Decided today was the day to head up the road to the former Great Gorge. Ibwish they had kept that name instead of the really generic-sounding "Mountain Creek," but it's an Intrawest joint, what do you expect. Only 40 minutes from my house, it's certainly convenient.
You'll never confuse conditions in northern NJ with those in northern VT right now. Completely dependent on snowmaking, especially this winter, they've got coverage on all the trails, but the all-night rain from last Thursday, followed by really cold temps this week turned everything rock hard.
I started at Vernon Peak, which for a skier is not worth the time. Half of it is a terrain park, and you have to pay an extra fee to access it. You take one of those Cabriolet lifts (like at The Canyons) and there are boarders and snowbladers everywhere. The remaining trails are boring and featureless.
Granite Peak doesn't have any parks, but the trails aren't any more interesting. Both Vernon and Granite Peaks are kind of what I would expect skiing in West Virginia or North Carolina to be like: snowguns everywhere, generic trails, rock-hard base, jester hat crowd, etc.
By mid-afternoon, I was ready to cut my losses and pack it in, but at 3 pm, South and Bear Peaks opened so I went over. If I understand correctly, this is where the original Great Gorge was located, and at least here, the trails are kinda interesting in that they wind intriguingly through the woods, bushes, rocks, and flowing creek. Also, there are some well-placed flats that deter boarders. Two HSQs allow you to rack up vertical quickly.
Also, conditions on South and Bear Peak were actually decent, especially compared to the crap on the other two hills. Amazing that the sun was still shining at 5:30 pm. They turned on the lights a few minutes later.
As you can see in the pix, there was no one over here, so I had the place to myself. If I ever go back to MC, I'll just spend a few hours doing laps on South/Bear and forget the rest.
So that's my day of skiing the New Jersey Alps.
You'll never confuse conditions in northern NJ with those in northern VT right now. Completely dependent on snowmaking, especially this winter, they've got coverage on all the trails, but the all-night rain from last Thursday, followed by really cold temps this week turned everything rock hard.
I started at Vernon Peak, which for a skier is not worth the time. Half of it is a terrain park, and you have to pay an extra fee to access it. You take one of those Cabriolet lifts (like at The Canyons) and there are boarders and snowbladers everywhere. The remaining trails are boring and featureless.
Granite Peak doesn't have any parks, but the trails aren't any more interesting. Both Vernon and Granite Peaks are kind of what I would expect skiing in West Virginia or North Carolina to be like: snowguns everywhere, generic trails, rock-hard base, jester hat crowd, etc.
By mid-afternoon, I was ready to cut my losses and pack it in, but at 3 pm, South and Bear Peaks opened so I went over. If I understand correctly, this is where the original Great Gorge was located, and at least here, the trails are kinda interesting in that they wind intriguingly through the woods, bushes, rocks, and flowing creek. Also, there are some well-placed flats that deter boarders. Two HSQs allow you to rack up vertical quickly.
Also, conditions on South and Bear Peak were actually decent, especially compared to the crap on the other two hills. Amazing that the sun was still shining at 5:30 pm. They turned on the lights a few minutes later.
As you can see in the pix, there was no one over here, so I had the place to myself. If I ever go back to MC, I'll just spend a few hours doing laps on South/Bear and forget the rest.
So that's my day of skiing the New Jersey Alps.
My friends and i used have some great times there..25years ago :shock: 
