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Make it a Wild Wednesday, and I'll get you a voucher for a $20. lift ticket (2010-11 prices), and I'll also introduce you to some of my "salty" drinking buds. Even invite you back to TLCITW for an evening meal. Wednesdays are so empty, it's like we own the mountain.

Every Thursday all Summer a large crowd gathers to hear some great tunes on the deck at the Stonebridge Inn. Ah, the infamous Chet's corner (straight ahead is Chet's Place), now there's a HUGE yellow arrow pointing directly to Elk. This corner can get very slick and is canted to take the unsuspecting driver directly into the field.

I spent a week at TLCITW (the little cabin in the woods) last week, doing a little maintenance, playing some golf, drinking beer, listening to some rythm and blues on the Stonebridge deck and talking to some locals. Locals said Elk spent a fair amount of $$$ updating the "halfway house" (picnic hut), did more improvements on the snowmaking in spots, widened and removed trees on the "west Indian" trails,(as previously discussed) and filled with new pine trees. Penndot also did a fine job of repaving the road from Idlewild ski shop all the way past the Elk parking lot. Beware though, the road is now heavily patrolled by Clifford Twp and State Troopers.

I spent a week there early March, That is Mammoth and June.

What a great day! Conditions were almost mid-January great. Temp was 17* with a moderate breeze when Capt Dave and I hit the slopes. Conditions firm and fast with no ice, except in the bump runs. Small crowd with only a slight 45sec. backup at the quad for most of the day. Skied West to East on all the trails and didn't find a bad one. Wall to wall coverage on all trails with only one spot on Lower Tunk turning into a bare spot. Conditions softened up a little bit by early afternoon and many took advantage of the softer snow on the bump trails. After a three beer break at the bar I went back out again and ended the day with 20 runs, not bad for a 60 year old phart, if I do say so myself. I saw many of the regular pass holders but, there were a lot of "tourists" with fresh passes hanging on their coats too. I went into lodge at the end of the day to change into my shoes, and another old guy said: "I didn't see anybody come in here without a smile on their face." Pretty well summed up the day and the season for me too. I tallied up my time at Elk this year, and I totaled 32 days ($22.35 per lift ticket and about $1000. per day in fun!).

Web Site says they'll be open...See you there on Sat.

Spring carnival Sat was very quiet. All the regulars and mgmt. thought it was the least attended of the past few years. There's still plenty of snow and the conditions were real decent. Hero snow most of the day until the bottoms of mountain near the lifts got mashed potatoeee. They even blew snow Sat night to provide some better conditions at the B and C lifts on Sunday. They got their guaranteed 100 days in with Sun being either day 102 or 103. Hopefully they'll open this Fri and Sat. Season pass holders from other mtns will be able to show their passes and get a $20 lift ticket. Check Elk's website on Wed to see if they will be open....

Glad you enjoyed Elk Root. Sorry I didn't get to meet you. It was your rib TR pictures that got me hooked on an Orion, I now have one at home and at the cabin at Elk. The bus trip looks like lots of fun. Next time back give me a shout and we'll take some runs together. Herm and I are non-stoppers. Was that your first time there?

Sat morn woke up to another inch or two of wet snow. Went to mtn around 9:00, crowded with weekend races on Slalom. Top of mtn shrouded in freezing mist and fog. Took four runs before the change-over to freezing rain and rain. Snow was pretty decent, soft without too much ice. The lots were full but most people were in the lodge and bar, only the intellectually challenged and racers and officials were on the slopes. Sun morn temps were around 27, cloudy, but no precip in the air. Flat light but no fog. Racers were again doing their thing on Slalom. Snow was firm and icy spots developed as the day went on. Slopes were uncrowded with nary a lift line. As morning tickets expired at 12:30 it was basically ski up and sit down. Sun shown by early afternoon and snow really softened up to almost spring-like, there were a lot of icy spots emerging as the day progressed. Probaly the worst weekend conditions of the season so far. BUT the beer was cold, and our seats at the bar still fit

Also, if you buy a case of Coors light at the local beer outlets, you should see a coupon for a $20 lift ticket attached. Good on "Wild Wednesdays" through mid-March I believe.

Often the general manager Greg Confer is running a groomer, I don't think you'll be able to persuade him to leave. Another operator is the head of mtn maintenance and has been there a looooong time. He's not leaving anytime soon either. They are really and truly expert operators of some great up to date equiptment. Binghamton weatherman was saying this morning, lows on Monday should hit -15 to -20. The trails should be real empty then.

On mtn around 10:15AM, very slow start as BS was thrown until 2:00AM. We were pleasently surprised by the conditions. Packed powder with a dusting of fresh on the groomed trails. No ice or hard pack as expected. The mogul trails were different however, ungroomed they were coated with about 1.5" of crusty, crunchy, somewhat icy snow. The real challenge was the spooky movie fog blanketing the top 1/3rd of the mtn. One run you couldn't see 40' in front of you and the next run the fog would let up and visibility wasn't too bad. By 2:00pm the fog had lifted completely. There were 2 buses, one from the Huntington Valley ski club and another one filled with dentists who make an annual trip to Elk. No lift lines all day.

I was up over the weekend. Snow was excellent, three trails were allowed to bump up. Crowds were pretty big, both days the overflow lot was almost at capacity. Lines weren't all that bad, 5-10 mins unless you were trying out the singles lines. Elk is making $$$ this year, and the staff and management are happy. Sunday was cold and by the afternoon the lines were pretty small. I'm going up tonight and will give a follow up on conditions.

volunteer to run it and I bet you'd get a season pass..

Winterfest is usually a very good day at Elk. Lot's of Demo's set up by the picnic hut. A band in the bar later on in the afternoon, and I heard they are expecting a pretty good crowd. I also think they are setting up a women's day clinic on Friday. The skiing today was great, all trails open except upper Seneca and Lehigh. A light dusting of fresh snow and a small Wed crowd. No lift lines to speak of, just up and down nonstop all morning. And the sun was shining almost all day, a little breezy. The bumps are building on Tunk, with some ice in the troughs.

Hey Mike---don't forget Elk. "It's like skiing in VT, without the drive" THANKS!

Here's another tip or two, I would not boot up in the parking lot if you don't have a lot of stuff to drag. After getting off the Elk Wagon, the lodge is only a short walk away, you'll pass the ticket window and at 8:00 you shouldn't have a line. So, get your tickets then boot up at your leisure. Also, if you want some breakfast or coffee etc. the cafeteria serves some good stuff cheap.

That's a good question, but it should be running by 8 when you get there. The mtn opens for skiing at 8:30 and it runs for the employees who don't have parking passes, many of whom start work before 8:00.

Well that's the way I remembered the story at the time. This was probably about 7-8 yrs ago. Sorry if I got it wrong.

My seat will not be occupied be me, gotta work But it will probably be occupied by a couple of my friends who are there this weekend for New Years Eve. This(holiday)week you'll have to take the Elk Wagon, security is only allowing pass holders into the upper parking lots. Oops, I was thinking your were going up today..I will be there tomorrow, but will probably be at TLCITW watching the PSU game after 1:00.

As I understand it, JH doesn't have it's own control tower. I believe they are controlled out of SLC. The day we landed there we were in a long holding delay, until the pilot could see well enough for a visual landing. We were the last flight in that day. That same day another pilot landed his plane at an agricultural airstrip, in the next valley by mistake, and it remained on the ground for about a week until the plane could be stripped down to make it light enough to take off from the even shorter than JH runway.

Start on the West side (Lenape) then try every trail heading East. Everything is open except Lehigh, which is only open when there is enough natural snow. All the trails are in great shape, and offer a variety of cruisers and more challenging runs. Tree skiing is a definite no-no and your ticket will be pulled if caught. There really isn't enough natural snow anyway. Peace time is wherever you can get off the trails and hide behind a tree or two. Don't miss "the Indians" on the East side (Tuscurora, Iroquois; beginnning to bump up, and Mohawk). Slalom is the site of the race team run and is very good too. The runs on the West side are longer than the East side. Have a Bloody Mary at the bar, Delores makes a great one (although you get olives, not celery). Get there early to beat the crowds, which usually show up around 10:30. Even when crowded the lines shouldn't be too bad.

Elks prices are $48 weekday and $58 weekend and holiday. $42 and $52 tickets are available at some communities recreation departments. Starting next Wednesday, students showing college IDs can get $20 lift tickets. You can also get coupons for $20 lift tickets on cases of Coors Light sold by most local distributors and should be available at the beer store located at exit 206 (the Elk exit) in the Convenient Mart gas station there. These Wild Wednesday savings are available every Wed into March. Lifts are slow, lines are short except on MLK and Presidents weekends for the most part. You obviously haven't skied Elk in a looong time. Their grooming has been rated in the top 10 in the East for the past several years. They really know how, and more importantly when to groom. And they have added several new high-tech groomers in the last several years. BUT keep thinking that way, the regulars would like to keep Elk just the way it is.

Two more trails opened, Iriquois, and Lenape. Guns blazing on all remaining unopened trails; Kickapoo, Tecumsah, Wyalusing, Lackawanna, Tuscorora, and Mohawk. All of them I expect to open this weekend. Top of mtn was covered in rhime ice, really beautiful. Snow was perfect again, no crowds. Light was pretty flat most of the day, although sun peeked out once in awhile. Beer was cold...

I expect the entire mtn to be open by then, with the exception of Lehigh and Upper Seneca. This has definitely been the best snow making weather I've ever experienced at Elk and they are truly blowing around the clock. We can hear the guns at all hours of the night from the cabin, located about a mile away, as the crows fly. We've learned how to minimize the crowds on busy weekends. We'll be sure to start at 8:30 and can get in about 10 runs until the crowds pick up around 10:30. We'll mainly ski the West (quad) side. If the quad gets too busy we'll ski off the double there, it's the fastest lift on the mtn. and doesn't stop as often as the quad. Around 11:00 we'll take a break then go out again around noon as most of the other people take a lunch break. When the crowds come out again around 1:30 we'll call it a day and assume our positions at the bar. We can usually get 15-20 runs in.