about their customers.

A bunch of lawyers with a lot of money bought a business that they had absolutely no experience in. They were evidently good in the court room but had no knowledge of mechanical devices, construction, or running an entertainment/amusement business. You see it all the time where people who never even worked in one, buy a restaurant because they think it would be "fun", then promptly run it straight into the ground. Sometimes the cheapest thing you can do is hire an expensive, experienced, professional manager, who knows the business. The investors may have had deep pockets, but when the market tanked and 30% to 40% of their net worth disappeared, I bet their interest/ability to dig a little deeper in those pockets disappeared as well. One of the biggest law firms in Philly went bust a few months ago, so lawyers aren't doing so well in this economy either. I bet the first thing the next owners do is put in a new lighting system for night skiing and market the hell out of the best snow making system in PA because they'll focus on getting their core business 100% before they dabble in other things.

Now is the best time to go. Unlike Camel Beach or Dorney Park, no crowds at all! Are they doing any advertising on local radio or TV? Haven't seen anything in the Philly/Allentown market.

From the website: "Spring is here and Sn

From the website, "Sn

Anyone been up to see how far along the construction is? Anything in the local paper? We're coming up on Memorial Day weekend, the traditional time for opening these type of places.

Anyone have any news on a projected opening date? The website doesn't have any real information but they are selling passes. I'm hoping that after not opening last year that they get an early start this year. I'd definetly hit it at least once this year.

The only good thing about Shawnee is that it catches a lot of the once-a-year gapers from NY/NJ coming across I80 before they get to the rest of PA because it's closest to the border. But seriously, I skied there a few years ago to check it out. It's really flat on the top and the trail map is distorted. The bottom steeps are really short and I didn't see any bumps. The 4 or 5 center trails are essentially all the same. The terrain park looked OK but I'm not a park person, so I wouldn't be a good judge of that. The lodge seemed OK and kind of rustic but you have to walk across a long bridge across a lake to get to it from the parking lot. Might be worth a night session to check it out if you've never been, but most people on PASR would be bored pretty quickly. JMHO.

Lights, lights, lights! It keeps coming up and is a relatively inexpensive way to greatly improve the night skiing experience. But hire a professional and do it right!

It appears to me that the patrollers at Blue are the ones with the control issues. I've never skied with GSS or AtomicSkier, but I've read these forums for a few years and I've never got the impression that they were anything but responsible skiers. I've never read from anyone who has skied with them that they were out of control or skiing fast and endangering other skiers and riders. GSS posts a report everyday here and on AlpineZone.com. His posts offer honest reports on conditions, some constructive criticism (which should be welcomed from their best customer!), but are never negative, and represent A LOT of FREE publicity to Blue. Not to mention PASR days that bring in ticket sales. If I owned Blue, I'd give him and AtomicSkier free season passes. They are surely getting many times more FREE marketing from their post than the value of two season passes! Instead, the Blue Mountain Ski Patrol is harrassing them! The Ski Patrol is supposed to be the professionals! Waiting to hop on a chairlift to harrass two of your best customers is not professional. Those patrollers have every right to call them on legitimate issues, but waiting to ride a lift with them and harrassing them should be reason for dismissal! Real professionals would make friends with them, explain the policies, and give them a break when Paradise is empty. Even say, "It's all clear guys. Let 'em rip!" when the trail is empty, "But keep it slow at other times, OK?" Yes, the Ski Patrol does a great job helping injured skiers, but anyone who manages such an organization should also realize that it attracts a lot of "control freaks". Police departments recognize that and weed out a lot of those people who end up being mall security guards. Maybe Blue should weed out some of their control freaks. I used to ski Blue the most of any ski area. Due to a job change this past year my night skiing is shot and I haven't been there this year. But I did get whistled at on Paradise one time last year when the trail was EMPTY on a weekday. I was skiing at a moderately fast pace, and was as far away from the patroller as I could have been. But the thing that got me was how she SCREAMED "Slow Down!!!!" That never would have happened at any other area I have skied. And made me think, "That women should never be allowed to be on Ski Patrol" Blue needs to get their patrollers under control and remind them that the customers are more important than they are. GSS's videos only reinforce that a lot of them are probably rejects from the PA State Police Academy with their "ticket" policy.

I don't see anything on their website yet either. Can anyone confirm the free ticket deal or post a copy of the email? Until it's confirmed I wouldn't plan on going there expecting a free ticket.

Elk is a well run ski area. The improvements they made this year made sense and added to the quality of the experience. Regrading and adding snowmaking to Tioga Spur to avoid the intersection with Tunkhannock. Regrading Lenape. I could see them expanding the lodge or eventually adding a HSQ in front of the lodge. More lights would be nice but they really don't have a big local base for night skiing midweek. They really don't need more trails at this point, but I wish they would change their attitude on glades. Some nice glades would really enhance the place and add to their loyal base.

Bluebird day at Elk Sat. 2/21. Packed powder all over the mountain. Only ice was in the valleys on Tunkannock. Nice soft bumps on Chippewa. Longest liftline was 5 minutes. Trails were uncrowded. Susquehanna was high speed packed powder all day. Best terrain in PA. Terrain parks aren't what Elk's about. They had two nice jumps and a few rails. If that's what you're into, go to BC. If you like bumps, steeps and long cruisers, get up there.

CLAUSS, I agree with you 100%! Bobert540 has it right. They need to completely redo the lighting system. Just tear down those parking lot lights and hire a lighting engineer to redo the system. It would probably pay for itself in a year. In the mean time a few strategically place lights would greatly enhance the night skiing experience at a relatively low cost. Skiers right of the headwall on Boomer is completely dark as are many other places on the mountain. The owner's a lawyer for crying out loud. If someone gets hurt night skiing, all a jury would have to see is that they can't see the hand in front of their face in a lot places on the mountain, never mind on a black diamond!