poconoceancity Posted February 4, 2008 Report Share Posted February 4, 2008 Hey all, I got home earlier from a nice warm sunny day at CB. I left at 5:30 AM and drove out the back way under some serious fog. It lifted by 6:00 when I was about half way to the Commodore Barry Bridge. The roads were empty and I arrived at CB at 8:15. I headed in the back way and parked by the Stevenson. I then walked up to the main lodge and handed in my voucher for which I received a free day pass. Thanks Craig. I took the beginner trail to the Stevenson and took my first high-speed quad ride of the season. I immediately realized that if any Pocono resort wants to compete with CB or Blue they need to install a High Speed Quad. I started with a couple warm up runs down Nile and was surprised that the snow was already scraped off. It was only 8:35 and traffic was light. I then took 4 runs down Cliffy, which was not groomed and had piles of sugar/oatmeal like snow on it. I then hit Pharaoh, the top half was icy and the bottom half had lots of sugar, but was hard to hold an edge on. After six runs on Pharaoh I hit Pocono raceway and was lapping it off the triple chair. Conditions on it were a little better, but I think the ice storm they had Friday night hurt the conditions, although it made the trees look pretty cool. After 8 laps I went back over to Nile and bombed it several times. The slopes never got crowded and I never waited for more than a minute in the singles line. By 12:00 I had enough and was ready for my 3 hour drive home. I hit McD's on the way and had a Chicken Club, Double Cheeseburger, Fries and a Coke. Thanks again to Craig and CB for the vouchers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkiCamelback Posted February 4, 2008 Report Share Posted February 4, 2008 Thanks for coming up. Glad to read that you had a great time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgrwilco Posted February 4, 2008 Report Share Posted February 4, 2008 I immediately realized that if any Pocono resort wants to compete with CB or Blue they need to install a High Speed Quad. i have to disagree. glad you had a good time though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poconoceancity Posted February 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2008 i have to disagree. glad you had a good time though I meant, compete in the number of ticket sales per season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ski Posted February 4, 2008 Report Share Posted February 4, 2008 Awesome tr, Poc. I immediately realized that if any Pocono resort wants to compete with CB or Blue they need to install a High Speed Quad. I started with a couple warm up runs down Nile and was surprised that the snow was already scraped off. You see the correlation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJSkiFamily Posted February 4, 2008 Report Share Posted February 4, 2008 You see the correlation? Exactly......so glad Elk doesn't have a high speed quad. I much prefer a longer/slower chair lift ride if it keeps the volume down on the slopes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poconoceancity Posted February 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2008 You see the correlation? Yep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJSkiFamily Posted February 5, 2008 Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 Pharaoh was just as bad on Saturday. Was the Raceway lift running on Sunday? It was shut on Saturday and that kept everyone off the Raceway trail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poconoceancity Posted February 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 Pharaoh was just as bad on Saturday. Was the Raceway lift running on Sunday? It was shut on Saturday and that kept everyone off the Raceway trail. Raceway was running all day. O.K. Pocono...so you went from Spring to Bear Creek to Jack Frost and then to Eagle Rock and then Camelback....is Blue mountain next???? I think Sno is next, I'm going to save Blue for March when the snow is soft and the crowds are smaller. I am going to hit JF and CB again also. My goal is 10 days this season. I'm half way there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ski Posted February 5, 2008 Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 I think Sno is next, I'm going to save Blue for March when the snow is soft and the crowds are smaller. I am going to hit JF and CB again also. My goal is 10 days this season. I'm half way there. There are finally some off hour deals on the website, although I assume you'll be coming up on a weekend. And it's funny how so many locals who had been begging for a HSQ are now rethinking it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poconoceancity Posted February 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 There are finally some off hour deals on the website, although I assume you'll be coming up on a weekend. And it's funny how so many locals who had been begging for a HSQ are now rethinking it. Ticket prices are not that bad. It costs more in gas and tolls ($55-$85 per trip). Do you think it would be a mistake to replace the long haul with a HSQ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ski Posted February 5, 2008 Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 Ticket prices are not that bad. It costs more in gas and tolls ($55-$85 per trip). Do you think it would be a mistake to replace the long haul with a HSQ. The layout of the mountain makes it unnecessary, except for marketing reasons. How many millions would you invest to chop three minutes off a ride that's for runs that are 60% green circle, then 40% single black? The heart of Sno isn't on the east side, it's the NF. And the Phoebe is just fine. It's not a fast lift, but it's a short trip right up the headwalls, with very little runout. But it's crucial to market the benefits of no HSQ. It's kinda of a ballsy move, but they have to take a page out of what Alta and Taos and MRG used to do. Tell it straight up: HSQ clog trails and all that traffic scrapes snow off the slopes. Quality over quantity, but there are also no lift lines to wait in. Skiing the way it was meant to be, not NYC subway-like the way other places have become on Saturday afternoons. It's amazing how gullible newbie skiers/riders are. They hear that Elk has such superior snow and grooming and keep voting for this myth in Ski Mag polls. But Elk has incredibly inferior snowmaking and gets maybe 20 more inches of real snow spread out over four months. Sno makes 20 inches of snow on the entire mountain in about four hours and has 1/4 the traffic to scrape it off. Well, sorry, that's the long answer, Poc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poconoceancity Posted February 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 But it's crucial to market the benefits of no HSQ. Is that Sno's Plan? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ski Posted February 5, 2008 Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 Since Sno has old antequated lifts...they should be charging less than the competition. Remember high speed lifts are spaced double as wide as slower lifts.. Then Blue should charge less than Sno because the snow quality sucks. I've read nearly endless complaints about Razors and Challenge this year. And the snow quality almost killed Jeffy. People pick on Blue's grooming, but you can only do just so much. Doug, it's cool that you are a vert whore with a flexible schedule which allows you to pick and choose relatively quiet times to ski. But you are in the vast minority. Is that Sno's Plan? It's still in the master plan to install a HSQ. This season, though, they added another 40 guns to the 193 from last year. I think the plan is to boost skier visits before taking on a big debt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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