MLK day at Liberty or Whitetail
January 12, 2011
Thinking about going to Liberty or Whitetail this week. Talked to Liberty group sales and was told it will be extremely crowded. I asked if Monday would be less crowded than Sunday. She said both days are equally crowded.
How bad will it be? Is Liberty more crowded than Whitetail? If the lift lines are very long, I don't think I want to go this weekend.
MLK day is usually PACKED.
That said, there are tactics and strategies to get around the crowds.
Early arrival - be there at the opening of the lifts, this will give you by far the best snow and about 2 hours of relatively uncrowded lift lines.
Go over to the advanced side of the mountain ASAP (assuming you have the ability).
Avoid the front side of the mountain at 12, at 3 and at 5pm.
You say you spoke to group sales, is this supposed to be a group outing?
If so, I would consider picking a different hill for this.
Thanks for the info. I got enough friends/neighbors interested to get the group rate. But it is not really a group outing per se. We can only do a day trip. What other hill is within easy driving distance?
Would Sunday be less crowded?
I would also take a look at Wisp. I have never been to Liberty or Whitetail on a weekend. But we took a group to Wisp over Super Bowl weekend, and the main face had a fair amount of people, but no lift lines over a few minutes, and the North Camp and expert trails going down to the lake had almost no lift lines.
Well, there's Roundtop. Beyond that, you're talking small hills (Bryce) or long drives (3hrs from DC) or both.
If those are your choices, I'd probably pick Whitetail. At least you get 900 feet vertical per ~30 minute wait.
Early arrival - be there at the opening of the lifts, this will give you by far the best snow and about 2 hours of relatively uncrowded lift lines.
..what he said. I can only speak for Whitetail, but if you're on the hill at opening, you can have about 2.5 hours of relatively uncrowded trails and nice groom. Then all of DC shows up after leaving their homes around 8 and further making it through the rental shop line (that wasn't there at 8). It never ceases to amaze me that more folks don't get that! ..then again, shhhh! ;-)
One thing to add: Expect everything at pretty much every area this weekend to be much slower than normal: parking, getting tickets, getting rental gear (I'd recommend renting from a local shop the night before if they aren't sold out), getting on a lift, getting lunch, getting a beer, etc.
