volklyokel Posted February 5, 2005 Report Posted February 5, 2005 (edited) Got back today from a week of checking out four resorts in the Poconos. These were my first visits to all four of these resorts. Since this CB message board seems to get the most traffic, I thought I'd give the whole report here, in one piece. It was a great week, weatherwise, probably the best week so far this season, so I was darn lucky in that regard. I kept an eye open for PSAR stickers but didn't see any. Too bad. Had mine on. I would have liked to have met some of you regulars on PSAR. Here it is, in chronological order: January 31: Blue Mountain. Day totals: 18,540 feet in 19 runs. Best runs: Raceway-Midway-Main Street; Switchback, upper & lower; Razor?s Edge. Lazy Mile is a nice easy run. Double black diamonds are overrated. Razor's Edge is fun-fun-fun! Lodge: lackluster, functional. Food was edible, but not that good. Lockers were 50 Edited February 11, 2005 by volklyokel Quote
zaldon Posted February 5, 2005 Report Posted February 5, 2005 (edited) i dont know were your getting the idea that cb has cheap food, especialy for the quality of it. Edited February 5, 2005 by zaldon Quote
Glenn Posted February 6, 2005 Report Posted February 6, 2005 So how do the mountains compare with your home mountain? Which was your favorite mountain to ski/ride at. If you were to take another trip to the poconos, where would spend the most time? I'm interested to hear the less partial "outsiders" opinion on the mountains. Also for clarification are you saying the double blacks at blue are overated in difficulty or in hype factor. I'm assuming difficulty since you say razors was "fun-fun-fun," but I just want to check. Quote
volklyokel Posted February 6, 2005 Author Report Posted February 6, 2005 Food: I almost always buy the same food when I ski. Here's the menu: Cheeseburger, bag of chips and a large coke. (looking for protein, a little salt and fluids). At Roundtop, this costs around $9.25. "Cheap" in this instance means anywhere from six to seven bucks, which is what I found at most of the places I visited. Thus, Zaldon, if you should ever visit Roundtop, Liberty or Whitetail, be prepared to pay the BIG bucks for lunch! Run Ratings: It's well known that the ratings of runs varies from hill to hill. What is called a double black diamond at Blue Mountain is more akin to a blue-black at Blue Knob. Razor's Edge was no more difficult than the Knob's sustained steep run called "Deer Run." A double black diamond at Blue Knob is a run that most skiers, even experts, will fall on at least once on the way down. For example, Blue Knob's "Extrovert" knocks most everybody over, unless you have ample experience riding steeps with bumps as big as volkswagons. Generally, I don't call falling down, "fun." The Razor's Edge at Blue Mtn was groomed smooth as glass. It has a couple of fairly long, steep sections, long enough to make a couple of nice big GS type of turns or lots of little slalom hops. The reason why it was fun-fun-fun was that it was wide, smooth and hosts a variety of slope angles. I like hills that are long enough to change it up with lessor steeps mixed in with bigger steeps. Don't get me wrong, Razor's Edge is no beginner's run, but it is no where near the difficulty of Blue Knob's Extrovert. The Razor's Edge reminded me of Deer Valley's (Utah) run called "Big Stick" which is rated double blue. Hope this helps to clarify what I meant. If you're an advanced intermediate, you probably won't fall on the Razor's Edge, but, at this level of ability, you will fall if you attempt Blue Knob's Extrovert. Favorite Hill: Basically, I have two, of the four I visited last week. For a nice half day of skiing, I'd choose Blue Mtn. For an all day, "hey let's explore everything, but at a leisurely pace" kind of place, I'd go to Elk Mountain. Here's my order from favorite to least favored: Elk, Blue, CB and Montage. How do they rate with my home southern PA hills? Hard to assess, as each has their own personality. CB with two high speed quads seemed considerably more frenetic, perhaps a drawing point for younger skiers and boarders. Elk and Blue seemed a little more family oriented. Roundtop is a small family and friendly kind of place, you don't encounter too many big egos there, just folks who love to ski. In the Poconos, a fair number of lift passengers I talked to seemed to be out to prove something. Perhaps its the personality of the region, I don't know. VolklYokel Quote
zaldon Posted February 6, 2005 Report Posted February 6, 2005 i just bring a gatorade in my pack and wait till i get home to eat Quote
Ski Posted February 6, 2005 Report Posted February 6, 2005 Montage is too dark and steep for most Blue Mt.-type skiers...empty slopes, cheap food and tickets, but waaaaay too scary. Quote
AtomicSkier Posted February 7, 2005 Report Posted February 7, 2005 Montage is too dark and steep for most Blue Mt.-type skiers...empty slopes, cheap food and tickets, but waaaaay too scary. Bring it on. Quote
Ski Posted February 7, 2005 Report Posted February 7, 2005 I was doing leg burning laps on Easy Out then down Vista for about 25 minutes, which was awesome, but I brought home some of those Blue Mt. fries you recommended and they gave my dog diarrhea. Quote
AtomicSkier Posted February 7, 2005 Report Posted February 7, 2005 I was doing leg burning laps on Easy Out then down Vista for about 25 minutes, which was awesome, but I brought home some of those Blue Mt. fries you recommended and they gave my dog diarrhea. when were you there? and easy, eastout to vista will make your legs burn Quote
Ski Posted February 7, 2005 Report Posted February 7, 2005 No, not this season. But I hope everyone continues to flock to Blue and CB. Elk's "Best Snow" in Ski Mag also helped cut our lift lines, too. Montage is a dark and scary place and only the most loyal paskiandride people are welcome. Anyone else we catch will also have their edges rounded off. Quote
Ski Posted February 7, 2005 Report Posted February 7, 2005 and easy, eastout to vista will make your legs burn <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Yes, I considered hiking back out the first time down. Quote
AtomicSkier Posted February 7, 2005 Report Posted February 7, 2005 No, not this season. But I hope everyone continues to flock to Blue and CB. Elk's "Best Snow" in Ski Mag also helped cut our lift lines, too. Montage is a dark and scary place and only the most loyal paskiandride people are welcome. Anyone else we catch will also have their edges rounded off. keep working on that ticket Quote
Ski Posted February 7, 2005 Report Posted February 7, 2005 Ha, I'm picking it up today. It's a "good any day/all day". Lemme know when your comin' up. I have a race at Roundtop Saturday and Zonked and I are in Tahiti the following week, but I'm good for a tour any other time. Quote
AtomicSkier Posted February 7, 2005 Report Posted February 7, 2005 Ha, I'm picking it up today. It's a "good any day/all day". Lemme know when your comin' up. I have a race at Roundtop Saturday and Zonked and I are in Tahiti the following week, but I'm good for a tour any other time. schaweet, i'll let ya know...Sunday would be perfect, we could have PASR day. Probably just me, you and glenn Quote
Glenn Posted February 7, 2005 Report Posted February 7, 2005 schaweet, i'll let ya know...Sunday would be perfect, we could have PASR day. Probably just me, you and glenn <{POST_SNAPBACK}> If you made it on sat then my bro would be there as well. Quote
AtomicSkier Posted February 7, 2005 Report Posted February 7, 2005 If you made it on sat then my bro would be there as well. Ski isn't available on saturday, duh.... Quote
Schif Posted February 7, 2005 Report Posted February 7, 2005 Don't make it on saturday, I have to go to philly for a basketball game with my team. Quote
AtomicSkier Posted February 7, 2005 Report Posted February 7, 2005 Don't make it on saturday, I have to go to philly for a basketball game with my team. Ski has my ticket, and he won't be there saturday so it won't be saturday. I'll probably be there Sunday if Ski999 is around. Quote
skifreak Posted February 9, 2005 Report Posted February 9, 2005 I was at montage once liked it but I won't be there for about another year until I get my liscense...if I can pass the driving test. Quote
volklyokel Posted February 9, 2005 Author Report Posted February 9, 2005 I was doing leg burning laps on Easy Out then down Vista for about 25 minutes, which was awesome, but I brought home some of those Blue Mt. fries you recommended and they gave my dog diarrhea. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I never recommended the fries. I ate a "bag of chips," I don't risk fries for fear of what happened to your pooch could happen to me. Leaving brown lines in the snow is not a good thing either. And what's the deal with Montage opening at noon on weekdays? Is it supposed to be better to ski/ride on snow that's been blasted by the sun for four hours? Or is the apres-ski/nightlife so good in Minooka that no one gets up before 11:30am? The best thing about CB is that it opens at 8am, when it's still cold and the snow is good. VolklYokel Quote
Sno Mountain Skier Posted February 9, 2005 Report Posted February 9, 2005 i think the snow is better when its warmer out.i hate it when its to cold because it starts to ice up. Quote
tretiak Posted February 9, 2005 Report Posted February 9, 2005 (edited) 999 i think i saw u at blue did u have ur daugter(cant spell) with u? if u did then i almost ran into her when i was on paradise.u both have yellow atomics right?? Edited February 9, 2005 by forumdestroyer154 Quote
AtomicSkier Posted February 9, 2005 Report Posted February 9, 2005 999 i think i saw u at blue did u have ur daugter(cant spell) with u? if u did then i almost ran into her when i was on paradise.u both have yellow atomics right?? nah, that wasn't him, #1 his daughter doesn't ski flat trails like paradise, and I don't believe his been to Blue this year, as he would have definatly given me a call....It would be a coincidence if there is a father/daughter combo our there with yellow atomics. Quote
tretiak Posted February 10, 2005 Report Posted February 10, 2005 well i not on but near it they were goin towards razors edge and i had to sneek around and i cut them off srry if it was u Quote
Ski Posted February 10, 2005 Report Posted February 10, 2005 No, I was only busting on Atomic about the fries and how flat Blue is. But I accept your apology anyway. Yeah, Volkl, Montage opens at Noon during the week for the day pass people. But the North Face diamonds open before that just for season passholders. It lets us have fresh tracks and not be bothered by tourists. You mean your mountains down South don't do that? Quote
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