Pa. suggestions

[JimmyPete]

looking for suggestions as to Pocono skiing. I do some Western and Vt. skiing and can play hooky some days during the week. live in North Jersey close to 80. I like Hunter during the week, Belleayre on weekend for a day trip but sometimes the two hour drive gets alittle tough. Don't like Mountain Creek and most of Pa is about an hour drive. What are they like generally and how crowded if we wanted to do a Sat or Sunday morning???

 

[tomcat]

I grew up in PA and have been to many areas in the Poconos. Most of the areas are crowded on the weekends. To avoid the crowds ski evenings. Most of them have 100% night skiing. I always liked Blue Mountain. It has the highest vert in the state and a decent mix of trails. It's the closest to Philly in the Poconos so it was usually busy but they now have a 6pack in addition to the high speed quad so that probably helped alleviate the crowding. Shawnee is the closest to I 80 and Jersey but I was never impressed with the trails and it seemed to be busy as it's a quick shot from NYC. Camelback would be my second choice. If i remeber right 800ish vert, with the most trails in the Poconos. The trails had a decent mix of terrain and its an easy shot from I80. If you want to avoid the crowds, try Elk Mtn. It's a bit of a drive but the least crowded. It's also higher elevation and further north so it gets more natural snow. Jack Frost is an easy shot from I 80 and decent terrain. Big Boulder is right down the road from Jack Frost but isn't worth it to me. Vert is under 500' and there is no night skiing. I've never been to Montage (I think it's called Mt. Sno now?) but my friends said it had decent challenging trails and nearly 1000' of vertical.

My recommendation would be Blue Mtn followed by Camelback, then Jack Frost. If you are up for the drive and its been snowy or you are really hellbent on missing the crowds, head to Elk. I would avoid Shawnee unless you can get a discounted ticket.
Hope this helps.

 

[gorgonzola]

tc's spot on, due to the proximity of the large population centers theyre all pretty much a zoo on the weekends. i ski blue and only ski early morning / late afternoon on weekends. blue has best terrain followed by camelback, big boulder/jf has the better snow but limted terrain - just too damn small. i don't ski elk but dont really consider it pokey's, if i'm gonna travel that far i just keep going....

 

[4aprice]

Be interested to know where in NNJ. I live in Lake Hopatcong very close to 80. I'm a pass holder at Camelback. It's a 45 minute trip from my area to CBK, just over an hour to Blue (more due to back roads then distance).

Both areas have plusses and minus's. Blue has more vert, Camelback is higher in elevation and IMO does better on snow. If your looking for cruisers right now Camelback is in excellent shape and should be 100% open sometime this week. For bumps you're going to have to go to Blue right now.(I'm going to hit it one day this week). Camelback will put up bumps after the holidays.

From your OP I take it your looking to hit the Pokes on weekdays. Camelback is like a private club on weekday mornings and I would imagine Blue is too. My suggestion for any weekend between Christmas and Presidents Day is to get there when the lifts open ski like hell until the mobs crowd you out. After Presidents day the crowds are gone and snow stays great through March. Follow the TR reports, I will be giving them periodically for Camelback and The "Blue Crue" is very active on this board.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

 

[KevinS]

I used to live on 80 (Parsippany).

For the weekdays
1) Camelback (shortest drive, good trails, high speed lifts
2) Blue (longer drive, decent trails, excellent lifts)

On the weekends
1) Jack Frost (great trails on east mountain, good snowmaking)
2) Elk (longer drive, but low crowds, good place to ski)
3) Sno (longer drive, but low crowds, good snowmaking)

On the weekends I'd avoid Blue and Camelback. Boulder and Shawnee aren't really worth skiing in my opinion unless you are into park (boulder) or are learning (shawnee)

 

[RootDKJ]

Camelback is loads of fun, but the runs are just too short. If you're going mid-week, I'd say take the extra drive and give Blue a try. I was there last Tuesday morning, and there was maybe 40 people out, tops.

If you were planning to go to Blue on a weekend, save your self the aggravation, get there stupid early and buy a morning only ticket.

 

[trackbiker]

Elk is an extra hour drive past Camelback and about a half hour farther than Blue for you but worth it any day of the week. Try all three and let us know what you think.

 

[〽❄❅]

Yes, i agree with whats been said.
I grew up in Philly and at 17 when i was allowed to drive to the Poconos found Elk during a outing to Camelback after arriving at I 80 to rain and hearing of snow further north. I never looked back, Elk is my first choice in Pa. It's further but worth it and i've been known to give up on my friends and go it alone for the day.

 

[jaywbigred]

Be interested to know where in NNJ. I live in Lake Hopatcong very close to 80. I'm a pass holder at Camelback. It's a 45 minute trip from my area to CBK, just over an hour to Blue (more due to back roads then distance).

Both areas have plusses and minus's. Blue has more vert, Camelback is higher in elevation and IMO does better on snow. If your looking for cruisers right now Camelback is in excellent shape and should be 100% open sometime this week. For bumps you're going to have to go to Blue right now.(I'm going to hit it one day this week). Camelback will put up bumps after the holidays.

From your OP I take it your looking to hit the Pokes on weekdays. Camelback is like a private club on weekday mornings and I would imagine Blue is too. My suggestion for any weekend between Christmas and Presidents Day is to get there when the lifts open ski like hell until the mobs crowd you out. After Presidents day the crowds are gone and snow stays great through March. Follow the TR reports, I will be giving them periodically for Camelback and The "Blue Crue" is very active on this board.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

Alex...did you ever get any feedback from the powers that be regarding seeding bumps at Cback on one of the "main face" trails? I was thinking this weekend, I'd take them on ANY night skiing trail, for that matter.

 

[JimmyPete]

Pa. Suggestions

Got fair amount of feedback. Will say this if I have a weekday generally will try to make Hunter. Hunter has some great trails and they can be long and tough [some too tough for me] runs. It has a bad rep because it is a zoo on the weekend. Belleayre is pretty good on the weekend but it is no longer the best kept secret it used to be and is getting progressively more crowded. If Blue has a morning ticket and doesn't get to nuts on Sat or Sunday till about 11am may try it. Thanks guys

 

[4aprice]

Alex...did you ever get any feedback from the powers that be regarding seeding bumps at Cback on one of the "main face" trails? I was thinking this weekend, I'd take them on ANY night skiing trail, for that matter.

Jay: See my TR Camelback 12/21/10 - Something New. They are open at night.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

 

[Anklebiter]

Be interested to know where in NNJ. I live in Lake Hopatcong very close to 80. I'm a pass holder at Camelback. It's a 45 minute trip from my area to CBK, just over an hour to Blue (more due to back roads then distance).

Both areas have plusses and minus's. Blue has more vert, Camelback is higher in elevation and IMO does better on snow. If your looking for cruisers right now Camelback is in excellent shape and should be 100% open sometime this week. For bumps you're going to have to go to Blue right now.(I'm going to hit it one day this week). Camelback will put up bumps after the holidays.

From your OP I take it your looking to hit the Pokes on weekdays. Camelback is like a private club on weekday mornings and I would imagine Blue is too. My suggestion for any weekend between Christmas and Presidents Day is to get there when the lifts open ski like hell until the mobs crowd you out. After Presidents day the crowds are gone and snow stays great through March. Follow the TR reports, I will be giving them periodically for Camelback and The "Blue Crue" is very active on this board.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

Blue during the week is pretty much empty, until the evening.