New Jersey Ski Area Guide -- Very Complete

• Campgaw, Mahwah • 18 skiable acres on 270' vertical
  Specs: Summit elevation: 720'; Base elevation: 450'. 4 Lifts: 2 doubles, 2 surface lifts. Uphill Capacity: 1800/hr. Terrain Mix: 50-38-12. Longest Run: 600'. Season: usually December through mid March. Night Skiing. Annual Snowfall: 45". Snowmaking: 100%.
  The SKInny: Built by the Army Corps of Engineers, operated by the Bergen County Recreation Division, providing a great learning hill for over 40 years...hard to believe it's still operating, in New Jersey no less. Campgaw is about 20 miles from Manhattan. This is a great little ski hill, crowded at times, but ideal for beginners of all ages. Home to a lot of after-school skiers who grow up to slash Hunter West or crank through halfpipe at Mountain Creek. Campgaw offers both a very good ski experience and a view of the George Washington Bridge.



• Hidden Valley, Vernon • 36 skiable acres on 620' vertical -- Open for 2007-2008 Season --
  Specs: Summit elevation: 1435'; base elevation: 815'. 4 Lifts: 1 Triple, 2 doubles, 1 handle tow. Uphill Capacity: 3500/hr. Terrain Mix: 10-40-50. Longest Run: 4124' as measured by skiernet.com. Season: December through late March/early April. Night Skiing. Annual Snowfall: 65". Snowmaking: 100%.
  The SKInny: "Hidden" is the right name, and they do a good job of keeping it secret despite the fact that it's visible from some of the crowded ramparts of Mountain Creek. It's a "private" club that sells a limited number of non-member tickets, but I don't believe they've reached that "limit" since the late 1970s. If you wish to ski without waiting in lift lines more than thirty seconds -- and that's unusually long -- ski Hidden Valley. Unfortunately it doesn't offer the variety of terrain to appeal to wanderers, nor the challenges and crowds that hotshots require. Absolute beginners are pretty much limited to one trail (Chicken Delight), but it is a long, rolling run as beginner trails go -- better suited to beginners than anything at Hidden's larger neighbor. Hidden Valley is a great area for families that have a couple of strong blue skiers and a newbie or two. The lesson program is outstanding, and the racing program has a tremendous reputation. If you live in the New York metro area, this is the place to go to learn to ski, or to practice, or to escape the crowds and edgy youth atmosphere of Mountain Creek. As for the expert in the family, there are three short but steep trails that provide a nice challenge. A long route from the top serves the better novice/lower intermediate.
  Insider Tip: Dinner in the upstairs lounge. I've spent many afternoons skiing at Mountain Creek, then promptly driven here for apres ski.
  Signature Trail: Browse Along



• Mountain Creek, Vernon • 168 skiable acres on 1040' vertical
  +++Important 2008 update at end of listing+++
  Specs: Summit elevation: 1480'; base elevation: 440'. Actual vertical is probably 1001' on 1452' summit and 451' base. 11 Lifts: 1 open standing gondola, 4 quads, 1 triple, 1 double, 3 magic carpets, 1 rope tow. Uphill Capacity: 16000/hr. Terrain Mix: 30-37-33. Longest Run: 9300' as measured by skiernet.com. Season: usually mid December through late March. Night Skiing. Annual Snowfall: 65". Snowmaking: 100%. Skiable acreage is less than stated, Granite View trail is gone and Opossum hasn't opened in years.
  The SKInny: Mountain Creek is the best and the worst of skiing in the east. It was originally two separate ski areas, Great Gorge and Vernon Valley. Vernon bought out Gorge in the mid-1970s, and the mega complex became a haphazardous entity called Vernon Valley/Great Gorge. The current operator, IntraWest (Whistler, Stratton, Steamboat) renamed it Mountain Creek and turned a tired, crowded ski area into a new, well-run, crowded ski area. Liftlines are shorter, grooming is decent, the skiing is good, very good. Sometimes excellent. It's close and convenient for a huge population center. Did I mention the weekend crowds?
  When all is said and done, Mountain Creek is a world-class ski area in New Jersey. Wanderers can choose among four separate summits spread across 3.7 miles of terrain, and will be in heaven (note that this was not the case in 2007-08 as Sojourn was not open). Hotshots will find a couple of very short but taxing sections on some trails.
  Trails on the weekends can be a nightmare, but you can generally find open runs and short lines on Granite Peak (the old Great Gorge North). On some weekends you won't find short lines anywhere.
  Best skiing was at South. In recent years Vernon Peak has been crowded, and the atmosphere has been heavy with in-your-face youth attitude. For 2007-2008, management is trying to change this, probably because customers at the new Appalachian hotel didn't mix with Creek's core on-mountain customer. The plan is to move the bulk of the edgy youth crowd to a massive new terrain park that will cover the entire South section. As a result, the terrain park on Great Northern will be removed, and intermediate skiers will find a bunch of reclaimed trails on the Vernon side this season. Race operations will shift to Vernon as well, a move that is wildly unpopular within the racing community. On the other hand, should management be successful in thinning the herd on the Vernon side, beginning skiers will once again have a terrific top-to-bottom route in Horizon to Sugar Slope. [ed: actually not. Sugar is roped off.] Time will tell how this all shakes out, but so far the results aren't popular with two-plankers.
  2008 Update: As the 2007-2008 season winds down, things still have a very unsettled feel at Creek. Non-park skiers have fled from the South area, busloads of racers have been forced to Vernon, yet the bulk of the snowboarders remain in Vernon...fearful of the park features at South. With hotshot ski racers and clumsy renters sharing terrain, tragedy is inevitable. The Vernon slopes are crowded, although the much ballyhooed "back side" trails (off Great Northern) are frequently empty. Granite sat quiet and dark for most of the season, and the Sojourn was never opened. In other words, this was not a single ski area. Not that any traditional skier would want to visit "South" anyway; the jibs and features stuffed into the snow on every trail are really jarring. The former racing trails on Bear Peak are empty most of the day, too steep for the park and pipe crowd. Obviously this concept of turning one entire mountain into an all-park situation is still finding its way. On a typical February weekend the South parking lot would be maxed out in years past, but February weekends in 2008 with the all-park situation were only 2/3 full. Skiers who've fled to Vernon Peak have to suffer through a parking situation that is deplorable, a lift that requires them to take skis off and stand, a trail system that funnels down to a single runout, and a lodge with less charm than an old strip mall. Clearly this is a ski area in transition, but why? How did Intrawest's terrific product fall apart so quickly? The difference between the overall skiing experience in 2008 versus just three years ago is staggering.
  --RB

New Jersey's Ghost Ski Areas

Also known as "lost" ski areas; the Garden State once boasted some twenty lift-served slopes. Here are three SkierNet.com pages:

Ski Into New Jersey History...

A friend of mine named Liz Holste has written a book about the history of skiing in New Jersey. That's right, Jersey. Liz contributed a lot of the photos and plenty of information for our Great Gorge webpage. Her book has plenty more information about the Vernon area hills, as well as a surprising number of "lost" ski areas throughout the state. All over the state, in fact. Plenty of interesting stories and lots of photos, one of the most all-around fascinating ski books anywhere.

Here's an excerpt from the foreward, written by Donna Weinbrecht, 1992 Olympic Gold medalist: Liz takes you back in time to the birth of skiing in one of the most unlikely winter sports states in the country – New Jersey. Her book honors the spirit of the Europeans who brought their inbred passion for snow and the great outdoors to these shores. The spirit of these pioneers of skiing, described in this book is still alive in those of us who have been lucky enough to reap the rewards of their incredible journey.

To order the book, please click here. The link takes you to Amazon.com, so you know it's a safe place to order and whatnot. I've read it, and I assure you that if you're into history and skiing, it's a "must-have."

Key

Hotshots are skiers who can ski anywhere, anytime, in any conditions, and generally enjoy showing off those skills. Wanderers are skiers who like to go exploring, to essentially get "lost" and move from face to face, seldom skiing the same trail twice. Newbies are the girlfriend/boyfriend/wife/husband who has never skied before, but gamely insists on going along. Obviously, Blues represents intermediate skiers, while Blacks refers to experts.

A Signature Trail Is mostly subjective. Whether it's history, reputation, the view, or degree of difficulty...it's the run you have to do, even if it isn't necessarily the best the resort has to offer.

Finally, a note about ski area statistics: Although it's hard to believe, some ski areas are (gasp!) less than truthful with their numbers. Like the guy who lies about his, uh, shoe size, some ski areas believe that inflated numbers make their resort sound more appealling. When these numbers are obviously questionable, we put a note: (?!) and will attempt to verify the legitimacy of the claim.

Trail to Improvement

Probably the most helpful book I've seen to help you make the jump from strong blue to expert or hotshot level, is All-Mountain Skier: The Way to Expert Skiing, by R. Mark Elling. If you've tried to follow the recommendations in magazines and books, and had trouble mimicking the photos, this book somehow makes it all work, makes it understandable and easier to apply on the slopes. This link goes to amazon.com, where you can generally snag a used copy for about six bucks, or buy a nice squeaky clean one for about 20% less than retail.

-- Rick Bolger

Please click here for the SkierNet.com home page.