2022-2023 Season Pass Options

[cwolman74]

Hello everyone.  Long time passholder at JFBB and not enjoying the new regime.  Looking for thoughts on where to get my pass for next season.  I am 40 minutes from Camelback or 45 minutes from Blue or Montage.  Primarily a midweek rider and maybe a few weekends.  Try to avoid the crowds if possible.  I always enjoy Elk but at 1hr 15min drive it makes it difficult to blow off work in the morning for some riding and back to work by noon.

Thanks in advance for any recommendations.

Edited March 4, 2022 by cwolman74

[toast21602]

Welcome! Sorry to hear the Epic/Vail fail is making you leave your ‘home’ mountain. Buttttt, anywhere but camelback. That place is a circus. Blue and Montage both have their draws but I enjoy Blue more just for the better terrain. You will get more runs in at Blue than Montage because of high speed lifts but Blue is definitely more crowded. Montage always seems eerily empty. Just my 2¢. 

[pcklein31]

I have chosen Blue, the last three years.  Currently im equal distance between Blue and Montage but previously lived 10 minutes from Montage and held a montage/sno season pass for several years.

 

Now, my biggest draws to Blue is the high speed lifts and also the consistent longer season ( early opening date and later closing date)

[Ski2Live Live2Ski]

For Midweek I would probably go for Blue for faster lifts and greater variety of top to bottom  runs.

For weekends Montage. On weekends the shorter lines at Montage make more of a difference than faster lifts at Blue. Also better glades, steeper steeps and more often stuff left ungroomed at Montage.

Edited March 4, 2022 by Ski2Live Live2Ski

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Blue obviously. Montage is good for a once a decade visit and camelback is terrible...short runs and scummy people.  

[RidgeRacer]

Welcome to PASR. Honestly if midweek low crowds is your only criteria Montage is probably going to be your best bet. That said....all things considered Montage is great but however there's way less variety, terrian, slower lifts etc than blue. North face is fun but skiing solely that for a whole season would probably get old and skiing the full vert at Montage is sorta cumbersome. No sidewinders, paradises, switches or NMDW (RIP) at montage. Also going from JFBB to blue is going to feel like you're going from pop warner to high school...trust me, I've been there. To me there's only one option. Follow the light.

[Justo8484]

11 hours ago, toast21602 said:

Welcome! Sorry to hear the Epic/Vail fail is making you leave your ‘home’ mountain. Buttttt, anywhere but camelback. That place is a circus. Blue and Montage both have their draws but I enjoy Blue more just for the better terrain. You will get more runs in at Blue than Montage because of high speed lifts but Blue is definitely more crowded. Montage always seems eerily empty. Just my 2¢. 

you forgot to mention your most important criteria... you live 5 minutes from blue 😘

[Justin]

first - I wouldn't go to camelwhack if it was free. I'd scratch that off the list right away.

like many have said, montage is a well kept secret. every time I've been, it was pretty dead and the lower half of the mountain is all "expert" terrain, so it funnels the crowd even more. the terrain is also a bit more interesting (IMO) in comparison to blue. 

in your specific case though, being equidistant to montage/blue AND primarily skiing off-peak, I'd go blue. the lifts and snowmaking capacity are just far superior. you'll get a longer season, and probably twice as many runs on empty midweek sessions due to the high speed lifts. that long haul lift at montage is agonizing...and at blue, you can ski top to bottom runs with a high speed chair back to the top every time. 

if you said you only skied weekends though, I'd probably say go for montage. blue can handle the crowds OK, but at this point they're operating at like max capacity far too often. you'll have much shorter lines at montage on a weekend which cancels out any gains you make from the high speed lifts at blue.

if you are considering blue though, I'd jump on getting a pass ASAP. they have been restricting the quantities a lot. I missed the boat this year, and was PISSED.

 

Edited March 4, 2022 by Justin

[theprogram4]

Pocono rankings:

1. Blue

2. Elk

3. Camelback

4. Montage

5. JF

[rgrwilco]

I prefer montage to blue but only off the long haul is running.

I think blue handles crowds better as there is more space in the valley. Montage rarely gets crowded, but when they do it’s kind of a cluster f*ck. There isn’t really any space around the bottom of the lifts at the tage, and I’ve seen lines actually start to go back up the trails at the north face lift. And since the lifts are slow the lines take longer to clear out.

 

 

[JFskiDan]

Cameltoe isnt my fav.  Nothing kills the vibe of skiing a mountain like when the lift takes you over the sesame street water park stuff.  Its no where near as prevalent at Montage.   

The lure of low crowds at Montage.......that will wear off quick, a trip down razors, challenge, or Nightmare/Dreamweaver (before it gets all fucked up with park crap) will most likely have you reconsider the low crowd deal at Montage.  dont get me wrong, im a fan of montage.  i would pay to go there, before i got a free ticket, close up parking space, and gourmet lunch at Toe.  

 

Who made snow last night in the area?

[Ski2Live Live2Ski]

Montage made snow last night

13 minutes ago, JFskiDan said:

Cameltoe isnt my fav.  Nothing kills the vibe of skiing a mountain like when the lift takes you over the sesame street water park stuff.  Its no where near as prevalent at Montage.   

The lure of low crowds at Montage.......that will wear off quick, a trip down razors, challenge, or Nightmare/Dreamweaver (before it gets all fucked up with park crap) will most likely have you reconsider the low crowd deal at Montage.  dont get me wrong, im a fan of montage.  i would pay to go there, before i got a free ticket, close up parking space, and gourmet lunch at Toe.  

 

Who made snow last night in the area?

 

[Kyle]

13 minutes ago, Ski2Live Live2Ski said:

Montage made snow last night

 

Are you buying a SP there next season? 

[Ski2Live Live2Ski]

4 minutes ago, Kyle said:

Are you buying a SP there next season? 

Considering pairing that with Indy but leaning towards just getting the Indy and maybe other discount plans next year

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

4 minutes ago, Ski2Live Live2Ski said:

Considering pairing that with Indy but leaning towards just getting the Indy and maybe other discount plans next year

Do you think you’re gonna ski at Jackson hole next season?  

[Ski2Live Live2Ski]

36 minutes ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

Do you think you’re gonna ski at Jackson hole next season?  

No idea. Not all that likely as I have never been there. Why do you ask? 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

32 minutes ago, Ski2Live Live2Ski said:

No idea. Not all that likely as I have never been there. Why do you ask? 

Just trying to figure out if an Ikon pass could work for you. 

[Ski2Live Live2Ski]

27 minutes ago, GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

Just trying to figure out if an Ikon pass could work for you. 

As it seems likely I will be parenting the kids full time next year, the extensiveness of the blackouts Ikon base pass has over school holidays and holiday weekends makes it a poor fit for me, and the full Ikon pass is quite expensive. 

Edited March 4, 2022 by Ski2Live Live2Ski

[toast21602]

1 minute ago, Ski2Live Live2Ski said:

As it seems likely I will be parenting the kids full time next, the extensiveness of the blackouts Ikon base pass has over school holidays and holiday weekends makes it a poor fit for me, and the full Ikon pass is quite expensive. 

That makes sense. Get you and your girls an Indy Pass again. That seems to have worked out great this season and there are minimal blackout dates at most mountains.

[Ski2Live Live2Ski]

3 minutes ago, toast21602 said:

That makes sense. Get you and your girls an Indy Pass again. That seems to have worked out great this season and there are minimal blackout dates at most mountains.

Yeah and if any day trippable places we like offer something like a "triple ticket" or "frequent skier card" deal, get that as well to augment the limited day trippable days on Indy (really only 2 Shawnee + 2 Montage). And maybe get the IndySpring pass too. 

[skiincy]

20 hours ago, cwolman74 said:

Hello everyone.  Long time passholder at JFBB and not enjoying the new regime.  Looking for thoughts on where to get my pass for next season.  I am 40 minutes from Camelback or 45 minutes from Blue or Montage.  Primarily a midweek rider and maybe a few weekends.  Try to avoid the crowds if possible.  I always enjoy Elk but at 1hr 15min drive it makes it difficult to blow off work in the morning for some riding and back to work by noon.

Thanks in advance for any recommendations.

When was the last time you were at blue?

a few of us have a free buddy pass if you want to check out Blue Mountain this season.

if you’re cool, it’s a good scene.

[cwolman74]

Thanks for all the replies!  No love for Camelback and I am not a fan either but was curious to hear others thoughts.  I am heading up to Sugarloaf next week and will get a Blue pass when I get back.  😄