Blue Moutnain, Pa – 1/24/2016
Just got back from Blue Mountain, the True Mountain.
Was up early to clear off the tail end of the Blizzard of 2016 from the car and then hopped on the PA Turnpike. Roads up were surprisingly good. Turnpike was in great shape and local roads were cleared well enough that I wasn't uncomfortable on the drive up. Speed restrictions remained on the Turnpike but didn't really need them Thought Blue Mountain road over Little Gap would be in worse shape but they did a pretty decent job getting it open again.
Got a parking spot close to the upper lodge and proceed to overpay for my ticket. Oh well I thought, there's two feet of powder to be had, it'll be worth it. The conditions ranged from fantastic (for PA) to great. Started off on Chute to Main Street. Everything was nice and soft. Lots of soft powdery bumps and bits of powder along trails all day.
Blue does have a maintained gladed area. Very small, but pretty fun. Had to be careful not to get too far into the woods. Still pulled up a lot of rocks there and pretty much couldn't move after I went too far. After counting rocks in the woods I took some runs on Challenge and Nightmare, then switched back to Main Street before calling it a day. It got very crowded by mid day. Lines on the high speed lifts were getting over 10 minutes. Surprised how many people made it out.
All told, it was a special day for PA. It will be a long time before we see that much snow again.
Was up early to clear off the tail end of the Blizzard of 2016 from the car and then hopped on the PA Turnpike. Roads up were surprisingly good. Turnpike was in great shape and local roads were cleared well enough that I wasn't uncomfortable on the drive up. Speed restrictions remained on the Turnpike but didn't really need them Thought Blue Mountain road over Little Gap would be in worse shape but they did a pretty decent job getting it open again.
Got a parking spot close to the upper lodge and proceed to overpay for my ticket. Oh well I thought, there's two feet of powder to be had, it'll be worth it. The conditions ranged from fantastic (for PA) to great. Started off on Chute to Main Street. Everything was nice and soft. Lots of soft powdery bumps and bits of powder along trails all day.
Blue does have a maintained gladed area. Very small, but pretty fun. Had to be careful not to get too far into the woods. Still pulled up a lot of rocks there and pretty much couldn't move after I went too far. After counting rocks in the woods I took some runs on Challenge and Nightmare, then switched back to Main Street before calling it a day. It got very crowded by mid day. Lines on the high speed lifts were getting over 10 minutes. Surprised how many people made it out.
All told, it was a special day for PA. It will be a long time before we see that much snow again.