sigmapete1

I have never been to Elk but am looking for an alternative to Camelback and Shawnee for this weekend. I have a few questions for those Elk regulars on here: 1) How bad do you expect the crowds to be this Saturday (MLK Weekend)? I know Camelback has huge crowds but they also have 33 trails open and more lifts. 2) The Elk website says most of their trails are currently closed. Does anyone know if they expect to have them ready for the weekend? 3) I am taking my beginner skiier girlfriend for her second time out and buying her a lesson. Does anyone know a good instructor I can request for a private lesson? 4) Is the mountain beginner friendly? Any help with these questions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Are the crowds really gonna be THAT bad this weekend? How long do the lift lines get? I am not that familiar with CB...I usually confine my skiing to weekends in VT. I would consider Sno Mt. but it looks like more than half their trails are closed right now. I'd rather wait in lines for a mountain with all their trails opened.

Do you expect less of a crowd at Sno than CB? I figured everywhere would be jammed this weekend and CB is 30 min closer. But I would go the extra 30 min for less crowd and a better instructor for her. She's at the point right now where she really had fun last time but one bad experience might turn her off to the sport so maybe a less crowded mountain would be better. Plus I probably could use a lesson myself to get to the next level. Because while I am a halfway decent skiier, I am in no way qualified to teach her and would probably give her all my bad habits. Plus I've seen too many times an instructor being followed down the hill by 10 or so beginners who can hardly even hear what they are saying. I am sure the instructor is fully capable of group teaching but a one on one lesson is well worth the increased cost in my opinion. Especially on such a crowded weekend where class sizes are sure to be at their maximum.

I am taking my girlfriend to Camelback this Saturday for her 2nd day of skiing. Last time she did quite well for her first day ever on skis. She was able to link turns on the beginner trail by using a snowplough to initiate the turns but skiied parallel between turns. She enjoyed it a lot and we got her a seasonal equipment rental because she wants to go often this winter. She wants to be ready for the trip to Okemo that me and my friends take every year. I have convinced her that the best next step would be to take a private lesson. She is excited to learn but very very timid and scared still. Can anyone offer any advice on getting her a good instructor at Camelback, PA? If you could recommend specific individuals, that would be great... but any advice on what to ask them about when scheduling the lesson would be very helpful.