Mess

I need to get to Blue sometime to meet everyone in person.

Great and much needed family ski trio to Elk. We have not had much chance to get away so we decided to get an airbnb cabin 5 minutes from the mountain and get a weekday ski in. It is getting tough to get out and expensive with all 5 of us skiing. Sunday was a great day. A few flurries and some squalls made it feel like midwinter skiing.We spent most of day 1 on East/West Meadow and Tioga to get the kids(7, and 10 year old) more comfortable. We ate in the Winter Garden restaurant. Shared nachos, wife and son shared asian chicken, little guys had chicken tenders and chicken noodle soup. Everything was pretty good and not too expensive. Toward the end of the day we were lapping Mahican to Lenape. I really enjoy that trail because of the tree and views actually remind me of a trail in Vermont. Snow was pretty good, some sugar, some mashed potatoes. We headed to our cabin which was pretty nice and had a wood stove to warmup. I went to a Cable's market to pick up pizzas and baked goods for the kids. Monday was even better. Woke up and headed back to Cable's for coffee, Breakfast sandwiches and muffins. Arrived at Mountain around 10:00. No crowds really helped with the kids confidence. We jumped on the quad from our car and started the day on Mahican/Lenape. Snow was perfectly groomed. It was a bluebird day and cold so the snow was fast. We started hitting all of the blue trails the rest of the day. The kids loved kickapoo and handled all of the turns really well. We then went to Wissahickon which was steeper then i thought but kids enjoyed it and wanted to do it multiple times. We went to lodge for a break/lunch and then hit Delaware. My wife and the younger 2 hung at the lodge so my 13 yo and I could hit Susquehanna. My son ripped down the trail, I was going pretty fast also but he smoked me. He was waiting near the lift and when I got there he said, "I have been waiting a while, Slow poke." The rest of the day was spent lapping the blue trails near the quad. I took one run Tecumseh to see if my daughter could handle it(she probably could have) but no reason to risk ruining her confidence after 2 great days.

Thanks been a tough year for skiing with all 3 kids and all of the restrictions. Finally got out with them MLK weekend at JF and BB. BB was a shit show at night. Scary skiing with my little ones and so many bad skiers. It is dangerous.

I usually go on one trip a year with my family to New York or Vermont. We did not get a trip in last year. With covid travel restrictions to New York and Vermont I am most likely not going agin this year. Are people following the quarantine guidelines before going to other states to ski? Would a trip to Seven Springs or Blue Knob be worth the drive for an overnight stay or better off just skiing local this year?

Checking your skis count as 1 of your bags? Southwest gives 2 bags free

Do you rent skis when you fly?

I found some inexpensive flights to Denver. Trip would be Saturday -Wednesday. We would ski Sunday, Monday Tuesday. It will most likely be me and the wife. She will most likely be skiing Blues and Greens. Any suggestions on which Mountain to visit. I have been looking at Loveland.

Was planning on going to Montage tomorrow but hesitant after all of the rain. Any thoughts on conditions?

A few years ago I was able to get $25 lift tickets through cbs local deals. It was worth driving the extra 30 minutes for that rate. The most I would be willing to pay at Montage is about $40. It is great for low crowds and a great place for the kids to learn but only if the price is right.

I like JF too but hoping they have single day lift tickets. Son is a good skier daughter learning. She is going to get 4th grade free ski pass

$165 at Blue for 3 pack. Although I just chatted with someone at blue and they are going to have $49 single lift ticket

I like bringing my kids to Montage but will probably not be happening this year. The Montage Triple Ticket is $179 for the extended ticket. Which is about $60 a ticket. Their Open to 4 pm ticket regularly costs $58. Not much of a deal for me. JF is $159 for 3 pack. Camelback and Shawnee have 3 packs for $129. Looks like I will be going here.

Different vibe today. There were races going on and with weekend skiers much more crowded but still light compared to trips to Vermont. We still never really waited in line more than 2 minutes and that was because gondola was on wind hold. It was cold and windy all day. Best snow was found on North side so we lapped a few trails all day. The main green down the mountain was a sheet of ice. I have never seen anything that bad in my life. We had a great day overall. Still found great snow on the sides of the trails. Was disappointed that they did not open the high peak quad because there were probably tons of untouched snow from yesterday. I have some video of all of us skiing but need to figure out how to post it. Last run of the day was sketchy up top on sunway trail(glacial ice 40 yards across and 200 yards down the trail). Skiers left was the only safe way down and was Iy about 10 yards wide. We jumped onto showcase which had much better snow and decided to call it a season. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ha. She took some pictures but they are on her phone. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Arrived at Gore around 9:15. Ride from Lake George was a little dicey with the snow but not horrible. Saw a fender bender and got delayed by a tow truck flipping over and towing away a Subaru that was stuck in a ditch. Mountain was pretty empty again. Got at least 4 inches with more snow at the top of gondola. Continued to snow on the upper half the entire day. Might have been the best skiing that I have experienced. Tons of untouched powder and then choppy but fun snow on most trails as day progressed. Spent most of the day on the intermediate trails next to saddle lodge. Really enjoyed powder pass today. Lots of soft bumps and challenging for all of us. Awesome day and legs are burning. Last run was interesting we started in a nice snow storm and great conditions but about 2/3rd way down it got slushy and we could see bAre spots. It was rAining at the lodge. Hoping for another good day tomorrow it we got spoiled today. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Awesome day. Skied from 8:45-3:30. Really fun mountain. Son loved riding gondola for first time. Pretty good conditions although some big slush/ice spots on certain trails. A few trails were fast hard back and some were groomed perfect. A lot of varied conditions. Mash potatoes towArd end of day. Mountain was empty except for a few people and would have been even less people except there was a race. Talked to a lady with a BMR coat on. Her daughter was racing. Spent most of day on intermediate trails. Sleeping bear was the run of the day(snow was groomed perfectly with no ice). The only diamonds that I did were Fairview and Uncas. Not to challenging but a little technical with icy spots. I really liked the mountain and look forward to 10 inches of snow tonight/tomorrow. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Might be a dumb question but is mountain high enough that could have snow at summit with rain at base. Happened 1 time i was at Killington on Skyeship gondola it was Misty at bottom of mountain and wasn't we broke through the clouds/fog sunny on top half.

After all of the questions and advice, we decided to go to Gore this week, Looks like weather good overall with expected 1-3 inches on Thursday night and Friday 1-3 inches. Wednesday might be a little messy. Found a decent deal at Wyndam Lake George and the lift tickets were very reasonable for 3 day ticket. Looking forward to exploring this mountain. If we like it we will probably go again next year since 4th graders ski for free in New York.

Are most of the Intermediates groomed? Intermediates similar to Pocono Diamonds?

My wife and son are going with me. My wife generally can ski any intermediate trail at Mount Snow/Could probably do any groomed diamond trail but does not like to push herself. 12 year old son can ski all groomed trails and some bumps(more advanced than wife). I prefer to stay away from bumps. I really need to get a lesson. We have skied Mount Snow, Okemo, Bromley, Stratton, Killington and Pico for about the last 10 years. I only get to do the diamonds when wife is taking a break in Lodge. We always look forward to one trip to Vermont. Love the atmosphere. Thanks

Latest Plan is to Ski Mt. Ellen next Thursday $30 ticket, MRG Friday then Pico Saturday. Is it worth paying full price $71to ski all Sugarbush or will Mt Ellen be enough for Intermediates and beginner trails for Family?