Western PA/NY resort rundown

[Tyler]

being out in western pa for school ive gotten to ride a few different places from the normal pocono resorts, none of these get much love on the board but there always seems to be a few people asking about them so i figured i'd throw out my take on a few of them

 

7 Springs:

Not really big, but by no means small. about 3/4 the size of camelback. the layout of the mountain is kind of strange, with 2 high speeds on the perimeters and all slow lifts in the middle. trails run on both sides of the mountain, with some of the steeper stuff being on the back side. there are a few cool glades and some small cliffs to mess around on. The snow and grooming was on par and the top of the mountain gets really cold as its completely exposed and wind swept. the parks are nicely set up and well maintained, although nothing phenomenal, and maybe a little over-hyped, they are fun. big park isnt open yet, so im not going to judge it yet. Pretty expensive and a big time tourist attraction. Just a warning, the place is a zoo on weekends. I have never witnessed more out of control skiers, and steelers fans. yuck.

 

Hidden Valley:

very reasonable prices. $20 weekdays anytime. Size falls in between spring mountain and bear creek. runs are short, nothing steep. snow is good and grooming is good. im not sure but they might groom twice during the day, there is fresh cord even at night. parks are pretty lame, but atleast they make an attempt, think Blue mountain-esque from about 2 years ago. no high speed lifts but the lifts are fast. and its the only place i have seen where you load onto a conveyor belt and your moving when the lift picks you up. Doesnt get really crowded, a nice beginner family ski area.

 

Peek n Peek:

Just above erie, considered in New York. might as well be in Pennsylvania its less than 10 min from the border. not very tall, but the mountain is wide enough that it feels bigger. the best thing about this place is that it gets POUNDED with lake effect snow. it always seems to be snowing there. majority of the trails are short and not very steep. they have 3 parks and really make an attempt to put out a legit product, just doesnt always come through. however the parks are fun and are full of features. the largest jumps are only 30ish feet but its fun. the woods are always snow covered but there isnt much space to ride in the trees. a few little cliffs in the woods. its a good value, the people there are extremely friendly, and $25 college nights sunday through thursday make it a fun place to ride.

 

Holiday Valley:

The absolute best in the area. Best terrain hands down. Snow and grooming are top notch and it recieves a lot of lake effect snow. the vert is only 750-800 feet but its really wide and has 50+ trails. Holiday Valley feels massive compared to anywhere else in the area or the poconos (never been to elk), and feels closest to a vermont ski area. There are tree runs between every trail and plenty of marked and unmarked glades. Trees are perfectly spaced apart and the snow stays good all day, you can take them top to bottom no problem. Have some steep runs and one run known as the wall, which is probably the steepest ive ever been on, including vermont. too steep to groom and open to the wind and ice, but with some snow it could be a winner. there are a bunch of lifts and a few high speeds. i found myself taking trails to lifts/places on the mountain i didnt know existed. Holiday Valley has 3 or 4 parks. the biggest park featured all kinds of rails, including urbans ( ) and 2 jumps. largest being about 35 feet. There are multiple lodges and very nice facilities. not a cheap trip by any means but definetly worth it, the place is in a class of its own for the area.

 

The only picture i remembered to take, some mellow glades at Holiday Valley. one of the most worn down spots but you can see a long run full of nicely spaced trees and little shit shrubbery. Cell phone quality.

 

 

sorry for the spelling errors and run on sentences its getting late and i have 8 am classes tomorrow. i'll try to keep it updated and you can expect to hear updates on 7 springs big park and pipe, and i'll most likely add snowshoe, wv to the list and possibly blue knob. i'll try to remember to take my camera the next times. peace

Edited January 26, 2009 by Oakley21

[Tyler]

The only picture i remembered to take, some mellow glades at Holiday Valley. one of the most worn down spots but you can see a long run full of nicely spaced trees and NO little shit shrubbery. Cell phone quality.

whoops

[rgrwilco]

really nice rundown, these places sound really fun. photo tr's? alot these places are hard to find pics of.

[Tyler]

yeah i'll bring my camera next time i go and get some pictures.

[n0xidee]

Awesome. When I was out at IUP the one place I wanted to get to but never had a chance to was Holiday Valley. Always looked like a fun time. F'n baseball always took up my time.

[Tyler]

hit 7 springs tonight in the rain. they have 4 decent parks open, the big park has a few nice down rails and 2 really poppy jumps, about 30 ft and 40-45 ft. the pipes are the best ive ever seen, the 18 ft super was in great shape, perfect walls and even the 13 was awesome. good stuff. if your looking to ride pipe get out here.

[method9455]

hit 7 springs tonight in the rain. they have 4 decent parks open, the big park has a few nice down rails and 2 really poppy jumps, about 30 ft and 40-45 ft. the pipes are the best ive ever seen, the 18 ft super was in great shape, perfect walls and even the 13 was awesome. good stuff. if your looking to ride pipe get out here.

 

Great info, all around. I'm interested in Holiday valley, sounds sweet with the lake effect + trees.

[Tyler]

holiday valley is a really cool place, it rides huge, and has a good variety of terrain.

 

and i'll be somewhere this weekend i promise pictures, most likely 7 springs. but the pipes really do look like the ones in all the pics, they are that perfect.

[Johnny Law]

you ever hit up blue knob?

 

the knob is the shit, I'm going Sunday post Claysburg dump

[Jer]

the jumps in our big park currently are 35ft and 45 ft. waiting on more snow so we can rebuild and have a third larger jump.

 

the jumps are in no way super poppy. they are actually pretty mellow, they were a lot more poppy before they melted down and were groomed for a month.

 

pipes are for sure holding up even with the bad weather we have been having.

 

hope to see you guys out here sometime

 

Jeremy

7spring terrain park supervisor.

[Tyler]

the jumps in our big park currently are 35ft and 45 ft. waiting on more snow so we can rebuild and have a third larger jump.

 

the jumps are in no way super poppy. they are actually pretty mellow, they were a lot more poppy before they melted down and were groomed for a month.

 

pipes are for sure holding up even with the bad weather we have been having.

 

hope to see you guys out here sometime

 

Jeremy

7spring terrain park supervisor.

leaving now. cya up there. and as of this wednesday night, the jumps were pretty poppy.

[Jer]

our perspectives of "Poppy" must be different.

 

but either way the jumps are fun.

 

hope some more of you eastern PA people can take a trip out this way for the spring season.

[Tyler]

our perspectives of "Poppy" must be different.

 

but either way the jumps are fun.

 

hope some more of you eastern PA people can take a trip out this way for the spring season.

yeah man dont get me wrong they are fun. and having some pop isnt a bad thing, i like them alot. especially the 2nd one. too bad yesterday was a wash jumpwise cuz of the wind, the snow was nice too.

[Jer]

third jump in the big line coming very soon. should be the best jump we have ever had at 7springs.

[Tyler]

nice, im looking forward to it.