Mess

I want to have my son take a lesson at either camelback or Jack Frost this sunday. Is it better to give him a private lesson for $80 or snow Monster for $78? He is doing great but needs to work on parallel skiing, his turns and hockey stop. I like the idea of a private lesson but will he get more out of 3 hours in snow monster plus have more fun with other kids. He is pretty comfortable skiing everything up to Thunderbolt. Thanks

Arrived at camelback around 8:45 and it was crowded. I was expecting lighter crowds because of Super Bowl. Jumped on the Sullivan Express and after a 5 minute wait. Made a mistake and started down Julius Caesar trail and had to cross country ski until we got on Near east to Pocono Raceway. End up taking the Raceway lift up to take a second run on Poc raceway since the snow was so good. These were the best conditions I have been on this year. Snow was soft yet still pretty fast. We then took Bactrian trail to the Stevenson Express which seemed like a big mistake. We must have had a 10-15 minute wait to get on the lift due to huge crowd and the race team and lessons getting to the front of the line. I talked my wife into taking a run down Nile Mile even though we would have to wait in the long lift line again. It was worth the wait. My son and wife really enjoyed Nile Mile. Really nice long run. We then went to The Cameltop Lodge. It is so much better than the best lodge. Very relaxing and laid back. After our break we took a run down Big Pocono, It was a fun run and pretty challenging for my 7 year old. We then took the Bailey Express lift. Although it was slower we didn't have to stand in the lines. We took 2 runs down King Tut. The first run down Tut was the family run of the day. Some soft bumps started to form skiers left. The second run my wife had her first fall of the year after watching two people collide. Luckily no one was injured. That ended my son and wife's day. When they went to get changed I got to take my run of the day which was Hump. Great snow and fun. I was surprised how accommodating the lifties were at Camelback. They genuinely seemed to care about helping the young kids get on the lift safely and even were putting the bar down before going up the mountain which was a nice touch. I have seen some lift attendants act like jerks at Jack Frost going up D-Lift when a kid ventured down Ridge runner. I also was wondering the difference between Blue and Camelback. I know many on this site dislike Camelback. My experience is they are very similar. They are the 2 big mountains in Poconos. They both seem to get very crowded and have long lift lines on weekends.

I was guessing she got hurt on the first headwall on Rivershot. It was really icy skiers right.

Anyone know which trail she hurt her knee on?

I had a great day at Jack Frost. Was there from 8:30-1:30. We started on Easy Rider and I was surprised how slow it was to get down snowflake. With the wind blowing and the snow sticking, I stopped 3 times in the middle of the trail because I couldn't pick up enough speed. We headed to Jane and Lehigh which had decent snow but as mentioned above the good snow was pushed off the trail pretty quickly especially on the headwalls because of people snow plowing down the mountain. Exhibition and Demise were a lot of fun. The best snow was from lift pole to lift pole in the middle of the run. a few soft bumps started to form and no ice to be found. Thunderbolt looked like it was not groomed by the time I got to it at 10:00. It was a lot of fun. Lapped it most of the day since so many trails were closed for racing. I went to East Mountain when my son went in for a break. It was very crowded with people who didn't belong there. I saw one guy take of his skis and slide down on his butt. Overall a great day especially when the sun came out and the wind died down. I saw more people sliding and walking down the mountain than I ever ever seen. I also saw a bunch of yard sale falls.The snow patrol seemed very busy today.

I stayed off of White Lightning. It was groomed with no bumps. Saw a few guys going down it and it sounded very firm and icy.

Woke up and decided I was not going to drive up today due to the possibility of ice. Decided to sleep in. About 8:00 my son comes into my room and has tears in his eyes because we weren't going. He explains to me he woke up at 6:00 and knew we weren't going since I usually wake him up earlier to head to the mountain. I felt terrible so told my wife we were going. We missed the 9:00-1:00 and ended up paying for the 12-close ticket. Arrived at 12:15. It was cold and flurrying. Overall it was a great day since the mountain was empty. The main lot was only about 1/4 full. Never waited in a lift line more than 20 seconds. First run of the day was Highball. We then lapped Switch and Spike most of the day as it was the only intermediate terrain open other than the terrain park. Snow was fast. Thought they did a nice job grooming considering the rain yesterday. There were definitely icy spots especially of some of the headwalls. When my wife and son took a break I headed over to the Northface. Lower runway was a fun run and snow was pretty good. Smoke was fast. Had the entire trail to myself. I also took 2 runs on cannonball. Was checking if the kids could do a run but the ice was really bad on the second headwall. After taking a break lapped Switch and Spike. Spent a lot of time on Spike when Nastar races ended. Spike had some great snow skier right that was untouched and perfectly groomed. Almost had my first fall in a few years while I was waiting for my wife near the lift. I crossed my skis trying to let someone by. I really enjoy Montage. It is probably the best mountain to bring a family because it is rarely crowded, the lodge is nice, and the staff is very accommodating. As much as I don't like seeing large crowds they need to get a larger fan base.

Not sure I am going to make it up. Was planning on morning ski but looks like it could be pretty icy on the roads in the morning.

I have a cabin to stay at in Blakeslee tonight but wanted a weather update and a road report especially for turnpike. Anyone been out today? Are they expecting icy roads up there tonight or tomorrow morning? Thanks

Heading up on Monday. Anyone else going? Still need to watch the Blackish episode, commercial looked funny.

I had a great Day for my first time out. We arrived at 8:20 and was more crowded than I expected. Found out their were races and and ton of boy scouts on the mountain today. It was pretty cold especially on the lifts. Started our day on snowflake, powder puff and frosty. After my son got a few runs in we went down ridge runner. There were a few icy spots but overall a good trail. He handled the trail but ended up falling when a snowboarder got to close to him. I did not see it but heard the snowboarders laughing about it. I was pissed but not like this guy My son decides he wants to do Lehigh and he struggled with the headwall and snow plowed down. We took a break met up with some friends took a few more rides on the green terrain and then hit Easy rider. The kids handled it great so we headed to exhibition and dematte's demise. Demise was a sheet of ice but exhibition had great snow. We lapped it and then after the kids were more comfortable went on thunderbolt. Thunderbolt had a lot of icy patches. Finished the day with a run down exhibition. I have never noticed that JF had bathrooms at the bottom of Exhibition near the lift. It saved me today as the boy says I need to go now and I don't think he would have made it up the lift. There were a ton of people skiing out of control today. Saw one snowboarder fall and couldn't stop it reminded me of a speed boat crashing.

Looking forward to our first time out. Heading up with my 7 year old so we will see how the day goes. Will spend most of the day on the easy trails to work on stopping. Hoping that he will progress to a hockey stop this year. Will not have a chance to hit East Mountain. Usually my Dad goes with us. He takes my son for a break and I head over. Maybe next time.

Pretty cool read on trail steepness. http://www.gondyline.com/angle-of-ski-trails.php I wonder what the elevator be be?

I really liked the Little snow monsters at JFBB. It is great value and you get to ski for a few hours while they are in the school. If you go midweek or late season it often turns into a private lesson.

We hit White Haven Diner when we leave Jack Frost. Great Breakfast and super cheap

So we have decided to go to Mount Snow and stay at the Snow Lodge on Property. Pretty nice ski and stay deal. Mount snow is a perfect mountain for my wife.

I just bought mine for my trip in March. $50 Midweek and $199 for 3&easy ticket pack. Here is the Link http://www.okemo.com/mountain-info/cyber-monday-deals/

I called today hoping that they would do a cbs deal like JF. They had cbs deal 2 years ago. Marketing said they have no plans to do a deal. I still might purchase the gift card for $40 and get the $10 add on. Figure that will get my son 2 morning(9-1) tickets for $40. They bumped up the morning ticket to $29 for adults but still think it is a good deal.

Getting a few today.

Looking at going February 12,13. Starting to like the idea of Magic for $20 on Thursday. Bromley or Stratton on Friday. I have never really skied the trees and not real comfortable on Moguls. I do like steep groomed terrain.

Does Magic have groomed trails or is it all natural?

We are headed to Okemo in March with my son and Father. I live in delaware county so I would have to check distance to Gore. Thanks for suggestions. I liked Stratton but was thinking same thing about 1 day that is why I was considering Bromley. I figure any where will be a great time compared to Poconos.

We have done Mount Snow 2 years in a row and wanted to try something different. We did Stratton a few years ago and really liked it. My wife is comfortable on the intermediate trails so not to worried about challenge until she takes a break.

I am trying to decide on a ski getaway with my wife. We would travel wednesday night to ski Thursday and Friday. I have heard good things about Belleayre on the site. It would take us about 4 hours and 3o minutes to get there or we could drive to Manchester Center and that is 5 hours and 23 minutes. We could hit Bromley 1st day and Stratton day 2. Any thoughts or suggestions?

Does anyone know if you can use this for 2 days in a row at the same resort or do you need to go to different mountains each day? Planning on a trip to Okemo this year