Everything Elk

[Capitaaa!]

This is a WIDE open thread about Elk. There aren't enough posts about this place on here. Say whatever you think; how much you love it, how much you hate it, how you feel about the hits in the park, or the brews in the lodge. Let's get posting.

[snorovr]

Haven't been in like six years. Loved it when I used to go. Almost made it up over the holidays but had a rough night and it didn't happen. What as changed in the past 5 or 6 years?

[clashboy]

my favorite mtn hands down

[rummy]

I've been an ELK skier for 27 years and have seen a ton of changes.

 

Best things: Terrain, grooming, lake effect snow, the snow making crew(they work hard to make good conditions), half-way house, friends, uncrowded weekdays, a pro group of ski pattrolers, skiers and boarders who know how to ski and respect each other (for the most part), no whistles, the bartenders and staff in the winter garden restaurant. Oh almost forgot==Chet's Place-"home of the ultimate buzz"

 

Worst things: the Elk wagon, slow lifts (although their philosophy is, "rather have crowded lift lines than crowded,dangerous slopes" ), MLK weekend, Presidents weekend (ski real early and at the end of the session, go to half-way house,or bar in between), no ticket booth in parking lot on weekends.

 

Rummy

[moe ghoul]

This is a WIDE open thread about Elk. There aren't enough posts about this place on here. Say whatever you think; how much you love it, how much you hate it, how you feel about the hits in the park, or the brews in the lodge. Let's get posting.

 

Elk has old world charm, and prolly the best hill in PA, imo. Plusses: Long runs, decent grooming, good amenities, reasonably priced. Negatives: needs more high speed lifts, bar is cash only, bartenders have a weird attitude, not much else to do around Elk, it's truly in the sticks. It's also a longer drive for those of us south of the Pocos. I don't board, so I can't comment on terrain parks, jumps, etc.

[RidgeRacer]

My favorite mt. in NEPA. I love the place but I will say I have been a bit dissappointed that they can't get more terrain open this year. Other than that, there aren't many negatives for me. The snow is usually great. The trails are fun. You don't feel like you're in Pennsylvania when you're skiing there. As soon as they get more trails open I'm heading up there....hopefully by next week.

[toast21602]

I don't board, so I can't comment on terrain parks, jumps, etc.

 

i dont either... but i ski

[johnnypowder]

I love ELK! Especially with fresh snow.

 

If you're looking to check out ELK -

This Friday (the 18th) is a demo day!

It's a multi-shop mega demo so there will be a lot of ski and board reps there.

 

We have tickets for $20 so even if you're not into trying demos it's a good way to start the MLK weekend!

 

fine print regarding the discount tix:

You have to buy them in advance at a shop.

If you loose the voucher or forget it you pay window price.

If you end up not using them you get all your money back (at Buckman's anyway)!

 

The other shops selling tickets for this Friday are: Berger

[phillycore]

oh dayam... and there might be a chance of snow too....

[moe ghoul]

oh dayam... and there might be a chance of snow too....

 

 

Snowing here in Philly, checking Blue and CB webcams now as well as weatherwatcher update

[Capitaaa!]

Definatley got a few inches of fresh snow up here. These cold temperatures coming up should provide for some nice snowmaking too. This weekend should be pretty good, and judging by how many people have been up there the past few weekends i'm not sure if it's gunna be THAT crowded.

[PASKIINGSUCKS]

My e-mail to Elk about my weekend experience.

 

Dear Elk Mountain,

 

I regret to inform you that I am writing today simply to comment on my dissatisfaction with your ski resort. I have always liked Elk Mountain in the past and have always regarded you as The Best In Pennsylvania. I firmly believe that you have the best terrain of any ski resort in Pennsylvania, my problem starts with your reluctance to let people into that terrain that I and friends long for. Elk has the best trees and steeps combined in PA but they are also combined with enough blaze orange fencing to reach to the moon and back. I realize that in the world today liability is a huge issue, and people are quicker to sue now than ever, but you guys are the best in PA and I expect you to set an example for the rest of the Poconos to follow. Your mountain has no marked glade runs whatsoever???? Granted every time we are there we find our way into some woods, but usually end up being reprimanded for our adventurous spirit. Last weekend we were there and got a great look at some of the mountain that would be fantastic for skiing after a storm, for instance if your riding up the north quad and at the beginning you look left there is boatloads of open trees, boulder drops, and a creek to jump. Sadly though this area like so much of the rest of your trees is OFF LIMITS, it is so bad at your resort that I have been yelled at by patrol for darting in and out of trees on the SIDE OF GROOMED RUNS!!!!!! I ask you guys, hell I

[Melissa]

Dear Mr. T,

 

Thank you for your imput., and the time to send us an email. We run our facility keeping safety of our quests and employees as a top priority.

 

Unfortunately, NE PA does not receive enough natural snow to offer adequate or quality "glade skiing". Perhaps the mountains that do offer this need to offer something unique because their terrain is boring. I'm not sure. Regardless, we will continue to make snow and provide quality skiing to those who STILL like our facility.

 

Best wishes,

 

Gregg

 

Whoa, someone needs to be schooled in how to be friendly... I've never skiied Elk, but have heard great things about it. I am sorry to hear about your experience and their lack of customer service though... I can never understand it when people in the guest satisfaction/customer service industry have a cavalier attitude.

[Papasteeze]

Whoa, someone needs to be schooled in how to be friendly... I've never skiied Elk, but have heard great things about it. I am sorry to hear about your experience and their lack of customer service though... I can never understand it when people in the guest satisfaction/customer service industry have a cavalier attitude.

 

His spelling of his name is equally if not more ghey as his response.

[PASKIINGSUCKS]

I realize I was bashing a little bit in my e-mail but I tried to make it as nice and constructive as possible. I love Elk, I've skied there many many times in the past 5 years, I just think they need to loosen up a bit. I wanna be able to explore the whole mtn. without fear of being reprimanded or stripped of my day pass(I should say that never happened) for skiing in the woods. I have been yelled at there for skiing in and out of trees on the sides of groomers and for being in the woods.

 

Also the free run on the quad needs to be brought back badly, nothing like skiing a mountain for years and then being greeted by a sign one year that basically says they don't trust you anymore.

 

Also my huge pet peeve there is the fact that they don't allow backpacks I like to carry stuff when I go out, I have aided our whole group before by being the only one carrying a huge waterbottle, I like to get pics of the skiing we do, and I like to be prepared with a pretty stocked first aid kit. All that stuff isn't gonna fit in my jacket, basically I'm a dude that throws on the boots at the car and puts a sandwich in the pack and I'm on the slope all day. No backpacks is a huge inconvenience to me personally.

 

Don't even get me started on their park. I realize their not trying to attract that crowd but come on, if your gonna do something ya might as well do it right.

 

My group of 5-8 friends will not be hitting elk anymore this year, and we usually do about half a dozen times a year. Instead we'll take the shorter drive to JF/BB or SNO, or the slightly longer drive to belleayre or hunter, that is if we're not already going to VT or further.

 

End Rant

[Schif]

I got caught up in that backpack rule 2 years ago. I got away with a few runs with it before a patroller stopped me and I had to put it in the lodge. It wasn't a huge deal for me. I was only really riding with it so I could get used to the feel of a pack before I went to VT where I knew I was going to ride all day with it.

 

While I agree that sometimes carrying a pack can be very beneficial, there really isn't any mountain in PA that really warrants it. If I leave my stuff in any PA lodge I can most likely get back to it within 10 minutes.

 

As for the trees at Elk, well no one has glades except Frost. I've played in the woods at Elk plenty of times you've just got to be smart about it.

[rummy]

To give you a little background in Greggs' concern for safety, here's what happened to one of his teenage employees two or three seasons ago. HE WAS KILLED after hitting a tree while boarding in the trees to the west of the quad chair (a closed area). How would you like to have to notify his parents? Sure, you'll say it was an accident. But, it doesn't change the fact that someone died while riding in a closed area. So before you criticize a managers' rules, also think of his responsibilities.

 

And to make fun of the way a man spells his name shows an incredible naivete.

 

My 2 cents--

 

Rummy

[moe ghoul]

I thought Gregg's response was fine. He even threw in a jab at the other operators' terrain, lol. Nicely done. Elk is still family run, it prolly has a good balance sheet and not much debt. Why would they want the additional hassle of peeling wannabees off of tree trunks and fishing them outta creeks? Most agree that they have the best hill in PA, and until they figure out a way to grow mountains (or wait until the end of the next ice age) my only wish is to replace one of the old lifts with a high speed. If you want an amusement park, go to CB or one of the other hills.

[Glenn]

Greggs response got a laugh out of me.

 

Complaining about a backpack policy in PA is pretty weak IMO.

 

I've been in those trees and had a great time. No problems from patrol whatsoever. It seems to me if you are willing to risk dodging trees you would be willing to risk dodging ski patrol.

[Papasteeze]

And to make fun of the way a man spells his name shows an incredible naivete.

 

naive? thats looks like a fashion statement spelling if I ever saw one. Maybe its the correct way to spell it - whatever.. it looks silly.

[bigdaddyk]

...Unfortunately, NE PA does not receive enough natural snow to offer adequate or quality "glade skiing". Perhaps the mountains that do offer this need to offer something unique because their terrain is boring. I'm not sure. Regardless, we will continue to make snow and provide quality skiing to those who STILL like our facility.

 

Best wishes,

 

Gregg

 

 

Jack Frost is nowhere near being boring, yet they allow you to ski on anything that has snow. They probably have the most skiable acres than any resort in PA, due to their open terrain policy. Almost all of the trees get snow, when they blow snow at JF. "PA does not receive enough natural snow to offer adequate or quality "glade skiing" is a lame excuse. JF offers it, with manmade snow, and it is decent glade skiing, for PA.

[moe ghoul]

Jack Frost is nowhere near being boring, yet they allow you to ski on anything that has snow. They probably have the most skiable acres than any resort in PA, due to their open terrain policy. Almost all of the trees get snow, when they blow snow at JF. "PA does not receive enough natural snow to offer adequate or quality "glade skiing" is a lame excuse. JF offers it, with manmade snow, and it is decent glade skiing, for PA.

 

 

Snow fall in the past few years has been on a decline, the only thing that saved the season last year was a few patches of cold weather and a late season dump. Otherwise, it was pretty miserable snowwise in the Pokes. Elk has probably considered some of the ideas, and for their own reasons, whether it is the cost of making additional snow, upgrading/buying more equipment, or the relatively small number of skiers/boarders that want to freestyle dodging trees, safety issues, etc., they decided that they don't want to cater to that niche. Hardly a reason to abandon a perfectly nice mountain, imo.

[elkskibum]

To give you a little background in Greggs' concern for safety, here's what happened to one of his teenage employees two or three seasons ago. HE WAS KILLED after hitting a tree while boarding in the trees to the west of the quad chair (a closed area). How would you like to have to notify his parents? Sure, you'll say it was an accident. But, it doesn't change the fact that someone died while riding in a closed area. So before you criticize a managers' rules, also think of his responsibilities.

 

And to make fun of the way a man spells his name shows an incredible naivete.

 

My 2 cents--

 

Rummy

 

 

This is really the complete reason why Elk will not allow glade skiing: the fact that a young employee went out of bounds and hit a tree and died. I remember (and im sure many can agree) that before this happened Elk was one of the most lax about letting people do really whatever the hell they wanted, the second that happened they pulled a complete 180. The last thing a resort that is privately owned and that has a smaller budget wants is a huge amount of law suites hanging over its head. If they were to open up the woods it would be disastrous, the mountain is just too steep and wooded: I see enough people skiing on stuff they shouldn

[PASKIINGSUCKS]

I guess I just need to move to Maine or out West somewhere. I'm sorry but I don't see "It's PENNSYLVANIA" as a reasonable excuse to be afraid of lawsuits, I guess it's just the people down here that ruin the atmoshpere of skiing because they are not as comfortable with the risks of a mountain lifestyle.

 

I would like to know how complaining about wanting to wear a backpack while skiing is weak. I realize this is PA and you don't need a beacon or probe, but am i out of line because I don't wanna go into the lodge everytime I want to grab my cam and take pictures or perhaps take off a shirt and keep it on my person. Also as someone who likes to ski fast and take risks I enjoy the extra back pad of wearing my pack, I spilled from a motorcycle once with a pack on and was completely unscathed on my hind side. In the unlikely event of going ass over tin cups into a tree I'd like a pack and waterbottle between us.

 

Also for the employee death in the trees, I'm sorry I have experience with loss just like anyone else, but I feel that is just a risk that goes with the territory. Being in administration the GM will always have to bring down bad news like that, I'm not saying it will ever be easy, but if someone died from hitting a lift pole I doubt they would default to tow ropes. I realize they are cutting down the amount of injuries and potential suits and that is a good thing for them, something about it just seems wrong to me that I have to scale back the way I want to ski depending on what state I'm in.

 

I guess I could have left out all this and just posted the first sentence, or just said "See Username". The more I ski the less I wanna ski in PA would also describe how I'm feeling lately.

[moe ghoul]

I guess I just need to move to Maine or out West somewhere. I'm sorry but I don't see "It's PENNSYLVANIA" as a reasonable excuse to be afraid of lawsuits, I guess it's just the people down here that ruin the atmoshpere of skiing because they are not as comfortable with the risks of a mountain lifestyle.

 

I would like to know how complaining about wanting to wear a backpack while skiing is weak. I realize this is PA and you don't need a beacon or probe, but am i out of line because I don't wanna go into the lodge everytime I want to grab my cam and take pictures or perhaps take off a shirt and keep it on my person. Also as someone who likes to ski fast and take risks I enjoy the extra back pad of wearing my pack, I spilled from a motorcycle once with a pack on and was completely unscathed on my hind side. In the unlikely event of going ass over tin cups into a tree I'd like a pack and waterbottle between us.

 

Also for the employee death in the trees, I'm sorry I have experience with loss just like anyone else, but I feel that is just a risk that goes with the territory. Being in administration the GM will always have to bring down bad news like that, I'm not saying it will ever be easy, but if someone died from hitting a lift pole I doubt they would default to tow ropes. I realize they are cutting down the amount of injuries and potential suits and that is a good thing for them, something about it just seems wrong to me that I have to scale back the way I want to ski depending on what state I'm in.

 

I guess I could have left out all this and just posted the first sentence, or just said "See Username". The more I ski the less I wanna ski in PA would also describe how I'm feeling lately.

 

I agree that the backpack issue is a bit over the top at Elk, I usually stuff my pockets and strap on a fanny pack for the flask, camera, chapstick, etc. We ski where we live, and that happens to be PA, so unless we take a lot of long road trips, we make the most of what nature has dealt us around here. I'm glad I can drive an hour and ski, and I'm tracking declining real estate prices to buy a place in the next 2-3 years, this recession will last at least that long. Buy gold.