Conditions Report
Conditions report from Sunday, April 26
Well, here we are, the last weekend in April, and Camelback Mountain is skiing into May—potentially something no Pennsylvania resort has ever pulled off. I got to the mountain around 10:00 a.m. The temperatures were in the mid 40s, but felt colder, even though it wasn’t windy. In fact, it was calm. It was overcast and cloudy, but that didn’t mean that skiers and riders weren’t still stoked to be hitting a PA ski resort the weekend before May.
Camelback Mountain is down to one run, Cliffhanger, a double diamond slope, “Camel Galcier,” is what locals are calling it. Cliffhanger was not as bumped up in the morning as it had been the last two weekends. Camelback Mountain has gone to spring skiing operations and is closed during the week.
What Cliffhanger Looks Like on the Last Weekend of April
It was typical spring conditions: soft, slushy, and bumped up. The bumps were not as big as the previous two weekends, possibly because it’s the only slope still open at Camelback, and it had rained on Saturday. The heavier spring snow really took a toll on your legs. It’s not Superstar at Killington for sure, but this is where the die-hards come out to ski and ride.
We spend all winter in the East, the “ice coast” freezing our butts off, something the East is infamous for. Warmer conditions, sunny skies, and no ice. It is what any true skier or snowboarder looks forward to every season. However, that comes with a price, as anyone who skis or rides during the spring would know. Spring is the time of year when skiers and riders may think they might not get injured, but it still happens. The heavy snow, variable conditions, and a long season that wears on someone’s body can lead to injuries. But the true die-hards are still out there every day, enjoying every lap, before warmer temperatures hit, and the ski season is over.
Why Camelback Mountain Skiing In May Is a Big Deal for the East Coast
What Jason Bays, VP and GM of Camelback Mountain Resort, has done this year is unbelievable. When ski resorts in New England have already shut down, and also in the West (Although it did have its worst ski season in decades), that says something. When Bays told me in late January/early February that Camelback Mountain would be skiing in late April and even Early May. I just looked at him and was stunned. I will never forget it. I had written an article on him taking over as VP and GM of Camelback Mountain Resort in a phone interview, and was skiing at Camelback Mountain a few weeks later. I was having lunch at Trails-End-Pub and Grille, and he said he’d meet me there. What I thought was just going to be a “meet and greet” between him and me ended up turning into something I thought I would never hear from a Pennsylvania VP or GM of a ski resort.
While sitting at the table eating lunch with him, he said to me, “Gregg, I wasn’t ready to release this the last time I talked to you, but now we are.” He continued, “Camelback Mountain will be skiing until late April, and we will push to ski into May.” I immediately stopped eating my burger, reached for my phone, hit record, and said, “Can you say that again?” I couldn’t believe what I just heard. For a mid-Atlantic ski resort to push its ski season until May is unheard of. But here we are. The last weekend in April is in the books, and Camelback Mountain is going to be skiing and riding the first weekend in May. Bays confirmed this with me in a text message.
He did what he promised to do in his very first season as VP and GM at Camelback Mountain Resort; he boldly said what many critics in the ski industry had said was impossible. Doubters said he was just trying to get press, and Camelback would lose money; it is not. Bays confirmed and showed me the numbers. They said the conditions would be horrible, but they are not. And the locals love him for what he has done at Camelback Mountain this season. The parking lots are filled with people tailgaiting, cooking out, and having a good time. The spring vibe at Camelback Mountain is catching on fire, and people are taking notice. But it wasn’t always the case.
Camelback Mountain has, over the past, gotten a bad reputation from skiers and snowboarders for its conditions, crowds, and poor management. In less than one ski season, Bays has turned all that around. Being from PA, Camelback is not that far away from me, but I avoided it like the plague. I couldn’t stand it. Poor conditions, lifts not running, long lift lines, no servers, no bartenders, negative attitudes from their employees, but that’s all changed now. A ski resort that I once would never have gone to is now one I look forward to skiing at.
Camelback Mountain vs. Killington’s Superstar: An Honest Look
Now, some people may believe it’s not worth it to ski or ride somewhere where only one slope is open. But isn’t that what Killington does with Superstar every May? Yes. Cliffhanger at Camelback Mountain is not Superstar at Killington. It is absolutely not. Having skied both, there is no comparison. However, keeping time and location in mind is what is most important in this instance. Camelback Mountain is located less than two hours from New York City and Philadelphia, and two and a half to three hours from New Jersey. There are a lot of people who live in that proximity to Camelback Mountain. Approximately 20 million people, according to the last U.S. Census report. Imagine having a decent slope to ski down, that wasn’t five or six hours away, but was only less than two to three hours away. That’s a huge difference. Just cutting the travel time in half is huge, let alone paying for lodging and the surging gas prices. As much as I love skiing in the Northeast, driving five or six hours to hit the slopes is a long way. Being able to drive to, hit the slopes, and go back home and sleep in your own bed in the same day, there’s no price tag on that.
To be fair, Camelback Mountain does not have the terrain and vert that ski resorts in the Northeast do. Likewise, the Northeast does not have the terrain and vert that ski resorts have in the West. All of that doesn’t matter when those ski resorts are closed, and skiers and riders have nothing to do but dream of the next season. At that point, most would ski or ride on anything available. Well, just about anything. We don’t want to be hitting a 100-foot patch of snow and call that hitting the slopes. Camelback Mountain’s Cliffhanger is not a 100-foot patch of snow. It’s steep, bumped up, and long enough to be considered to be a legit run to ski or ride down.
What Bays and Camelback Mountain have done this season hasn’t just affected the local Pocono Mountains, but it has reached farther than that. Skiers and riders from North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, West Virginia, and Western Pennsylvania (4 hours away) have all come to check out what Camelback Mountain has done this season.
It will most undoubtedly have ripple effects throughout the ski industry in the East, and maybe even in the West. Having a ski resort in the mid-Atlantic staying open this late is unheard of. It will put pressure on other ski resorts in PA and the mid-Atlantic, and the Northeast to follow suit. A ski resort closing down for the season before a PA ski resort shouldn’t happen. Given the Northeast ski resort’s geographical location, altitude, and colder temperatures, this should not happen. Somehow it has.
Make no mistake, that is all on Bays: his drive, passion, and love for skiing and riding have made this happen. Will Camelback Mountain be the last ski resort standing in the East this season? No. Killington is still the “Beast in the East”, but Camelback Mountain may have just inherited the title of the “Monster in the mid-Atlantic.”
May 2026 Schedule: Dates, Hours, and the Cinco de Mayo Party
Looking ahead, Camelback will be operating the first weekend of May from Friday through Sunday. After that, there are amazing plans for a Cinco de Mayo party on Tuesday, May 5. The weather forecast for this week has temps in the 70s, with lows in the 40s. Camelback will make it to May, despite all the critics and doubters. It’s not only a triumph for them, but it should be looked at as a win for the ski industry. While some ski resorts say that skiers and riders are turning to spring activities and hobbies during this time, as an excuse not to stay open. Killington has proven for many seasons that this is not the case, and Camelback Mountain has just reiterated that again, with a huge exclamation point. This is the first season this is happening for a PA resort, and the hopes are that this is just the beginning.
Normally, by this point in the ski season, I’m skiing in the Northeast because every ski resort in the mid-Atlantic has closed for the season. However, the 2025-26 season has been different at Camelback Mountain. Its season is still going, for how long, only Bays knows. Which means that I am still in PA, where I am based, and I’m not complaining about it at all; I’m loving it! See you at Camelback Mountain in May!
Photos
PLP at Camelback! The best of the best you will ever meet!!!!