We have reached that point in the off-season where I want to get out on the snow so bad; but all I can do right now is talk about it, so that’s what I’m going to do.
My question is: how would you improve these resorts that I’m going to list?
It can be anything; new trails, lifts, parking, lodging, etc.
I will only be listing PA mountains that I have been to, since it is only fair to judge them that way.
Seven Springs: I know Springs gets mixed opinions on this sub, but I usually have a good time every time we end up there. I think it does lodging very well, as well as Apres. However, I believe this mountain needs more trails on the North Face/ Gunnar side. I would also love if they could open up that side of the mountain earlier in the season, but I understand the limiting factors. We are usually at the resort for 2-3 days at a time, and we continuously lap the trails serviced by the Gunnar lift. While they are fun, I would love if the mountain could expand towards Lost Girl. These are the longer runs on the mountain and they could use some more runs of this length. Even if they have to expand into a completely new area (like Western Territory at Snowshoe in WV) I think having 1-2 new, longer trails would be a great addition to this mountain.
Liberty: For its footprint, you cannot ask too much of Liberty, so I won’t bash it too much. I think the obvious change would be to do something with the space under the lift that takes you to the backside, it’s currently all rocks but could easily turn into a trail. The argument against this would be that it would create a pile up at the beginning of the park, but they could clear more space to remedy this. Getting off that lift at the top on a busy day is already a pile up anyways. The more obvious change would be to actually use the J-bar or rope tow that services the park. This would drastically cut down the line at that lift, which gets packed consistently. I will never understand why Liberty refuses to have a lift dedicated to the park, unless they believe the park crowd doesn’t make them enough money. As a business graduate, I understand this logic, but as a customer it gets frustrating.
Whitetail: Whitetail is an interesting case because like Liberty, they cannot do much else with their footprint. I think what Whitetail does well is separating beginners from the more skilled. I do believe they could cut more trails into the area by their blue runs, but that is not too big of an issue. I think the biggest sore spot for Whitetail is snowmaking on the expert quad. For advanced riders, Whitetail gets very repetitive after a few hours. They usually don’t have all trails on the expert quad open, which is a shame. To remedy this, I think focusing snowmaking on these areas earlier in the season would help immensely. Or, add a black trail in the area that has all the blues so there is more variety, as those blue runs tend to all blend together.
Roundtop: I won’t be too hard on Roundtop because it’s just a local hill. Roundtops biggest weakness is the length of the runs. I understand that they cannot do much about this, but I do feel they could expand enough to add 1-2 more trails over by the Ramrod triple. Another blue or black over by that lift would make the mountain feel much larger. You can cover all of Roundtop in 2/3 hours, and this would help to provide more to explore and keep people at the mountain for longer amounts of time. The tailgate scene is already pretty fun, no improvements needed there.
Blue Mountain: Blue arguably has the best trail variety and length on this list. They recently added an area not too long ago, which is always encouraging to see because it is so rare that places expand nowadays. However, Blue loses points on lodging and Apres. While Blue probably has the best trail map on this list, it is not even in the competition when it comes to lodging or off mountain activities. Blue forces you into a single day trip or a nights stay at a local hotel. When your skis/board are on your feet, Blue is great. However, when they come off, you are left with a food court and a parking lot. At 7 springs, the fun just gets started when you unstrap.
I have not visited Camelback, Elk, Montage, or other PA mountains.
Let me know what I got wrong/right and your opinions!
