Has anyone skied/boarded Elk

[AtomicSkier]

elk has a very odd location also

as you drive to elk all there is are smmal rolling hisl and flatfarm land and u can somtimes see the snowmobile track along side the road

then all of a sudden theres els s huge hill outa no where

i have to say elk is one of the better mountains b/c in a way they hae preserved the old school sking idea of just carving and what sking started out as

 

you're right...when your driving around that one bend, it looks like there is no mountain in sight, then a few seconds later, wow theres elk!

[Adamskinick]

im goin up this sunday (Jan. 9th) I have mike nicks, and a red coat, black hat, Oakley a-frames.. say hi to me!

[lineskier99]

I thinking about going up to elk this weekend and i was wondering if anyone has ski/boarded there and if so how was it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

i havent skied elk this year but i haved skied it about 3 times last year n i think its preety sweet they have nice runs n they had a pretty good terrian park

Edited January 8, 2005 by lineskier99

[Schif]

Elk is really sweet, I love those diamonds. I've hit my fastest speeds on them. Elk is really great for going off trail too. If you jump the wall of snow around the park there is a huge wide open field. Its great if you have some natural snow.

[PeterC0523]

How would you guys compare Montage with Elk? I've never been to Montage, but their stats look comparable with Elk and it's a slightly closer drive.

[Adamskinick]

they're both nice.. elk is a little bigger i think, and their diamonn runs are better.. montage is ok.. i like montage's park more cause there jumps are better.. but elk is decent.. both fun places, i'd choose elk for its better black runs and more snow.. but montage has some decent blues fun for carving

[Sno Mountain Skier]

they are both good, they both have problems though. the major one is both places lifts are slow. i would take montages lifts for one reson they have triples and not doubles. i would take most of elks diamonds. i would take all of montages double diamonds except smoke, i would take one diamond.(cannonball).as for a park i would say montage, if they ever get one up. but i dont think elk has one yet either.

[NJSkiFamily]

Hi Everyone,

 

I've been coming to this site since therealcb days but this is my first post.

 

Since everyone said such good things about ELK we decided to go there for the President's Day weekend. It was my husband and I and my son and daughter (both kids are in elementary school). It was our first time at Elk.

 

We had a fabulous time - thank you, thank you, thank you.

 

The trails are magnificent. I love the fact that a blue trails stays a blue trail, a black trail stays a black trail. Normally we ski at CB. We like CB but its frustrating that all trails merge onto greens. Just as you get your rhythm you suddenly have to merge into a wall of people. Trails at ELK are all long cruisers.

 

Kind of neat how all the trails have Indian names - my daughter had to ski down a trail named "kickapoo".

 

Yes, ELK has a true bump/mogul run. Totally ungroomed. It looks like a giant cheese grater. The funniest thing is that two chair lifts ride right over it and its quite comical riding the chair lift and look down to watch the people try to get down the bumps. I would say only 1 in 10 people can ski it properly. A ton of kids on that trail. Its no fair - their small skis makes it easier.

 

The snow was fantastic - definitely better than what we have seen at CB. Yes, the trails do ice up by the end of the day but you know that beyond the ice is beautiful carveable snow. The snow was somehow "grippy". Get on your edges and you just carve down the trails.

 

So much so that all four of us found the blue trails kind of boring so my kids asked if we could try the black diamond trails. Now we've never skied a black before but I noticed riding the chair lifts that there was no ice on the black trails and I didn't hear that distinctive "scraping" noise when anyone was on the trail.

 

So we gave it a try and skied down Slalom. To our tremendous delight we all made it down with no problem. That said, my daughter got to the bottom and teared up. She said she was embarrassed because she thought it was scary. I told her she has nothing to be ashamed of - that was a looooong steep trail and besides not many eight year old girls can ski a black diamond. That made her feel better. She got her confidence back.

 

So of course they wanted to try the bump trail. I took a pass - I don't know how to ski moguls (yet) so my husband went down with the kids. They eventually made their way down - they practically crawled and fell down many times but they did it. Funny note - my daughter wears one of those helmet hoods so she looks like a cat with ears and a tail sticking up. She said someone on the chair lift meowed at her.

 

We skied Saturday and Sunday. Yes, it was crowded. The trails were congested yet somehow the trails were better able to cope with the crowds than say CB. I don't know if its because the trails are wider or Elk attracts more experienced skiers. I found that the people skiing/riding below me were more "predictable" in their movements so I never had that nagging fear that someone is going to collide with you.

 

Yes, the chair lifts are slow. But we ski at Smuggler's Notch and that place has the slowest lifts anywhere. Surprisingly the quad was one of the slowest lifts. Its not a high speed quad and its actually slower than the adjacent double. Even worse - the line for the quad was longer than the line for the double. You have to know which chair lift to take. For example - we found with the two center double chair lifts that the double on the right side was faster than the double on the left side.

 

And what's with having a safety bar but no foot rest? If you're going to have to take a slow ride at least have a place to rest your feet.

 

And you gotta love a place that has no shuttle buses but instead uses the human cattle car to transport you to the lodge. Its a flatbed truck with upright metal bars where everyone stands. It does fit a good number of people.

 

My major complaint is with the lodge/cafeteria. I know it was a holiday weekend but the cafeteria was jam packed and the lines were long. Elk needs a place like Cameltop that is open for limited hours to take the overflow. What was even more annoying is that ELK allows people to bring in their luggage to the cafeteria. Yes, luggage. I saw duffle bags bigger than my luggage and people stowed them under the tables and then acted like they "owned" the tables and hogged them all day. There should be a rule that if your bag can't fit in a locker than it stays in your car.

 

I'm glad someone on this board warned about the circular benches. What a pain - it meant you had to put your helmets and gloves on the tables creating more space problems.

 

And lastly - we were surprised that the ski shop didn't sell a toy elk. My daughter has a toy camel that says Camelback and a toy mouse from Smuggler's Notch. What - no elk from Elk?

 

And how's this to end your weekend. On Sunday at around 5pm the ski patrol shuts down the Delaware trail for about a half hour to regroom it. At around 5:30pm the same happens with Tioga. And guess which family just happened to be front and center at the top of those trails when they were reopened about a half hour later. Now I know why you are all so passionate about being the first ones down the trails in the morning. Nothing like putting down those first tracks (even in the dark).

 

Is is frustrating that only half the trails are lighted? Yes, but the lighted trails are more than enough to ski on.

 

I'm still on a high from last weekend. What a triumph for us. My kids have major bragging rights - they skied down a black diamond.

 

So again, many thanks for recommending ELK. It is definitely worth the trip.

[ThinkSnow]

Thanks for the report! And welcome to the world of the posters, I've seen you lurking around for quite a while... I have never been, but I really need to go. I think we may be having a PASR day there when Skidude is at finals in a few weeks!

[Papasteeze]

My major complaint is with the lodge/cafeteria.  I know it was a holiday weekend but the cafeteria was jam packed and the lines were long.  Elk needs a place like Cameltop that is open for limited hours to take the overflow.  What was even more annoying is that ELK allows people to bring in their luggage to the cafeteria.  Yes, luggage.  I saw duffle bags bigger than my luggage and people stowed them under the tables and then acted like they "owned" the tables and hogged them all day.  There should be a rule that if your bag can't fit in a locker than it stays in your car.

 

Now I know why you are all so passionate about being the first ones down the trails in the morning.  Nothing like putting down those first tracks (even in the dark).

 

I'm still on a high from last weekend.  What a triumph for us.  My kids have major bragging rights - they skied down a black diamond. 

 

So again, many thanks for recommending ELK.  It is definitely worth the trip.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Welcome!! I also recently joined here for the great information related to skiing in Eastern PA - Tell everyone about it and watch this board grow!!

 

Wow What a glowing testimonial! - you should try to sell that one to Elk.. If your story were read by everyone - the secret would be out!! Did you see the parking lot to your right when you come in? Get there early early and park there so that you can ski to your car during and after you are done for the day.. You can use your car for your ski in - ski out personal locker.

 

I really would like to see all resorts clamp down on stowed stuff or at least build facilities that handle all of the gear.. It would seem to me, that they could sell more overpriced food (if you want to call it that) if they freed up the tables. Sad but true... I have had many a confrontation about sitting in an empty seat.. I matter of factly tell them if they don't like where I am sitting then go get someone from the resort and have them sort it out.. They always grab their stuff and move - always into someone elses "claimed" spot. My boys and I have a standing rule we eat by eleven, ski when everyone else is having lunch and stop for snack around 2 or 3..

 

Congrats on the black diamonds - Your kids will never forget their first black - What a great report.. That one should stay at the top of the Elk Mountian category.

[NJSkiFamily]

rlarick

 

Thanks for the response. There's always that risk of expectations not matching reality when you go to a new place. And when you do find a new place that you like you're tempted to keep it hush so that others don't find out.

 

I think the parking lot that you are referring to is now "permit parking only". I don't know how you get that permit but us commoners had to park down below. We ended up parking in the lot across the road.

 

I did have to tell some kid in the lodge that he couldn't hog a bunch of empty seats to himself. He was with a group of kids eating their lunch and most of them got up, put on their gear and left. So a family comes by and asks if the seats are free. And this kid had the nerve to say "no". I immediately piped in and said the seats are free. This kids gives me a look and I tell him you can't save seats for people if they leave.

 

My kids are definitely feeling the The downside is that most of their friends can only ski/ride the greens

[bigdaddyk]

How are the crowd during the week? Are they thin, like other resorts?

[AtomicSkier]

How are the crowd during the week?  Are they thin, like other resorts?

 

They're thin most of the time (even on weekends) but on a weekday, people are nonexsistnat

[romemadman]

yea i must agree with u njskifamily that sumggs has the slowest lifs on the east coast

but the trails are like elk so far away form major cities that it doesn't get much traffic and the trails are very good except when you r going from peak to peak

i think that elk has to be one of my favorite mts in pa for freeriding.

[RidgeRacer]

Wow, their first dimond was Slalom? Impressive. Even advanced skiers enjoy Slalom. I remember my first diamond - Challenge at Montage (I'm 99 percent sure it was challenge). Anyway I was 12 and I got so scared ( mostly because if the moguls) that I faked a leg injury so the ski patrol would get me the heck off of it! That was a long time ago.

[poconoceancity]

Wow, their first dimond was Slalom? Impressive. Even advanced skiers enjoy Slalom. I remember my first diamond - Challenge at Montage (I'm 99 percent sure it was challenge). Anyway I was 12 and I got so scared ( mostly because if the moguls) that I faked a leg injury so the ski patrol would get me the heck off of it! That was a long time ago.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

what is the location of the picture under your name?

[Schif]

I remember my first diamond - Challenge at Montage (I'm 99 percent sure it was challenge). Anyway I was 12 and I got so scared ( mostly because if the moguls) that I faked a leg injury so the ski patrol would get me the heck off of it! That was a long time ago.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Sorry Ridge Racer, but I dont think you remember that well It was either Challenge at Blue, or one of the diamonds at Montage. (I'm going to take a stab at it and say it was Cannonball)

[RidgeRacer]

I'm such a Jack**S. It was Cannonball probably. I've been to Blue a bunch of times the past few seasons that I probably got my names mixed up. As far as the picture under my name, it's a shot of the Lehigh Gorge I took when I was biking one day. I love the Gorge, probably one of the best State Parks in PA.