Welp 10 day forecast doesn’t look too good. As high as 70 and after today doens’t look like it will be below freezing at night. Looks like we will be in true spring skiing/end of season mode quick.
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Mid-Atlantic 2021-2022 Poconos and Greater Area Ski Resorts/Conditions/Meetups
- Thread starter Willyum215
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Yep - add some potential rain into the mix (at least up here at Elk) and it's not looking too great.
Have some Zardoz Notwax ready for Blue tomorrow. We'll see how it goes.
Skied Elk for the first time yesterday, from around 10 to 12:30. Mostly stayed on Slalom and Susquehanna, though tried a few other runs as well. Really liked how wide and well-groomed they are and how well they held during the day despite high temps. Didn't quite like that the bottom 1/3 or so is pretty useless, but had a lot of fun anyway, trying to lay down GS turns on these two runs. The hill was almost completely empty, never had more than a couple of people in front of me in the chairlift "line."
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Nice - I just missed crossing paths with you, I left around 9:45. Sadly, rumor has it that their season will be coming to a close in the very near future.
I don't know if you have access to any insider info, but I can certainly believe this rumor even simply based on the weather forecast. With the temps in the 50s for the next 5 days, and some rain in the forecast as well, I will be pretty surprised if they make it past this weekend.
Weather forecast for Blowing Rock has rain Saturday and Sunday mornings. If I go, I guess I'll shoot for Saturday early afternoon which looks NICE. Need to check honey do list for Saturday afternoon though..
Appalachian Saturday mid day or I'm done til December.
Appalachian Saturday mid day or I'm done til December.
A bit of an off-topic. Was at Greek Peak today (I have a season pass there). Was terrible: I was on my GS skis, which was a huge mistake. Seems like they have given up on grooming, so nothing was groomed, bare spots everywhere, nothing was skiable. Left after a couple of runs. I wonder if Elk was better today.
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I'm thinking about popping up to Elk a little later for an hour or so session. I'm definitely curious as to the conditions.
Word on the street is that they are trying to push through to next weekend, but I have my doubts.
It's like 60 degrees here in Union Dale already and supposed to dump rain all day tomorrow.
Word on the street is that they are trying to push through to next weekend, but I have my doubts.
It's like 60 degrees here in Union Dale already and supposed to dump rain all day tomorrow.
Please report back if you go there. Their website says that at least some runs are groomed; I'm curious if that is indeed the case. Next weekend would be a challenge. Greek Peak usually gets more snow than Elk, but even at Greek Peak it looks like they will barely make it to Sunday.
On a separate note, we are thinking about where to get season passes for next season. I cannot say that we are 100% happy with Greek Peak, but they have a bigger beginner area with magic carpets (I'll start teaching our younger one, who is 3, next season), and also we'll still be able to get a free season pass for our older one there (but not at Elk).
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@Ivan I went up yesterday around 1PM for an hour and a half. While I do believe they groomed many of the trails very early in the AM, you really couldn't tell by the time I got there. Definitely super soupy on the trails, and you were basically pond-skimming to get on and off the lifts.
Some trails were in better shape than others, which was expected. The trails where they consistently blow snow during the peak season, such as Tunkhannock, Slalom, and Susquehanna were still covered well, while the "Fingers/Indians" were in rough, patchy shape. No surprises there.
The good news is that the rain looks like it's staying away until the evening, so I'm heading back up within the hour for a few more laps. The season continues...
Thanks for the report. I don't know how much damage last night's rain did, and how much more damage the incoming rain will do, but we may head there tomorrow. I skied at Greek Peak with my son yesterday afternoon, and it was barely skiable. Sunday is our family ski day (my wife, myself, our 6-year-old, and our 3-year-old who doesn't ski yet); I've been to Elk but the rest of us haven't, so we might check it out, especially given poor conditions at GP. Not that there is any guarantee that Elk will be much better, but we may give it a try.
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So far, no rain. The sun has been peeking out once and a while, actually. Let's hope it's minimal later on.
All things considered, it wasn't a bad morning up there. I'll probably sneak in one more morning tomorrow as long as it is not raining at the time.
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Well, I'm back in Philly now so it feels like an appropriate time to submit the post-mortem on my 21/22 season.
I got 34 sessions in, with 31 being at Elk and 3 at Jay Peak. The length of the sessions varied from pre-work power hours to bell-to-bell full days.
I didn't get in as many as last year, but all things considered, I would still consider it a success- especially for a season with much less natural snow than the last.
I was thinking about getting in a last day somewhere else locally this weekend, such as JF or Montage, but I have to travel for work on Monday and it would be just too much.
I've definitely enjoyed interacting with you all and reading about your experiences this year, and hope everyone has a great off-season!
Maybe we can actually make a local gathering happen next year, especially if the pandemic is at bay?
I got 34 sessions in, with 31 being at Elk and 3 at Jay Peak. The length of the sessions varied from pre-work power hours to bell-to-bell full days.
I didn't get in as many as last year, but all things considered, I would still consider it a success- especially for a season with much less natural snow than the last.
I was thinking about getting in a last day somewhere else locally this weekend, such as JF or Montage, but I have to travel for work on Monday and it would be just too much.
I've definitely enjoyed interacting with you all and reading about your experiences this year, and hope everyone has a great off-season!
Maybe we can actually make a local gathering happen next year, especially if the pandemic is at bay?
Blue is closed Wed and Thurs, open for the weekend with Sunday being the last day. Pond Skimming event on Sunday, always a last day event. If weather is decent, there is usually a pretty good tailgating in the lower lot.
This was my first season in many years following a Total Knee Replacement, first days were humbling, then, it began to return. Drove home with some big smiles. My home drive is down the NE extension, when the sun is out you fell the heat in March. Years ago, St. Patricks Day was pretty much the end of Pocono rentals and the ski season, better snowmaking has pushed it back a little. Being located on the southern edge of east coast skiing makes for a limited season, hey, it's all good while it lasts.
This was my first season in many years following a Total Knee Replacement, first days were humbling, then, it began to return. Drove home with some big smiles. My home drive is down the NE extension, when the sun is out you fell the heat in March. Years ago, St. Patricks Day was pretty much the end of Pocono rentals and the ski season, better snowmaking has pushed it back a little. Being located on the southern edge of east coast skiing makes for a limited season, hey, it's all good while it lasts.
A friend reports that Blue was great on Tuesday for his end of season last trip:
Ah! Yes, and it was a good idea. Almost every slope was open, and after about an hour an initial icy corduroy turned into lots of soft snow. That is very nice on a snowboard.
He was testing out new boots, but he skis as well when he visits us at Killington.
Ah! Yes, and it was a good idea. Almost every slope was open, and after about an hour an initial icy corduroy turned into lots of soft snow. That is very nice on a snowboard.
He was testing out new boots, but he skis as well when he visits us at Killington.
Yeah, I think he texted those to me so I would believe him, as I've skied closing day at Blue on much worse looking trails as I had warned him. Blue does as well as they can given the low elevation and southerly Poconos location.
The top photo is the chute leading to lower midway I think.
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