Camelback: The Mid-Atlantic Beast?

Camelback open for skiing in May? In Pennsylvania? I guess I wasn’t paying close enough attention to their social media. I heard from some fellow skiers they threw down the gauntlet back in March; they would be open in May. That’s some pretty bold attitude given the latitude.

Camelback from Rim Road

As one ski area after another announced their closing dates across the northeast, Camelback continued operations. Did it signify the emergence of a new east coast juggernaut, the Beast of the Mid Atlantic? I would have to see for myself.

It wasn’t my first visit to Camelback, we have history. It’s one of the hills that I tried with my children when they were just learning to ski. I’ve probably skied Camelback a dozen times.

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Killington: Squeeze the Juice

I love Killington and whenever I can get a day there I feel privileged. Last Saturday was one of those days and it was as good as any spring skiing I’ve experienced in years.

Superstar

There are still two Indy Pass hills open in the east; Jay Peak in Vermont and Black Mountain of New Hampshire. And Camelback, in Pennsylvania, is very near to me, and making a heroic effort to stay open until May in spite of its southerly location. So I did have options.

I just had Saturday to ski and I just couldn’t justify a six hour back-and-forth to Jay or Black Mountain. I drove to Killington, which is still four hours, in each direction, for me.

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West Mountain: Last Indy Standing

It’s almost time to throw in the towel. Open ski resorts in the east have been dropping like flies. On the second weekend in April, in New York, my options were down to the ORDA hills and West Mountain in Queensbury. West is on the Indy Pass, it was an easy call to go check it out.

Getting to West is easy, it’s right off of the Thruway. Their spring hours were 10 AM to 4 PM so we weren’t required to get up early.

We took our time, stopped at a Stewart’s for breakfast on the way, and arrived at their Northwest Lodge around 9:50 AM. There were just a handful of cars ahead of us.

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