am476

When did the former owner pass away? I haven't been out to Blue for a few years. But I always remembered that they did a great job grooming and they respectable conditions even in the toughest/warmest winters.

Actually, I guess I'm more North Jersey now (recently moved). Because of this, Blue is significantly further away than Camelback. Camelback is about 1hr 15 min away while Blue is about 2 hrs away. Otherwise, I always liked Blue despite my feeling that their # of trails is limited (30 trails is inflated by the fact that they count their tiny connecting trails). And I noticed that the lockers are outside, too. This may be the dumbest move of all. I can't wait for my gym to make this same move (although it might make the creepy old men who enjoy walking and sitting around for 30 or 40 minutes in the nude think twice when it's cold out).

Thanks for the heads up on the discount card. I'll consider it. I ended up finding out for myself that they got rid of the morning and afternoon options. I was pretty disappointed in this since I normally just go skiing for about 4 hours and then head home. I can't remember the last time I've stayed from open to close anywhere. I understand that Camelback may have taken a hit the last few seasons due to the warm weather and increased operating cosets. However, I'm not sure why in this economy, anyone would not only raise their prices, but also eliminate their cheaper options. And driving in and seeing a mostly empty "preferred parking" are that costs $15 was an extra kick in the b&lls. And to add to this rant, I went to Camelback on Sunday with my girlfriend who happens to be an intermediate skier. So we were disappointed to see an entire section of green trails closed for people who have park passes. I'm glad that they seem to have made improvements to the park, but it's to the detriment of many people who don't ski or ride in the park. For her, Camelback became significantly smaller with fewer options for a green/blue trail skier. I normally defend Camelback when there are constant complaints lobbed at the place. However, this is the wrong time to nickel and dime their customers. Like I said, I'll consider the discount card if it's really worth it for someone who works and lives in Central Jersey and for the most part can only make it out on Saturday mornings. Otherwise, I will head to Vermont more often and probably not come to Camelback as often as I used to (if at all).

I was just wondering if Camelback got rid of their options to get a lift ticket for just the morning or just the afternoon. Online, I only see the option of getting a ticket for the entire day or for nights on weekdays. Thanks.

In general, I like Camelback. I think they get more criticism than they deserve. There's decent variety and a good amount of lifts. I personally think that conditions have improved over the years and weekend crowds have been bearable this season. I even appreciate random stuff like the fact that they seem to have a decent program for disabled skiers (in case anything ever happens to me). However, there is a value to this thread - if there is something to complain about, then voicing these opinions are the only thing that we can do to at least let it be known that their decisions are not popular and there is room for improvement. Shutting down half the ski area and charging full price for potentially poor reasons deserves some discussion and bitching. Conditions were still quite good last Saturday, but their decision to not make snow since mid-Feb seems to demonstrate a lack of interest in preserving quality skiing after making money on the holiday crowd - not good for anyone who is considering buying a season pass. Unfortunately, most of the Camelback threads do degenerate into pathetically immature territorial pissing or an onslaught of uselessly repetitive, negative comments. This thread seems to have killed the morning reports from Craig, even though it had useful information - at least he told us first thing in the morning that lifts were closed so I know not to go there. But legitimate complaints are partially why these message boards exist.

do you think they'll make snow in March? i don't know how they'll survive another 3.5 weeks with all the forecasted rain and periods of warm temperature without making snow. i saw a big bare, grassy patch on lower sidwinder yesterday afternoon and the bottom of either falls or paradise was looking a bit thin, too. sure, this stuff can easily be covered up by what they have right now, but i don't know what things will be like after a few days of rain.

i went saturday morning expecting the worst and planned to stay only until 11:30 or so (around the time the holiday crowd finally get out of the rental places). however, i was pleasantly surprised by the crowd situation. i used the quads about 3 times and stuck to the raceway and marc antony lifts the rest of the time. the marc antony one had no lines even during the expected peak hours since it is relatively well "hidden". it turned out to be one of my better days of skiing this year and i ended up staying 'til 3:00. i would stay away from pharoah on weekends. it's labeled as a blue trail, so it attracts tons of people who really shouldn't be anywhere but a bunny hill. people can't handle the steepness, the sharp turns, or the narrow parts. it's fun to go up the lift and watch the crowds of people pizza-wedging down the narrow part and flying into the netting like insects flying into a spider web when they can't handle the last left turn. i agree with the above on cliffhanger - it's the easiest black trail at camelback and i don't understand why it's a double black while the ones on the west are single blacks.

explanation: 1) i've always sucked at skiing big bumps (ones that are larger than those that normally form on slightly ungroomed trails), so big moguls on a green trail provide a perfect opportunity to practice. it was a nice way to boost my confidence on bumps. 2) i wasn't aware of real moguls in other ski areas that were close by. 3) camelback is 20-25 minutes closer to me than blue.

That's too bad. Thanks for the quick reply.

I haven't been to blue this year and was thinking of heading out there. However, it takes about an hour and 40 minutes to get there, so I wanted to know if they have seeded moguls on main street (barney's bumps) yet. That's the main thing that I want to do today and would be disappointed if it was flat. If not, Camelback has seeded moguls on one of their green trails, so I'd rather go there. Any responses would be appreciated.

Thanks for the explanation. Any other explanations for how the turkeys knew that Turkey Trot was the appropriate trail for them to hang out for the afternoon would be welcome.

This past Sunday (1/21), while riding up the Glen lift overlooking the Turkey Trot trail, I had a moment of questionable sanity. There was a flock of turkeys walking around on Turkey Trot - literally. I'm not sure if I want an explanation that would ruin such an awesomely absurd moment, but I think I have to know why/how they were there. I know that the presence of turkeys trotting about justifies the name of the trail, but nothing else about the situation makes sense.

the park city guy may not be used to the bars. i went to alta in utah last year (not too far from park city) and realized that they don't even have bars to put down on any of their chairlifts.

Need an opinion. I'm thinking of taking off work for the afternoon and heading over to Camelback. Is the limited terrain (with no black trails open) worth my 1.5 hour drive? I haven't gone skiing yet this year and I'm getting desperate. Thanks.