Elk 3-20-11

[Ride Delaware ?]

After finishing up at Plattekill around 4 on the 19th, we drove the quick 2 hour jaunt to Dunmore, PA where we scored a room at the days Inn for $57 with tax. The Days Inn is conveniently located about a mile away from I-81 which is the direct route to the Elk Mountain exit. We got in about 7, showered, watched some NCAA basketball, and then went to Friendly's for dinner and ice cream. I don't eat ice cream often, so the 5 scoop Reese's pieces sundae was glorious. We got back to the hotel around 10 pm and hit the sack around 11:30.

 

The alarm went off at 7 and we quickly packed, ate breakfast, and were on the road around 7:35. Mapquest states the driving time as 44 minutes, but I had a bit of a heavy foot and got there in 27 minutes flat. We arrived at 8:05 to find only one other car in the upper lot. I parked about 25 feet away from the picnic lodge and booted up. The temperature was 20 degrees by the time we had booted up, and we went to the picnic lodge and boarded down to the ticket window. The only downside to Elk is the lack of discounts, so I paid for my $58 lift ticket and was getting on the lift by 8:30 sharp. We were about the 5th chair up. There was only one or two other people behind us at the ticket window, so we were sure to get a couple untracked runs in early. Most of the locals have season passes and park in the lower lots beside the quad, so we didn't have to compete with them for awhile. We skated off to the right and prepared to go down an untouched Susquehanna.

 

The first run down Susquehanna was simply amazing. It was groomed granular and was completely untouched. I basically bombed it all the way down. Groomed snow at Elk (unlike Blue with its death cookies), is so smooth and almost impossible to catch an edge. Here is a shot from the top of Susquehanna before the first run:

 

 

We then proceeded to hit Slalom, Mohawk, Tuscarora, and the Delaware. Slalom and Tuscarora were first tracks while Mohawk and Delaware had a handful of tracks. The park on Delaware was worse than usual as all of the rails except for the c rail had been removed and moved to the West Slope for the Spring Carnival rail jam. However, the jumps were still in great shape and were being hit by a couple park rats throughout the day.

 

After those 5 runs we decided to head over to the west side of the mountain to lap my favorite terrain off of the quad. We started on the Mahican to the Lenape and were rewarded with groomed cord and some fun rollers on the lower half. When we got down to the bottom of the quad I turned around and shot this picture looking up the mountain:

 

 

We decided to hit the Wissahickon next and I shot this picture of Afroman7 shredding the gnar:

 

 

We continued to lap the quad and continued to get great uncrowded runs in. The upper lot began to get filled and cars were soon parking in the lower lot. There was never a lift line, but almost all of the chairs were filled before 11. They only had 4 lifts open, but that was plenty. The sun was really shining on the West Side and by 11:30 the snow was beginning to get quite granularly. It was deep granular and it began to bump up on some of the flatter spots. However, most of the headwalls on all the trails, and the trails shielded by the patented "Elk Evergreens" were still hardpack and easy to edge with very little granular or bumps.

 

After 15 runs, we decided to head back over to the lodge to have lunch. It was about noon. The lodge had some people in it, but overall it was pretty empty. I grabbed a powerade and chicken sandwich for $8.50 and we were back on the slopes by 12:45. We decided to hit the same runs on the west side as we did in the morning. As I stated earlier, the headwalls were still fast and hardpacked, but the flats were getting to be pretty deep granular. After lunch the snow also became much more sugary. I was having trouble not having my edges dig in as I sunk into the granular at the bottom of the headwalls. It was warming up and was around 40 at about this time, and the boarding was pleasant under blue bird skies. Luckily for me I put on sunblock in the morning and only my lips got sunburnt. After hitting Susquehanna again, we hit Slalom. I shot this picture at the top before the headwall to show the wall to wall coverage:

 

 

After going down the Delaware and throwing a 360 off the tabletop in the park, we headed back over to the quad to finish our day. We hit most of the trails again and were rewarded with a mix of hardpack, groomed cord, granular, and spring sugar. On our last lift ride up the mountain, I shot this picture of the liftline to show the one area where the base was deteriorating. However, it is in one of the widest spots of the liftline, so they will easily be able to rope this off and still use the trail next weekend:

 

 

Farther up the liftline, I observed a great many people going down the bump run of Tunkhannock. It was the easiest bump run for people to hit as it got the most sun exposure and traffic. The right side got significant traffic and had plenty of soft snow by the end of the day. However, I saw several people try the left side of the trail, where very few had gone before, and it was completely unskiable. Iroquois and Wyalusing, the other bump runs were basically solid ice and had very little if any traffic. By 3:30 we had gotten in 24 runs and decided to call it a day. We still had a 4 hour 15 minute drive ahead of us and wanted to get on the road.

 

We took our last run down Tioga to Hiawatha to the picnic lodge where we took off our boards and walked down the path to the car. The gentlemen beside us had left his lights on in the morning and needed a jump. Unfortunately, we did not have jumpers and were not able to help him, Luckily, he was a local and knew many people and he was able to get some of his friends at the picnic lodge to jump him. We headed out and stopped at the Sunoco by the I-81 on ramp to pick up some NOS (my energy drink of choice) and some lifesavers. We made great time and got back to my house in DE at around 8:30. The ride was uneventful other than the fact that every other pineapple lifesaver was accidentally flavored peppermint. However, it was not entirely peppermint as it still had a slight taste of pineapple. It was terrible to say the least.

 

Overall, it was a great weekend on the snow. The storm that is hitting the pokes, skillz, and Endless mountains means that Afroman7 and I will be up again this weekend for some more runs. If any of you are also up at Elk on Saturday, I will be wearing yellow pants, a blue jacket, and red rimmed spy goggles. As it has so many times before, Elk thoroughly impressed me. Its snow conditions and consistency still have it number one on my list. Don't miss out this weekend. Take advantage of the $20 ticket for season passholders from other mountains and get up here!!!

[vinnyv11]

Awesome trip report. I wish I could make it up there this weekend but I don't think its in the cards.

[RidgeRacer]

nice TR and pics. thanks

Edited March 24, 2011 by Ridge Racer

[mbike-ski]

looking good - anyone in the valley area want a few elk vouchers? theyre from stoketoberfest but i'm headed up to whiteface tommorow and won't be around to use them

[Ride Delaware ?]

Its nice having pictures in the report and not having every report end with a bro date at the BDMI

[JFskiDan]

looking good - anyone in the valley area want a few elk vouchers? theyre from stoketoberfest but i'm headed up to whiteface tommorow and won't be around to use them

 

mmmmm....whiteface.....jealous. have fun.

[RidgeRacer]

Slides are open. have fun.