Mess

My annual ski trip to Vermont has hit a snag. 10 day weather report showing rain for most of the East Coast. Whiteface is the only mountain showing promise. Might rain one day but figured we could check out olympic village. Any information/suggestions for the area appreciated.

It has been a while since I have been at Shawnee but it was a lot of fun for the family. Rented 80'sat Adventure Sports on the way in for my 5 year old and took advantage of anyone under 46 inches is free. My wife, both sons, daughter and friend arrived at 9:30. Getting our vouchers was a little annoying since their were so many people and seemed like no non had a clue. I brought my 5 year old to the learning slope and spent most of the day with him. It was great to have him there but was a ton of work. I spent most of the day pushing/carryon him up a part of the slope so he could ski about 15-20 feet. My wife and daughter skied a few trails and my son and buddy explored the blue and black trails. I eventually went for a run with my daughter on Lookout to Pennsylvania. Definitley need to get her a lesson since she doesn't turn very much. I only got about 5 runs in but the mountain was fun(spent the rest of the day with son). The runs were fun and seemed longer than Jack Frost. I also liked their high speed quad. I will definitely bring the family again.

Arrived at CBK Lodge Lot at 8:40. On mountain skiing by 9:00. Started on the Stevenson express with no lines. First run was Nile Mile snow was great. Next run was Pocono Raceway even better snow and a fun run. Real wide-open trail to ourselves. I convinced my son to do cliff hanger. He was a little tentative because of his first run on a "double Diamond" this year but managed himself well and wanted to do a second run which was much better. The lift line started to get a little crowded. We did another run on Pocono Raceway and took a look at the new trail scarab which is just a 30 yard connector. We then skied Julius caesar to honeymoon to get to the Sullivan express. We planned to take a break at the upper lodge now Called Kartrites summit house. I always liked taking a break there and having a coffee/hot chocolate. Apparently it is now a little more upscale restaurant and we were told it was closed until 11:00. We went down Rocket to get to the main lodge. Snow was pretty good with soft snow but a few hard pack/ice spots from people using it off earlier. My son made it through the more challenging headwall but ended up falling after hitting a soft snow bump and crossing his tips. He was ok but it aggravated his ankle that that he tweeted yesterday at basketball. It also hurt his confidence. After our break the lines were definitely longer and I found some people doing annoying things like not moving in line when it was there turn to alternate as well as some people not taking turns. At one point I pushed in since a group of guys was not waiting their turn. I ended up falling in the lift line which was crazy and a little embarrassing. I am pretty sure one of the guys behind me either popped me binding or got their ski on top of mine. Either way I have now fallen twice on the season on a bunny hill last week and now the lift line. I am becoming a worst skier as I get older. We ended up skiing King Tut and then we skied Big Pocono. Both were fun runs but my son said his ankle was giving out on him and he didn't want to ski any more steep trails. We finished by skiing Upper Cleopatra/Lower Cleopatra back to CBk/Lodge. My son said he was done and didn't want to push his ankle so we called it a day. We went to Billy's dinner in Tannersville on the way home. Pretty good food and reasonable. Today was my first time at Camelback since the Hotel was opened. I have always skied on Sundays and it was clear that the crowds on the Lift lines arrived earlier then the past. I always felt lifelines got long around 11:00 on Sundays but it happened around 10:00 today. I have 2 more visits this year since I purchased the triple ticket.

Yes. I saw the new sign called Trailside. How was East Mountain? Wanted to take a run down Rivershot but my son didn't want to. He was worried the headwall would be icy.

Finally made it out. Pretty lame that this was the first ski of the year(been busy with kids sports). Arrived around 9:00 with wife, son and 8 year old daughter. Everyone was excited when I fell on Snowflake about 30 seconds into my first run. I was trying to work with my daughter and she zipped off and I turned to yell to the others and crossed my skis. Pretty funny. We skied snowflake, powder puff and frosty as we tried to get my daughter comfortable. She was doing well so we went down Ridge Run and Easy Rider. Went to the lodge to warm up. Important that she has fun so she will continue coming with us. After the break I headed to Exhibition, Thunderbolt and Challenge with my son as my wife stayed on the greens with daughter. A little icy at spots on exhibition and Thunderbolt but still pretty decent conditions. Challenge always seems to have the best snow and was the most fun of the day. We took the lift up East Mountain but got a call from my wife that my daughter was bored and wanted to do some of the other trails. We hit challenge again and went into the glades. Then we went down the terrain park to meet up at a lift with wife and daughter. We ended up doing a run on Janes way. Pretty icy on the headwall but my daughter did well. At this point she was tired so went back in to the lodge and we lapped Challenge a few more times. Overall a great day at the mountain. Lodge was pretty crowded. Headed to Whitehaven diner and Spent $23.00 to feed the whole family.

If I was solo that works out. Problem is wife and 2 kids ski as well. I emailed JF. They said all tickets purchased before Jan. 1 will not be charges a surcharge

I generally ski from open -1:00 at Jack Frost. Even with my discount voucher and surcharge it will be $45.50. It is a longer ride but I can ski Elk for $47.00 from 8:30-12:30. And my kids are actually cheaper there. I will remember this next year.

Pretty confused how they can charge a surcharge on tickets that sold on Cyber Monday. I looked at the voucher and there is no mention of changing the price. I will not pay a surcharge. I wonder if they have been reported to the better business bureau. I really enjoy JF for my kids and we go to Mount Snow almost every year. I will not be going again if this is the way they will be doing business.

Jimminy Peak in the Berkshires has a few Blue diamond trails. https://www.jiminypeak.com/The-Mountain/Mountain-Information/Trail-Map

That is a great deal. Still tough with a family of 5. Although it might be worth getting for just myself and my son.

Shawnee 3 tickets for $109 isn't bad especially since my 5 year old skis for free.

Might take family to Shawnee. $109 for triple ticket transferable and the 5 year old is free.

I am always looking for deals but am a little disappointed this year. Montage now has a transferable triple ticket but it is the same price as Camelback at $129. I really enjoy bringing my family to Montage especially when I was able to get $25 lift tickets or ski the morning ticket about $33. I have trouble justifying driving the further distance for less trails/terrain. Montage is a great family mountain and I wish them the best but will probably be passing this year.

I am looking February/March for the trip.

Belleayre seems to have some good lift prices. Maybe I will hit Windham Friday then ski Belleayre on the weekend. How crowded do they get

Have been looking into doing a few day trip to Catskills. I have my wife(intermediate skier), 11 year old son(pretty good on most trails), 8 year old daughter Beginner and 5year old going. The 2 young ones can ski for free in New York. Leaning towards Belleayre but not sure if it will be good for multiple days. Is Belleayre a good family Mountain? Suggestions or info appreciated

Thank you. I will check it out.

This is going to be a tough year for skiing. My son is now in 6th Grade and my daughter is in 3rd so nobody qualifies for 4th/5th PSSA Ski Pass. On top of that my 5 year old wants to ski this year. Luckily he seems to be free except i will need to rent equipment for him. I always shop for discount lift tickets but are there any ski clubs/passes that will make things more manageable this year? Thanks

Modified Hours were nice too. Opened at 10 closed at 6. I enjoyed sleeping in.

Last ski trip of the year today. Got to bring my 7 year old daughter and my 10 year old son to JF today. Arrived at the mountain at 10:15. Lot was pretty empty and so was the lodge. Threw an edgy-wedgie on the my daughters skis and brought her over to Snowflake, Powder Puff and Frosty. We did each trail about 2 times. My son was being pretty supportive and skiing backwards to help her out. Our last run before the break was down Ridge Runner. She handled the trail well. We went in lodge for hot chocolate and cookies. After our break she wanted to try easy rider. On the lift ride up she wanted to do Lehigh. I was a little worried about the headwall but she had no problem. We took a run down Janes Lane and then back in for a lunch break. We finished the day doing Easy rider so my son could do Spunky's secret. His first run through he was excited to get some air jumping back on the trail. The next time he hit the same jump he fell and hurt his back a little. He was pretty upset to end his year on a fall. I am glad that the kids had a great day and hoping that my daughter will ski more next year. She said, "I want to stay in the hotel next year(Vermont)," so that is a good sign that she like skiing. Snow was still great and decent coverage in the glades. Looked more like January conditions then late March.

Stratton is fun. Depends what you are looking for. I don't think there are many challenging Black Diamonds at Stratton.

No school today so brought my 4 year old for his first ski trip. Signed him up for Snow Monsters and got him to his lesson at 1:00. Mountain was empty. Snow was great, maybe the best I have ever had at JF. First Run was T-bolt and hit a little bit of the glade. Pretty good coverage but some rocks and twigs were coming through. Headed to River Shot then back down Challenge. Hit a little of the bumps on exhibition then it was over to Snow Flake to watch my son's lesson. They do a real nice job at JF. took a few runs down Easy rider and Spunky's secret. Spent rest of the day videoing Brady. He had a very nice instructor named Judy. Probably my last trip of the year but might try to get my daughter out for a trip to Montage next week.

Best conditions that I have ever skied. Skied Mount Snow on Thursday. Snow was perfect all day. Powder and soft bumps. North face was closed because of wind. Skied Bromley on Friday to avoid the $17 lift ticket crowds. Traffic leaving the Snow lake lodge was crazy. It looked like traffic going to the shore. After we passed the Mount snow main entrance it was clear sailing to Bromley. Drove passed Stratton on the way. Arrived at bromley around 9:30. Parking lot was empty and so was the lodge. It was great skiing and the crowds reminded me of Jack Frost late season. We were wearing Eagles gear and had a bunch of people from Philly area approach us and talk. One was a retired ski patroller from Blue. My son going down Glade at Bromley. Trail was a Blue full of small bumps. We also took a few runs in the real glades at Mount Snow the next day. Saturday at Mount snow was crowed but still a great day. Spent more time in lines but still got a bunch of runs in each day. Snow Lake Lodge did the job. It is out of date and walls are paper thin but it does the job. For the low price and location it was perfect for our trip. We went in the hot tub after asking each day. Snow Lake Lodge is for all of the blue collar skiers. It is like the lower deck of the Titanic. All of the rich stuffy people stay at the Grand Summit Lodge. The Snow Lake Lodge is the fun party location. People were really nice and offering us beers in the hot tub.

I was concerned about My wife and son at Magic.

Heading up tonight. Skiing Mount Snow Thursday and Saturday. Bromley Friday. 4'10 feet of snow in last 7 days and still snowing. Wife and Son are going. Getting pumped.