IF trails like Stembogan Bowl, Ditch Glades, or Extrovert are open then it is some fantastic skiing. Expert skiing at Blue Knob is leagues above what you find at Whitetail.
However, you might never know if those trails are open. Blue Knob updates their website very inconsistently if at all.
skithealleghenies wrote:
For those who have been before, how are the weekend (Friday-Sunday) crowds at Blue Knob compared to other resorts in the area
Very small crowds. I went 4 days recently, all on weekends and MLK Day. MLK Sunday was crowded by BK standards only because they didn't have the lift at the bottom open, since those trails weren't open. Bottom opened the next weekend and lines back to normal, which is almost non-existent.
Probably headed there tomorrow and expect its close to 100%. Probably Extrovert would be the only trail not open.
JimK wrote:
Typically over the last 20+ years Blue Knob has been far less crowded at all times than resorts closer to DC and Baltimore. This is not a typical year and I haven't been up there this year, but I'd still expect them to have lighter crowds than most places on weekends and very light crowds on weekdays. Fresh snow will bring folks out, but nothing like Liberty, Whitetail, etc.
I've skied Blue Knob once -- 2012. It was the least crowded Saturday I've ever had anywhere. It worked out well for my friend and I of course.
It is kind of isolated from any major population centers -- the Laurel Highlands are closer to Pittsburgh and a bunch of other places are closer to DC and Baltimore. My perception was that the goal was to more to sell vacation homes than be a day trip destination. In spite of Peter Graves best efforts, that didn't happen.
Blue Knob was a lot of fun, even with maybe 12 runs open. They probably said it was 16 or 18, but they inflate their number of trails.
Believe it or not, back in the 1970s and 80s that's the way it was at Blue Knob too. I can remember lines at the bottom of the double chairs snaking halfway to where the base of the triple is now. They would take an hour to wait through. This was on many prime Sat and Sundays for much of the season.
RodneyBD wrote:
So this happened: I went to BK for the first time about 7 years ago. It was a Saturday, Prez Weekend, snow everywhere, mountain was 100% open, and when I got there I parked right by the lodge and there were hardly any lift lines. I was so confused (maybe it helped that the access road was sorta dicey). The next day I went to Whitetail. It was like Disney World at Spring Break. I got there mid-morning and the parking lot was full- I had to park at the Golf Course and took the employee shuttle over to the mountain. While I was in the van I overheard on the radio they had actually run out of rental equipment and the lot attendants should tell people to go away. True story.
My favorite Blue Knob day started with a drive from Parkton. Light rain the whole way. Got to the access road and it was still raining. I'm thinking "this is a mistake ," but kept up the drive to the top -- were it was snowing heavily. Skied all day. It snowed all day. I think we ended up with about 8 inches. Stembogen was heaven.
When I lived in MD, my nights belonged to Roundtop, but my weekends belonged to Blue Knob.
Has anyone been to Blue Knob in the past few days? I read today they have 33 of 34 trails open and that they got over one foot of snow. Planning on going on Sunday.
BaltoBill wrote:
Has anyone been to Blue Knob in the past few days?
I went yesterday and put a couple pics in the Laurels thread. They did get about a foot. There was light powder to ski and there was always ice lurking beneath. The only run not open was Ditch Glades, which is usually the last to open. More potential weather Friday and Sunday.
BaltoBill wrote:
Why is Blue Knob always so icy -- does grooming help at all?
Grooming would help, but they don't have much equipment or staff. And I guess they never have in the 40 yrs I've been going there. BK is more of your non-grooming, ski it if you can kinda place. Once it is hard ice, any new snow often gets wind scoured and blown into the woods. Yesterday the winds picked up late in the day and and blew snow "onto" some trails and made those trails better than they were in the morning.
They cannot/will not groom down to the dirt so there will always be an ice base here in the Mid-A. An ice base is better than a dirt and rock base. Natural snow trails are seldom groomed if ever because the snow depth is usually less than the depth of the grooming machine's tiller. I think Extrovert and Lower High Hopes are natural snow cover this year and has been the last few years. They have snowmaking infrastructure but you will have to ask someone else why it hasn't been put to use.
BaltoBill wrote:
Thanks so much for the update -- I will look in the Laurel thread. Why is Blue Knob always so icy -- does grooming help at all?
Old school "Eastern Hardpack"
With limited resources, BK does not want to do too much to what base they have/get, particularly in the natural snow areas. Look at some of the other areas, and now much base they build up for the "modern" groomed trails.
It has been a spit and bailing wire operation there for a long long time, but at least we still have the great ski area. I remember that long ago, DCSki had a character that was forever predicting the imminent demise of Blue Knob and the horrible snowmaking ponds.
BaltoBill wrote:
Thanks so much for the update -- I will look in the Laurel thread. Why is Blue Knob always so icy -- does grooming help at all?
skithealleghenies wrote:
......several days after a big storm, do most trails at BK have moguls on them, will the trails be tracked out and icy, etc.? Basically I'm just trying to get a good idea of what to expect this weekend before we make the drive out there. BK definitely seems different than most Mid-Atlantic resorts. So if any Blue Knob experts or locals want to weigh in on what they think it may be like up there on a weekend such as this upcoming one, I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks!
BK is certainly different than most Mid-A hills. I think very important to go as soon after a weekday snow as possible, or go on a warm sunny Spring day. I've really only seen Route 66 fully moguled and left alone. Extrovert, Edgeset and some other trails get bumpy because there's only a line or two in spots, and some are double fall line challenging. Others like Deer Run do get groomed out. It will definitely be icy unless fresh or warm.
skithealleghenies wrote:
Thanks, everyone, for providing insight on the crowd sizes. It looks like BK has almost 100% of its terrain open right now, however (not surprisingly) most of the terrain is ungroomed. My dad and I were thinking about making the trip up at some point this weekend. It would be the first time for both of us. We are more advanced level skiers, but my dad doesn't enjoy ungroomed trails as much as I do. So I guess my next question would be, several days after a big storm, do most trails at BK have moguls on them, will the trails be tracked out and icy, etc.? Basically I'm just trying to get a good idea of what to expect this weekend before we make the drive out there. BK definitely seems different than most Mid-Atlantic resorts. So if any Blue Knob experts or locals want to weigh in on what they think it may be like up there on a weekend such as this upcoming one, I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks!
The first time I went to BK was for a DCSki Gathering long weekend a while ago. I was just starting to ski ungroomed terrain. Had a very good time. Even for Stembogan, it's easy to take a route that has relatively few big bumps. I had a very good time on the groomers. Fully appreciated not having much of a lift line on a weekend.
skithealleghenies wrote:
Anyone up there today (or the last couple days) that could report on current conditions, particularly on the natural snow trails?
I'm not there, so grain of salt. I was there on Tuesday.
I would expect all natural snow ungroomed trails to be solid ice and bumps this weekend. No new snow to cover them, no warm sun to soften them.
camp wrote:
I would expect all natural snow ungroomed trails to be solid ice and bumps this weekend. No new snow to cover them, no warm sun to soften them.
Thank you for the insight. I'm about 2 and half hours away from BK and would love to ski it at its best with fresh/softer snow. I think I may pass this weekend and try again later in the season, hopefully closer to another large snowfall or when things start to soften up with some warmer temps.
dwm8a wrote:
Anybody who's been to BK this year - what's the process like for picking up lift tickets ordered online? I assume there's an outdoor window but want to confirm.
Same ol' window inside, with new "stand here" marks on the floor.
camp wrote:
dwm8a wrote:
Anybody who's been to BK this year - what's the process like for picking up lift tickets ordered online? I assume there's an outdoor window but want to confirm.Same ol' window inside, with new "stand here" marks on the floor.
Any updates on COVID-related procedures (including masking by employees) and visitor compliance rates at Blue Knob? What about options for avoiding non-maskers if you ski on a weekday?
Hoping to find a low-cost COVID test, so I can be eligible to make a day trip to BK after sequestering. However, I don't want to risk undue exp[osure while there.
Woody
I went on President’s Day. Minimal lift lines and most everyone was masked. I rode the lift solo every time. Lifties didn’t really have anything to enforce.
You have to go inside to get a lift ticket, though. Because I had to go inside to get my ticket, I changed clothes inside too and saw a few maskless people in the bathroom/lockerroom. Avoidable, if you change at your car (I ate lunch at the car).
I got a test at One Medical on Friday afternoon, and they emailed me with the results Sunday afternoon, so I was good to go for Monday. Nobody asked me about it when I was in Pa from roughly 9am-4pm.
Terrain wise, I enjoyed Stembogen Bowl and the run under the lift line at the bottom. Extrovert was fun but thin in many spots. Cover was too thin to do much in the trees, but folks were trying.
I would go back, and would consider going on a weekend, if the (lack of) crowd on Pres Day is a good guide for what to expect on a weekend.
