Greek Peak

[trackbiker]

Heading to Greek Peak Friday and Elk Saturday. I checked the GP website the last 2 days and they have all the trails and the lift on the east side listed as being closed. Does anyone know if they open that side on weekdays anymore? For $59.00 weekends and weekdays they should have the whole place open and groomed to perfection. They also have some trails on the main mountain listed as closed. They're in the snowbelt for crying out loud and have received much more snow than the pokes this year. I sent them an email with no reply....yet.

Anyone have any info?

[mbike-ski]

i haven't been up during the week but i don't think they run the #5 triple on weekdays. even on weekends that chair doesn't run til mid morning some days it looks like just mars hill and olympian are closed - still plenty of hill to cover!

[trackbiker]

i haven't been up during the week but i don't think they run the #5 triple on weekdays. even on weekends that chair doesn't run til mid morning some days it looks like just mars hill and olympian are closed - still plenty of hill to cover!

 

I was there last year on a Friday and they had the east side open. They should reduce the price on weekdays if they're going to close the east side. I guess they're not getting too much business from those condos on weekdays.

[mbike-ski]

for the most part but they seem to get a fesh coat like we got yesterday every few days which goes a long way as far as surface quality was planning on heading up this weekend but sorta in a holding pattern to see how this storm tracks - hate to head away from the snow if it looks like blue will only get a couple inches or so we'll head north

[mbike-ski]

east mountain open today trackbiker - check it out 800-365-7669

[trackbiker]

east mountain open today trackbiker - check it out 800-365-7669

 

They opened it about 11:00 on Friday. One trail! Mars Hill. We poached Arethusa Way or whatever its called at the bottom of the liftline for 6" of fresh dry powder. The base was thin but skiable to the cutoff before the headwall. Conditions were really good but their base is really thin all over the mountain. Grooming was excellent and made me realize how bad Blues grooming really is. Conditions were excellent on everything they had open but it's FEBRUARY for crying out loud. They should be 100% open but they put all of their money into condos and the water park. If you have a crappy ski area with 50 year old slow lifts how are you going to get a good price for condos where people can get to VT pretty quickly?

Lunch took 1.5 hours in the pub!? And when the sandwich finally came it was laughable. The chicken on my grilled chicken sandwich only covered half of the small hamburger bun it came on. Not even a real Keiser roll for $9.50. If I wasn't so hungry I would have sent it back. The guys I was with skied there for the first time last year on 8" of fresh powder. After Friday they said, "Next year, let's just do two days at Elk." While I like the terrain, Greek Peak never ceases to disappoint in one way or another.

[mbike-ski]

yea been a tuff year for snow up there this year for sure. skiid saturday and this morning in 1-2" fresh lake effect on crisp chord - great 2 days in my book. not sure how 6" dry powder, good conditions, grooming, and 2 excellents end in dissappointment, f*ck the chicken sammich - more tracks for me

[trackbiker]

yea been a tuff year for snow up there this year for sure. skiid saturday and this morning in 1-2" fresh lake effect on crisp chord - great 2 days in my book. not sure how 6" dry powder, good conditions, grooming, and 2 excellents end in dissappointment, f*ck the chicken sammich - more tracks for me

 

Well, I try to call 'em like I see 'em. The grooming was excellent and the 6" of fresh was on a closed trail and thanks to mother nature not GP's snowmaking efforts. Olympia isn't open and doesn't look like it even saw a snow gun this year. If you live close by it's a good option with their cheap season passes but $59.00 for a weekday is way too much for what they offer. I paid $50 on Liftopia. Elk is a MUCH better deal for $47 weekday and $56 weekend. Their lifts are old and slow even for fixed grips and no one was going to be sold on their capabilities of running a "resort" after looking at that sandwich. I should have taken a picture of it and sent it management. But then I never even got a reply to my email asking about the opening of the east side.

[mbike-ski]

Well, I try to call 'em like I see 'em

i hear ya, pretty fair assessment that their weaknesses are snowmaking and amenities - i just never let lunch define the score. reagrding snowmaking on any given year its not an issue due to the natural snowfall which is way down this year. all things considerred i still think the snow and trails that ere open are fantastic and don't miss any closed stuff except for the woods. regarding the pub, we laugh about it - always a crapshoot, yesterday was fast and good, they were empty. on busy days i order 2 beers, a chili and the check to minimize the frustration!

 

yesterdays report: temps in single didgits but a fun morning for sure - gotta love the first runs of the day of an inch of untracked dry fluff on fresh chord. highlight (next to seeing noshit camp and crew of course!) was getting to the top of #4 just as gail dropped the rope to castor - got first tracks with the deadicated dude on mars, then checked out the criss crossing sine wave tracks on the ride back up... i felt somewhat compensated for leaving 5" fresh at blue. we rolled out around noon to go home and plow the driveway before game time

[trackbiker]

Quit bitching....speak with your wallet....and lets see a picture of that sandwich??? You have a bad attitude!!!!

 

If Blue hadn't spent a dime on the ski area since you first skied there 30 years ago, but there were empty condos and a water park at the bottom of the hill you'd be bitching too.

I gave them credit for their grooming and terrain. Just trying to give people who might be thinking of going there a heads up on what to expect. I appreciate when people give an objective appraisal of a ski area. If I wanted to hear, "The trails are great! The lifts are fast! The conditions are always packed powder!" I'd just go to the ski area website.....Oh, I forgot. GP's website is all about the water park.

And as I said in the post, we will be voting with our wallets and spending two days at Elk next year or maybe one at Sno instead of Greek Peak.

Edited February 9, 2010 by trackbiker

[mbike-ski]

If Blue hadn't spent a dime on the ski area since you first skied there 30 years ago, but there were empty condos and a water park at the bottom of the hill you'd be bitching too.

i can vouch that those condos and the water park are not empty by any means, yep i own one . they are the first of a phased plan, i only hope the on mountain improvements are as well done...

 

The plan is as follows: This spring will begin the installation of a high speed quad from the base area to the top of what is now chair 4. At the top of this area will be built a new restaurant/lodge facility. There is also additional terrain suited for beginners at the top of the mountain. Look for this phase of the project to begin this spring if all goes well and end in approx 1 year.

 

Future trails will be build off of Arcadia Gate on Chair 5. There will be a trail under the new chairlift that will be installed, one over from the top of chair 4, and 2 that head toward the bottom of chair 5. Any trail map at the resort highlights these new proposed trails (one green, 2 blue, one black). Look for that to begin the year after the new lift is installed. ... See More

 

Along with that look for remodeling to the base area. All told this phase should take approx 2 years to complete, after financing is secured.

 

with the current economic state i'm not too optimistic about the time table but it'll happen in good time

[trackbiker]

mbike-ski, I hope that your investment pays off and I'm sure eventually it will. I even thought of buying a condo there because they were so cheap. They were actually auctioning them off a few years ago when realestate was booming. The water park finally being open should add some demand but it is still empty during the week.

Forgive me if I'm a little sceptical, but I've seen expansion plans on every trail map for 30 years and they've done nothing but install a used chairlift in place of a T-bar and add one new trail. The plans have changed over the years but that latest plan really adds nothing to the mountain. Marathon is esentially a cross country trail. Those trails they added to the top of chair 4 are all flat. They can't even open what they have now and they say they are adding terrain? IMHO they should get what have up to snuff then maybe add some terrain. That new pod they want to open onto Arcadian Gate? How are you going to ski that when Arcadian Gate isn't even open in February? Neither is their signature trail, Olympian. Not even close. By the way, you might want to remind them that the name of the trail is ArcadiaN Gate. If they can't even get the name of the trail right in their literature what else are they getting right?

Seriously, I'm not trying to be negative or a wise guy, but when they've cried "Wolf!" for thirty years you can't help but be skeptical.

[mbike-ski]

up until this past december i shared your skepticism believe me - however if you stopped in hope lake lodge you'd see what a first rate job they did on the building itself and seem to be doing in running the place. it's already paid HUGE dividends for us - in major fun, which is our primary objective of return on this thing! for right now i take the mountain for what it is - your points are accurate, but i still contend the overall snow quality and terrain are better than anything this side of VT/northern NY making it very attractive to alot of folks. since december i have certainly come around on this and again as i said earlier believe that the will do a first rate job on the on mountain improvements as well... i guess time will tell. oh by the way they are close to if not booked solid this weekend which isn't too shabby for a new hotel in a shit economy

[trackbiker]

Those indoor water parks are really popular with families and there is no learning curve like in skiing. My kids are in college and they would still love a day of skiing and then a night in the water park. I hope that they're over the hump and we start seeing some improvements on the ski area. Just hope it doesn't get too crowded.