Resorts get a head start on winter season
November’s blast gives skiers, snowboarders and tubers early time on mountains and trails.
Despite the rain over the past weekend, the colder-than-normal-temperatures in recent weeks, coupled with a rare November snow, have the region’s resorts and outdoors enthusiasts thinking ski season.
Four of the region’s resorts — Camelback Mountain, Blue Mountain, Shawnee Mountain and Big Boulder — have already opened for the year, while the others are targeting opening days of on or before Dec. 15.
“This is one of the earliest openings the mountain has ever had,” said AJ Stack Sr., marketing manager at Camelback, which opened Nov. 30. “We received 11 inches of natural snow so far and the cold temps helped us blow a strong base that is currently over four feet deep.”
Jim Trust, managing partner at Shawnee Mountain, which also opened Thanksgiving weekend, agreed.
“We took full advantage of the arctic cold blast prior to Thanksgiving weekend, which allowed for excellent early season day and night snowmaking,” Trust said.
As we head toward winter, here’s a look at what skiers, snowboarders and others who love the great outdoors in winter can expect:
Bear Creek Mountain Resort
Bear Creek marketing and public relations manager Jeff Zellner noted that snowmaking began this week, with the resort slated to open by mid-December. Bear Creek has adjusted a number of its packages and pricing to make its resort more accessible to families. Among its new offerings are group lessons, including rental and lift ticket, starting at $69, as well as three-lesson packages for $145.
“Our main tool for business acquisition will be the guest-friendly pricing and product offerings that we released for the
’18/’19 winter season,” Zellner said. “We have reduced window ticket rates, added online purchasing, reduced our prices on our Learn to Ski & Ride Packages and returned our popular Midweek Ski & Stay Package with no rate increases.”
Big Boulder/Jack Frost
Fans of these resorts will find Big Boulder open Fridays-Sundays, with seven trails and four lifts available and a snow base of 1-2 feet. Marketing director Heather Schiffbauer said the resorts have made about
$500,000 in capital improvements designed to expand snowmaking capabilities and enhance the overall experience for guests.
Jack Frost is scheduled to open Dec. 14, with Big Boulder expected to start its full-time operating hours on that date as well.
Blue Mountain Resort
Located atop the Blue Mountain near Danielsville, this resort has long been popular with Lehigh Valley snow sports enthusiasts. The resort, which kicked off its 2018-’19 season Nov. 30, has 11 trails open; however, patrons should check the website for complete details since it’s not yet operating under its full regular hours.
Resort sales & marketing director Tricia Matsko said Blue Mountain has made several changes for 2018-’19 including upgrading its ticket kiosks to speed up the process of retrieving online tickets and built a boot bring in the Valley Lodge to make rentals more efficient. The resort is also working on developing a new intermediate trail, expanding skiing options for the future.
“It does not have snowmaking or lights and will not open this year,” Matsko said, “but it will be a go for 2019-’20 season.”
Camelback Mountain
Boasting the most skiable acres in the Pocono Mountains and the nation’s largest snowtubing park, Camelback is gearing
up for the 2018-’19 season with a number of additions including 15 acres of new beginner trails, two ski-in/ski-out restaurants and a top-to-bottom terrain park. The resort, which opened Black Friday with four trails and four lifts, has a 36-48-inch snow depth. Heavy rain over the weekend closed the mountain, but it was expected to reopen this week.
Snowboarders and freestyle skiers will be able to try the new CBK terrain park, located on the Pharaoh and Bactrain trails.
“We decided to build the new terrain park so we are able to have a full mountain top-tobottom park,” Stack said. “It is serviced by a high-speed detachable quad so that skiers and boarders can get to the top faster.
Because it is top-to-bottom park there is much more room for features.”
For guests looking for a unique dining experience, Camelback has just opened the ski-in Kartrite’s Summit House offering contemporary American fare. Situated atop the Sullivan Lift, Camelback calls it the highest restaurant in the Pocono Mountains. The resort has also added Berrelli’s Family Style Restaurant, located in one of its base lodges.
Shawnee Mountain Ski Area
Located at Shawnee-on-the Delaware, this family-focused resort features 23 trails, two terrain parks and a snow tubing park. For 2018-’19, the resort has made a number of enhancements including purchasing a new Pisten Bully 400 Free Grooming Machine to improve trail conditions, enhancing its snowmaking capabilities and upgrading the skis and boots customers can rent before hitting the slopes.
Trust said the resort is open Saturdays-Sundays only, but plans to be open daily beginning Saturday.
“Our snow base on open trails is 18-24 inches and more trails should open after next round of snowmaking,” he said.