Hidden Valley had bump set up on Thunderbird last year. That was the first time I have seen them do that in a while Laurel has done bumps on occasion also.
If you are in the area you need to check out Laurel anyway
Then Laurel Mountain is the right answer......
Stephen wrote:
Moguls would be a bonus, but for a first time visit it's ok if there aren't moguls. Atmosphere/beauty would be a big criteria.
I usually skip skiing until after Christmas, but because I have an Epic pass, I've been looking around to see some options. It looks to me that almost every Epic resort is struggling to get open terrain. Out west is about the worst it's ever been. I did Park City one time at Christmas and won't repeat that mistake. They didn't have much open then, but now it's terrible. Roundtop isn't reporting their trail status online, and Liberty isn't showing which trails are open.
Timberline, not on Epic pass, seems to be about one of the only places in the entire nation that is fully open. If they only had moguls, they would be amazing. Mt. Brighton, Michigan, looks to be another one that's fully open.
Any Epic pass holders with plans this week that look good?
No resort in these parts has moguls this time of year. In fact few resorts have moguls this early generally speaking. I would suggest giving Beaver Creek a try. If you don't like crowds, and like atmosphere and scenery, try Laurel.
Not sure what you mean that RT is not reporting trail status? Here is the link:
Agreed. Usually HV lets Thunderbird bump up when they are in the heart of the season, and also Barracuda (assuming coverage over there) on the back side (jan->feb). At 7s over the last 7 days were some tiny ones on Wagner of all things. They have had a challenge with getting their signature bump run, Goosebumps, skiable in the last few years. At LM I would assume upper/lower wildcat also in the period mentioned above, but I haven't been over there yet.
Sounds like I need to be patient and hope for the best this season. I'm looking forward to checking out these places nearby that I haven't been to before, but I want to see them at their best. I may only make it up one time for each. It's been many years since I've skied some of these Epic resorts out west, so I'm looking forward to that too. Vail, Beaver Creek, and Kirkwood are high on my list. Beaver Creek has 13 out of 167 trails open, and Kirkwood has one trail open.
That Roundtop trail status page was broken this morning. I still can't see trail status for Liberty, but I assume it will work later.
I still haven't gotten to any nearby Epic resorts, but made it to Heavenly last week. Got a few runs down Little Dipper which is a popular mogul run. Here's the video. I collect videos of mid Atlantic mogul runs sort of as a mogul trail guide, but also to provide myself and others some comparisons. I post iconic mogul trails from other places as a frame of reference when I get the opportunity.
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