It was a great season for skiers and riders throughout the state of Pennsylvania, with much better weather conditions than in previous years. There are so many great experiences and memories that I have gained from traveling around PA and visiting these resorts this season that I will always remember.
The season has come to an end in PA, with the last ski resort shutting down their winter activities this weekend, with Seven Springs being the last mountain standing in the state. When looking back on this past season, it is hard to remember every single slope or trail that I have skied. However, when reminiscing about this season, I do have some great memories of the mountains I went to and, more importantly, the new friends I met along the way.
Here are some of the highlights and memories of this past season that made my ski trips in PA such a great experience.
One of the things I have gotten back to this season since injuring my knee was hitting bumps again for the first time, and I loved it! Elk Mountain is located in the Northeast part of PA and is a throwback to skiing back in the 60s and 70s. The skiing and riding conditions there are great for PA, and they offered some pretty nice size moguls for me to hit while I was there.
Glade skiing is really not big in PA compared to other areas throughout the country, so when I had the opportunity to go off-piste and hit the woods, I took full advantage of it. Montage Mountain, located in the Pocono Mountains, had just received a pretty significant snowstorm the previous day, and the fresh powder was awesome! Most resorts in PA frown upon or even actively patrol and prohibit skiers/riders from skiing the glades at their resorts but that day, I was able to take full advantage of the fresh snow. I actually took a pretty decent tumble and had a bit of a struggle getting myself out of the deep powder.
A nice surprise for me that I discovered while writing the series this season was skiing at Roundtop Mountain located just south of Harrisburg in Central PA. It is definitely not the biggest resort in PA, and that does not bother the locals at all. It is a smaller mountain that is family-oriented and is nice for the locals to get to in a short amount of time. I will never forget the conditions when an ice storm came through while I was on the mountain. I have never had so much ice accumulate on my helmet, goggles, and clothing ever. However, the mountain did an absolutely great job of keeping the skiing/riding conditions safe for everyone.
A great family resort that I visited this year was Bear Creek Mountain, located in Eastern PA, just outside of Allentown. It is also a smaller resort that still provides some nice trails to check out and provides great amenities for families with children. They must have known I would be there because they even provided some fresh moguls for me to hit. Now that is what I call getting first tracks!
Seven Springs is what I consider an all-mountain resort for all levels of skiers/riders to enjoy. The mountain provides everything a skier/rider would want. Seven Springs offers the only Olympic-size half-pipe on the east coast and some pretty large features to hit for anyone who enjoys freestyle skiing. I had the opportunity to ski the half-pipe and see what it felt like to be in the middle of that monster. Let me say that even though I enjoy hitting moguls, I’m an alpine skier at heart, and I like having my skis on the ground as much as possible!
With the season officially ending in PA this weekend, I would like to thank all of the mountain resorts that I visited this season for providing me with great memories and experiences that I will always remember. Unfortunately, I was unable to visit all of Pennsylvania’s 22 ski resorts this season. Hopefully, someday I’ll be able to visit them and have new memories to look forward to.
Next season I’ll be hitting mountains in the state of New York to write the “Hidden Gems of NY” series. I can’t wait! Boom!
