Camelback

Two weeks ago, Rachel and I went skiing at Camelback about an hour and a half from the house (the Poconos). It is a little bigger than Ski Beach or Sugar Mountain in North Carolina. It had been really cold the week before, so they had pretty good conditions and had made a lot of snow. Unfortunately, this also means that it was crowded.

Rachel did really well. She stayed on the greens and double greens, but she no longer snow plows and is able to turn and stop much better. I rode the double black diamond - Cliffhanger. It was not like any double black diamond I had ever ridden before. First, it was not too steep. Second, it had no moguls. That said, I fail to see how it was classified as a double-black diamond. It might be a double blue or perhaps a black in Colorado. Still, it was fun.

Reflections - Steve's Top Ski Slopes

I will rank order my favorite places to ski from least favorite to most favorite. I will also assess the difficulty of each place, as difficulty did not completely correlate with "favoriteness".

10) Gatlinburg - Although it was close to home and where I learned to ski while I was at UT, it is the smallest place I have ever skied. I rate it as the 6th toughest place to ski, mainly because it is crowded, partially because it is so small. Also, it has a fairly nasty mogul field. The skier density also makes it fairly icy, and they often make snow, which requires you wear goggles. They have both day and night skiing.

9) Sugar Mountain - located about an hour and a half northeast of Knoxville in Boone, NC, it is significantly bigger than Gatlinburg. However, it ranks slightly below #8 because I remember the runs being slightly shorter. The fact that I cannot quickly distinguish between #8 and #9 in memory is the reason they are #8 and #9 and not higher. Like Gatlinburg, Sugar Mountain can get a little icy at times. They also make a lot of snow, which can make visibility treacherous. Sugar Mountain also ranks as the 9th most difficult slope.

8) Ski Beach - located next to Sugar Mountain, ski beach edges it out for #8 on name alone. Most of the comments of Sugar Mountain can also apply to Beach, as they are at roughly the same altitude and of similar size (Beach's longest run may be slightly longer than the longest run at Sugar). Ski Beach has day and night skiing and snow blowing capability. It ranks 8th on the difficulty scale.

7) Camelback - this Pocono resort is of adequate size. I rate it as the easiest place I have skied simply because it has an abundance of longer green and double-green trails. It has day and night skiing and snow-blowing capability. It also has a nice micro-brewery as you are leaving the area (could also be construed as "as you are coming into the area"; however, I do not recommend stopping on your way in).

6) Winterplace - this resort is located just inside West Virginia when taking I-77 north from Wytheville, VA. Given its proximity to the interstate, it ranks with Camelback as the two most convenient ski slopes to get to. I've only skied it one time, but it was a pleasant day. Nothing spectacular or extremely boring. Day and night skiing and snow blowing.

5) Squaw Valley, CA - this resort hosted the Winter Olympics back in 1960. It is the resort I would most like to go back and ski now, as I was fairly new to skiing when I attempted it. I'll be honest, I was not ready for Squaw, and thus it is listed as my #1 most difficult place to ski. Not only did it have some rough mogul fields, there was also a helicopter airlift for cliff skiers (yes, the guys who ski off of cliffs). If that isn't EXTREME, I don't know what is. It is also the coldest I have ever been while skiing, as it was -15 at the summit with 35 mph winds the day we skiied. It was significantly warmer just 30 feet lower, as the mountain shields the wind. Day skiing only, no snow blowing (only an eastern phenomenon).

4) Snowshoe, WV - the most sizable place I have skiied in the east. In all honesty, Snowshoe may be artificially inflated into 4th place because of the awesome times I had spending long weekends there with Travis Smith and friends when I was just out of school. Snowshoe ranks as the 5th most difficult place I have skiied. Snowshoe has day skiing only, but its sister resort Silver Creek has day and night skiing, as well as a terrain park. Snowshoe is also somewhat unique in that it has skiing on both sides of the mountain, one side more difficult than the other. There are plenty of chalets to rent and several restaurants and some pretty fun tubing in the area (they will really kick you out if you try to "train" with buddies on tubes; just wait until your last run, and careful not to throw your friends over the backstop, or there wife will hate you and never speak to you again).

3) Tahoe Northstar - located in Northern California, about 30-40 minutes from Reno, NV, Northstar has some breath-taking views of Lake Tahoe along with some excellent skiing. It receives a #4 difficulty rating, not because it was that hard, but because it has some pretty long runs. This is a great place for an intermediate skiier to go, as most of its runs are well-groomed. To be honest, it has been years since I skiied Northstar, so I don't know if it has night skiing.

2) Jackson Hole, WY - receives my #2 difficulty rating. Don't ever get lost with Bill Langston on a canyon black, if you are wearing long skis. It is difficult to maneuver. Jackson Hole is a large and diverse place to ski with something for all levels. The town is really cool (be sure to go by the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar and sit on the saddle bar stools).

1) Steamboat Springs, CO - Steamboat was the largest place I have ever skiied. We never had to wait in lines even though it was supposedly "crowded", as it has a massive number of lifts and runs, so the people are really spread out. It only ranks as the #3 most difficult place I have skiied, but that is because it is up against some stiff competition and because I gave a holistic ranking. The double-blacks at Steamboat were as difficult as anything I have skiied. They are untouched, so if you lose your skis when you fall, you can be up to your waist in powder. Steamboat also has a vibrant town at its base providing some excellent nightlife.

My goal is to get a ski trip scheduled to Whistler next year, with Sean "The Turd" Hennessy. It is the largest ski resort in North America (and I believe the Western Hemisphere).