Peek’n Peak: Think Snow

Packing my ski gear Tuesday morning, I knew a good day was ahead. There was a beautiful sunrise to start the day that gave way to clear visibility for the drive to Clymer, NY. It was an early start to a long, but fun day. I had plans to meet my friends Kyle and Mike at Peek’n Peak later in the morning. We love PnP’s terrain park and it was the focus of our trip.

My first visit to Peek’n Peak was eight years ago via I-86. This time I came on I-90 with views of Lake Erie and vines from the Wine Country Trail. I arrived 30 minutes before opening, to a near empty parking lot. I expected it to be a busy day during a holiday break, at a mountain so close to Erie PA. But the only line I saw all day was at the ticket window.

I showed my Indy Pass, grabbed a wicket and a ticket and went off to ride to the first spinning lift I could find. It was warm and I was ready to ride. Conditions looked terrific despite the lack of natural snow this season. I hopped on Chair 7 and opened my trail map to plan out my next couple of runs. I had a couple hours before Kyle and Mike arrived, which allowed me to check out the southside of the mountain first. The only other time I visited Peek’n Peak, I stuck to the terrain park, and it became one of my favorites in New York.

I was excited to see more of the hill today; 23 of 26 trails were open. I moved from Chair 7 to Chair 8, intent on working my way across the mountain. At Chair 8, I cruised around on the blues to get loosened up. Conditions were excellent in the sun, I was enjoying every turn.

I moved on to Chair 7 to ride the expert terrain. The top section of Cross Bow was closed, but I could envision it being a great run with a fun looking chute. Taking Catapult to the lower section of Cross Bow was my favorite run of the day. Wide open at the top, then a tighter run descending down through the trees and circling back to the chairlift.

After maybe 5 runs, I noticed myself looking around, feeling like I had the whole mountain to myself. The riders from the line at the ticket window were spread out across the mountain and it stayed pretty quiet all day. I chatted with a lift attendant about the lack of lines, and they were surprised as well. The lifty reported that the holiday weekend brought crowds through Monday, which was good to hear.

The first two hours of the ski day went by fast. Kyle and Mike arrived as I took a windy slow cruise down Friar Tuck’s Trek and back towards the main base area. I popped into the lodge to admire the Old English themed architecture. My favorite part of the base area (aside from the massive inside fireplace) was the beautiful outside deck. With yellow adirondack chairs and propane fireplaces scattered around, it would be a relaxing place to enjoy the afternoon. The deck faces southwest and was in the sun all day.

I moved my car over to Chair 2, knowing that would be there the rest of my day. I called the guys to see if there were available parking spots, they laughed. When I pulled up, there were less than 10 cars parked in the lot, some of which were employees. We walked all of 30 yards from our cars to Chair 2 to begin lapping the 360 Terrain Park. Peek’n Peak has 3 different parks setup: 180 beginner park, 360 moderate / advanced park, 540 advanced park, which are all accessible from Chairs 1 and 2. Both chairs run side-by-side going up giving people on the chair a great view of the action on the ride to the top.

Kyle and Mike are dedicated park riders and had made it out to Peek’n Peak earlier this season on Indy Pass, right away they noticed some changes throughout the park. The 360 Park was loaded, with 25 features setup for all abilities. By the end of the second lap, they were landing progressively harder tricks. I took my time trying out all the features, like a kid in a candy store. I was having the most fun on the jump at the end of the run. It had some good pop, and was the first real jump I have had the chance to hit this season.

After two hours in the park it was time for lunch. Mike is a van-life enthusiast, and embraces the parking-lot cookout. His van did not make the trip, but the tailgating vibes did. Out of the trunk of the car came a cooler, Coleman propane stove, tongs, pot and pan. As Mike set everything up he realized he was missing some of his supplies that he usually has on hand in the van, which were important to enjoying the meal… You know things like a plate, utensils, and a lighter to start the grill.

We laughed at the blunder and Kyle volunteered to drive down the road for the things we needed. When Kyle returned, Mike started grilling up sausages and boiling water for some instant mashed potatoes, the essentials of a healthy ski-lunch-break. We kicked back in our lawn chairs and soaked in the sun as we enjoyed our meal, watching riders in the terrain park. We devoured our lunch and were still hungry, but at that point we were most interested in a second helping of more laps in the terrain park.

We packed up our tailgate, grabbed our boards and headed back to Chair 2. For the rest of the day we lapped the terrain park til the shadows started to take over the whole trail. The mountain faces northeast but with only 400 of vert, the sun was able to stay on the mountain longer than others.

By 5pm we were happy with our second serving of park riding and started our journey home. Heading northeast on the Thruway I was treated to a peaceful sunset to end the day in my rearview mirror. What a day it was, I was glad we made the day-trip. My fingers are crossed I will make it back this season, so hope for some Lake effect pow! #ThinkSnow

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