volklyokel

This is my last report from Blue Knob for this year. Today was a repeat of yesterday, just busier. It seems that lots of people decided to get an early start on the Prez Day weekend, so there were more teens and families out there today. Even with the extra folks, running two chairs (expressway triple and Rt 66 double) kept lift lines to a minimum. The longest line I encountered was with a half a dozen boarders all yakking it up--I simply scooted around them and they didn't even notice. Conditions were the same as yesterday, packed powder all around. Some trails had wind-blown powder stashes hidden in the corners. I basically ran the same runs as yesterday including at least six runs down Deer Run which was smooth and fast for working the ski edges. No photos today as they would have looked almost like yesterday's, except that there might've been a person or two going down the runs this time. It was a tad bit colder today and I didn't want to expose my fingers to operate the camera. Clouds were blowing through real fast. You start a run in the sunshine, where every lump and bump would show, and then part way down, a cloud would come through and you'd have totally flat lighting and you'd kind of have to feel your way through the terrain variations. So, four days and eighty bucks later, Blue Knob is definitely worth the price. Where else can you ski for $20 per day? Hope to get back next year, during yet another awesome snow-event weather week. Next series of trip reports will be in early March from the Wasatch Front.

n0x, I saw nothing about demo day, unless they set-up later in the day or were over by the rental center. If they had a demo day, it sure wasn't very well marketed on site.

Did you notice how few people there are on the slopes? Weekdays are awesome here. No lines for the lifts or at the bar.

Today was sweet! Cold as a son of a gun, but sweet. A good amount got groomed last night, so everything was "packed powder." Made riding down effortless. I arrived around 9:45 with the temp at 2 above. Fortunately the wind wasn't near as bad as it can be up there. With the morning sunshine, you could make about 6 or 7 runs before getting so cold that you had to go in. I hit all the blues and all the single blacks, racking up 15 runs for the day. Made my first trek, in a couple of years, down Lower High Hopes. Much easier than I remembered it, so maybe I'm a little better skier than I was a couple years ago. Made lots of runs down Deer Run which was wide open and with good edge grip. Jack Rabbit was simply a blast. Here are a variety of photos. Had to take my right glove off to take a shot, so I didn't take too many. Deer Run (Blue, looking down, from top of steep section) Deer Run (looking up as skiers coming down) Extrovert looking down (one of the steepest runs in PA) Extrovert looking up (Double Black Diamond) Lower High Hopes (under the chairs - the direction I went) Stembogen Bowl (with a couple of skiers heading down) Stembogen Bowl (a few seconds later) Last day is tomorrow. But I've had a great time here. No complaints. Tomorrow's report probably won't get posted until Saturday, since I have to drive back home. Thanks for reading and looking at the photos.

What a weird weather day. Got there and was among the first to head down the hill at 9. Had to wait for the lift ops to clear snow from the bottom loading zone. At 9am, the temps were about 23 degrees with freezing rain (yes, you CAN have freezing rain well below the freezing point). I was having to clear my goggles of their frozen glaze on my first run down. Within 15 minutes it switched to a nice heavy snow. 30 minutes later we had ice pellets falling from the sky, then back to a nice light and fluffy snow 15 minutes after that! The light snow flurries lasted for a good couple of hours, maybe adding another inch. Then the low pressure went around us and man did it begin to blow. I left about 1:30 and the temps had made a nosedive to 11 degrees. Tomorrow's going to be a bitch with cold temps and wind. Today's 13 runs and 11,000+ feet puts me above 100,000 for the season (still less than 10% of Doug's pace!) The skiing was pretty decent for the most part. All the green runs had been groomed as well as a few of the blue runs. But some of the harder blues were left ungroomed, mainly because the resort was claiming it was a "powder day." With a 1/16 to 1/8 inch crust on everything, I'd hardly call it a powder day. People did well off piste and on the ungroomed stuff if they were good at skiing crud. By 10, the grooming team realized it was more dangerous than fun, and began to groom parts of the remaining blue and single black runs. I met up with n0xidee around 10, made runs with him down Mambo, Jack Rabbit, Deer Run and Stembogen. Nice guy. More than half my age, but I had fun meeting him and trying to keep up. n0x, did you try Edge Set? What did you think? Here are today's pics: A couple of Boarders coming down Jack Rabbit One of the Boarders face plants and waves (at the same time) n0xidee at the top of the steep section on Upper Rt. 66 n0xidee part way down the same steep section n0xidee passing me and flashing that famous red backpack More tomorrow. Maybe a little sunshine would help too, for the photos.

I can't answer that question since I've never skied either of those places. But that's fine with me if you'd rather head north, than west. Blue Knob is Central PA's best kept secret. And I don't mind it staying empty. Its one of the most challenging place to ski on the East Coast, short of Mad River Glen. If you can ski good here, you can ski anywhere! Head down Blue Knob's Extrovert or run the glades and then you'll have the answer to your question. Check it out.

What an adventure! Everything from the drive up, amidst snow, to the amount of powder on the runs themselves, which was about 4 to 8 inches. The groomers left everything alone, which made it perfect. The triple lift was open in the morning, so I made runs down Mambo (warm-up), then Jack Rabbit, Upper Rt 66, Upper Shortway all with various finishes to get back to the bottom of the triple. After a short break, the turned off the triple and started the Rt. 66 double lift from the bottom. That allowed for a couple of nice runs on Stembogen and one run on Edgeset before finishing the day with a lazy ride down Mambo. Damn, I did too much skiing at Whitetail yesterday. Oh well, if it keeps snowing all night long, tomorrow could be epic up there. Powder was almost the champaign variety, but had a bit too much moisture in it to be truly champaign. Nonetheless it was at least 5 inches across everything and some corners had about 10 inches that had blown in. Very fun to find those and with so few people on the Mountain today, it was easy to make first tracks in the corners even in the early afternoon. A nine on a scale of ten kind of day. Pretty hard to beat. But then, there's tomorrow... Pictures... It was snowing like stink for a good part of the day so these photos look dark and dingy... Unidentified skier in powder on Jack Rabbit (near the top of the run) Same guy heading down Jack Rabbit from same vantage point A view of Deer Run, from a point on the lower end of Mambo Alley A view across Stembogen Bowl - drop in anywhere you like. More tomorrow in this same thread. Haven't had dinner yet, Doug, so I don't know what to tell ya! Italian sounds good!

I like the Best Western in Bedford. Easy access to I-99, get off at Osterburg exit, up to Pavia and though the State Park. 30 minutes, maybe. Less than $60 per night, good restaurants near-by and internet access.

Can you believe it, though? Rolling Rock is now brewed in St. Louis, Missouri. The bottle still looks the same, and the beer tastes just the same too. Daily reports from Blue Knob start tomorrow.

Wow. The forum for Whitetail hasn't had any action since my last trip there, a little more than a year ago! Again, I can't help but say how boring most of the blue runs are at Whitetail. Constant pitch for 950 feet of drop. You'll get your exercise, but there just isn't anything to catch your interest. Again, I ran everything but the bumps of Exhibition. The bumps looked weird too, really elongated, but I enjoyed watching people of various abilities make their way down as I rode up, in comfort, on the lift. The snow was strange at Whitetail. A little hard packed and icy on the southernmost blue runs; chunky powder on Angel Drop; and the best version of packed powder on the black runs, notably Drop In, Far Side and Bold Decision. I made four runs each on Far Side and Bold Decision, those being my favorite runs at Whitetail, and basically two runs everywhere else. The best thing about Whitetail is the high-speed lift. You can get some good vert because of that lift. But you'll be bored to tears with the lack of variable pitch. But, as I said last year, its what Mother Nature made on Two Top Mountain. Here are the Photos: A mob scene at the top of Limelight in the morning. Someone heading over the crest of Bold Decision. Skiers heading down the steep of Bold Decision. A nice action shot of someone boogying down Angel Drop. A composite of three photos of the Expert's Choice Lift base area. More detailed captions are found on each gallery page. Now, for Doug's benefit, my dining experience! I had dinner tonight in Bedford, PA. I highly recommend Ed's Rib Steak at Ed's Steak House, right at the corner where you can catch I-99 on Business US 220. Baked potato, dish of Apple Sauce and a couple of Rolling Rocks just are perfect for that Central PA cuisine! I know I'll go faster down hill tomorrow! Cheers!

I agree with n0xidee's report. I consider Blue Knob to offer the most difficult terrain in the state, but that's why I love it. The lifts are crazy-slow and the lodge is really campy (and its at the top of the Mtn.). You might want to check out my photos from last year: http://www.pbase.com/macpurity/bk_0506 I am skiing there over the next four days (Tues thru Friday) and I will be giving ski-day reports, complete with photos. So check back this week for the latest info.

Sounds great, Brian. I'll look for you on Wednesday, presuming I can get up there in my foo-foo VW Passat. I usually come up from the Pavia/State Park side and the switchbacks can be a bear. But with new 10-rated tires for snow, I hope to not have trouble. Just wish I had 4WD, otherwise, I'll drive around the Mtn and come up the same way the folks from Altoona go. I'll be skiing at Blue Knob all the way through Friday, given the snow report. Sorry about the 'puter crash.

The models shifted everything to the north, quite a bit today. The forecast for Blue Knob still looks sweet. Hate to say this again, but I really do seem to know what week to pick for my east-coast ski week... Highs around 20 on Tuesday mean NO RAIN AND ALL SNOW! Plus Blue Knob is always c-c-c-cold compared to the valleys of Bedford and Blair Counties. I hope we get a foot or more! Pow in the glades - yippee! This is the NOAA forecast for Bedford and Blair Counties, issued Sunday afternoon. 350 PM EST SUN FEB 11 2007 ...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM TUESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON... .TONIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY. LOWS AROUND 15. WEST WINDS 5 TO 10 MPH. .MONDAY...CLOUDY WITH SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS...ESPECIALLY IN THE AFTERNOON. HIGHS IN THE MID 30S. WEST WINDS 5 TO 10 MPH. CHANCE OF SNOW 50 PERCENT. .MONDAY NIGHT...CLOUDY WITH A 50 PERCENT CHANCE OF SNOW. LOWS AROUND 15. NORTH WINDS 5 TO 10 MPH. .TUESDAY...A STEADY SNOW DEVELOPING. MODERATE ACCUMULATION. MUCH COLDER WITH HIGHS AROUND 20. NORTHEAST WINDS 5 TO 10 MPH. CHANCE OF SNOW NEAR 100 PERCENT. .TUESDAY NIGHT...SNOW...MAY BE HEAVY AT TIMES. ADDITIONAL HEAVY ACCUMULATION. LOWS AROUND 10. NORTHEAST WINDS 5 TO 10 MPH. CHANCE OF SNOW NEAR 100 PERCENT. .WEDNESDAY...MOSTLY CLOUDY. SNOW LIKELY IN THE MORNING...TAPERING TO JUST A CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON. SNOW MAY BE HEAVY AT TIMES IN THE MORNING. ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATION POSSIBLE. HIGHS IN THE MID 20S. CHANCE OF SNOW 70 PERCENT.

I'll be posting reports/photos from The Knob starting Tuesday. I should have a report and photos from a visit to Whitetail on Monday. Going to stop at WT on the way over. n0xidee, you going to be around? I know it's all weekdays. Prob tough for you to get down there. I'll be there from opening (9am) until the dreaded school buses start to pull in (usually 3:30). Look for the guy on the right of this photo.

The reports keep getting better and better down here in MD. Not sure how far north this is going to go... C'mon snow gods! I'm going to be at Blue Knob next week and I want to hit the glades!

I know there are a few here who fear jinxing, simply by talking about snow possibilities. But for the past four seasons, I've always chosen THE week to take off for my east-coast ski tour and have always had great skiing. This is THE week coming up, so we'll see. I also expect a turn around in precip out west before I head out in early March.

The rumors were flying around the office, today, that long range weather models were predicting a 6" to 20" snow event early next week. Anyone else heard anything about it? NOAA gives 50% chance for snow starting Monday night and lasting for at least 24 hours. It sounds like a classic mid-Atlantic storm, because the mid-west NOAA forecasts don't even mention snow. With the cold temps, this could be really awesome, if it's true. And I'm taking the week off! Whitetail on Monday, 2/12. Blue Knob Tues thru Thurs. Whitetail (or Roundtop) on Friday (2/16). Come on snow gods. You can do this!!!

Hmmm. Keep the reports coming. I was thinking of spending three days at the Knob, Tuesday through Thursday, 2/13-2/15. I am glad to see that they have 34 trails open. I hope they'll blow some between now and then, but my skis grip pretty well on the hard pack. I'm ready for some challenges. Also, maybe some natural snow will be coming our way too. Can always hope for that.

Crap! I'm still only at 4.8% of Doug's vert. But I'm catching up. With the slow start of this season, I'll be lucky to break a quarter of a million feet. I almost made 14k yesterday, but I got tired of riding lifts after 26 runs! I have an east-coast ski week coming up in one more week, and then a week out in Utah in early March. I'll break 100k this season pretty soon. Sounds like a great day at Blue. I died laughing about the MarkyMilly sighting, and being P.Oed about not making the database! Actually, you guys did it right. Skimming in, right under the database. You made an impression, though, if he remembered writing you up last year! Hopefully he'll warm up a little and realize you guys are "cool locals. At Roundtop, the patrolers are pretty chummy - I like riding up the lifts with them. Also, at Roundtop, the guys who is the lift manager is really cool. Friday morning, the Minuteman lift was going to be delayed opening by a few minutes (needed snow coverage at the drop off, up top), and he pointed us over to the Ramrod triple so that we could get first tracks. Very cool.

I was at Roundtop yesterday (Friday) and Exhibition was really fast (without a course on it). My Suunto read nearly 700 FPM (vert only) on one GS-type run I made. The snow is definitely the best I've seen this year and I've always believed the RT snow making and grooming crew to be among the best in PA. Glad you had a good time and good luck tomorrow.

Yep. Sounds pretty typical. You're almost certain to get a blue knob there, indeed. Stembogen is groomed from time to time, but it can sometimes be a real interesting ride down. Some days I've been on it, it has seemed like a hard blue. Other days, more like double black. Lot of variability there. And yeah, getting to it can be a bit of a hustle. If you start from the top of the mountain, you have to carry a lot of steam as you ride under the lift, on the lower end of Upper Rt. 66. A better way to get there, is to drop off at the mid station on the pokey-as-hell Route 66 lift and angle over to Stembogen from there. The bowl is best after some serious natural snow dumps; its more difficult if you choose to drop-in right away, and easier if you mosey down the track further. You gotta try Deer Run, whenever they're able to get that open. Its the steepest blue-rated run I know of in all of PA. Jack Rabbit is always a kick, I love the variable pitch on that run. Mambo is a nice run, but its just long and kind of boring. Expressway is a lot of fun, but the criss-crossing of trails (notably with Mambo) can be dicey, especially when predicting where the beginners are going to go. If you're good at quick turns, Lower High Hopes is really good too, but pick it up from the mid-level station.

Joe, the snow makers are doing a great job bringing the mountain alive in such short order. I'll be there Friday, 1/26.

Blue Knob is one of my favorite places to go in PA, especially after a series of natural snow dumps. Because of its elevation (3125' above sea level), it gets hit by lake effect snows and, in good years, the glade skiing is the best in PA and ranks with Mad River Glen, VT. But it can be very cold and windy up there, so be ready. You are absolutely right in saying that the lifts are slow. I keep hoping that, someday, the resort would replace the Route 66 and High Hopes lifts with a high-speed detachable quad. It would be expensive, but I think it could put Blue Knob on the map as being one of the best places to ski in PA. (And then there's the lodge. Ugh.) Blue Knob is for die-hard skiers/boarders. Stembogen Bowl is unlike anything in PA. The vert for the lifts are something like this: Route 66/High Hopes lifts: 1034' (bottom to top) Expressway lift: 755' Beginner's lift: 140' (talk about a ridiculously slow lift!) Go back when things are really open. Deer Run (rated blue) is among the steepest blues I know of. I've never tried Extrovert (double black) and I've seen tons of people take some nasty falls on it, and only a handful run it and make it look easy. It is nearly the steepest run in PA and it will develop moguls the size of VW bugs. Blue Knob's motto: Ski good or eat wood, is very true. Make a return trip when things are really cranking there. You'll love it!

For $200? Somebody will want them. They're sweet skis and that's a great price. I have the P50's from the year before and they are awesome for making fast tracks down the hill.

I will continue the tradition of photo-documenting my trips. Here are a couple of fairly boring shots from the first day out at Roundtop. Top of Minuteman Run Minuteman "Headwall" And a hippie college ID card for your entertainment, Doug. Fresno is right down the road from Yosemite. Click where it says "original" to see the photos in their largest sizes.