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Mid-Atlantic 2021-2022 Poconos and Greater Area Ski Resorts/Conditions/Meetups

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4aprice

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Heading for 1st tracks tomorrow at CBK. Sunday sounds like ice so most likely sit that one out. Been a real herky jerky start to the season. Got a 2 hour session at Big Snow in September and planned several more in October and November but the fire closed it down. Got 3 days out at Copper over Thanksgiving which was lean but fun (WROD for sure), then got home to exceptionally warm weather and brutal work which pretty much shut down December. Did get the day after Christmas at Windham. Once again fun but very lean, then had New Years weekend wiped out by rain. Tough getting this thing ramped up.
 

Scrundy

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Have a good night session- and throw another layer on- @Scrundy ! It's brick out there tonight. I'm seeing 12 degrees
Ya wimped out wife got home later than expected. Sat by the stove and watched a Bee Gees documentary, probably head north in morning. Gotta love them Bee Gees
 

4aprice

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So 1st day in the Pocono's this season and plenty of interesting things occuring. Arrived early and to their credit the Camelback guest services office was open. Was able to switch my pass for this year (I had bought in March and been issued a standard pass at that time for this season) for a new RIFD card. However, I could not get my access fob to the locker room because there is only one person who can do that and she wasn't coming in till later. Luckly they did let me in the locker room and I was able to get on the snow by 8 and get some first tracks. I later had to stand in line to get that fob activated when she came in.

On the hill things were limited but ok. Stuff that has been open for a while was actually in decent shape first thing and they opened some new terrain today (as typical openings are usually a little rough with death cookies and today was no exception).

But what wasn't usual was the operations side of things. Stevenson was not open yet but they were blowing snow on Nile Mile so it should not be long. But about 9:30 standing in line gazing at a closed Bailey lift I asked a liftie what was going on with Bailey and Meadows, and she told me they simply did not have the staff. Guess its not only a Vail problem. That said they did open somehow Bailey around noon.

Knocked off around 11 and went to check out the après ski scene. The bar is open again (yeah). However the stage had christmas decorations on it so I inquired about the music scene. Seems no bands are scheduled to play as of right now. Honestly why? For years this has been one the best ski bars I have been to. Saturday afternoons/evenings rocked with fun bands and dancing. Non skiing people would come up and attend and it was definitely a money maker. Why would they kill it?

I work for a large corporation, I understand the numbers game but honestly why would they do away things that seemed to have worked in the past. Was glad to see that most of covid precautions of last season were relaxed but still finding things I missed from the pre-covid days. Perhaps I protest too much but its just my opinion. As always a day skiing beats a day at work.
 

Wendy

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Haha I drove past this line on my way back skiing at JF around 11:30am. Arrived first in the morning and had 2 hours of good run with manageable waiting time at the chair.
Yup, the key on weekends is to arrive early! However…….when I skied there (early in the AM’s on weekends) I NEVER saw lines like that on my way back!!! I never even saw a line on the access road. This particular line stretched all the way to Alpina Ski Shop!
 

jessnie

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Yup, the key on weekends is to arrive early! However…….when I skied there (early in the AM’s on weekends) I NEVER saw lines like that on my way back!!! I never even saw a line on the access road. This particular line stretched all the way to Alpina Ski Shop!
To be fair it’s my 3rd time skiing there, but yeah never saw something like this before anywhere. I think the snow they got on Friday shouts “come skiing!!”
 

tinymoose

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Prior to Vail, JF was such a chill place on weekends. You wanted to get there early enough to avoid parking too far out in the lot to avoid hiking in, but otherwise the lift lines were never bad and other than maybe the day of the Cardboard Classic, I don't ever remember getting backed up on the access road. Certainly not to the extent of today!
 

Wendy

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To be fair it’s my 3rd time skiing there, but yeah never saw something like this before anywhere. I think the snow they got on Friday shouts “come skiing!!”
Maybe the snow had something to do with it, but I’ve been there before after bigger snowfalls, and never saw anything like that photo.
 

johnnyvw

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I've skied at JF/BB for over 40 years (I remember $14 lift tickets). That's the "snow in the backyard" syndrome. Doesn't matter how much fell at the resort, people see snow in their yard and it's like a Pavlovian response. And it's also when you see the 20 year old equipment broken out from the attic LOL
 

4aprice

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I've skied at JF/BB for over 40 years (I remember $14 lift tickets). That's the "snow in the backyard" syndrome. Doesn't matter how much fell at the resort, people see snow in their yard and it's like a Pavlovian response. And it's also when you see the 20 year old equipment broken out from the attic LOL
Back yard syndrome for sure. But probably kind of a perfect storm as well. Yesterday was probably the start of most seasonal programs. While Camelback (the resort, the lift line was a different story for a different reason) didn't seem overwhelmed I did observe many families "checking in" to programs while I waited for my locker room access to be activated. The fact that it snowed and Sunday (today) called for freezing rain and "Bam".

Never was the 20 year old equipment syndrome more evident then last season after that Feb 1st storm.
 

kitchener

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... But about 9:30 standing in line gazing at a closed Bailey lift I asked a liftie what was going on with Bailey and Meadows, and she told me they simply did not have the staff.

No problems with finding staff to try and hawk $12 parking fees everywhere, though. It's funny -- Shawnee has updated all their billboards now to say something along the lines of "STILL free parking everywhere."

Late morning yesterday, during the freezing rain, Wayne and I hit the (empty-staged) Thirsty Camel and rode it out with 2 (two) Bloody Mary's each. $89 for 4 cocktails. Plus tip. We had the same thoughts about the stage when we were there Saturday late afternoon. Our waiter suggested the new management doesn't know how to book people or something.

I wish the lifts at Montage were a bit more compelling...
 
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johnnyvw

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Well, what do you expect from a Pocono area that charges $95 for a weekend lift ticket?

I won't be seen on the slopes there. Done...

Edit:
Just checked lift tcket prices for Blue Mountain this Saturday. $124??? :eek: Glad I'm moving out of this area, it's honestly getting too expensive for me to ski around here.
 
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